Friday, June 15, 2007

Illegal blaze started wildfire

Illegal blaze started wildfire : Local : Redding Record Searchlight:

Illegal blaze started wildfire

Wind sent flames across 340 acres

By Lauren Brooks (Contact)
Friday, June 15, 2007

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RED BLUFF -- A wind-whipped grass fire had blackened 340 acres Thursday in steep terrain in the Durley Flat area, about eight miles south of Paynes Creek.

Sparked by an illegal campfire, the Dye Fire began shortly before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, said David Harp, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman.

By Thursday evening, the fire was 85 percent contained.

More than 200 firefighters from Cal Fire, the Tehama County Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service battled the blaze Thursday.

The fire was within the Tehama Wildlife Area, near the Upper Slab on Antelope Creek. It was burning grass and brush within the Antelope Creek drainage.

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

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

Harp said strong winds pushed the fire into the Antelope Creek drainage, making it difficult for firefighters to control.

Fire officials expect to have the fire contained by 8 p.m. tonight, he said.

"They're making really good progress," he said Thursday afternoon. Winds died down later in the day.

With temperatures blasting hotter than 100 degrees, two firefighters suffered minor heat-related injuries during the fire, Harp said.

Fire investigators are asking for the public's help in finding the person responsible for starting the fire. A person fled from the area, possibly in a pickup, toward Hogsback Road or Plum Creek Road, Harp said.

Harp asked anyone with information to call Cal Fire's Tehama County headquarters at 528-5199.

"We would like to get this guy," Harp said.

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

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Friday, June 15, 2007