Month: February 2011

What are YOU doing for Valentine’s Day? Going out to a fancy dinner, sending flowers, giving candy, or staying at home while you eat chocolate and watch one of the 60 Most Romantic Movies?

Here’s one idea from, surprisingly, Google, and it won’t cost you a dime. Send an electronic card that includes a map reminding your sweetie of a place that has a special meaning for you both. Here is an excerpt from the Official Google Blog:

Location can be a powerful trigger of memories—from the Italian place in San Francisco where you went on your first date to the cabin you rented at Lake Tahoe with your roommates. For that reason, we thought it would be great to create a Valentine’s Day card that’s tied to a specific location. As long as there’s a place that means something special to you and the ones you love, mapping your valentine is a great way to make Valentine’s Day a little more special.

One of my favorite memories is from a family trip we took to Eilat in Israel (check out my awesome fashion sense, I’m on the far left…), so I sent my parents this card:

You can make your own card HERE.

The fire in Washington’s Yakima Valley on Saturday burned 20 homes in White Swan, according to Yakima Nation Tribal authorities. It started as a chimney fire at about 1:30 p.m. which ignited the house’s roof, then pushed by 40 mph winds with gusts up to 50, it spread quickly through the community as intermittent rain fell. The fire was controlled early Sunday morning.

Sara Gettys of the Yakima Herald-Republic took some excellent photos of the fire as it burned through White Swan. One of them is above, others are HERE.

The above photo is another in the series of winners that we are highlighting from the 2010 National Park Service Fire and Aviation Photo Contest. This image was taken by Mike Johnson of the NPS Midwest Regional Office and took third place in the Fire Staff in Action category. It was shot in Wind Cave National Park. Click on the photo to see a larger version.

More information about the photo contest.

The above photo is another in the series of winners that we are highlighting from the 2010 National Park Service Fire and Aviation Photo Contest. This image was taken by Mike Lewelling of Rocky Mountain National Park and took second place in the Fire Staff In Action category. It was shot in Crater Lake National Park. Click on the photo to see a larger version.

More information about the photo contest.

A wind-driven wildfire in Washington state’s Yakima Valley has destroyed homes near the community of White Swan (map), about 20 miles southwest of Yakima. Two firefighters experienced “minor, non-life threatening injuries”. The fire was reported at about 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and there is no estimate on the number of acres burned.

In the video below, a law enforcement officer says 10 to 20 homes have been “affected” by the fire.

Here is an excerpt from an article at the Yakima Herald-Republic that was time-stamped at 5:22 p.m., Saturday:

Officials said the fire started in a chimney and spread to the roof and ground, where it fanned out rapidly across Second Street. One of the homes destroyed was owned by Rodney Martin, who had lived in his home for 30 years and had just paid it off last year.

“I got out front and tried to water the front of the house, and it overtook me,” said Martin, 45. “It went from one vehicle on fire to another vehicle on fire.”

East Valley fire Chief George Spencer, the designated public information officer at the scene, said crews from all over the Upper Valley were battling the blaze along with Yakama tribal firefighters and Fire District 5 from the Lower Valley.

He said 60 to 80 firefighters were working the fire, which was burning in brush and some homes north of the post office.

About 4:30 p.m., officials estimated they had the fire about 25 percent contained and likely will be battling the blaze for another six to eight hours. Strong winds weren’t expected to die down until about 9 tonight.

The National Weather Service in Pendleton, Ore., said there was a report of sustained winds of about 44 mph and gusts of up to 53 mph just east of White Swan earlier this afternoon.