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Horse
Fire continues to burn slowly at over 16,000 acres
By Lori Bledsoe
The Alpine Sun
PINE VALLEY — The Horse Fire, 18 percent contained at 16,445 acres, as of Wednesday afternoon, was the result of an illegal alien campfire, according to investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The fire was first reported Sunday, June 23, at 6:04 in the morning in Horsethief Canyon near Lyon’s Valley Road and initially described as a grass fire. The California Highway Patrol immediately shut down Lyon’s Valley Road at Japatul, allowing only residents to pass. The CHP stayed on duty at this closure as long as it was possible for them to man it and then called for volunteer teams from Santee and Alpine to stand watch.
As of 11:30 a.m. the fire had become a serious concern as the steady winds fed the flames and worked them consistently over the peaks of the mountains and through the canyons.
Residents of the Carveacre area were given a mandatory evacuation order and many went to Joan Mac Queen Middle School where the Red Cross set up a temporary shelter and evacuation site. Later, Red Cross set up another site at the Church of the Latter Day Saints on Tavern Road. Edel Albright of the Red Cross was at the fire site awaiting any instruction to set up more shelters for other evacuees.
Lt. Laura Ward of the San Diego County Animal Services was ready with crews and equipment to evacuate any animals, large or small. Ward said they had arrived on the scene with people, trucks and trailers ready to get animals out of the danger zone by approximately 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning. Also among the helpers was the 24-hour Animal Rescue, a privately-owned animal rescue service. Animal rescue volunteers were stationed strategically at various points around the perimeter in order to be ready at need in the rambling perimeter.
San Diego Gas & Electric was at the scene to handle problems with its electrical infrastructure and advise
officials on where possible problems could arise.
Operations Chief Brian Rhodes, stationed in Alpine, was calling the shots at the fire site on Lyon’s Valley Road. Using his 16 years of experience, he directed the huge operation that was beginning to gear up to battle this fire. He said his main concern was the thunderstorms that were threatening: “When a thunderstorm blows in and settles over a fire, the winds become very erratic and the fire is harder to fight,” Rhodes said.
By 3 p.m. on Sunday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection had 50 engines, 2 bulldozers, 4 helicopters, 15 fire crews, 2 air tankers, and 5 water tenders working this fire with more equipment on the way.
The Horse Fire, named for its start point, is California’s main fire concern at this time. Fire Crews from all over Southern California, including Lakeside, Alpine, San Pasqual, Japatul Valley, Barona, Riverside, Mad River, Arcadia, Temecula, and Moreno Valley can be seen fighting this blaze.
By the close of the day on Sunday, when the sun went down, the CDF was confirming that two firemen had been injured. One firefighter who suffered heat related injuries around 11:50 a.m. had to be flown out by helicopter.
At 8 p.m. Sunday night, the last sheriff’s helicopter left the fire site at Horsethief Canyon to do one more recognizance. The fire crews worked all night with hoses and water trucks until first light when the air support could start operating again
By Monday at 6:30 a.m. the fire was well established in Secret Canyon, behind Horsethief Canyon Road, and burning to the northeast, as well as the south and southeast. Residents in Japatul Valley could see a few spot fires across the control line in the Horsethief Canyon area, but aircraft and ground crews are tending to them.
The Office of the Sheriff sent out a reverse 911 precautionary voluntary evacuation notice for Guatay and Pine Valley, and Lake Morena received the same kind of call on Sunday night.
The only mandatory evacuation was from Carveacre neighborhoods.
The winds were still very erratic as of Monday night, moving in different directions. The continued overall plan for the firefighters is to use air tankers in the northern parts of the fire and helicopters in the southern parts of the fire.
Monday night, the CDF only had five percent containment, but no structures or homes had been harmed. The crews welcomed two California Air National Guard Blackhawk water-dropping helicopters that were assigned to the incident. MAFFS (Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System) tankers were alerted and made available for activation.
The areas of interest for the fire fighters are, Corte Madera Road, Skye Valley Ranch, Horsethief Canyon, Carveacre and Lake Morena, Barrett Lake, and the Campo area.
The fire has made its way into the Pine Creek Wilderness, and has been burning across it.
A converted DC-10, capable of carrying 12,000 gallons of water at a time
was called in. The tanker dropped its load Tuesday morning between the southern front and Potrero, but was unable to return to do more, due to problem in the pilot’s family that grounded him.
As of Wednesday morning at 8 a.m., the fire had consumed approximately 16,455 acres according to Roxanne
Provaznic of the CDF. She said that containment was at 18 percent.
In the Japatul Valley, helicopters were spotted still working in the Secret Canyon area, circling through the hills and canyons and gathering water from local ponds. According to Rick Buffington, main operator and person in charge at the CDF
Mobile Kitchen currently set up at Viejas, “When the helicopter pilots suck from local ponds, they usually acquire permission from landowners and then compensate them for the water use.”
As of Wednesday, the equipment working on the fire included 239 engines, 27 fire crews which is 1,667 fire fighters, 5 bulldozers, 10 helicopters, 18 water tenders, and 4 air tankers. There had been six reported injuries to firefighters.
The concern now is still in the Secret Canyon area, and Barrett Lake, as well as Lake Morena. Crews seek to construct 20 miles of fire break, and are confident that they will continue to make progress on containment as long as the weather permits.
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