California Fire News

Santiago Fire - 28,400 acres - 100% - Final Posted: 10 Nov 2007 01:37 PM CST Santiago Fire Santiago Fire Incident Information: Last Updated: November 9, 2007 6:30 am FINAL Date/Time Started: October 21, 2007 5:55 pm Administrative Unit: Orange County Fire Authority/Cleveland National Forest County: Orange County Location: Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon Acres Burned: 28,400 acres Containment 100% contained - 28,400 acres Structures Destroyed: 15 residential structures and 9 outbuildings were destroyed. 8 residential structures and 12 outbuildings were damaged. Evacuations: Evacuation orders have been lifted. Santiago Canyon Road has been re-opened. Injuries: 16 firefighter injuries have been reported. Cause: Human Cooperating Agencies: California Highway Patrol, Orange County Sheriff, Irvine Police Department, Cal Edison, SoCal Gas, Irvine Ranch Water District, CalTrans. Total Fire Personnel: 206 (48 CAL FIRE) Fire crews: 2 Engines: 9 Helicopters: 1 Dozers: 2 Water tenders: 3 Costs to date: $21.6 million Major Incident Command Team: A Cleveland National Forest Type 3 Organization (IC-Jay Bertek) will assume command of the fire today at 12:00 hours today. Conditions: A Cleveland National Forest Type 3 Organization (IC-Jay Bertek) will assume command of the fire today at 12:00 hours today. Demobilization of resources continues. Phone Numbers (714) 573-6200 (Santiago Fire Information)

Poomacha Fire - 49,410 acres - 100% - Final Posted: 10 Nov 2007 01:35 PM CST Poomacha Fire Poomacha Fire Incident Information: Last Updated: November 9, 2007 6:30 am Date/Time Started: October 23, 2007 3:13 pm Administrative Unit: CAL FIRE / San Diego County Operational Area County: San Diego Location: Hwy 76, Pauma Valley Acres Burned: 49,410 acres Containment 100% contained - 49,410 acres Structures Destroyed: 138 homes, 1 commercial property and 78 outbuildings have been destroyed. Injuries: 15 firefighter injuries have been reported. Cause: The fire cause was released as a structure fire spreading into the vegetation. The cause of the structure fire is undetermined. Cooperating Agencies: San Diego Sheriff Total Fire Personnel: 379 (137 CAL FIRE) Fire crews: 7 (2 CAL FIRE) Engines: 13 (4 CAL FIRE) Helicopters: 2 Dozers: 1 Water tenders: 4 Costs to date: $20.6 million Major Incident Command Team: Cleveland National Forest will assume command on November 9 at 6:00 pm. Conditions: The Poomacha Fire has joined with the Witch Fire to the south. Residents can get the latest information about the status of the fires by visiting the County of San Diego's Emergency Web site at www.sdcountyemergency.com. Residents should call 2-1-1 for all non-emergency calls related to this fire. Residents may also call the City of San Diego Community Access Phone at 619-570-1070 for additional fire information. Phone Numbers (619) 590-3160 (Poomacha Fire Information)

News: Twist to Torres Incident - High Angle rescue Posted: 10 Nov 2007 01:28 PM CST Bir Sur rescue a real cliffhanger Firefighters responding to blaze find man stuck in gully By ROBERTA KWOK- The Salinas Californian Emergency workers battling a Big Sur blaze rescued a man who spent three days trapped in a gully off Highway 1, after firefighters heard his screams for help, a sheriff's official said Friday. The team used 600 feet of rope late Thursday night to haul up Steve Borban, 52, who had driven off the highway earlier in the week, said Sgt. Joe Moses of the Monterey County Sheriff's Office. The fire was contained by 6 p.m. Friday, Pasinato said. Thirteen crews, 33 engines, four helicopters and four water tenders fought the blaze. The only structure destroyed was a water tank. Firefighters did not hear Borban's screams until five hours into the operation because of equipment noise, said Moses, who was on the search-and-rescue team. Rescue workers found the man on a 10-foot by-10-foot patch of brush about 400 feet below the highway, the only spot in the gully untouched by fire, Moses said. "Everything around him was burned," he said. "The rescuers were shocked." Moses said the rescue took about two hours. The team found his burned car several hundred feet away. "He was yelling and screaming for three days, and no one heard him," Moses said. Borban, who lives in Ione, near Sacramento, was taken by ambulance to Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, the Sheriff's Office said. Borban was listed in fair condition Friday, just "bumped and banged up," said Marlyn Johnson, administrative supervisor at the hospital. Officers are investigating the cause of the car accident and the possibility that Borban set the fire to get rescued, said Officer Larry Starkey, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. Borban has said he had nothing to do with the blaze. At the time of Borban's rescue, firefighters were in the area to fight a vegetation fire at Torre Canyon, near Partington Ridge Road about five miles south of the community of Big Sur. The fire started at 5:13 p.m. and burned about 20 acres, mostly on the ocean cliffs just west of the highway, said Joe Pasinato, a U.S. Forest Service officer. Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire, Pasinato said. About 300 people were evacuated from 50 nearby homes during the blaze, Moses said, but allowed to return shortly before 8 a.m. Friday. Highway 1 was closed to traffic for several hours Thursday night, and one Cal Fire employee received minor injuries. Fair use source: thecalifornian.com

News: Fire department celebrates firefighters' success Posted: 10 Nov 2007 01:13 PM CST Eureka Fire Chief Eric Smith, left, presents new recruit Adam Bradley with an ax Friday, signifying his graduation from the department's six-week training academy, at Eureka Fire Department headquarters. Joni Schrantz/The Eureka Reporter Fire department celebrates firefighters' success by Heather Muller , 11/9/2007 The Eureka Fire Department held a ceremony Friday afternoon to celebrate the accomplishments of 13 of its own. EFD Chief Eric Smith named Engineer Kevin Vorhees Career Firefighter of the Year, honoring him in part for his commitment to the preservation and display of the department's antique steamer and hand-pumper. Smith said Vorhees was also active in the annual toy drive, and inspired those around him with his positive and cheerful attitude. Vorhees thanked his fellow firefighters for the award, saying it was "a real honor knowing my peers think I do a good job." Sam Rogers was named Volunteer Firefighter of the Year, but was unable to receive the award in person because he was still assigned to the fires in Southern California, Smith said. Rogers is a seasonal firefighter with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, assigned to the Kneeland Helitack Base. The chief took the opportunity to introduce to attendees rookie Adam Bradley, who recently completed the department's six-week training academy. A news release issued by the EFD described the basic recruit academy as a rigorous program designed to teach new recruits the "EFD way" of doing business. "We're here to teach him the Eureka way," said EFD Capt. Chris Jelinek. Prior to employment, new firefighters must be certified as both a Firefighter I and an Emergency Medical Technician I. The academy builds on those core skills with a focus on teamwork and developing proficiency in EFD lesson plans. "Our mission during this academy is to build our recruits' skills and confidence while evaluating their character," the release stated. Skills covered include structural and wildland firefighting techniques, building collapse rescue, hazardous materials operations and advanced EMT skills. Bradley comes from San Luis Obispo, where he served two seasons with Cal Fire and graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in architectural engineering. In addition to the Firefighter of the Year announcements, the EFD celebrated 10 recent promotions. Firefighters James Flynn, Nick Launius and Mitchell Mills were promoted to fire engineer. Engineers P.J. Lynch, Carl Gossien, Ken Weaver and Jeff Nicklas were promoted to captain. Capts. Ed Laidlaw and Kent Hulbert moved up a grade to Fire Captain II, and the EFD formally recognized Bill Gillespie's recent elevation to assistant fire chief and fire marshal. "For those of you who know our fire department, you know we have been going through tremendous change," Smith said. The chief referred to a number of departures that left the department short of officers, but said the men honored Friday had "risen to the challenge" to fill the ranks. Approximately 75 people attended the ceremony, including Eureka Mayor Virginia Bass, Eureka City Manager Dave Tyson, Eureka Police Chief Garr Nielsen and City Councilmembers Larry Glass, Jeff Leonard and Mike Jones. Fair use source: eurekareporter.com

News: San Mateo County - Fire Board Election Count Is Very Close, Recount Possible Posted: 10 Nov 2007 01:10 PM CST Coastsider.com Reports Latest Fire Board Election Count Is Very Close, Recount Possible In the latest vote count from San Mateo County Elections, union-supported HMB fire board candidate Gregg A. Hosfeldt now has more votes than incumbent Bert Silva. Silva led Hosfeldt for third place as of Wednesday. All four union-backed candidates for the Coastside fire boards (three in Half Moon Bay, one in Pt. Montara) are now the vote leaders. This would tip the balance on the newly elected and consolidated Coastside Fire Protection District from four Cal Fire supporters and four Cal Fire skeptics to five and three. The board is set to choose a ninth member. The union candidates gained ground late Tuesday night as the county continued to count mail-in and absentee ballots. The latest count was published at 5pm Friday, Nov 9. A recount is still likely. The Review reported that if the margin of victory in any contest is less than 0.5%. Hosfeldt, Silva, and Donovan are separated by only 0.3%. For full vote counts, visit COASTSIDER. Fair use source: pacificariptide.com

News: Local firefighters performed heroic rescue in San Diego County Posted: 10 Nov 2007 01:06 PM CST By KIMBERLY TRONE The Press-Enterprise Tony Mecham watched with a sharp, sinking pain in his heart as the most extreme firestorm the Cal Fire/Riverside County battalion chief had ever seen enveloped one of his strike teams in last month's deadly Harris Fire near the Mexico border. Mecham called for an ambulance. The strike team, led by his longtime colleague, Battalion Chief Steve Curley, had entered the eye of a firestorm to check on an elderly, paralyzed man who had refused earlier mandatory evacuation orders. Story continues below Ramon Mena Owens / The Press-Enterprise Cal Fire Capt. Joe Pidgeon and Battalion Chief Steve Curley were among a strike team that saved the life of an elderly man. "I was very concerned we could have some of our guys burned over. I did not think our guys were going to make it out without injuries. I wanted that paramedic there," Mecham said. They made it. The paralyzed man was rescued and Curley and his strike team went on to fight more battles. "The actions of my people were very heroic," said Curley, who is the Moreno Valley fire battalion chief. "However, I believe anybody on my strike team that day would have done the same thing. We were into 30 hours of continuous firefighting, and these guys absolutely never gave up." Heroes Everywhere Similar scenes played out across Southern California last month as thousands of firefighters struggled to save lives and homes in the string of blazes. Cal Fire/Riverside County deployed 50 engines to assist in the fight. The Harris Fire that began in San Diego County on Oct. 21 charred 90,440 acres, destroyed 211 homes and 262 outbuildings. By the time it was contained 10 days later, the blaze had killed five people, injured 21 civilians and 36 firefighters, at least two of them critically. Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Chief John Hawkins credited his firefighters' training and preparation for their success. Hawkins told the Riverside County Board of Supervisors he would probably recommend Curley, 45, for a medal of honor for the leadership of his team during the Harris Fire. Curley has been with Cal Fire for 26 years. "Their actions were courageous, dangerous, but extremely effective in saving multiple civilian lives," Hawkins said. Curley's strike team had been on the Harris Fire almost 24 hours by 2 a.m. Oct. 23, when it was notified the paralyzed man needed help. Only 10 engines were in the area and resources were stretched. "It was a true firestorm. Flames were going over the top of us," Curley said. "This by far was the most extreme fire behavior I ever witnessed." A Firestorm Mecham, a branch director on the blaze, said a thousand engines couldn't have controlled the firestorm as three walls of fire spun closer and closer together and merciless winds blew flames as long as 80 feet across the road. Flames were advancing on Cal Fire/Riverside County crews from Moreno Valley Engine 91, Rubidoux Engine 38 and North Palm Springs Engine 36 as they entered a compound where the man was located. Mecham said he could only wait and watch from above the firestorm. Firefighters found the man inside a garage where he'd been placed in the bed of a pickup. Neighbors, who refused to evacuate, had covered him in blankets and towels, thinking they'd eventually drive him to safety. Curley said the man told him he had suffered a heart attack five days earlier. The electric door of the garage was broken and jammed. Curley ordered Engine 38 to defend the garage with hoses. Crew members of Engine 91 and Engine 36 forced the garage door open. Windblown smoke and embers made it difficult to breathe or see. The firefighters struggled in the onslaught of debris and fire to carry the man to Curley's truck. Curley drove the man to safety and to the ambulance Mecham had summoned for firefighters. After the rescue, which took 30 minutes, the weary Riverside County strike team went back to the firefight until late in the morning. Few words passed between Mecham and Curley when they met up after the rescue. Mecham described his feeling as that of relief when swerving out of the path of a grave danger. "These guys deserve a lot of credit, but not only for the rescue," Mecham said. "There are 30 or 40 families that were able to resume a fairly normal life because of their efforts." Fair use source: PE Inland News

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