Firefighters had the Hummingbird Fire fully contained by
mid-afternoon and expected to have the Whitehurst Fire contained by
8 p.m. today. The Whitehurst Fire was 95 percent contained by 4:30
p.m. after burning about 200 acres, according to Cal Fire volunteer
spokesman George Hoyt.
a traffic nightmare, firefighters clean up Hummingbird Fire,
unhealthy air in Gilroy, fire starts on Mt. Madonna Saturday
afternoon.
photo gallery of the fire and an interactive map locating the
two fires.
Firefighters had the Hummingbird Fire fully contained by mid-afternoon and expected to have the Whitehurst Fire contained by 8 p.m. today. The Whitehurst Fire was 95 percent contained by 4:30 p.m. after burning about 200 acres, according to Cal Fire volunteer spokesman George Hoyt.
In addition, firefighters expected to have the Hummingbird Fire fully controlled – meaning there would be no more hotspots – by Tuesday evening.
Firefighters spent the morning mopping up the Hummingbird Fire as residents were allowed back into their homes straddling Day and Watsonville roads in rural northwest Gilroy.
With Oak Dell Trailer Park residents allowed back into their homes late this afternoon, all evacuation orders have been lifted.
In addition, all roads have been reopened except Highway 152, which is open only to residents with proof of residence.
Hoyt said he anticipated it would be open for all vehicle traffic soon, but could not give an exact time.
Though the firefighting seemed to be winding down, Hoyt expressed concern over winds that began to pick up on Monday afternoon
“Firefighters won’t be going home – they’re going to be in there for a long time putting out any potential hot spots,” he said.
One of two blazes, which started with Saturday afternoon lightning strikes, the Hummingbird fire charred 850 acres and chased residents from their homes Saturday evening as a chaotic scene mixing firefighters, spectators and residents trying to flee – many with horses in trailers – unfolded.
Though the flames came within yards of structures, no homes, outbuildings or vehicles were lost.
This morning, Cal Fire revised estimates on the acreage attributed to the second area fire, the Whitehurst Fire, which continues to burn high in the mountains south of Highway 152 in the Mount Madonna area.
“We’ve reconfirmed the numbers this morning. It’s 200 acres, and it’s a really steep piece of country,” said Battalion Chief Paul Van Gerwen, a Cal Fire spokesman.
Van Gerwen said firefighters had finished mapping the burning area with global positioning devices taking the estimate down from 400 acres to 200.
The Whitehurst Fire remained 50 percent under control this morning, but should be 100 percent contained tonight.
There are about 100 firefighters on the ground on the mountainside and Highway 152 over Hecker Pass is closed at Watsonville Road and expected to remain so throughout the day.
One water-dropping helicopter will continue to fly up the mountain today, said Van Gerwen.
“We’ll be flying reconnaissance and IR flights today,” he said, explaining that recon flights give the command staff a strategic look at the direction and scope of the fire while infared flights pinpoint hot spots for ground crews to stamp out.
In light of the Hummingbird and Whitehurst fires and tinder-box conditions surrounding Gilroy, councilman Peter Arellano recommended a prohibition of fireworks to his colleagues Sunday evening. The proposed ban includes the “safe and sane” variety of fireworks – sparklers and tame pyrotechnics that never leave the ground – and comes a week before 16 churches, schools and other community groups plan to raise valuable, some say necessary, money by selling the traditional Fourth of July amusements.
“This is pretty much our only fundraiser, and it pays for camps, pads, helmet repairs, clinics, almost everything,” said Gilroy High School Quarterback Club President Ed Jensen, who added that the team takes in about $15,000 to $20,000 from its essential booth. “I understand people’s concerns, but this football program depends on this. If we knew about (the ban) earlier, we could have planned for this, but to all of a sudden drop this on us, that would be devastating.”
Residents scurried frantically to save their prized possessions and horses Saturday night before fleeing homes along Day and Watsonville roads as the Hummingbird Fire raced down the hillside.
Yet, residents were accosted with bumper to bumper traffic and blocked roadways as they raced to get their families and livestock to safety. Bystanders and gawkers hoping for a photo op abandoned their cars wherever there was a spot, sometimes blocking residents’ driveways and trapping them in.
After Kathy Panzica and her husband fired up their motorhome Saturday night, they were dumbfounded to find vacant cars parked at the end of their driveway, and random spectators with their cameras at the ready, hoping for a shot of the fire that raged in the hills to the north of Day Road.
“They had their elbows on top of their cars and were just getting a big thrill out of this disaster,” Panzica said. “It’s disgusting. I’m amazed at how many people were gawking.”
Already frustrated that her motorhome wouldn’t start up right away and tired from hauling boxes of photos, one-of-a kind antiques and family heirlooms from her home, she was incensed to find out that she was blocked in and the firefighters were blocked out by people “who didn’t belong.” However, since Panzica’s only lived in her Day Road home for about six months, many of her belongings were still packed up tight in boxes – the night’s only saving grace.
“It was Murphy’s Law that night,” she said. “It was incredibly scary. Don’t come block my driveway. If the firefighters are busy dealing with people, they don’t have time to deal with the fire.”
As Sunday dawned, the Hummingbird Fire gave ground to firefighters, and by early afternoon it had stalled and Cal Fire had the beast surrounded with a with a wide fire break cut by bulldozers.
Sunday night, the shooting flames which had dotted the ridgelines and hillsides around Gilroy were nowhere to be seen.
The smoke, which hung heavy over Gilroy Sunday, cleared with the shifting winds around dusk.
Only 200 yards away, the charred land behind Panzica’s home extended up and over the hill Monday, leaving black where there used to be green and gold. Though sad to see the vista surrounding her property blackened by fire, she was grateful to have a home to return to.
Saturday night, four sections of the fire spurred on by high winds coursed through treetops during the night and burned all the way to Highway 152 between Sprig Lake and Pole Line Road. Hand crews were running hose lines near those spots Sunday.
“We’re not seeing the erratic fire behavior that we saw Saturday,” said Daniel Berlant, the initial Cal Fire Information Officer assigned to the scene. ” The fire is staying mostly on the ground. It’s not coursing through the canopies of the trees,” he said Sunday afternoon, cautioning that the wind could pick up and change the dynamic. Given “the terrain and the heavy, heavy fuel,” he described the situation as fluid.
A helicopter’s staccato thumping pierced the air Sunday as it made its way back and forth from a pond on the Cordevalle Golf Resort in San Martin dipping for water to douse both the fires alternately.
Three air tankers based in Hollister joined the battle flying fire retardent missions high in the sky.
Ground crews, meanwhile, lit a backfire to save one home on Day Road Sunday afternoon, jumping up from a rest break as the flames made a last-ditch charge.
That no structures were lost “is really a testament to their hard work,” said Berlant. “They did a great job.”
Susan Mister, who lives on Burchell Road a short distance from Day Road, summed up the weekend chaos.
“When I was driving down Day Road, I just got this queasy feeling in my gut. It was overwhelming, not only the smoke, but seeing the horse trailers moving through so slowly – you just knew in your heart that some of these homes were going to be gone,” said Mister, recalling the Saturday night scene.
The Cal Fire spokesman lauded Day Road residents for paying attention to fire safety basics.
“Many of them were aware and definitely made sure they had good defensible space around their homes. That was certainly a factor that allowed firefighters to make a stand,” Berlant said.
He cautioned residents not to worry if they spot more smoke Monday morning.
“People are going to wake up and see the smoke plume early in the morning,” said Berlant, “but it’s a planned operation. We’re going in in the morning when the winds are low and humidity relatively high to burn the area contained in the fire break.”
Berlant said 15 to 20 acres need to be burned in a tightly controlled environment with plenty of fire crews on hand to prevent further outbreaks.
Saturday night, Gilroyans, many with horse trailers in tow, fled from the rapid flames of the Hummingbird Fire which came perilously close to their homes and animals while lighting up the night sky with a dense orange glow. Firefighters wove in and out of Day Road driveways trying to find avenues to head off the conflagration.
“Somehow we were able to move the fire around those homes,” said Berlant.
He contrasted the character of the two fires, saying that the Hummingbird Fire spread rapidly through grass and brush while the Whitehurst Fire is feeding on more substantial fuel.
After shifts are done, the firefighters are retreating to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds for food and rest, he said. The base camp had already been set up for fighting a fire that began late last week in Watsonville.
