Summit Fire 50% Contained

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Summit Fire 50% Contained

Summit fire 50 percent contained; nearly 3,900 acres burned

Firefighters said this morning that the Summit fire, which has destroyed 20 homes and 18 other structures, is 50 percent contained and there was no significant expansion overnight.

A total of 3,870 acres have burned since the blaze started Thursday morning off Summit Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on its Web site.

Five injuries have been reported. Details were not immediately available.

"The fire made short runs during the night, but there was no significant fire expansion," the Cal Fire statement said. "There is still active fire burning within the fire's interior. With the low temperatures, high humidity, and relatively low wind, good progress made on containment is being made."

Evacuation orders for parts of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties remain in place today, the agency said.

Gusty winds Friday night and early Saturday pushed the fire northeast into Santa Clara County, prompting the early morning evacuation of about 50 homes near the historic Sveadal resort at the end of a narrow wooded canyon west of Morgan Hill.

The sudden shift in the direction of the fire triggered a declaration of emergency by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Firefighters on Saturday were hoping that the blaze, which consumed several hundred acres at the top of two Santa Clara County canyons, would not send embers and burning logs downhill and ignite homes....

Excerpt from Source: San Jose Mercury News

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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

Sunday, May 25, 2008