Redwood National and State Parks law enforcement rangers responded to a call for an out of control campfire in the Jedediah Smith Campground on the evening of June 12th. Assistance was requested of local fire departments and CalFire, the agency in charge of wild land fire suppression on state park lands.
The responding NPS district supervisor was flagged down by a park visitor who said that she and her friends needed help putting out a campfire in a tree. Field training ranger Morse and trainee Jurado arrived on scene and walked the woman back to the site where they found a partially hollow 130-foot tall old growth redwood tree on fire. With the fire located near the park boundary, and with several dozen homes nearby, CalFire and NPS Fire staff immediately started suppression operations. Drought conditions hampered suppression efforts that lasted throughout the night and which included 10,000+ gallons of water being sprayed into the tree. Due to fire damage the tree eventually collapsed, and suppression activities were successfully concluded. Working in conjunction with CalFire Law Enforcement, Ranger Jurado determined that the fire was intentionally set. Ranger Jurado subsequently arrested three illegal campers on state charges of arson and felony vandalism.