Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
July 2, 2007
3. Watersheds -
Dead zone at fire's origin
One week later some people visit a nearby pond -- an oasis amid the ruins.
Sacramento
By Hudson
The
Amid a cluster of boulders, below a snow-dotted ridgeline, someone lit an illegal campfire, investigators believe.
The flames were fanned by swirling winds and fueled by bone-dry vegetation. They roared through the forest and destroyed 254 homes near
The location of that disastrous campfire is a short walk from Seneca Pond, which today stands as an oasis of green amid the devastation. Before the fire, it was a favorite spot for residents of the devastated neighborhood to walk their dogs and take bike rides with their children.
A lone female duck paddled its waters Sunday, one week after the fire began on June 24. Wood roses and alders surrounded its shore. A swing hung from a big pine tree.
Standing on the pond's sandy beach, it is almost possible to forget the hellish scene that surrounds it.
The
Highway 89 road closures have been lifted. With the holiday week in full swing, the U.S. Forest Service warns that no fireworks are allowed in the area. Campfires are allowed within hosted fee campgrounds. No open fires or charcoal barbeques will be allowed on public lands.
Many firefighters had been demobilized, but about 698 personnel remained in the region.
From the area around Seneca Pond, a few smoking hot spots could still be seen in the woods and on the hillside.
On the pond's southern bank -- the direction from which the fire came -- is a porcupine that was overcome and frozen in midstep trying to escape. Like the trees, its south-facing side is charred black while its north-facing quills remain brown.
The needles of pine trees point toward the source of the fire, sucked dry of moisture in the tremendous blast of heat.
The charring and the dry needles are among the clues that investigators use to determine a fire's direction and pinpoint its beginning, said Jamie Kirby, a fire-prevention specialist from Montana who came to California to assist in the Angora blaze.
Kirby said the inferno caused destruction of trees and plant life the likes of which she had never seen in her seven years dealing with wildfires.
"Everything is dead in some areas," she said. "It's kind of like a graveyard."
She said residents, though banned from the area, have been walking into the woods to have a look at Seneca Pond.
"It's their backyard," she said. "They want to see how their pond is doing."
Brian Williamson said he walks his three dogs to the pond everyday. "I love that place," he said.
But Williamson said he had seen fire rings there before and wouldn't be surprised if people had camped near the pond.
"That's not a good place to camp," he said. "It's just a nice little walk there and back."
Authorities lifted restricted access on public roads leading into the damaged subdivision at 6 p.m. Sunday.
Scott Swanson, a fire technician with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said everyone understands that people who have seen news accounts of the fire will want to come have a look at the damage.
But he asked visitors to be sensitive to residents, some of whom are in shock, and not block the roads still being used by firefighters and utility vehicles.
"We just ask that they show respect to the victims and the neighborhood," he said.#
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/251909.html
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