Lawler Fire was sparked by a controlled burn

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Lawler Fire was sparked by a controlled burn

Cal Fire officials are reviewing procedures statewide after investigators determined that a 15-acre fire in the San Jacinto Mountains this year was sparked by a controlled burn.

In mid-December, crews had been burning piles of brush and cutting debris north of Idyllwild/Pine Cove, Cal Fire spokeswoman Cheri Patterson said in a written statement. The purpose was to create a defensible space around the communities.

The Lawler Fire started three weeks later. The morning of Jan. 8, 25-mph winds kicked up a deep-seated in a pile of cleared brush, the investigation found.

Fanned by Santa Ana winds and unseasonably warm temperatures, the flames spread through the San Bernardino National Forest off Highway 243 and Black Mountain Road, between Idyllwild and Banning.

No structures were threatened. More than 200 firefighters contained the blaze within two days

"The hazard reduction pile burn had last been conducted by CAL FIRE three weeks earlier on December 19, 2011," their statement said.

The Lawler Fire was stoked by an unseasonable, dry, winter wind event in the project area known as Lawler Lodge, off Highway 243 and below Black Mountain, north of the community of Pine Cove, according to Cal Fire.

"A deep seated ember from the burn pile was fanned due to the 25 mph Santa Ana winds," the Cal Fire statement said. "The response to the Lawler Fire included 215 firefighters from CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire and the US Forest Service.

"Aggressive efforts by firefighters and the defensible space provided by the project's brush clearance aided firefighters in safely containing the fire to 15 acres during this significant winter wind event," the Cal Fire statement said.

The Lawler Fire was first reported about 3 a.m. Jan. 8 in the Dark Canyon drainage near Highway 243. More than 200 firefighters and other personnel were assigned at its height, and it was declared 100 percent contained on Jan. 10, Kate Kramer of the U.S. Forest Service said in January.

Two firefighters sustained minor injuries on the first day of the fire and they were both taken to a hospital for treatment, Kramer 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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Saturday, March 31, 2012