News and opinion about wildland fire
Dick just pointed out to us a nifty web site where you can very easily, by mousing-over links, see medium to long range weather outlooks. It is the www.cpc.noaa.gov site, and includes these weather forecast products:
This is a very handy, fast, one-page source.
The California Public Utilities Commission issued a temporary order blocking the plan by San Diego Gas and Electric to preemptively shut off the electricity for up to 150,000 people at a time when the fire danger meets their predetermined criteria. SDG&E had expected to implement the plan on September 1, but the commission put a halt to it at least until they can meet on September 10.
The power company has said shutting off the electricity during dry and windy conditions would prevent fires that could be started by their power lines. Many groups are opposed to the plan, including schools, water districts, and disabled people who rely on life-sustaining equipment. One study found that there are 900 people in the affected area with chronic medical problems. Of those, 590 rely on electrical equipment for thier well being.
SDG&E’s outage plan
Alaska State Troopers arrested two people and recovered three of the five vehicles that were stolen from the Alaska base of the Pioneer Hot Shots and the Glacier Gannette crew.
On Tuesday and Wednesday the crews returned from two-week fire assignments to discover that their base had been ransacked. Most of the 25 personal vehicles belonging to the firefighters had been broken into and damaged.
One firefighter said the front and back windshields of his car were broken and some of his belongings in the car were stolen.
The thieves also broke into the crew’s personal lockers in the headquarters facility, stealing items such as cameras and iPods. They stole computers, water pumps, moose antlers, chain saws, and even took perishable items that were in the refrigerator.
The arrests were made as a result of a routine traffic stop on Sunday in Kenai when police stopped a Ford F-150 for speeding. The driver was immediately arrested for driving with a suspended license. When the Hot Shots returned and discovered the thefts on Tuesday, that truck and the other four were reported as stolen, which led to possession of stolen vehicle charges for the driver and his passenger.
The body of Robert Christopher Woodhead, the 53-year old helicopter pilot who had been missing after his firefighting helicopter crashed into the Fraser River in British Columbia on Friday, has been found. It was located just south of Saddle Rock, near Spuzzum.
Mr. Woodhead was piloting a Bell 212 and attempting to fill his water bucket when the ship crashed into the river.
The helicopter company he worked for is planning a tribute on Sunday in Lillooet on the bridge over the Fraser River.
That is the question being posed by TreeHugger.com after the 89,015-acre La Brea fire was blamed on a marijuana trafficking operation in the Los Padres National Forest in southern California. Investigators think a cooking fire at a pot plantation was the cause of the fire which is now 94% contained.
Many of the marijuana growing operations on public lands in the west are run by organized drug cartels and are not conducted under the most safe or environmentally-friendly conditions.
We’re bringing you the story of a fire in Greece which is threatening homes near Athens because we needed an excuse to include the photo above of the firefighter attempting to put out a vegetation fire with a dry chemical fire extinguisher. We will have to assume that for some reason that was the only option available to the firefighter at that time.
Is there a watch-out situation that addresses attacking the head of a fire with a dry chemical fire extinguisher?
There are no more details about the fire available except that a warehouse and two trucks burned, and the fire is being fought with 100 firefighters, 25 engines, and 5 helicopters.
