Photo by San Jacinto Ranger District Fire Management Officer Freddie Espinoza
Early Sunday morning, July 8, U.S. Forest Service volunteers on their way to man Tahquitz Peak Lookout Tower discovered a fire off Devil Slide’s Trail in Humber Park, according to Fire Chief Freddie Espinoza, for the Forest Service’s San Jacinto Ranger District.
The volunteers reported it. First on the scene was Riverside County Fire Department Engine 23 from Pine Cove.
“Capt. Katherine Garver did a good job,” Espinoza said. Forest Service Engine 56 and Water Tender 56 arrived quickly. Other units included RCFD Engine 53, Water Tender 53, Brush 19, Engine 4677, as well as Forest Service patrols 52 and 55.
He estimated the fire was contained to about 0.1 acre. It was reported about 5:30 a.m. and within an hour it was contained, according to Garver. Three hours later, it was controlled and the trail opened to hikers.
Firefighters had to lay hose 1,000 feet into the forest and pump water from the water tenders to extinguish the fire, which was several hundred feet from the trail.
As of Monday morning, the cause of the fire was still under investigation, according to the district’s fire investigator.
