Fullerton Fire Department Tested

CARBON CANYON near Fullerton – A brush fire burned through nearly 400 acres along Carbon Canyon Road on Thursday afternoon, as dry vegetation and warmer summer weather has authorities on guard against large-scale blazes.

Scattered hot spots were all that remained late Thursday of the fire that burned in the wildland area near Olinda Village as about 100 firefighters prepared to stay on the scene overnight to mop up what was left of the blaze.

At the fire's peak, about 250 firefighters responded to the blaze, aided by three helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft dropping water and flame retardant.

With the memories of a wet winter giving way to dry summer, officials from the predictive services branch of the U.S. Forest Service say we are in what they referred to as a "normal" fire season in Orange County, meaning that several large fires are projected for the region.

Crews have responded to multiple small vegetation fires over the past few weeks, but the Carbon Canyon blaze was the first large-scale fire of the year.

"If you put wind and terrain or a slope, coupled with the fire and the low-humidity, that is a recipe for a fast-moving fire," Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Greg McKeown said.

First breaking out about 11:15 a.m. near Carbon Canyon Road, officials thought they had the upper hand on Thursday's blaze by early afternoon.

Winds picked up, however, and flames began moving to the north and east. The fire grew rapidly as it flared and entered brushy areas inaccessible to firefighters, and by 4 p.m., the blaze had grown to encompass 390 acres.

"It just made a run and burned a lot of acreage in a short period of time," said Chief Wolfgang Knabe of the Brea and Fullerton fire departments.

Firefighters ended up battling the blaze on two fronts.

To the east, firefighters stopped the blaze from progressing toward Olinda Village. While a backup evacuation plan was put together, residents were ultimately allowed to stay at their homes, and no structure damage was reported.

To the north, crews prevented the blaze from damaging radio repeaters on the hillside or moving toward Los Angeles County.

Despite moving at a relatively low speed, the blaze frustrated crews by jumping fire lines several times throughout the afternoon.

Weather ultimately worked for firefighters, Knabe said, with lower temperatures and light winds in the late afternoon allowing them to get a handle on the fire.

The fire was 75 percent contained late Thursday night, with crews expecting to get it fully contained by Friday morning. Strike team members remained on call overnight in case the blaze once again flared up.

High humidity like we've seen over the past few days usually helps suppress ignition of wildfires, said Tom Rolinski, a predictive services meteorologist.

"This is kind of coming right on schedule," he said of the monsoon moisture. "It keeps the fine, dead fuels like grasses a little more moist."

He said he could not yet make predictions about Santa Ana wind season, which tends to dry out vegetation and whip up any fires that ignite. The winds could come as early as September.

Fire officials may have to make due with fewer resources, as budget cuts forced Cal Fire this week to cancel its contract for the nation's largest air tanker, the DC-10, which can carry 12,000 gallons of fire retardant. Officials say other tankers are available, but they are smaller ones.

The effect of the loss of the tanker on local firefighting efforts is unclear. It is used in only the largest of wildfires, but officials say it can be a vital tool when battling blazes such as the 2008 Freeway Complex fire.

Even with the rains earlier in the year, vegetation in the area is still dry, leading officials to put as many resources as quickly as they can on emerging fires before they can get out of control.

"We definitely urge folks if they see smoke or a fire to report it to 911," McKeown said.

Photo by Jebb Harris, The OC Register
By Sean Emery, Salvador Hernandez and Pat Brennan, OC Register