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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Fire-by-fire status: San Diego County - 24 Oct 2007

07:15 PDT - 24 Oct 2007

Fire-by-fire status: San Diego County

  • Witch Fire: About 196,420 acres in northern San Diego County from Witch Creek to Rancho Santa Fe. One percent contained; 500 homes, 100 businesses and 50 outbuildings destroyed; 375 other structures damaged, including 250 homes and 75 businesses. Two civilians and 12 firefighters injured.
  • Harris Fire: About 72,000 acres 70 miles southeast of San Diego north of the border town of Tecate. 10 percent contained; 200 homes destroyed; 2,000 homes and 500 commercial properties threatened. One civilian killed, 21civilians and five firefighters injured.
  • Rice Fire: At least 7,500 acres in Fallbrook in northern San Diego County. 10 percent containment; 206 homes and 2 commercial properties destroyed. One firefighter injured.
  • Poomacha Fire: 20,000 acres on the La Jolla Indian Reservation and in northeastern San Diego County. No containment; 50 homes destroyed and 2,000 homes threatened. Ten firefighters injured.
  • Camp Pendleton Fire: 6,000 acres on the Marine base north of San Diego. 10 percent contained.

-- Source: SignOnSanDiego.com: http://sosdfireblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/fire-by-fire-update.html

Oct. 24, 2007 (CNS)

New Round of Evacuations for San Diego County
Fires Burn 200,000 Acres, 513,000 People Evacuated

SAN DIEGO, CA: The Witch Creek fire in northern San Diego County, whose sooty footprint is the biggest in Southern California at nearly 200,000 acres, was just 1 percent contained Wednesday.

One front of the fire was nearing the town of Julian early Wednesday, and a new round of evacuations was ordered for the north side of Highway 76 in Bonsall, San Luis Rey Heights and Winterwarm.

Evacuees were being directed west on Highway 76. The nearest shelters with room are at MiraCosta College and Borrego High School, according to county officials.

The fire broke out east of Ramona about 11 a.m. Sunday, eventually prompting the evacuation of nearly 350,000 households in Poway, Escondido, San Marcos, Rancho Santa Fe and parts of San Diego.

About 645 homes, 100 businesses and 50 outbuilding have gone up in flames, according to fire officials. Hundreds of other residences were damaged.

Because the fire broke out relatively late -- other big fires started around dawn or earlier, and most water-dropping aircraft were already assigned to them via the state's mutual aid system -- few firefighting aircraft were available during its first few hours, San Diego Deputy Fire Chief Brian Fennessy told ABC News.

The strong Santa Ana winds that enabled the fire to spread so quickly were starting to let up as more than 1,700 firefighters headed into Day 4 of the firefight.

-- Source: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5719545

ERRI emergency service analyst note on Air Assets:
All good "fire bosses" always want more "air assets." It is the nature of the firefighter mentality to want to dump large quantities "of the wet stuff on the red stuff" and help the ground/hand crews as much as possible. Additionally, readers should know that the only effective way to attack some wildfires is from the air...as terrain can make ground attack virtually impossible in some areas. Finally, with fast moving fires, the massive dropping of water and retardants can help delay the movement of fires beyond fire containment lines and protect firefighters. But, readers should also know that because of the costs of the expensive firefighting aircraft, a cost/benefit analysis must always be done to determine the number of "air assets" that any jurisdiction (or even a state) can afford. Bottom line: What are the taxpayers (and legislators) willing to pay for...before the fires start??
Posted by C. L. Staten at 11:14.22
Edited on: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 11:37.07
Categories: Emergency Services