Owens River fire

[retired/lasd]

Reading different news articles about the fire on Sunday claim it burned about 650 plus acres. I gather it burned the vegetation along the river. Tom Loe of Sierra Drifters was quoted as saying the Wild Trout section took a major hit.

Fire was caused by fishermen using a stove during high winds. News articles state the men turned themselves in to Bishop PD and admitted to being the cause.

[SDJHawk]

soon after it started. I couldn't tell what was being burned. Bishop radio station said the campgrounds were burned but not sure what that meant.
Anybody else know what exactly was burned out?
Sure glad the Derby was on Sat. and not Sunday or there would not have been one probably. Derby was my first and had a lot of fun.

[tpfishnfool]

This happens every couple of years it seems. Some say its loe and his drifting cronies to improve the access to the river, but I personally think its the low lander fools that do not know what the heck they are doing or just dont care. Screws up the eco system big time !
Luckly the reeds and other plant life will grow back fast.
Who the hell ok'd drift boat access to the owens anyway ??

[retired/lasd]

According to the Sierra Drifters site, the fire started about 1/2 mile from the campground and burned most all of the wild trout section of the river down to the cement plant. Feel sorry for the fishermen that started it as I'm sure the county will sue them in civil court for the firefighting cost.

[baybassboy]

News articles state the men turned themselves in to Bishop PD and admitted to being the cause.


its a shame that this fire even happened... however, the area will recover just fine... and it is really nice to see that there are people out there who actually do the honest thing... my hats off to these guys for manning up and admitting fault

[retired/lasd]

When you look at the fire that started a few years ago at Line St. ( Arson) Its amazing how fast the vegetation grew back. Its twice the amount it was before the fire. The section along the Wild Trout section will grow back before the end of the season...

[troutslayer05]

Like bassboy said it takes some balls to admit when u ****** up. He or they did the right thing in turning themselves in even if it could have been prevented we all make mistakes....hopefully the fishing wont be too impacted up there

[flytyingreloader]

You can only admire people who step up and admit wrong-doing like that. Thankfully, no one was injured significantly. Just a wake-up call to all of us who visit the back country to use care with fire.

[one_leg]

Like bassboy said it takes some balls to admit when u ****** up. He or they did the right thing in turning themselves in even if it could have been prevented we all make mistakes....hopefully the fishing wont be too impacted up there



...............................Smoked trout is tasty!!!

[WaterBound]

"This is the fourth fire in three weeks on the river in the Bishop area. All have been from man made causes."

[retired/lasd]

Read in the Inyo Register today hat the fire burned 1200 acres on both sides of the river. It stated that the men responsible were camping along the river which is not allowed. It also stated that they are looking into legal action for restitution for firefighting cost.

I would hate to be in their shoes as that could amount to a huge amount of money.

www.inyoregister.com

[Sierra_Smitty]

Just an FYI for those concerned....

I drove out to the burn areas today to see how much damage there was. There is a long stretch of the wild trout section that burned but there is still an aweful lot of river that was unaffected. The areas that were burned would be easy to reach with the willows gone.

The campground at PVR is untouched and there is probably 1/2 mile of river below the campground before the burn area starts.