Seven Fires Which Started Saturday Possibly Arson, Says Hoopa Fire Chief

On Saturday, seven small fires broke out in the northeast area of tribal lands near Long Ridge Road, said Rod Mendes, Chief of Hoopa Fire Dept. and Office of Emergency Services in a phone interview yesterday. He suspects arson.

“We got a call from the Forest Service saying that the lookout had spotted a column of smoke [that morning,]” he told us.

An overflight the night before had detected what appeared to be heat from a small fire and the lookouts in the area had been urged to be alert for smoke.

Mendes gathered his crew and headed out. “As I was en route the lookout spotted a second column,” he explained.

In total, firefighters located seven fires along a stretch of road about three miles long. “The biggest one was three acres in the end,” Mendes said. “One was half an acre.” The rest were smaller.

A helicopter was already on scene of the biggest fire when Mendes and his crew located the first of the smaller fires.

“We used the helicopter to keep the big fire in check while we leapfrogged from smaller fire to smaller fire,” he explained. “It took a couple hours to get into the bigger fire…There was a lot of really heavy down dead material–a lot of old rotten stumps.”

Meanwhile, other aircraft and ground crews joined the fight. “There was an air attack, two helicopters and three air tankers,” he said. Besides the Hoopa engine, there were two Six River engines, a Cal Fire engine, a crew of cal Fire regulars and a CCC crew.

“We were so happy to have [them] to help us,” he said. “Hoopa has two engines out on other fires [down south]…It’s the end of the season so a lot of the federal firefighters have been laid off already.”

As of today, Mendes said, “We have a hand line around all. We are doing mop up and clean up.” An Interagency hotshot crew will be at the incident Monday to make sure the fire is completely out.

Mendes, who is in his 50th year as a firefighter, said the fire season is now stretching almost into winter. “We used to lay off our seasonal workers between October 1 to October 15 but now we’re keeping them on longer and longer.” In the last few years the seasonal firefighters have often been kept well into December.

But a bright spot is that the number of fires on Hoopa Tribal lands is dropping, he said. “Hoopa has been fortunate this year,” he told us. “The arson rate has gone down significantly.”

In past years, his crews would often go to 250 to 300 fires including those they assisted on off the reservation, he pointed out. “This year its less than 100.”

He credits his community with being more aware of fire danger and taking precautions to avoid potential problems. “People are more careful,” he explained. “And are being diligent and cautious about the use of fire on the reservation and this has helped reduce the number of fires over the last four years.”

Earlier Chapter: Fire Burning Northeast of Hoopa