Eagle Fire Neighbors Ask, 'Who Will Pay?'

Up to 7,000 gallons of water per hour is being used to fight the on Los Coyotes Indian Reservation near Warner Springs, according to a local water company.

It's coming out of hydrants in a neighborhood adjacent to the reservation.

"I guess it's more convenient than getting water out of Lake Henshaw," Joe Coxsey, director of Los Tules Mutual Water Company told Patch.

The fire had consumed at least 1,100 acres as of 1 p.m. Friday and is moving eastward toward Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, according to CalFire.

Coxsey said he woke Friday at 2:30 a.m. to the sound of CalFire pumping water into tanker trucks. He thought someone was stealing water.

"They said they needed it for the fire," he told Patch.

CalFire was notified of the fire on the reservation at 10:40 p.m. Thursday. As of 1 p.m. Friday, the blaze was five to 10 percent contained and moving across an extremely remote area which is used for military training. The land is leased from the Los Coyotes tribe and is operated by a company formerly known as Eagle Rock Training Center. It is now called ERTC.

Coxsey said the water company owns four wells. He said firefighters were initially accessing potable water but he switched them to a well that contains water with radioactive uranium in it, which can't be used as drinking water.

"My question is, 'Who's going to pay for this?'" Coxsey said.

Neighbors had previously showed concern about fire safety in the area, according to this May 2011 report by Channel 8 TV.

There are 80 homeowners served by Los Tules Water Company, which is a private operation. They live on Camino Ortega and Camino Morro, off Camino San Ignacio, the access road to Los Coyotes Indian Reservation.

One neighbor, Larry Petersen, told Patch that the firefighters had taken about 15 loads of water out of the wells by about 7:30 a.m. Friday.

Coxsey said, "We're getting about three or four trucks an hour.'