Posted on 05/10/2009 11:30:36 PM PDT by americanophile
Reporting from Santa Barbara -- Fire officials Sunday said the Jesusita fire destroyed 77 homes, more than double their earlier estimate, and concluded that the blaze was probably started by someone using power tools to clear brush. Mild weather allowed firefighters to make progress in containing the fire to the more than 8,700 acres it has burned Joe Waterman, an incident commander with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention, did not say what type of tool was used but added: "It's looking like this was not an act of nature." He said investigators have placed the fire's origin near the Jesusita Trail, which leads into the Santa Ynez Mountains. The new estimate of destroyed homes stems from a more accurate assessment, which also lowered the number of damaged homes to 22. The blaze has cost $9 million to fight and injured 28 personnel. About 145 properties and 362 people remain under evacuation orders. Fire officials expect...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I thought clearing brush on your own property was against the law in Kalifornia? /s
probably will be now
bookmark
The spark arrestor on a chainsaw or some other power tool gets clogged with use, and many people just throw them away. I expect to see non removable units where you have to replace the entire muffler when it clogs.
It's actually REQUIRED by law, and is credited with helping to control the fire in the end.
In most fire-prone areas of the State, you can be fined if you don't clear the brush on your property. I just drove through an area last week where there were signs all over the place warning residents that June 1st is the deadline for having their brush cleared.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.