C
O
U
RT
E
SY
O
F
R
I
C
H
A
R
D
B
L
A
I
R
SIMILAR TO RECEN T wildfires in Sonoma and Napa counties, a major conflagration befell Marin County 22 years ago, almost to the day. “All reports indicated the Mount Vision Fire started just after midnight on Tuesday, October 3, 1995,” West Marin journalist Dave Mitchell recalls. “And due to winds and dry conditions, it burned fiercely for
five days.” Fortunately, no lives were lost, but 45 homes were destroyed and
12,534 acres of the 71,000-acre Point Reyes National Seashore were scorched.
In comparison, the smallest of the four fires that recently struck Napa and
Sonoma counties, the Pocket Fire, burned 17,357 acres. Yet unlike with fires
to the north, the cause of 1995’s Mount Vision fire was quickly known. “Four
teenage boys had illegally camped on the mountaintop,” Mitchell notes, “and
although they carefully buried their campfire’s ashes under dirt and rocks, two
days later smoldering embers burned through the forest floor and a gust of wind
sent sparks into nearby bishop pines.” According to Mitchell, the boys turned
themselves in and faced many hours of community service, but not prosecution. “It’s impossible to calculate the misery of those who lost their homes, their
belongings and sometimes their pets,” Mitchell adds. “A few moved away and
did not return. Most, however, soon began rebuilding.” m
Big Burn
In 1995, the largest
fire in Marin’s history
ravaged Point Reyes
National Seashore.
BY JIM WOOD
Looking Back
DATED 1995
Due to
winds and dry
conditions, it
burned fiercely
for five days.
