- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Fire chief reports on cause of Anderson Island fire, other incidents
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Grass mowing led to a fire on Anderson Island this week, according to the chief of Kelseyville Fire Protection District.
Chief Joe Huggins, who was incident commander on the fire, said a man who was mowing on the island using a Kubota tractor sparked the blaze.
The fire on the 30-acre island began on Tuesday afternoon and ultimately burned approximately 3.4 acres, Huggins said.
While the mowing started it, the man driving the tractor also ended up being a big help in fighting the fire by putting on a scraper box and cutting fire line, according to Huggins.
While the fire burned between structures, none were reported damaged.
“We were fortunate it was an island,” said Huggins.
He said the Lake County Sheriff’s Office offered important assistance by ferrying firefighters out ot the island from Braito’s Marina.
“They shuttled a lot of folks across that water,” he said.
Mowing, said Huggins is “an issue every year,” with people not mowing early in the morning but waiting until the afternoon.
So far this year they’ve had a few small fires started by mowing, but Huggins said there are bound to be more all over the county. “It’s just an inherent issue.”
In other fire-related news, Huggins said a fire off of East Highland Springs Road beyond the Adobe Creek Dam on Sunday remains under investigation by Cal Fire.
The fire burned just under two acres, as Lake County News has reported.
Another small vegetation fire, which burned near the DNA River Rock quarry off of Highway 29 at Doten Road last Friday night started in a slash pile, Huggins said.
A similar fire had begun in slash pile there last year, he said, adding he didn’t know what caused this most recent fire to begin.
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