Forward progress has stopped with the Piney Fire; Cal Fire BEU
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- CAL FIRE BEU announced Wednesday that forward progress has stopped on the Piney Fire. They said that thanks to dedicated crew efforts, the fire is now holding at 220 acres with 15% containment.
"We’re not out of the woods yet, but this is a positive step forward," CAL FIRE BEU wrote in a Facebook post. "Thank you for your continued support and cooperation. "Stay alert and follow any safety instructions in your area."
Now, local and statewide efforts are underway.
"This takes a team effort," said Keith Tsudama, CAL FIRE Battalion Chief. "So having the crews here, they said coming from all throughout the state is what it takes to really be coordinated in our efforts to effectively put out the fire.”
Last night, evacuation orders and warnings took place, and the Carmel Valley Library hosted evacuees.
“Here we can provide a safe, nice place to sit," said Hilary Thayer, Library Director, Monterey County Libraries. "[You can] charge your devices, make phone calls, use a computer, make plans, and then if somebody needs shelter, for example, we reach out to the county's emergency operation center and help set that up.”
Monterey County libraries stay in constant communication with the County of Monterey's Emergency Operations Center.
“Whenever there is an emergency going on and they have a duty officer assigned, I can text that person, call that person, they can call me," said Thayer. "We have multiple ways to reach each other, so we are in touch throughout checking on progress and giving each other updated information."
Residents in the Carmel Village took notice...
“This is kind of a close-knit community. So, everybody seems to help out when there's, you know, dangerous situations," said Carmel resident Juan Duran. "So people offering their homes or they find places away from this area that they might get some family members and pets to move into.”
“I can remember my childhood home back in Canada being affected by some of the fires there," said Carmel resident John Koy. "And you wouldn't wish it upon anybody, of course."
7.5 acre Vegetation fire threatens homes near Barn Owl Court
MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Cal Fire BEU confirmed Monday that a vegetation fire broke out near Barn Owl Court by Highway 68 behind a group of residential homes just after 4 p.m.
“We came out to go to the beach. I saw a bunch of smoke so I called 911. And as I was on the phone with them, all of a sudden a tree went up in flames and I panicked," said Jenna Hanson who lives in Monterey County.
12 homes were under evacuation orders according to Cal Fire but those orders were soon lifted after fire crews were able to get a handle on the fire, reaching almost full containment.
"We start wetting everything down and telling neighbors and try helping them out," said Mike Haughty who lives in Monterey County.
The fire spread rapidly according to Cal Fire and quickly grew to 7.5 acres before being fully contained.
Calfire along with several other central coast fire agencies assisted in the firefight.
"Monterey County also came in here, made sure to evacuate the folks immediately," said Curtis Rhodes, Battalion Chief.
Neighbors took notice of the hard work crews put in to stop the fire.
"The support here is amazing. If you look around, I mean, these guys just showed up. It was awesome. They got the airplanes, the helicopters, the ground crew. And they just really took care of things fast," said Hanson.
Fire crews are expected to continue their work throughout the night.
"We're going to continue to mop up through the night. You're going to see us out here continuing to grid the hillside to make sure that any of this heat doesn't kick any sparks up into these live fossil fuels," said Rhodes.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. No injuries have been reported, and no structures were damaged.
