Local News in Brief : Discarded Bullet Explodes in Blaze, Hits Firefighter in Leg

Afirefighter was injured Thursday when heat from a brush fire in Canyon Country ignited a discarded bullet, authorities said.

Capt. Robert Dobes, 39, of Canyon Country was climbing a hill to survey the 5-acre brush fire, working its way up Whites Canyon along Nadal Street, when the bullet exploded from the intense heat, a Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman said.

Dobes was struck in his right thigh, said Capt. Ron Patterson of Canyon Country Station 107.

Dobes, who has been with the Fire Department for 19 years, was directing the attack on the blaze, which began about 10 a.m. in a steep canyon near Canyon High School. About 45 firefighters were able to contain the blaze in about half an hour, Patterson said. Its cause was unknown, he said.

Dobes was placed on a stretcher and flown by helicopter out of the hilly area to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia where he was treated for the injury, which was minor.

“It felt like someone slapped my leg,” Dobes said. “I kind of had my mind on getting another piece of equipment situated. I took a couple of steps, and then I felt the pain.”

In X-rays taken at the hospital, the bullet appeared to be a .22-caliber slug, Dobes said. Firefighters found the spent casings of several .22-caliber bullets near the site of the brush fire, Patterson said.

Patterson said it is not unusual for a stray piece of live ammunition to be ignited by a fire.

“But I’ve never heard about anybody getting hit by a round,” Dobes said.