Santa Ana winds reaching category 1 hurricane speeds

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Santa Ana winds reaching category 1 hurricane speeds

Santa Ana winds reaching category 1 hurricane speeds in parts of Orange County today and have reached peaks of 85 mph.

These winds have caused numerous scattered power outages.

A vegetation fire that was believed caused by downed power lines was controlled by crews from Orange County Fire Authority, and the Riverside County Fire Department-Cal Fire. The two-acre brush fire was reported at 8:40 a.m. at the westbound Riverside (91) Freeway at Green River, on the Orange and Riverside County border.

A helicopter and 40 firefighters put out the two-acre vegetation fire this morning at Green River Road south of Highway 91 in Corona, said Riverside County fire Capt. Lori Windsor.

The fire was reported at 8:53 a.m. and was contained by 9:17 a.m., Windsor said.

Wind gusts peaked at 85 mph at 10 this morning in Fremont Canyon, and in Bell Canyon, speeds got up to 46 mph at 7 a.m., according to the Department of Water Resources California Data Exchange Center.

Southern California Edison crews have been working to restore power to more than 112,000 customers system wide who have lost power since midnight today. About 9,000 customers were reported to still be without power as of 11 this morning, including 300 in Los Angeles and Orange counties, an Edison spokesman said. Virtually all of the outages were in the Inland Empire.

Orange County Sheriff's Harbor Patrol officials said the high wind caused a 44-foot boat to break loose, causing minor damage to private docks at the Newbort Harbor Yacht Club at 9:35 this morning. No injuries were reported.

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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.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Tuesday, December 25, 2007