Over this past weekend, two fires escaped their intended purpose and one destroyed two storage buildings.  Friday afternoon a burn pile at 5112 Worman Road was left unattended for approximately 30 minutes.  An afternoon breeze quickly spread flames onto neighboring property, across nearly one acre of grass, and was threatening a thick stand of trees.  On their arrival, firefighters from Ponderosa Basin and CAL FIRE quickly contained its spread.  It took an additional 30 minutes to mop up and ensure the fire was completely extinguished.

On Sunday morning, a fire intended to reduce a groundcover buildup of pine needles and leaves at 4748 Carstens Road spread to a storage shed.  Before firefighters could access the rural property two storage buildings filled with decades of collectables were fully involved and burned to the ground.  When the first Midpines engine arrived the fire was threatening a 250 gallon propane tank as well as a neighboring home.  Firefighters from Midpines, Mormon Bar, Bootjack and CAL FIRE worked for two hours to fully extinguish smoldering contents.  Access was limited by steep, narrow roads and limited water supply at the home.  Due to access difficulties, a 4000 gallon water tender was staged one-half mile away and engines were forced to shuttle suppression water to the scene.  Loss was estimated at nearly $20,000.

Both fires were left unattended and neither had adequate clearance to prevent spread.  All outdoor fires are required to have a responsible adult in attendance until the pile is completely out.  In addition every pile must be no larger than four feet in diameter and must have a 10-foot clearance of bare-earth around it.