Sunday, Jul. 19, 2009
Nacimiento Lake fire burns 175 acres Sunday, now 70 percent contained
Evacuated campers being allowed to return to campsites, main entry to resort and camping area still closed
Comments (0) | 
E-Mail
Print
tool name
closeA brush fire blackened at least 175 acres in the Nacimiento Lake area on Sunday, burning into the night but with containment expected by early this morning, according to county fire officials.
Dubbed the Lake Fire, it was reported at 1:35 p.m. near the North County resort and camping area’s Nacimiento Lake Drive entrance, according to County/Cal Fire.
The temperature reached 106 degrees, but driven by the hilly topography, the fire spread even as winds were about 8 mph, Cal Fire reported.
The fire was burning in what fire officials described as medium brush and oak woodlands, and they said it had the potential to spread to about 500 acres.
As of late Sunday evening, the blaze was reported to be about 70 percent contained.
Investigators determined that carbon particulates from a vehicle’s exhaust system started the blaze, Cal Fire spokeswoman Laura Brown said.
The vehicle was on Nacimiento Lake Road at the time, and was accelerating while traveling uphill, she added.
About 200 firefighters, as well as four air tankers and two helicopters were called to fight the fire. The helicopters could be seen filling with lake water to drop on the blaze.
About 325 campers were evacuated from campsites to the Nacimiento Lake Resort’s boat launch ramp area, Cal Fire reported.
The main road into the area, Nacimiento Lake Drive remained closed at Heritage Ranch Loop Road near Cappy Culver Elementary School, where a command post was set up.
There was no estimate as of late in the night on when the road would reopen.
By early evening, campers at the resort who had been moved to the launch ramp area were able to leave along Nacimiento Lake Road to the north via Jolon Road near Bradley in southern Monterey County to Highway 101, according to Cal Fire.
About 8:45 p.m., campers who remained were allowed to return to their campsites, Cal Fire reported. The fire continued to burn late into the night as the National Weather Service extended its weekend heat advisory for inland areas through 8 p.m. today.
The warning means that “a prolonged period of dangerously hot temperatures will occur,” according to the Weather Service.
A strong upper-level high-pressure system centered over the desert Southwest that had been expected to dissipate will continue to provide a hot air mass for inland areas today, the Weather Service reported. Forecasters expect temperatures to top the 100-degree mark in the North County.
The blaze also caused significant smoke in the area because of to isolated pockets of fire, Brown said. It also led to numerous power outages in the area, she added, and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crews were summoned to work toward restoring service.
One firefighter was being treated for heat exhaustion at Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton, Brown said.
What you should know about comments on SanLuisObispo.com
SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.
Here are some rules of the road:
- Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
- Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
- Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
- Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and leave him a public message.
- Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
- Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
- Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
- Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@sanluisobispo.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@sanluisobispo.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About comments
Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.