YUCAIPA--Costs to fight the Oak Glen and Pendleton fires east of here have hit $7 million.

Both blazes were said to be man-caused and are being mopped up.

CAL FIRE’s Bill Peters says the expense was pushed higher by the use of the large DC-10 and 747 tankers and the fire retardants they carried.

“We could really see their effectiveness as a firefighting tool.”

But, Peters says the real credit goes to the ‘heroic’ firefighters who made a stand on Oak Glen Road.

“Without that stand, the fire may have gotten onto the other side and tried to get into the forest.”

The earlier Cottonwood fire in the San Jacinto Mountains added another $2.6 million to the Inland Empire’s firefighting bill. (INT)

Story Date: September 10, 2009