FRESNO (KMJ) — The ever increasing number of brush fires along highways is prompting fears for crew members responding to them.
Fresno Fire is noticing a rise in the the number of blazes by the side of the valley’s roads. Their figures show an increase of around 20% for the past three months compared to the average year-on-year numbers.
“The problem is the location and the access”, says Battalion Chief Brian Price. “The hazard that is presented to our personnel in responding to these incidents alongside of a highway…it really puts our members in danger”.
The flames by the sides of roads can also spread to nearby properties if they aren’t tackled soon enough.
“That creates an exposure problem. Though we’ve only got a small grass fire the risk of exposure is very high and what ends up happening due to the access issues is that it ends up being a very labor intensive fire”.
Investigators often establish that the cause is accidental, but they have determined that several blazes were intentionally set too.
“So what we’re seeing is a pattern where there is a person or persons that are actually traveling up and down the freeway setting fires intentionally”.
Plotting the blazes on a map usually indicates the cause, with those caused by a dragging chain for example will follow a route whereas those set intentionally will show an off-set pattern.
“They’ll be a section of fires that are happening on the north-bound lanes of 99 from 180 to Ashlan, then they’ll flip around and they’ll go from the south-bound lanes”.
Battalion Chief Price adds that there’s no logical reason for that pattern other than the blaze being intentionally set.
Anyone who sees fires being lit along the Central Valley’s roads, or throwing something out of the vehicle, are asked to tell either Fresno Fire or Fresno Police.
“Let us sort it out”.
Hear the story from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
