A detached garage and “conex” storage container are amongst the multiple structures that were on fire at a residence in the 4000 block of Balsa Ave. in Yucca Valley yesterday. Three County Fire units responded to the property fire, which is situated at the bottom of a hill surrounded by open desert. County Fire Division 4 Battalion Chief Travis Aguirre says that a “welding building” was fully-involved in flames when they arrived at the fire around 3 PM on Tuesday, and it had partially burned a storage container and the area around it.
Travis Aguirre: “There was a little bit of heat damage to the main residence, however crews were able to keep it from actually impacting into the main residence. We did get some extension into the vegetation but it was kept at less than a quarter of an acre. There were no injuries, and the occupants were not displaced by the fire.”
A Bureau of Land Management fire truck and crew were dispatched north of the residence on the grassy hillside, checking for embers or anything else that could flare up later.
When I arrived around 3:15, the wind was picking up and the black smoke was gradually turning white as the firefighters continued to spray down the area. Neighbors Chase and Casey Neiberger were hanging by their truck nearby and were happy to see the fire get taken care of so quickly:
Chase: “Yeah, I was glad these guys showed up and started hosing everything down because I was getting worried with all this thick brush. You know, with all the fires going on we just don’t need another one up here.”
Yucca Valley and the rest of the hi-desert were socked in with smoke from the Line Fire on Tuesday, which continues to grow amidst high winds and difficult access.
Battalion Chief Aguirre says that despite the multiple fires in the county, none of the Morongo Basin Stations have been affected and are still fully-staffed and operating – and responding – as normal.
