[pct-l] San Jacinto Fire Closes PCT - "HIKERS" CITED

[matt at mattmaxon.com (Matt Maxon)]

Released: 2005-08-29 23:43:00
San Bernardino, CA... Forest Service officials announced today that they 
have cited three men for starting the Blaisdell Fire, which has burned 5,198 
acres near Palm Springs. The three were cited for "allowing a fire to 
escape," which is a Class B misdemeanor. They will also be billed for fire 
suppression costs, which currently total $1,700,000, and continue to rise.

The three men hiked into Blaisdell Canyon Friday evening and built a fire in 
a flat, grassy area on top of a knoll. "It wasn't a very smart place to 
build a campfire in the best of circumstances," said Law Enforcement Officer 
Deborah Wutzke, "but when the fire engines arrived on scene, the three men 
approached the firefighters and told them what happened. They have been 
extremely cooperative from the beginning," she added. Wutzke interviewed the 
men Friday evening and cited them a short time later. She identified them as 
Brandon Smith, Philip Diperna, and Er Antolovic.

Forest Service criminal investigator Ron Huxman said that investigators 
confirmed today that the fire originated on Bureau of Land Management 
property, a half mile from the National Forest. "That's important, because 
each jurisdiction has its own regulations," he added. "The charges are filed 
differently depending on whose jurisdiction the fire is in, or whose 
property is immediately threatened by the fire. We've been withholding the 
public announcement about the citations until we could confirm the 
jurisdiction." After evaluating the options, the agency determined that the 
escaped campfire posed an immediate threat to the Forest, and that the 
citation written by Wutzke under regulation 36 CFR 261.5(e) was therefore 
appropriate.

Huxman also confirmed that High Fire Restrictions are in effect on the 
National Forest and that campfires are only allowed in developed campsites. 
The Bureau of Land Management has similar restrictions in effect. Regardless 
of where the fire started, the men will be billed by the Forest Service for 
the growing suppression costs.

"Two of the men are just 19 years old, and the third is 28. Their lives will 
be changed by this forever," said Huxman. "The suppression costs will turn 
their lives upside down. It's a great reminder to the rest of us to think 
about what we are doing, to understand the risks, and to know and follow the 
posted fire restrictions."

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Craig Milo Rogers" <rogers@isi.edu>
To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2005 1:58 PM
Subject: [pct-l] San Jacinto Fire Closes PCT


> The Blaisdell Fire, a hiker-caused fire on Mt. San Jacinto,
> has closed the wilderness areas of Mt. San Jacinto State Park.  (One
> news source said "voluntary" evacuation of hikers, others said that
> the State Park's Wilderness area is closed.)  Although the PCT is not
> explicitly mentioned in any article I've read so far relating to this
> fire, it seems reasonable to assume that not one should enter this
> part of the trail at this time.
>
> http://www.inciweb.org/incident/151/
> http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050829/NEWS0806/508290320
> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/inland/la-me-palm29aug29,1,4712036,print.story?coll=la-editions-inland-news
> http://www.pe.com/breakingnews/local/stories/PE.UPDATE.2005.08.29.psfire29.6925664.html
> http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050829/UPDATE/508290338
>
> Craig "Computer" Rogers
>
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