Firefighters investigate suspicious brush fire at Mountain Lake Park

By Nancy Kaplan-Biegel

A small fire at Mountain Lake Park May 7 scorched some 1,500 native plants that had recently been planted as part of a restoration project.

Ten firefighters and three engines responded to the 6 p.m. call. Firefighters had the fire - which began close to the east shore and moved up the slope, burning a third of an acre - under control within an hour.

Presidio fire officials said the cause of the fire was unknown, but they said possible evidence was found at the burn site.

"When looking over the area after the fire was extinguished, we noticed a number of beer bottles at the end of the walkway, where the fire started," Assistant Chief of Fire Prevention Frank Rihtarshich said.

Brian Hildebidle, restoration coordinator for the Mountain Lake Enhancement Project, said a young, unidentified girl reported the fire after seeing smoke from her bedroom window.

Damage was estimated at more than $7,000, but project officials deemed the fire fairly minor.

"As a brush fire, it was pretty cosmetic," said Steve Radcliffe, implementation manager for the project.

Enough plants were on reserve in the national park's nursery for park volunteers - including the girl who initially phoned in the fire - to replant at an Open Park Day May 11.

"We had the entire burn site replanted by five that afternoon," Radcliffe said.

The project, which is managed by three agencies - the Presidio Trust, National Park Service and Golden Gate National Parks Association - aims, in part, to replace non-native vegetation along the lake with indigenous plants.

Non-native eucalyptus trees have been removed to make way for arroyo willow woodland and oak woodland on the lake's upper slopes.

According to Hildebidle, the site is recovering.

"Here we are 15 days later and some of the plants are already showing signs of resprouting," he said. "So there's room for optimism."

Radcliffe agreed: "In a couple of weeks, you probably won't be able to tell it happened."