Stanislaus, San Joaquin fire crews continue to keep eye on burned area

Fire officials in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties said they continue to patrol last week’s 109-acre burn area that spanned the county line around McHenry Avenue.

The blaze began in Escalon about 3 p.m. Thursday and had San Joaquin agencies and every fire agency in Stanislaus County involved in efforts to knock it down within several hours. Throughout Friday, crews stayed on top of wind-driven flare-ups.

On Saturday, a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department helicopter was used to determine the overall acreage burned, said Escalon Fire Protection District Chief Rick Mello. Twenty-five acres burned on the San Joaquin side, he said, as well as 52 acres in the Salida Fire Protection District and 32 in the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District.

Since the fire was contained Thursday night, the burn area has not extended, Mello said. The fire is considered completely out on the San Joaquin side, he said Monday, “but we will continue to check this week because we’re expecting winds and high temperatures. We’ll be out there off and on – we were out there about 21/2 hours this morning.”

Salida Chief Dale Skiles said Monday afternoon that much the same is happening on the Stanislaus side. “Each and every day, we’ve been out there multiple times,” he said of fire crews from within the county. “A Stanislaus Consolidated crew was out there this morning and reported several hours ago that they found no ‘smokes’ ... no islands anywhere in the burn area that still were burning.

“If any flare-ups occur, we’ll be right out there. ... We’re getting several days into it, so it’s mostly burned out. Some of it was inaccessible,” so firefighters just watched over those areas while the remaining fuel burned. “That’s what a lot of people are seeing (while) crossing over the bridge, that little bit of smoke. We continue to receive calls, and each and every one we’ve responded to.”

The fire began on property in the 24000 block of East River Road between the Escalon wastewater treatment facility and Church of Christ, Mello said. There are a residence and outbuildings on the property, but they were not damaged in the fire. “We haven’t been notified of any damage to farming vehicles or anything of that nature,” he said, “but there were fences cut for access, partly the wastewater treatment plant fence, and that kind of information will come in over time.”

On the Stanislaus side, five structures were lost – all at the former Lotus Garden property on the west side of McHenry about midway between Hogue and River roads. One of the structures was inhabited and the other four were outbuildings, Skiles said.

Investigators believe the fire was accidental, but continue to interview witnesses, Mello said. “Because of the extent of damage and the heat of the fire, we may never be able to pinpoint the exact cause,” he said.

This story was originally published June 22, 2015 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Stanislaus, San Joaquin fire crews continue to keep eye on burned area."