#Border Fire

IN CAMPO, RESIDENTS AIR COMPLAINTS OVER BORDER FIRE ISSUES

 

Update: The Sheriff's office has responded to concerns raised at the Campo-Lake Morena meeting. View the response from Captain Hank Turner here:  http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/rural-fire-sheriff%E2%80%99s-office-re...

By Miriam Raftery

July 10,2016 (Campo) –At a packed meeting of the Campo-Lake Morena Community Planning Group this week, attendees spoke out to voice anger over officials’ treatment of residents during the  Border Fire, particularly issues involving law enforcement officers and County Animal Control. Chair Billie Jo Jannen stated, “We need to channel this outrage”  and circulated a draft letter to be sent to Supervisor Dianne Jacob following any changes after the public’s statements.

The first portion of the meeting focused on issues of not enough water in Lake Morena to fight the fires. (See our article on the Lake Morena issues here.)  The next agenda item focused on other Border Fire issues.

At a table in the back sat several  women who found the bodies of Jim and Kyrie Keefe during a search conducted by volunteers 10 days after the fire at the site where they lived in Dogpatch, just  east of Potrero. They voiced outrage over the fact that despite complaints to officials who did too little, too late, it fell to women volunteers to find the bodies.  The couple died of smoke inhalation in between boulders behind their home, where they apparently tried to take shelter during the wildfire.


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MINIATURE DONKEYS SAVED DURING FIRE ARE STRICKEN BY ILLNESS

 

Fundraising site set up to help pay mounting vet bills

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: "Sweet", the youngest foal at Fantasy Donkeys, died of a mysterious ailment shortly after the Border Fire

July 9, 2016 (Campo) – In one of the most dramatic rescues during the Border Fire, the Humane Society helped evacuate 55 miniature donkeys from Fantasy Donkeys’ ranch in Campo to three different temporary shelters.  But after the fire passed and the herd returned home, Nearly two dozen donkeys fell ill and one young foal, Sweet Child of Mine, or “Sweet” for short, died. 

Thus began a desperate effort to save the remaining donkey.  Seven have required round-the-clock care on site and four had to be rushed to the San Luis Rey Equine Hospital in Bonsall, where after intensive treatment for two weeks, they are now recovering. The ordeal has been a drain emotionally and financially, since owner Kim Fuson has had to take time off her job as a nurse to care for the ailing donkeys, while veterinary bills have climbed to nearly $20,000.


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BORDER FIRE CLAIMS HOME OF SOLDIER KILLED IN IRAQ WAR

 

By Miriam Raftery

June 29, 2016 (Potrero) -- The  Border Fire destroyed five homes, ravaging lives and memories.  In Potrero, one of the families whose home burned had already suffered a devastating loss. 

Their son, Army Sgt. Brud Cronkrite,  was killed in Karbala, Iraq, when a rocket-propelled grenade was fired into a nearby building while he was on a security patrol during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004. He was born and raised in Potrero, before joining the Army and deploying first to Kuwait, then Iraq. He was 22 years old when he lost his life in service to his country.


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READER’S EDITORIAL: BORDER FIRE SURVIVOR ASKS SUPERVISOR JACOB AND AGENCIES TO HOLD TOWN HALL MEETING ON FIRE ISSUES IN THE AREAS THAT BURNED

 

By Jan Hedlun

Potrero Resident and Wildfire Survivor

June 28, 2016 (Potrero) --I have heard that local and government agencies involved in the Border Fire are already patting themselves on the back, saying they handled everything perfectly without having sat down with community members for input.  I notice they are holding meetings to tell each other what a good job they’ve done; meetings that most of us recovering from the wildfire did not hear about and could not get to.

I just saw on a Facebook post that today the San Diego County Board of Supervisors are going to “chat about how to provide assistance to victims of the fire at their meeting today." * Chat? Didn’t they have a multitude of meetings after the Cedar (2003), Harris and Witch Fires (2007) that dealt will these topics?  Didn’t they come out with resolutions back then?

I’ve not heard from anyone that Supervisor Jacobs or other authorities have been out here to ask people face-to-face what happened and what could be improved upon. Don’t you think they would want to know all the facts from the people that were involved before holding all these self-congratulatory meetings?


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TACTICAL FIRING NEAR POTRERO

Source: Cal Fire

June 23, 2016 (Potrero) Tactical firing Operations are being conducted above the north east corner of the Border 3 Fire., Cal Fire advises.

These firing operations are one of the many tools used to stop and or slow down the spread of large fires. The firing operation, along with direct perimeter control efforts, will continue throughout the day and night until the objective has been met.


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7,500 ACRES CONSUMED BY BORDER FIRE; 5%CONTAINED

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Sparks across roadway driving through the Border Fire, by Richard Edwords

New fires are burning in Mexico near the border

June 20,2016 (San Diego’s East County) – The Border Fire has swelled to 7,500 acres and is still only 5% contained, Cal Fire announced this evening, adding,  “Triple digit temperatures and single digit humidity is creating extreme fire behavior and increased activity is being experienced.”

Mandatory evacuations are in effect for Potrero,Forest Gate, Star Ranch, Cowboy Ranch. Dog Patch and Canyon City communities.  An overnight evacuation shelter is set up at Los Coches Creek Middle school at 9669 Dunbar Lane in El Cajon.

Two new fires, possibly ignited by sparks from the Border Fire, are now burning in Mexico within a couple of miles from the international border south of the Border Fire conflagration.

Jan Hedlun in Potrero warns that people who did not evacuate when instructed by authorities are now facing restrictions. “Once you leave they won't let you return and many of us have livestock or animals we're tending,”she says.”My well meter has melted so no water at the house but friends dropped off a bunch of water. The worst of times brings out the best in people!”


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EVACUATIONS ORDERED IN CAMPO, POSSIBLE EVACUATIONS NEXT IN LAKE MORENA

By Miriam Raftery

June 20, 2016 (Campo)--Cal Fire has ordered mandatory evacuations of Star Ranch, Forest Gate, Canyon City, Dogpatch and Cowboy Ranch in the Campo area due to the Border Fire.

Scanner traffic indicates an advisory evacuation in Lake Morena.

A red flag alert is in effect per the National Weather Service. 

Below is more info from the Sheriff earlier today on the fire that has scorched 1900 acres and is 5% contained:


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