California Fire News - Updates in your mail box
California Fire News - Updates in your mail box |  |
| Earthquake: 3.2 M - Bombay Beach, CA Posted: 24 Mar 2009 05:15 PM PDT  Earthquake Details
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| SMFD: State Guard transferring Huey to Metro Fire Posted: 24 Mar 2009 05:14 PM PDT  State Guard giving helicopter to Metro Fire From: Sandy Loue: The California Army National Guard will be transferring a UH-1 Huey helicopter over to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District for use as a training craft. The transfer from the 812th Medical Detachment is scheduled to take place Wednesday at Sac Metro's air operations branch at McClellan Park, according to a news release from Sac Metro.
Captain Christian Pebbles, spokesman for Metro Fire, said the department currently has one helicopter. The added second helicopter will be used for training. Sac Metro had applied for and was granted the surplus helicopter at no cost to the department. That was done with help from the California Office of Emergency Management and federal authorities, officials said. The fire agency serves approximately 600,000 people in parts of Sacramento County, Placer County and the city of Citrus Heights. Source: Sacbee - Link  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Morro Bay State Park: Prescribed burns planned Posted: 24 Mar 2009 02:23 PM PDT Where: The material to be burned is cut and piled in the Black Hill area and park boundary areas near La Loma, Kings and Carmel streets and Lower State Park Road. Why: California State Parks says the burn will reduce dead and downed diseased trees and enhance the health of the native plant communities. Who: The burns will be conducted by State Park staff, Cal Fire, and City of Morro Bay Fire Department staff. Smoke: Heavy smoke will be produced at times under permit conditions from the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution District.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 Interagency Wildfire Safety Officers Conference Agenda Posted: 24 Mar 2009 02:48 PM PDT 2009 Interagency Wildfire Safety Officers Conference AgendaSAFETY OFFICERS CONFERENCE Hotel Info http://www.halfmooninn.com FINAL DRAFT AGENDA
Conference OverviewThe 2009 California Interagency Wildfire Safety Officers Conference will be held at Humphrey's Half Moon Inn and Suites, San Diego, California, April 14th - April 16th. On-site check in will begin Tuesday, April 14th at 0800. The conference will begin promptly at 0900 and will end at 1700 on Thursday, April 16th. This year's agenda will include presentations on many interesting subjects. Conference attendance is limited to 145 registrants on a first-come first-served basis. There are no tuition fees, lodging and travel costs must be paid by the attendee or his/her sponsoring agency. Lodging InformationA block of rooms have been reserved, honoring both the State and Federal Per Diem rates, at Humphrey's Half Moon Inn and Suites. Specify that you are with the 2009 Interagency Wildfire Safety Officers Conference with the group identification code of Forest041109. If you choose to make lodging reservations on-line be sure to select the Group Reservation tab. Hotel Registration Deadline Date: March 15, 2009, in order to receive the conference rates. Humphrey's Half Moon Inn and Suites
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| CAL FIRE: 2009 aviation safety conference canceled Posted: 24 Mar 2009 02:04 PM PDT 2009 aviation safety conference canceled No money to burn: CAL-FIRE 2009 aviation safety conference nixed Source: Sacbee -Link In the aftermath of the the worst wildfire season in California in decades, the California Department of Forestry and Fire has been forced to pull the plug on a popular annual event for its statewide aviation firefighting team. The 2009 aviation safety conference - held each spring before things heat up on the wildfire fighting front - has been canceled because there's no budget to pay for it, according to Tom Humann, the chief aviation safety officer at Cal-Fire. Humann announced the news in a private e-mail he sent to air base battalion chiefs and staff at the department's airplane and helicopter operations statewide in late January. "Despite the efforts of our chief officers to make this important event possible, there is simply no funding available," Humann wrote in the email, which was obtained by The State Worker under the Public Records Act. "I am fully aware there is no substitute for the group dynamic of our conference," Humann added. "Further it means the loss of valuable presentations from subject matter experts from outside CAL-FIRE." Humann promised he would work with chiefs in the field to develop "alternate means of getting the information out and soliciting feedback on safety issues." Janet Upton, a CAL-FIRE spokeswoman, confirmed the air safety conference has been axed due to the state budget deficit. Other conferences have been nixed, too, she said. . Upton said Humann has continued to gather safety information while attending safety gatherings. He's disseminating the information he picks up to others in the aviation team. "So, instead of having 70 people travel, he's hitting the road," Upton explained Tuesday, noting that Humann is making site visits and doing smaller group discussions to ensure that safety remains a top priority. Source: Sacbee -Link  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bombay Beach earthquake and "The Big One" in So Cal Posted: 24 Mar 2009 02:51 PM PDT "Scientists are watching closely to see if small faults crossing under California's Salton Sea are transferring energy to the larger, more dangerous San Andreas fault after a series of small earthquake swarms in the area." - Source: www.chron.com - Link "Scientists are particularly interested in the area because an earthquake that starts in Bombay Beach and ripples northwest along the San Andreas fault could be "The Big One" that levels Los Angeles" - Source: www.chron.com - LinkEarly this morning a magnitude 4.8 quake struck at 4:55 a.m. at a depth of about 3.5 miles on the eastern shore of the Salton Sea, about 2 miles from the town of Bombay Beach after this story was posted at the Chron and numerous aftershocks have occurred. The main quake was followed by at least 50 smaller aftershocks and many of these are relatively shallow-Bombay Beach earthquake Map 4.8 2009/03/24 11:55:43 33.318-115.728 5.8 4 km ( 2 mi) S of Bombay Beach, CA Early seismic warning?: "Scientists are watching the increased earthquake activity because it is near a section of the San Andreas Fault that has not popped loose in over 300 years." "Scientists are particularly interested in the area because an earthquake that starts in Bombay Beach and ripples northwest along the San Andreas fault could be "The Big One" that levels Los Angeles", said Graham Kent, a research geophysicist at the University of California, San Diego. These quakes appear to be taking place at the hazy intersection of several recently mapped faults crossing beneath the Salton Sea and the southern end of the San Andreas fault. The worry for scientists comes from a case in 1987, when a magnitude-6.2 earthquake on one of the crossing faults appeared to trigger a 6.6 quake 12 hours later on the Superstition Hills fault to the south. "The San Andreas fault is north of these crossing faults and the geometry is similar", Kent said.   | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Philadelphia: Fire Officer of the Year and Arsonist Posted: 24 Mar 2009 09:03 AM PDT  Philadelphia arson attacks: Arson arrests so far include a rejected wannabe fireman, a volunteer firefighter and now a paid Fire officer who was lauded as Officer of the Year in 2004.Police arrested 37-year-old Robert Tracey Jr., a captain in the Coatesville Fire Department. Tracey, 37, was identified by witnesses who saw him running from the scene of Friday's fires, which were set a few blocks apart and didn't cause any injuries or significant damage, Carroll said. He was jailed in lieu of $2 million bail. Tracey, a Coatesville firefighter lauded as Officer of the Year in 2004, and quoted in recent news accounts about the arsons plaguing the city, was charged yesterday with setting two new fires, Which brought the number of 2009 arsons in Coatesville to 22. Tracey, of Charles Street in Coatesville, is accused of setting the fires Friday night in the city's West End - blocks from where he lives with his wife and five children. Fire Captain Robert F. Tracey Jr., who was promoted to a paid Captain position in the West End Fire Company last month, was place under arrest at the fire station on his 37th birthday. Tracey was the Seventh suspected arsonist arrested in this string of arson fires plaguing Coatesville, Philadelphia. Mr. Tracey had been involved with the West End Fire Company for nearly 25 years and has held several positions within the Company. Most recently, Mr. Tracey held the position of Assistant Fire Chief, but resigned from that position in February of this year to become a career firefighter with the City of Coatesville Fire Department. The former Assistant Fire Chief and once Captain of volunteers at Coatesville's West End Fire Company, Tracey was hired by Coatesville last month as a paid part-time firefighter. "We put a lot of confidence in him moving up the ranks," City Council member Kareem Johnson said. "This is a very big disappointment." Some of Tracey's neighbors shook their heads in disbelief at the news. Others said they had been suspicious of him for some time.Neighbors said Tracey was the grandson of Edward Tracey, who received an award in October 2004 for 67 years of membership in the Coatesville Fire Bureau. The fires Tracey is accused of lighting occurred a little before midnight in the 100 block of Hope Avenue and the 600 block of Madison Street. A lawn chair and a trash can were set ablaze., which caused no injuries or damage to homes. At a news conference last night, Chester County District Attorney Joseph W. Carroll said Tracey was being held at Chester County Prison, with bail set at $2 million. "I would love to say that this is the end," said Carroll, "but it is not." Tracey is the seventh arson suspect taken into custody. One of the others is a volunteer firefighter, and a third wanted to be a firefighter but was rejected referring to arson suspects Roger L. Barlow and Mark Gilliam, who were arrested Feb. 19. The Friday blazes bring to 22 the number of arson's in the city this year. They came a week after a fire badly damaged two homes. There have been at least 48 arson's in Coatesville since February 2008 and at least 18 others in nearby communities. A teenager accused of setting nine of the fires led investigators to several of the scenes and confessed in a police interview, law enforcement officials testified this month. Roger Leon Barlow Jr., 19, was held for trial after a preliminary hearing on arson and aggravated assault charges in connection with blazes that broke out in Coatesville between Jan. 2 and Feb. 3. The arsons included a massive fire that severely damaged 15 row houses. Damage in that fire alone is estimated at $1.2 million. A trial date has not been set. On cross-examination of several witnesses, defense attorney Terrence J. Marlowe pointed out that no one had seen his client set the fires and that no physical evidence pointing to him had been found. Coatesville/West End Fire Company Official Release on ArrestBy Assistant Chief Robert Pacana - March 23, 2009 For Immediate Release -- On the evening of Monday, March 23, 2009, the officers of the West End Fire Company No. 3 were informed that one of its members, Robert Tracey Jr., had been arrested and charged with 2 counts of arson. Mr. Tracey had been involved with the Company for nearly 25 years and has held several positions within the Company. Most recently, Mr. Tracey held the position of Assistant Fire Chief, but resigned from that position in February of this year to become a career firefighter with the City of Coatesville Fire Department. No words are sufficient at conveying the anger, frustration and disappointment that the officers and members of the West End Fire Company feel regarding these allegations. Should Mr. Tracey be found guilty of these charges in a court of law, he will have betrayed not only the trust of Company, but also the sacred trust of the community that he served. These allegations that a firefighter may have been involved in one or more of the recent arsons that have plagued the City of Coatesville should not overshadow the hard work and dedication of the countless men and woman who risk their lives on a regular basis to ensure the safety of the community. The West End Fire Company is committed to work collaboratively with law enforcement regarding this ongoing investigation. Mr. Tracey has been suspended from the Company indefinitely pending the outcome of the case. The leadership of the West End Fire Company will provide more information as it becomes available. More sources: http://www.coatesvillefire.org - Link http://www.philly.com - Link http://www.wgal.com - Link http://www.google.com/ap - Link http://www.philly.com - link Related news: Long Island firebug firefighter kills four in Arson/Murder- Link  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Earthquake 3.1 M - Southern California, Obsidian Butte, CA Posted: 24 Mar 2009 07:01 AM PDT  Earthquake Details
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