Angel Island fire controlled after 43 hours
By: John Upton
Examiner Staff Writer
October 15, 2008
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| Firefighters battle hotspots of a wildfire Monday, Oct. 13, 2008 on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. Rugged terrain and difficulty transporting equipment across the San Francisco Bay complicated efforts to corral a 250 acre wildfire that started Sunday evening on the island. The 740-acre island is the largest in San Francisco Bay and is home to many historic buildings, including an immigration station that was the first stop for many people coming to the U.S. in the early 1900s. (AP) |
SAN FRANCISCO — The wildfire that ravaged more than half of Angel Island was fully contained by 4 p.m. Tuesday – 43 hours after the spectacular inferno started to take hold of San Francisco Bay’s largest island.
Some firefighters were scheduled to leave the island Tuesday evening after battling the blaze, which charred 380 acres of the 740-acre state park, but most of the 275-person contingent will begin leaving Wednesday, according to Mike Giannini, Battalion Chief of the Marin County Fire Department.
“There’s virtually no chance that the fire will spread, but there are still hotspots,” Giannini said at 6 p.m.
The hotspots, which included smoldering stumps, burning branches and patches of cindering grass, were all located within the core of the swathe of burned earth and they were not expected to reach the charcoaled perimeter to fan new flames, according to Giannini.
A “significant number” of exotic Eucalyptus trees have been removed from the island in recent years, and their removal helped protect all 120 of the mostly-low-lying historic buildings on the island, according to Giannini.
“Eucalyptus burns extremely fast and extremely hot,” Giannini said. “Had the Eucalyptus trees been in place during the course of the fire, it would have been extremely difficult to protect those structures.”
Officials have yet to determine the cause of the blaze, according to Giannini.
The fire originated on the eastern side of the island, in an area between two campsites, said Roy Stearns, spokesman for the California State Parks, the agency that maintains operations on Angel Island.
Twenty-nine campers were evacuated from the island Sunday after the fire broke out about 9 p.m.
The family of one of the 11 full-time state employees that work on the island that included a young child was sheltering in Tiburon late Tuesday, according to Angel Island Park Superintendant Dave Matthews. The rest of the families and workers remained on the island despite an absence of electricity, he said.
The fire will make island life initially difficult for its human inhabitants, but it was healthy for its wildlife, according to Matthews.
“Fire is a natural part of our ecology, especially in the California environment, so having a wildfire go through does help rejuvenate the plant species,” Matthews said.
The island’s water supply comes from wells that were unaffected by the fire, according to Matthews.
A Pacific Gas & Electric Co. crew on Tuesday began assessing damages to the island’s power supply, which is delivered from the North Bay through underwater cables, according to spokesman Joe Molica.
Molica said he didn’t know how long it will take the company to replace damaged wires, poles and transformers to help repower the island.
“We have to replace equipment in some pretty rugged terrain,” Molica said.
The island reaches a peak of 788 feet at Mount Livermore. It has served as a U.S. Army fort, an immigration station and a missile base.
