Post by Sparky on Sept 9, 2006 7:52:23 GMT -8
Gun club ammunition probed as blaze's cause
www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_4311103
DUARTE - Firefighters worked to fully contain a six-acre wildfire in San Gabriel Canyon on Friday night, as investigators tried to determine if illegal ammunition from a nearby gun range started the blaze.
"The fuel \ is being broken up by rocks," said Padilla, speaking from a command post set up at one of the gun club's firing ranges. "The fire wants to go, but it is fighting the rocks and our air attack."
While the cause of the fire was undetermined, investigators were using large magnets to search an earthen berm - believed to be the flashpoint of the blaze - for the remnants of illegal steel-core ammunitions, said Nathan J. Judy, fire prevention specialist for the U.S. Forest Service.
"This type of ammunition is prohibited in or near
the National Forest because of this very reason," Judy said, pointing to the charred hillside that extended beyond the rear of the gun range.
John Rucker, 76, of Buena Park was shooting at the main range when he said he heard automatic gunfire coming from the longer range at the north end of the club, where the fire started.
www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_4311103
DUARTE - Firefighters worked to fully contain a six-acre wildfire in San Gabriel Canyon on Friday night, as investigators tried to determine if illegal ammunition from a nearby gun range started the blaze.
"The fuel \ is being broken up by rocks," said Padilla, speaking from a command post set up at one of the gun club's firing ranges. "The fire wants to go, but it is fighting the rocks and our air attack."
While the cause of the fire was undetermined, investigators were using large magnets to search an earthen berm - believed to be the flashpoint of the blaze - for the remnants of illegal steel-core ammunitions, said Nathan J. Judy, fire prevention specialist for the U.S. Forest Service.
"This type of ammunition is prohibited in or near
the National Forest because of this very reason," Judy said, pointing to the charred hillside that extended beyond the rear of the gun range.
John Rucker, 76, of Buena Park was shooting at the main range when he said he heard automatic gunfire coming from the longer range at the north end of the club, where the fire started.