Headlines - Just News headlines all the time: Oct 21, 2007

Sunday, October 21, 2007

California Fire News

CA-LAC- Ranch IC - Vegetation Fire - Newhall pass area

Posted: 21 Oct 2007 02:11 AM CDT

Location: TEMPLIN HWY AT TEMPLIN PK / Interstate 5 area, Grapevine south, Castaic.
Sizeup: Working fire, 60 acres with 40+ MPH winds, moving south...in few hours Community of Piru may be threatened and IC requested dispatch to notify Ventura County.
Helitack reporting fire is spotting 1/4 mile ahead of itself.
Resources: No fixed wing aircraft, Cal Fire, LA COUNTY, ANF
Weather: Boise NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA
302 PM PDT SAT OCT 20 2007

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM SUNDAY TO 4 PM PDT TUESDAY
FOR COASTAL AREAS OF VENTURA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTIES DUE TO
STRONG NORTHEAST WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM SUNDAY TO 4 PM PDT TUESDAY
FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF VENTURA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTIES
DUE TO STRONG NORTHEAST WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...
Updates:11:13PM 1021 FIRE FOR UPDATE - AT 2232 HRS - APPROX 60 ACRES BURNED - MOVING IN SW DIRECTION Per CHP CAD No evacuations yet.

View Larger Map
Google map of reported area of Ranch fire

Video at: ABC7.com

STRONG AND POSSIBLY DAMAGING WINDS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Posted: 20 Oct 2007 10:17 PM CDT

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA
626 PM PDT SAT OCT 20 2007

...STRONG AND POSSIBLY DAMAGING WINDS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA THROUGH TUESDAY...


STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL AFFECT THE MOUNTAINS AND
ANTELOPE VALLEY WITH WINDS UP TO 60 MPH POSSIBLE. IN SOUTHERN
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO BE STRONG
THROUGH TONIGHT BELOW PASSES AND CANYONS WITH GUSTS UP TO 70 MPH.
WINDS WILL SHIFT TO NORTHEAST TONIGHT AND SUNDAY AND CONTINUE
THROUGH TUESDAY. AS THIS HAPPENS WINDS OVER THE ANTELOPE VALLEY
AND MOST OF SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY WILL DIMINISH BUT STILL
BE GUSTY AT TIMES. HOWEVER...IN VENTURA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTIES
NORTHEAST WINDS WILL BE INCREASING WITH GUSTS UP TO 70 MPH
POSSIBLE THROUGH AND BELOW THE FAVORED PASSES AND CANYONS.

WINDS WILL DIMINISH SLIGHTLY EARLY SUNDAY EVENING...BUT ARE EXPECTED
TO STRENGTHEN ONCE AGAIN LATE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH EARLY MONDAY
AFTERNOON...AND AGAIN MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY.

CA- MRN-Valley IC. - Vegetation Fire

Posted: 21 Oct 2007 12:49 AM CDT

17:00 Valley Fire - Marin County
Location: San Geronimo Valley between Lagunitas School and the San Geronimo Golf Course
San Geronamo Valley - Lagunitas School hillside - staging at the San Geronimo Golf Club
Resources:
First unit on scene reported 5 acres with structures threatened. Units responding from Marin County Fire Department, CAL Fire, Ross Valey Fire, Novato Fire, San Rafael Fire, Skywalker Ranch Fire. Woodacre ECC
CHP H-30 , Currently requesting 3 additional any-type
engines to staging.
Sheriffs deputies
are talking about possible evacuations.
Comms: MERA Talkgroups:
24080 - Marin Co FD Control H2 (ECC Dispatch)
24176 - Marin Co FD Command H5
45616 - Sheriff 1

TAC White 2 154.265

Marin Incident page:
Marin County Fire Department: Incidents - http://www.xmrfire.org/mrn/Lists/Incident/AllItems.aspx

CA-RRU- 79 - Vegetation Fire

Posted: 20 Oct 2007 06:59 PM CDT

Via CHP CAD -

1196

4:24PM

Report of Fire

SR79 JSO CALIFORNIA AV

San Gorgonio Pass

Google Map
Location: Highway 79 and California Ave
Sizeup: West side of Hwy 79, moderate rate of spread quarter acre, potential for 100 acres. Working fire on hillside. Full willdand fire response, all aircraft.
Comms: RRU 2 and CDF Tac 5
Weather: Beamont RAWS reports 78 degrees, 29% RH winds SW 6 gusty to 20.

Update: (1) Cancel additional aircraft, one tanker in orbit, can handle with 2 crews 1 dozer. This one is caught

Northern California Fire season winding down rapidily

Posted: 20 Oct 2007 02:09 PM CDT

The Northern California region seasonal weather change has allowed State fire officials to end the fire season in the region by Monday.

Several northern units of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have begun to close stations, reduce staffing levels, reduce wildland fire response levels, release contract aircraft, release seasonal firefighters and lift certain use restrictions, such as camp fires, and permit debris burning and the burning of vegetation piles on private property with proper permit and following local burn permit guidelines, And of course check with your local Fire Department for allowed Burn Days..

The Cal Fire will still provide service throughout the winter season, but some remote fire stations will be closed.

Home heating is a serious early winter fire danger homeowners should inspect all heating equipment prior to use every season.
The number of house fires usually peak in January and February. Inspecting chimneys, flues and all heating devices now can keep your family safer this winter.

Daniel Berlant, a department spokesman, said this season saw 3,424 wildfires in Northern California that burnt 61,749 acres. Except for one or two major fires, the rest were relatively small ones.

"This was a typical fire season," Berlant said. The five-year average for annual acreage burnt is 60,780 acres.

2007 California Fire season to date number of fires and acres:

Interval	Fires	Acres
1/1/2007 through 10/13/2007	6,857	84,999
1/1/2006 through 10/13/06	8,372	218,518
5 year average (same interval)	8,405	152,276

(All statistics are for CDF jurisdiction fires only and are subject to change until final fire season reports are completed and tabulated.)

But this season also saw one of the most destructive Nor California fires since the 1930s, Berlant said.

The Angora fire that started June 24 destroyed more than 250 homes on the outskirts of South Lake Tahoe.

Red Flag preparation - Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service have doubled the number of air tankers at the Ramona Air Station

Posted: 20 Oct 2007 12:49 PM CDT

In preparation for the Red flag weather, and accompanying Santa Ana winds Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service have doubled the number of air tankers at the San Diego area Ramona Air Attack Station. A heli-tanker is also on hand in the event of a fire.

Also resources such as Cal fire engine strike teams have been moved south from less affected Northern California areas.

LA County - Great Wildland Urban Interface video

Posted: 20 Oct 2007 02:28 PM CDT

The Los Angeles County firefighters website lacounty.com Is featuring a video featuring a wildland urban interface fire exploding down a drainage right into the lap of a structure protection group with evacuations, WUI Firestorm, entrapment, a near burnover, and a lesson in the science of the

"Pucker factor"

Cal Fire News featured video

San Dimas Area Ignition

Video By Rich Cowgil

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

FOREST SERVICE ANNOUNCES REGIONAL FORESTER LEADERSHIP CHANGES

Posted: 20 Oct 2007 11:48 AM CDT

NEWS RELEASE USDA Forest Service Washington, D.C.

Release No. 0715	Contact:	Press Office (202) 205-1134

FOREST SERVICE ANNOUNCES REGIONAL FORESTER LEADERSHIP CHANGES

WASHINGTON, September 6, 2007—U.S. Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell announced today two key personnel changes for Regional Forester positions in the Intermountain Region and the Pacific Southwest Region.

Harv Forsgren has been selected to be the new Regional Forester for the Intermountain Region (Region 4). Randy Moore will be the new Regional Forester in the Pacific Southwest Region (Region 5).

"Both Harv and Randy have demonstrated outstanding leadership managing the many complex issues in the Southwest and the East and are superbly qualified to take on their new challenges in the Intermountain Region and in California," said Chief Kimbell.

Harv Forsgren has been the Regional Forester in Southwestern Region (Region 3) since July, 2002. Prior to that, he was the Regional Forester in the Pacific Northwest Region (Region 6). Forsgren will now lead the Intermountain Region headquartered in Ogden, Utah. Forsgren, who began his career as a volunteer on the Bridger-Teton National Forest, will replace Jack Troyer who has announced his plans for retirement earlier this year. The Intermountain Region consists of 13 National Forests and one National Grassland located in Utah, Nevada, southern Idaho and western Wyoming.

Randy Moore has been selected to lead the Pacific Southwest Region (Region 5), headquartered in Vallejo, Calif. Randy has been the Regional Forester in the Eastern Region (Region 9) since May, 2002. Prior to that, he was the Forest Supervisor on the Mark Twain National Forest. Moore began his career at the North Dakota State Conservationist Office and has a broad range of natural resource management experience. He has recently led Region 9 to successfully complete Forest Plan Revisions within a two-year timeframe, an unprecedented accomplishment.

A reporting date for both selections has not yet been announced.