Kite Lines - Vol.1 No. 3 - KiteLife

KITE SAFETY IN THE HEADLINES:T 11141A SYCAMORE FIREOn July 26, 1977, at 7 :27 or 7 :28 p .m .,a fire broke out in the rugged foothillsof Santa Barbara, CA, which destroyedat least 234 homes, many of them luxurious,and damaged many others . Thetotal estimate of loss ran to a quarterof a billion dollars .Amazingly, no lives were lost . Butthe emotional damage over lost possessions,pets and the memories of alifetime, was beyond calculation . Officiallynamed the Sycamore Fire, it wasthe worst of several fires that besiegedtinder-dry California in this period .For kitefliers it was particularlyagonizing because it was started by akite .Surely every reader of this magazineshared a personal sense of shock andregret on learning that a kite couldhave brought such terrible tragedy toothers . From such stern lessons wehope to learn how to accept and promoteresponsibility in kiting .Kite Lines talked to Bob Krauch ofSouthern California Edison Co ., whosaid that a large box kite flown on 1 /8-inch nylon line pulled two high tensionwires together. They fused and senthot metal to the ground, where the firestarted . The kite and string were notconductive, but caused the two lines tocross in conditions of extreme heat,dryness and wind .Henry H . Howard, AKA Life Memherof Solvang, CA, 35 miles fromSanta Barbara, wrote :"I am happy to tell you that so faras I have been able to determine nobodywants to lynch the kiteflier, whohas been identified as a local man, acarpenter, who had worked on several