The Marians Fire began approximately 1:30 p.m. on Monday, July 7. The blaze was started by a local resident mowing dry weeds in his yard.
“The fire burned 40 acres, running down the hill toward Gas Point Road then tried to make a hook in a South Easterly direction towards Happy Valley Road,” stated a spokesman for California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal-FIRE).
On the fire, there were eight engines, two bulldozers, 40 personnel, one water tender, four air tankers, one air attack and one helicopter. Hand Crews were unavailable at the time of the fire.
“When the fire started, there were four air tankers in the air with no location to drop on the Moon Fire. One was requested, but the pilot said he was bringing in additional resources. We were lucky, if this had crossed Gas Point Road to the South, it would have been much worse. The extra air coverage was really beneficial. That and the field had been used for grazing land this year causing the fire to have less fuel,” stated Mike Witesman, spokesman for Cal-FIRE.
The resident will be fined for the fire and required to pay suppression costs, Witesman said.
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
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