Media Credit: Hayley Bramble

• Fire starts on hill adjacent to Poly Canyon Village
  
• Cause of the fire is unknown
  
• 5 aircraft, hand crews, fire trucks and bulldozers are all trying to contain the spread as the wind picks up.
  
  Firefighters struggled to contain a fire that broke out on a Cal Poly hill around 11 a.m. on Tuesday. As hand crews attempted to put a line around it, the wind spread the fire to the surrounding area, inching toward a neighboring hill and Poly Canyon.
  
  Francis Solich, the deputy state fire marshall for Cal Fire, said about 5 percent of the fire has been contained and there is no estimate on when it will be completely contained. The cause of the fire is also unknown. The fire originally started at 25 acres, jumped to a second hill and is now spreading to a third hill.
  
  The fire began on a hill behind the Cal Poly Equine Center. Animal science senior Stephanie Gloede was one of the first to see it and placed the call to 9-1-1 at 11:10 a.m.
  
  "It spread really fast," she said. "It was double if not triple by the time the fire marshall got there."
  
  Ten firetrucks arrived on the scene, as well as two helicopters and three planes. Bulldozers were being used to ensure that the fire did not reach Poly Canyon and water was supplied by the Cal Poly Corporation.
  
  Jessica Wagner and two other equestrian team members were riding horses along the trails behind the equine center when they noticed the fire.
  
  "We saw it start on the the lefthand side of the crevice and it just grew," she said.
  
  As a result of the fire, an animal science 224 lab has been cancelled.
  
  Check back at mustangdaily.net for breaking news updates.
  

Article Tools