California Fire News

Yosemite West - Prescribed Burn - October 3, 2007 Posted: 28 Sep 2007 09:28 PM CDT Map of Yosemite West area Prescribed Burn boundary Yosemite West Prescribed Burn —PW 17 (B, C &E) Wednesday, October 3, 2005 The National Park Service plans to conduct a prescribed burn in the Yosemite West area to reduce hazard fuels, protect structures from the threat of unwanted wildland fire and promote ecosystem health. Besides being used to thin forests and reduce unnatural fuel loads in areas that are in close proximity to public and private structures and use areas, prescribed fire is used to simulate the effects of a natural lightning-caused fire. Weather and air quality conditions permitting, This burn is scheduled to start on Wednesday, October 3, 2007 and will continue for 5-7 days. This burn will consist of three units, B, C & E, located west of the Wawona Road, (Hwy. 41), and south of Henness Ridge. These units are comprised primarily of ponderosa pine, and other mixed-conifers. Together these burn units total approximately 900 acres. Park staff will monitor smoke on a consistent basis. However, due to the topography of the area smoke will be noticeable within the Yosemite West area, as well as down canyon following the Merced River corridor, affecting El Portal and Mariposa areas. Take extra care while driving near the burn area, by observing all warning signs posted along the roadway and using your headlights when smoke is on the road. Expect reduced lanes and traffic control pilot vehicle escort and on Wednesday and Thursday with minimal travel delays on Hwy 41. Residents and visitors are advised to take precautions to minimize smoke impacts to health. People with respiratory problems should use caution when exerting themselves in smoky areas. For information or concerns, please call the Fire Information Line at 209-375-9577 or our Prescribed Fire Office at 209-375-9574. Mariposa County Air Quality District (APCD): Phone: (209) 966-2220 Fax: (209)966-8248

Fire Information - National Fire News Posted: 28 Sep 2007 11:59 AM CDT National Preparedness Level 2 (On a scale from 1 to 5) Current hours for the National Fire Information Center are (MST) 7:30 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday 208-387-5050 This report will be updated Monday - Friday. September 28, 2007 Wildland fire activity across the country was minimal yesterday. Weather Discussion: Much cooler temperatures are expected today behind a cold front moving across the Great Basin and into the Rockies. Gusty winds will develop in many places across the West associated with this storm system. Widespread rain and mountain snow will accompany the cold front. The Northeast and Florida will continue to see scattered showers, while the remainder of the East will remain dry. Click here for the print version. Source: National Interagency Coordination Center Daily statistics 9/28/07 Number of new large fires 0 States currently reporting large fires: Number of active large fires 0 Acres from active fires 0 Number of Wildland Fire Use (WFU) fires 0 Number of Wildland Fire Use (WFU) acres 0 Fires contained on 9/27/07 1 Year-to-date large fires contained 789 Year-to-date statistics 2007 (1/1/07 - 9/28/07) Fires: 72,138 Acres: 8,162,690 2006 (1/1/06 - 9/28/06) Fires: 83,286 Acres: 9,035,489 2005 (1/1/05 - 9/28/05) Fires: 53,030 Acres: 8,159,092 2004 (1/1/04 - 9/28/04) Fires: 60,805 Acres: 7,736,470 2003 (1/1/03 - 9/28/03) Fires: 49,108 Acres: 3,161,837 2002 (1/1/02 - 9/28/02) Fires: 67,235 Acres: 6,572,577 2001 (1/1/01 - 9/28/01) Fires: 62,927 Acres: 3,230,846 2000 (1/1/00 - 9/28/00) Fires: 80,031 Acres: 6,859,440 5-year average 2003 - 2007 Fires: 63,673 Acres: 7,251,107 10-year average 1997- 2006 Fires: 67,555 Acres: 5,975,369 Current Wildland Fires Montana Fires: 0 Acres: 0 New fires: 0 Fires contained: 1 Fivemile Creek (Miles City Field Office, Bureau of Land Management): This fire was contained at 1,370 acres. Wildland Fire Toolbox National Incident Management Situation Report Wildland fire maps Wildland fire statistics Wildland fire glossary Wildland fire outlooks National fire weather forecasts Traffic and road closure information Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACCs) National Interagency Coordination Center FireWise How to make your home safer from wildland fires http://www.ready.gov/ Firefighter crews status reports California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection website

Reminder: LODD Fresno Funeral today Posted: 28 Sep 2007 12:00 PM CDT The Chris Johnson Funeral will be held at Peoples Church in Fresno California, Cedar and Herndon area at 1100 on Friday September 28th 2007 there will be grave side services following at Sanger Cemetery then a wake at Sanger High School. View Larger Map For Those Interested in helping Chris Johnson 's family: The Chris Johnson Memorial Fund Central Valley Community Bank (any branch) Account #3220692 Or mail to: In Care Of Chris Johnson Memorial Fund CAL Fire/Fresno County Fire Protection District 210 S. Academy Sanger California, 93657 For Funeral Expenses: CDF Firefighters Benevolent Foundation (tax id# 20-5686356) "In Care Of Chris Johnson" 1731 J Street Sacramento California 95814 Stay safe and keep Chris's family in your thoughts and prayers

Ireland: LODD - Two Irish firefighters have been killed and another injured Posted: 28 Sep 2007 01:16 AM CDT Two Irish firefighters have been killed and another injured while dealing with a fire in Bray, Co Wicklow. The blaze, at a disused factory on Lower Dargle Road, started at 10.30am this morning. The men, 46-year-old Brian Murray and 26-year-old Mark O'Shaugnessy, lost their lives when the roof of the building collapsed. The National Retained Firefighters Association book of condolences can be signed online at Book of Condolences

Lick Fire: BURNING TRASH IGNITED HUGE BLAZE, PROSECUTORS SAY Posted: 27 Sep 2007 03:45 PM CDT Charge: Teacher started Lick fire Story at: MercuryNews By Sandra Gonzales and Leslie Griffy Mercury News Article Launched: 09/27/2007 01:33:33 AM PDT It seemed harmless enough: burning a pile of paper plates inside a metal drum. And so Margaret Pavese stepped back inside her rural cabin, prosecutors said, not realizing she had unwittingly sparked what would become one of the biggest wildfires in the history of Santa Clara County. Wednesday, prosecutors said the 50-year-old San Juan Bautista schoolteacher had been formally charged in the blaze and detailed for the first time how the tiny flames on her hillside property sprawled into a 47,760-acre wildfire that raged out of control for more than a week. Three hours after she lit the fire, prosecutors said, she heard what sounded like running water and rushed outside, only to find the flames leaping from the barrel. She sprayed them with a garden hose, but to no avail. Without a phone and unable to find her car keys to get help, she grabbed the closest thing she could - a shotgun. She fired three rounds into the air, hoping to alert her husband who was out chopping firewood, prosecutors said. Hearing the blasts, he returned to help her, picking up a garden hose of his own, but by then the blaze had already grown too big. "I don't think anyone was going to fight this fire with a garden hose," said Frank Carrubba, Santa Clara County supervising deputy district attorney. The blaze, which whipped through the steep canyons and rugged ridgelines of South County before moving into Henry W. Coe State Park, eventually cost the state $13 million to battle. It's a price that Pavese may have to help bear if she is found to be responsible for starting the fire. A judge ultimately would decide how much she would pay, based on her income. "She may have to pay the Department of Revenue for the rest of her life," Carrubba said. Pavese, charged Tuesday with a misdemeanor count of failing to exercise reasonable care in the disposal of flammable materials to prevent causing an uncontrolled fire, also faces six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. She did not return calls Wednesday. Carrubba said Pavese wet the area around the corroded, 55-gallon metal burn barrel, then loaded the paper plates inside it about 10:30 a.m. on Labor Day. She covered it with a piece of corrugated roofing and placed a rock on top, he said, then went inside her cabin. Flames soon ignited grass that had been growing inside the barrel, Carrubba said, and the fire escaped and advanced up the hill into the heavy, thick terrain away from the cabin, at the end of Blue Ridge Road north of Henry W. Coe State Park. Within hours, Pavese told Cal Fire investigators what had happened. Carrubba said Pavese had failed to take proper care in several ways: Although she wet the area surrounding the barrel, she failed to clear it of any flammable liquid or vegetation, he said. She also used corrugated roofing instead of the required quarter-inch mesh to cover the barrel. And she didn't have a burn permit, he said. All such permits had been suspended in July because of dry conditions in the summer. At one point, more than 1,800 firefighters were battling the Lick fire, named for its proximity to the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton. Nearly all of the fire was within the 88,000-acre Henry W. Coe State Park, an expansive landscape of oak woodlands and steep, dry chaparral. Although the fire scorched thousands of acres, Assistant District Attorney David Howe said Pavese won't face felony arson charges because she did not intend to start the wildfire. "She was and is extremely distraught over this," Carrubba said.

You are subscribed to email updates from California Fire News - Structure, Wildland, EMS To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email Delivery powered by FeedBurner
If you prefer to unsubscribe via postal mail, write to: California Fire News - Structure, Wildland, EMS, c/o FeedBurner, 20 W Kinzie, 9th Floor, Chicago IL USA 60610