NEWS ABOUT SAN JUAN COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT NO. 3
Related stories
Press release about Jacksons Beach fire
By San Juan County Fire District No. 3 Chief Bill McLaughlin
posted 08/14/01
The San Juan Island Fire Department responded to a 1/4 acre beach fire at Jackson's Beach on Thursday, August 9. The fire was started when a charcoal briquet was apparently blown out of a barbeque grill by the wind, which was estimated at 12 to 15 mph. The fire department was called out at 3:02 p.m and had an engine on scene within three minutes.
Twenty-two firefighters responded to the fire, which took over three hours to contain. A front end loader working at the gravel pit was used to dig a fireline which stopped the fire from spreading. By late afternoon, however, firefighters were still having difficulty extinguishing the fire due to the unusually hot, dry conditions. The temperature at 7 p.m. was still 84 degrees with a relative humidity of 29%, the lowest recorded this fire season. In spite of thousands of gallons of water and fire suppressant foam, the logs continued to burn.
The decision was made to pull the firefighters off the fire at about 7:30 p.m. until the fire died down as several of the firefighters were begining to show signs of heat exhaustion. At that time, the fire was fully contained. Suppression efforts resumed in the middle of the night, and the fire was out by 2 p.m. on Friday, August 10.
Cookout sparks grass fire at Jacksons Beach
Photos by Sharon Kivisto (top and bottom) and Rick Galer (center)
updated 5:15 p.m. 08/09/01
Firefighters from San Juan County District No. 3 firefighters responded to a grass fire at Jacksons Beach this afternoon. Picnickers were grilling hotdogs when sparks from the barbecue started the fire. There is a burn ban in effect in San Juan County, but recreational fires such as the barbecue are permitted. Fire Chief Bill McLaughlin says the ban may be expanded to include all fires if the dry weather continues.
