California Fire News

Friday, June 29, 2007

California Fire News

NEWS-WORLD - Major Forest Fire Threatens Athens Suburbs

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 12:45 PM CDT

Caption: Athenians watch the huge fire burning the thick forest on Mount Parnitha, some 20 km away from Athens, on Friday, 29 June 2007. The Mont Parnes hotel casino on the peak and camping sites have been evacuated. ANA-MPA/SIMELA PANTZARTZI

Caption: Athenians watch the huge fire burning the thick forest on Mount Parnitha
ANA-MPA/SIMELA PANTZARTZI

Parnitha fire a 'biblical disaster', Papandreou says

Visiting the charred slopes of Mount Parnitha on Friday, following the devastating fire that swept across the mountain and much of the Mount Parnitha National Park overnight, main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou spoke of a "biblical disaster" for which there was "justified outrage.

Previously, he had been briefed on the extent of the damage by the mayor of

Menidi, a west Athens district on Parnitha's slopes.

"We must stand by all those who fought and are still fighting the fire - the forest fire-fighters and the local bodies - whose indignation we are hearing at the state's neglect," he said, while noting that this was not a time to talk about who was responsible but about the "major ecological disaster".

At the same time, he underlined that responsibility for the disaster did exist and that those responsible would be made to pay.

Papandreou was next due to visit the two other areas stricken by fire, Argalasti in Pelion and Agia in Larisa, where two people lost their lives as a result of the blaze on Thursday.

The fire on Mount Parnitha - a national park that is home to several endemic species and one of the few remaining areas of forest near the Greek capital - began to the north in Dervenochoria on the mountain's western flank and then a second front caught fire further south.

By Thursday night it had advanced to the top of the peaks surrounding Athens and ringed the capital's skyline, threatening the northwestern suburbs of Menidi and Thrakomakedones and forcing authorities to evacuate the Mont Parnes casino hotel.

The fires came after a six-day heat wave with temperatures stuck above 40 degrees Celsius, reaching as high as 46C earlier in the week, which was the worst on record in the past 110 years. At least nine deaths as a result of heatstroke were reported, while hundreds were hospitalised, and there were also extensive power cuts as the country's electricity grid struggled to cope with demand and heat-induced damage.

Fire brigade officials said many of the fires that raged across Greece on Thursday had been caused by explosions in electricity pylons due to the heat, though arson was being investigated in some cases.

NEWS - CDF firefighters fighting credit card crooks

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 12:32 PM CDT

News 8:

ID Thieves Targeting North County Firefighters

Last Updated:

06-20-07 at 6:18PM

Putting out financial fires when your identity's been stolen is easier said than done, and North County firefighters are learning that the hard way. ID theft seems to be sweeping through the fire department, and now firefighters are searching for a source so they can stop it.

CDF firefighters are used to being on the attack, but they never saw this fight coming. In January, someone got a hold of Randy Scales' credit card number and tried to spend thousands of dollars.

"It's a bad feeling to know people are getting a hold of these numbers," Scales said.

In the past seven months, credit card crooks have victimized 40 area firefighters -- that's almost eight percent of the force and more than double the three percent national average for identity theft.

Now, along with defending structures, state firefighters have been told to guard their credit closely.

"We always hope that it's somebody within our own organization giving obviously," Scales said.

Scales says they just don't know who is responsible. The state's personnel department claims they aren't to blame.

"We haven't been able to prove that the state is involved or if the state isn't involved," Scales said.

Firefighters thought the security breach could have been coming from an online store where many firefighters buy their uniforms, but that hunch turned out to be a dead end.

In the meanwhile, the charges keep coming, with losses ranging from $300 up to $3,000, totaling more than $30,000, spent on all sorts of random products.

"Everything from online gaming to dating services to 1-800-Flowers," Scales said.

Although credit card companies are reimbursing the losses, this is frustrating for firefighters.

"To me until we can pin down who and where this is coming from, everyone is subject to investigation," Scales said.

CA-KRN-White - Wildland fire UPDATE

Posted: 29 Jun 2007 12:23 PM CDT

CA-KRN-White -UPDATE:

CA-KRN-White Fire
11,300 acres and 60% contained
12 homes and 6 outbuildings lost.

Fire could threaten another 150 homes.
Steep terrain and higher temps are slowing containment.