Press release: Anderson Calls for Year Round Air Tankers

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Press release: Anderson Calls for Year Round Air Tankers

Resources Should Not be Held-Up Until May 1^st Start of “Fire Season.”

Sacramento— Saying that “….waiting is a gamble that may be downright dangerous,”

Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-El Cajon) today sent a letter to CAL FIRE Director Ruben Grijalva, calling for immediate availability of air tankers to fight brush fires.

“I am concerned by the possibility of air support and other important resources being held back until May, when the ‘normal’ fire season is supposed to begin,” wrote Anderson. “I ask for immediate deployment of aerial resources and all other equipment necessary.”

Yesterday two brush fires broke out in San Diego County; one in Fallbrook near camp Pendleton and one near the Mexican border. Assemblyman Anderson’s office was informed by local fire officials that calls for air tanker support were rebuffed by CAL FIRE officials, who said that air tankers would not be made available until May 1, 2008.

“Holding off the deployment of important fire-fighting resources keyed to the arbitrary date of so-called ‘fire season,’ shows that little has been learned from the two recent devastating wildfires,” said Anderson. “Air tankers should be available year-round to protect lives and property,” said Anderson.

Letter to CAL FIRE Director Ruben Grijalva

April 18, 2008

Ruben Grijalva, Director

CAL FIRE

1416 9th Street

Sacramento, California 94244-2460

Dear Director Grijalva:

Early reports in the news media give every indication of a fiercer-than-normal fire season.

In fact, fires are already breaking out in the San Diego region, now, due to the abundant vegetation that grew during the winter combined with lack of recent rainfall and increasingly unpredictable climate patterns.

The harsh lessons taught by the extraordinary fire events of last fall should be enough to guarantee that our state will be ready to handle what could well be another grueling fire season. However, I am concerned by the possibility of air support and other important resources being held back until May, when the “normal” fire season is supposed to begin.

I remember the uphill battles fought by so many while last year’s fire season ravaged our part of the state, and that is why I believe that exercising any kind of hesitance is unwise. Given what is at stake, waiting is a gamble that may be downright dangerous.

Therefore, I ask for immediate deployment of aerial resources and all other equipment necessary to get ahead of the looming fire season, which promises to be anything other than normal. Now is the time to be proactive, and not miss any opportunity to strike quickly and determinedly at the serious threats that are beginning to emerge.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Joel Anderson

Assemblyman

Source: Press release from Assemblyman Joel Anderson

Attached: Letter to CAL FIRE Director Ruben Grijalva

For more information see: www.assembly.ca.gov/anderson

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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

Saturday, April 19, 2008