Lightning Caused Fires Coming To A Halt
San Andreas, CA — CAL Fire responded to 10 lightning caused fires over the weekend; seven on Saturday and three on Sunday.
Mother Nature struck three times Sunday with the first fire reported at 8:51am east of Ponderosa Hills area off North Tuolumne Rd. CAL Fire responded with all aircraft excluding one tanker, two CAL Fire engines, one CAL Fire crew, one Tuolumne City engine and one Tuolumne County Fire Department water tender. This fire was contained at 3:59pm.
The second fire was a small spot off Hwy 12 in the Burson area. CAL Fire responded with one engine and two hand crews. That fire was contained in only 58 minutes.
The third and last Sunday fire was reported at 11:55pm. The one acre fire was reported off Cooperstown Rd. and J-59. CAL Fire responded with three engines and one dozer. The fire was contained at 12:21am and controlled at 2:41am.
Saturday at least seven lightning caused fires were recorded by CAL Fire. The first occured at 11:53am on Rawhide Rd. near Table Mountain by the Sheriff’s Posse Grounds. That fire was a half acre in size. CAL Fire responded with two engines and one hand crew. The Tuolumne County Fire Department supplied one engine and one water tender. This fire was controlled at 2:04pm.
The second lightning strike fire occured at 12:20pm in the Hell’s Hollow Rd. area in Groveland. Two CAL Fire engines responded. The fire was contained at 1:47pm and controlled at 3:49pm.
Five minutes later there was a lightning strike fire near the Miramonte Acres area in Tuolumne. Tuolumne County Fire Department responded with one engine. The Rancheria also supplied an engine.
At 12:46 the largest fire (200-300 acres) of the weekend was reported at Hwy 4 and Telegraph Rd. west of Copperopolis. The response included units from CAL Fire, Copperopolis Fire, Altaville-Melones Fire and equipment from private firms.
A seven acre fire was reported at Armstrong Rd. at the San Antonio Creek Drainage. Responding were CAL Fire, Ebbetts Pas Fire and Murphy’s Fire.
The last fire of the day occured in the Big Hill area. Two CAL Fire engines, one CAL Fire crew and one Columbia Fire engine responded. The fire was reported a 9:35pm and controlled at 1:04am.
Written by bill.johnson@mlode.
