SANTA CRUZ ISLAND : 120 Firefighters Try to Control Grassland Blaze

More than 120 firefighters converged on Santa Cruz Island on Friday where a fire burned for its fourth day, consuming 650 acres of overgrown grassland and charring the island’s hilly terrain, National Park Service officials said.

Fire officials said they expected to contain the blaze early today.

A controlled burn set on 400 acres Tuesday rekindled early Thursday after high winds swept across the northeastern portion of the island. Embers carried by the wind then sparked new fires, which burned more than 250 acres outside of the initial control lines.

Efforts to contain the blaze were hampered Friday by logistics problems and by 15- to 20-foot-tall brush and debris in hard-to-reach canyons, said Valdo Calvert, U.S. Forest Service operations chief.

“The heavy fuel has presented a very dangerous situation for us,” Calvert said. “This growth has been collecting in pockets of these canyons for decades.”

With 12 hand crews hiking through steep, overgrown terrain as they cut a path around the fire, Calvert said, safety has been the major concern.

The only mishap occurred Thursday night when one firefighter developed hypothermia after water from a ruptured hose drenched him. Exposed to chilling winds, the California Forest Service firefighter was treated on the island and returned to fight the blaze Friday.

No structures or endangered wildlife have been threatened.

Calvert said chief among his priorities has been to avoid damaging sensitive plant and animal species, as well as any important archeological resources.

Channel Islands National Park archeologist Don Morris flew to the island Friday to help guide fire crews around areas that might contain significant Chumash artifacts, such as baskets, bowls and hand tools.