Summit Fire Containment Expected Soon

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Summit Fire Containment Expected Soon

Crews Aim For Full Containment Of Summit Fire

Cal Fire officials expecting containment of the Summit Fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains by 6 p.m. will likely demobilize some of the 2,631 firefighters still on the scene, spokesman Chris Morgan said Tuesday morning.

The fire, burning since around 5:30 a.m. Thursday, has consumed an estimated 4,270 acres and injured seven firefighters, Morgan said.

The blaze was 85 percent contained as of Tuesday morning. With two days of cool weather anticipated, crews were hoping for full containment Tuesday evening followed by full control Friday, he said.

Morgan said 36 residences and 18 outbuildings have been destroyed, and 15 structures remained threatened Tuesday.

The estimated cost of fighting the Summit Fire has reached $11.2 million, Morgan said.

Cal Fire was considering demobilizing some firefighters Tuesday, and officials also were reevaluating opening Summit Road and Loma Prieta Avenue, according to Morgan. Mount Madonna County Park also remained closed Tuesday, and Cal Fire will determine if wreckage and fire-weakened trees in the area pose a threat, Morgan said.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation, although fire officials were able to pinpoint that the blaze began in an area where Summit Road becomes Loma Prieta Avenue at the Santa Clara-Santa Cruz counties border.

Source: CBS 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

Tuesday, May 27, 2008