Three men arrested for starting unauthorized backfire

Three men in Washington have been arrested and charged with arson for setting unauthorized backfires last month.

The Spokesman-Review reported that firefighters told two of the men not to light the fire. They did anyway and the fire damaged private and federal property.

In another similar incident, a third man lit a fire in July that “went the wrong way” and nearly trapped firefighters in a canyon, who called law enforcement after escaping the near-entrapment.

A fourth person is being investigated for arson-related charges.

There oughta be a law

National Guard open truck hauling firefighters
California National Guard open truck hauling firefighters on State Highway 3 through Yreka, California, at 6:45 p.m. PDT, August 13, 2014.

(UPDATE: we received a response from the California National Guard. Scroll down.)

I can’t believe we are still hauling wildland firefighters in the open backs of California National Guard cargo trucks. If the truck rolls, all of the firefighters will be ejected, and the truck may roll over on them.

I observed four California National Guard trucks like this one traveling down State Highway 3 in Yreka, California all loaded with firefighters in the back on August 13, 2014, between 6:40 and 6:45 p.m. PDT. They were heading toward the staging area at the fairgrounds.

Can this still be legal in 2014? The U.S. Forest Service did this in the 1970s, not knowing better, but in the 21st Century, this is Third World Country crap.

National Guard open trucks
California National Guard open trucks at the fairgrounds staging area in Yreka, California, August 13, 2014. Some of these hauled firefighters in the back.

Military trucks do roll over. We found a GAO report about one of the predecessors of the truck seen in the photo, the M939 five ton truck, which had a much higher accident and fatality rate than other military vehicles, including the 2.5 ton truck. Between 1987 and 1998 there were 320 accidents in which the truck rolled over, killing 62 people.

In 1998 a newer version of the 2.5 ton truck was restricted to 30 mph because of its record of rolling over.

While it may save money to use cargo trucks to carry firefighters, that is not sufficient justification for putting them in the back of an open truck traveling on highways and narrow dirt roads that lead into forest fires.

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We sent a Tweet to the California National Guard, asking about this, and received this reply:

Neither a strap or a tarp are going to provide much rollover protection.

National Geographic wants photos from firefighters

NatGeo YourShot

National Geographic wants firefighters to send them photos taken at wildland fires. The images above are a brief sample of some that have been submitted. So far they have 268 photos.

Here is a copy of a blog entry at their website written by Mark Thiessen, a staff photographer for National Geographic.

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“I’ve been shooting wildfires for nearly 20 years, and I’m always impressed by the photographs taken by firefighters. It usually goes something like this: “Hey Mark! You should have been here yesterday, check this out!” And they whip out their cameras and show me killer images that I wish I had shot. It never fails. Everyone says, “You should have been here yesterday!”

At Your Shot we want to give you, the firefighters, an opportunity to share your images far and wide. Upload your images to yourshot.nationalgeographic.com using the hashtag #Wildfire2014(Those of you not in the fire community, you can still participate by engaging with the photos that come in by commenting and favoriting the images and sharing your own stories).

You are right in the middle of it and have the unique opportunity to show your friends and family what it’s like to be on the inside. Maybe it’s a dramatic burnout operation at night, a portrait of your soot-covered squad boss during mop up, or a Nomex (fire-resistant suit) so dirty it can stand up on its own.

The key to getting great fire pictures is being there for the next “yesterday.”

A few disclaimers:

DON’T BURN YOUR BUDDY: If you include firefighters in your pictures, make sure they’re wearing appropriate PPE for the situation.

STAY FOCUSED: Don’t let your desire for a great shot distract you from your firefighting duties.”