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September 27, 2013
Frightened community weathers 3,111 acre Mt. Diablo inferno PEGGY SPEAR & TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
JULIE PIERCE
MAYOR’S CORNER
When disaster strikes, it’s easy to find villains and heroes. While a target shooter using ammunition inappropriately may face charges for starting the Sept. 8 Morgan Fire in the dry brush land of Mt. Diablo, the many heroes of the saga – firefighters, community residents and even Mother Nature itself – are being credited with helping curb the inferno, which scorched 3,111 acres, saw 100 homes evacuated and ultimately caused $5.3 million in damage.
Fire tested community response and resolve It’s been over two weeks since the major fire on Mt. Diablo was contained and controlled and we were all able to breathe a big sigh of relief. On behalf of all of the residents of Clayton and our surrounding rural areas impacted by the fire, I express our heartfelt gratitude to all of the dedicated firefighters and emergency responders who brought the fire safely to conclusion. It was a scary few days for all of us. Now that the flames are gone, it’s instructive to review the roles we each assume in response to a local emergency. My phone began to ring early Sunday afternoon as many saw the smoke billowing
See Mayor, page 10
Photo Tamara Steiner
from the ferocious flames of the Morgan fire which burned 3,111 acres on Mt. Diablo Sept. 8 and 9. Don and Jan Van Laeken’s Morgan Territory home was directly in the path of the flames during a dangerous Monday night flare up. The next morning, this sign made by the couple’s 11-year-old grandson, joined several others posted by grateful neighbors along Morgan Territory and all over Clayton. NEIGHBORS WERE QUICK TO SHOW THEIR THANKS TO THE FIREFIGHTERS FOR SAVING THEIR PROPERTIES
Cycles of nature will help repair damage to Mt. Diablo JAY BEDECARRÉ Clayton Pioneer
It is no wives’ tale that forest fires and other disasters are just part of Mother Nature’s way of regulating itself and thus Mt. Diablo will return to its preMorgan Fire state over the next three to five years.
Senior Environmental Scientist Cyndy Shafer, who has worked for California State Parks including Mt. Diablo since 1997, says that a wildflower display like the area hasn’t seen since the aftermath of the 1977 Mt. Diablo fire will likely show next spring but that the chaparral shrubs on the mountain will
HOT SEPTEMBER DAY Temperatures were rising to “seasonable” – at least for the East Bay – highs of more than 90 degrees early that Sunday afternoon. Most local residents were already finishing their morning activities in time, maybe to catch the 49ers season
See Inferno, page 10
Morgan Fire Perimeter Map
not fully recover for decades. Shafer says the chaparral that burned this month was “considered young” as it reestablished itself after the ‘77 fire. Cal Fire and State Parks crews were seen using bulldozers and other equipment right after the fire. Shafer said that
See Cycles, page 11
As fire raged, community heroes helped their own DENISEN HARTLOVE Clayton Pioneer
SANDI BROOKS TAKES A MOMENT WITH APRIL, one of the 15 horses boarded at her Brookside Ranch on Morgan Territory Road. A charred North Peak is in the background.
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Sandi Brooks remembers standing on her Morgan Territory Road property a week before the Mt. Diablo fire started, looking at the dry grass surrounding the area. “If this thing ever catches fire it’s going to go up like a torch,” she said at the time. She was right. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), the fire burned a hair-raising 3,111 acres of land before the approximately 1,000 personnel brought in from districts around the state fought it to extinction. That number, however, doesn’t include the scores of locals who
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Morgan Fire Operations Map courtesy of CalFire
THE MORGAN FIRE STARTED AROUND 1 P.M. ON SUNDAY, SEPT. 8 BY A TARGET SHOOTER in the abandoned mercury mines at Morgan Territory and Marsh Creek Roads. By Tuesday evening, the fire had charred 3,111 acres from the mines at the northeast corner of the perimeter, through Perkins Canyon, North Peak and up and around Mt. Diablo, stopping just short of the summit on the southwest end. The smoke could be seen from all over the Bay Area and the burned area is visible on both the west and east sides of the mountain. Pets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Performing Arts . . . . . . . . . .17 Pioneer Photo Album . . . . . . .3 The Pocket Parent . . . . . . . .14 Police Report . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
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