The California Department of Forestry confirmed Wednesday that
the fire that burned more than 30 acres four miles south of Highway
25 close to Panoche Road Tuesday started in an illegal garbage
dump. However, the cause of the fire is still under
investigation.
The California Department of Forestry confirmed Wednesday that the fire that burned more than 30 acres four miles south of Highway 25 close to Panoche Road Tuesday started in an illegal garbage dump. However, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
“We know the fire started in an illegal dump on the property that’s been there for years so you can only imagine how much debris was there to burn,” said Curt Itson, Monterey CDF battalion chief.
CDF investigators will continue to look for what may have sparked the dump to go up in flames. Itson said they should know how it started in the next few days.
Firefighters from San Benito and Santa Clara counties responded to a call at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and had the blaze controlled by 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Although it was only 65 degrees and winds were low at only 5 to 10 mph., Hollister Fire Capt. Manuel Guerrero said the fire moved quickly because of how dry the ground is.
“The field moisture is very low,” he said. “Almost critically low. We haven’t had a lot of rain.”
It took four air tankers, two helicopters, two bulldozers, one water tender and six engines to contain the blaze. Guerrero said it’s important to catch fires fast in order to get them contained. Inmate hand crews spent the night making a fire break to make sure flames and hot spots didn’t spread. They dug and cleared a line around the fire so there wasn’t brush surrounding it, helping it to spread. No structures were damaged from the flames.
This is the first fire of the season in San Benito County, and Hollister Fire Capt. Rick Epieno said people should be reminded to look at their property and make sure it’s not a fire hazard.
“The number-one thing you want to make sure is that you clear vegetation at least 30 feet from all structures and maintain your landscaping so your plants and trees stay green,” he said.
The last large acreage wild fire San Benito County saw was in June of 2003, when more than 50 acres burned near Frazer Lake Road.
