Sunday, October 06, 2013 10:20:06 PM
Mt. Diablo fire traced to target shooting
Kurtis Alexander and Kevin Fagan
Updated 7:13 pm, Thursday, September 12, 2013
1 of 29 Next
Santa Clara County firefighters Nick Nanez, left, and Mike Hughes help put out hot spots at the Morgan Fire along Morgan Territory Road in unincorporated Contra Costa County near Mount Diablo and Clayton, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013. The fire began on Sunday, Sept. 8, and by Tuesday, more than 3,200 acres had burned and containment was at 45 percent. (AP Photo/The Contra Costa Times, Jane Tyska) Photo: Jane Tyska, Associated Press
The fire that scorched more than 3,100 acres of rugged land on Mount Diablo was ignited by a target shooter in a rural area near Clayton, authorities said Thursday.
The state Department of Forestry announced the suspected cause in a brief written statement, but an agency spokesman declined to say how investigators determined the cause or if any suspects had been questioned.
"It's still an ongoing investigation," said the spokesman, Steve Kaufmann. "We're still getting everything in line."
Neighbors and local fire officials were not surprised - and greatly displeased - by the news. Target shooting in the area is common, they said, and it was the only prominent rumor about the Morgan Fire's cause since it ignited.
"That is just terrible," said Kim Ruiz, 50, who lives nearby. "I am not surprised at all that this is the cause. Whoever did that should be punished."
"I often hear target shooters right there - my dog gets freaked out by the shots nearly every day," she said. "We also have a lot of wild turkeys and some people shoot at them to scare them off."
Locals have been saying they heard shots at an abandoned mercury mine near the corner of Marsh Creek and Morgan Territory roads - a mine that has been closed since shortly after World War II and is privately owned.
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Capt. Robert Marshall said if the target shooter had picked a different day, the fire might not have happened, since temperatures were in the 90s with low humidity on Sunday, and the weather got milder later in the week.
"I'm not terribly surprised that it happened - in a rural area like that it's pretty common," he said. "We obviously wish they'd chosen a different day to do that, though."
Target shooting has been blamed for starting major California wildfires, including a 2007 blaze that threatened Yosemite National Park as it burned 34,000 acres and destroyed 30 homes in Mariposa County.
The shooter in that incident, Davin Mosher, reported the fire and later said he was unaware he was firing steel-jacketed bullets along a riverbed with his high-powered rifle. He was given three years of probation, community service and a $541 fine.
The cause was released as officials reported progress on putting out the fire, which was considered 90 percent contained late Thursday - with full containment expected Friday.
The fire has burned much of the south face of the East Bay peak. No homes have been lost, but outdoor bathrooms and picnic tables burned and hundreds of nearby residents had to flee temporarily.
Mount Diablo State Park, which has been closed since the fire started Sunday, is due to reopen Monday. Parts of the park will remain off-limits to the public, including a section of the popular Summit Trail.
Also Thursday, state officials said the damage wreaked by the deadly Clover Fire in Shasta County was worse than they first suspected.
Sixty-eight homes have been destroyed near the community of Igo southwest of Redding, officials said, up from 37 reported a day earlier. The damage was done in the hours after the fire started Monday, but went unnoticed until authorities could conduct a thorough survey of the wreckage.
The fire killed one person, 56-year-old resident Brian Stanley Henry. He was found dead Tuesday in his charred motor home.
Fire officials said Thursday that the worst was behind them. The Clover Fire, which has burned more than 12 square miles, was 65 percent contained and officials expect full containment Sunday. The fire's cause has not been determined.
Kurtis Alexander and Kevin Fagan are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: kalexander@sfchronicle.com, kfagan@sfchronicle.com
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Mt-Diablo-fire-traced-to-target-shooting-4809303.php
.. sheesh .. seems irresponsible for any shooter to not be aware of the
kind of bullets they are using and so of any risks they could be creating ..
Kurtis Alexander and Kevin Fagan
Updated 7:13 pm, Thursday, September 12, 2013
1 of 29 Next
Santa Clara County firefighters Nick Nanez, left, and Mike Hughes help put out hot spots at the Morgan Fire along Morgan Territory Road in unincorporated Contra Costa County near Mount Diablo and Clayton, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013. The fire began on Sunday, Sept. 8, and by Tuesday, more than 3,200 acres had burned and containment was at 45 percent. (AP Photo/The Contra Costa Times, Jane Tyska) Photo: Jane Tyska, Associated Press
The fire that scorched more than 3,100 acres of rugged land on Mount Diablo was ignited by a target shooter in a rural area near Clayton, authorities said Thursday.
The state Department of Forestry announced the suspected cause in a brief written statement, but an agency spokesman declined to say how investigators determined the cause or if any suspects had been questioned.
"It's still an ongoing investigation," said the spokesman, Steve Kaufmann. "We're still getting everything in line."
Neighbors and local fire officials were not surprised - and greatly displeased - by the news. Target shooting in the area is common, they said, and it was the only prominent rumor about the Morgan Fire's cause since it ignited.
"That is just terrible," said Kim Ruiz, 50, who lives nearby. "I am not surprised at all that this is the cause. Whoever did that should be punished."
"I often hear target shooters right there - my dog gets freaked out by the shots nearly every day," she said. "We also have a lot of wild turkeys and some people shoot at them to scare them off."
Locals have been saying they heard shots at an abandoned mercury mine near the corner of Marsh Creek and Morgan Territory roads - a mine that has been closed since shortly after World War II and is privately owned.
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Capt. Robert Marshall said if the target shooter had picked a different day, the fire might not have happened, since temperatures were in the 90s with low humidity on Sunday, and the weather got milder later in the week.
"I'm not terribly surprised that it happened - in a rural area like that it's pretty common," he said. "We obviously wish they'd chosen a different day to do that, though."
Target shooting has been blamed for starting major California wildfires, including a 2007 blaze that threatened Yosemite National Park as it burned 34,000 acres and destroyed 30 homes in Mariposa County.
The shooter in that incident, Davin Mosher, reported the fire and later said he was unaware he was firing steel-jacketed bullets along a riverbed with his high-powered rifle. He was given three years of probation, community service and a $541 fine.
The cause was released as officials reported progress on putting out the fire, which was considered 90 percent contained late Thursday - with full containment expected Friday.
The fire has burned much of the south face of the East Bay peak. No homes have been lost, but outdoor bathrooms and picnic tables burned and hundreds of nearby residents had to flee temporarily.
Mount Diablo State Park, which has been closed since the fire started Sunday, is due to reopen Monday. Parts of the park will remain off-limits to the public, including a section of the popular Summit Trail.
Also Thursday, state officials said the damage wreaked by the deadly Clover Fire in Shasta County was worse than they first suspected.
Sixty-eight homes have been destroyed near the community of Igo southwest of Redding, officials said, up from 37 reported a day earlier. The damage was done in the hours after the fire started Monday, but went unnoticed until authorities could conduct a thorough survey of the wreckage.
The fire killed one person, 56-year-old resident Brian Stanley Henry. He was found dead Tuesday in his charred motor home.
Fire officials said Thursday that the worst was behind them. The Clover Fire, which has burned more than 12 square miles, was 65 percent contained and officials expect full containment Sunday. The fire's cause has not been determined.
Kurtis Alexander and Kevin Fagan are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: kalexander@sfchronicle.com, kfagan@sfchronicle.com
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Mt-Diablo-fire-traced-to-target-shooting-4809303.php
.. sheesh .. seems irresponsible for any shooter to not be aware of the
kind of bullets they are using and so of any risks they could be creating ..
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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