Monday morning, the Incident Management Team reported the size of the Cranston Fire is 13,139 acres. It has grown nine acres over night and containment remains, as reported Sunday evening, at 57 percent.
“It was a good night, pulled hose in alpha and bravo,” said Operation Chief Chris Childers during the morning briefing. “It’s looking really good.”
Jerry McGown, retired Forest Service fire official and the incident commander, told the crews, “It’s a good job, but you’re not done yet, but the hard part seems over.”
South Ridge, northeast to Tahquitz and the Saddle remain a priority today as well as the Garner Valley area. The sense in camp is that containment is growing and the efforts are focused on ensuring it cannot jump the containment lines.
The worry for today is the possibility of afternoon thunderstorms and lightning strikes, particularly in southern Garner Valley.
“Mop up and find any other burns near structures thay we might have missed,” Childers noted. Smoldering logs or trees are a concern. But if they are well within a burned area, firefighters’ priority is to ensure no lingering burns near homes.
Resources for the Cranston Fire are already being reduced. Today there are about 1,550 firefighters and support staff, which is about 200 or 10 percent fewer than Sunday morning. Also several helicopters have been released to other fires in the state.
There are at least four Hot Shots crews working on this fire. At least one, per shift, is flown to the peak and they work their way down South Ridge, while other crews work up from the lower end of the trail. Crews are flowin to the top because its is a designated wilderness area.
