Estacada fire started by shooters

[SmawGunner]

This is how good shooting areas get closed off. Act responsibly. Dont ruin it for the others. What do you do to prevent fires when your out in the woods shooting? I dont build fires or park my vehicle in the grass where my hot exhaust pipe can start a fire. But just in case I bring a shovel and a fire extinguisher. And if an area is temporarily closed for fire danger then I go somewhere else or go home.

http://www.kptv.com/story/26526422/crews-battling-30-acre-fire-near-estacada

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[mkwerx]

boneheads. There were advisories of no target shooting as of Wednesday last week - and every radio station has been reporting the fire danger along with TV news stations - I'll bet that these folks probably even drove past a fire danger sign that read high or severe without blinking.

 

[DieselScout]

"Believed to be started by..." I am interested in the how. Regardless people need to be more aware during the dry season.

 

[Bill Siegle]

I would hold off making judgements till an official cause is found. I have heard similar fires blamed on shooters that turned out to be vehicle caused and lightning strikes. The newsies like to immediately blame gunners for anything bad in the woods.

 

[mkwerx]

"Believed to be started by..." I am interested in the how. Regardless people need to be more aware during the dry season.

Ricochet, tracer rounds, explosive targets, parking on tall dry grass/weeds, flicking cigarettes that aren't extinguished - lots of ways to start a fire when it's dry out.

While shooting with a friend on his property once, we almost set his field afire after a tracer round struck a rock and popped up the berm into a clump of grass before it was burned out. Scary moment.

Careless people - whatever their activity - start a lot of forest fires every year. Regardless if they were target shooters or not you would have to be living under a rock not to know about the fire danger warnings in effect - even cities are shutting down public parks due to fire danger.

We got word while camping last week that the forest service had shut down most activities such as shooting, atv riding, wilderness camp fires, and off-roading. I don't have a lot of sympathy for the person or persons responsible for this fire - they make it hard for any outdoor recreation enthusiast - shooter, fisherman, camper, etc look bad and lead to closures or curtailing of activities.

 

[DieselScout]

Ricochet, tracer rounds, explosive targets, parking on tall dry grass/weeds, flicking cigarettes that aren't extinguished - lots of ways to start a fire when it's dry out.

Yeah that is why I said I am interested in the how. Did the fire start because of the shooting, like you state a ricochet or tracer. Or did it start because the guys were idiots and parked their catalytic converter laden car in tall grass or flick a cigarette butt. I know the how's I want to know if it specifically related to the act of shooting.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Even with shooting steel, I cant see a fire starting. Its all I shoot and we've even tried to spark a flame..
There are so many variables though, so Im not saying it "cant" happen.

Most likely Im thinking cigarettes or cigars butts.. Perhaps a small fire..
Either way, you should always have. Shovel, water and a fire extinguisher.. As Ive said before though, I generally dampen the surrounding area near my steel with water.

False flag blame game?
Perhaps looking to ban public shooting areas?

 

[The Heretic]

It isn't hard to start a fire accidentally when it is this dry out - all it takes is a spark.

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And it is very dry out. Wasn't that dry last year, but the year before we had 3 months of no precipitation leading up into October and then it finally rained just in time for general hunting season.

 

[Joe13]

Sounds like sensationalism in the news yet again...

I was out in Washington shooting .22's yesterday on a gravel road/area and the wind was gusting so bad that I was missing targets 15 yards away with a pistol.

I wasn't shooting tracers or larger bore guns (ok, I shot a few cylinders of .357 mag) so I'm not sure how a ricochet would light the forest on fire (it was still really green where I was) but I'm sure it could happen.

What I did see, were people on atv's jetting up and down that mountain at full throttle. I'd be willing to bet that a 2-cycle motor running at full for 10 min or more would have a better chance of lighting a fire then a random ricochet.

I'd love some info on peoples experience with non tracer rounds lighting fires though if anyone has stories.

 

[The Heretic]

All it would take would be someone shooting into a rocky hillside with steel core mil-surp ammo to throw sparks. A little dry grass nearby and it could smolder for a while before taking off. The shooters could leave and not even know they started the fire.

Or it could be partially burnt powder from a cartridge. Or just flame from some particularly flashy ammo.

It doesn't take much when it is this dry.

I would guess that the fire is probably near some local popular shooting spot for them to suppose that it was target shooters.

 

[Joe13]

Ahh gotcha, that makes sence.

 

[Ttuck]

First time i took my Mosin out i was shooting old Russian steel core ammo and was throwing sparks like crazy when hitting the scrap steel plate we found.

 

[DieselScout]

According to KPTV it's grown to 110 acres, still listing probable cause as "targert shooters"

 

[hawmanai]

As of 1600 reported to be 1400 acres plus 400 acres that jumped the river, LEOs have suspect that started it at the shooting area off Hwy 224. Check out the Clackamas County fire app...then goto call tracker.

Would not want to be responsible for paying this bill.

 

[clearconscience]

I was just visiting a friend in the hosp and his mom lives close to the fire. Pretty scary.
Fires move fast and like a tornado can change direction. Bad thing was their property in washington was surrounded by fire earlier this year, but luckily it went around them on all sides.

 

[CoastRange57]

My son is a firefighter in Washington County and is out on the scene under a mutual aid response. Well over 1000 acres at this point. The smoke was into our area and down towards the Salem area also.

Anytime you put people, vehicles, machines in the woods under Red Flag conditions, this is going to happen. Red Flag conditions are very rare in Western Oregon, and this week is the driest I have seen in over 30 years. We normally have pretty tame fire conditions in Western Oregon and our heavier fuels are hard to get going. But the conditions in the last 2 weeks are exceptional to say the least, and these fires can be pretty substantial as the conditions worsen.

We made a trip to Salem area today and the conditions in the valley were noticeably worse that when we went two weeks ago. I have mowed hundreds of acres of stubble and grass fields, and set several fires over the years when the flail mower hits a rock and you look back and fire is following you around the field.

Any number of inputs is possible to set this fire when people go into the woods.

 

[pokerace]

I call equine excrement

 

[Liberty97045]

Great…

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"Investigators are looking into whether citations will be issued to the target shooters believed to be responsible."

 

[misplacedtexan]

Isn't it required (law?) to have a fire extenguisher/water and a shovel when you're out there to put that stuff out anyways?

I don't know how much time I've spent out there, but the only fires I've managed to cause are the ones I made to cook or warm up.

 

[ripcity]

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