[UPDATE 6:30 p.m.] Vegetation Fire In McKinleyville Area After Controlled Burn Escapes
A tree caught fire about 5:05 p.m. after a controlled burn escaped in the 1000 block of Azalea Avenue in McKinleyville, according to traffic over the scanner.
Arcata Fire tweeted, “Arcata Fire is responding to a vegetation fire off Azalea Ave and Bryan Rd in McKinleyville. Please avoid the area if you can.”
A report over the scanner says the tree is on fire about 40 feet up.
Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available.
UPDATE 5:23 p.m.: According to the Incident Commander, the fire is a rotten 100 foot tree burning about halfway up with a burn pile at bottom. According to IC, there is no permit for this burn.
UPDATE 6:30 p.m.: The Incident Commander gave a positive update to the dispatcher indicating the fire was being put out.
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I hope they get the idiot who did this.
Thank you. More detailed reporting than Lost Coast Outpost.
🕯🌳Two years in a row,might as well start calling them uncontrolled permits.
Let’s sharpen up our language. There’s a world of difference between “an escaped controlled burn” and a “burn pile at the bottom of a 100′ rotten tree. ” Which was it ? Let’s use the correct term so as to preserve each terms power and meaning.
Miles, we state this “Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available” with every post gathered off the scanner because we are limited by the information we are getting. So, in this case, the first report was an escaped controlled burn. Then, as more information came in, we updated. Breaking news can be difficult for some people who like their news tidily packaged. I know the changes can be frustrating but, this is the way information comes in.
Dear Kym, your comment is well taken. I apologize for drawing you away from important other work to remind me to “Please remember…” for the umpteenth time.
My alarm was triggered by the initial report of “a controlled burn escaped.” Following CalFire radio protocols ( which are used by all the local agencies ) , an initial report (referred to by them as a “Report on Conditions” ) is generally confined to what is actually seen ( location, size of fire, type of vegetation, rate of spread, etc.), and what is likely to happen next ( structures threatened, hazards observed, additional resources needed for suppression, etc. ) Determination of the cause is important, but secondary to rapid suppression, and is generally not pursued until suppression efforts are well advanced . The official determination is usually made by a CalFire Prevention officer, or Captain, or by a senior Volunteer officer.
As a young practitioner of Prescribed Burning for the purposes of range and forest health and community safety, I’m proud of the excellent history of prescribed burns locally in the last few years. Yet, the possibility of an “escaped controlled burn” is of the greatest concern
And cause for alarm.
Thank you.
When I heard “controlled burn”, I was surprised also. It is possible that someone made an error in terminology—even dispatchers, who are amazing, can trip up sometimes.