Representatives from the fire agencies involved in fighting the Apple fire held an informational briefing last night in Yucaipa. Managing editor Tami Roleff has the highlights from the meeting…
“We have significant fire history in the area with the Millard, the Lake, the Sawtooth.”
Many residents were concerned about the possibility of the Apple fire moving into Morongo Valley, Pioneertown, and Rimrock. California Interagency Incident Management Team 2 Operations Section Chief Pat Russell attempted to reassure those residents who remember the devastation of the Sawtooth and Lake fires that burned in those areas a few years ago.
“We do have some things that are to our advantage out here.”
He reminded residents that the earlier fires left burn scars that will slow down the Apple fire.
“The fuel models, it’s a little more sparse, we have some grass in there, but it doesn’t have a high volume of fuel. It takes a long time for vegetation to get robust. We don’t anticipate fuel growth or the breadth that the Sawtooth fire had. The fire is going to continue to grow and we expect that because we don’t have all the things in place yet to fully suppress it. We’re going to use those burn scars to our advantage.”
And Incident Commander Nikki Johnny explained the goal of the firefighters.
“We were asked to do 100 percent suppression, so we’re not managing anything, we are suppressing everything to our best abilities. In fact, we are the number one fire priority in the state of California.”
And in happy news, Orange County firefighters found a lost dog Tuesday. The Apple fire sent wildlife running, and when a coyote ran past Buck’s home Sunday, the blue heeler gave chase. When Buck didn’t come back, his owner, Greg Skeens of Banning, thought his dog had died in the fire or from the coyote. The firefighters found Buck wandering along the fire line Tuesday. They gave him some water, a bite of their sandwich, and carried him to safety. Animal control officers soon figured out where Buck belonged, and he was reunited with Skeens Wednesday.
There will be an informational briefing about the Apple fire tonight at 6 p.m. at the post office in Pioneertown. Please wear a mask and practice social distancing.
