CAL FIRE TCU: 2013 Fire Season Begins With A New Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit CAL-FIRE Unit Chief

Thursday, May 9, 2013

CAL FIRE TCU: 2013 Fire Season Begins With A New Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit CAL-FIRE Unit Chief

San Andreas –CAL FIRE’s Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit incorporates the State Responsibility Areas (SRA) in Tuolumne County, Calaveras County, Eastern Stanislaus County and Eastern San Joaquin County.
With this year’s dry conditions the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit (TCU) transitioned into fire season on May 1st, much earlier than normal.

The 2013 fire season also comes with new leadership. On May 1, 2013, Josh White was appointed to the TCU Unit Chief position. Former TCU Unit Chief, Brian Kirk, retired in March 2013. Chief White began his career in 1988 as a Firefighter I. Since then he has worked a variety of assignments including State and County fire stations, Conservation Camps, Fire Prevention, Civil Cost Recovery, Law Enforcement, Safety, Research and Development as well as served on various working groups and cadres. Chief White has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice...
The transition into fire season means CAL FIRE begins opening and staffing its seasonal fire stations on a 24-hour basis to help protect California’s wildlands. The Columbia Air Base is also open and staffed with a helicopter. Unit Chief Josh White reminds members of the community “Burn permits are required and burning is restricted to the hours of 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. on permissive burn days.”

Community members are encouraged to continue working on their defensible space. Work that involves the use of gas or electric powered equipment should be done before 10 a.m., prior to the heat of the day and lower humidity. Weather conditions will continue to be monitored on a daily basis and when necessary, burning will be suspended.

Chief White encourages alternatives to burning by recycling, composting or chipping your defensible space debris. Each year there is a potential for devastating fires which could have been prevented. Is your home ready for wildfire? By protecting your home, you protect your neighbors’ home as well as the community we live in. Visit us at www.readyforwildfire.org for tips on how to make your home safe this fire season

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CFN - California Fire News 2013

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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

Thursday, May 9, 2013