Smokey Say's "One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire" #CaFire

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Smokey Say's "One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire" #CaFire

One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire

Forest officials are gathering with Kern County Fire Department, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and many other agencies to announce the campaign “One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire.”

Key issues of campaign:

Fire danger is at above normal levels.
Significantly dry conditions are present due to historically low precipitation.
Ninety four percent of wildfires are human caused—power equipment, vehicles, escaped debris burning and arson.

Each citizen has the responsibility to prevent human-caused wildfires and to protect their own property by creating fire adapted communities and defensible space around their homes.

Because of a very dry January through May period, with much lower than normal rainfall and snowpacks, the wildfire protection agencies in California are expecting a more severe wildfire season than normal.

In recognition of that threat, and in an attempt to minimize the number of accidental wildfire starts, the Interagency Fire Prevention Committee of the California Wildfire Coordinating Committee has developed and is implementing a new “One Less Spark—One Less Wildfire” campaign. The goal of the campaign is to educate Californians about how to prevent wildfires inadvertently caused by sparks from sources around the home and vehicle, as well as from industrial sources.

Recent wildfire statistics show that the most likely source of wildland fires is equipment and vehicles: lawn mowers, weedeaters, chain saws, grinders, welders, tractors, and vehicles can all spark a wildland fire, so the new public education campaign is aimed at the users of these devises, and provides them with tips for the fire-safe use of them.

An interagency fire prevention team has been mobilized to plan and implement the campaign through contacts with media and community groups is areas where fires from these sources have unusually high in recent years. The team has also developed videos and artwork for public education presentations. These items, and a detailed overview of the Loss Spark – One Less Wildfire” campaign are available on –line at

http://www.preventwildfireca.org/One-Less-Spark-One-Less-Wildfire/

Related Links
ReadyForWildfire.org

FireWise.org

SmokeyBear.com

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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

Tuesday, August 13, 2013