Tar Canyon wildfire fully contained

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Tar Canyon wildfire fully contained

Tar Canyon wildfire fully contained, crews exit

By Natalie Ragus nragus@HanfordSentinel.com

State fire officials said this morning that firefighters have completely controlled and contained a major fire in rural Kings County. A total of 1,340 firefighters, 77 engines, 20 bulldozers and six helicopters from around the state battled the fire, which consumed more than 5,600 acres.

Calfire spokesman David Brooks said Calfire officials have released all personnel from duty, and returned all equipment used to fight the blaze.

'The fire is done,' Brooks said simply. On Friday around 5:30 p.m., the fire broke out in Diablo Canyon about nine miles southwest of Avenal and then spread to Tar Canyon, and has been called the largest blaze in either Fresno or Kings county in several years.

A threatened power grid and an unconfirmed report of asbestos initially had firefighters and officials concerned.

A geologist found only two areas containing natural asbestos, which were near firefighting equipment, Calfire officials reported.

As a precaution, officials pulled 300 firefighters from the line, and had them decontaminated. But the asbestos was in rock, not dust form, and proved not likely a threat.

A Calfire spokesman said Wednesday firefighters quickly created fire lines around the power grid, which provides power throughout the San Joaquin Valley, and no residents reported a power outage.

State fire crews wlll now shift full focus back to battling the Zaca fire in Santa Barbara County. As of Wednesday, the blaze was 58 percent contained and had consumed more than 105,000 acres.

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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).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Thursday, August 16, 2007