[pct-l] Re:

[matt at mattmaxon.com (Matt Maxon)]

Hi list
I was at Cottonwood Trailhead when the hikers came out @ 11:30pm Wednesday
night. They used my cell phone to notify the fire department.

They didn't tell me they had started the fire but they didn't have to...

I adjusted my plans and will hike this segment next week.

In my questioning thru hikers I talked to Thursday and Friday North of the
fire many were ignorant of what they where required to do to as a condition
of their California Fire Permit, if they had one.

I don't know exactly how this fire started but I'll bet they didn't have the
proper clearance of flammable materials should something goes wrong. I think
this is borne out by the fact they were cited.

Does anyone have details of what exactly happened? perhaps we can all learn
something from this.

We as a community need to ensure this doesn't happen again, to educate the
less informed who don't realize just how flammable the brush is here in
California, and how lucky we are no one was killed. Not to rant and rave,
engage in name calling and flaming.

Trail90
----- Original Message ----- 
> Message: 10
> Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 14:30:51 -0700
> From: Craig Milo Rogers <rogers@isi.edu>
> Subject: [pct-l] PCT Hikers Set Whitewater Canyon on Fire
> To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
> Message-ID: <20040513213051.GB2940@isi.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> According to the Associated Press, via the Sacramento Bee, two
> PCT hikers from Ohio lost control of their cooking fire in Whitewater
> Canyon last night.  1200 acres have burned so far, and 530+
> firefighters and 15 aircraft are trying to control the fire.
>
> http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/9276520p-10201455c.html
>
> According to the Press Enterprise, Whitewater Canyon is
> closed, but the PCT remains open to hikers.  The fire is burning west
> to northwest in BLM land that was recently added to the San Gorgonio
> wilderness area.
>
>
http://www.pe.com/breakingnews/local/stories/PE_News_Local_fireweb14.e756.html
>
> This is a seperate fire from the 75-acre one in Whitewater Canyon
> last Saturday.
>
>
http://www.pe.com/localnews/desertpass/stories/PE_News_Local_dblaze08.57d0f.html
>
> I called the Riverside County Fire Dept. (apparently a unit of
> the California Department of Forestry), +1-909-940-6985.  The
> spokesman said that the fire started on the PCT, and that he thought
> that the PCT was closed in the area, although he had no definite word
> on this matter.  This fire is called the Cottonwood Fire.  The
>
> http://www.rvcfire.org:8080/firepio/process?action=viewIncident&id=10146
>
> The document cited notes that the hikers may be held
> responsible for the costs of putting out the fire.
>
> Craig Milo Rogers
>
>
> ------------------------------