Central California Fire Season Starts With 15 acre Patterson Grass Fire [April 16]

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Central California Fire Season Starts With 15 acre Patterson Grass Fire [April 16]

Small grass fire heralds start of wildfire season

CROWS LANDING — Local firefighters contended with the first wildfire of the season Tuesday, April 16, when about 15 acres burned in the hills about a quarter of a mile southwest of Davis Road.

Engines from West Stanislaus County Fire Protection District and Cal Fire respond to a 15-acre grass fire in the hills southwest of Crows Landing on Tuesday, April 16. The blaze was the first of the 2013 wildfire season, which began Monday, April 15.--Photo by Jonathan Partridge/Patterson Irrigator

The grasses in the hills southwest of Crows Landing turned from golden brown to black on Tuesday, April 16 following a 15-acre grass fire.--Photo by Jonathan Partridge/Patterson Irrigator

About 15 acres of dry grass remain blackened on Tuesday, April 16, as firefighters mop up a fire started by a hay harvester about a quarter mile southwest of Davis Road.--Photo by Jonathan Partridge/Patterson Irrigator

The grass fire, which started at 11:52 a.m., was sparked by a machine harvesting hay at Beltrans Farms, according to Chief Steve Hall of West Stanislaus County Fire Protection District.The land was being leased to a Turlock dairyman, and the equipment was owned by an outside harvesting company, according to Fred Beltran of Beltran Farms. Beltran was not sure of the cost of damage.

Crews from West Stanislaus and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection extinguished the blaze in about 25 minutes, Hall said.

Twelve volunteer firefighters from the West Stanislaus County Fire Protection District and about 10 Cal Fire firefighters with the Santa Clara Unit, which covers fires from the Altamont Pass to Los Banos, responded to the blaze, using a water tender, a bulldozer and hoses attached to their engines.

While the fire was small, it was the first of the 2013 wildfire season, which officially started Monday, April 15, and expected to continue until Oct. 15.

A dry winter, followed by recent high winds, which can quickly dry out vegetation, promise challenges for firefighters later in the spring and summer, Hall said.

“We’re looking at a potentially serious fire season,” Hall said.

Source Read more: Patterson Irrigator - Small grass fire heralds start of wildfire season

CFN - California Fire News 2013

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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.

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Thursday, April 18, 2013