The Weather Channel and Weather.com Honor Six-month Anniversary of Yarnell Hill Wildfire

Friday, December 27, 2013

The Weather Channel and Weather.com Honor Six-month Anniversary of Yarnell Hill Wildfire

Original Documentary and In-depth Report Investigate the
State of the Nation’s Wildfire Readiness

The Weather Channel and weather.com Honor Six-month Anniversary of Yarnell Hill Wildfire

ATLANTA (December 30, 2013) – Six months after 19 firefighters lost their lives battling a devastating Arizona wildfire, The Weather Channel® investigates the larger problem of U.S. wildfires in an original documentary and in-depth written report, “America Burning” (wt). Available Dec. 30 at weather.com, the multimedia project goes beyond what you’ve heard before. The report focuses on the contributing factors such as climate change, drought and issues gone wrong over 100 years that created this predicament.

“Climate change, poor forest management, cyclical dryness and drought, reckless real estate development and the over-commitment of firefighters to fight every fire have put us in a hole that may take decades to get out of,” said Neil Katz, vice president of content at The Weather Company and editor-in-chief of weather.com. “Tragic fires are happening more frequently, and we want to bring awareness to this serious national problem to help keep people safe and try to stop it from happening.”

Nearly 400 wild land firefighters have died in the last 20 years. On June 30, 2013, 19 firefighters known as the Granite Mountain Hotshots gave their lives battling a Yarnell, AZ, wildfire. The Weather Channel network will also offer coverage of the six-month anniversary on air. The weather.com site examines the tragedy and larger questions about U.S. wildfire policies that their sacrifice raises: Why are wildfires increasing in number and intensity? How has climate change altered our forests? Is there a national fire policy that should be changed, or are we too late?

The documentary and report include exclusive and in-depth interviews from surviving family members and the sole surviving firefighter, who has only given one other interview on the topic.

This project follows continued investment from The Weather Channel to provide compelling content for fans though increased long-form and investigative journalism, in-depth stories and beautiful video such as Weather Films.

Check out the story at weather.com. “America Burning” was produced by the weather.com team of award-winning journalists, including Editor-in-chief Neil Katz, executive producer Greg Gilderman and producer Shawn Efran of Efran Films.

---------------------------------------------

CFN - California Fire News 2013

No comments:

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

Friday, December 27, 2013