WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 111408
In the news today, San Diego Regional Fire Safety Forum member Rick Halsey fires off an Op-Ed piece in the San Diego Union-Tribune, and also sends along two links to some striking photos from the Tea Fire up in Montecito. Another member of the Forum, former San Diego Fire Chief Jeff Bowman, weighs in on the Super Scoopers in the next story. Escondido is getting some private help from a firm that will take over one of their unused fire stations in order to contract their services out to help Cal Fire and USFS with brush clearance and fire suppression. As fire crews grapple with the Tea Fire in Montecito, San Diego firefighters wait pensively wondering if it's their turn next, with high hopes for what Air Ops can contribute this year if a fire does break out. And speaking of the Tea Fire, there were a lot of stories in the news today about it, leading off with one on how quickly 2,500 acres were torched and the air effort of nearly two dozen helicopter and fixed-wing air-tankers, followed by two more relating the fight, and another warning about a potential water shortage for firefighters as reservoir levels drop. But help is on the way - lots of it, as related by the following articles from San Francisco, Sacramento, Orange County, Sonoma, and Monterey. The governor has declared a state of emergency, freeing up federal funding for suppression and eventual recovery efforts, and the LA Times offers some helpful hints for evacuating from wildfire areas. California is not the only place that's had difficulties with wildfires in the US: Kentucky has had their fair share, mostly human-caused, as the next article tells. On the technology front, an effort is underway at South Dakota State University to use satellite images of the Black Hills area to determine the best areas in which to thin trees, while TRX Systems won a $500,000 Department of Defense grant for their firefighter tracking system, something that could also be used to track soldiers in combat scenarios. Science Daily reports on a study being done in the south of France on rural homesteaders who live in constant danger from wildfires. And finally, another cautionary tale about fraudulent disability claims by firefighters: in the wake of the Boston FD bodybuilder scandal comes one from San Francisco, where a firefighter who was out on disability was actually running triathlons!
Firefighting after Prop. A's defeat
Tea Fire Photos here and here
Flight of the Super Scoopers
ESCONDIDO: Private company to lease old fire station
SD Fire Crews Ready for Santa Ana Winds, Hot and Dry Weather
Firefighters race to stop blaze before winds erupt
Santa Barbara County fire claims more than 100 homes
Santa Ana winds spark raging wildfires in SoCal
Water conservation urged in Cal wildfire area
Bay Area Firefighters to the Rescue in SoCal
Local firefighters go to battle Montecito blaze
O.C. boosts firefighting effort in Montecito
Valley firefighters sent to SoCal fire
Local firefighters heading toward Santa Barbara
California governor declares emergency in wildfire
Firefighters offer tips on how to prepare for wildfires
Wildfires continue in Southeast Kentucky
Satellite images may help decide where to thin forests
Firefighter-Tracker Snares Pentagon Tech Prize
Fire Risk: Close-up On Habitat–forest Interfaces
Ex-firefighter faces fraud charges for running marathons while 'disabled'
In the news today, San Diego Regional Fire Safety Forum member Rick Halsey fires off an Op-Ed piece in the San Diego Union-Tribune, and also sends along two links to some striking photos from the Tea Fire up in Montecito. Another member of the Forum, former San Diego Fire Chief Jeff Bowman, weighs in on the Super Scoopers in the next story. Escondido is getting some private help from a firm that will take over one of their unused fire stations in order to contract their services out to help Cal Fire and USFS with brush clearance and fire suppression. As fire crews grapple with the Tea Fire in Montecito, San Diego firefighters wait pensively wondering if it's their turn next, with high hopes for what Air Ops can contribute this year if a fire does break out. And speaking of the Tea Fire, there were a lot of stories in the news today about it, leading off with one on how quickly 2,500 acres were torched and the air effort of nearly two dozen helicopter and fixed-wing air-tankers, followed by two more relating the fight, and another warning about a potential water shortage for firefighters as reservoir levels drop. But help is on the way - lots of it, as related by the following articles from San Francisco, Sacramento, Orange County, Sonoma, and Monterey. The governor has declared a state of emergency, freeing up federal funding for suppression and eventual recovery efforts, and the LA Times offers some helpful hints for evacuating from wildfire areas. California is not the only place that's had difficulties with wildfires in the US: Kentucky has had their fair share, mostly human-caused, as the next article tells. On the technology front, an effort is underway at South Dakota State University to use satellite images of the Black Hills area to determine the best areas in which to thin trees, while TRX Systems won a $500,000 Department of Defense grant for their firefighter tracking system, something that could also be used to track soldiers in combat scenarios. Science Daily reports on a study being done in the south of France on rural homesteaders who live in constant danger from wildfires. And finally, another cautionary tale about fraudulent disability claims by firefighters: in the wake of the Boston FD bodybuilder scandal comes one from San Francisco, where a firefighter who was out on disability was actually running triathlons!
Firefighting after Prop. A's defeat
Tea Fire Photos here and here
Flight of the Super Scoopers
ESCONDIDO: Private company to lease old fire station
SD Fire Crews Ready for Santa Ana Winds, Hot and Dry Weather
Firefighters race to stop blaze before winds erupt
Santa Barbara County fire claims more than 100 homes
Santa Ana winds spark raging wildfires in SoCal
Water conservation urged in Cal wildfire area
Bay Area Firefighters to the Rescue in SoCal
Local firefighters go to battle Montecito blaze
O.C. boosts firefighting effort in Montecito
Valley firefighters sent to SoCal fire
Local firefighters heading toward Santa Barbara
California governor declares emergency in wildfire
Firefighters offer tips on how to prepare for wildfires
Wildfires continue in Southeast Kentucky
Satellite images may help decide where to thin forests
Firefighter-Tracker Snares Pentagon Tech Prize
Fire Risk: Close-up On Habitat–forest Interfaces
Ex-firefighter faces fraud charges for running marathons while 'disabled'
Labels: air-tankers, bushfires, firefighting, forest fires, wildfires
posted by Michael Archer @ 3:15 PM
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