By Ursula Newman
Fire personnel responded to a report of smoke near Granite Avenue in the Arcata Community Forest on Thursday, Sept. 4. The initial response was a single engine for a smoke check, but as more smoke was observed, additional resources were requested. The response took around five hours from notification to completion, with the fire covering just over a quarter of an acre. 

Arcata and University Police assisted in locating the smoke, which led to a full response involving all on-duty engines and mutual aid partners in the area. CAL FIRE sent an engine crew from Trinidad and a hand crew from Fortuna to assist. Humboldt Bay Fire and Blue Lake Fire also provided aid to cover the district while the fire was being managed.

The fire was in brush and timber, spreading slowly over a couple of hours. The exact cause remains unknown.

Arcata Fire Chief Chris Emmons said an encampment site was found along the edge of the fire.

“If I had to speculate, it looked like it very well could have been like an encampment fire left unattended that spread over a few hours,” Emmons said. “I couldn’t say 100%, but that’s the only source of ignition I could find in the area.”

Andrew Ramirez arrived on the scene from Fortuna as part of CAL FIRE’s hand crew. 

“We established a fire line all around the perimeter of the fire,” Ramirez said. “We made sure that there was nothing sticking over the line that could potentially catch fire and spread over. There were one or two larger redwood trees that were caught in the fray that got burnt up about halfway up their trunks.”

In the following days, Arcata Fire continued to monitor the area.

“Our crews went back for the next couple of days to check and see if there’s anything within the containment lines that was popping up, like we call it, ‘checking for smokes,’” Emmons said.

Emmons views the incident as a reminder of the importance of early reporting and community vigilance.

“With the right conditions, fires can spread and cause significant damage. So if [you] see something, certainly call us,” Emmons said. “You’re not going to get in trouble for it. We would much rather come and find something small, than not get notified and have to use more of our resources on something that’s larger.”

 Ursula Newman is a journalism major, Lumberjack social media manager and Humboldt local. You can find her all over the county doing all kinds of things, and talking to all sorts of people.