News - Fire burns 200 acres, suspect sought

Fire burns 200 acres, suspect sought :Redding Record Searchlight:

Fire burns 200 acres, suspect sought

By Record Searchlight staff
Originally published 07:55 a.m., June 14, 2007
Updated 07:55 a.m., June 14, 2007

Fire information

RED BLUFF – A fire burned 200 acres of grass and oak trees Wednesday in the Durley Flat area about eight miles south of Paynes Creek and continues to burn today.

The Dye Fire was 65 percent contained this morning and is expected to be fully contained by this afternoon, said David Harp, a Cal Fire public information officer.

He said the fire was caused by an illegal campfire and was reported by Inskip Hill Lookout personnel at 3:35 p.m.

Fire investigators are asking for the public’s help in finding the person responsible for starting the fire. The person fled from the scene in a vehicle, possibly a pickup, in the direction of Hogsback Road or Plum Creek Road, Harp said.

Anyone with information on the person responsible may call Cal Fire’s Tehama County headquarters at 528-5199.

On Wednesday, 10 engines, four bulldozers, eight fire crews, two water tenders, five air tankers, three helicopters and one air attack were used to contain the fire.

The fire is located in a remote area and no structures are threatened, Harp said.

Strong winds have ushed the fire into the Antelope Creek drainage making it difficult for firefighters to control, Harp said. Some minor heat-related injuries were reported on the fire, but details were not immediately available.

Cal Fire was assisted by the Tehama County Fire Department, U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Fish & Game and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.