Search For Missing 15-year-old Morgan Hill Girl

  15-year-old Sierra Lamar was last seen on Friday March 16 as she headed off to school from her Morgan Hill home. 

Sierra Lamar Sierra (pictured above and below)is 5 feet 2 inches tall with a thin build. She was last seen with her Juicy brand black and pink purse.

Law enforcement is treating her disappearance as a missing person’s case. ”There is no information leading us to believe she purposely ran away,” On the other hand, we don’t have information or evidence associating a crime with her being missing.” - Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jose Cardoza said.

The investigation: 
The Sheriff’s Office said its Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement team Task Force has been assisting with the investigation and is contacting all known persons convicted of prior sexual assault related crimes in the South County area as a precaution. The purpose of contacting the people with priors in the area is to confirm their whereabouts during the time Sierra went missing. This is done in all missing child cases.

 Her Father Steve Wayne Lamar, of Fremont, is a registered sex offender, but he has been cooperating with authorities and is not considered a person of interest in his daughter's disappearance, Sgt. Jose Cardoza of the Santa Clara County sheriff's office said.
Steve Lamar was convicted of lewd acts with a child younger than 14 years old.(l)

Sierra's father, said he had no reason to believe Sierra was planning to run away.
He talked to her the day before she was reported missing, and she was "happy, talking to me about homework. "She was asking me to make an appointment so she could dye her hair," Steve LaMar said. "She wouldn't miss that appointment — if you knew my daughter."

Investigators are also interviewing students at Sobrato High School, where Sierra currently attends, and at Washington High School in Fremont, where she attended before transferring last fall.

Marc Klaas, whose daughter Polly was kidnapped and murdered in 1994, is also on the case and has helped LaMar set up a search center.

Clues and Evidence:

• Police have found a bag and clothing belonging to Sierra LaMar, two days later, discarded near an intersection close to her home, her Juicy brand bag contained a neatly folded pair of pants and a T-shirt,  Santa Clara County Sheriff's Sgt. Jose Cardoza said that the evidence provided no clues about whether Sierra was abducted or ran away. Inside the bag, found at Santa Teresa Boulevard and Laguna Avenue in Morgan Hill, was Sierra's neatly folded T-shirt and a pair of pants.
•  The bag was about a mile north on Santa Teresa from where police found her Samsung Galaxy cellphone. 
•  Saturday police found a Cellphone belonging to Sierra LaMar, Authorities said the phone yielded no clues. Investigators found Sierra's cell phone on the side of a road in the opposite direction of her bus stop a day after her disappearance, the phone looked as if it had been tossed.
• The charger for the teen's cell phone was found in her room at home, 
• Sierra's mother  Marlene LaMar distributed a cell phone photo she said Sierra took the morning before she disappeared. It was a photo of herself, she appears to be a typical happy teenager possibly wearing the same T-shirt investigators discovered two days after she mysteriously vanished on March 16, investigators revealed Friday.  But because Sierra's tweet only captured a small portion of the shirt, investigators can't be sure it was the same shirt located inside Sierra's Juicy-brand bag found at 1 p.m. Sunday, according to Sgt. Jose Cardoza. "Whether it's the same we don't know, but it's similar," Cardoza said.
• The last tweet posted by Sierra, who used Twitter on a daily basis, was sent at 6:29 a.m. Friday morning.
• The last communication from Sierra was a text message sent to a friend at 7:11 a.m., or nine minutes before she was supposed to reach the bus stop at Dougherty and Palm avenues, according to the sheriff's office. That has been described as a typical text message between friends.
• Marlene LaMar said Sierra's bus driver told her she never boarded the bus the day she disappeared.
• Sierra moved to Morgan Hill this year after growing up in Fremont. She has friends at both Washington High School in Fremont and Sobrato High School in Morgan Hill.
• All of her friends state that Sierra is not the type to run away.

The Search: 
The FBI set up a roadblock where LaMar would usually board her bus and is stopping drivers who pass through, hoping someone will provide a clue that could help bring Sierra home.

More than sixty searchers resumed looking for the young Morgan Hill student in a 12 mile area around her home today Saturday. Sheriff's deputies and FBI agents worked well into the night Thursday and Friday, re-canvassing the area and doing consensual searches of Sierra's mom's house, according to Cardoza.

On Saturday, 60 search and rescue team members and four search dogs plan to scour a 12-mile radius around the bus stop she was supposed to be headed the morning she disappeared.

Map: Missing 15 year old Sierra Lamar

View Santa Clara: Missing 15 year old Sierra Lamar in a larger map

 Candlelight vigil for Sierra was held on Tuesday night at the Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church.
After a week of few leads and dashed hopes, missing teen Sierra LaMar's family, friends and classmates gathered at a candlelight vigil for the Morgan Hill, Calif., girl who has been missing for nine days.

"We want you to come back home. We know you will find your way back to us," Sierra's mother, Marlene LaMar, said

   Anyone with information about Sierra or her whereabouts is asked to contact Santa Clara County Communications at (408) 299-2311. During business hours, tipsters can call sheriff's investigators at (408) 808-4500 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 808-4431. They also set up an email address for tips at: tips@sheriff.sccgov.org.

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Oakland Female Firefighters Take The Heat

Female firefighters in Oakland take the heat, defy stereotypes

 On March 5, the highest-ranking woman in San Jose’s fire department, Teresa Deloach-Reed, replaced Oakland’s interim fire chief, Mark Hoffman. She became the first black woman to lead a major fire department in the United States.

In San Jose’s Fire Department, Deloach-Reed quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the first woman in the department promoted to fire engineer, then fire captain, and battalion chief. She was appointed interim deputy fire chief in 2008 and assistant fire chief in 2009. Deloach-Reed worked in San Jose’s fire department for nearly 25 years before coming to Oakland.

As of 2010, less than 4 percent of U.S. firefighters were women, and just over 6 percent were black, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Oakland’s fire department currently has 419 sworn personnel, of which 377 are male and 43 are women. Of those women, 13 are African American, 24 are white, 3 are Hispanic, and 3 are Asian or Filipino.

“Oakland and San Francisco were always seen as fire departments that had a lot of women,” Deloach-Reed said. “We had a force in San Jose close to 750 and at the most may have had 35 women.”

With the dissolution of the Oakland Redevelopment Agency, the city is dealing with budget cuts and layoffs. Fire department officials are not looking to increase staffing, but rather to maintain the staffing they already have. “The whole redevelopment issue came up and they [the city council] had to rebalance their budget,” Deloach-Reed said. “Luckily the fire department was not affected by that budget. We were able to get through without personal losses during that period.”

“We may not be that safe the next time around,” she added.

Deloach-Reed’s appointment to her position comes at a pivotal moment for diversity in fire departments across the country. A federal court order in 2011 instructed the Chicago Fire Department to add 111 black firefighters by March 2012 after finding that discriminatory practices were used to evaluate applicants’ scores for a 1995 entrance exam. There is more pressure on fire departments throughout the nation to be more inclusive in their hiring. In the past year, fire departments in New Haven, Saint Louis, and New Hudson, NJ, have been hit with lawsuits because of discrimination. In New York City, a federal judge ruled that a court-appointed monitor would be installed to oversee the department’s recruitment of minorities.

Oakland’s ratio for women to men is more than three times the national average. “Overall we [women] are encouraged to apply,” said Stephanie Cockrill, an Oakland firefighter. “I don’t think they discourage anyone, but it is a physical job and you have to be prepared mentally.”

Deloach-Reed is aware of her predecessors. The first known female firefighter in the United States was Molly Williams, a black slave who worked New York City’s Oceanus Engine Company #11 in 1818. “That means a lot,” Deloach-Reed said. “Women have been in the fire service since Molly and when you talk about the modern fire service black women have been involved for years.”

It’s a collection of women she’s now a part of. “I remember the celebration when Rosemary Cloud became the first black women to run a fire department [in East Point, GA] and then there was Debra Pryor over in Berkeley and Toni Dixon [Decatur, GA] and Teresa Everett [College Park, GA]. For me to be appointed to this position I see it as standing on their shoulders,” she said.

The video series at the top and at right includes female firefighters in Oakland taking out flames during a training session—including extra footage seen through a helmet cam. Several firefighters are interviewed about stereotypes they face in the communities they protect, and we meet the new chief. Ever want a tour of a fire engine or firefighter gear? Buckle up.

The infographic below breaks down the fire department’s personnel by race and gender. Click to enlarge.

Infographic by John C. Osborn. Julia Marshall was a contributing videographer for this report.
Source article with more videos: Link
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Oroville: Firefighters Resuscitated Dog With Pet Oxygen Mask

  California firefighters knock down fire, revive dog
Crew searched house, found unconscious dog, which was rescued resuscitated with dog oxygen mask and taken to vet

OROVILLE, Calif. — Oroville firefighters quickly knocked down a fire that was burning on the south side of a house on Acacia Lane at about 10:47 a.m. Tuesday.

Engine 1 was just a few blocks away. Capt. Dave Hilson said the fire was burning in rooms on the south side of house when they arrived. Firefighters extinguished the fire a few minutes after they arrived.

No one was at home at the time.

Firefighters ventilated the house to release heat and smoke and another crew searched the house and found an unconscious dog, which was rescued resuscitated with a dog oxygen mask and taken to a vet, said Oroville Battalion Chief Dean Hill Jr. by telephone later.

"I think he is fine, but he took in quiet a bit of smoke," Hill said.

Fire was contained to the living room, but smoke damage went throughout the house. The Oroville Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire.
Source: Chicoer - Link

California Fire News 2011 

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Chico Leaves Five Public Safety Positions Vacant

 Chico police, fire not safe from budget cuts

By Katy Sweeny - The Chico Enterprise-Record

CHICO, Calif. — With a possible deficit of $2.2 million for the next fiscal year, the Chico city manager recommended Tuesday to leave five public safety positions vacant.

City Manager Dave Burkland told the Chico City Council that reducing the police and fire departments' staff "would have an impact on service delivery."

Community non-profits, the library, arts programs and economic development are also on the funding cut list, Burkland said.

Burkland outlined his recommended cuts to the Chico City Council Tuesday night during their second budget study session for the fiscal year that starts in July. Councilwoman Mary Goloff was absent from the meeting for medical reasons.

The city manager recommended keeping three firefighter jobs unfilled as well as two for retiring police officers. Six other positions are marked for vacancy, including one for a police services administrative manager, one code enforcement officer, two maintenance workers and two administrative analysts.

Burkland also recommended cutting non-salary costs for expenses such as non-mandatory training, supplies and educational reimbursement. The city could also delay replacing its vehicles and increase its fees.

In the instance of fire department cuts, Burkland said the fire chief could chose to cut one position from a truck daily or close a station.

Councilman Bob Evans said with the reduction in planning permits, he would expect staff to be cut from planning rather than police and fire.

Burkland said Chico has decreased its planning staff, but revenue currently covers their salaries.

"If they don't cover that, they know we're going to lose positions," he said.

The Chico Police Officers' Association president Will Clark asked the council if city management would cut redevelopment jobs "instead of subtracting from the vital public safety side."

Burkland said staff in the departments that billed the now abolished redevelopment agency know they need to bring in revenue to support themselves. However, two positions in the housing and neighborhood services department will be eliminated "not just for a lack of work, but for a lack of funding."

Considering the city has reduced its support staff 22 percent in four years, Burkland said he does not recommend cutting those positions more.

"We need those to be able to stay in compliance to be able to support the council and the community," Burkland said.

The alternatives to Burkland's recommendations are furloughs, wage and benefit concessions, layoffs, increased taxes and reduced services, he said.

In the current fiscal year that ends June 30, the city is running over on spending by almost $1 million, said Jennifer Hennessy, city finance director. Operating expenses exceeded projections due to police and fire overtime, falling short on the early retirement program and non-salary costs.

To cut expenses before July, Burkland plans to: reduce the rate of overtime, hold six vacant positions open, freeze non-mandatory training, share office supplies and expenses, delay major purchases and transfer unencumbered transportation funds for street maintenance costs.

On another budget issue, the council voted 5-1 to approve Evans' financial priorities with a modification. Evans dissented, saying without numbered financial priorities, he finds himself in the awkward position of voting against his request.

Evans had asked that the city; one, restore reserves; two, restore services with staffing; and three, negotiate employee compensation.

Councilman Mark Sorensen said he thinks the council should strike the numbered priorities that seem like council members are "trying to make them commandments."

The council also voted 6-0 to approve Goloff's absence through the April 18 meeting and consider it again in May if she doesn't return.

Regarding a beer license for the Last Stand Comedy Venue at 167 E. Third St., no council or audience members asked to pull the item from the consent agenda. The council voted 6-0 to make a determination allowing for the license.
Source:  Chico Enterprise-Record  - Link

California Fire News 2011 

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LAFD Flip-flops on information black-out

 L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa orders fire chief to overturn gag order

A day after the Los Angeles Fire Department declared it would stop releasing basic information to the public and media about many of its emergency calls, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ordered the fire chief to overturn the new policy.

The department stopped releasing some information over the weekend about incidents such as fires or accidents, including the types of injuries or basic victim information such as age or gender.

Fire officials cited the move as an attempt to meet the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a law passed in 1996 and amended in 2009 that tightens restrictions on patients' medical privacy.

The LAFD claimed it was following advice from the office of City Attorney Carmen Trutanich.

"If we continued to post it ... we would be violating HIPAA," said Capt. Jaime Moore, LAFD spokesman. "We cannot give out pertinent medical information, anything related to address, age, gender."

But Villaraigosa, in a letter to Fire Chief Brian Cummings, pointed out that the department had not been issued a formal written opinion from the City Attorney's Office, and ordered LAFD to resume releasing the information.

"I believe it is our duty to provide information to the media and the public," Villaraigosa wrote. "At a time when the Los Angeles Fire Department needs more transparency - not less - I'm directing you to immediately resume releasing information that provides LAFD incident specifics without violating federal law."

LAFD's decision to cite HIPAA as a reason to stop releasing information comes just as the department faces heavy criticism for misleading city officials about response times and dispatch problems that left some emergency calls unanswered.

Fire officials said the timing of the new policy was coincidental, and not in retaliation for the negative media attention on the department.

"The timing is horrible, but it has nothing to do with our response times," Moore said. "This only has to do with medical information. That's the furthest thing from the truth."

But that explanation rang false to the department's own rank-and-file.

"I doubt that it's just some coincidence, that all of a sudden (Cummings is) going to issue a media blackout and when the media is X-raying him," said Pat McOsker, president of the firefighters union."
The City Attorney's Office has been advising the department on HIPAA issues for years, but the decision ultimately rests with the department, said Trutanich spokesman Frank Mateljan.

"HIPAA is not necessarily a blanket prohibition against the release of all public information," Mateljan said. "There are lots of complicated issues including HIPAA and privacy concerns that we continue to advise the department on, but we've been consistent with our advice over the years."

The new policy will likely fall apart if challenged under the Public Records Act and open the city to lawsuits, according to Jim Ewert, legal counsel for the California Newspapers Publishers Association.

"It certainly is a novel interpretation of HIPAA as I understand it," Ewert said. "LAFD is a care provider as defined by law, but the information with respect to response times and locations of responses, I just don't see how that falls into the category of individually identifiable information."

"The timing of the legal analysis is a bit questionable in light of all the investigation that has been done up to this point," Ewert said.
Source: dailynews.com - Link

California Fire News 2011 

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Vallejo: Man's crotch stuck in crotch of tree

 Vallejo firefighters had to separate tree trunks using the Jaws of Life on Sunday night to rescue a man who was stuck in a tree, a Vallejo fire captain said.

At about 7:50 p.m., firefighters responded to the report in the corner of Tennessee Street and Mare Island Way. Upon arrival, they saw a man with his leg wedged between tree trunks, Capt. Steve Smircich said.

The man, who was homeless, was trying to get into an abandoned building where he often sleeps by climbing the tree, Smircich said.

However, he slipped, causing one of his legs to become stuck between tree trunks, Smircich added.

The man had been stuck for a couple of hours, he said, before a passerby saw him and called 911.

Firefighters then used the Jaws of Life to pry the trunks open to free him.

The man was cold, but uninjured, Smircich said.

Source article: Mercury News - LinkCalifornia Fire News 2012
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Cambria Get's Coastal Commission Fire Break Approved

The Coastal Commission has given the go-ahead for a fire-break on the east side of Cambria.

Cal Fire and local groups will start clearing vegetation and thinning stands of the trees after the spring nesting period.

The break will create a vital buffer between residential areas and the undeveloped Monterey Pine Forest.

California Fire News 2011 

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CAL FIRE: Tragic Off Duty Death At China Peak Ski Resort

 Snowboarder who died at China Peak Mountain Resort on Sunday afternoon, in what's been described by employees as a tragic snowboarding accident, has been identified as Kynan Stanners, 30.

Kynan Stanners 

Employees say Stanners, who had worked as a firefighter for CALFIRE for the past seven years, was alone when he went head first into about five feet of snow in an area known as "The Face." He had been going to resort for several years, was a season pass holder, and considered an expert snowboarder, resort employees said.

"Actually skied or snowboarded here for many years. And in particular, that general area many times yesterday and in the past," said Rich Bailey, Mountain Manager.

Employees say Stanners somehow got separated from a friend, fell head-first into the snow at around 2pm Sunday, and likely suffocated to death. Two expert skiers noticed the bottom of his snowboard, got him out of the snow and started to perform CPR, they added. Crews brought him down the mountain. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him, but it was too late, they said.

Stanners was most recently stationed out of the Caruthers fire station in Fresno County, employees said. 

Stanners' death is the second at China Peak in the past 15 months. Eli Shelby, 29, died in late 2010 after falling into a tree well.

Flags At Half Staff: To honor him, flags were lowered to half staff Monday outside several valley fire stations.

Memorial Services: Being Planned For Next Monday 1pm Mariposa Fairgrounds

More info and video from CBS 47: http://www.cbs47.tv/news/local/story/Snowboarder-Dies-at-China-Peak/2fXqF7dlR0Kn7CRlzldu4w.cspx
California Fire News 2011 

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Reno Nevada: WFF Softball Fundraiser - 4/21/2012

 Wildland Firefighter Foundation News: North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District 2nd Annual Rifle Peak Softball Classic

Fundraiser - 4/21/2012

2nd Annual Rifle Peak Softball Classic

Rifle Peak Handcrew will be hosting the 2nd Annual Softball Classic. This is a fundraiser for the Wildland Firefighter Foundation!

Date: Saturday 4/21/12

• All entries must be paid by money orders or checks
• Virginia/Reno Sports Complex
• $250 per. Team (9-12 players) Deadline 4/13/11 or until filled
• ASA Sanctioned & ASA Rules
• All teams guaranteed at least 3 games
• 1st Place pony keg and trophy Awarded
• Many Prizes Raffled all day long

Be sure to contact us or visit our website for: Team Payment, Registration Forms Tournament Rules -www.riflepeak.com

Tournament Committee Questions:

• By Phone, Josh Pargas 775-846-2390 or Gerald Campbell (Jr) 775-843-5676
• By email, gcampbell@nltfpd.net
• By fax, Attn Rifle Peak 775-831-2072

Mail payment, registration, waiver and release forms to:
North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District

Attn: Rifle Peak

866 Oriole Way

Incline Village, NV 89451

Download the flyer.

The Wildland Firefighter Foundation's main focus is to help families of firefighters killed in the line of duty and to assist injured firefighters and their families. They honor and acknowledge past, present, and future members of the wildland firefighting community, and partner with private and interagency organizations to bring recognition to wildland firefighters.

Read More at Wildland Firefighter Foundation -WFF Link 

http://www.wffoundation.org/News.asp?NewsID=194

DONATE
Donate to WFF: http://store.wffoundation.org/prostores/servlet/-strse-90/Donation/Detail

WFF Twitter - https://twitter.com/#!/wffoundation
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Clovis Firefighters Association Official Charged With Felony

 CLOVIS, Calif. -- The Fresno County District Attorney's Office on Monday filed one count of felony embezzlement against John Morton Watson, 37, of Visalia. He remains free until his arraignment, which is pending.

The District Attorney's Office said that Watson is accused of taking more than $100,000 from the Clovis Firefighters Association from late 2004 to 2011.

Authorities say Watson has acknowledged taking $56,000 for a personal hardship, but said he borrowed money from his parents to repay the union's treasury.

His attorney, Joe Altschule, said he and Watson proposed a plan to pay additional funds back to the union, but they have not heard from union officials.

Watson worked as a Clovis Fire Department training officer and was a Clovis firefighter for 12 years. He has admitted to embezzling union funds and resigned in January, when the case came to light.

Clovis police say Watson confessed to taking $56,000 from the firefighters association over six of the 10 years he served as treasurer.

Police said the association lost $80,000 to $150,000.

Watson told investigators that he took the money because of personal hardship but borrowed about $60,900 from his parents to repay the union's treasury.

His lawyer, Joe Altschule, said he and Watson offered a payback plan to the union. He estimated the payback was between $75,000 and $100,000.

"We have tendered a proposal of what Mr. Watson believes is the total amount that is owed and we haven't heard back from the union," Altschule said. "The ball is in their court."

The legal case against Watson does not take into account any money he has already paid back, Altschule said.

Previously, Altschule said that Watson's wife had been hospitalized without income, which created financial problems for the couple.

The union's lawyer, Tom Sharpe, said he was unable to comment on the case.

According to city records, Watson earned nearly $108,000 in 2010.

Information sources: 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/19/2767615/ex-clovis-fire-union-official.html 
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/20/2767922/calif-man-charged-with-embezzling.html

California Fire News 2012 Tweet - Follow @CalFireNews