Firefighters get on top of pile

New strategic position helps bring junk blaze 70% under control.

By Jennifer Fitzenberger
The Fresno Bee

(Updated Monday, January 27, 2003, 9:45 AM)

Firefighters climbed a burning junk pile Sunday for the first time since it ignited more than two weeks ago.

From a makeshift road on the southwest Fresno heap, firefighters aimed jets of water with precision at smoldering chunks of rubble gouged by excavating equipment.

The technique speeds up the firefighting process, minimizes smoke and helps cut irritating airborne particles, said Cynthia Fanning, a spokeswoman for the U.S Environmental Protection Agency.

"It's a more direct attack," said Janet Marshall, a spokeswoman for the governor's Office of Emergency Services, contrasting the ground operation with spraying water and foam from hoses atop firetruck ladders.

"We are able to get men and women on top of the pile."

About 70% of the fire was controlled Sunday. To date, the effort has cost $836,000.

Air was unhealthful late last week thanks to stagnant weather, but it is getting better, said Josette Merced Bello, a spokeswoman with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

Today, air will be unhealthful for sensitive people.

"We got a bit of a break," Merced Bello said Sunday.

Firefighters built a road from extinguished debris Saturday. They also laid water-supply lines, including hoses that extend about 700 feet, into the center of the pile at Archie Crippen Excavation on Nielsen Avenue west of Marks Avenue.

Firefighters placed large pumps on the edges of the heap. Each pump pushes 4,000 gallons of water a minute -- enough to suck a firetruck dry in less than a minute or fill a large backyard pool in 10 minutes.

On Sunday, firefighters aimed the water with four nozzles, which create streams reaching up to 150 feet and walls of mist that protect firefighters from heat.

"As soon as they see something hot, the water is on it immediately," Marshall said. "It's closer and more precise."

Said Todd Thalhamer, an engineer with the state Integrated Waste Management Board: "It's something that had to be done to extinguish" the blaze.

Debris is doused with water and dumped into a pond, then moved away from the sizzling pile of wood chips, concrete, carpet, mattresses and automobile parts that ignited by spontaneous combustion.

The reporter can be reached at jfitzenberger@fresnobee.com or 441-6313.