CAL FIRE employees now exempt from furlough program

Saturday, June 13, 2009

CAL FIRE employees now exempt from furlough program

All California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) employees from the statewide furlough program during the 2009 and 2010 fire seasons.

Sacramento, CA - In a measure to ensure all resources are available to prepare for and fight wildfires, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger directed his Department of Personnel Administration to exempt all California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) employees from the statewide furlough program during the 2009 and 2010 fire seasons.

"While we need to find saving in virtually all areas of state government, it is absolutely critical that we operate our firefighting operations at full capacity to protect lives and property from potentially devastating wildfires," said the Governor.

"California has experience another dry year, creating especially dangerous conditions this summer," Schwarzenegger said. He said today's action will make sure as many people as possible are ready when the need arises.

Editors thought: What a boondoggle this very confusing furlough program became.
What did this furlough program cost the State to setup and administer? Did it save any money in the big picture? Some used many furlough hours some did not? What will it cost to sort out? I think I will Twitter the Governator - Twitter Link http://twitter.com/Schwarzenegger

#fulough - 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

Saturday, June 13, 2009