As the wind blew and the warm twilight faded into the dark Friday night at the Point Reyes National Seashore, two Marin County firefighters were trapped at the top of a mountain, while the eastern front of the Woodward fire to ran to her.
The two field observers had cut their way through the thick forest to get a view of the fire line, and conveyed critical information about the spread of the blaze to the command team of the incident. But when they climbed the mountain just west of Mount Whittenberg, they were hit by a brush with the head of the fire at 75 feet away.
“They found themselves on a ridgetop in front of the fire, which is one of the most dangerous places you can be,” said Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber. “So they did the right thing and called for help.”
More information: Woodward fire card
Firefighters called for backup from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, which sent its Henry 1 helicopter to shore. A pilot spotted the firefighters within 15 minutes, and dropped a 100-foot line down on them. The men were lifted to safety at the same time.
The Woodward fire burned 2,259 acres in a coastal swat between the towns of Olema in the north and Bolinas in the south. It was 5% contained Saturday morning.
An evacuation warning has been in effect since Tuesday for the 11.5-mile area west of Highway 1 between Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Olema south to Bolinas. On Friday, firefighters extended that warning to include Olema, Inverness, Inverness Park and Sea Haven. The warning is designed to give residents time to prepare for the possibility of an evacuation board, Weber said.
The Point Reyes National Seashore is closed, and visitors to West Marin are urged to keep roads in the area clear to firefighters.
Firefighters were planning to reinforce containment lines along the northern edge of the fire Saturday, where burning natural knob pine and Douglas fir trees fueled the flames.
“The fire is burning in some very large doug fire turned with moss,” National Park Incident Commander Bernard Spielman said in a briefing Saturday morning. ‘Stuff that drips normally in the summer does not drip wet at all. It is very dry there. ”
Along the southern hook of the fire, thick smoke made it difficult to get a view of the flame, Spielman said.
“That’s why we have such a large warning area outside,” he said. “The potential for the fire to move long distances is still very much in place.”
Firefighters have been working in the park since Monday, when a lightning strike struck with the 4-5 fire. The Woodward fire, which was first reported Tuesday, could have started as a spotlight from that light, if it could be triggered by another lightning strike, Weber said.
Weather officials are forecasting another round of thunderstorms in the region this weekend, which is a difficult forecast for firefighters, Spielman said.
Lightning strikes, he said, “could cause some big problems when they are dry and we’re starting to get a lot of wind.”
With lightning-stricken wildfires burning this week in Northern and Central California, arson fires are under unusual tension, Weber said.
“The state is so dependent on resources,” he said. “Engines, crews, bulldozers, planes – there’s a lot of competition.”
This story will be updated
