Sonora, CA — The response to the TCU September Lightning Complex Fire was the big focus of Monday’s Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors meeting. Firefighters gave an overview of the attack and talked about the challenges faced.
The complex fire started on September 2 and included 21 separate incidents, burning 13,869 acres.
CAL Fire Unit Chief Nic Casci relayed, “The Columbia Air Attack base delivered a total of 140,200 gallons of retardant in a single day, on September 2nd. That is a record amount for the Columbia Air Attack Base history. For proximity, that equates roughly to 140 landings and 140 take-offs in one day.”
A majority of the destruction was in Chinese Camp, but there were also notable ignitions near Murphys, Copperopolis, Sonora and Cedar Ridge.
Chief Casci noted that some of the challenges faced included that the total volume of statewide fire activity was limiting available resources, large incidents in the same unit had competing needs, a second wave of thunderstorm activity and outflow winds influenced fire spread, there was a need to put out fires while new ones were occurring, and other routine types of emergencies that also needed assistance.
The two most concerning incidents, when it came to threats to life and structures, were fires that ignited in the Murphys and Chinese Camp areas. As the fire grew outside of Murphys, a no-divert order was put in place due to the threat to life in that area. Shortly after, the winds kicked up outside of Chinese Camp and pushed that incident through the town.
At one point at Monday’s meeting, Supervisor Steve Griefer indicated that there are questions in the community about whether there was a decision to save Murphys, and Ironstone Vineyards, over Chinese Camp, because of the higher dollar value.
Casci responded, “The question is out there, and I will be very up front. Absolutely not.”
He went on to say, “What’s out there in the public, is that there is an ideal that one will get a priority over another, based on location or preference. And, we don’t operate like that. We operate based on what is happening at the time.”
While the fire pushed toward Chinese Camp, additional lightning strikes were occurring. Chinese Camp volunteer firefighter Robert Anzar provided a firsthand account, “There was a huge crack of lightning, and in the middle of all of this, we had (concerns about) maybe new starts or that someone was going to get struck by lightning. It was going on in the middle of all of this. It was almost like the wrath of God was coming down. It was intense.”
Another issue that came up was the limited water supply available in the Chinese Camp area. Several businesses were thanked for stepping up and offering water. They also highlighted the importance of defensible space.
No actions were taken yesterday in relation to the report, as it was solely an informational item.
