Locals Find Smoldering Campfire in the Forest Sunday Evening

Article sponsored by Mercy Air and Valor of the Lake Alarms

Article and photos by Raymond Ray

Just before 7:30 p.m. on Sunday night, U.S. Forest Service Fire, Cal Fire and San Bernardino County Fire units responded to reports of smoke rising from the ground in the forest. The location given was near the intersection of North Road and Arosa Drive in Crestline. San Bernardino County Fire Engine 96 arrived on scene first.

Up a short dirt road from the intersection, the fire crew found the reporting party, a local resident named Jonathan Hicks, and his son with their dog. The family has gone for an evening walk up the dirt road when they found smoke coming from an approximate four foot round section of the forest floor. Realizing it was a smoldering fire, they attempted to cover it with dirt and use the contents of their water bottle to put it out. The hot spot was so deep in the ground that the water simply steamed and sizzled away.

Firefighters sprayed water on the hotspot and dug it up. It appeared that it was the remnants of a recent large campfire. The ground, where the fire had been burning, was all dead wood and saw dust. It appeared that somebody had attempted to cover the fire with what they thought was dirt, but since the ground was all decomposed pine needles, leaves and combustible materials from previous logging operations, it simply burnt deeper into the ground.

After extinguishing the fire, firefighters used yellow tape to secure the area in an effort to deter any further camp fires in that particular spot. A firefighter on the scene stated that if this had been allowed to continue to burn, eventually it would have reached the nearby vegetation. He further stated that with the humidity having been as low as it has been, this could have turned into a disaster very quickly.

Mister Hicks & his son happened to be in the right place at the right time to help the community avoid what could have been the next wildfire.

For current fire restrictions in the San Bernardino National Forest, visit the U.S. Forest Services website at:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sbnf/home/?cid=fsbdev7_007776