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Wildland Firefighter Foundation News: Australia Fire Relief Fund

Posted: 28 Feb 2009 04:02 PM PST

Wildland Firefighter Foundation / News

Australia Fire Relief Fund
Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Bodie Shaw, Deputy Director of the NIFC BIA (National Interagency Fire Center Bureau of Indian Affairs) is on exchange with the Australian state fire authorities this year. He has contacted The Wildland Firefighter Foundation after witnessing the devastating fire in Australia. In his 20 some years fighting Wildland fires he has never seen fire activity like he has witnessed recently. (Photos) He said towns have been burned over, many children have perished as well as firefighters. He is asking for our humanitarian help.

Australian firefighters have come to the U.S. during our fire seasons to protect our public lands and homes and it is our time to reach out and help the Australians in their time of catastrophic need. We are now accepting donations for this very purpose. Please use our regular online donation form, but be sure to mention "Australia" in the Comments section.

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Lompoc Man Sustains Major Injuries in 101 Crash

Posted: 28 Feb 2009 03:57 PM PST

Traffic Congestion Resulted Friday Morning from Rescue Attempts

Saturday, February 28, 2009

By Drew Mackie (Contact)

A 36-year-old Lompoc man sustained major injuries after his truck swerved off the southbound lanes of Highway 101 and hit a telephone pole Friday morning around 6 a.m. According to a press release from CHP spokesperson Officer James Richards, Vaughn M. Smith was traveling at a "high rate of speed" when his truck began to drift into the center median. He overcorrected and swerved across the freeway and into the pole, whereupon the vehicle then rolled over the embankment and onto the railroad tracks beneath the highway.

A Santa Barbara County Fire crew used the Jaws of Life to extricate Smith from his truck. Richards described Smith's injuries as including a fractured C-5 vertebra, a fractured left femur, and a broken left forearm.

Richards also noted that the rescue process caused the railroad to halt service for approximately 40 minutes. The right lane of the 101 leading up to the crash site was also closed for a period this morning and consequently slowed traffic.

Source: Santa Barbara Independent

Rio Linda plane crash kills two, including reserve deputy

Posted: 28 Feb 2009 03:36 PM PST

By Robert Faturechi and Bill Lindelof

faturechi@sacbee.com

Published: Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009 - 11:45 am
Last Modified: Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009 - 2:11 pm

A Sacramento County Sheriff's reserve deputy is one of the two people who died Saturday in the crash of a small plane at Roy Hayer Memorial Speedway behind the Rio Linda Airport, according to department officials.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire arrived on the scene around 9 a.m., shortly after the crash.

Both occupants of the plane were declared dead on the scene. The cause of the crash, now being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, is not yet clear, said fire department Capt. Christian Pebbles.

Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness said one of the dead was Dave Michaud, an on-call reserve deputy.

"He was a hardcore aviation guy who actually was in the military as an aviator," McGinness said.

McGinness said he met on Saturday with Michaud's widow -- a detective with the department.

"He did a stint with a commercial airline as a flight engineer. He was on reserve status for the sheriff's department, and worked periodically.

"He was a great guy," McGinness said. "It is a tragedy for the department. His passing is a big loss."

Michaud, who was 53, was a sociable person who enjoyed both flying and law enforcement, the sheriff said. He was once a patrol officer with the department before stepping down as a full-time deputy more than a decade ago.

"Frankly, I think he had two passions and he followed aviation more than law enforcement ultimately," McGinness said. "He had this airplane that he'd rebuilt and went out this morning with a mechanic to take it for a test ride after the mechanic had done some extensive work."

The plane was a 1960 Mooney, a small single-engine craft.

Robin Cable, 55, who lives near the airport, said that he looked out his window and saw thick, dark smoke rising about a quarter of a mile into the air. "It thought it was either a house fire or a car on fire," Cable said.

In Rio Linda Saturday, Sheriff's Capt. Scott Jones said that the crash site was a "horrific scene." He said Michaud, the pilot, was a full-time deputy from 1984 to 1996.

" ... Unfortunately it seems another in a string of tragedies the department has encountered over the years," Jones said. "We are like a large family."

In 2005, deputies Joseph Kievernagel, 36, and Kevin Blount, 29, died when their helicopter crashed near Lake Natoma. A third deputy, Eric Henrikson, sustained serious injuries.

Source: Sacramento Bee

Heads up: Mayor resigns for sharing racist email

Posted: 28 Feb 2009 03:43 PM PST

Los Alamitos, CA - The mayor of a small Southern California city says he will resign after being criticized for sharing an e-mail picture depicting the White House lawn planted with watermelons under the title "No Easter egg hunt this year."

Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose issued a statement Thursday saying he is sorry and will step down as mayor at Monday's City Council meeting.

Grose came under fire for sending the picture to what he called "a small group of friends." One of the recipients, a local businesswoman and city volunteer, publicly scolded the mayor for his actions.

Grose says he accepts that the e-mail was in poor taste and has affected his ability to lead the city. Grose said he didn't mean to offend anyone and claimed he was unaware of the racial stereotype linking black people with eating watermelons.

Located in Orange County, Los Alamitos is a 2 1/4-square-mile city of around 12,000 people

Source: vosizneias.com - Link

Carmel Valley Fire District - $600,000 problem

Posted: 28 Feb 2009 03:27 PM PST

Carmel Valley Fire Uncovers $600K Problem

CARMEL VALLEY, Calif. -- Two Salinas rural fire chiefs announced Thursday evening that they found a $600,000 problem affecting the Carmel Valley Fire District.
The two fire chiefs, who are now heading the administration at the Carmel Valley Fire District, gave a description at a board meeting on how the financial troubles came about.
The district plans to explore a variety of options to get back on track, including stopping all purchases, reducing overtime and selling six of the district's vehicles.
The board will meet with county officials Monday to hammer out an official strategy.

Source: KSBW - Link

Man wrecks car, steals ambulance

Posted: 28 Feb 2009 07:59 AM PST

A Hoopa man who drove his car over an embankment on State Route 299 allegedly stole an ambulance when emergency workers came to help him, then led police on an hour-long chase Thursday night.

Derick Gates, 20, drove a 2003 Honda Accord over the bank and collided with several trees near the Boise Creek Campground just west of Willow Creek at around 8:15 p.m., according to a California Highway Patrol report. When emergency personnel showed up, Gates refused treatment, the CHP said.

While waiting for a CHP unit, Gates allegedly hopped into the ambulance and sped eastbound. A Humboldt County Sheriff's Office deputy who was nearby pursued the ambulance, the CHP reported.

Gates then turned onto State Route 96 and drove into Hoopa, the CHP reported, then along several other roads as a CHP officer joined the chase. Gates then turned back toward Willow Creek. A CHP officer managed to deflate the right tires of the ambulance using a spike strip, but Gates allegedly kept driving, back west on Route 299.

The ambulance broke down near Titlow Hill Road, the CHP reported, and Gates was taken into custody at 9:30 p.m.

Gates was taken to Mad River Community Hospital, where he reportedly refused treatment and struggled with officers, who then carried him into the emergency room.

Gates was booked into Humboldt County Jail on suspicion of evading a police officer, stealing an emergency vehicle and driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

Source: Eureka Times standard - Link