Briggs IC (Soledad Canyon) Wildland brush Fire Updates as of 7:28pm 7-29-30: Briggs IC* Per IC final acreage was 530. Activities throughout the night will be tying in containment lines.*Briggs IC* Reporting Knockdown @ 20:03 Hours. Extensive mop-up and cold trailing ahead w/ handcrews & Dozers. Fire was reported at 2:56 Location: South of the 14 Freeway, near Soledad Canyon Rd, burning towards Angeles National Forest. It is burning in a semi-rural area toward the old North Fire footprint from Sept. "06" and the Station Fire Aug. "09" Basic Information from Inciweb - Incident Link
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----------- Briggs IC Comm Plan - A-Blue 11/C-NIFC TAC 1/Prim TAC 20/Sec TAC NIFC T2/ A-G USFS Region 5 |
Thursday, July 29, 2010
CA-ANF/LAC- Briggs IC (Soledad Canyon) - 530 acres, 100%
Fire Chief blog: Featured article - Anti-Social Media
Anti-Social Media
I heard a frightening story this week. A firefighter did not report for his shift. His fellow firefighters stopped by his apartment, where they found his body. The co-workers called 911, bringing out paramedics and later the fire chief, all devastated by the loss.
Other firefighters who weren’t on scene learned of the death via text message. The texts and cell phone calls quickly spread and eventually, news of the firefighter’s death appeared on Facebook. While en route to notify the firefighter’s estranged wife, the fire chief started receiving instant messages and texts asking about the death.
“We were so afraid his wife would hear it from a text or phone call before we could tell her in person,” the chief told me.
Fortunately, the wife was late getting home and doesn’t answer her cell while driving, so the chief was able to break the news to her in person. He added that a couple hours later, the wife started to compose a list of people to notify —family, friends and military buddies.
“Of the 10 names on that list, five had called because they saw it on Facebook,” he said.
Last month, my family learned of the sudden death of a young friend of my daughters’ via Facebook. The news itself was shocking, but it became quickly obvious that the family and close friends were not prepared for the deluge of phone calls of concern.
While newspapers and television news will hold the name of victims pending notification of family members, smartphones put the grapevine or phone tree on steroids.
There are plusses and minuses with today’s instant news delivery. For instance, departments can mass-deliver tornado warnings or evacuation-route update via texts. But can you imagine what would happen if tragic or incorrect information was sent out?
I’m just finishing the book, The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick, the story of the origins of Facebook and its role in changing how people communicate. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s idea not only connected college students and high-school students, it opened up the world. Adults have found a new way to connect with family, friends and reconnect with people from the past, witnessed by Facebook’s announcement that it had reached 500 million users.
A couple years ago, I cautioned about first responders taking photos and posting them on Web sites, but how do you set rules or etiquette for texting or posts on Facebook, Twitter or whatever comes next?
How do you manage this new breed of social media reporters?
Source Article @ Fire Chief Magazine Blog - Link
Other firefighters who weren’t on scene learned of the death via text message. The texts and cell phone calls quickly spread and eventually, news of the firefighter’s death appeared on Facebook. While en route to notify the firefighter’s estranged wife, the fire chief started receiving instant messages and texts asking about the death.
“We were so afraid his wife would hear it from a text or phone call before we could tell her in person,” the chief told me.
Fortunately, the wife was late getting home and doesn’t answer her cell while driving, so the chief was able to break the news to her in person. He added that a couple hours later, the wife started to compose a list of people to notify —family, friends and military buddies.
“Of the 10 names on that list, five had called because they saw it on Facebook,” he said.
Last month, my family learned of the sudden death of a young friend of my daughters’ via Facebook. The news itself was shocking, but it became quickly obvious that the family and close friends were not prepared for the deluge of phone calls of concern.
While newspapers and television news will hold the name of victims pending notification of family members, smartphones put the grapevine or phone tree on steroids.
There are plusses and minuses with today’s instant news delivery. For instance, departments can mass-deliver tornado warnings or evacuation-route update via texts. But can you imagine what would happen if tragic or incorrect information was sent out?
I’m just finishing the book, The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick, the story of the origins of Facebook and its role in changing how people communicate. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s idea not only connected college students and high-school students, it opened up the world. Adults have found a new way to connect with family, friends and reconnect with people from the past, witnessed by Facebook’s announcement that it had reached 500 million users.
A couple years ago, I cautioned about first responders taking photos and posting them on Web sites, but how do you set rules or etiquette for texting or posts on Facebook, Twitter or whatever comes next?
How do you manage this new breed of social media reporters?
Source Article @ Fire Chief Magazine Blog - Link
CA-BEU-Idria Fire: 20 acres, 100%
CAL FIRE crews are battling a 10 acre fire off New Idria Rd in the community of New Idria (San Benito County).
New Idria Fire now 100% contained at 20 acres. Abandoned ghost town. IC reports many out building and structures destroyed.
Related INFO LINKS:
Twitter Hash tag #CAFire
Official CAL FIRE Facebook link
CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS: Twitter Link
Molloy orders review of U.S. Forest Service's use of aerial fire retardants
Siding with an environmental watchdog group, a Missoula judge this week ordered the U.S. Forest Service to take a hard look at its use of toxic aerial fire retardants and their impact on fish and wildlife habitats.
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Missoulian Link
In a 79-page decision filed Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled the Forest Service violated the federal National Environmental Policy Act when it determined the chemical slurry has only insignificant environmental effects.
The Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, an Oregon-based nonprofit group, filed suit more than two years ago in U.S. District Court in Missoula. The lawsuit names the Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, and accuses the three agencies of violating NEPA, the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws.
Molloy ordered the Forest Service to comply with the federal laws by Dec. 31, 2011, threatening contempt sanctions if the agency fails to do so.
"The Federal Defendants are advised that failure to comply with this deadline may subject them to sanctions, including contempt proceedings, and could conceivably result in enjoining the continued use of aerially-applied fire retardant until the law enacted by Congress is complied with," Molloy wrote. "The issue requires immediate attention."
Molloy did not prohibit the use of fire retardant before that deadline, and a Forest Service official said retardant airdrops would continue under guidelines currently in place to protect fish and wildlife habitat.
Retardant airdrops are prohibited within 300 feet of waterways unless people, property, infrastructure and critical natural resources are threatened.
Jennifer Jones, a spokeswoman for the Forest Service, said agency officials are currently reviewing the ruling, and will work with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to "comply fully" with Molloy's order.
"We strongly agree with the National Environmental Policy Act, and protecting fish and wildlife habitat remains one of our top priorities," Jones said. "Millions of acres of national forest are at risk of uncharacteristically large and severe wildfires that can cause long-term damage to fish and wildlife habitat as well as humans, and retardant is a useful tool in fire suppression both in the wildlands and near communities."
Jones said it was too early to say what the agency's next steps would be or whether it would appeal the decision.
Molloy also ruled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service each violated the Endangered Species Act - FWS when it failed to consider retardant's effects on critical habitat for scores of species, and both agencies when they failed to specify the amount of "incidental take," or plants and animals killed, that would be permitted from fire retardant use.
The lawsuit is part of the FSEEE's campaign to reform the Forest Service's wildland firefighting mission. The campaign includes banning retardant airdrops nationwide unless people or homes are threatened, focusing on fire prevention around communities, and allowing more remote wildfires to burn as a natural part of the ecosystem.
Andy Stahl, FSEEE's executive director, said more plant and animal species have been jeopardized by aerially dropped retardant than any other government action in history. Stahl said by not specifying the number of species that can be destroyed by retardant use, the Forest Service "set the allowance at infinity."
"The Forest Service needs to come up with retardant policies that address how, when and where they are going to use retardant, and in a way that fully protects the water, the fish and the rare plants," Stahl said. "One sensible thing to do would be to use water to fight fires instead of toxic retardant. What a wonderful idea."
Stahl compared the effects of ammonium-rich retardant to that of fertilizers used by farmers on their fields.
The most recent lawsuit challenged the Forest Service's assessment, which found that the chemical slurry has no significant environmental impact. In their biological opinions, however, the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service said retardants jeopardize 45 endangered or threatened fish, plant, insect, mussel and amphibian species and their critical habitats.
The Forest Service, which spends nearly 50 percent of its budget on fire suppression, has used an average of 26 million gallons of aerial retardant annually on federal lands since 2000, a figure projected to increase by more than 500,000 gallons a year at the current pace.
Source article: missoulian.com - Link
Reporter Tristan Scott can be reached at 523-5264 or at tscott@missoulian.com.
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Missoulian Link
In a 79-page decision filed Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled the Forest Service violated the federal National Environmental Policy Act when it determined the chemical slurry has only insignificant environmental effects.
Pointing to government studies that show fire retardant dropped into creeks and on rare plants threatens the survival of endangered species and their habitat, Molloy said the Forest Service's current assessment is inadequate and ordered the agency to prepare a rigorous Environmental Impact Statement.
Ammonium-based retardants are toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms, and promote the spread of flammable invasive weeds.The Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, an Oregon-based nonprofit group, filed suit more than two years ago in U.S. District Court in Missoula. The lawsuit names the Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, and accuses the three agencies of violating NEPA, the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws.
Molloy ordered the Forest Service to comply with the federal laws by Dec. 31, 2011, threatening contempt sanctions if the agency fails to do so.
"The Federal Defendants are advised that failure to comply with this deadline may subject them to sanctions, including contempt proceedings, and could conceivably result in enjoining the continued use of aerially-applied fire retardant until the law enacted by Congress is complied with," Molloy wrote. "The issue requires immediate attention."
Molloy did not prohibit the use of fire retardant before that deadline, and a Forest Service official said retardant airdrops would continue under guidelines currently in place to protect fish and wildlife habitat.
Retardant airdrops are prohibited within 300 feet of waterways unless people, property, infrastructure and critical natural resources are threatened.
Jennifer Jones, a spokeswoman for the Forest Service, said agency officials are currently reviewing the ruling, and will work with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to "comply fully" with Molloy's order.
"We strongly agree with the National Environmental Policy Act, and protecting fish and wildlife habitat remains one of our top priorities," Jones said. "Millions of acres of national forest are at risk of uncharacteristically large and severe wildfires that can cause long-term damage to fish and wildlife habitat as well as humans, and retardant is a useful tool in fire suppression both in the wildlands and near communities."
Jones said it was too early to say what the agency's next steps would be or whether it would appeal the decision.
Molloy also ruled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service each violated the Endangered Species Act - FWS when it failed to consider retardant's effects on critical habitat for scores of species, and both agencies when they failed to specify the amount of "incidental take," or plants and animals killed, that would be permitted from fire retardant use.
The lawsuit is part of the FSEEE's campaign to reform the Forest Service's wildland firefighting mission. The campaign includes banning retardant airdrops nationwide unless people or homes are threatened, focusing on fire prevention around communities, and allowing more remote wildfires to burn as a natural part of the ecosystem.
Andy Stahl, FSEEE's executive director, said more plant and animal species have been jeopardized by aerially dropped retardant than any other government action in history. Stahl said by not specifying the number of species that can be destroyed by retardant use, the Forest Service "set the allowance at infinity."
"The Forest Service needs to come up with retardant policies that address how, when and where they are going to use retardant, and in a way that fully protects the water, the fish and the rare plants," Stahl said. "One sensible thing to do would be to use water to fight fires instead of toxic retardant. What a wonderful idea."
Stahl compared the effects of ammonium-rich retardant to that of fertilizers used by farmers on their fields.
"Imagine if a farmer had a 3,000-gallon truckload of nitrogen fertilizer slurry and dumped it in the creek. Think what it would do to the fish. Any farmer who did that would be in jail in a heartbeat. Yet that's exactly what the Forest Service does when it fights fires, and there are no consequences at all."FSEEE won an earlier retardant-related lawsuit against the Forest Service when Molloy ruled the agency had violated federal law by failing to properly review the environmental impact of retardants on national forests. That lawsuit - which was filed in 2003, a year after a retardant airdrop killed 20,000 fish in an Oregon stream - was dismissed in February 2008 when the Forest Service complied with Molloy's order to complete an environmental assessment of aerial retardants.
The most recent lawsuit challenged the Forest Service's assessment, which found that the chemical slurry has no significant environmental impact. In their biological opinions, however, the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service said retardants jeopardize 45 endangered or threatened fish, plant, insect, mussel and amphibian species and their critical habitats.
The Forest Service, which spends nearly 50 percent of its budget on fire suppression, has used an average of 26 million gallons of aerial retardant annually on federal lands since 2000, a figure projected to increase by more than 500,000 gallons a year at the current pace.
"This case is all about getting safe effective fire management restored to the Forest Service," Stahl said. "Judge Molloy is putting the government on notice that they had better not ask for any extensions and they better have started work yesterday."
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Source article: missoulian.com - Link
Reporter Tristan Scott can be reached at 523-5264 or at tscott@missoulian.com.
Lakeside Fire District: Suspicious Fires in the Los Coches Area
Lakeside Fire District: Suspicious Fires in the Los Coches Area: Glenview: On Thursday, July 29th at 10:37 PM, two structural engines, a brush engine, an ALS medic unit, and a battalion chief were dispatched to the area of Los Coches Rd and Interstate 8 for a vegetation fire. Engine 8 (El Cajon-Madison) arrived and found a large spot burning between the eastbound lanes and the off-ramp to Los Coches Rd.
Crews were able to quickly knock down the fire and cut a line around it. Additional investigators were called into the area as there has been a rash of suspicious fires in the area. Many of the reporting parties indicated the fires may have been started by an aerial flare. If you have information, or have witnessed suspicious activity in the area please call Lakeside Fire Prevention at (619)-390-2350. Lakeside crews were assisted by El Cajon Fire, CalFire, CHP and SDSO
 |
| A CalFire firefighter looks of the origin-cause of the fire. |
CAL FIRE wants you to help create a more Fire Safe, California.
Fire Prevention and Planning
The ever-increasing number of structures and people in California wildlands and the growing importance of the state’s natural resources create an ever-growing need for fire prevention and planning for inevitable fires that will occur in the state.
Through comprehensive engineering and law enforcement programs the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection strives to prevent fires. Reduction of loss from California wildlands each year is the goal of extensive statewide planning by each CAL FIRE Unit, communities, coordination with non-profit groups and interagency cooperation.
This section of the CAL FIRE website will provide you with information, links and resources to help you, your family, your community and cooperating and interested agencies help create a more Fire Safe, California.
Please click on the following links to official CAL FIRE information, links and resources to help you, your family, your community and cooperating and interested agencies help create a more Fire Safe, California.
- Office of the State Fire Marshal
- Fire Planning
- Fire Engineering
- Law Enforcement
- Wildland Hazard/Building Codes
California Morning Report - Update on the fire activity in the West
California Fire Information - California fires Quick Look
Currently being updated
NIFC Morning report (Condensed and abbreviated for west coast.)
National Interagency Coordination Center
Incident Management Situation Report
Thursday, July 29, 2010 – 0530 MDT
National Preparedness Level 2
National Fire Activity
Initial attack activity: Moderate (267 new fires)
New large fires: 6 (*)
Large fires contained: 5
Uncontained large fires: ** 16
Area Command Teams committed: 0
NIMOs committed: 1
Type 1 IMTs committed: 2
Type 2 IMTs committed: 3
Nationally, there are 52 large fires being managed to achieve multiple objectives.
** Uncontained large fires include only fires being managed under a full suppression
strategy. **
Northern California Area (PL 3)
New fires: 33
New large fires: 0
Uncontained large fires: 1
Type 2 IMTs committed: 1
Southern California Area (PL 2)
New fires: 51
New large fires: 0
Uncontained large fires: 3
Type 1 IMTs committed 2
- Constantia Incident, NV-CCD 1369 acres with 73% containment. #CaFire #WGBC
- West Fire (CA-KRN-021461) (Kern County) Started 7/27/2010, updated 7/29/2010 http://goo.gl/fb/Oid0V #CAFire 1,436 acres, 25% contained. CALFIRE ICT 9 transitioned at 1800 hrs. Total personnel: 784 #CaFire #Kern
- Birthday CA-MDF, 147 acres with 60% containment. #CaFire
- Mcdonald (W-23) Fire CA-NOD, 7000 acres with 10% containment. Northern California District, BLM. IMT 2 (Swartzlander). Three miles northeast of Termo, CA.Pine, juniper, brush and grass. Active fire behavior. #CaFire #BLM
- The Mono Fire (CA-INF -934) 1,200 acres, 65% percent contained. Highway 120 East remains closed. Total personnel: 276. #CaFire
- Wildcat 2(WUF) YNP 4.5 acres, minimal fire activity.
- Bull Fire (CA-SQF-2701) 16,074 acres 12% percent contained -unified command disbanded as of 1800 hrs. last night. personnel: 2,399 #CaFire
- Slope Fire(WUF) YNP - 25 acres, 1 NW of harden Lake, active fire behavior, Flames and smoldering last 3 days- YNP FS Link
- Russel Complex 250 acres - 100% contained.
- Potato Fire is 632 acres and 100% contained
Currently being updated
NIFC Morning report (Condensed and abbreviated for west coast.)
National Interagency Coordination Center
Incident Management Situation Report
Thursday, July 29, 2010 – 0530 MDT
National Preparedness Level 2
National Fire Activity
Initial attack activity: Moderate (267 new fires)
New large fires: 6 (*)
Large fires contained: 5
Uncontained large fires: ** 16
Area Command Teams committed: 0
NIMOs committed: 1
Type 1 IMTs committed: 2
Type 2 IMTs committed: 3
Nationally, there are 52 large fires being managed to achieve multiple objectives.
** Uncontained large fires include only fires being managed under a full suppression
strategy. **
Northern California Area (PL 3)
New fires: 33
New large fires: 0
Uncontained large fires: 1
Type 2 IMTs committed: 1
Southern California Area (PL 2)
New fires: 51
New large fires: 0
Uncontained large fires: 3
Type 1 IMTs committed 2
Off Duty Death: Dixon Fire Department - James "Cody" Robben Funeral today
A funeral service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Today at the Dixon Community Church, 955 East A St. Burial is at the Silveyville Cemetery, 800 S. First St. in Dixon. A reception will follow at the Dixon May Fair grounds.
Calif. firefighters mourn volunteer killed in crash
Related News Article:
Calif. firefighters mourn volunteer killed in crash
Firefighters had known Cody Robben since he was a child because his father retired as captain after 30 years with the department
Bay City News Service via The Vallejo Times Herald
DIXON, Calif. — The city and its fire department are mourning the death of volunteer firefighter James "Cody" Robben, 24, who died in a crash Friday near the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery on Midway Road in rural Solano County.
The California Highway Patrol said Robben's 2007 Ford F-250 work truck pulled out of a driveway of the cemetery, stopped at the fog line on Midway Road, then drove directly into the path of the oncoming 2008 Peterbilt tractor-trailer. The big rig smashed broadside into Robben's vehicle.
A chaplain and a critical incident stress counselor were available at the fire station that day, Firefighter Josh Smotherman said.
Smotherman said firefighters had known Cody Robben since he was a child because his father, Tony Robben, retired as captain after 30 years with the department.
"He's been with us since birth. I've known him for 15 years," Smotherman said.
Cody Robben joined the fire department as a volunteer in 2006.
He was working for his employer, checking agricultural fields for pests, at the time of the accident, Smotherman said.
"He was an awesome guy. You can't find a person to speak ill of him. He was active in fundraising and everything we did and he helped the guys under him," Smotherman said.
Robben loved the outdoors and wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, Smotherman said.
The Dixon Fire Department responds more often to vegetation fires than structure fires, and Robben "embraced the wildlife aspect" of the job, Smotherman said.
Days before his death, Robben was off duty on July 20 when he came upon a 13-year-old boy who was unconscious on Meridian Road in a rural area.
The teen was with friends and he fell and struck his head, Smotherman said. His friends could not revive him.
Robben called the fire department and the boy was flown to the University of California-Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and survived, Smotherman said.
"Without Cody's intervention, the results could have been tragic. This was Cody's nature; to pitch in when it was needed, anytime, anywhere," the fire department said on its website.
A private family viewing will be held between 4 and 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Milton Carpenter Funeral Home, 569 N 1st St., Dixon. A public viewing will follow between 5 and 8 p.m.
A funeral service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at the Dixon Community Church, 955 East A St. Burial is at the Silveyville Cemetery, 800 S. First St. in Dixon. A reception will follow at the Dixon May Fair grounds.
Source: http://www.timesheraldonline.com - Link
DIXON, Calif. — The city and its fire department are mourning the death of volunteer firefighter James "Cody" Robben, 24, who died in a crash Friday near the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery on Midway Road in rural Solano County.
The California Highway Patrol said Robben's 2007 Ford F-250 work truck pulled out of a driveway of the cemetery, stopped at the fog line on Midway Road, then drove directly into the path of the oncoming 2008 Peterbilt tractor-trailer. The big rig smashed broadside into Robben's vehicle.
A chaplain and a critical incident stress counselor were available at the fire station that day, Firefighter Josh Smotherman said.
Smotherman said firefighters had known Cody Robben since he was a child because his father, Tony Robben, retired as captain after 30 years with the department.
"He's been with us since birth. I've known him for 15 years," Smotherman said.
Cody Robben joined the fire department as a volunteer in 2006.
He was working for his employer, checking agricultural fields for pests, at the time of the accident, Smotherman said.
"He was an awesome guy. You can't find a person to speak ill of him. He was active in fundraising and everything we did and he helped the guys under him," Smotherman said.
Robben loved the outdoors and wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, Smotherman said.
The Dixon Fire Department responds more often to vegetation fires than structure fires, and Robben "embraced the wildlife aspect" of the job, Smotherman said.
Days before his death, Robben was off duty on July 20 when he came upon a 13-year-old boy who was unconscious on Meridian Road in a rural area.
The teen was with friends and he fell and struck his head, Smotherman said. His friends could not revive him.
Robben called the fire department and the boy was flown to the University of California-Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and survived, Smotherman said.
"Without Cody's intervention, the results could have been tragic. This was Cody's nature; to pitch in when it was needed, anytime, anywhere," the fire department said on its website.
A private family viewing will be held between 4 and 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Milton Carpenter Funeral Home, 569 N 1st St., Dixon. A public viewing will follow between 5 and 8 p.m.
A funeral service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at the Dixon Community Church, 955 East A St. Burial is at the Silveyville Cemetery, 800 S. First St. in Dixon. A reception will follow at the Dixon May Fair grounds.
Source: http://www.timesheraldonline.com - Link
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Kern County Calif. wildfires burn 30-plus homes, threaten 150
The fire has grown to 1,230 acres; about 250 firefighters from several different agencies were on the scene, along with water-dropping aircraftBy Raquel Maria Dillon
The Associated Press
.........
........
TEHACHAPI, Calif. — Two wildfires that erupted and spread quickly near the Mojave Desert have destroyed dozens of homes and forced evacuations in remote areas of California as hundreds of firefighters work to contain the flames.
The most destructive of the fires was burning about 10 miles southeast of Tehachapi, which is about 75 miles north of Los Angeles.
More than 30 homes were lost in the small hill community of Old West Ranch and another 150 structures were threatened, firefighters said Tuesday.
Kern County Fire Department Engineer Anthony Romero said the fire erupted at about 3 p.m. in the area some 70 miles north of Los Angeles. It has grown to 1,230 acres, or nearly 2 square miles, according to the fire department.
"The wind has been a big factor," Romero said. "It's changing on us a lot."
Homes in the eastern foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains were smoldering early Wednesday, with one structure appearing to have collapsed in on itself. A singed, wooden banister was the only piece of the home left standing.
About 250 firefighters from several different agencies were on the scene, along with water-dropping aircraft.
Battalion Chief David Goodell said the fire was about 25 percent contained at 1 a.m. Crews were working on the southeast corner of the blaze widening bulldozer lines and setting backfires.
"We're trying to put to bed a fire that could get a lot bigger," he said.
Years of drought, along with tree diseases and bugs among the foothills' pine and chaparral, have turned the area into a "tinderbox," Goodell said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Wyant Winsor, 52, a delivery driver for the local school district, was working on property he owns in Old West Ranch when he saw the first smoke at about 2:20 p.m. and watched as it grew rapidly over the next half hour.
When the fire department told him to evacuate, he parked his tractor in a clearing and made a run for it.
"Hopefully it'll be OK. I guess I'll know tomorrow, he said with a nervous laugh.
Winsor said he and a friend drove down the road through the fire with flames lapping at his truck on both sides, barely able to see the road in front of them through the smoke.
Trace Robie, a housewife who lives on Old West Ranch, said the fire grew very quickly and spread through the dry brush, old oaks and pines on the steep hillside.
She grabbed a handful of clothes, her dogs, her cat, a dish to give her pets water and her purse. "I always said I'd grab my photo albums but there was no time. I didn't even think about it," she said.
A Red Cross shelter for displaced residents was set up at Jacobsen Middle School in Tehachapi. By late Tuesday, only 11 people had checked in, said shelter manager Leonard Arends.
Arends, who lives in Tehachapi, described the Old West Ranch area as a mix of mobile homes and large new stucco homes surrounded by heavy pine and oak brush. He said the residents are a close-knit group of people, many of them retirees.
In northern Kern County, a wildfire in Sequoia National Forest burned more than 11,000 acres, or 17 square miles. It earlier destroyed six homes and forced the evacuation of a camp for juvenile offenders near Kernville. It was five percent contained.
The cause of the blaze, which began Monday, is under investigation.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for Kern County on Tuesday, freeing up state resources to battle the fires.
In far northeastern California, crews have 80 percent containment of lightning fires that have burned 250 acres of timber in Lassen County.
The Associated Press
.........
........
TEHACHAPI, Calif. — Two wildfires that erupted and spread quickly near the Mojave Desert have destroyed dozens of homes and forced evacuations in remote areas of California as hundreds of firefighters work to contain the flames.
The most destructive of the fires was burning about 10 miles southeast of Tehachapi, which is about 75 miles north of Los Angeles.
More than 30 homes were lost in the small hill community of Old West Ranch and another 150 structures were threatened, firefighters said Tuesday.
Kern County Fire Department Engineer Anthony Romero said the fire erupted at about 3 p.m. in the area some 70 miles north of Los Angeles. It has grown to 1,230 acres, or nearly 2 square miles, according to the fire department.
"The wind has been a big factor," Romero said. "It's changing on us a lot."
Homes in the eastern foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains were smoldering early Wednesday, with one structure appearing to have collapsed in on itself. A singed, wooden banister was the only piece of the home left standing.
About 250 firefighters from several different agencies were on the scene, along with water-dropping aircraft.
Battalion Chief David Goodell said the fire was about 25 percent contained at 1 a.m. Crews were working on the southeast corner of the blaze widening bulldozer lines and setting backfires.
"We're trying to put to bed a fire that could get a lot bigger," he said.
Years of drought, along with tree diseases and bugs among the foothills' pine and chaparral, have turned the area into a "tinderbox," Goodell said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Wyant Winsor, 52, a delivery driver for the local school district, was working on property he owns in Old West Ranch when he saw the first smoke at about 2:20 p.m. and watched as it grew rapidly over the next half hour.
When the fire department told him to evacuate, he parked his tractor in a clearing and made a run for it.
"Hopefully it'll be OK. I guess I'll know tomorrow, he said with a nervous laugh.
Winsor said he and a friend drove down the road through the fire with flames lapping at his truck on both sides, barely able to see the road in front of them through the smoke.
Trace Robie, a housewife who lives on Old West Ranch, said the fire grew very quickly and spread through the dry brush, old oaks and pines on the steep hillside.
She grabbed a handful of clothes, her dogs, her cat, a dish to give her pets water and her purse. "I always said I'd grab my photo albums but there was no time. I didn't even think about it," she said.
A Red Cross shelter for displaced residents was set up at Jacobsen Middle School in Tehachapi. By late Tuesday, only 11 people had checked in, said shelter manager Leonard Arends.
Arends, who lives in Tehachapi, described the Old West Ranch area as a mix of mobile homes and large new stucco homes surrounded by heavy pine and oak brush. He said the residents are a close-knit group of people, many of them retirees.
In northern Kern County, a wildfire in Sequoia National Forest burned more than 11,000 acres, or 17 square miles. It earlier destroyed six homes and forced the evacuation of a camp for juvenile offenders near Kernville. It was five percent contained.
The cause of the blaze, which began Monday, is under investigation.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for Kern County on Tuesday, freeing up state resources to battle the fires.
In far northeastern California, crews have 80 percent containment of lightning fires that have burned 250 acres of timber in Lassen County.
Source: AP - Link
Morning Report California Wildland fires
National Preparedness Level 2
National Fire Activity
Initial attack activity: Moderate (237 new fires)
New large fires: 6 (*)
Large fires contained: 0
Uncontained large fires: ** 17
Area Command Teams committed: 0
NIMOs committed: 1
Type 1 IMTs committed: 3
Type 2 IMTs committed: 3
Nationally, there are 52 large fires being managed to achieve multiple objectives.
-------------------------------------------------------
Southern California Area (PL 2)
New fires: 23
New large fires: 1
Uncontained large fires: 4
Type 1 IMTs committed 2
Bull, Sequoia NF. (CA-SQF-2701) 15,586 acres, 5% percent contained. IMT 1 (Opliger). Eight miles north of Kernville, CA. Brush and grass. Active fire behavior. Numerous residences threatened. Evacuations in effect.
West, Kern County FD. (CA-KRN-021461) 400 acres, 0% percent containment. Cal Fire IMT 1 (Zambro). Five miles south of Tehachapi, CA. Grass. Active fire behavior. Residences threatened. Evacuations in effect.
Potato, Owens Valley District, BLM. 686 acres and 100% contained. Seven miles southeast of Bridgeport, CA. Sagebrush. No new
information.
Mono, Inyo NF. (CA-INF -934) 1,000 acres, 20% percent contained. Five miles southeast of Lee Vining, CA. Brush. Active, wind-driven fire behavior. Road closures in effect.
Northern California Area (PL 3)
New fires: 29
New large fires: 1
Uncontained large fires: 3
Type 1 IMTs committed 1
Type 2 IMTs committed 1
Russel Complex, Lassen-Modoc Unit, Cal Fire. CA-LMU 250 acres with 90% containment. Previously reported as Russel (3-9). Cal Fire IMT 1 (Wallen).Nine miles southeast of Little Valley, CA. Timber. Smoldering.
Modoc Lightning Complex, Modoc NF. IMT 2 (Swartzlander). CA-MDF 64 acres with 60% containment. Twenty miles southwest of Alturas, CA. Timber, brush and grass. Smoldering with isolated torching and short-range spotting. Numerous structures threatened. Reduction in acreage due to more accurate mapping.
* Mcdonald (W-23), (W-23) Fire CA-NOD 750 acres with 15% containment. Northern California District, BLM. Three miles northeast of Thermo, CA. Sagebrush and grass. Active fire behavior.
Western Great Basin Area (PL 3)
New fires: 3
New large fires: 0
Uncontained large fires: 2
Type 2 IMTs committed: 1
Constantia, Carson City Field Office, BLM(NV-CCD). 1495 acres with 51% contaiment. IMT 2 (Kidd). Five miles south of Doyle, CA. Brush and grass. Creeping and smoldering. Reduction in acreage due to more accurate mapping.
Rock Creek, Winnemucca Field Office, BLM. Eighteen miles north of Gerlach, NV. Pinyon pine, sage and juniper. Minimal fire activity. Residences threatened.
#CaFire #WildFire
National Fire Activity
Initial attack activity: Moderate (237 new fires)
New large fires: 6 (*)
Large fires contained: 0
Uncontained large fires: ** 17
Area Command Teams committed: 0
NIMOs committed: 1
Type 1 IMTs committed: 3
Type 2 IMTs committed: 3
Nationally, there are 52 large fires being managed to achieve multiple objectives.
-------------------------------------------------------
Southern California Area (PL 2)
New fires: 23
New large fires: 1
Uncontained large fires: 4
Type 1 IMTs committed 2
Bull, Sequoia NF. (CA-SQF-2701) 15,586 acres, 5% percent contained. IMT 1 (Opliger). Eight miles north of Kernville, CA. Brush and grass. Active fire behavior. Numerous residences threatened. Evacuations in effect.
West, Kern County FD. (CA-KRN-021461) 400 acres, 0% percent containment. Cal Fire IMT 1 (Zambro). Five miles south of Tehachapi, CA. Grass. Active fire behavior. Residences threatened. Evacuations in effect.
Potato, Owens Valley District, BLM. 686 acres and 100% contained. Seven miles southeast of Bridgeport, CA. Sagebrush. No new
information.
Mono, Inyo NF. (CA-INF -934) 1,000 acres, 20% percent contained. Five miles southeast of Lee Vining, CA. Brush. Active, wind-driven fire behavior. Road closures in effect.
Northern California Area (PL 3)
New fires: 29
New large fires: 1
Uncontained large fires: 3
Type 1 IMTs committed 1
Type 2 IMTs committed 1
Russel Complex, Lassen-Modoc Unit, Cal Fire. CA-LMU 250 acres with 90% containment. Previously reported as Russel (3-9). Cal Fire IMT 1 (Wallen).Nine miles southeast of Little Valley, CA. Timber. Smoldering.
Modoc Lightning Complex, Modoc NF. IMT 2 (Swartzlander). CA-MDF 64 acres with 60% containment. Twenty miles southwest of Alturas, CA. Timber, brush and grass. Smoldering with isolated torching and short-range spotting. Numerous structures threatened. Reduction in acreage due to more accurate mapping.
* Mcdonald (W-23), (W-23) Fire CA-NOD 750 acres with 15% containment. Northern California District, BLM. Three miles northeast of Thermo, CA. Sagebrush and grass. Active fire behavior.
Western Great Basin Area (PL 3)
New fires: 3
New large fires: 0
Uncontained large fires: 2
Type 2 IMTs committed: 1
Constantia, Carson City Field Office, BLM(NV-CCD). 1495 acres with 51% contaiment. IMT 2 (Kidd). Five miles south of Doyle, CA. Brush and grass. Creeping and smoldering. Reduction in acreage due to more accurate mapping.
Rock Creek, Winnemucca Field Office, BLM. Eighteen miles north of Gerlach, NV. Pinyon pine, sage and juniper. Minimal fire activity. Residences threatened.
#CaFire #WildFire
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