CalEMA sends Cal Fire mapping specialist to assist with gulf oil spill

Monday, July 19, 2010

CalEMA sends Cal Fire mapping specialist to assist with gulf oil spill

STATE: Cal Fire sends mapping specialist to assist with gulf oil spill

Sacramento – This morning a CAL FIRE mapping specialist was deployed to Florida to assist in
the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Joe Larson, a CAL FIRE GIS
(Geographical Information System) specialist, from San Luis Obispo County left Saturday
morning for Tallahassee, Florida to assist in mapping the spread of oil towards the Florida Coast.
As a mapping specialist, Larson’s normal duties include mapping fire perimeters, updating
emergency response areas and fire hazard severity zones. His out of state mission will be to lead
the Technical Services Branch in the Florida Emergency Operation Center in its support for the
Deepwater Horizon efforts. Larson is scheduled to be assigned to the mission for at least two
weeks.
“I am proud of CAL FIRE’s worldwide reputation in superior disaster response and emergency
management, “said Chief Del Walters, director of CAL FIRE. “Florida sent resources to
California during the 2008 lightning fire siege, and this opportunity is allowing us to return the
favor.”
The request for assistance by Florida emergency officials was made on July 16 through the
California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) and the Emergency Management
Assistance Compact (EMAC), a congressionally ratified organization that provides form and
structure to interstate mutual aid. Through EMAC, a disaster impacted state can request and
receive assistance from other member states quickly and efficiently.
Though CAL FIRE is best known for its wildfire fighting activities, the department has often
been called on to respond to all types of disasters in California and in other states. In 2005 for
example, CAL FIRE sent a team of emergency responders to Louisiana to assist in the incident
command of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.

Source: CAL FIRE press release .pdf article link
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Contact: Daniel Berlant
Information Officer
(916) 651-FIRE (3473)

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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

Monday, July 19, 2010