Tinman
07-08-2007, 01:27 PM
Well, it's begun.
Plumas wildfire scatters campers
By Todd Milbourn Bee Staff Writer and and Jane Braxton Little Bee Correspondent -
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, July 7, 2007
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1
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A lightning-sparked wildfire torched 3,000 acres Friday in the Plumas National Forest south of Susanville, forcing campers to evacuate coveted sites for the weekend.
Fueled by dry conditions and wind gusts up to 20 mph, the blaze burned east from Antelope Lake toward Highway 395, sending up a veil of black smoke visible as far away as Reno, 86 miles to the southeast.
As of Friday evening, no section of the fire had been contained. About 500 firefighters battled the blaze, with another 500 on their way.
"We're really concerned about this one," said Terri Simon-Jackson, a spokeswoman for the Plumas National Forest. "It's very dry and hot out there, and we have a lot of visitors."
Forecasters predicted more lightning through the weekend, fueling concerns about fires.
No one was injured Friday in what's been named the Antelope Complex fire. No homes or businesses were threatened.
But the fire did thwart plans of dozens of would-be campers bound for Antelope Lake, a popular, trout-stocked destination.
Robert and Brenda Nickerson had to abandon their annual Fourth of July weekend barbecue. The Janesville couple arrived midmorning at property southeast of Antelope Lake that has been in the Nickerson family for more than 40 years. Within hours, they spotted flames on the hill a half-mile away.
"We grabbed what we could get and headed out," said Brenda Nickerson. By late afternoon her family was safe at home, "huddling together, consoling each other," and hoping the flames spared the family's cabin.
For another family, the fire put wedding plans on hold.
Katie Townzen had planned to get married today on the Janesville property that has been in her family for 50 years. But the fire cast a smoky haze over Janesville. Roadblocks made it tough for the wedding party to enter.
"I started bawling," said Brandi Townzen, the bride's sister, after learning the wedding wouldn't take place until the fire was out. "Her mother got married there, her aunt and uncle got married there and they've offered her a hundred other places and this is where she wants to have it."
The Plumas forest wasn't the only hot spot Friday.
More than 700 lightning strikes from severe thunderstorms in Siskiyou County sparked almost two dozen fires in the Klamath National Forest and surrounding areas.
Firefighters appeared to have control of the spot blazes by nightfall, a spokesman said.
Marked by Friday's fires, and last week's blaze near South Lake Tahoe, Northern California's fire season is off to a worrisome start, said Malcolm North, a forest ecologist at UC Davis.
Mix a dry winter with a forest full of flammable debris and hot, early-season temperatures and "what you have is certainly a gathering storm," North said.
Some fire officials say the potential for big fires is made worse by firefighter shortages within the U.S. Forest Service.
About 13 percent of the agency's 3,600 full-time positions in California are vacant. Many midlevel and upper-level firefighters have retired in recent years, and California's high living costs have made it hard to compete with better-paying fire agencies.
"When you start leaving holes in your organization so that on a given high-danger day you can't provide coverage, you've set yourself up for trouble," said John Marker, a retired former Forest Service district ranger for the Sequoia National Forest.
As visitors head into the forests this weekend, Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, urged campers to use extra caution in the forests and make sure they extinguish their campfires.
"This weekend is the perfect recipe for disaster," said Berlant. "We've got to careful out there."
Plumas wildfire scatters campers
By Todd Milbourn Bee Staff Writer and and Jane Braxton Little Bee Correspondent -
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, July 7, 2007
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B1
Print | E-Mail | Comments (2)| Digg it | del.icio.us
A lightning-sparked wildfire torched 3,000 acres Friday in the Plumas National Forest south of Susanville, forcing campers to evacuate coveted sites for the weekend.
Fueled by dry conditions and wind gusts up to 20 mph, the blaze burned east from Antelope Lake toward Highway 395, sending up a veil of black smoke visible as far away as Reno, 86 miles to the southeast.
As of Friday evening, no section of the fire had been contained. About 500 firefighters battled the blaze, with another 500 on their way.
"We're really concerned about this one," said Terri Simon-Jackson, a spokeswoman for the Plumas National Forest. "It's very dry and hot out there, and we have a lot of visitors."
Forecasters predicted more lightning through the weekend, fueling concerns about fires.
No one was injured Friday in what's been named the Antelope Complex fire. No homes or businesses were threatened.
But the fire did thwart plans of dozens of would-be campers bound for Antelope Lake, a popular, trout-stocked destination.
Robert and Brenda Nickerson had to abandon their annual Fourth of July weekend barbecue. The Janesville couple arrived midmorning at property southeast of Antelope Lake that has been in the Nickerson family for more than 40 years. Within hours, they spotted flames on the hill a half-mile away.
"We grabbed what we could get and headed out," said Brenda Nickerson. By late afternoon her family was safe at home, "huddling together, consoling each other," and hoping the flames spared the family's cabin.
For another family, the fire put wedding plans on hold.
Katie Townzen had planned to get married today on the Janesville property that has been in her family for 50 years. But the fire cast a smoky haze over Janesville. Roadblocks made it tough for the wedding party to enter.
"I started bawling," said Brandi Townzen, the bride's sister, after learning the wedding wouldn't take place until the fire was out. "Her mother got married there, her aunt and uncle got married there and they've offered her a hundred other places and this is where she wants to have it."
The Plumas forest wasn't the only hot spot Friday.
More than 700 lightning strikes from severe thunderstorms in Siskiyou County sparked almost two dozen fires in the Klamath National Forest and surrounding areas.
Firefighters appeared to have control of the spot blazes by nightfall, a spokesman said.
Marked by Friday's fires, and last week's blaze near South Lake Tahoe, Northern California's fire season is off to a worrisome start, said Malcolm North, a forest ecologist at UC Davis.
Mix a dry winter with a forest full of flammable debris and hot, early-season temperatures and "what you have is certainly a gathering storm," North said.
Some fire officials say the potential for big fires is made worse by firefighter shortages within the U.S. Forest Service.
About 13 percent of the agency's 3,600 full-time positions in California are vacant. Many midlevel and upper-level firefighters have retired in recent years, and California's high living costs have made it hard to compete with better-paying fire agencies.
"When you start leaving holes in your organization so that on a given high-danger day you can't provide coverage, you've set yourself up for trouble," said John Marker, a retired former Forest Service district ranger for the Sequoia National Forest.
As visitors head into the forests this weekend, Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, urged campers to use extra caution in the forests and make sure they extinguish their campfires.
"This weekend is the perfect recipe for disaster," said Berlant. "We've got to careful out there."