A fuel mix-up at the Gasquet base of the Smith River Fire Complex caused widespread emergency vehicle malfunctions on Friday, according to the US Forest Service (USFS).
The USFS reports that the mistake occurred around 2 p.m. on Thursday, September 7th, when a fuel vendor filled one of the fuel tenders at Gasquet's base camp with the incorrect fuel type. Reports of malfunctioning vehicles then began to pop up across the southern edge of the fire.
An investigation into the mix-up found that, between Thursday and Friday, 42 vehicles had received enough incorrect fuel to have a negative effect. Though there are more than 700 vehicles currently dispatched to the fire, a full-scale pause of firefighting operations was put into effect at 4 p.m. on Friday in order to protect emergency responders.