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Tag: Clayton Fire

Arson suspect had been under surveillance before arrest for starting Clayton Fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

CAL FIRE officers attached a GPS tracking device to the suspect’s car

Clayton fire Firefighters from CAL FIRE attempt to save a structure on the Clayton Fire. Photo by Mike Forster.

Lake County residents who were under evacuation orders while the Clayton Fire was still burning were surprised when County Sheriff Brian Martin and CAL FIRE Chief Ken Pimlott announced that a suspect had been arrested for starting that fire and 15 others. The Chief disclosed the information during a public meeting about the fire on August 15, 2016, two days after it started. The blaze eventually destroyed 300 structures in Lower Lake, California and burned more than 3,900 acres. Damin Anthony Pashilk was charged with 20 felonies. Bail was set at $5 million.

Damin Pashilk Damin Anthony Pashilk. Photo: Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

In a preliminary hearing that began last week it was revealed that CAL FIRE law enforcement officers had Mr. Pashilk, previously convicted of arson, under surveillance for more than a year. He was followed by multiple officers with the aid of a GPS tracking device attached to Mr. Pashilk’s car. At times they were miles behind his car but were able to follow him as they observed his location on a real-time map.

The details of the surveillance discussed during the hearing as reported by Elizabeth Larson of the  the Lake County News read like a detective novel. Below is an excerpt from the article:

On Aug. 13, 2016, [CAL FIRE Forester Damon] Denman – like [CAL FIRE Battalion Chief John] Schnaidt – was conducting mobile surveillance of Pashilk, both following him in his vehicle and using the data from the GPS tracker that had been reinstalled on the Chrysler the previous day.

He had started following the Chrysler as it traveled north on Highway 29 toward Lower Lake just after 4:30 p.m. Denman estimated he was about two to three miles behind the Chrysler when he saw the icon for the vehicle on the GPS tracker signal that it had turned onto Clayton Creek Road’s north entrance a few minutes before 5 p.m. and driven in about a quarter mile before turning around, returning to Highway 29 and continuing north.

Shortly after the Chrysler left, Denman turned onto Clayton Creek Road and drove about 1,000 feet. As he came around a corner he saw a fire on the lefthand side – or the east side – of the road, approximately 15 feet in diameter, burning in thigh high grass.

“It was burning aggressively,” Denman said, explaining that he pulled over and reported it to 911. Schnaidt pulled up behind him and marked the edges of the fire [with four very large metal washers].

Pawnee Fire in Lake County, California continues to spread east and south.

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , , 5 Comments on Pawnee Fire in Lake County, California continues to spread east and south.

Above: 3-D Map of the Pawnee Fire looking north at 10:43 p.m. PDT June 25, 2018. The shaded areas indicate where the fire was very active.

(Originally published at 8:52 a.m. PDT June 26, 2018
(UPDATED at 1:27 p.m. PDT June 26, 2018)

The Pawnee Fire in Lake County, California continued to spread actively south and east Monday. It has not spotted across Indian Valley Reservoir, but burned around the south end of it in a long finger that ran uphill for 2.5 miles and kept going when it crossed Bartlett Springs Road at the top of a ridge. Additional spread to the east beyond that point should be slower on the downhill slope to the valley below.

The Governor’s office has declared a state of emergency for Lake County. According to CAL FIRE the Pawnee Fire has destroyed 22 structures and 600 others remained threatened. Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect for the entire Spring Valley community which is now virtually surrounded by blackened hills. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has more information about evacuations.

Monday afternoon CAL FIRE reported that the fire had burned 10,500 acres, and Tuesday morning updated it to 11,500 — which is a very conservative number.

The weather forecast for the rest of this week for the fire area does not predict any extreme fire weather, with highs around 90, wind less than 10 mph, and relative humidity in the teens or low 20s. However, these conditions will not cause the fire to lie down. Firefighters will still have their hands full.

During the previous three years residents of Lake County have been seriously threatened by three other fires, the Rocky and Valley Fires of 2015 and the Clayton Fire of 2016. It is possible that the Pawnee Fire could burn into the footprint of the Rocky Fire, slowing its spread to the southeast.

rocky fire valley fire clayton fire pawnee fire
Map of the perimeter of the Pawnee Fire at 10:43 p.m. PDT June 25, 2018. Also shown are the perimeters of the Rocky (2015), Valley (2015), and Clayton (2016) Fires.

Resources assigned to the fire include:

  • 110 Engines
  • 35 Hand crews
  • 15 Helicopters
  • 58 Dozers
  • 10 Water tenders
  • 1,422 personnel, total
Map perimeterPawnee Fire
Map of the perimeter of the Pawnee Fire at 10:43 p.m. PDT June 25, 2018. The shaded areas indicate where the fire was very active.

Man arrested for starting the Clayton Fire and numerous others

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 1 Comment on Man arrested for starting the Clayton Fire and numerous others

(Originally published at 8:55 p.m. PDT August 15, 2016. Updated at 7:46 a.m. PDT August 16 with a list of charges against him and an updated mug shot.)

A man has been arrested for starting the Clayton Fire and numerous others.

Below is an excerpt from an article in The San Francisco Chronicle:

County officials arrested a 40-year-old Clear Lake man Monday on 17 counts of arson related to numerous fires set over the last year, including the 4,000-acre Clayton Fire that has so far claimed 175 buildings and displaced hundreds of people.

Damin Anthony Pashilk
Damin Anthony Pashilk

Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin and Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott announced the arrest of Damin Pashilk at a community meeting packed with evacuees at a casino doubling as a Red Cross shelter south of the blaze. Residents gasped at the announcement.

Chief Pimlott said Mr. Pashilk had been under investigation for about a year. The charges were enhanced because homes and businesses were destroyed. He has been arrested at least a dozen times before mostly for parole violations, but also on drug and weapons charges.

He was arrested at 4:30 p.m. on August 15 and booked into jail at 12:58 am. August 16. For now he has been charged with:

  1. Arson: structure/forest land
  2. Arson sentence enhancement
  3. Aggravated arson with prior

The sentence enhancement is applicable if homes or businesses were destroyed.

Brian Hickey of KCRA News reports that “aggravated arson with prior” means he has been convicted of arson in the last 10 years.

Bail has been set at $5 million.

The Clayton Fire started Saturday evening and around mid-day on Sunday changed direction after the wind shifted and spread quickly into Lower Lake, California.

180-degree wind shift pushed Clayton Fire into Lower Lake

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 2 Comments on 180-degree wind shift pushed Clayton Fire into Lower Lake
weather Clayton Fire
Weather observations at the Konocti weather station just west of Lower Lake, California, from about 8 a.m. on Sunday until 8 a.m. Monday.

The Clayton Fire that burned hundreds of structures in and near Lower Lake, California 31 air miles northeast of Santa Rosa, was rather benign Sunday morning, and some thought firefighters had a handle on it. But later in the day the wind increased and pushed it into the community, spreading much more quickly than firefighters expected or could keep up with.

We checked the weather conditions recorded at the Konocti weather station west of Lower Lake and found that the wind direction shifted by about 180 degrees at mid-day. Before noon there was a north to northeast wind at 0 to 6 mph blowing the fire away from Lower Lake. That changed very suddenly at around noon when the wind became out of the southwest and west at 12 to 14 mph with gusts of 19 to 24 mph. This pushed the fire into the community. The firefighters and other resources that were on hand were not able to keep up with the fire or protect every structure in the town.

At about the same time, the temperature went up to over 90 degrees and the relative humidity dropped from about 30 percent to around 18 percent, and may have briefly hit 8 percent.

Of all of the weather features that affect the behavior of a wildfire, a strong wind can override them all to a degree and control the direction of spread. Topography and fuels (vegetation) also help determine how a fire will spread, but if conditions are dry, wind is the ingredient that firefighters most respect.

Land managers and homeowners can control one of the three factors that determine fire behavior — fuel. It can be removed within 100 feet of structures. Large scale fuel reduction projects in the areas near communities can affect the intensity of a fire when it approaches structures, giving firefighters a chance to save them. But the other two factors, topography and weather, are out of their hands.

Weather forecast for the Clayton Fire area
Weather forecast for the Clayton Fire area, Aug 15, 2016. NWS. Click to enlarge.

The weather forecast for the area of the Clayton Fire predicts clear skies for Monday, a high of 97 degrees, 14 percent relative humidity, and southeast to east winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tuesday will be about the same but with very variable winds blowing from virtually all directions during the day.

Our main article about the Clayton Fire.

 

Clayton Fire burns more than 175 structures near Lower Lake, California

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , , 11 Comments on Clayton Fire burns more than 175 structures near Lower Lake, California

The fire is burning near the scars from three very large fires from 2015

(UPDATED at 7:35 p.m. PDT August 16, 2016)

The Clayton Fire grew by 67 acres on Monday, but it was on the northeast side near the footprint of last year’s Rocky Fire.  This brings the size of the burned area up to 3,945 acres.

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(UPDATED at 8:40 p.m. PDT August 15, 2016)

CAL FIRE is now reporting that the size of the Clayton Fire at Lower Lake, California is estimated at 4,000 acres. There has been no change in the number of structures burned.

A man has been arrested for starting the Clayton Fire and numerous others. Below is an excerpt from an article in The San Francisco Chronicle:

County officials arrested a 40-year-old Clear Lake man Monday on 17 counts of arson related to numerous fires set over the last year, including the 4,000-acre Clayton Fire that has so far claimed 175 buildings and displaced hundreds of people.

Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin and Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott announced the arrest of Damin Pashilk at a community meeting packed with evacuees at a casino doubling as a Red Cross shelter south of the blaze. Residents gasped at the announcement.

“All 17 counts resulted from a very extensive investigation of numerous fire starts over the last year,” Pimlott said.

****

(UPDATED at 9:03 a.m. PDT August 15, 2016)

CAL FIRE public information officer Daniel Berlant reported at 9 a.m. on Monday that the Clayton Fire has burned approximately 175 structures.

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(UPDATED at 7:33 a.m. PDT August 15, 2016)

The Clayton Fire burned into the community of Lower Lake, California Sunday afternoon preceded by spot fires started from the burning embers the wind threw out ahead of the blaze igniting many homes and businesses.

At 6:45 a.m. on Monday CAL FIRE estimated that “100+” structures and 3,000 acres have burned.

The fire started Saturday and had died down Sunday morning, but strong erratic winds developed that pushed the fire very rapidly to the north into Lower Lake.

The fire occurred in an area that experienced three large fires in 2015, the Valley, Rocky, and Jerusalem Fires which together burned approximately 159,000 acres.

The Twitter images below are from Sunday afternoon.

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Originally published at 8:32 p.m. PDT August 14, 2016 Updated at 10:06 p.m. PDT August 14.).

CAL FIRE reports that as of 8 p.m. on Sunday the Clayton Fire has burned 10 structures, including at least 4 residences, near Lower Lake, California, just southeast of Clearlake and 31 air miles northeast of Santa Rosa.

Based on reports from other sources, the actual number of structures destroyed is likely to rise.

After the fire started at 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 13, it burned aggressively north, crossing Morgan Valley Road and Cache Creek, impacting the communities of Lower Lake and Clearlake. St. Helena Hospital in Clearlake has been evacuated. Additional structures are threatened and mandatory evacuations are in place.

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