Trinity County residents are certain to remember the start of August one year ago, when the Monument fire started to spread from the Big Bar area after a lightning strike. Nearly every community in the county was threatened, or had reason to be worried, while others were evacuated. After choking on smoke for almost three months, residents and visiting firefighters were given a breath of fresh air in the news that the fire was essentially out.
Last week, after a burn pile reportedly started a wildland fire in the middle of Trinity Village, Fire Chief Todd Wright expressed astonishment that someone would consider burning after weeks of temperatures nearing 100 degrees. Neighbors in the area came out to help get the fire under control but are likely not happy with the neighbor who started the fire.
On July 20, firefighters put out a vegetation fire in Douglas City. On July 22, it was noted that campers in Ruth had a bonfire going in a campground. No confirmation of the report was available, but it does call to question why someone might take such a risk.
On July 21, a hilltop fire across the river from Steel Bridge Road threatened a cluster of homes but, with the help of cool air and calm winds, firefighters were able to surround and quash it.
A backyard fire in a populated area of Lewiston was put out by locals July 26.
Any one of these fires could have become a lot worse.
Yurok Fire Chief Rod Mendes has pointed out that even with a campfire permit, many campgrounds are still not allowing any burning. New fire regulations released July 27 allow campfires in designated areas. However, that does not apply to unofficial campsites, such as those along East Fork Road near Helena and Canyon Creek Road.
Looking around social media, Trinity County fire departments have been sounding the alarm for some time, posting things like “All other dooryard burning has been suspended until further notice,” and “If you burn and this happens, you are responsible for all suppression costs.”
If you’re waiting for it to get too dry to burn anymore, we reached that point weeks ago. If you’re waiting for it to get a little cooler so you can clear brush and fuels from your property, you should understand it’s probably not going to happen anytime soon. While we may get a cool day or two, it’s likely to remain hot and dry for months — just like last year. It’s summer folks.
No one starts a a burn pile or control burn thinking it will get out of control, but it still happens. A good way to eliminate that possibility is to refrain from burning entirely.
It’s been over 100 degrees for several days now and hot afternoons are turning to thunderstorms, giving fire personnel one more thing to think about. A one-acre fire near Wildwood Road was caused by lightning and a wood chip pile combusted near Helena over the weekend but were quickly contained.
We’ve had too many close calls already this summer — it’s time to stop burning anything until winter returns. Period.
Editor’s note: Tony Reed is also a volunteer with Junction City VFD
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