Open Space Lovers Ponder Shell Ridge Fire Damage as Firefighters Put Out Hot Spots and Investigators Look for Suspects

UPDATE: We learned later this evening that portions of Shell Ridge Open Space were closed to the public as firefighters continued to deal with hot spots.

Investigators continued to look for suspects involved in starting the 180-acre fire that blackened the hills of Shell Ridge Open Space, and firefighters worked Saturday to put out hot spots on the north side of the ridge.

Contra Costa County Fire District Battalion Chief Keith Cormier said fire investigators and Walnut Creek police have talked to witnesses who saw three juveniles in the area where the fire started, about 400 feet up the pathway into the open space from the end of Marshall Drive.

Cormier said they are not calling the fire arson at this point because all they know now is that it was set recklessly. It would become arson if they learned it was set deliberately.

Despite the fire and the surrounding it, people still came out to the open space area to hike, bike, jog, or check out the extent of the damage--despite the warmth of the day, the hot spots, and the high winds carrying the smell of charred plants and earth.  

"Dust devils," small tornadoes of char and dust, kicked up across the now barren sides of the ridge. On the north side of the ridge, which faces John Muir Medical Center and La Casa Via, hot spots crackled with smoke and occasional flames. Firefighters put those out as they found them.  

Although the fire crested the ridge and began to travel down the north side, it never seriously threatened homes along La Casa Via.  It also became clear that the trails circling the ridge provided a fire break and stopped the fire from spreading further. The fire jumped the path that runs along the Indian Valley Elementary School playing field. But the fire didn't appear to jump trails anywhere else, including the Corral Springs Trail that runs beneath the ridge on the La Casa Via side. 

Open space advocates were sad by so much damage, which stretched east along the ridge to the Ginder Gap Trail. They were also angry at the idea that humans were involved in causing it--whether recklessly or deliberately. 

Still, they were philosophical about what happened, saying that fire is part of nature. It can help clear out unhealthy or non-native flora and make way for healthy new growth, they said.

"We don't like a fire, and it's good that firefighters go put out a fire that represents a danger to people or property," said Bill Hunt, president of the board of the Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation. "But a fire doesn't necessarily cause permanent damage to the open space."

Visitors Saturday were gratified by that idea, as well as some landmarks in the park that were spared.

A man and woman leaving the open space after visiting the new bench under an oak tree that Las Lomas High students installed and dedicated earlier this week to Adam Williams, a 16-year-old student and cross country team member who was slain last summer by his mother in a murder-suicide on Mount Diablo. They were relieved to see that the fire swept entirely past the bench.  Their son was on the Las Lomas High cross country team with Adam. 

Anyone with information about the fire can contact the Contra Costa Fire arson hotline at 866-50ARSON (502-7766) or the Walnut Creek Police Department at 925-943-5844