Fire Weather Watch: First in California this year

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Fire Weather Watch: First in California this year

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A FIRE WEATHER WATCH...
WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING. THIS INCLUDES SOUTHERN GILA... MARICOPA... YUMA... AND LA PAZ COUNTIES IN ARIZONA... AND THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY IN ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA. A POWERFUL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE FOUR CORNERS AREA THURSDAY. STRONG NORTH WINDS ALONG THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY...AND WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS ACROSS SOUTH-CENTRAL ARIZONA... WILL DEVELOP BEGINNING LATE THURSDAY MORNING. SUSTAINED SPEEDS IN EXCESS OF 20 MPH WITH GUSTS EXCEEDING 35 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED. GUSTY WINDS WILL PERSIST INTO THE EVENING HOURS AS A COLD FRONT MOVES SOUTHWARD. THE AIRMASS WILL REMAIN QUITE DRY...WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES FALLING BELOW 15 PERCENT BY LATE MORNING. WINDS WILL BEGIN TO WEAKEN LATE THURSDAY EVENING AS THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES OFF TO THE EAST. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Instruction:
PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS AND FIRE CREWS IN THE FIELD OF THIS FIRE WEATHER WATCH.

Area: ARIZONA FIRE WEATHER ZONE 131YUMA/MARTINEZ LAKE AND VICINITY/LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY AZ-ARIZONA FIRE WEATHER ZONE 132SOUTH-CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST DESERTS-ARIZONA FIRE WEATHER ZONE 133SOUTHERN GILA COUNTY/TONTO NATIONAL FOREST FOOTHILLS-CALIFORNIA FIRE WEATHER ZONE 231LOWER COLORADO RIVER VALLEY CA-

Affected Counties or parts of: Riverside, Imperial

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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

Wednesday, March 25, 2009