California Fire News

Airport manager overstepped bounds in changing plan

Posted: 10 Jan 2008 12:40 AM CST

It never should have been in doubt, but CalFire's plans to build a new air-attack base on 12 acres at the Hollister Municipal Airport are once again included in the airport layout plan under review by officials.

The reason it had been in question three weeks ago was Airport Manager Bill Gere's inexcusable decision to remove the CalFire base from the plan before it went to the Hollister City Council - just after the airport advisory commission had approved a recommendation to include it.

After Gere had done so, the city council delayed an approval to the layout plan so that officials could iron out differences between the document OK'd by the advisory commission and the one that found its way to council members.

There are really two issues here. One, Hollister must do everything it can to keep the state's air-attack base local, and a new facility is necessary to achieve that.

And two, the airport manager made a poor judgment when he swapped out the advisory commission's inclusion of the air-attack base between the time of the recommendation's approval and the council's consideration of the plan.

In doing so, Gere far surpassed his authority as a city staff member, and his actions were counterproductive to the democratic process in place and the very reason advisory panel's are established at every level of government.

City officials rightfully delayed the decision while questioning and criticizing Gere's move.

Former airport manager and current advisory commission member Allen Ritter called Gere's behavior inappropriate and noted that he, as airport manager, never would have made such a change after an approval. City Manager Clint Quilter was a bit more restrained in his remarks, but did say, "The layout plan presented to the city council was different from the one presented to the airport commission, and that's a problem."

It is a problem, not only because it violated part of an established system for making representative decisions, but also because it would set a bad precedent and confuse the process if allowed.

Gere defended his actions, downplaying the significance. He acknowledged changing the plan before it got to the council, but called the action "not substantial."

He also told Free Lance reporter Anthony Ha that many of the people speaking out against him at a Dec. 17 council meeting were protecting "specific, selfish interests" rather than focusing on welfare of the airport as a whole.

We strongly disagree that erasing CalFire from the layout plan was "not substantial." And whether speakers at a public meeting had their own interests in mind while criticizing a public official doesn't matter. That type of dialogue - open, public, for the most part unrestrained - is what makes the democratic process work.

Source: HollisterFreelance.com

USGS: 2007 California Wildfire Impacts on Wildlife

Posted: 10 Jan 2008 12:50 AM CST

USGS Scientist Reveals 2007 California Wildfire Impacts on Wildlife

The Southern California wildfires in late 2007 impacted more than humans. Wildlife also suffered. Listen to USGS Biologist Robert Fisher describe what USGS scientists discovered about the wildfire impact on wildlife by listening to episode 25 of CoreCast, the USGS podcast.

"Certain groups of animals seem to be disproportionately impacted by the fires, such as non-forest salamanders and shrews," said Fisher. "We are not sure whether there is a physical change in the landscape after the fires where these animals do not have enough wet habitats to live in or whether there is a toxic effect of ash that may be directly causing mortality."

Scientists are also concerned about the wildfire impact on the landlocked southern steelhead rainbow trout population in the Santa Ana Mountains of Orange County, Calif., because it may be the last genetically pure form of its kind in these mountains. Most other fish populations in this area have been wiped out over the past 20 years due to drought and flood conditions.

Pictured here is a southern steelhead from San Mateo Creek at the southern end of the Santa Ana Mountains. (Photo by Manna Warburton)

"When I was in the Santa Ana Mountains in July, there seemed to be a little more than 100 rainbow trout of all different size classes, scattered in about a quarter of a mile in the canyon, primarily in 10 to 12 pools," said Fisher. "So it really is a restricted area, a restricted population, and any additional stresses in that type of situation are really going to have an impact on them."

While examining a post-wildfire burn site, scientists observed extreme dry ravel events - a river of rocks - falling down hillsides and filling up the pools of water where the trout live. If the trout survived the dry ravel, the next impact could be when rain mixes with the dry ravel, and the mixture begins to move. This mixture could fill in the creek systems in the canyon and remove the rest of the water sources, Fisher said.

In the podcast, Fisher also describes how scientists captured endangered mountain-yellow legged frog tadpoles before post-fire and drought conditions depleted their population and are housing them until they grow into adults. Scientists want to release the adult frogs into the wild when conditions are suitable.

"We are hopeful that the research we are doing - figuring out the indirect and direct effects of wildfire - is going to help us better manage the landscape and build more resilient communities for humans and wildlife," Fisher said.

Source: (1) USGS Scientist Reveals 2007 California Wildfire Impacts on Wildlife
Released: 1/9/2008 12:26:07 PM

Contact Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Communication
119 National Center
Reston, VA 20192

Clarice Nassif Ransom

Phone: 703-648-4299

Gloria Maender

Phone: 520-670-5596

USFA Releases Provisional 2007 Firefighter Fatality Statistics

Posted: 09 Jan 2008 12:49 PM CST

115 on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States in 2007 -
The United States Fire Administration (USFA) - Press release
EMMITSBURG, MD. – The United States Fire Administration (USFA) announced today there were 115 on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States in 2007. In 2007, there were firefighters lost in 33 states and Washington, DC. South Carolina experienced the highest number of fatalities (11) while Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, and California each suffered more than 5 on-duty losses.

"This past year will be remembered by the entire fire service as one of the most tragic years for firefighters in recent memory," United States Fire Administrator Greg Cade said. "We are committed to continuing our dedicated efforts with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Volunteer Fire Council, International Association of Firefighters, and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to make sure 2008 is not a repeat of 2007 and a year in which Everyone Goes Home at the end of their emergency response assignments."

Heart attacks and vehicle accidents were responsible for the deaths of 54 firefighters (47%) in 2007, down from 54 of the 106 (51%) firefighters in 2006. In 2007, 10 on-duty firefighters died in association with wildland fires.

On June 18th, Charleston, SC lost 9 firefighters while working to control a fire in a large sofa warehouse facility. Each year, firefighters becoming trapped and disoriented represent the largest portion of structural fireground fatalities. For 2007, 64% of all firefighter fatalities occurred while performing emergency duties. Almost 42% were at structure fires with 19 caught or trapped (16.5%).

Speed and a lack of seat belts contributed to many deaths as well. More than 2 of every 10 firefighter fatalities in 2007 occurred when responding to or returning from an incident. While seat belts and speed were not necessarily factors in all of these fatalities, they were contributing factors for most of them.

These fatality statistics for 2007 are provisional and very much subject to change as the USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify the names of firefighters reported to have died on-duty during 2007. The final, annual firefighter fatality report for 2007 is expected to be available by early June.

For additional information on firefighter fatalities, including the annual fatality reports from 1986 through 2006 and the Firefighter Fatality Retrospective Study 1990–2000, please visit the USFA Web site.
Source: U.S. Fire Administration

SAR - Search is still on for missing hiker

Posted: 09 Jan 2008 04:49 PM CST

Link to Google Map of General area of search today.

San Bernardino Sheriff Press Release:

Jan 8th 5:00 p.m. - There were approximately 90 search and rescue volunteers searching the area north, east and west of Green Valley Lake throughout the day. The weather is holding out and visibility has been good in the search area. The search will continue through the night. Tonight our aviation division will also be utilizing a helicopter equipped with FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared Radar Device) and night vision goggles.

Today Is Last Day To Apply For Disaster Assistance

Posted: 09 Jan 2008 11:42 AM CST

Today is the last day for residents who suffered damages from the Southern California wildfires to register for assistance, Victims in the affected counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Ventura now have until 6:00 pm January 9, 2008, to apply for federal and state disaster assistance.

There are two ways to begin the application process:

Internet: Register at http://www.fema.gov
Phone: Call the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) toll-free number at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585. Phone lines are open from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm, seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators also are available to answer calls.

Governor to announce firefighting insurance Fee(Tax)

Posted: 09 Jan 2008 02:22 PM CST

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

SACRAMENTO (CAL FIRE NEWS) – Seeking to bolster California's firefighting defenses, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tomorrow will propose a surcharge(Insert Fee, Tax) of roughly $10 per year(?) on property insurance premiums to pay for increased firefighting capacity to battle wild land fires more aggressively.

The governor's plan calling this a new "Fee" (Tax) would raise over $125 million a year through a 1.25 percent surcharge on annual homeowner, Plan calls for 1.25% levy on all residential and commercial property, business policies that cover fire, flood, theft and other losses.

This $125 million a year "Fee" (Hidden tax) buys the Governor:

Four firefighters rather than three on each engine year-round
(Already implemented through an emergency order but not as part of law in Fire prone areas.)
100 new engines for local fire departments.
(More green fire engines...OES rigs?)
11 new "all-weather, 24-hour capable" helicopters that are 40% faster than those in the current fleet.
(New models have a 485-mile range compared to the current 250 miles.)
National Guard 4 hour response versus current 24-hour notification policy, He also proposes adding to the guards aerial defenses by Providing the Guard with two full-time helicopter crews and firefighting systems for two C-130 cargo planes and three helicopters..
(Why does this cost much? Seems a policy change is all that is needed, Governor could smoke a Cuban with one of his NG Generals in his private Capitol atrium and deal is done)
The money would be earmarked to fully implement some of the most pressing but still-unfulfilled recommendations coming out of a "Blue ribbon" commission that explored flaws in the state's response to the 2003 wildfires.
Also, some of the governor's proposals are expected to enact recommendations that will be advanced later this month by a task force reviewing lessons learned from last October's wildfires.
Put Global Positioning Systems(TomTom $150 each?) on firefighting equipment to help response and dispatch coordination.
Increased enforcement of state building codes regarding use of fire-safe material and construction requirements.
Provides $2 million for Reverse 911 systems similar to the one in San Diego for counties that do not have it.
Use $2 million in federal funds to implement a statewide warning system.

"While California's wildland firefighting capability is already the nation's strongest, the state has a responsibility to aggressively prepare for the next, inevitable round of wildfires," according to a draft budget document obtained by Copley News Service.

"It provides us a surge capacity across the state," said Sheldon Gilbert, chief of the Alameda County Fire Department and president of the California Fire Chiefs Association, who helped shape the proposal.

The average small-business and homeowner policy will increase by about $10 a year, or 83 cents a month, administration officials said.(Sure it will...Wanna take bets that this is on the low side?)

"It is fair and equitable. Everyone pays. Everyone benefits," Dan Dunmoyer, the governor's deputy chief of staff, said.

Dunmoyer, who represented insurers in the Capitol before joining the governor's team, said the average homeowner or small-business policy runs about $900 to $1,000 a year. Insurance industry representatives denied that they were involved in drafting the plan for the 1.25% surcharge.

They said they learned about it at a meeting of insurance company executives in the governor's office in mid-December. Under the governor's plan, insurers would collect the surcharge from consumers and distribute it to the state.

The charge would be added to an existing 2.35% premium tax on property insurance policies. That tax, which is not earmarked for any particular program, generated $216 million for the state budget in 2006, according to the Department of Insurance.

"A surcharge is better than previous attempts to impose parcel taxes on those living in regions protected by state firefighters", he said.
Collecting that tax was complicated by difficulties in confirming who should pay, and it became entangled in litigation during previous attempts, Dunmoyer said.

Foes say it is a tax that calls for new charges to be tacked onto the insurance bill for every residential and commercial property in the state. Administration officials call the charges fees and defend them as consistent with the governor's pledge, repeated in his State of the State address Tuesday, to not raise taxes.
Money in the states general fund already earmarked for fire could be freed up giving the Governor some wiggle room in upcoming 2008 budget.
Administration officials acknowledged that some of the money raised could be used to balance the budget.
They declined to be precise about how much.
"I don't know how you avoid calling it a tax," Lew Uhler, president of the National Tax Limitation Committee, said of the assessment. "The ability of government officials to figure out new ways to tax us is limitless, no matter what their nomenclature."

The implementation of a "Fee" versus a "Tax" would be an end run around implementing a "Official Tax" for Republican Governor Schwarzenegger, Who believes this is California's best chance to immediately improve firefighting capabilities in a tight budget year. The state is staring at a budget shortfall of over 14 billion dollars.
A few months ago, Schwarzenegger increased California drivers' registration by up to $11 to establish a research fund for alternative fuel development.
Others said the plan would not necessarily lead to enhanced fire protection.
The net gain in Firefighting response would probably be much less than touted.

As the money came in, the governor could cut existing funds from firefighting agencies and use it to help close a budget gap that his office projects at $14 billion, said one consumer advocate, who asked why the burden would fall on property owners instead of insurance companies.

"If the governor wants to fill the budget gap, he should find an honest way to do it," said Doug Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. "He's wrong to target insurance customers, whose premiums are already too high."

Sources: SoSD, LA Times

LA Times - Photo essay of Santiago Fire burnover

Posted: 09 Jan 2008 11:29 AM CST

LA TIMES PHOTO ESSAY

The LA Times has put together a great photo essay with pictures from a Santiago Fire burnover involving OCFA / CAL FIRE personal deploying fire shelters.

Shelter deployment radio traffic along with the photography.

The Twelve firefighters trapped by flames atop a ridge off Santiago Canyon Road in Orange County scramble into aluminum fire shelters. The firefighters were examined at the scene by paramedics but refused to go to the hospital.

Great photography from Karen Tapia Andersen

http://www.latimes. com/la-burnover- f,0,732907. flash?coll= la-home-center