News: Freeway funeral procession planned for killed Caltrans worker

Saturday, December 1, 2007

News: Freeway funeral procession planned for killed Caltrans worker

Parts of three major freeways from Riverside to San Bernardino may be partially closed Monday for a funeral procession for a Caltrans worker killed by a motorist this week.

The procession and an accompanying California Highway Patrol motorcade will be taking up the two right lanes of state Highway 91, Interstate 215 and Interstate 10 starting at around 11 a.m. and lasting until about 1 p.m., Caltrans officials said.

John Knabenbauer, a 42-year-old Fontana resident and 17-year employee of Caltrans, was killed Wednesday morning when he was hit by a car while trying to remove a dead dog from I-215 at the Fifth Street onramp.

The plans are still tentative, with California Highway Patrol officials meeting today to go over the route and give their stamp of approval, said Sgt. Tel Preszler of the CHP Inland division.

Caltrans workers from all over the state are expected to take part in the procession along with representatives from the U.S. Forest Service, Cal Fire and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, said Caltrans spokeswoman Shelli Lombardo.

Caltrans Director Will Kempton and Dale Bonner, the state's secretary of business, transportation and housing, are also expected to attend the services.

Church services will be held at 10 a.m. at Harvest Christian Fellowship Church in Riverside, with graveside services to follow at Montecito Memorial Park in Colton.

The procession will take Adams Street in Riverside, get onto eastbound Highway 91, continuing on northbound I-215 and then onto eastbound I-10, exiting at Waterman Avenue at the Colton/San Bernardino line.

The procession is expected to cause some delays but won't affect the morning commute, said CHP Officer Joe Ramos, spokesman for the San Bernardino office.

If motorists "happen to get stuck on the freeway with the procession, just be patient," Ramos said.

Source: Original article
IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise
Reach Imran Ghori at 909-806-3061 or ighori@PE.com

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Saturday, December 1, 2007