Climate change and wildfires
The New York Times has a very interesting article about the real effects of climate change, bringing the issue into the practical realm. Wildfires are playing and will continue to play an integral part. Here is an excerpt:
“The amount of area burning now in Siberia is just startling — individual years with 30 million acres burned,” Dr. Swetnam said, describing an area the size of Pennsylvania. “The big fires that are occurring in the American Southwest are extraordinary in terms of their severity, on time scales of thousands of years. If we were to continue at this rate through the century, you’re looking at the loss of at least half the forest landscape of the Southwest.”
Seasonal wildland firefighters arrested for drinking in front of fire station
Two wildland firefighters working for the Santa Fe Fire Department in New Mexico were arrested and fired for drinking beer in front of a fire station and on city property. Here is an excerpt from an article in the Albuquerque Journal:
Two seasonal employees for the Santa Fe Fire Department were arrested Wednesday night after police caught one of them, who is 19, drinking beer on city property. And he may have been noticed because that station is in the same area as the Santa Fe Police Department’s Professional Standards division.
“There’s police driving down the street all the time,” said Santa Fe police Capt. Aric Wheeler. “You’re rolling the dice thinking you’re not gonna be seen by somebody.”
An officer spotted Genaro Romero drinking a beer in front of the fire station at 2501 Camino Entrado just after 11 p.m. Wednesday. When the officer asked why he was drinking beer on city property, Romero said he was a firefighter. The officer then checked Romero’s identification and saw he was 19. Under questioning, Romero said he got the beer from Rene Arellano, 24, who was inside the building and admitted providing the booze, according to Wheeler.
Romero and Arellano were temporary firefighters for the city’s Wildland Fire Team. The two had been working as forestry technicians during the area’s wildfire season and their last day was scheduled for today, according to Santa Fe Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Eric Litzenberg.
Until they were arrested Wednesday.
“They’re no longer employed by us,” said Litzenberg, who would not elaborate when asked if they were terminated.
Romero was arrested on a charge of minor in possession of alcohol, while Arellano was charged with providing alcohol to a minor, which is a felony, according to Wheeler.
Report: SEI to buy Premo
There is a report that SEI Industries is buying Premo. SEI makes Bambi Buckets and a line of aerial and ground-based ignition devices, Plastic Sphere Dispensers (PSD), and ignition spheres. SEI is is fairly new to the aerial ignition market. Premo has been making aerial ignition devices and ignition spheres used from helicopters for a long time. If the deal goes through, SEI will support and service the Premo PSD machines as well as supplying 1.25-inch spheres.
Trivia question
The death of which U. S. President’s father was related to a wildfire? The answer after the jump.
According to a new book, “Destiny of the Republic”, by Candice Millard, President James A. Garfield’s father died when James was 1, succumbing to “exhaustion and fever” after fighting a wildfire that had threatened his home.
Aldo Leopold died in 1948 after fighting a grass fire on a neighbor’s land.
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Tributes_to_Aldo_Leopold
His son Starker in 1962 recommended “ecosystem management” principles and policies to the NPS, including fire ecology principles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_Report
I’ve also heard Aldo Leopold, Father of Conservation, also passed away after fighting a prescribed fire that was getting away from them…