Three men ordered to pay $9 million restitution for Colby Fire

Steven Aguirre, Clifford Eugene Henry Jr and Jonathan Carl Jarrell
Steven Aguirre, Clifford Eugene Henry Jr., and Jonathan Carl Jarrell. Glendora PD booking photos.

On Monday a judge ordered three men convicted of starting the Colby Fire to pay $9 million in restitution to public agencies, insurance companies and residents. An illegal campfire used by the men escaped in January, 2014 and burned 1,900 acres, destroying five homes and 17 other structures, while forcing evacuations in Azusa and Glendora in southern California.

Messrs. Henry and Aguirre were sentenced to several months in prison. Mr. Jarrell awaits sentencing.

Residents near the Colby fire are under a flash flood watch on Tuesday with very heavy rains in the weather forecast.

CL 415 on Colby Fire
A CL-415 assists firefighters on the Colby Fire in January. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.

Wildfire briefing, August 5, 2014

Two men get prison for starting the Colby Fire

CL 415 on Colby Fire
A CL-415 assists firefighters on the Colby Fire in January. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.

Two men have been sentenced to several months in prison for starting the Colby Fire that threatened homes in Glendora in January, east of Los Angeles.

National Guard to train 240 soldiers to fight fires

The California National Guard is sending 240 of their members to Camp Roberts for four days of training to fight wildfires.

Should dead trees be logged after a fire?

As the U.S. Forest Service’s plans are being finalized about what to do with the thousands of acres of timber that were killed on National Forest land in the 2013 Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park, a debate is going on about whether to remove the trees or not.

Bushfire exposes large pot operation

When a bushfire in New South Wales destroyed a house, firefighters discovered nearby an underground shipping container. Inside were 118 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of $590,000.

Water scooping air tankers dropping on the Colby Fire

CL 415 on Colby Fire

Jeff Zimmerman was kind enough to send us these photos he took of CL-415 water-scooping air tankers dropping on the Colby Fire east of Los Angeles on January 16. The Canadian air tankers are leased every year during the fall by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Their 2013 contract was scheduled to end in December, but was extended due to the extremely dry conditions in southern California.

You can see more of Jeff’s photography at his site. Thanks Jeff.

CL 415 on Colby Fire CL 415 on Colby Fire CL 415 on Colby Fire. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.

More information about the Colby Fire.

Earlier we posted some extraordinary photos and videos of the CL-415s scooping water at Santa Fe Dam.

Additional photos and information about air tankers can be found at FireAviation.com

Colby Fire, near Glendora, California

Smoke from the Colby Fire, as photographed by a NASA satellite
Smoke from the Colby Fire, as photographed by a NASA satellite

(Originally published at 8:20 a.m. PST, January 16, 2014)

(UPDATED at 12:42 p.m. January 20, 2014)

The incident management team reports that the Colby fire is 46 acres larger than it was yesterday, at 1,952 acres now, and they are calling it 84 percent contained.

The team reported today that resources assigned to the fire include 1,112 personnel, 45 hand crews, 100 engines, 3 helicopters, 5 dozers, 8 fixed wing aircraft, and 3 heli-tankers.

(UPDATED at 11:18, January 19, 2014)

Firefighters are gaining a stronger hold on the Colby Fire east of Los Angeles. The incident management team is now calling the 1,906-acre fire 78 percent contained.

Evacuations were lifted for the Community of Mountain Cove at 6:00 PM. January 18, 2014. No evacuation are currently in place. Highway 39 remains closed and is only open to residents.

The Colby Fire is being fought by 1,112 personnel, 26 hand crews, 100 engines, 3 helicopters, 5 dozers, 8 fixed wing aircraft, and 3 heli-tankers.

Six residences have been destroyed and five have been damaged.

Some excellent photos of the water-scooping air tankers dropping on the Colby Fire are HERE.

firefighters Colby Fire
Firefighters put in a hose lay on the Colby Fire. InciWeb Photo.
Cleveland NF engine crews Colby Fire
Cleveland National Forest engine crews after a shift on the Colby Fire. InciWeb photo.

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(UPDATE at 10 a.m. PST, January 18, 2014)

The Incident Management Team has revised the mapped size of the Colby Fire to 1,863 acres, and they are calling it 30 percent contained. Today’s high temperature is expected to reach 87 degrees with relative humidity in the single digits. They anticipate a “medium” potential for additional fire spread. The area continues to be under a Red Flag Warning until 6 p.m. for elevated wildfire danger. Today’s fire operations will be primarily focused on reinforcing containment lines along the fire’s northern perimeter and cooling hot spots.

Firefighting resources assigned include 1,112 personnel, 33 hand crews, 140 engines, 9 helicopters, 1 dozer, 4 and fixed-wing aircraft.

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(UPDATE at 1:15 p.m. PST, January 17, 2014)

CL-415 scooping at Santa Fe dam

The photo above is a still image from an amazing video of the Super Scooper CL-415 air tankers scooping water at Santa Fe Dam yesterday. One of the videos is below, others are at Fire Aviation.

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(UPDATE at 12:25 p.m. PST, January 17, 2014)

Below we have a map showing the official perimeter of the Colby Fire. The perimeter data was produced by the Incident Management Team as was current as of 5:04 PST January 16. Reportedly, the fire has not spread much since then. Click on the map to see a larger version.
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