The Indians Fire was a

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

in the

Ventana Wilderness The Ventana Wilderness of Los Padres National Forest is a federally designated wilderness area located in the Santa Lucia Range along the Central Coast of California. This wilderness was established in 1969 when the Ventana Wilderness Act redesig ...

of the

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...

in the

Santa Lucia Range The Santa Lucia Mountains (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than from t ...

which that started on June 8, 2008 and burned uncontained until July 10 scorching of land. This fire burned predominantly within the Los Padres National Forest, Monterey Ranger District, inside the

. Other affected properties include portions of

Fort Hunter Liggett Fort Hunter Liggett is a United States Army fort in Jolon, California, in southern Monterey County, California. The fort, named in 1941 after General Hunter Liggett, is primarily used as a training facility, where activities such as field maneuve ...

military base and private property. The suppression cost exceeded $40.7 million, not including resource damages and rehabilitation costs. On June 10, 2008, a residential structure on the Chase Ranch burned down. The ranch had restricted access; therefore, the damage was not documented by the Forest Service. A Forest Service Fire Prevention Technician risked her life to evacuate the reluctant cabin owner, just before the fire burned over the cabin. On June 11, 2008, during a burnout operation, aggressive fire behavior produced a fire plume which burned over Forest Service firefighters along the Del Venturi Road. An entrapment occurred when a rotating vertical plume developed and the crew became overcome by the fire. Three firefighters sustained major burns and were evacuated from the fire.

Cause

The fire was ignited when an unattended campfire escaped into the vegetation during the night. Two subjects admitted to lighting the campfire that escaped from their control, and using the campfire without removing all flammable material from around the campfire. One camper awoke during the night to find Escondido Campground on fire. After their brief attempt to put out the fire, they hiked out 2.7 miles to their vehicle. Then drove out through the Fort Hunter Liggett main gate, at 3:58 a.m., without stopping to report the fire. The fire burned undetected for an additional 8 ½ hrs. until a hiker walking along a ridge, saw the smoke from 10 miles away and reported it at 12:36 p.m. The escaped campfire occurred when the campfire ring had not been cleared of flammable ground litter and the campers went to sleep with the fire still burning. A burning log, which extended outside of the campfire ring, burned through and fell into oak leaf litter surrounding round the fire ring. The forest litter ignited and continued to spread during the night. The fire burned for a period of at least 5–6 hours before it escaped the campground. If the fire had been reported after it initially ignited, it would have been suppressed and contained the same day. The two subjects responsible for causing the Indian Fire pleaded guilty in Federal court.

References

{{2008 California wildfires Wildfires in Monterey County, California 2008 California wildfires Santa Lucia Range Monterey Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest June 2008 events in the United States July 2008 events in the United States