Scientific Fire May Be Reset Wednesday

An experimental brush fire that was abruptly canceled Wednesday when a county helicopter crashed while in the process of starting it may be set as early as Wednesday, if weather conditions are right, scientists said Friday.

Meeting in Glendora, 20 scientists and county and state officials decided to push to set the long-delayed fire before Christmas, rather than wait until next spring, said Philip Riggan, the U.S. Forest Service scientist directing the $750,000 project.

“We’re so close it would be foolish to back off now,” Riggan said.

Data collected during the fire, to be set in 1,000 acres of chaparral in the Angeles National Forest, are expected to illuminate a variety of phenomena, from fire-caused air pollution to nuclear winter, a theorized catastrophic cooling of the Earth after nuclear war.

Waiting for Low Winds

The many aircraft and nearly 300 personnel needed to control the blaze and conduct the experiments will be available until around Dec. 15, Riggan said. All that is needed is a short stretch of light winds and clear skies.

Clouds and moisture are expected over the weekend, to be followed by strong Santa Ana winds, and clear air and low winds, meteorologists said.

Also over the weekend, federal inspectors are expected to finish their investigation of the helicopter crash, said Steve Raybould, a forestry official in charge of setting the fire.

Separately, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is initiating its own inquiry of the crash in order to determine whether it can sue the federal government to recover the $400,000 cost of the helicopter, said Dan Wolf, a spokesman for Supervisor Kenneth Hahn.

Witnesses said that moments after the county Fire Department helicopter set a small test fire by dropping flaming jellied gasoline onto some brush, it snagged a telephone line atop a ridge. The helicopter crashed, narrowly missing several dozen firefighters. The pilot escaped serious injury.