California Fire News

RRU - Press release - $100,000 Reward offered for Information on Arson Fire Posted: 13 Nov 2007 09:10 PM CST News Release Release Date: 11/08/2007 Release Time: 11:00 AM Contact: CAL FIRE/ Riverside County Captain Julie Hutchinson 951-940-6985 Subject: $100,000 Reward offered for Information on Arson Fire CAL FIRE and Riverside County Fire Investigators have determined that arson is the cause of the Rosa Fires, which began Monday October 22, at 11:00 pm. The three separate fires were located at: Via Santa Rosa and Via Peregrino, Via Vaquero and Calle La Paz, and Via Barranca at Sandia Creek, all in the De Luz area. Riverside County Sherriff¿s department in cooperation with CAL FIRE and Riverside County Fire evacuated 150-200 residents. (Firefighters fought this fire in 30-35 mph winds.) These fires were contained to a total of 411 acres, and an estimated $1.41 million dollars of damage was sustained to avocado groves and farming equipment in the area. "Arson is a hideous crime that should be clearly viewed as an act against both life and property. We are very thankful for the constant support of Governor Schwarzenegger for the arson reward and for his constant support of all firefighters. I expect that the American conscience will rally to provide critical information to help apprehend and convict all arsonists." Chief John Hawkins On November 2, 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a $50,000 reward for information leading toward the arrest and conviction, in a California Court of the person or persons responsible for setting the Rosa Fire. Today the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has matched that reward. ATF is offering a reward of $50,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and/or conviction of the person(s) responsible for setting the Rosa Fire. "We can not, and will not, tolerate this type of destructive behavior. Whether the loss is 500 acres or 500,000 acres, ATF will dedicate all available resources toward the apprehension of the cowardly individual(s) responsible for this arson fire," stated John A. Torres, ATF Special Agent in Charge We are asking for the public¿s assistance in providing any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for the ROSA Fires. Callers are encouraged to call the 24 hour-a-day staffed ATF Arson hot line at 1-888-ATF-FIRE or 1-888-283-3473. CAL FIRE and Riverside County Fire Investigators are working with agents from ATF.

Press release: OCFA - Fire Station 38 Open for Busines Posted: 13 Nov 2007 08:56 PM CST The Orange County Fire Authority and the City of Irvine are proud to announce the opening of Fire Station 38, located at 26 Parker. The new fire station replaces a temporary facility that stood for more than 25 years. Built to last approximately 50 years, the station is equipped with the most modern and energy efficient devices available. Station 38 was constructed to withstand a 7.0 earthquake and can function completely on its own, which will enable it to provide emergency and rescue services to the residents of Irvine and surrounding areas during major emergency incidents when there is no electricity and/or phone service. Fire Station 38 currently is the home of Engine 38, which has a three-person crew, and Medic 38, which is staffed by two Firefighter/Paramedics. The station was constructed with the ability to expand and can, if needed, house additional fire apparatus. The new station cost $5.6 million and was built with funds provided by the Irvine Community Development Company. Chief Kris Concepcion 1 Fire Authority Rd Irvine, CA 92602 (714) 573-6028 (714) 368-8828 fax

Local News - Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has stationed one of its fire-fighting helicopters at the Sycuan Tribal Fire Department Posted: 13 Nov 2007 08:36 PM CST Sycuan fire department to manage firefighting helicopter The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has stationed one of its fire-fighting helicopters at the Sycuan Tribal Fire Department for a 30-day, non-consecutive period to augment the firefighting capabilities of the region. This additional 30-day period is funded by the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. The BIA helicopter was delivered last Saturday to the Sycuan Fire Department Air and Wildland Division and was released by the Air and Wildland Division late Wednesday afternoon. The Type II medium helicopter is capable of carrying nine passengers, can travel at a maximum velocity of 203 Km/h or 109 knots, and can hold a payload of 11,200 pounds. It is fire certified and equipped with a 360-gallon fixed tank or belly tank that is capable of delivering water, foam or retardant. With a joint effort from the Sycuan Fire Department and Rogers Helicopters Inc., the equipment is provided with a pilot, a Bambi bucket, a mechanical service vehicle and a fuel tender with a driver. The BIA helicopter will be staffed and managed by the Sycuan Golden Eagles Flycrew, a specially trained 20-person unit of the Sycuan Fire Department Air and Wildland Division, managed by Division Chief Ray Ruiz Sr. The temporary placement of the equipment is part of a long-term program planned by the Sycuan Fire Department's Air and Wildland Division to secure an exclusive-use helicopter funded by the BIA for a 180-day period during each year's fire season.

Prosecutors: Boy who accidentally started California fire won't be charged Posted: 13 Nov 2007 08:09 PM CST LOS ANGELES (Cal Fire News) — Los Angeles County officials said Tuesday that a boy who accidentally started one of the devastating wildfires that ravaged California last month after playing with matches will not be prosecuted. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said the 10-year-old had not intended to ignite the blaze, which scorched 38,000 acres (15,400 hectares), destroyed more than a dozen homes and caused 7.4 million dollars damage. The boy's case will instead be referred to the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services to determine if any other intervention is necessary, officials said. The blaze, known as the Buckweed fire, Which began on October 21 and was initially blamed on downed power lines ultimately consumed 38,356 acres. The wildfires were record setting in Californian history, left eight people dead, destroyed over 2,000 homes and displaced over 640,000 people during the evacuations.

Inciweb: Ranch Wildland Fire - 58,401 acres - 97% Posted: 13 Nov 2007 07:05 PM CST Ranch Wildland Fire Napa Valley Strike Team Working In Hasley Canyon Ranch Fire - October 24, 2007 Credit: Inciweb / Alexis West Editor note: The Ranch Fire may not be considered fully contained until the fire area receives significant rainfall. No fire movement anticipated Incident Information Announcements News Photographs Maps INCIDENT UPDATED Summary Fire Status: The Ranch Fire remains 97% contained. On the Los Padres National Forest side of the fire, there is no threat to the perimeter, but there are still some interior hot spots. No further movement of the fire is expected. Areas in and around the Zaca Fire and the Ranch Fire, will remain closed until further notice. For more information about the Ranch Fire, or areas that will remain closed, please call Los Padres National Forest Headquarters at: 805-968-6640, or Angeles National Forest Headquarters at: 626-574-5200. Basic Information Incident Type Wildland Fire Cause Under Investigation Date of Origin 10/20/2007 at 2142 hrs. Location West of Castaic, CA; North and East of Fillmore,CA Incident Commander Mike Stout Current Situation Total Personnel Not available Size 58,401 acres Percent Contained 97% Fuels Involved Heavy chaparral and oak woodland. Fire Behavior Some hot spots remain along the western edge of the fire in very steep, inaccessible terrain. Significant Events Mop-up and patrol the existing firelines. Outlook Planned Actions Crews are available to rapel into the fire area should any flare-ups occur. Terrain is very hazardous with little to no access. Projected Movement No fire movement anticipated. Growth Potential Very low. Terrain Difficulty The difficulty of the terrain is extreme, due to steep slopes and inaccessible terrain. Containment Target The Ranch Fire may not be considered fully contained until the fire area receives significant rainfall. Remarks Not available Weather Current Wind Conditions Not available Current Temperature Not available Current Humidity Not available

Yosemite Fire Information – Update # 10 Posted: 13 Nov 2007 02:58 PM CST Jack Fire 11-08-07 Credit: Nancy Robbins November 13, 2007 A brief moist, cool system moved over the Park over the weekend bringing some moisture to the Devil and Jack Fires in Yosemite National Park. The precipitation dampened fire activity, but did not put the fires out. The Jack Fire (300 acres) is located on the north and south sides of Turner Ridge north of Wawona and the Devil Fire (170 acres) is east of the Tamarack Trail near Cascade Creek. Both fires were started by lightning Oct. 29. The Devil Fire is being managed under a wildland fire use management response while alternative management actions are being taken on the Jack Fire. Fire managers must balance the use of fire for resource benefits with fire suppression to protect life and property. The Jack Fire north of Wawona is burning in an area that has not burned in the park's history in hazardous overgrown vegetation. As the fire continues to back down the ridge slowly, fire personnel are working to construct fire line in areas that will inhibit future fire spread if necessary. At a public meeting held in Wawona Monday fire managers explained to community members that the prevailing conditions, shorter daylight hours, cooler nights and elevated moisture levels in the vegetation, are conducive to managing these fires until the weather puts them out. The fires this year in Lake Tahoe and Southern California are a reminder that is important to use fire as an ecological restoration tool as well as to create defensible space around fire prone communities. Jack Fire – The 300 acre Jack Fire is 10 percent contained. It started by lightning Oct. 29 and was placed under a wildland fire use management event until it spread outside the fire use management zone on Nov. 8. The north half of the fire will be allowed to continue its progression in the wilderness, while fire personnel construct holding lines south of the fire. There are 106 personnel and two helicopters dedicated to the Jack Fire. Helicopters will be used to drop water on hot spots if necessary. Devil Fire – The Devil Fire (about 170 acres) is located east of the Tamarack Trail, between Tamarack Flat Campground and the Tamarack Trail footbridge crossing at Cascade Creek. Some personnel were released from the incident Monday. Personnel will continue to monitor fire spread, record weather and take smoke observations as the fire naturally progresses across the wilderness landscape. Cotton Fire – The Cotton is considered out at one quarter acre approximately 3.5 miles east of the Hetch Hetchy Ranger Station, near Cottonwood Meadow. No further information will be reported Johnson – The Johnson fire is considered out at 0.1 acre 4 miles northeast of Wawona, near Crescent Lake. No further information will be reported. Closures: Three trails have been closed for public safety. On the Jack Fire, the trail from the Wawona Ranger Office to the junction with the Alder Creek Trail and the Mosquito Creek Junction approximately 5 miles north to Alder Creek Falls. On the Devil Fire, the trail between Tamarack Flat Campground and the top of El Capitan on the Valley Rim Trail is closed. Air quality: Generally, air quality has been in the good to moderate category. For more information visit the Interagency Real Time Smoke Monitoring website, http://www.satguard.com/usfs/fleet.aspx. Please call Fire Information at 209-375-9572, for photos and maps visit http://www.inciweb.org or the park website, http://www.nps.gov/yose/fire.

Visalia - Spontaneous combustion - $45,000 worth of hay destroyed in fire Posted: 13 Nov 2007 01:54 PM CST $45,000 worth of hay destroyed in fire Spontaneous combustion caused a haystack fire Monday north of Visalia near the Bob Wiley Detention Facility, according to Kim Pennington, Tulare County Fire battalion chief. The fire erupted at Elkhorn Dairy on Avenue 368, at about 9 a.m. Seventy-five bales of hay were destroyed, at an estimated loss of $45,000. Another 1,925 bales of hay and a pole barn were saved, Pennington said, because of a "coordinated effort by ranch personnel and the Tulare County Fire Department." The estimated savings was $485,000. Twelve firefighters manning four engines and a water tender put out the blaze, Pennington said. Source: http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com

News: Danger of fires extinguished only by winter rainstorms Posted: 13 Nov 2007 10:47 AM CST Danger of fires extinguished only by winter rainstorm By John McReynolds/Record Correspondent Source: Lompoc Record Smoke and flames from the Honda Canyon Fire of 1977 rise in the distance on Vandenberg Air Force Base. The fire burned 30 years ago this December. //Contributed The Honda Canyon Fire of 1977 burned 30 years ago this December The wildfires that sent a half million people fleeing in Southern California are now but ashes. So Lompoc can breathe a sigh of relief? Uh, not exactly. The most deadly fire in local history, the Honda Canyon Fire of 1977, burned 30 years ago this December. And it was not the first to spark to life as Lompoc Christmas lights twinkled. Thirty-seven years before Honda Canyon, on Sunday, Dec. 15, 1940, three brush fires, swept by strong winds over an estimated 3,000 acres, threatened the city, according to a report by the Lompoc Record. The paper referred to "the almost continuous string of fires from Salsipuedes Canyon to Bear Creek," which today would mean across the hills from Highway 1 all the way to Vandenberg's South Gate. The three fires began near Salsipuedes Canyon not far from the intersection of Highway 1 and Santa Rosa Road; in Rodeo Canyon south of San Pascual Road; and in Lompoc Canyon, south of today's south Vandenberg gate. Winds of more than 40 mph spread them rapidly. The Salsipuedes blaze, which came to within 300 yards of city homes, was apparently the first to break out. It burned a large swath of Johns-Manville (now Celite) property and spread north to the edge of the city and west as far as Miguelito Canyon which it jumped at one point. "On the south side, the blaze came within a half mile of the J-M office building," the Record reported. "The strong wind was blowing glowing cinders a half mile or more," the paper told readers. "When the fire south of the city swept northward at about 9:30 a.m. the city fire trucks rushed to the end of G Street and along Locust Avenue to protect the Veterans Memorial Building and the residential property in that vicinity.' County health department staff raced to remove files from offices at the Memorial Building. "The blaze halted at a plowed field that protected the Memorial building and nearby residences, then it swept eastward toward the cemetery." Lompocan Joe Manfrina, 92, recalled the scene. "The eucalyptus trees around the cemetery just exploded," he said. "The leaves all burned off. There were no houses up there then like there are now." The Rodeo Canyon blaze, which started in the early afternoon, spread to LaSalle Canyon and was estimated at 1,700 acres. The Lompoc Canyon fire burned west toward Surf and south as far as Bear Creek. It was calculated at 1,000 acres. Record Publisher Ronald M. Adam was shocked. "Who ever thought our Lompoc hills could get so hot ... and stir up such vengeful flames as we witnessed on Sunday evening?" he wrote in his weekly commentary. "It was really startling and remarkable to see a four-mile wall of flame ... lashed by a furious wind. And those leaping flames were really terrific - 20 feet, possibly 50 feet high." Adam's daughter-in-law owned the newspaper in 1977 when the Honda Canyon Fire broke out. After two years of drought, enough rain had fallen that fire season had been declared over. Storm clouds approached from the west. But therein lay the problem. Three low pressure cells in the Pacific promised a series of storms. Combined with a stalled high pressure front over the Four Corners states, they caused hurricane-force southeast winds. At 2,100-foot Tranquillon Peak they were recorded as high as 117 mph while at sea level they reached 50 mph. Humidity was as low as 10 to 14 percent. At 7:06 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, 1977, the vicious winds snapped a power pole which served Air Force radar and telemetry sites. The pole was about two miles west of Tranquillon Peak, the highest point on the ridge. The flash point was directly east of SLC-6 and Point Arguello, where the north-south California coastline turns eastward. The small fire burned downhill into Honda Canyon. When it reached the mouth of the canyon it exploded "like a shotgun" toward the ocean two miles away, wrote firefighter Ron Fink, today a Record columnist. In 10 minutes it leaped from five acres to cover hundreds, then thousands. To the west it reached Point Arguello, to the east Tranquillon Mountain and to the north Bear Creek near Surf. It overran SLC-5 and surrounded SLCs 3, 4, and 6. It breached fire lines eight times causing the deaths of the VAFB base commander, the base fire chief, his assistant and a bulldozer operator. A thousand firefighters responded and 65 were injured. The fire raged for 24 hours, scorching nearly 10,000 acres and was ultimately extinguished not by the fire crews but by the arriving rainstorm. "It certainly makes us all reflect on the power of nature's fury," wrote Lompocan Joseph N. Valencia in his book "Beyond Tranquillon Ridge," the definitive account of the fire. "And it reminds us that the fire season is never truly over until the rains of winter are upon us." Don Oaks, of Solvang, was Santa Barbara County fire marshal for 25 years until he retired in 2001. He was present at Honda Canyon that day 30 years ago. Today he chairs the Southern California Fire Chiefs Association's Wildland-Urban Interface Committee. Could the recent San Diego-area fires happen near Lompoc, he was asked. His response was chilling. "There's no difference. The same thing happens here as happens there. People get mesmerized by the numbers but the exact same circumstances exist. Somebody who has a one-acre lot in Vandenberg Village or Lompoc is at the same risk as the people they saw on TV.

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