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| Conviction in Mountain Home State Park fires - Air Attack 410 DOUBLE LODD Posted: 03 Mar 2009 06:45 PM PST ------- News Story: Tulare man pleads no contest to setting 2006 arson that killed firefighter, pilot The man accused of setting a series of 2006 fires in Mountain Home State Park during which a firefighter and pilot were killed in a plane crash pleaded no contest today to setting those fires after prosecutors dropped murder charges. Patrick Courtney, 31, of Tulare would have faced life in prison if convicted on the two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Rob Stone of Exeter and George "Sandy" Willett of Hanford, a contract pilot for CAL FIRE. Instead, under a plea agreement, Courtney pleaded no contest to four counts of causing wildland fires for which he'd also been charged. One of those counts includes an admission of special allegations for a firefighter suffering great bodily injury and another of causing great bodily injury to more than one person. The morning of Sept. 6, Stone and Willett were aboard a Air Attack 410, a OV-10A turboprop plane, from which Stone was directing fire crews on the ground in mopping up one of the fires when the plane crashed in the canyon about 22 miles northeast of Porterville. Tim Ward, a supervising attorney with the Tulare Count District Attorney's Office, said a plea agreement was reached with the blessing of CAL FIRE and Forest Service officials as well as the families of the two men killed. Source: Times-Delta - Link | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tuolumne County CAL FIRE fiscal budget approved Posted: 03 Mar 2009 05:31 PM PST | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Severe weather alerts: Hailstorms and Tornados possible Posted: 03 Mar 2009 06:22 PM PST Area: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA Affected Counties or parts of: Butte, Glenn, Tehama Sent: 2009-03-03T17:35:33-08:00
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| California Department of Water Resources Announces Snow Survey Results Posted: 03 Mar 2009 05:02 PM PST The Department of Water Resources' (DWR) third snow survey of the winter season indicates snow water content is 80 percent of normal for the date, statewide. Last year at this time, snowpack was 114 percent of normal, but the driest spring on record followed, resulting in a second consecutive dry water year. Daily electronic readings may be accessed at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snowsurvey_sno/DLYSWEQ (03/02/2009). Provided by the California Cooperative Snow Surveys: News for Immediate Release - DWR Announces Snow Survey Results March 2, 2009 Contacts: Elissa Lynn, Senior Meteorologist (916) 574-2221 Frank Gehrke, Snow Surveys Office (916) 952-4044 Ted Thomas, Information Officer (916) 653-9712 Amy Norris, Information Officer (916) 654-3755 SACRAMENTO – The Department of Water Resources' (DWR) third snow survey of the winter season indicates snow water content is 80 percent of normal for the date, statewide. "Although recent storms have added to the snowpack, California remains in a serious drought," said DWR Director Lester Snow. "This year's precipitation levels are still below average. On the heels of two critically dry years it is unlikely we will make up the deficit and be able to refill our reservoirs before winter's end. It's very important that Californians continue to save water at home and in their businesses." Manual survey results taken today at four locations near Lake Tahoe were combined with electronic readings and indicate a statewide snowpack water content of 80 percent (84 percent in the Northern Sierra, 77 percent in the Central Sierra, and 83 percent in the Southern Sierra.) Last year at this time, snowpack was 114 percent of normal, but the driest spring on record followed, resulting in a second consecutive dry water year. Daily electronic readings may be accessed at http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgiprogs/ snowsurvey_sno/DLYSWEQ. On February 27, 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger declared a drought state of emergency, directing DWR and other state agencies to provide assistance to people and communities impacted by the drought. Local water agencies are updating Urban Water Management Plans and DWR is facilitating what water transfers may be available through its Drought Water Bank program. Many providers have already enacted mandatory or voluntary water rationing and it is likely more agencies will require some form of rationing if dry conditions persist. Storage in California's major reservoirs is low. Lake Oroville, the principal storage reservoir for the State Water Project (SWP), is at 39 percent of capacity, and 55 percent of average storage for this time of year. Continuing dry conditions and regulatory agency restrictions on Delta water exports are limiting water deliveries to farms and urban areas. A forthcoming Biological Opinion from the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect salmon and steelhead may further reduce pumping capability. DWR's early estimate is that it will only be able to deliver 15 percent of requested State Water Project water this year to the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast and Southern California. Governor Schwarzenegger has outlined steps to safeguard the state's water supply through a comprehensive plan that includes water conservation, more surface and groundwater storage, new investments in the state's aging water infrastructure, and improved water conveyance to protect the environment and provide a reliable water supply. Today's drought and regulatory restrictions underscore the need to take action to safeguard tomorrow's water supply. Here are results from today's manual survey at Phillips Station and other sites near Lake Tahoe: Location Elevation - Snow Depth - Water Content - % of Long Term Average
Snow water content is important in determining the coming year's water supply. The measurements help hydrologists prepare water supply forecasts as well as provide others, such as hydroelectric power companies and the recreation industry, with needed data. Monitoring is coordinated by DWR as part of the multi-agency California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program. Surveyors from more than 50 agencies and utilities visit hundreds of snow measurement courses in California's mountains to gauge the amount of water in the snowpack. The following Web sites offer an overview of important snow survey information: Snowpack Site http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snowsurvey_sno/DLYSWEQ http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/products/030209thirdresults.pdf Reservoir Storage Site http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/reservoirs/RES Snow Survey Illustrated http://cdec.water.ca.gov/snow/hwy50/ Updated Drought Site http://www.water.ca.gov/drought/ (The updated Drought Web site provides information on reservoir storage (current, percent of average, one year ago; snowpack information, and Northern and Southern Sierra precipitation currently, for the month, the season, and one year ago) This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OFF DUTY DEATH: San Bernardino City Fire captain died unexpectedly Monday Posted: 03 Mar 2009 02:59 PM PST San Bernardino fire captain dies after off-duty accidentA San Bernardino City Fire captain died unexpectedly Monday about a week after an off-duty off-road vehicle accident.Creighton Nece, 53, was injured Feb. 24 when he was thrown from his quad in Glamis, fire Battalion Chief Eric Esquivel said. He was airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where he died. Officials said he appeared to be recovering from a back injury suffered in that accident. "It was completely unexpected," Esquivel said. "The guys are feeling pretty depressed. He was a genuinely nice guy." Colleagues were told that Nece would be in a brace for roughly five weeks, and were unaware of any conditions that would have led to his death, Esquivel said. An autopsy will determine the cause of death. Nece was a 19-year department veteran and had worked for the U.S. Forest Service. He is survived by his wife and two adult children. Funeral arrangements are pending. Source: PE.Blogs.com - Link | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Inciweb: Australia Firefighting Assistance Update - 748,417 acres Posted: 03 Mar 2009 01:37 PM PST SummaryNational Interagency Fire Center Coordinates Firefighting Assistance Request from Australia On February 11, 2009, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, received a request for assistance from Australia, in the wake of unprecedented fire activity in the southeastern part of Australia. Wildfires in Australia have claimed at least 200 lives since February 7. On February 13, the United States sent 60 wildfire specialists to Australia to meet this request. The American specialists that were deployed include wildland fire personnel with expertise operations, planning and logistics, two thirteen-person interagency Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams specializing in stabilizing and rehabilitating burned areas, and one 20-person suppression firefighting crew. The specialists, all from federal agencies, came from throughout the United States. Their length of deployment will be up to 35 days. "We're grateful for the opportunity to assist Australia during a difficult wildfire situation," said Lyle Carlile, the fire director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at NIFC. Carlile chairs an interagency group at NIFC with the responsibility of coordinating national wildfire response. "Since 2000, Australia has sent wildfire specialists several times to help the U.S. in some of our worst fire seasons. We are pleased that we can reciprocate," he added. ``````````````````````````````````` Interagency BAER-Emergency Stabilization & Rehabilitation Teams Burned ∙ Area ∙ Emergency ∙ Response ∙ (BAER) Australia Support 2009 MISSION The two BAER-Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation teams are comprised of the following federal US Department of Interior agencies: Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (F&WS), National Park Service (NPS); and the US Department of Agriculture agency: Forest Service (USFS). Each team is made up of a variety of specialists such as soil scientists, hydrologists, geologists, biologists, geographic information system specialists, archeologist, botanist, silviculturist, research engineer, and civil engineer. The two BAER teams are very experienced specialists that are highly effective in conducting rapid assessments and analyses. The emergency stabilization-rehabilitation teams are working with the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Country Fire Authority (CFA), and Parks Victoria (PV) to supplement their agency field officers in accessing the burned area assessments on public and private lands. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The objective for the United States (US) Interagency BAER-Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation teams is to support and supplement Victoria State agencies in their analysis of the post-fire effects from as many fire areas as our deployment timeframe permits. Our specific objectives are to: · Share a methodology and process for assessing post-fire impacts and identifying treatment objectives by sharing tools such as satellite imagery, erosion models, and monitoring methodologies · Identify site specific treatment objectives and potential treatments for public and private lands · Learn from our Australian counterparts about the tools and resources they use to respond to post-fire emergencies · Incorporate our Australian counterparts and team members from the States of Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory PROCESS
Some of the tools we use to prioritize our field review include obtaining satellite landsat imagery that compares pre-fire to post-fire vegetative conditions resulting in soil burn severity maps that locate areas of potential impacts. Basic Information
Current Situation
Outlook
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| Iron 44 Incident: Family of dead firefighter sues helicopter maker, others Posted: 03 Mar 2009 01:23 PM PST Monday March 02, 2009, 2:15 PM The mother of a firefighter killed last year in a California helicopter crash has filed a wrongful death suit against two Oregon companies. Verna Wilson's 30-year-old son Shawn Blazer was killed Aug. 5 when the helicopter he was riding in crashed moments after takeoff as Blazer and others were fighting a fire in the Trinity National Forest in northern California. The crash killed nine men, including seven contract firefighters with Grayback Forestry of Merlin, Ore. Wilson's suit, filed Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, claims negligence and seeks $8 million in damages. It names Columbia Helicopters, Carson Helicopters and Carson's subsidiary, Carson Helicopter Services. Columbia and Carson Helicopters have Oregon offices. Others named in the suit include Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. the manufacturer of the helicopter that crashed United Technologies Corp. and General Electric. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the crash. "We are not commenting at this time, said Tonya Van Walleghem an attorney for Columbia Helicopters. Blazer's attorneys Arthur Johnson and Douglas Schaller of Eugene also represent the two men who survived the crash, Michael Brown and Jonathan Frohreich. But neither have filed a suit, yet. Last month, the families of two firefighters killed in the fiery helicopter crash -- Matthew Hammer, 23, of Grants Pass and Bryan Rich, 29, of Medford -- filed wrongful death, negligence and product liability lawsuits against the same defendants. The suits seek $10 million for each victim, plus funeral costs. The Aug. 5 crash is considered the deadliest air tragedy of working firefighters in U.S. history. -- Stephen Beaven; stephenbeaven@news.oregonian.com Source: OregonLive.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marine Corps Disciplines 13 For San Diego Jet Crash Posted: 03 Mar 2009 01:04 PM PST disabled Marine Corps jet fighter to crash in the University City area last December. WASHINGTON -- Thirteen Marine Corps personnel have been disciplined for errors that led a disabled Marine Corps jet fighter to crash in a San Diego neighborhood last December. The accident killed four members of one family. Service officials told members of Congress on Tuesday that four Marine Corps officers at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar near San Diego have been relieved of duty for directing the F/A-18D Hornet to fly over the residential area. The jet was having engine problems. Officials said the pilot should have been told to fly over San Diego Bay and land at another base that sits on the tip of a peninsula. Nine other military personnel received lesser reprimands. ----------------------- The victims: Young Mi Yoon, 36; her daughters Grace, 15 months, and Rachel, 2 months; and her mother, Suk Im Kim, 60. More at source: 10News.com -Link Related article: Original California Fire News post - San-diego-f-18-down-in-san-diego.html Aircraft Crash, Aircraft down, F/A-18D, San Diego, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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