Tag Archives: Firefighters

Death toll from Tennessee wildfire climbs to 11

Burned buildings and cars aftermath of wildfire is seen in this image released in social media by Tennessee Highway Patrol in Gatlinburg, Tennessee,

By Steve Gorman

(Reuters) – The death toll from a devastating blaze in and around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee rose to 11 on Thursday, the highest loss of civilian life from a single U.S. wildfire in 13 years.

Investigators have determined the so-called Chimney Tops 2 fire, which laid waste to whole neighborhoods in the resort town of Gatlinburg earlier this week, was caused by unspecified human activity, officials said.

Total property losses from the fire have been put at more than 700 structures, with most of the destruction in Gatlinburg, known as the “gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains,” in eastern Tennessee, about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Knoxville.

A total of 11 people were killed in the fire, up from seven deaths reported Wednesday, according to Dean Flener, a spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

That made Chimney Tops 2 the nation’s single deadliest wildfire since 2013, when 19 firefighters died near Prescott, Arizona.

Troopers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol help residents leave an area under threat of wildfire after a mandatory evacuation was ordered in Gatlinburg, Tennesse

Troopers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol help residents leave an area under threat of wildfire after a mandatory evacuation was ordered in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in a picture released November 30, 2016. Tennessee Highway Patrol/Handout via REUTERS

It also ranks as the largest civilian death toll from a U.S. wildfire since 15 people, including a firefighter, were killed in Southern California’s Cedar Fire in 2003, according to Jessica Gardetto, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

None of the Tennessee victims has been publicly identified, but all were presumed to be civilians, officials from the fire command center told Reuters. As many as 45 people have been reported injured.

The blaze erupted on Nov. 23, Thanksgiving eve, in a remote area of rugged terrain dubbed Chimney Tops in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, authorities said.

Fed by drought-parched brush and trees and stoked by fierce winds, the flames spread quickly days later, igniting numerous spot fires and exploding on Monday into an inferno that roared out of the park into surrounding homes and businesses.

“The wildfire was determined to be human-caused and is currently under investigation,” according to a bulletin released on Thursday by fire commanders and the National Park Service. It gave no further details.

Aerial television news footage showed the burned-out, smoking ruins of dozens of homes surrounded by blackened trees in several neighborhoods.

Steady rains on Tuesday night and into Wednesday helped firefighters slow the blaze, but by Thursday morning officials were still reporting no containment around a fire zone that spanned more than 17,000 acres (6,880 hectares).

“The fire is not out; it is just knocked down,” fire operations chief Mark Jamieson said in the bulletin.

Some 14,000 people were forced to flee their homes at the height of the fire, and most of Gatlinburg, a city of nearly 4,000 residents, remained under mandatory evacuation on Thursday.

Evacuation orders were lifted on Wednesday for the nearby town of Pigeon Forge, home of country music star Dolly Parton’s theme park, Dollywood.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Cooney, Lisa Shumaker and Paul Tait)

Portion of major highway reopens as California wildfire rages

Firefighters battling California blaze

(Reuters) – A portion of a major highway connecting Los Angeles and Las Vegas has been reopened, as a wildfire that forced the evacuation of some 80,000 Southern California residents continued to rage virtually unchecked.

The so-called Blue Cut Fire erupted on Tuesday in the mountainous Cajon Pass northeast of Los Angeles and, by late Wednesday night, had exploded to cover 25,626 acres (10,370 hectares), fire officials said.

While firefighters had managed to carve containment lines around only 4 percent of the blaze, state transit officials said northbound lanes of Interstate 15 would reopen in the area.

Fire officials expressed concern that “red flag” weather conditions would keep the area dry, hot and windy into Thursday night.

The Blue Cut Fire, named for a narrow gorge north of San Bernardino where it started, threatened the town of Wrightwood near a ski resort and other communities, prompting evacuation orders for some 80,000 residents.

Authorities have described the blaze as unusually fierce, even for a year of intense wildfires in the U.S. West, where years of drought have placed a heavy burden on firefighting resources. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

U.S. government forecasters have said the risk of major wildfires in Southern California is likely to remain high until December, given the dryness and warm weather.

About 600 miles (970 km) to the northwest, the so-called Clayton Fire was 50 percent contained after charring nearly 4,000 acres in and around the community of Lower Lake and destroying 286 homes and other structures, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Southern California wildfire rages unchecked after evacuations

chicken coop going up in flames

(Reuters) – Hundreds of firefighters were battling a rapidly-spreading wildfire raging unchecked in drought-stricken Southern California on Wednesday after flames forced more than 80,000 residents to flee.

The Bluecut Fire, which erupted on Tuesday morning and has grown to cover some 18,000 acres (7,300 hectares) of heavy brush in an area called the Cajon Pass, was zero percent contained as of Tuesday night, fire officials said.

Authorities issued evacuation orders for 82,640 residents and some 34,500 homes near Interstate 15, the main freeway between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area, a stretch of which was closed indefinitely.

Two firefighters were trapped by flames in the effort to evacuate residents and defend homes, but managed to escape with only minor injuries, fire officials said. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

More than 600 miles (970 km) to the northwest, crews made headway against a Northern California wildfire that has destroyed more than 175 homes and businesses.

The so-called Clayton Fire was 35 percent contained on Tuesday night, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). It has charred 4,000 acres (1,620 hectares) in and around the community of Lower Lake since Saturday evening, forcing hundreds to flee.

Damin Pashilk, a 40-year-old arrested on suspicion of setting that blaze, and several others in the area over the past year, is set to appear in court on Wednesday.

The Clayton fire threatened about 1,500 structures at its peak. As of Tuesday evening, only 380 buildings were in danger, according to Cal Fire. There were no reports of casualties.

California Governor Jerry Brown on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County for the Bluecut Fire, which allows state agencies to come to the assistance of local officials. He had issued emergency declarations on Monday for the Clayton Fire and another in Central California, the Chimney Fire.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Firefighters work to suppress California wildfire near Big Sur coast

Firefighters taking care of july 2016 wildfires

By Mike Fiala

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. (Reuters) – Firefighters on Friday were working to suppress a deadly wildfire near California’s famed Big Sur coast that has burned more than 40 homes, forced hundreds of residents to flee and closed popular parks at the height of the summer travel season.

The so-called Soberanes Fire erupted last Friday just south of the upscale oceanside town of Carmel-by-the-Sea and has raged through nearly 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) of drought-parched chaparral, tall grass and timber into the Los Padres National Forest.

Efforts by 4,200 firefighters to hack buffer lines through dense vegetation around the perimeter of the blaze have been complicated by worsening weather conditions – super-low humidity and gradually rising temperatures – officials said.

Containment stood at 15 percent on Friday morning, even as the overall size of the fire zone continued to expand, leaving another 2,000 structures threatened and about 350 people displaced.

Flames have already destroyed 41 homes and 10 outbuildings, with at least two other dwellings damaged by fire, officials said. Firefighters however managed to save a number of large homes in the hills above the exclusive Carmel Highlands community.

The fire threat has also prompted authorities to close a string of heavily visited California campgrounds and recreation areas along the northern end of the Big Sur coastline, including Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and Point Lobos Natural Reserve.

Highway 1, the scenic route that winds along the famed seaside cliffs overlooking the Pacific, remained open, though motorists were advised to allow for traffic delays due to a heavy volume of fire-fighting equipment entering and existing the roadway.

The blaze took a deadly turn on Tuesday when a bulldozer operator hired by private property owners to help battle the flames was killed when his tractor rolled over, marking the second California wildfire fatality in a week.

He was identified on Thursday as 35-year-old Robert Oliver Reagan III, from the town of Friant, California.

On Thursday, California Office of Emergency Services received a federal grant to help pay for firefighting efforts.

About 300 miles (485 km) away, a 67-year-old man was found dead in a burned-out car last Saturday after refusing to heed evacuation orders in a separate fire that destroyed 18 homes in a mountainous area north of Los Angeles.

That blaze, dubbed the Sand Fire, was listed as 65-percent contained on Thursday after charring more than 38,000 acres (15,400 hectares).

Lingering smoke and soot spewed by the Erskine Fire have prompted air-quality regulators to warn residents in parts of the Los Angeles region to avoid outdoor activities for the time being.

(Additional reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Alison Williams)

Central California wildfire destroys 34 homes, forces 350 to evacuate

the Soberanes wildfire

(Reuters) – Firefighters scrambled on Thursday to contain a deadly wildfire that has forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents and gutted dozens of homes near the coast of central California.

Ten percent of the so-called Soberanes Fire had been brought under control but a larger swathe of flames was threatening some 2,000 properties after destroying 34 homes and 10 outbuildings between Big Sur and the scenic coastal town of Carmel-by-the-Sea since it erupted on Friday, officials said.

The blaze burned through drought-stricken chaparral, tall grass and timber in its march through over 23,500 acres (9,510 hectares) at the edge of the Los Padres National Forest, where 350 residents have been evacuated, according to fire officials.

Some 3,500 firefighters battling the blaze may get a reprieve from the hot, blustery weather on Thursday when temperatures are forecast to ease to the upper 70s (25-26 degrees Centigrade) with light winds.

A private contractor operating a bulldozer to help fight the fire was killed on Tuesday when his rig overturned. A second bulldozer also overturned while battling the flames but its operator was unhurt, officials said.

About 300 miles (480 km) to the south firefighters made steady progress on Wednesday to contain a deadly wildfire burning in rugged, drought-stricken terrain north of Los Angeles.

Some 3,000 firefighters battling the so-called Sand Fire in the Angeles National Forest extended containment lines around 40 percent of the 38,350-acre (15,520 hectare) blaze on Wednesday, according to fire information officer Sam Wu.

The blaze has destroyed 18 homes as it churned through chaparral and brush, spewing out plumes of smoke that prompted the South Coast Air Quality Management District to warn residents in parts of Southern California to avoid outdoor activities.

About a dozen exotic animals displaced by the blaze began returning to a sanctuary in the Los Angeles suburb of Sylmar on Wednesday.

In Los Angeles County, a man killed in the Sand Fire was identified as Robert Bresnick, 67, whose body was found Saturday inside a burned-out car in a driveway, county officials said.

Acting California Governor Tom Torlakson, filling in for Jerry Brown, who is at the Democratic National Convention, declared a state of emergency on Tuesday for the counties where the fires are located.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee; editing by Mark Heinrich)

California firefighter crews battle wildfires in hot, windy weather

Inmate firefighters file off to construct a fire break while battling the Soberanes Fire in Carmel Highlands, California,

(Reuters) – Crews battling a deadly wildfire in rugged drought-stricken terrain north of Los Angeles on Wednesday face a second consecutive day of scorching weather and erratic winds that could hinder their efforts.

The National Weather Service forecast of near-triple-digit temperatures and 20 mph wind gusts for the area where the so-called Sand Fire, a wildfire that erupted 40 miles north of Los Angeles, has destroyed 18 homes and claimed one life in five days.

As of Tuesday night, some 3,000 firefighters hacked through dense brush and chaparral and had extended containment lines around 25 percent of the fire, which has charred 59 square miles since Friday, officials said.

The single death in the Sand Fire was identified on Tuesday as Robert Bresnick, 67, whose body was found Saturday inside a burned-out car parked in a driveway, said Ed Winter, assistant chief Los Angeles County coroner.

Winter said a friend Bresnick was visiting was forcibly removed by firefighters as flames closed in on them, but Bresnick insisted on staying put. He was last seen alive walking toward the car, apparently having changed his mind after it was too late.

About 300 miles to the north, a smaller fire raging since Friday between Big Sur and the scenic coastal town of Carmel-by-the-Sea continued to threaten some 1,650 properties after destroying 20 homes on Sunday. It remained 10 percent contained late on Tuesday, authorities said.

Some 2,300 firefighters were battling the blaze dubbed the Soberanes Fire, which has scorched nearly 20,000 acres since Friday, at the edge of the Los Padres National Forest, a state fire agency spokeswoman said.

The forecast in that area was expected to also reach near triple-digit temperatures and included erratic winds that could hamper firefighting efforts.

Acting California Governor Tom Torlakson, who is filling in for Jerry Brown while he is at the Democratic convention, declared on Tuesday a state of emergency for Los Angeles and Monterey counties where the fires are located.

The causes of both fires were under investigation, but they are among some 3,750 blazes large and small that have erupted across California since January. The higher-than-normal total has collectively scorched more than 200,000 acres, state fire officials said.

The biggest so far was last month’s Erskine Fire, which consumed 48,000 acres northeast of Bakersfield, killing two people and destroying about 250 structures.

By comparison, the 2003 Cedar Fire ranks as the biggest on record in the state, burning more than 273,000 acres and killing 15 people.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Michael Perry and Raissa Kasolowsky)

Firefighters battling California blaze face hot, dry conditions on Tuesday

Fire fighters battling Sand Fire in California - wildfire

(Reuters) – Firefighters in drought-hit California who are battling a 50-square-mile wildfire could be hampered by triple-digit heat, wind gusts up to 30 mph and low humidity on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

About 3,000 firefighters have been fighting to contain the so called Sand Fire on the rugged northwestern fringes of the Los Angeles National Forest since Friday.

The blaze has killed one person, found in a burned-out car parked in a driveway, and destroyed at least 18 homes. An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people were forced to evacuate but late on Monday, fire officials lifted the evacuation order for the majority of residents.

The fire was just 10 percent contained on Monday evening as crews backed by bulldozers labored to hack buffer lines around its perimeter as it cast a pall of smoke and soot over a wide area.

An air quality advisory was in effect in the area of the fire until Tuesday midnight local time after much of the Los Angeles basin was dusted with a thin layer of fine white ash from the fire over the weekend.

Among the properties to go up in flames was the landmark Sable Ranch, a popular location for television and movie shoots.

About 300 miles to the north, another fire ravaged a hilly area near the scenic coastal city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, churning through 16,100 acres (6,500 hectares) and destroying 20 homes, authorities said.

The so-called Soberanes Fire, burning in the Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County, threatened 1,650 structures by Monday evening and was only 10 percent contained, the U.S. Forest Service said.

The causes of the two fires were under investigation. They are among some 3,750 blazes large and small to have erupted across California since January, a higher-than-normal total, collectively scorching more than 200,000 acres (80,940 hectares), state fire officials said.

The biggest so far was last month’s Erskine Fire, which consumed 48,000 acres (19,429 hectares) northeast of Bakersfield, killing two people and destroying about 250 structures.

By comparison, the 2003 Cedar Fire ranks as the biggest on record in the state, burning more than 273,000 acres (110,480 hectares) and killing 15 people.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

California firefighters contain most of state’s biggest wildfire

Firefighter Robert Aikman extinguishes a hot spot at a residence leveled by the Erskine Fire in South Lake

(Reuters) – Firefighters in central California had by Wednesday contained most of a major blaze that ranks as the biggest and deadliest of several that are raging in an early summer heatwave.

Crews had contained about 60 percent of fire, named Erskine, up from 15 percent on Tuesday, in the drought-parched foothills near Lake Isabella in Kern County, about 110 miles (180 km) north of Los Angeles, fire managers said.

A major highway through the area had also been reopened and more evacuees had been allowed to return home, authorities said.

About 1,800 firefighters were battling the blaze that has burned 47,000 acres, or more than 70 square miles (190 square km), since it started on Thursday.

Erskine was largely unchecked during its first two days as high winds drove flames fast through several communities south of the lake, burning more than 250 structures to the ground as residents fled for safety.

The charred remains of two people were found on Friday just beyond the ruins of their home, Kern County sheriff’s spokesman Ray Pruitt said. Authorities warned that salvage crews might find more bodies as they make their way through devastated neighborhoods to inspect the damage.

The two victims were identified by the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin as a priest and his wife, Byron and Gladys McKaig – California’s first wildfire fatalities of 2016.

The wildfire season officially began in May but the nine major fires that have started in California over the past week marked the first widespread outbreak of intense fires this year. Erskine is by far the largest and most destructive of those.

Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the state had already experienced some 2,400 wildfires, small and large, since January. They burned a total of 99,000 acres.

Authorities are investigating what caused Erskine.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Firefighters make some headway in deadly California blaze

Visalia firefighters extinguish hot spots at a residence leveled by the Erskine Fire in South Lake, California, U.S.

By Noah Berger

SOUTH LAKE, Calif. (Reuters) – Firefighters have begun to contain a wildfire in central California that has killed at least two people and destroyed 200 structures, fire officials said on Sunday, as six other blazes burned in the state in an already intense wildfire season.

The fire known as Erskine, about 110 miles (180 km) north of Los Angeles, smoldered over a wide area on Sunday after melting steel and reducing homes to ash in an intense conflagration on Thursday and Friday.

The Erskine fire was 10 percent contained after charring 36,810 acres, or nearly 60 square miles, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said, adding it was expected to be contained by Thursday.

California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Kern County. In addition to the 200 destroyed structures, 75 homes have been damaged.

“Two fatalities have been confirmed. Additional fatalities are possible due to the extreme fire behavior during the initial hours of the incident,” the Kern County Fire Department said in a statement on Sunday. Investigators were studying a third set of charred remains to determine whether they were human.

More than 1,700 firefighters were working on the fire at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada range.

Hundreds of people from more than 10 communities were evacuated as Erskine spread rapidly on Thursday and Friday as winds drove it south and east from the Lake Isabella reservoir.

“I got out just as the flames were at my back fence,” said Terralyn Lehman, who is staying at a campground with her mother and her dog after their home in South Lake was destroyed.

She and her mother were awoken by the sound of a propane tank exploding. Lehman said her mother told her “‘grab your dog and go.’ So I did.”

Crews worked in steep, rugged terrain, fighting flames fueled by hot weather and brush, grass and chaparral left bone dry by a five-year drought. Helicopters and air tankers were also in action.

But a drone operated by a private individual caused suspension of air operations for a time on Sunday, said U.S. Fire Service public information officer Jim Mackensen.

Also on Sunday, a family returned to the wreckage of their burnt-out home in South Lake. Lucas Martin, his step-son and the young man’s girlfriend embraced each other after they managed to locate and retrieve a cherished family heirloom that withstood the inferno.

(Writing by Fiona Ortiz in Chicago; Editing by Dan Grebler and Kim Coghill)

Firefighters injured, homes destroyed in new California wildfire

Two Wildfires in California

(Reuters) – Three firefighters were injured in a central California wildfire that has scorched 5,000 acres (2,023 hectares) of parched and rugged terrain in less than a day, destroying 80 homes and forcing the evacuation of hundreds more, fire officials said on Friday.

The so-called Erskine Fire broke out on Thursday at about 4 p.m. PDT (2300 GMT) in the foothills of Kern County, about 42 miles (68 km) northeast of Bakersfield, drawing in hundreds of firefighters to battle the entirely unconfined blaze.

Three of the first responders were hospitalized for smoke inhalation while fighting the fire, officials said.

“Our firefighters have been engaged in a firefight of epic proportions, trying to save every structure possible,” Kern County Fire Department Brian Marshall said at a news conference.

The number of firefighters battling the blaze is expected to grow to as many as 700 throughout the day.

Fire crews will bulldoze containment lines, while air tankers drop water and fire retardant in an effort to stop the flames from consuming more homes, Marshall said.

About 1,500 residences have been evacuated and the number of threatened homes is likely to grow, he said.

“In a situation like this, there’s not enough firefighters and fire trucks to put in front of every structure,” Marshall said.

The extreme heat and dry land are expected to make the fire worse through Friday, Marshall said, adding that he was hoping for mild and cooperative winds to aid in the firefight.

State officials said they secured a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help manage the inferno.

That fire was one of several large blazes burning through parched California.

To the south, firefighters still were struggling to manage a pair of blazes burning in the foothills of Los Angeles County, dubbed the San Gabriel Complex.

As of Thursday night, it had burned more than 5,200 acres of chaparral and short grass, and containment lines had only been drawn around 15 percent of the fire’s perimeter, fire information website InciWeb said.

In San Diego County, authorities lifted evacuation orders for the Mexican border community of Portrero on Thursday, saying crews had cut containment lines around more than a third of a wildfire that has blackened some 7,350 acres.

Evacuation orders remained in force for residents of two other mountain communities. Flames already have destroyed five homes and roughly a dozen outbuildings since Sunday.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York and Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Toby Chopra and Bill Trott)