Palomar Fire Blamed on Burning of Leaves

Fire officials said Thursday that a man burning avocado leaves over the weekend accidentally triggered the mammoth Palomar Mountain fire that has burned out of control for six days, consuming almost 14,000 acres of brush and timber.

California Department of Forestry spokesman Charles Smith said the unidentified man obtained a burn permit Saturday from the CDF fire station at Rincon, a small community on the southwestern slope of the mountain, to burn leaves from an avocado grove. He apparently abided by all burning regulations.

However, the man underestimated both the 100-degree-plus temperatures that baked San Diego County that day and the hot Santa Ana winds blowing in from Nevada, Smith added.

“The person followed the rules,” Smith said. “He put the fire out and wet it down. He raked the coals, put water on them and thought it was safe. I understand that he also put it out by the time he was supposed to, at 10 a.m.

“He then left for Los Angeles and the weather got hot. The Santa Ana winds started blowing and rekindled the fire. Then the wind spread the embers.”

The cost of fighting the fire over the past six days has been estimated at $1.5 million by CDF and U.S. Forest Service officials, who also say the cost may surpass $2.5 million before the blaze is controlled.

According to the CDF, burn permits are good for 14 days. Burning in the Palomar Mountain area is permitted only between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. or 4 p.m. to sundown. The fire began at 3 p.m. Saturday near Quail Ranch and Rincon Ranch roads, not far from California 76.

CDF officials declined to release the permit holder’s identity, but CDF information officer Anton Provaznik said the owner of the avocado grove is liable for the cost of fighting the fire.

“The landowner is the person ultimately responsible,” Provaznik said. “If an employee lights the fire, the law still holds the landowner responsible. The permit doesn’t exempt the landowner from firefighting costs when a fire gets out of control.”

Provaznik said that if the landowner cannot afford to pay all of the costs, the law requires him “to pay to the best of his ability.”

On Thursday, officials declared the fire 60% contained but acknowledged that most of the contained area lies in the area where the fire began. Smith said it will probably be next week before CDF and Forest Service officials will know when the fire will be fully contained.

The two agencies together are directing firefighting efforts because the fire has burned state and federal forest lands.

A total of 2,194 firefighters, including crews from 20 states, were battling the fire Thursday. Firefighters used 15 bulldozers to cut a path around the fire’s boundary by cutting dry chaparral and timber that have been fueling the flames. CDF officials said that helicopters will be used today and Saturday to light backfires from the air.

The helicopters will use large torches hanging from the aircraft to burn vegetation about a mile from the fire’s current boundary. The idea is to direct controlled burns toward the fire and burn vegetation in between that could serve as fuel for encroaching flames.

Firefighters want to control-burn an area around the fire wide enough so that the flames can be stopped.

Firefighters welcomed the cooler weather of the past two days that has brought moister air and morning fog. During the first four days of the fire, crews were forced to battle the blaze in temperatures over 100 degrees, while temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday were reported in the high 70s and low 80s.

The fire has destroyed four residences and four detached buildings, and has injured 78 firefighters. All of the injuries have been minor. On Thursday, the fire’s northern boundary was reported as stretching from Agua Tibia Creek to Eagle Crag on the Pala Indian Reservation, where it was reported on Wednesday.