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Repeat of Bluff Fire hoped to be avoided |
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Tuesday, 25 March 2008 |
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By Mike Gervais
Register Staff 3-22-2008
With the Bluff Fire under control, firefighters across the state are reminding residents and visitors in the Owens Valley that the smallest spark can ignite a blaze.
The devastating Bluff Fire began when a camp stove blew over during high winds last Sunday. The dry brush in the area caught fire, and the three campers were unable to extinguish the flames.
In a matter of minutes the fire was out of control, casting an ominous black cloud hundreds of feet over the Bishop area.
The three culprits turned themselves in to the Bishop Police Department for inadvertently causing the wild fire.
That fire burned for nearly five days and took more than 600 firefighters from across California to contain. Luckily, no structures were damaged and there were “no reportable injuries,” said CalFire Battalion Chief Doug Lannon.
One local rancher lost about five head of cattle in the blaze, and several more suffered burns. But the loss of livestock and charred earth were the worst of the damage.
Lannon reported Thursday morning that the fire was controlled. In all, the blaze torched approximately 1,000 acres of land in the Chalk Bluff area. CalFire, the lead agency on the blaze, began sending many of the 600 firefighters home Wednesday.
According to Lannon, high winds coming off the mesa to the north of the blaze caused a vacuum that spread the fire in two directions, causing what firefighters call “a two-head fire.”
“The focus was on the east side of the fire,” said Lannon, noting that the head of that blaze was moving towards Dixon Lane, about one mile away from homes and other structures.
The second priority on the Bluff Fire, said Incident Commander Larry Martinez, focused southwest of the Horton Creek area and Mustang Mesa, where the fire was threatening the campground.
With the fire classified as “controlled,” firefighters will continue their mop-up efforts, watching for smoke and hot spots, throughout the weekend.
According to Lannon, the blaze was contained at only 1,000 acres burned due to the combined effort of 14 different agencies, including fire crews from Mammoth Lakes, Mono County and Southern California, as well as Bishop and Big Pine.
“We have the best mutual aid program in the U.S.,” Lannon said, noting that several other states model their mutual aid programs after California.
Requests for aid went out soon after the fire was reported last weekend, and within eight hours, firefighters from all over the state were on-scene.
The quick response from local agencies, and the sheer numbers provided by other agencies aside, firefighters were at a distinct disadvantage in the form of vegetation conditions – just one reason residents and visitors must be vigilant when recreating in the Owens Valley during the early spring.
“This time of year, this stuff burns,” Lannon explained, urging caution to anyone recreating in the Owens Valley. According to the battalion chief, the freezing night-time temperatures in the High Sierra keeps vegetation dry until at least May or June, when the fire season on the valley floor begins to wane.
“This vegetation is dry and a lot of it is dead,” he said. That lethal combination is hazardous enough, but in the area of the Bluff Fire, there had not been a fire for a number of years, and the dry and dead vegetation was dense, providing a steady path of fuel for the wind-driven blaze.
With the hazardous conditions, local public safety agencies are planning to keep a close watch on recreation until the fire conditions change for the better.
“There are no fires period allowed down by the river,” Lannon said. “This is a very significant public safety hazard” because many people believe that the above-average precipitation in the Sierra this past winter would provide more favorable fire conditions. But according to Lannon, the area won’t begin to “green-up” or re-hydrate until the snow pack in the mountains begins to melt and run down to the valley floor.
“The river bottom is dry, and car exhaust and smoking” are just two ways unsuspecting fishermen, swimmers, bird watchers or others could inadvertently cause a fire.
Lannon advised that if the humidity is anywhere below 22 percent, cigarettes and hot engines can easily ignite a fire if they are parked or discarded near dry grass or brush.
Even more of a hazard, he said, is the terrain around the Owens River. Lannon explained that tall, dense vegetation surrounding the river could shield fishermen and others from smoke and flames. “They won’t even know there’s a fire” until it’s on them.
To stay safe while recreating in such areas, Lannon said residents should “make sure you have a way out, back (your vehicle) in” to make a quick get away, if need be.
Lannon also said that camping and trailers and campers are not permitted along the Owens River. The bulky vehicles could get stuck on narrow roads or in mud puddles, creating a trap for other recreators.
But aside from creating an escape route, Lannon and Martinez again urged residents and visitors to be extremely careful with anything that has the potential to start a fire.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 21 April 2008 )
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| ...the changing seasons, as you do get all four. I could sit on Main St and just watch traffic go by all day and not even fish once. Someday I hope to retire in this gorgeous town. The people are friendly and the settings are so relaxing. Thank you for sharing your town with my family. Chuck Poepke - Chatsworth, CA | |
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