California late on last years strike team wildland fire bills

Friday, February 20, 2009

California late on last years strike team wildland fire bills

State owes fire department $213K

The Petaluma Fire Department has received more than $80,000 from the state for providing assistance to five wild land fires in other California counties in 2008, but has not yet received the additional $213,000 that it is owed.

The department has received three payments, which cover the costs of strike team members for fires in Humboldt, Lake and Napa counties. A payment of $26,000 was received on Oct. 8, followed by payments of $28,000 on Jan. 12 and $27,000 on Jan. 26.

But funds have not been received for strike-team services during fires in Butte and Orange counties.

“This delay is due to the state budget problems,” said Fire Chief Larry Anderson. “It isn’t affecting our day-to-day operations in Petaluma, and we would be able to send a strike team to another location if needed.

“I would do it in a heartbeat. But we wouldn’t be able to send two teams, because we would be stretched too thin.”

The Petaluma Fire Department has not been told when to expect the remaining money, which pays the overtime salaries of strike team members, and their expenses, including fuel, food and apparatus.

Anderson explained that the fire department still is within its budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, although the expenses have been higher than anticipated due to the participation of the strike teams.

Within Sonoma County, fire agencies supply personnel to other agencies, and don’t charge anything for their services, he said.

Several fire agencies in Sonoma County provided strike team members to help battle the flurry of wild land fires in the state in 2008, and several of these agencies have not yet been fully compensated.

Source: http://www.petaluma360.com - Link

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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

Friday, February 20, 2009