Tuesday storm sparks East Hope wildfire
A photo of the initial tree strike taken by U.S. Forest Service crews at the scene of a small wildfire reported above East Hope. Reported Tuesday morning, the fire was contained by 6 p.m. that evening.
(Photo courtesy SAM OWEN FIRE DISTRICT)
EAST HOPE — An unusually active electrical storm early Tuesday led to at least one fire on U.S. Forest Service land above East Hope.
The fire, reported on the Sam Owen Fire Facebook page, had SOFD crews join U.S. Forest Service firefighters to locate it. Low clouds delayed finding the exact location but the fire was finally located around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, district officials reported in the post. A plan was made to get the USFS crew as high as possible via a side-by-side owned by a Sam Owen firefighter. SOFD reported that the USFS crew hiked the remaining 800 vertical feet and were on scene about an hour later. The fire burned about tenth of an acre before it was contained by early evening.
In addition, district officials reported a confirmed lightning strike above Hope on the west side of the Strong Creek drainage. However, as of Tuesday, SOFD officials said they had not seen any evidence of a fire but were monitoring the situation.
"A huge thank you goes out to those who spotted the smoke through the low clouds and the help we received from the community in locating and accessing trails to get the USFS crew up to the fire," district officials said in the post.