Fire at Camp Roberts in Northern SLO County Sparked From Mortar Round

THURSDAY UPDATE

[4 p.m. PDT] Camp Roberts officials confirm that the fire that broke out Wednesday afternoon on base and burned approximately 3,800 acres, was started from a 60 mm mortar illumination round. The fire is now at a reported 90 percent containment, and no structures were damaged.

[1 p.m. PDT] Cal Fire SLO officials reporting that the Camp Roberts Fire has grown to 3,800 acres and is 70 percent contained.

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WEDNESDAY UPDATE

Cal Fire now reports a brush fire at Camp Roberts in northern San Luis Obispo County is 70% contained after burning hundreds of acres west of San Miguel and Paso Robles.

The fire started at about 2:30 Wednesday afternoon in a southeastern area of the Army base and spread quickly from high temperatures and strong winds that pushed the flames further into thick, dry brush.

The fast-moving brush fire sent huge plumes of smoke into the air that could be seen across northern San Luis Obispo County.

“We figured that it was a wildfire but we didn’t know if it was controlled or not”, said Paso Robles resident Hannah McMinn who drove out to look at the fire.

“The smoke clouds are definitely going high enough into the air that its attracting attention all the way down to Atascadero”, added local resident Cody Hill.

Camp Roberts Army firefighters received mutual aid support from the San Miguel Volunteer Fire Department and Cal Fire.

“We knew that Camp Roberts were doing their burns which they announced but when our local San Miguel Fire Department responded, I saw CDF, then I knew that it got away from the federal guys and into our private land out here, just concerned as a homeowner”, said San Miguel resident David Fowler.

Air Tanker support from Paso Robles Airport was called in when it became clear the fire was spreading faster and further to the southeast.

“The wind is giving them hell, I’m telling you”, said San Miguel volunteer firefighter Gib Buckman who monitored the fire’s movement by two-way radio on West Tenth Street near the Gate 10 entrance to the base.

No evacuation warning was issued to the immediate, off-base area surrounding the fire which is sparsely populated with vineyard estates, horse ranches and country homes.

By sunset Wednesday, the firefighting effort appeared to be gaining the upper hand as the winds calmed down and cooler temperatures moved in.

Camp Roberts had notified the public and surrounding communities that it planned to conduct prescribed, controlled burns in another area of the base on Thursday.

Base officials say that plan could change depending on what happens with the fire overnight.

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[6:30 pm. PDT] Cal Fire SLO officials reporting that the Camp Roberts Fire has grown to 1,500 acres.

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ORIGINAL STORY

Firefighters are on scene of a brush fire at Camp Roberts in northern San Luis Obispo County that broke out at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The fire reportedly started behind the main garrison not far from the base’s training area. A huge plume of smoke coming from at least two active fires on the base can be seen for miles.

No structures are threatened at this time, and no injuries have been reported.

Cal Fire officials say the fire is at least 500 acres in size.

Firefighters from neighboring agencies have been called to assist. Currently, our reporter Keith Carls, who is on scene, says that he has not seen any air support as of yet.

At the moment, the 500+ acre brush fire is burning in open wildlife area. There are some concerns by residents that own ranches in the area.

A strong, steady wind is being reported in the area. No sign of containment has been reported for the Camp Roberts Fire yet.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. There was a prescribed burn scheduled for Camp Roberts on Thursday, but Wednesday’s fire is in a different area of the camp and is not related to the prescribed burn.

We will update this developing story when new information becomes available.

Watch KCOY 12: Vegetation Fire Burning at Camp Roberts