California Fire News

Posted: 30 May 2007 10:13 PM CDT

Good Samaritan Rescues Accident Victim

Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - 04:25 PM

Bill Johnson

MML News Director

Sonora's Bill Schuler suffered a few scrapes and a sore back when his car went into a ditch (5/29/07).

Sonora, CA -- Thanks to wearing a seat belt, Sonora's Bill Schuler is alive to enjoy another day after his single vehicle accident.

Located at Hwy 108 and Via Este (5/29/07).

Early Tuesday afternoon the former president of the Tuolumne County Board of Realtors was headed eastbound on Hwy 108 in his 1992 Ford Explorer when he attempted to make a right hand turn onto Via Este. His brakes locked and the car headed straight into a ravine approximately 20-25 feet below street level.

Involved in car accident at Hwy 108 and Via Este (5/29/07).

21 year old Jeff Hike of Sonora jumped into the ravine, kicked in the back window, cut the seatbelt with his pocket knife and led Schuler to safety.

While the car suffered major damage, Schuler had only a scratch on his right elbow and some back pain to show for an incident that could have taken his life were it not for his seatbelt.

Written by bill.johnson@mlode.com

Time to prepare for catastrophic fire?

Posted: 31 May 2007 12:33 AM CDT

Mount Shasta Herald, Weed Press, Dunsmuir News - Mt. Shasta News - News:

Now is time to prepare for catastrophic fire

By Paul Boerger
Published: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:10 PM CDT

Global warming has hit the forests says CAL FIRE battalion chief Margy Marshall, and with southern Siskiyou County having a long history of wildfires it is only a matter of time before another one occurs. Marshall says it is up to citizens to prepare the areas around their homes to defend their property.

At a May 23 presentation at the Stage Door Carbaret Coffeehouse in Mount Shasta, Marshall strongly made the case that homes with a "defensible space" have a high rate of survivability from a wildfire.

"You home will have a 86 to 95 percent chance of survival if you choose to manage the vegetation around your home," Marshall said, noting that California law now requires 100 feet of defensible space.

Marshall showed historical maps of the large fires that have occurred around Mount Shasta, several coming right up the city boundary.

"It would be naive to think that it can't happen again," Marshall said.

Marshall said the following step are essential in preparing for a wildfire:

€ Choose fire safe building materials whenever possible;

€ Have a "lean, clean and green zone" immediately surrounding your home that includes clearing for 30 feet and a "reduced fuel zone" for an additional 70 feet;

€ Prepare for evacuating to a safe area. Know where the safe areas are in your city; and

€ Pay attention to the "little things" during the summer such as cleaning gutters, moving wood piles away from the home and don't let flammable materials accumulate in your yard such as under the deck.

"By reducing the chance of your home igniting, you can make a difference," Marshall said.

Marshall said the impact of global warming cannot be ignored.

"Since 1986, longer, warmer summers have resulted in a fourfold increase in major wildfires. Researchers attribute these changes to an increase in summer temperatures and earlier melting of snow pack," Marshall said. "Snowpacks are melting one to four weeks earlier than they did 50 years ago. We are at 50 percent normal right now."

Marshall said she has been a firefighter since 1977 and has seen a "big change" in the number of fires.

"It used to be unusual for us to deploy elsewhere," Marshall said. "Now, hardly a summer goes by when we aren't sent somewhere."

The Mount Shasta Area Fire Safety Plan has the following recommendations if a wildfire occurs:

€ For an evacuation, make plans for moving pets and valuables, turn off propane, dress in long pants, long sleeved shirt and cap and check on children, elderly or disabled in your community;

€ If you are unable to evacuate, stay inside your home away from outside walls. Remember it will be hotter outside that inside the home. Keep doors closed and unlocked, stay together and remain calm.

Once the fire has passed, check your home, attic and yard for burning embers and extinguish small fires if safe to do so.

If you become trapped in your car, park as far away from grass, brush, trees and power lines as possible, close doors, windows and vents. Cover yourself with a blanket or jacket.

Marshall said she was part of the crews that fought the Cedar Fire near San Diego that destroyed over 3,000 homes and killed over 20 civilians, in addition to firefighters.

"Most of the civilians who were killed, died trying to flee the fire in their cars," Marshall said, stressing again to make your home defensible.

Marshall said CAL FIRE is available to inspect homes and make suggestions on how to create defensible space. Check local listings for the nearest station.

"The signs are all around us that a wildfire will occur," Marshall said. "You can make a difference."

CAL FIRE NEWS- Grass fire burns state lands at Moss Landing beac

Posted: 30 May 2007 02:24 PM CDT

Salinas, CA: Grass fire burns state lands at Moss Landing beach

The North Monterey County Fire District sent two engines and a water tender to defeat a three-acre grass fire at Moss Landing State Beach on Tuesday afternoon.

The fire started off Struve Road about 2 p.m. and took 45 minutes to contain, firefighters said, but three hours to completely put out. No cause was found, they said.

Tehama County - CONTROLLED BURN PLANNED

Posted: 30 May 2007 02:20 PM CDT

North State Briefs: May 30, 2007 : Local:

Tehama County plans large burn

RED BLUFF -- The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection plans to burn about 2,000 acres by June 15 in Tehama County in preparation for fire season, a Cal Fire spokeswoman said.

Cal Fire will team up with a local cattle ranch in the Red Bank District and the Nature Conservancy to control invasive weeds, such as medusa head and yellow star thistle, spokeswoman Mickie Jakez said.

About 700 acres will be burned in the Dye Creek Ranch area, 400 acres between Highway 99 and the railroad tracks south of Vina, and another 870 acres near Red Bank Road and Gallatin Road, Jakez said. The burn should begin this week or the beginning of June, weather permitting."

News - Training fire to be set near Sacramento-Amador county lines - sacbee.com

Posted: 30 May 2007 02:07 PM CDT

News - Training fire to be set near Sacramento-Amador county lines:

A training fire will be set Wednesday on Highway 104 near the Sacramento and Amador county lines.

The Amador/El Dorado Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection will be conducting training exercises Wednesday and Thursday.

Sacramento Metro Fire crews will also be on hand at the fire, which will be set about 9 a.m. at the Chance Ranch, according to a firefighters.

Firefighter Told To Move Them

Posted: 30 May 2007 10:32 AM CDT

Firefighter Told To Move Them
LINK:
May 23, 2007

California - The white front and red glittery strip of lights on a 1966 fire engine peeks out from behind a wooden fence in a newer suburban area. They give away a neighborhood fixture: Mark Hathaway's two historic fire engines. When Hathaway isn't at work as a city firefighter in San Jose, he is tinkering with the engines' wiring and shining their sleek red surfaces. He has become legendary at Cowell Elementary School, a couple of blocks away, for regularly giving his 7-year-old daughter, Melaine, and her friends rides to school in the engines. His 3-year-old son, Mathew, rides in a child seat.

But city code enforcement officials say the engines break a city law banning vehicles over 8,000 pounds in residential areas, even on private property. The fire engines weigh 24,000 to 25,000 pounds each. He has until June 11 to move them.

"The reason I bought my house was because it would house my fire engines," said Hathaway, 36, who moved to Woodside Way about 5 and a half years ago and bought one of the engines soon after. "I chose the city of Manteca. It is supposed to be 'The Family City' and my fire engines are part of my family. I have two young kids who would be very sad to see them leave, and so would I."

The hoses and exterior fixtures would be vulnerable to vandalism at a storage park for recreational vehicles, he said. Replacing the windshield on the 1966 fire engine would cost at least $1,000, and the round, metal siren proudly centered on the vehicle is $1,400.

A well-wisher whom Hathaway had never met showed up at his door and offered him a spot of land for the trucks, but Hathaway said he would have to put money into a shed to house them securely.

Hathaway grew up next to San Jose's Fire Station 9. By age 5, he had acquired a love for the engines, visiting the station and then saving up money for toy engines. The first real one came when he turned 18. It was a 1970 fixer-upper he later sold to San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico. He bought the 1966, his most recent, about three years ago.

Trouble arrived April 28 when someone sent an anonymous, online complaint to the city's government outreach site reporting the engines and a camper in the driveway. An anonymous caller also left a voice message with a complaint about the camper protruding onto the sidewalk.

The city sent a courtesy letter to Hathaway on May 1 stating the camper couldn't be parked in the driveway and the engines violated the weight rule.

School, neighborhood support

Neighbors praised Hathaway and signed 24 letters to the city asking that the engines be allowed to stay. But the City Council voted 4-0 Monday evening not to pursue changes to the code or an exception for Hathaway.

"I support you," Councilman Vince Hernandez said. "It is all those 12 or 13 or 14 other people who will line up behind you and say, 'What about me?' (that I can't support)," he said. "It's a difficult situation."

Hathaway supporter Jim Rachels, a lifelong Manteca resident whose children, ages 7 and 10, have attended field trips to Hathaway's trucks, scoffed at implying that letting the engines stay would open a Pandora's box to comparable requests.

"It's embarrassing, quite frankly," Rachels, 44, said. "Mark has been there for 5 and a half years without any issues. He offers a community service. He has field trips, he is at every event, and his passion as a firefighter is an asset to our community."

Cowell Principal Harriet Myrick shook her head at the possibility of no longer seeing children arrive at school on the engine.

"It won't ever be the same," she said. "Kids will never have that thrill of riding to school in a fire engine. How many kids get to do that?

"He offers a free service, and in education today, there is not a lot of that."

The city's Fire Department does presentations only for students in grades 2-4, she said. Hathaway has given his presentations to students at Cowell and at Woodward elementary schools and brought his truck to community events.

The effort earned him the name "The Fire Engine Guy" and sometimes, "The Fire Truck Guy."

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Hathaway said. "If I can talk to a lawyer and take it to court? I don't know. I don't think it is fair."

Written by Modesto Bee

FIRE WEATHER WATCH

Posted: 30 May 2007 10:17 AM CDT

CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER PATTERN DEVELOPING FOR THURSDAY

From the National Weather Service - Sacramento:

LOW PRESSURE APPROACHING THE CALIFORNIA COAST WILL CAUSE DRY THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT.
AN OUTBREAK OF DRY LIGHTNING IS POSSIBLE FROM LATE THURSDAY MORNING AND THROUGH AROUND MIDNIGHT THURSDAY NIGHT...

HOWEVER NOCTURNAL STORMS ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE WEST SLOPES OF THE SIERRA AND MOTHERLODE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING.
FUELS HAVE EXPERIENCED RAPID DRYING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. THEREFORE A FIRE WEATHER WATCH WILL BE IN EFFECT FOR DRY LIGHTNING DURING THIS PERIOD. ...

FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SACRAMENTO HAS ISSUED A FIRE WEATHER WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING.
AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING SCATTERED DRY THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA THURSDAY AND THURSDAY EVENING. FUELS HAVE EXPERIENCED VERY RAPID DRYING OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS. 1000 HOUR FUELS ARE NOW AT LEVELS USUALLY OBSERVED IN LATE JULY OR EARLY AUGUST."

Headlines - Just News headlines all the time

Thursday, May 31, 2007