By: Lori Bledsoe
The Alpine Sun
On Tuesday, July 11, 2017, fire broke out in the vicinity of Old Highway 80 and Dunbar Lane, as a sideline fire. The fire started small with reports on social media of witnesses seeing three individuals trying to put the fire out with their hands. However, the weather conditions and the dry brush allowed the fire to move quickly up the hillside. The smoke billowed and the plumes could be seen as far away as the ocean.
By: Lori Bledsoe
The Alpine Sun
On Tuesday, July 11, 2017, fire broke out in the vicinity of Old Highway 80 and Dunbar Lane, as a sideline fire. The fire started small with reports on social media of witnesses seeing three individuals trying to put the fire out with their hands. However, the weather conditions and the dry brush allowed the fire to move quickly up the hillside. The smoke billowed and the plumes could be seen as far away as the ocean.
The violent flame colored smoke that wafted across our little town quickly brought back memories of previous fiery battles that our community has faced. The smokey aroma, paired with the ashy droppings caused many to begin preparing for a possible evacuation from the areas of West Alpine Boulevard, Puetz Valley Road, Arnold Way, parts of Harbison Canyon, and even Crest. Interstate 8 was closed to through traffic in both east and west directions. Fire crews parked on Arnold Way and near Puetz Valley Road and moved more equipment up the mountain.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., air support was called in, and drops began to make progress against the forward motions of the blaze. No reports as to containment was released but many recognized the great sign of white smoke, versus the black, brown or fiery orange that indicates advanced burning. The excitement began to disappate around 4:15 as CalFire announced on Twitter that forward movement was stopped, but still no reports of containment .
There are approximately 150-200 Fire Crew camped out at Flynn Springs Park for the next couple of days until they get containment on the Jennings fire. For more information on how you can assist with supporting them, please visit the Brush Fire Party Line on Facebook, where constant updates of fires in the East County can be found.
On Wednesday morning only one lane on East bound Interstate 8, was impacted by fire crews who were still working on clean up and catching all the hot spots.
