California Fire News - Updates in your mail box
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| Wisconsin: Natural resource agency is grounding its airplanes after wildfire LODD. Posted: 10 Apr 2009 12:23 PM PDT Wisconsin's natural resource agency is temporarily grounding its 10 airplanes and 11 pilots, after a crash killed a pilot who was tracking a wildfire. Gov. Jim Doyle called Heath Van Handel, 36, of Appleton a courageous, experienced pilot. Witnesses said his plane was circling the fire at a low altitude, when it took a steep dive to the ground. It happened Wednesday in Wood County, 12 miles southwest of Marshfield. Department of Natural Resources secretary Matt Frank said his agency will work with state and federal departments to go over maintenance records and see if they can learn anything. He said his people were still dealing with the shock of the crash. Officials said a person who was burning debris started the fire and it burned about two acres. Van Handel is a former commercial pilot and flight instructor. His 42-year-old craft was temporarily stationed at Necedah during the wild-fire season. It's normally kept in Oshkosh, and it was said to have had its required maintenance. Frank promised the DNR's fire-fighting efforts would not be hampered by the grounding of the planes. He said he would seek help from neighboring states if it's needed. Van Handel was the first DNR pilot killed on duty. In 1998, a crash near Tomah killed two DNR staffers an a pilot from the state administration department. Source: newrichmond-news.com- Link  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| FEMA: Fire Management Assistance Declarations - Texas and Oklahoma wildfires Posted: 10 Apr 2009 08:07 AM PDT FEMA: Fire Management Assistance - Texas and Oklahoma wildfiresFEMA: Fire Management Assistance Declarations - Texas and Oklahoma wildfiresFire Management Assistance Declarations FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Fire Management Assistance Declarations for Texas and Oklahoma wildland fires Texas Electra West Fire Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:40:50 -0500 Fire Management Assistance Declaration number 2805 declared on Apr 10, 2009 Texas Montague Fire Complex Texas Cement Mountain Fire Oklahoma Midwest Choctaw Fire Oklahoma McClain Fire Source: FEMA Disasters - Link  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Charity gets $2.9 million bill from CAL FIRE Posted: 10 Apr 2009 06:31 AM PDT Carousel Ranch told to pay up Charity receives letter demanding $2.9 million in recovery fees for 2007 Buckweed Fire Carousel Ranch, a charity that helps disabled children through therapy on horseback, has been slapped with a $2.9 million bill for the cost of fighting the 2007 Buckweed Fire. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection sent a letter to Carousel Ranch demanding compensation, the ranch's executive director, Denise Tomey, said Thursday. The fire, which destroyed 21 homes in the Santa Clarita Valley, was started by a child who lived at the ranch. "A letter of demand has been issued for the civil cost of recovery for cost of fighting the fire, which means it will go into litigation, so I can't elaborate any further on it," Daniel Berlant of CalFire said Thursday. "It's not about punishing them for the fire. It's about recouping the cost that the state paid for the fire." In November 2007, the county District Attorney's office decided not to file charges against the 10-year old boy who was playing with matches during high winds, touching off the blaze. The Buckweed Fire ravaged more than 38,000 acres, mostly in Saugus and Canyon Country, in October 2007. The boy's father, a caretaker at Carousel Ranch, still works at the Agua Dulce horse ranch, Tomey said Thursday. In November 2007 Tomey had said the fire started about 30 feet outside the Carousel property. Tomey said she was shocked when she received the letter on March 26, requesting that the fee be paid within 30 days. The ranch is a nonprofit organization that provides therapy for more than 90 handicapped children through specialized interaction with horses. "I'm hoping that it's reconsidered because we are truly not responsible for starting that fire," Tomey said. "We were closed, we had no control, it wasn't a child from our program, it wasn't our employee and it wasn't on the property." "That kind of money would bankrupt our organization and cause us to close," Tomey added. "That would be a shame for the children we service and services we provide to this valley." After being contacted by Carousel Ranch, Assemblyman Cameron Smyth's office said it will attempt to help. "We're going to take the letter Carousel Ranch sent us and we're going to, on behalf of Assemblyman Smyth, send a letter to CalFire asking them to look more into the situation and to find out if there is an appeal process for this fee," said Jarrod DeGonia, district director for Smyth, R-Santa Clarita. DeGonia said Smyth's office will go through CalFire to determine the process for appeals, but first it will try to extend the 30-day deadline. "It's an extraordinary amount, a huge fee for a nonprofit organization, especially when Carousel Ranch is claiming the fire started on a neighboring property, not on their property," DeGonia added. Berlant said CalFire does not assign guilt. As the case goes into litigation, Carousel Ranch can present its case, he said. "It's under the health and safety code that authorizes CalFire to recover the costs of suppression if there is negligence or violation of law," he said. "Litigation allows somebody to give their case to the court system. We don't get to assign guilt; the courts do that." Nancy Pitchford, the founder and executive director of Heads Up Therapy on Horseback - a therapeutic treatment program for children suffering from conditions including autism and muscular dystrophy - said she won't pass any judgment on Carousel Ranch, even though the Heads Up ranch was completely destroyed and an employee severely burned by the Buckweed Fire. "Anything like that, to any business of any kind, I'm sure will be a burden," she said of the $2.9 million bill. "But I was not there, so I will not judge them. God loves us and saved us and our horses, and that's what I'm grateful for." Editors note: 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, destroyed more than a dozen homes and caused 7.4 million dollars damage. Southern California Firestorm: The Buckweed fire, was one of a number of late season 2007 wildfires which were record setting in Californian history, left eight people dead, destroyed over 2,000 homes and displaced over 640,000 people during the evacuations. Source: www.the-signal.com - Link Carousel Ranch website: http://www.carouselranch.org/  | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Earthquake: 3.5 M Baja California - Lázaro Cárdenas Posted: 10 Apr 2009 04:31 AM PDT  Earthquake Details
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| Earthquake 3.4 M - Southern California, Julian, CA Posted: 10 Apr 2009 04:34 AM PDT  Earthquake Details
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