California Fire News

EDIS - Red flag warning remains in effect from 1 pm this afternoon to 11 pm pdt this evening for parts of northeast california and northwest n

Posted: 28 Jun 2007 12:40 PM GMT-06:00

[EDIS] - Red flag warning remains in effect from 1 pm this afternoon to 11 pm pdt this evening for parts of northeast california and northwest nevada for gusty winds and low humidity:

EASTERN LASSEN COUNTY-NORTHERN WASHOE COUNTY

A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY OFF THE WEST COAST. WIDESPREAD WIND GUSTS TO 35 MPH AND HUMIDITY AT OR BELOW 15 PERCENT WILL COMBINE TO PRODUCE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. HUMIDITY WILL INCREASE SOME ON THURSDAY ALTHOUGH LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO BE VERY CLOSE TO THE CRITICAL 15 PERCENT THRESHOLD SOUTH OF A LINE FROM SUSANVILLE TO GERLACH DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A WATCH OR WARNING MAY BE REQUIRED FOR THESE AREAS ON FRIDAY.

Instruction:
A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR. FIRE OFFICIALS SHOULD MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS CLOSELY THE REMAINDER OF THIS WEEK.

Area: EASTERN LASSEN COUNTY-NORTHERN WASHOE COUNTY-

Affected Counties: Modoc, Plumas, Mono, Lassen, El Dorado, Madera, Alpine, Sierra, Shasta, Tuolumne, Placer, Inyo, Fresno, Nevada

Sent: 2007-06-28T05:17:08-07:00"

EDIS - RED FLAG WARNING Modoc national forest

Posted: 28 Jun 2007 12:33 PM GMT-06:00

Increasing southwest winds and low humidities Thursday afternoon over the Modoc national forest:

MODOC NATIONAL FOREST

RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 PM PDT THIS EVENING... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MEDFORD HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 PM PDT THIS EVENING. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. AN UNSEASONABLY STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM LOCATED OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST WILL SHIFT CLOSER TO THE COAST THURSDAY. UPPER LEVEL WINDS WILL INCREASE OVER THE REGION THURSDAY AND THEN WORK THEIR WAY DOWN TO THE SURFACE ACROSS MUCH OF THE MODOC NATIONAL FOREST THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. EXPECT SOUTHWEST WINDS TO INCREASE TO 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

Instruction:
A FIRE WEATHER WARNING MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THIS EVENT TO OCCUR. A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS... LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY... AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

Area: MODOC COUNTY EXCEPT FOR THE SURPRISE VALLEY-

Affected Counties: Shasta, Modoc, Trinity, Siskiyou, Lassen, Del Norte, Humboldt"

Announcement - JOINT INFORMATION CENTER (JIC) IS OPEN- Additional Phone Numbers Established

Posted: 28 Jun 2007 12:22 PM GMT-06:00

JOINT INFORMATION CENTER (JIC) IS OPEN- Additional Phone Numbers Established

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thu, 28 Jun 2007 13:19:50 -0500

Additional Information Phone Numbers Established

(South Lake Tahoe)

A Joint Information Center has been established to coordinate and distribute accurate and timely information on issues pertaining the Angora Fire. The JIC has established two additional phone numbers for members of the public to call for status updates and general information about returning to their homes and recovering efforts.

JIC phone bank phone numbers are as follows:

Inside the Tahoe area: (530) 542-6006

Outside the Tahoe area: (866) 355-6755"

News - Man tries to create fire buffer, sets blaze instead

Posted: 28 Jun 2007 11:43 AM GMT-06:00

News - sacbee.com:
Man tries to create fire buffer, sets blaze instead -

"A man trying to create a fire buffer around his house actually set a 47-acre blaze Wednesday afternoon near Jackson Highway and Sloughouse Road, officials said.

The man was mowing his lawn at about 3:44 p.m. when sparks grew into a fire, said Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Capt. Jeff Lynch.

Lynch gives the man had the right idea, but did not execute it well.

'We do commend him for his efforts,' he said. 'But anyone who's going to create a defensible space needs to do it in the early morning when it's cool. And they need to have a fire extinguisher or garden hose nearby.'

Lynch said 49 Metro firefighter and a group of Cal Fire fighters knocked down the blaze, with help of an F2 air tanker dropping retardant. The two-alarm fire caused no injuries and burned an outbuilding.

Lynch said fire officials urge people to create at least 100 feet of defensible space around their homes by ridding it of all dry vegetation."

News: GRASS FIRE ON SHORELINE CONTAINED

Posted: 28 Jun 2007 11:41 AM GMT-06:00

cbs5.com - Bay City News Wire:

MARTINEZ: UPDATE: GRASS FIRE ON SHORELINE CONTAINED

06/27/07 4:10 PDT

MARTINEZ (BCN)

Smoke wafted over Martinez today as a two-acre grass fire burned along the shoreline.

The fire was reported at 2:03 p.m. on the shoreline near the end of Berrellesa Street on East Bay Regional Parks District land, according to a parks district dispatcher.

Regional parks firefighters were joined by firefighters from the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District and Cal Fire.

No structures were threatened by the blaze and no injuries were reported, Contra Costa County Battalion Chief Steve Maiero said.

The fire, which was considered a wildland response, was contained to the open space area and reported under control at 2:59 p.m., Maiero said.

Crews in two helicopters, one from the regional parks district and one from Cal Fire, scooped water from the Delta and dropped it on the blaze.

Firefighters will be continuing to mop up the area, spraying water and foam on smoldering grass, shrubs and a few trees for several hours, Maiero said.

It was still unknown what caused the fire and Maiero said investigators would likely begin looking into it once the mop up was complete.

InciWeb: Angora Wildland Fire

Posted: 28 Jun 2007 11:35 AM GMT-06:00

InciWeb: Angora Wildland Fire:

Angora Wildland Fire

INCIDENT UPDATED 10:30 AM

Summary

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

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	2,174
Size	3,100 acres
Percent Contained	55%
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	Good progress was made during the last operational period with mop-up extending 200-300 feet in depth. Crews continued to patrol the fire line and monitor any safety risks. Evacuations remained in effect in portions of the South Lake Tahoe community.

Outlook

Planned Actions	Continue perimeter control operations to threatened communities. Line improvement, mop-up and patrol will continue on all Divisions. Damage assessment Teams will continue field assessments. Utility Crews will continue to restore critical utility infrastructure.
Projected Movement	Projected incident movement/spread during next operational period: 12 hours: No forward spread is expected 24 hours: Spread possible due to high winds. 48 hours: Spread possible due to high winds. 72 hours: Spread possible due to high winds.
Growth Potential	High
Terrain Difficulty	High
Containment Target	07/03/07
Remarks	Increase to structures destroyed due to the Damage Assessment Teams developing a more accurate assessment. Structure loss estimated in the amount of $141,000,000. On going assessment will continue in the field. The Angora Fire remains in Unified Command.

Weather

Current Wind Conditions	15-20 mph S
Current Temperature	76 degrees
Current Humidity	18-19 %

Angora Fire - 0700 - 209 update

Posted: 28 Jun 2007 11:22 AM GMT-06:00

Angora Fire Incident Information: Angora Fire

Angora Fire Incident Information:

Last Updated: June 28, 2007 7:00 am
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:55% contained - 3,100 acres
West of South Lake Tahoe.
Control:Full control expected on July 3, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Structures Destroyed:229 residence and 75 commercial structures have been destroyed
26 residence have been damaged
Threatened: 800 homes, 275 commercial properties and 180 outbuildings.
Evacuations: Mandatory evacuations remains in effect for portions of South Lake Tahoe.
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: 2,174 (587 CAL FIRE)
Fire crews: 35 (22 CAL FIRE)
Engines: 164 (31 CAL FIRE)
Helicopters: 21 (1 CAL FIRE)
Dozers: 4 (1 CAL FIRE)
Water tenders: 15
Costs to date: $5.7 million
Major Incident Command Team: Unified Command
Conditions: The fire is burning in heavy timber and rugged terrain.

A wind event is expected to develop over the next couple of days potentially bringing gusts to 30-40 mph.
A Red Flag Alert will be in effect for the next operational period due to the wind and extreme fuel moistures.
A road closure for Highway 89 at the Highway 50 junction is expected to take effect at 10:00 am this morning. Utility services remain interrupted throughout the majority of the communities impacted by the fire.

Phone Numbers (530) 543-2694 (Angora Fire Information)