COBB, Calif. – What started out as a control burn in the Cobb area jumped its lines on Friday afternoon, burning nearly an acre before firefighters put it out.
The fire, in the area of Loch Lomond and Shenandoah roads, was first reported shortly after 2 p.m., according to scanner reports.
Fire dispatch stated that a passerby called the fire in to the Boggs Mountain Cal Fire station, reporting that the fire was climbing up a tree.
Firefighters initially had trouble accessing it, but once on scene found that it was burning with a slow rate of spread in heavy fuel, radio reports indicated.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Greg Bertelli reported over the air that the fire was contained at approximately 3:47 p.m.
Bertelli told Lake County News that the fire burned eight-tenths of an acre.
He said two Cal Fire engines and a unit from South Lake County Fire responded, along with two hand crews.
After the fire – which burned in heavy vegetation – was contained, it required extensive mop up, he said.
There had been a small amount of rain on Boggs Mountain on Friday morning, but Bertelli said it had been spotty. There also was wind, which continued to dry out vegetation and makes firefighting conditions more challenging.
Even with rain this month, “Those heavier fuels are still pretty dry,” Bertelli said.
Bertelli urged community members to continue to use extreme caution in the winter time when conducting control burns.
“The old rules that we used to go by – that we could burn whatever we wanted in the winter time – it just doesn't apply any more,” he said.
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