Aircraft Sent Quickly To Battle Hill Fire near Hungry Valley

Reported by the staff of The Mountain Enterprise

Aircraft were hurled almost immediately into the fight against the ‘Hill fire’ that started in Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) Saturday, June 23.

Shanna Llewellyn, a Hungry Valley employee, said the suspected arson blaze was reported at 12:20 p.m. when it had chewed through only two acres. An unconfirmed report said it started at the Aliklik campground about five miles west of the Gorman entry kiosk to the park.

Within five hours 500 acres were burning, with flames ripping to the southwest into the Los Padres National Forest, pushed by mild but steady winds toward Piru Creek. Up to eight helicpoters were on the job by Monday, with two fixed wing tankers out of Fox Field and Santa Maria.

“We were concerned it might turn in your direction,” said Incident Command Information Officer Manuel Madrigal, referring to the Frazier Mountain Communities. The aircraft laid fire retardant and water drops. They contained the fire north of Bear Mountain, at Bear Gulch, Madrigal said. By Monday the blaze had burned 689 acres, but was 78 percent contained. Hungry Valley was open to hikers, bikers, campers and off-road enthusiasts again on Sunday, said Park Supervisor Yvonne Heuston.

At its peak, 630 ground crew were fighting the wildland fire, which cost over $1.73 million. Aircraft owned by private contractors at Fox Field in the western Antelope Valley and Santa Maria consumed much of the budget.

With extremely flammable fuels due to this dry year, the tactic has been to respond forcefully with air cover immediately to limit fires’ ability to spread, Madrigal explained.

Mount Pinos District Ranger Erik Van Walden helped to coordinate with the U.S. Forest Service. Firefighters came from Los Angeles County, Ventura County, the U.S. Forest Service and CalFire. In the first phase, state parks personnel were closely involved.

This is part of the June 29, 2012 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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