Burn barrel sets off three-acre fire

VIDEO UPDATE: Helicopter bucket dumps water on fire as onlookers watch from roadside.

NICE – A burn barrel was the reported cause of a fire that burned three acres and a travel trailer on Monday morning.

Northshore Fire District Chief Jim Robbins said that the fire, which was on Bartlett Springs off of Selkirk Road, was reported at 10:07 a.m., with the first Northshore Fire unit arriving on scene nine minutes later.

A man was burning materials in a burn barrel, next to his travel trailer, said Robbins. “Unfortunately, the burn barrel caught the trailer on fire.”

Along with that, three acres of wildland were set ablaze, Robbins said.

Northshore Fire had two units and Robbins on the scene. They received assistance from Cal Fire, which sent five engines, a battalion chief, two air tankers, a helicopter and a dozer, Robbins said. The U.S. Forest service also sent one engine and a water tender.

The fire was contained at 11:20 a.m., said Robbins.

The man who was using the burn barrel was uninjured, said Robbins. However, he's facing a citation from both the county's air quality management district and Northshore Fire, said Robbins.

That's largely because of using the burn barrel, said Robbins.

“Burn barrels haven't been allowed for the last seven years within Lake County,” he said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com.

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