At 10:37 AM 7/20/2004, Gene Smar wrote:
> The question I have about this report is how do the authorities KNOW
>that it was a bird that caused the fire. Have they been able to get close
>enough to the point of origin to find the carcus? (That's how we in the
>utility industry were able to determine the cause of our line faults - we
>found the poor little fried squirrel on the ground beneath the faulted
>line.) Inquiring minds want to know.
I'm just guessing here, speaking strictly as a former so. cal. native...
these brush fires tend to be fast moving once they really get going, and
they tend to consume all the fuel quickly as they go - therefore the point
of origin is done burning fairly soon. It is relatively easy to find the
point of origin since the fire is usually still small when they first see
it, and it is a matter of tracing back up wind. Power lines (as I expect you
know!-) nearly always have an access road that follows the line, which makes
them more accessible than other terrain. Once they saw that the point of
origin was in the vicinity of the power lines, looking there first probably
made sense, and I expect they found a crispy bird when they got there. QED.
The people who investigate these things unfortunately get plenty of
practice, and many of these fires are caused intentionally or through
carelessness by humans. Getting on the scene and determining the cause
quickly could make the difference in catching the perpetrator. I'm not
surprised they knew the cause so quickly!
hope this helps - 73 - jeff wk6i
--
Jeff Stai jds@twistedoak.com
Twisted Oak Winery http://www.twistedoak.com/
Rocketry Org. of CA http://www.rocstock.org/
Amateur Radio WK6I
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