[pct-l] fire update

[mgeis at yahoo.com (Matt Geis)]

I got this email last night from my sister-in-law, who
is a captain with the CDF in Riverside county.

--Iron Chef

"We had a fire again yesterday locally in the
whitewater are (north of I-10 in cabazon, just east of
the cottonwood trailhead) and a PCT hiker was
involved. The crews at scene felt really badly for the
guy, it was a complete accident. I don't think they're
gonna go after the guy because he stuck around & was
honest about his mistake. Apparently we had a really
windy night & he picked a not-so-sheltered place to
make camp. He had a cleared area for his stove, but
spilled the fuel which caught his jacket, pack & tent
on fire. The story goes... as the burning tent got
caught in the wind & blew away the fire was off &
running. They said it was obvious he tried to put it
out as he had burns on his hands (apparently minor)
and he was pretty broke up & feeling responsible. (as
air tankers, helicopters & fire crews rushed into the
area.) I heard the prevention officer assigned to the
report gave him a ride into town for a hotel for the
night & possible some re-supply but we think he was
spotted back on the trail this AM at the break of
dawn.
 
If you hear about the guy, let me know. We all hope he
was able to recover & get back on the road. The
Engineer here (Bill Smith) was there & talked to him
for a while last night & tried to console him a bit.
He's hiking alone & said he has hiked the appalacian
trail twice & is hoping to get to Canada this year."

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