This afternoon a small grass fire was reported on the opposite side of the road not far from the Romero Visitor Center on Highway 152. The fire was quickly contained by Calfire and County fire units.

The fire, which was ignited Sunday on the main commuter route from Los Banos to the Bay Area, caused a backup in the west-bound direction of the Pacheco Pass Highway despite the fact that the fire was very rapidly controlled and contained.

CalFire and County ground units were aided by a spotter aircraft as well as an aircraft that dropped retardant at the site of the blaze.

The following photos are of the mop up operations which began even before Los Banos based engine 71 arrived on scene.

Fire crew mop up a quickly controlled vegitation fire on highway 152

In order to create a larger area where no fuel will exist a firefighter ignights a back-burn or back-fire.

Only seconds are required for a small fire to turn into a large one... food for thought....

Moments after ignition the back-fire races up the hill where it meets a patch of already burned ground.

The nomex blend 'grass gear' these guys wear is HOT. Firefighters hiked up and down these hills in 100 degree weather as they quickly contained and controlled the fire.Not only do they have the garments to contend with but also helmets, gloves, hand tools, and emergency fire shelter packs increase the burden.

Time to go back to the station and wait for another call...

If you enjoyed the photos above you may also like the story I did a couple of weeks back titled: Fire Season Is Beginning about the fire near Aruba road. There are some good shots of CalFire aerial support in that story. In addition, one of my photos of a CalFire aircraft dropping retardant appears in the June 7th issue of the Merced Sun Star.

If everyone in Los Banos would just take 1 or 2 hours a month to do something to help their neighborhood or their community we could truly make Los Banos the gem of the valley.

The above is only my personal opinion and I strongly encourage readers to seek out more information from expert sources. Copyright 2010