Photo by Rebecca Frazier
Two small lightning fires occurred Saturday afternoon in the San Jacinto Ranger District. Both were in the proximity of Suicide Rock, thus their names, Rock 1 and Rock 2.
Both fires were small, about 50 by 50 feet. On both days, crews and helicopters were fighting and monitoring both fires. U.S. Forest Service crews from Kenworthy Guard Station in Garner Valley and Keenwild Guard Station in Mountain Center, as well as a crew from Cal Fire’s Bautista unit, were on site. Helicopters, both Forest Service and Cal Fire, dropped water on the sites, according to San Jacinto District Fire Chief Dan Felix.
Neither fire necessitated maintaining ground coverage overnight. Both fires were contained Monday afternoon, according to Felix.
The Forest Service conducts aerial reconnaissance flights each day over the forest to assist with detection of new lightning-related fires. The reconnaissance flights are part of their normal operating plans after lightning storms.