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Saturday, June 15, 2002
In the Battle of Malibu, the Issue Is Air Power [Source: New York Times]  The New York Times has taken an interest in preventing fires in Malibu it seems. Click the link for the whole article.
California Fish & Game [Source: Michael Burke]  UPDATE: California Department of Fish and Game webpage has been updated! Friday, June 14, 2002
State crews arrive at big fire [Source: The Sacramento Bee]  A fire crew heads out Thursday to battle the Hayman fire, buoyed by the thanks of the tiny hamlet of Trumbull, Colo. California firefighters were dispatched to the Trumbull area because it was in the center of the fire region and they are known for their experience with large fires. By Sam Stanton; Photo by Ben Margot TRUMBULL, Colo. -- They had been driving for 1,200 miles over three days to get to Colorado's fire disaster, and when about 40 California firefighters finally pulled into this tiny mountain town at dusk, they were greeted warmly by the local fire chief. "You need to be prepared to die up here if it comes to that," Chief Jim Egle told the group as he emphasized how strongly his volunteers felt about saving the area's homes. "Otherwise, when you come back, they'll shoot you," he said as a ridgeline behind the fire station burst into orange flames. After three long days of fighting the largest fire in Colorado history, Egle's 12-person volunteer department was beyond exhaustion, and the arrival of two strike teams from California instantly doubled the population of this rustic resort town of 36 people. But it was clear from the start Wednesday night that Colorado's firefighting apparatus still was wrestling with how to deploy the massive amounts of resources pouring into the state from around the nation. "It's frustrating," said Chris McNay, a 34-year-old firefighter from the Elk Grove Community Services District Fire Department. "We want to get to work." McNay and his colleagues are expected to get plenty of work over the next two weeks as they hit the lines daily to try to contain the fire, which is still threatening homes throughout the area south of Denver. As part of a four-man team dispatched here by California's Office of Emergency Services to help deal with the Hayman fire, McNay is being used to protect homes and other structures that so far have survived the blaze, which stretches from its north end within 10 miles of Denver's southwesternmost suburbs toward the Pike National Forest on its south end. California sent 10 four-man teams that assembled at dawn in Auburn on Monday and then began the drive toward Colorado. And it has been a long journey. Initially, the California strike teams were dispatched to the Coal Seam fire near Glenwood Springs in southwestern Colorado. But when they got there Tuesday, they were told they weren't really needed. The fire, which had destroyed about 30 homes, already had done its damage. After an emotional stop at the nearby Storm King monument, which honors 14 smokejumpers killed fighting a fire in 1994, they pressed on to the fire command center in Castle Rock, south of Denver, where they pulled in, fueled up their engines at a convenience market about 1 p.m. and prepared to get to work. The sight of nine green engines arriving with California license plates drew great interest from people milling about the command post at the county fairgrounds, and the firefighters themselves were eager to get moving and find out what they would be facing. Where is the fire? How are the winds? When do we move out? They gathered around their engines in a dirt parking lot asking anyone who wandered by about the situation, but it would be hours before they saw it for themselves. They spent the time calling their families, telling them they loved them, that they were all right. Engineer Shawn Holden, a 34-year-old Elk Grove firefighter who drove in with McNay, called his daughter, Ellie. It was her 12th birthday, and he wanted her to know they'd have a family party when he got back. Napa firefighter Scott Sedgley called his mother, Barbara, in Alta, to tell her he had made it to Denver safely. But they all wanted to get moving. Finally, around 2 p.m., the orders came. All nine engines (the 10th had broken down in Glenwood Springs and was being repaired), were going to Deckers, a tiny roadside spot that has been in the precise center of the blaze in the mountains. This was the premier assignment Wednesday, and they got it because coming from California, they have an instant reputation for experience with large fires. McNay and Holden piled into their engine with Capt. Ron Gangl, who will turn 43 next week while fighting this fire, and 31-year-old Shawn Fitzpatrick and headed off toward the mountains in a caravan. It would take more than an hour to maneuver the massive engine, OES 267, up the narrow, two-lane road to Trumbull, and along the way the four men constantly checked their equipment, their fire shelters and the surrounding area to see what conditions they would face. All they knew is that the fire was a bad one and that they were heading into an extremely dangerous environment. Their assignment is to protect the homes in this area, from the $1 million-plus weekend retreats to ramshackle cabins. But their first job is to get out alive. Each time they took a bend in the road, one of them would point out a clearing they could retreat to for safety if the fire came their way. "This is steep," McNay said. "Forget running out." "It's Oroville all over again, guys," Gangl said, reminding them of the fast-moving blaze they had fought closer to home last year. "If the fire comes, where does it go?" "It goes up," McNay said. And each time they crested a hill they looked around and asked the same questions. Where's the fire? Where's the smoke? Finally, around 3:30, they got their answer. Thin, white puffs of smoke floated above the hillsides at first, then a large plume came into view. And the blaze crested a ridgeline above them and trees began exploding in the distance. Within half an hour, a few homes clustered along the road came into view, as did a tiny fire station with a hand-drawn sign posted in the driveway. "Trumbull thanks you," it read. "Welcome to the party!" Trumbull didn't really know who it was welcoming, it turns out. Residents here just figured somebody would come to help eventually, and when Egle found out all of his visitors were from California, he was incredulous. "Your governor sent you all the way out here to help us?" he asked. "I'm really glad to have you people here, I really am. You're working for all of us, and we appreciate it." Before the arrival of the California strike teams, the most help Trumbull's 12-person department had received was a phone call from the U.S. Forest Service on Sunday as the fire was raging out of control and bearing down on the area. "Yeah, they called me and said, 'You've got to get out of there, and if you don't, we're going to come up and ID your remains and your toasted bodies with dental records,' " Egle said. "Our dispatcher hung up on them, so I guess we're not really popular with the Forest Service right now. "But how could you face the people whose homes would have been lost?" So, Egle's team stayed, using its aging, hand-me-down engines and brush trucks to protect homes in the area. By Wednesday, they had only lost three in the mountains where about 185 people live and had been able to dart up and down the trails in small trucks to use hand tools to protect some homes. Gangl's team went out to scout for homes that would need protection. Down the road, a mailbox with the name "Sharp" announced the presence of a cabin, and once again they hustled uphill. There they found a mountain home where the family had done all it could before evacuating. A ladder led to the roof, where they apparently had cleared it of any pine needles. Most brush and other flammables had been cleared away. And a sign hung on the front door: "If you're smokin' inside, you better be on fire." Gangl's team continued to scout the area for about an hour. Their job was to draw up a map of existing homes and structures. They hadn't been given one by the locals or the fire commanders, but they weren't complaining. There was, however, a growing sense of frustration. They were ready to go to work, there were fires in sight, but there wasn't anything for them to do. Soon, they were called back to Trumbull and told to prepare to spend the night on the grass in front of the firehouse. The fire teams in Colorado have not been working at night because officials say it is too dangerous. In California, the procedure typically is just the opposite, where fire teams work through the night to take advantage of the cooler temperatures and less active flames. But Colorado's firefighters have been outgunned by the eight major fires now burning in the state, and there has been a conscious decision to let some areas burn where no homes are in danger in order to save on resources. At 8 p.m., as the strike teams sat in lawn chairs or perched on their engines eating turkey sandwiches and pie that volunteers had trucked in, new orders came down. They weren't staying in Trumbull. Instead, they were to mount up and return to Castle Rock, 45 miles back down the mountain. They were back at base camp around 10 p.m., where they would camp out in sleeping bags and tents on the grass of the Douglas County Fairgrounds. "That's just the way it is sometimes," Gangl said. "We'll probably catch something big tomorrow." They'll have plenty of time. By Thursday, the Hayman fire had burned about 100,000 acres, and the California teams were due to return to the Deckers area. The fire slowed Thursday as temperatures fell and humidity rose, but no rain was in the forecast. Despite wind gusts to 30 mph, the blaze had not advanced toward metropolitan Denver and remained about 35 miles away from the city. It has charred about 140 square miles, leaving blackened forest floors and skeletal trees. About 5,400 people remained out of their homes Thursday.
1 Dead In San Dimas Worker Rampage Deputy Says Man Attacked Co-workers Before Being Shot Dead [Source: KCAL 9]  Sheriff's officials say at least one person is dead and four critically hurt following a rampage by an apparently disgruntled employee at a San Dimas chemical plant. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Bill Spear says the man threw some chemicals at several co-workers and stabbed several with a screwdriver. The unidentified man was shot by sheriff's deputies. A Los Angeles County fire spokesman says one person was confirmed dead at the scene. The identity is not known. Four others were taken to hospitals in critical condition.
Real? Stories and Jokes on Radio Scanning [Source: Freq Of Nature and YOU] UPDATE The Stories and Jokes on Radio Scanning page has been updated with some excellent stories from the folks on the NORCALSCAN Yahoo group. Warning, these jokes make cause gut bustage.
Attempted Murder Suspect Pursuit [Source: Freq Of Nature and CHP] An LAPD unit, after calling in for air support, attempted to pull over a suspect near LAX that was wanted for allegedly attempting to murder someone in San Bernardino County with a brick. The suspect failed to yield to the officer and ended up leading them in a pursuit south on the 405 freeway. After a lengthy pursuit that reached speeds in excess of 100 MPH the CHP was able to slow the pursuit down by successful deploying spike strips, deflating the suspect vehicle tires sending it on it’s way with a trail of smoke from it’s deflated tires. The suspect exited the 5 freeway and proceeded northbound on the same freeway. The suspect’s vehicle, after running on rims at speeds around 45 MPH, finally came to a stop on the 5 freeway near Camp Pendleton. There was much confusion over the radios about not being able to talk with the LAPD airship overhead and the suspect was reported to have a radio scanner. An airship out of San Diego was brought in to take over air support. After a couple volleys of non-lethal rounds the suspect was successfully taken into custody and is being transported to jail in San Diego to await transportation back to San Bernardino where the crime initially took place. The chat room of the in-progress group was quite active with commentary and live broadcasts of the incident. CHP was using BLUE-1, 39.14, for this incident. Incident: 0974 Type: Media Information Location: ATTEMPTED MURDER SUSPECT PURSUIT Info as of: 6/14/2002 1:23:56 AM ADDITIONAL DETAILS 1:16AM - ***** NB I-5 LANES ARE BEING REOPENED ***** 1:00AM - K-9 WAS USED TO ASSIST IN TAKING SUSPECT INTO CUSTODY 12:54AM - SUSPECT WILL BE TURNED OVER TO THE SAN BERNARDINO SHERIFFS DEPARTMENT 12:43AM - NB LANES EXPECTED TO BE REOPENED AROUND 1 AM 12:36AM - NORTHBOUND LANES REMAIN CLOSED 12:36AM - SOUTHBOUND LANES ARE BEING REOPENED 12:31AM - **** AT 12:30AM, THE SUSPECT WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY **** 12:30AM - SITUATION HAS NOT CHANGED, SUSPECT IS STILL IN THE VEHICLE 12:11AM - CONTACT SAN BERNARDINO SHERIFFS DEPT FOR INFO ON ATTEMPTED MURDER 11:54PM - NB 5 BACK UP STARTS AT COCKLEBURR (APPROX 4 MILES) 11:51PM - THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN STOPPED ON NB 5 JSO LAS PULGAS SINCE 10:50PM 11:47PM - THE MARINES ARE NOT ALLOWING TRAFFIC THRU CAMP PENDLETON 11:45PM - AT 10:40, ALL TIRES WERE FLAT, BUT VEHICLE KEPT GOING 11:41PM - ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, THE SUSPECT THREW OBJECTS OUT OF THE VEHICLE 11:39PM - THE SUSPECT VEHICLE ENTERED SAN DIEGO COUNTY A LITTLE AFTER 10PM 11:28PM - SUSPECT IS STILL IN THE VEHICLE 11:20PM - WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS SB, IT EXITED AT LEUCADIA BL, THEN WENT NB 11:19PM - VEHICLE CAME TO A STOP AT 10:50PM 11:15PM - HIT A "SPIKE STRIP" AGAIN AROUND 10:29PM 11:13PM - LAPD IN PURSUIT OF A MURDER SUSPECT 11:13PM - SILVER NISSAN REPORTED DOING 100 MPH 11:13PM - SAN DIEGO CHP DOSPATCH ADVISED OF SB PURSUIT AT 9:50PM 11:11PM - SIG ALERT HAS BEEN ISSUED 11:11PM - THIS IS IN THE MIDDLE OF CAMP PENDLETON MARINE BASE 11:11PM - SB 5 CLOSED AT LAS PULGAS 11:11PM - NB 5 CLOSED 1 MILE SOUTH OF LAS PULGAS 11:09PM - MURDER SUSPECT STOPPED AFTER PURSUIT
Tankers called in for fires [Source: Daily News]  Canadair T-215/415: The SuperScooper gulps-in over 1,400 gallons in less than 15 seconds Photo by LACoFD By Amy Raisin Because of early and relentless brush fires, the Los Angeles County Fire Department is requesting that the Quebec-based planes known as SuperScoopers arrive months sooner than usual. The county Board of Supervisors gave the department the green light to lease two planes months early after fierce blazes like last week's Copper Fire, north of Santa Clarita, burned more than 23,000 acres. "SuperScoopers carry about 1,400 gallons of water on take-off and can get to the farthest part of the county pretty quick," said department Capt. Brian Jordan. "When they're in town, they're on the scene first." Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich of the 5th District, which includes Santa Clarita, appealed to the board to approve the early lease of the planes after wind and extreme temperatures sent a fire, ignited by a welder's sparks, racing up San Francisquito Canyon. The final cost of that blaze, which destroyed nine homes and 17 other buildings, is expected to reach $9.5 million, according to county firefighters. On June 6, the day after the fire started, 20,000 acres burned in four hours -- making this the fastest-moving burn ever recorded in the Angeles National Forest. "We normally get the SuperScoopers from September to about December, depending on the severity of the fires," said Jennifer Plaisted, senior deputy for Antonovich. "I believe this is the first time we have called the planes in (this) early." Plaisted said the cost of leasing the planes, which will be taken from the county Fire Department's budget, will run between $1.1 million and $2.2 million. However, many firefighters point out that the fixed-wing SuperScooper airplanes perform differently than helicopters do, and that the two types of craft cannot safely work in the same area simultaneously. "The SuperScoopers -- there are times when they work really well, but in real high winds, they're not good; they don't fly well," said Battalion Chief Glen Mutch. "And if you use the fixed-wing (plane), then you have to take helicopters off the line." Jordan said there are some circumstances in which helicopters can be more effective. "There are a lot of safety issues when working with aircraft," he said. "With the SuperScooper, if you fly too fast it can create air currents, and that can defeat the purpose. Helicopters can drop partial loads and make tight turns. "When it comes down to firefighters on the ground, you want an accurate air drop. You want it right the first time." Copyright © 2002 Los Angeles Daily News Thursday, June 13, 2002
Techies play key role in fighting fire [Source: Ventura County Star]  Mark Lawson, a display processor for the California Department of Forestry, stands in front of a fire map. By Kyle Jorrey; Photo by James Glover II Certain images come to mind when hearing about California's burning forests -- firetrucks screaming down the road, airtankers dumping water to douse fires, teams of ash-covered firefighters digging trenches. The image of people hunched over computers and maps usually isn't one of them. But to a team of geographic information system (GIS) technical specialists, they are half the battle in fighting a fire. The fight to contain the Ojai Wolf fire is winding down, with containment at 85 percent as of Wednesday, but the trailer containing the fire's map unit remains. While their jobs may not be on the front lines, the information they provide is critical to the success and safety of a firefighting effort. "The primary objective on a fire is firefighter safety," explained Mark Rosenberg, a GIS technical specialist. "They need to know where they are in relation to the fire at any given time, so they know how to get out if they get into trouble." Much of the information on a given fire site is collected prior to an outbreak, during the fire offseason. GIS specialists spend weeks collecting base data, topographical information, and other geographical facts on regions all across the state, and then store that data on compact disks to be used at incident command centers like the one at Soule Park. "We couldn't do our job if we hadn't have prepared beforehand," said Karen Folger, the head GIS specialist on the Wolf fire. In the case of the Wolf fire, GIS specialists were provided with the fire history of the region beforehand and they had a much better idea of what they would be up against. "We knew the last big fire in that area was the 1932 Matilija fire, which burned over 200,000 acres, so we knew this fire had the potential to do the same," said Folger. "Because of this they could do contingencies farther out, and make lines farther away. They had to look at a bigger picture of possibilities." This detailed preparation work is unique to California, which Folger said "sets the pace" for firefighting technology. In most other states, incoming map units must go through the forest service to get geographical data, while here all the information needed by GIS teams is ready to go on CD. Once initial maps are created, the map units rely on field observers, both on foot and in helicopters, to relay information on current fire lines and where and how the fire is progressing. FOB's, as they are called, carry hand-held Global Positioning Systems that provide streaming data on their exact longitude and latitude. As the information floods in, the GIS team must translate the data and print usable maps of all different sizes and information types. Some maps, such as the ones used at morning and evening briefings, are up to 9 feet in size. During the Wolf fire, the printer used by the map unit went through between 300 and 400 feet of paper per day. "If we can give them the best and most accurate information that is our goal," said Folger. Maps are generally within 10 meters of accuracy. Many of the maps produced by the GIS team actually end up in the hands of the public, who are always thirsty for information on fires. "They all want to know where the fire is in their area, what is happening with it, and how we are spending the taxpayers money to put it out," said Folger. Because information is coming in constantly from a number of different sources, teamwork and cooperation is key to the effectiveness of a map unit. A portion of this is the ability of the unit to work in close quarters, which they must do 16 hours a day while the fire burns. "It's really important for everyone to get along, because it can get stressful. The last thing we need is someone with an ego stomping around in here," said Folger. "If an issue comes up, we find a way to solve it." Like the firefighters themselves, members of the GIS team must face many of the hardships that go along with the profession. During fire season they spend weeks away from their homes, showering in portable showers, eating catered food and sleeping on the ground in tents. "We're just a little closer to the coffee, and I get to sit in a comfortable chair," joked Folger. Total containment of the Wolf fire, which cost taxpayers $13.2 million up to this point, is expected by Friday. Wednesday, June 12, 2002
Colorado Wildland Fires [Source: ScanColorado.com] This year is shaping up to be one of the most severe wildfire years in Colorado & the Western U.S. in recent history. The ScanColorado web site has files and links to keep you up to date on the wildfires in Colorado. |
