Posted by: Kim_Hamilton on 09/01/2008 05:47 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 09/02/2008 01:02 PM
Expires: 01/01/2013 12:00 AM
:
On Scene West Point Fire Observations ~By John Hamilton Updated with Video & Photos
West Point, CA...UPDATE as of 6:20pm...Kim and I and are on scene now at the West Point fire. Winton Road Remains closed. Smoke output appears to have diminished. Air traffic still remains heavy. It appears that some residents are being allowed back into their homes. CAL Fire is stating no containment as of yet. More updates to come by Hanna and ourselves. UPDATE #1 7:05pm....Just spoke with Lisa Williams at CAL Fire, the fire is not yet contained but it appears they have the upper hand on it. No homes have been damaged per Lisa, also still remains at 100 acres in size. More to come.. UPDATE #2 7:10pm...We are on scene now near the fire. The fire apparently started down a ridge then climbed to the top of a ridge off of Valentine Hill Drive. One home that was affected, was the home of Frank and Janice Lowry. There home was doused with retardant, and due to quick thinking on their part and their neighbors, using tractors and a loader, they quickly cleared the area around their home. The fire burned within 100 feet of their residence... Fire Still Burning Near Vehicles Damaged By Fire & Another Wave of Fire Fighters Heading to Fight the Fire. Photo By Carl Stoughton
consumed several older vehicles and their chicken shed. Their home and garage, however, are fine. Fire crews are still working the area. The smoke has definitely diminished on scene and we do not see any flames, although the air traffic is continuing. There has been no cause stated as of yet. More to come as soon as we have more details.
We went by the West Point Evacuee Center before 7:30pm, which thankfully was completely empty and will not be needed.
Looks to be near containment. Crews will obviously on scene for mop up through the night and into tomorrow.
UPDATE From Lisa Williams....Official Containment was called at 8:05pm and on a good note, it looks like the fire will come in at less than 100 acres, looks more like 50 according to CAL Fire.
We would like to thank Carl Stoughton for some of the great photos he took last evening. His property was being used by CDF to stage the Firefighters being transported into the fire zone. His property was also used for some of the animals displaced or evacuated by the fire.
UPDATE AS OF 9/2/08...According to Lisa Williams of CAL Fire, there 5 outbuildings damaged due to this fire.
