Fire Season Starting Early (Southern, California)

BJungNan | May 17, 2005 | BJungNan

[BJungNan]

I'm not sure if it is the first of the season, but there is a fire upwind in the hills of Riverside county. Smoke is filling the air.

If anyone has information on this, please post here or point to the FR thread. News search is not turning up anything yet.

[cmsgop]

Where in Riverside ?

[cmsgop]

Nothing I see from CHP.http://cad.chp.ca.gov/default.asp

[Brad’s Gramma]

Have you heard anything?

[wolficatZ]

AZ too.

"A 1,200-acre fire struck Bartlett Lake Sunday while a brush fire destroyed two homes in Picacho.

The "Bart" fire started late Sunday afternoon about three miles northwest of Bartlett Lake and quickly spread to more than 1,000 acres, said Vinnie Picard, a spokesman for the Tonto National Forest.

"As we are learning with every little start, they're quickly blossoming," Picard said of the fast-moving blaze.

About a dozen outdoor enthusiasts were evacuated from the area, said Deputy Doug Matteson, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

Last week, the "St. Clair" fire near Bartlett Lake closed roads to the lake, prevented participants in an event for the disabled from reaching the marina and trapped some early-bird fishermen at the lake.

The Bart fire is closer to Bartlett Road than the St. Clair fire was, Picard said.

Meanwhile, the 2-acre "Treehouse" fire in Picacho destroyed two homes and threatened three others late Sunday, said Judy Wood, a spokeswoman for the State Land Department."

[Aunt Polgara]

Fire maps fro the whole country are here

[BJungNan]

Where in Riverside ?

We are downwind in Palm Springs area. Every neighbor that I've seen walking or pulling in their driveway have said, "Where's the fire?" or "Must be a fire somewhere, sure can smell it."

No ashes falling out of the sky which tells me it is either some distance off and fairly big for the smoke smell to be so strong where we are.

[BJungNan]

Thanks for the link. Nothing showing up there yet though. Do I get some kind of Reported on FR first award if this turns out to be a big fire? Maybe I will change my handle to BJungBuckhead.

[Brad’s Gramma]

BJungBuckhead.

LOL!!!!!!

[hermgem]

How many million acres of forest will burn up this year?
During the last two years we managed to scorch 6 in '04 and 7 million acres in '03.
And all this based on a flawed forest management policy rigidly enforced by the Greens.
Think of the jobs lost based on not cutting wood.
Forests need to be thinned out, meadows serve as fire barriers, and are created by clear cutting and replanting.
Forests belong to all people and are not to serve interest groups destroying woodlands with their failed and flawed ideas of forest management.
Go spend these annual billions of burned perfctly good wood plus firefighting labor on accessing and clearing out forests.

[BJungNan]

BJungBuckhead.

LOL!!!!!!

Hey, if it was a really big fire and say, maybe, Newsweek or Dan Rather started it, I could see it.

[redheadtoo]

You know you're a Californian if you think the four seasons are Fire, Drought, Flood, and Quake.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Heh. OK. I'll give ya that. ;)

BTW...I did the OC check...went out in the backyard and looked towards Riverside and saw.....nuthin'.

Now, mind you, I am NOT complaining!

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Some greens would rather see the earth scorched and sterilized than a person move one stick of bug-killed timber out, lest it be logged....and they will happily tie up salvage lumbering in court until the wood isn't good for anything but firewood as some sort of religous duty or something...

[Strategerist]

Thing is I think people are giving the impression that a lot of what burns in Southern California, particularly near populated areas, is some wonderful forest timber companies would be just chomping at the bit to come in and cut down or thin out if it wasn't for those dastardly environmentalists.

It largely isn't. It's Chaparral and what burns is of no particular commercial value to anyone. And the people whose houses burn, for the most part, deliberately chose to live amidst what is going up in flames for the scenic value.

[babble-on]

Also have to point out that it was a very very wet winter in the southwest. Death Valley had kayakers and the best wildflower season in memory. All that rain meant that a lot of low plants grew in a lot of areas that are usually just desert, and when those plants dry out, they will burn. There will be a lot of fires in the southwestern US this year, but its just the way nature (a.k.a. God) does its thing.

[BurbankKarl]

There was a small fire a last week in Borrego Springs, and another HINKLEY fire in San Bernardino.

But yes, I think it will be a long fire season...the fire bugs are itching to light up all that underbrush.

[BurbankKarl]

Someone just lit a fire in Burbank....off Country Club Drive...units responding from all over

[amom]

Thanks for the heads up.