It's hard to believe that the Tea Fire, burned 1,940 acres, destroyed 231 residences, and caused an estimated $6,100,000 to fight, was caused by a group of college students who didn't fully extinguish their bonfire.
"It's carelessness, it's negligence, and it's illegal," says Captain Eli Iskow of the Santa Barbara Fire Department, the team that led the investigation of the Tea Fire. Iskow has seen people lose their lives and end up in critical condition as a result of unintentional fires. "We could have several of those a year. It's not uncommon. It's carelessness that does it."
"It's carelessness, it's negligence, and it's illegal," says Captain Eli Iskow of the Santa Barbara Fire Department, the team that led the investigation of the Tea Fire. Iskow has seen people lose their lives and end up in critical condition as a result of unintentional fires. "We could have several of those a year. It's not uncommon. It's carelessness that does it."
In addition to the recent Tea fire in Santa Barbara and Montecito
county, just last year the a fire in Malibu destroyed 4,500 acres and
over 50 homes and originated from an illegal campire in Corral Canyon.
It's hard to believe that people would walk away from a lit fire. An investigation into the Tea Fire reported that those that started the bonfire thought they had extinguished the fire when they left the site.
Captain Iskow explains how this can happen. "People dump their coals from their barbecues into trash cans or even out into the wild. It can be a day or two or even three later, and those coals can still hold enough heat sometimes. The wind then makes them hotter. It exposes them to the air, feeds them oxygen, and makes them hot enough to ignite combustible material like grass, leaves, or dry twigs. And then we have a fire."
This phenomenon can also happen with coals in campsites that have not been fully extinguished. Wind can blow the cool ash off the top of the coals and then ignite the hotter material underneath, which can then be blown from the campfire site into nearby leaves or grass. Iskow advises that in addition to completely soaking the coals until there is no smoke or heat, "You have to touch them with your hand. If they're cool all the way through, you know they're out."
While Public Service Announcements about fire safety may be informative, people have to take responsibility to end the trend of careless fires in California, advises Iskow. "It's getting worse year to year and there's nothing telling us it's going to get any better anytime soon."
Information on fire safety and prevention can be found at the Santa Barbara Fire Department website at sbcfire.com
It's hard to believe that people would walk away from a lit fire. An investigation into the Tea Fire reported that those that started the bonfire thought they had extinguished the fire when they left the site.
Captain Iskow explains how this can happen. "People dump their coals from their barbecues into trash cans or even out into the wild. It can be a day or two or even three later, and those coals can still hold enough heat sometimes. The wind then makes them hotter. It exposes them to the air, feeds them oxygen, and makes them hot enough to ignite combustible material like grass, leaves, or dry twigs. And then we have a fire."
This phenomenon can also happen with coals in campsites that have not been fully extinguished. Wind can blow the cool ash off the top of the coals and then ignite the hotter material underneath, which can then be blown from the campfire site into nearby leaves or grass. Iskow advises that in addition to completely soaking the coals until there is no smoke or heat, "You have to touch them with your hand. If they're cool all the way through, you know they're out."
While Public Service Announcements about fire safety may be informative, people have to take responsibility to end the trend of careless fires in California, advises Iskow. "It's getting worse year to year and there's nothing telling us it's going to get any better anytime soon."
Information on fire safety and prevention can be found at the Santa Barbara Fire Department website at sbcfire.com
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