Firefighters did it again. That rapidly spreading brush fire Tuesday afternoon out in the East County along the 8 started out as a small fire, but it grew quickly, even without a lot of winds around.
But Cal Fire and other firefighting agencies now know how to throw everything they have against these fires to keep them from becoming huge and damaging fires.
Fire crews on the ground and helicopters and planes in the sky kept this one from getting to any homes. But it is never an easy fight. Three fire fighters were injured fighting this one.
It did cause a big traffic jam and a lot of inconvenience but comments on social media from people who live in the area from Lakeside to Alpine expressed thanks and offered kudos to the fire fighters fighting to keep the fire from growing.
One thing to remember from this fire is just how easy they can start. This one started from the stuff coming out of a vehicle’s exhaust.
You see it doesn’t take much when you have more grass and brush than usual because of all the winter rain that dries out now during the summer. It can be like kindling.
And that’s why preventing big wildfires not only depends on the fire fighters but also on all the rest of us.
A lot of wildfires are started by careless things that are done from cars that are not maintained to tools that get too hot to cigarettes tossed out car windows to illegal camp fires.
So, if we want to have a summer that does not get too hot when it comes to fires, we all have to make sure we stay smart and do our part.
(Photo credit Cal Fire PIO)