California Fire News

[EDIS] wind advisory in effect until 3 am pdt saturday

Posted: 30 Jun 2007 01:08 AM CDT

[EDIS] wind advisory in effect until 3 am pdt saturday:

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SOUTH COAST

"THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOS ANGELES/OXNARD HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 AM PDT SATURDAY. AREAS OF NORTHWEST TO NORTH WINDS 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 45 MPH WILL AFFECT PARTS OF THE SOUTH COAST OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY THROUGH AM PDT SATURDAY...THEN WINDS WILL BEGIN TO DIMINISH. WINDS WILL BE STRONGEST BELOW PASSES AND CANYONS.

Instruction:
A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 35 MPH OR GREATER ARE EXPECTED. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT...ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.

Area: SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SOUTH COAST-

Affected Counties: Monterey, Santa Barbara, Kings, San Bernardino, Kern, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Orange, Los Angeles"

ANGORA FIRE - PHOTO - DEVASTATION

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 11:25 PM CDT

Uploaded by: mbaryol
In album: Angora Fire - South Lake Tahoe
Webshots Photo: news

EDITOR: Found this photo on the web at Webshots.
I post without comment

UPDATE: Angora Fire General Information

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 11:10 PM CDT

Angora Fire General Information

Angora Fire

Fire Incident Information:
Last Updated:	June 29, 2007 7:00 pm
Date/Time Started:	June 24, 2007 2:10 pm
Administrative Unit:	Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit
County:	El Dorado County
Location:	West of South Lake Tahoe
Acres Burned:	3,100 acres; Full containment expected on July 3, 2007.
Containment	80% contained - 3,100 acres West of South Lake Tahoe.
Control:	Full control expected on July 3, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Structures Destroyed:	254 residence and 75 commercial structures have been destroyed 14 residence have been damaged
Threatened:	300 homes, 45 commercial properties and 70 outbuildings.
Evacuations:	A limited re-entry schedule has been developed for the residence of the Tahoe Mountain area and portions of the Lake Tahoe Blvd. For more information on evacuations and re-entry call (530) 541-9205.
Injuries:	3
Cause:	Under Investigation
Cooperating Agencies:	All fire agencies within the Tahoe Basin, USFS, CAL FIRE, CHP, South Lake Tahoe Police Department, El Dorado County Sheriffs Office, Red Cross, Civil Air Patrol.
Total Fire Personnel:	1,332 (424 CAL FIRE)
Fire crews:	27 (14 CAL FIRE)
Engines:	73 (30 CAL FIRE)
Helicopters:	4
Dozers:	2
Water tenders:	10
Costs to date:	$9.7 million
Major Incident Command Team:	Unified Command
Conditions:	The fire is burning in heavy timber and rugged terrain. A Red Flag Alert will remain in effect until 9:00 pm this evening. The Highway 89 road closure has been lifted. Utility companies are restoring services within the fire area including power and gas lines. Crew safety remains a concern due to working in hazardous conditions including rolling material, snags and along roads where public and utility traffic has been reintroduced.
Phone Numbers	(530) 543-2694 (Angora Fire Information)

UPDATE Fire Information: ANGORA Fire:

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 11:02 PM CDT

CAUSE OF FIRE - ILLEGAL CAMP FIRE

Updated: Fire southwest of Redding CA-SHU-Creek

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 10:43 PM CDT

By Record Searchlight staff

Originally published 04:30 p.m., June 29, 2007
Updated 06:49 p.m., June 29, 2007
Photo Gallery

Updated: Fire:

Updated: Fire southwest of Redding half contained - Fire near Clear Creek Road

A wildfire that threatened close to 100 homes in a subdivision between Clear Creek and Texas Springs roads was half contained at 6 p.m. today.

Full containment of the 200-acre Creek Fire is expected at midnight, said Doug Wenham, a state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman.

While the closure of Texas Springs Road was lifted about 5:30 p.m., he said, an evacuation order for neighborhoods south of the road was expected to remain in effect until 8 p.m.

Because of heavy equipment and firefighters on the roadway, Wenham said, Clear Creek Road probably will be closed throughout the night between Honeybee Road and Cloverdale Road."

InciWeb pulls Angora Fire Map offline

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 08:52 PM CDT

Latest Map Angora Fire Perimeters

Replacement Angora Fire Map

Credit: InciWeb - file
This map replaces the previous map posted that was deemed to informational for public consumption

CAL FIRE NEWS EDITOR: InciWeb pulled the map from public access I posted and commented on in a earlier post? Which is very ironic! at the time I posted the original map I commented that I was amazed that they were releasing such high quality working fire perimeter maps to the general public basically the same map as used in the ICP, and 209 showing divisions, dozers lines, containment, etc.

Well the map got pulled shortly thereafter and when this editor inquired with a very nice Inciweb person she explained that they were worried that such a map would confuse the public!

Oh us poor public when will we ever be trusted to read a map properly!

But the InciWeb person has been very nice and cooperative and has attempted to send me the map three times by e-mail but the file seems to be broken?
What was on that map anyhow?

And the very nice lady wants me to believe that the federal government computers cannot possibly send such a large file as the original picture that had been posted? eh ok..

Now they have reposted a modified map that has been redone removing those confusing things like Divisions! and it is of much poorer quality and almost unreadable size.

InciWeb is relatively new and the nice people there may not realize their part in history and historical importance and that removing a document once posted like that should be a no no and is just bad net etiquette

Well whatever the reason we love InciWeb and very nice people work there.

The new one is here.

Any firefighters on the line send your ICP map photos, Pictures, Scoops, Announcements e-mail to this link CAL FIRE NEWS and we will get them up here.

(JPEG Image, 777x1200 pixels)

The original map shown above has been pulled off-line by InciWeb

The original was not saved by this editor but a smaller version at the original post is here.

CA-TMU-Angora - UPDATES From North Ops

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 08:17 PM CDT

CA-TMU-Angora:

CA-TMU-Angora
From North Ops today:

'Angora Incident, 3100 acres and 70 percent containment. Active demobilization of excess resouces will continue, with large scale demobilization during the next operational period.
The Angora Fire remains in unified command.'

ANGORA FIRE - SLIDE SHOW - RESIDENTAL AREA INSIDE BURN

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 07:56 PM CDT

ANGORA FIRE - SLIDE SHOW - PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVASTATION

Angora Fire - South Lake Tahoe

This slide show shows the devastation in the residential areas from inside the perimeter burn area of the Angora Fire - Angora Lakes, South Lake Tahoe, California

ANGORA FIRE - LIMITED RE-ENTRY SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 07:13 PM CDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 29, 2007, 7:00 am
El Dorado County Evacuation Information Hotline:
(530) 573-7966

LIMITED RE-ENTRY SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

Limited Re-entry Schedule:
For Streets- ABERDEEN CIR, ANGORA RIDGE RD, DEVERON WAY, DUNDEE CIR, GLENMORE WAY, HEATHER CIR, HIGHLANDS DR, TARTAN WAY, UPLANDS WAY, TAHOE MOUNTAIN RD, BOULDER MOUNTAIN CT, BOULDER MOUNTAIN RD, BRUSH RD, CONE RD, FOREST MOUNTAIN DR, GRANITE MOUNTAIN CIR, IRON MOUNTAIN CIR
Checkpoint 1 (Enter Lake Tahoe Blvd from the Y)

Entry permitted 0800-1200 hours (TM)
For Streets - ANGORA CREEK RD, ELK POINT DR, LOOKOUT POINT CIR, MULE DEER CIR, LAKE TAHOE BLVD, ANGORA CREEK DR, COYOTE RIDGE CIR, EAGLE LN, VIEW CIR, CLEAR VIEW DR, DIXIE MOUNTAIN DR, FRONTIER RD, MOUNTAIN TROUT DR, MOUNTAIN MEADOW DR

Checkpoint 1 (Enter Lake Tahoe Blvd from the Y)
Entry permitted 1300- 1700 hours (AC)
For streets - CLIFF RD, MT RAINIER DR, PYRAMID CIR, PYRAMID CT, SNOW MOUNTAIN DR, LITTLE MOUNTAIN LN, MOUNTAIN PASS LN, MT DIABLO CIR, MT OLYMPIA CIR, MT SHASTA CIR, NORTH UPPER TRUCKEE

Checkpoint 2 (Enter from North Upper Truckee from Hwy 50)
Entry permitted 0800-1200 hours (MR)

Residents will be permitted to remain only 1 hour following their arrival during the permitted entry period.
Residents will be permitted to remain only during the permitted period.
Residents must show proof of address and identification.
Residents are restricted to their own address only.
Violators will be subject to trespassing charges.
Residents should use extreme caution as many hazards still exist.
Residents enter at their own risk.
Insurance adjustors will be permitted with resident.

This plan is subject to changing conditions.
Please check the hot line prior to coming to a check point.

Above informaton from El Dorado Sheriff http://www.co.el-dorado.ca.us/

CA-SHU-Knoll Incident - VEGETATION FIRE

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 04:38 PM CDT

Knoll Incident:

4 acres and 2 outbuildings.

AA240
en route from Redding

PICKING UP THE PIECES - AFTER THE FIRE

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 04:29 PM CDT

ANGORA FIRE PICTURES

PICKING UP PIECES: Missy Springer of South Lake Tahoe sifts through the rubble of her Angora Creek Road home for anything that may have survived the fire Tuesday morning in South Lake Tahoe. Springer found shards of her mother's china set, but the pieces were brittle and broken.

PICKING UP PIECES
Credit: Photo from Redding.com
From Bobonit News

CA-SLU-Cuesta Fire - NEW START

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 04:14 PM CDT

CA-SLU- Cuesta Fire:
CA-SLU- Cuesta Fire Incident Vegetation Fire:

Fire at the base of the cuesta grade, 3-4 acres with moderate potential.
Being hit hard with air resources.

CA - SHU - Creek - NEW START

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 04:10 PM CDT

CA- SHU-Creek - Creek Incident Vegetation Fire:

SHU dispatching large amount resources to fire on Clear Creek Rd.
5+ acres mod to rapid rate of spread.
Position 40.29.7 N by 122.27.
Resource request for four water tenders, 3 additional AT's and 1 copter.
Creek IC CMD 1.

CAL FIRE Local News - Calistoga blaze roars to life

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 03:00 PM CDT

St. Helena Star:

Calistoga Blaze roars to life

By John Waters Jr.
FOR THE STAR
Thursday, June 28, 2007 12:27 AM PDT

CDF Fire Engineer Jay McNulty, who works out of the St. Helena station, rides to the edge of Monday's fire on the Sonoma County side of the fire, which also burned in a remote part of Napa County just above Franz Valley School Road near Calistoga. John Waters Jr. photo

A fire of unknown origin roared to life in the hills above Franz Valley School Road Monday, burning more than 45 acres, threatening few structures and rattling lots of nerves.

Crews were expected to have the fire fully contained by Wednesday morning.

"I saw the smoke above the hills there and it was a bit worrisome," said Ray Breitenstein Tuesday. "Fortunately, it didn't come over the hills this way, but for a while I recalled the 1964 fires that nearly came down into the valley here. That was really scary, so I'm glad they got a handle on this one."

Late Monday, fire crews from several departments battled a brush fire west of Calistoga that, as of late Tuesday, had consumed more than 45 acres. Although the skies above Franz Valley School Road were clear by Tuesday afternoon, the blaze wasn't dead, nor fully contained, according to Knights Valley Volunteer Fire Department firefighter Bud Pochini.

"I believe it's nearly contained, but it won't be fully contained until it stops sparking across the hand and dozer lines the fire crews have created around the fire," Pochini said. "Right now, the fire keeps creeping along as the wind picks up little sparks and jumps them across the fire breaks."

The fire began about 5:15 p.m. on Mountain Home Ranch Road near Petrified Forest Road, quickly burning about 20 acres, but by 9 p.m., the blaze had swallowed 35 acres, according to Tony Moriani from CalFire.

"We (Knights Valley volunteers) were stationed on the east side of the hills from the fire, waiting to see if it would continue to move this way," Pochini said. "If it had, we would have been right in its path."

Ironically, Pochini said, the Knights Valley firefighters would have had to protect the home of one of its own had the wind shifted easterly.

"We were mostly up by Augie Grube's, our fire chief's house," Pochini said. "If the fire had come over the crest there his property could have been right in its path."

That scenario never happened. At least one home was threatened, Pochini said.

"One of the CalFire crew told us there was a home directly in the path of the fire at one point," said Pochini, a 16-year firefighting veteran. "It was bearing down on the house so fire crews broke into it to try and save it, but the wind shifted and their efforts were, in the end, not needed there."

When fire crews break into homes to save them they focus on taking curtains from the windows and removing furniture from the walls closest to where they anticipate the fire will engage the home. They'll also pull back any carpeting.

"The reason for that is that temperatures inside the house closest to the fire can get so hot the curtains, furniture and carpeting will spontaneously combust and the whole house could be lost," he said.

There was another factor that threatened that home.

"They had brush and manzanita trees growing right up against the house," Pochini said. "There was absolutely no defensible space between the brush and the home. If the winds had not shifted that house could have been completely lost. People don't realize how important creating a defensible space around your home is when you live in the country. I hope they'll think about that now."

As the fire burned in timberlands, California Highway Patrol crews blocked off access to Petrified Forest and Franz Valley School roads, Moriani said, but there were no calls for voluntary evacuations of any residents in the area.

Numerous units from CalFire, Napa County Fire and Sonoma County fire agencies responded to the fire, including 13 engines, three bulldozers and four water tenders.

By 8 p.m. Napa County Fire crews stationed at the Big Tree Road station on Highway 128 were reporting the fire had expanded to between 30-40 acres at this time.

"It was spectacular," Pochini said. "The guys on the other side of the hill were telling us that they had never seen flames so tall. Flames totally engulfed 150 pines, and the flames were about 100 feet higher than that, making columns of flames 250 feet high."

By 9 p.m. Monday the night of the fire, Moriani said, there was no indication of what caused the fire.

ire keeps creeping"

CAL FIRE news: South Valley: Drug bust leads to arrest in six arsons

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 02:47 PM CDT

FresnoBee.com:

WOODLAKE -- Police believe they have caught an arsonist responsible for six recent wildland fires near Woodlake in an investigation sparked by a search warrant for alleged drug dealing.

State forestry and Woodlake police officials announced Thursday that Woodlake resident Humberto Gonzalez, 26, was arrested in connection with six arsons: on June 19, June 20 and June 21, 2006, and May 22, May 27 and June 10 of this year.

Gonzalez was being held at a Tulare County jail on $95,000 bail, Woodlake Police Chief John Zapalac said.

The investigation leading to Gonzalez's arrest started June 12 with a search warrant for drugs at a home in the 300 block of south Magnolia Street carried out by officers from several agencies, Zapalac said.

Officers found methamphetamine and paraphernalia related to the sale and use of the drug, along with a silencer for a gun, Zapalac said. Gonzalez was arrested along with his brother, 27-year-old Gonzalo Gonzalez.

During the search, law enforcement officials found suspicious items that prompted Woodlake police to notify California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials about what they found.

Cal Fire officials served another warrant June 16, and further investigation linked Humberto Gonzalez to the six fires, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Paul Marquez said.

Marquez said the fires burned mainly small amounts of grass in the Woodlake and Elderwood areas, although one scorched 80 acres. No structures were damaged, and no one was injured in any of the blazes.

But he said the fires could have been much more serious if fire crews hadn't quickly snuffed them out.

"There's a high fire danger in the wildland areas," Marquez said. "The lack of rain this winter means feed grass for cattle is very valuable."

A monetary loss for the burned areas wasn't available Thursday.

The Tulare County District Attorney's office hadn't made a decision Thursday on whether to file arson charges against Gonzalez, but a decision on the matter was expected by today, Assistant District Attorney Don Gallian said.

Gonzalez already faces charges of possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia and maintaining a home for drug sales, Gallian said. His brother faces a charge of being under the influence of drugs.

InciWeb UPDATE: Angora Wildland Fire:

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 02:19 PM CDT

Angora Wildland Fire

INCIDENT UPDATE - Angora Wildland Fire

ANNOUNCEMENT

Public Meeting to be Held Friday, June 29, 8:00 p.m. South Tahoe Middle School
A Public Meeting will be held at the SouthTahoe Middle School, 2870 Lake Tahoe Blvd, South Lake Tahoe, CA. The Meeting will take place Friday, June 29, 2007 at 8:00 p.m.The purpose of the meeting is t... more

Angora Fire Perimeter Map overlayed on Forest Recreation Base Map

Angora Fire Perimeter Map (map was generated 10:54 p.m. 06_27_07)
Credit: Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit

view pictures || view maps

Summary

Note: Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit entered into Fire Restrictions on June 24. Campfires, including charcoal bbqs, are prohibited except in Fee Camgrounds.

The next official news release will be 06/29/07
The County Sheriff has established an Evacuation Re-Entry hot line with information at (530) 573-7966
For current evacuation and re-entry information visit "http://cityofslt.us"
For preliminary list of lost or damaged structures visit "http://www.edso.org"

Basic Information

Incident Type	Wildland Fire
Cause	Under Investigation
Date of Origin	06/24/2007 at 1410 hrs.
Location	West of South Lake Tahoe
Incident Commander	Rich Hawkins

Current Situation

Total Personnel	2,008
Size	3,100 acres
Percent Contained	70%
Estimated Containment Date	07/03/2007 at hrs.
Fuels Involved	Heavy Timber with large dead and down component
Fire Behavior	Light fire activity observed in all Divisions.
Significant Events	Crews continued to make good progress with mop-up and patrol operations. Mop-up will continue to be completed 300 feet interior of the line and snags will continue to be felled 500 feet interior of the line. Evacuations remain in effect for portions of the South Lake Tahoe community.

Outlook

Planned Actions	Line improvement, mop-up and patrol will continue on all Divisions. Mop-up will continue to be completed 300 feet interior of the line and snags will continue to be felled 500 feet interior of the line. Active Fire Suppression Rehab. in Division S.
Projected Movement	Projected incident movement/spread during next operational period: 12 hours: No forward spread is expected. 24 hours: No forward spread is expected. 48 hours: No forward spread is expected. 72 hours: No forward spread is expected
Growth Potential	Low
Terrain Difficulty	Medium
Containment Target	07/03/07
Remarks	Active demobilization of excess resources will continue, with large scale demobilization during the next operational period. Number of structures damaged or destroyed represent the June 24-25th operational period. The increase to structures destroyed is due to the Damage Assessment Teams developing a more accurate assessment. On-going assessment will continue in the field. Structure loss is estimated in the amount of $141,000,000. The Angora Fire remains in the Unified Command. Active demobilization of excess resources.