Sheriff: Dumped car cause of fire

Containment continues to improve

Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux confirmed the Pier Fire was caused by someone setting fire to a stolen vehicle and sending it over the side of a mountain.

Boudreaux made the announcement Tuesday night at the second community meeting for residents impacted by the fire. The wildfire has been burning since around 2 a.m. Aug. 29, has scorched 20,529 acres in the Tule River Canyon northeast of Springville and forced more than 1,500 residents living in mountain communities from their homes. The fire was at 15 percent containment.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorized the use of federal funds to assist the state in its efforts to combat the Pier Fire.

Boudreaux was one of several speakers providing updates at the meeting organized by California Interagency Incident Management Team 5, which was brought onto the fire Aug. 30. He was unable to provide additional details to the 200-300 people at the Porterville College Student Center due to it falling under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service.

“I will tell you that there are investigators on the U.S. Forest Service side that are the law enforcement component of the Forest Service and they are investigating that case, not the Sheriff’s Office,” Boudreaux said. “They are running a very active investigation, they are taking it very seriously and we have to protect the integrity of that investigation, so I cannot comment any further.”

As the fire heads into its second week, CIIMT 5 said progress has been made, especially in the past 48 hours due to favorable weather conditions, and expected to increase the containment percentage.

“The growth of it is mostly affected by the weather,” said Keith Gurrola, CIIMT 5 Operations Sector Chief. “If the wind blows, the fire grows. If the wind gets calm, the spread slows down and we are able to go after it. If there is moisture in the air, as long as their is not a lot of wind with it, then we usually can gain some ground, and that’s what has happened the last couple of days.”

As a result, Tuesday afternoon, officials downgraded evacuation orders for residents along Balch Park Road, Bear Creek area, Mountain Home State Forest, and SCICON area from mandatory to voluntary.

Those areas have been under mandatory evacuation since Friday.

Unfortunately, Upper Rio Vista, Cow Mountain (Springville), Camp Nelson, Sequoia Crest, Mountain Aire (Rogers Camp), Cedar Slope, Alpine, Doyle Springs, Wishon and Pierpoint remain under mandatory evacuation with no timetable given for residents to return.

All but Upper Rio Vista and Cow Mountain were evacuated 30 minutes after the initial crews arrived to fight fire on Aug. 29.

Springville and Ponderosa remain under voluntary evacuation.

Most of the information provided at Tuesday’s meeting was positive, but CIIMT 5 Incident Commander Carlton Joseph

and Gurrola cautioned the crowd that this was going to be a long battle and that it could change for the worse very quickly.

“We are currently under a weather situation that is not conducive to rapid fire spread,” Joseph said. “And that is fortunate for us, so we can continue to get in there and contain the fire where we can, but it’s a tough fire. It’s seeded well away from roads and rivers. It’s moving closer each and every day, but it is difficult for firefighters to gain access.

“It’s been a slow fight, it’s taken a tremendous amount of patience, but some really good planning and we feel we are in good position right now, but again it’s going to take patience and time.”

The only evacuation center for affected residents is Porterville Community College’s Student

Center, 100 E. College Ave. Those wanting more information on the evacuation center are encouraged to call (661) 324-6427 during the weekdays or Red Cross at 1-800-7332767.

Sequoia National Forest trails, roads and lands around the Pier Fire are closed. Cal Fire has closed Mountain Home State Forest and Tulare County has closed Balch Park. All areas are closed until the fire is brought under control.

Highway 190 east of Springville is closed south of Balch Park Road and Highway 190 north of Ponderosa is closed at Forest Road 21S50 and Balch Park Road is closed at Bear Creek Road to all traffic.

Balch Park Road at its junction with Yokohl Valley Road is open only to residents with a valid photo ID.