August 2015 - Page 13 of 16

Jerusalem Fire — near the Rocky Fire in California

Bill GabbertAugust 10, 2015August 25, 2019UncategorizedCalifornia, Jerusalem Fire11 Comments

(UPDATED at 8:30 a.m. PT, August 13, 2015)

3-D Map Jerusalem Fire — 3-D map of the Jerusalem Fire, 1 a.m. PT, Aug 13, 2015. (click to enlarge)

According to updates from CAL FIRE for the Jerusalem Fire east of Hidden Lake, California, the fire grew by 7,000 acres from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning, and has now blackened 23,500 acres. (See the maps above and below.)

Map Jerusalem Fire — Map of the Jerusalem Fire 1 a.m. PT, Aug 13, 2015. (click to enlarge)

The fire crossed Morgan Valley/Knoxville Road and continued another 4 miles to the northeast. It has bumped into the south edge of the Rocky Fire, which has spread very little if any for several days, and the two fires now share a common border stretching for 13 miles.

Wind on Wednesday afternoon gusting out of the southwest at 11 to 25 mph was a major factor driving the fire. That will also be the case today after 5 p.m. with a prediction for 13 mph winds out of the southwest gusting to 20 mph.

Resources assigned to the fire include 2,053 personnel, 140 fire engines, 52 hand crews, 28 dozes, and 15 helicopters.

****

(UPDATED at 7:45 a.m. PT, August 12, 2015)

Jerusalem Fire 8-11-2015 — Michael Forster took this photo of the Jerusalem Fire on August 11. He told us, “This was taken [Monday] off of Morgan Valley road. Firefighters had to quickly move out of the area as the fire intensified.” Used with permission.

The Jerusalem Fire 70 air miles north of San Francisco was very active again on Tuesday, chewing up another 4,000 acres. CAL FIRE is saying that as of Tuesday night it had burned a total of 16,500 acres.

Mandatory evacuations are still in place for some areas of the Jerusalem Valley.

The fire is burning in drought-affected brush that has not burned in over 30 years. The lack of a network of roads is making access for firefighters difficult.

The fire is being battled by 1,660 personnel, 118 fire engines, 53 hand crews, 18 helicopters, 28 dozers, and a variable number of air tankers.

****

(UPDATED at 12:13 p.m. PT, August 11, 2015)

In the first day and a half of the life of the Jerusalem Fire south of the Rocky Fire and east of Hidden Lake, California, it raced across 12,000 acres. That was the size of the fire as mapped by an aircraft at 1 a.m. Tuesday morning. Rising humidity slowed the spread of the fire Monday night.

Mandatory evacuations are still in effect for some areas of the Jerusalem Valley.

The weather forecast for the area on Tuesday calls for 86 degrees, 25 percent relative humidity, and south winds of 9 mph.

map jerusalem fire rocky fire — Map showing the Rocky Fire, which has not been very active lately, and the Jerusalem Fire, mapped at 1 a.m. PT, August 11, 2015.

On August 9 CAL FIRE arrested Juan Ramos Silva, 49 of Lower Lake, for one count of arson and allegedly starting a backfire. Silva was booked into Lake County Jail on suspicion of violating Penal Code Section 452(c), unlawfully causing a fire to forest land, and Public Resource Code Section 4426, a person shall not set a backfire, or cause a backfire to be set, except under the direct supervision or permission of a state or federal forest officer.

The LA Times is reporting that Mr. Silva set the backfire in order to protect his marijuana-growing operation:

…Silva started the large backfire at 5:43 p.m. Sunday, a couple of miles away from the Jerusalem fire in a rural, sparse area northeast of Middletown, said Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Silva told deputies he started the blaze to prevent the Jerusalem fire from reaching his home. But officials concluded he set the fire behind the marijuana grow to “protect his plants, not his residence,” Brooks said.
Silva told deputies he was a firefighter in Mexico years ago and “had attempted to conduct a controlled burn on the back of his property to protect it…”

CAL FIRE investigators are not accusing Mr. Silva of igniting the Jerusalem Fire, just of starting a new fire and a backfire.

****

Jerusalem fire, August 9, 2015. Photo by CAL FIRE.

A new fire just south of the 69,000-acre Rocky Fire has burned approximately 5,000 acres in the 16 hours since it started at 3:42 p.m. PT on Sunday. The fire four miles east of Hidden Valley Lake, California, burned very aggressively Sunday evening. In a matter of hours it spread toward the northeast and came very close to merging with the Rocky Fire, which has not grown for several days. Firefighting resources are being transferred from the Rocky Fire to the Jerusalem Fire.

Mandatory evacuations are taking place in some areas of the Jerusalem Valley.

CAL FIRE, which often does not release maps of their fires, distributed this map Monday morning.

Jerusalem fire map 8-9-2015 — Map showing the new Jerusalem Fire just south of the Rocky Fire. CAL FIRE map.

Memorial service held for fallen firefighter David Ruhl

Bill GabbertAugust 9, 2015May 8, 2020UncategorizedDavid Ruhl2 Comments

program cover — The cover for the program.

A memorial service was held Sunday, August 9 in South Dakota at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center for David Ruhl, an engine captain with the Black Hills National Forest in Rapid City who was killed while fighting a wildfire in northern California on July 30, 2015.

Before the ceremony a procession of dozens of emergency vehicles escorted his remains and his family and friends to the service, which lasted a little more than an hour and was attended by hundreds of people, many of them firefighters in uniform.

honor guard — An Honor Guard was on the stage before the service began.

David Ruhl memorial service — A friend and former co-worker of Mr. Ruhl with the Pierre Rural Fire Department gave a moving remembrance of his time with David.

Bagpipes, a traditional part of firefighter funerals and memorial services, were an important part of the ceremony. Below is one example of their work, playing Amazing Grace.

Continue reading “Memorial service held for fallen firefighter David Ruhl”

Procession to the David Ruhl memorial service

Bill GabbertAugust 9, 2015August 9, 2015UncategorizedDavid Ruhl

The memorial service for David Ruhl was held Sunday, August 9 in Rapid City, South Dakota. Mr. Ruhl’s remains and his family were escorted to the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center by numerous fire trucks, emergency vehicles, and friends of the family.

Mr. Ruhl was killed while fighting a wildfire in northern California on July 30, 2015.

fire engines dave ruhl procession — The engine that Captain Ruhl was assigned to was one of the first vehicles in the procession.

Red Flag Warnings, August 9, 2015

Bill GabbertAugust 9, 2015August 25, 2019UncategorizedRed Flag Warning

The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches for areas in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, and Montana.

The map was current as of 10 a.m. MDT on Sunday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts and maps. For the most current data visit this NWS site or this NWS site.

Firefighter killed by falling tree

Bill GabbertAugust 9, 2015August 9, 2015UncategorizedCalifornia, David Ruhl, fatality, lodd, Michael Hallenbeck3 Comments

(Originally posted at 7:30 a.m. PT, August 9, 2015; Updated at 9 p.m. PT, August 9, 2015 with the name of the firefighter.)

Another wildland firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service has died in the line of duty. Early Sunday morning the agency announced that at approximately 5:30 p.m. on August 8 two firefighters were struck by a falling tree during the initial attack on a new fire, the Sierra Fire, in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) in California. One was killed and the other was treated and released from a hospital.

The firefighter has been identified as 21-year old Michael “Mike” Hallenbeck of Shingle Springs, California. Mr. Hallenbeck was a member of Organized Crew 36 on the LTBMU.

His family released a statement on Sunday:

Mikey was so excited to become a firefighter. When he first found out he had the position, he spent every day hiking with a pack to prepare. Mikey loved the outdoors and sports. He played football, basketball, soccer, ice hockey, tennis and golf. He also loved to snowboard and hike. He spent the last two ski seasons working for Sierra Ski Resort. Now he has had a greater calling. We are so very proud he stepped up to work hard and be brave to put others before himself. We cannot even begin to express the pain our family is going through and we ask for the respect of our privacy as we go through this devastating ordeal.

This is the second USFS firefighter to die on a wildfire in California in the last 10 days. On July 30 David Ruhl was entrapped by a fire and killed during the initial attack on the Frog Fire on the Modoc National Forest in northeast California.

Our sincere condolences go out to the friends and family of the firefighters that passed away in both of these fatalities.

Dozer operator describes how drone interfered with initial attack on the Mill 2 Fire

Bill GabbertAugust 7, 2015August 7, 2015UncategorizedCalifornia, drone, MD-873 Comments

This Rapid Lesson Sharing, below, about a fire in southern California was distributed by the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center.

****

“At approximately 1430 hours, a report is radioed to Dispatch of a 1/4-acre vegetation fire located directly behind our Mill Creek Fire Station. Stepping outside the office, my swamper and I see heavy smoke to the north of the compound. We quickly make our way to the transport to off-load the dozer and engage the fire.

Upon size-up of the rapid rate-of-spread and eliminating the option of anchoring at the heel and cutting direct due to steepness of terrain, I prioritize my tactics to protection of life and property. I then make a decision to track my dozer up an indirect route—knowing there are homes and property owners at risk at the top of the ridge in the fire’s path.

At this point, one ridge to my north separates the ridge I am tracking up and the main fire. Air resources are enroute. At the pace I am ascending the ridge, I figure the air resources will arrive on scene and slow the forward rate-of-spread down long enough to allow me to reach the homes.

Fire Advances Toward Homes

As I crest the ridge, I only have a shallow drainage to cross—in which the fire has established itself just below me and is making a strong push toward the homes. At that moment, emergency traffic airs over command frequency that all aircraft have been grounded due to a drone sighted in the fire area.

As the fire advances, I make eye contact with the property owner across the drainage. At this time, the only option I have is to hope the fire will crest the ridge and minimize in intensity long enough for me to cross the drainage to the homes.

I take a moment to size-up and reevaluate my escape route and safety zone and try to develop a contingency plan with my swamper.

Drone Operator Confronted

Fortunately, the fire does as I had hoped. My swamper and I are able to cross the drainage and engage the fire directly, assisting the crews and engine personnel behind the threatened homes. Next, the drone clears the area and air suppression resources reengage.

When the drone is spotted returning, a U.S. Forest Service employee is able to follow it and confront the person responsible. His vehicle information is documented and he is notified that the authorities are enroute to educate him on drone use in wildfire areas.

However, the drone operator refuses to wait and flees the scene.

LESSONS

With the recent high frequency of drone use affecting wildfire suppression tactics, this incident has raised my awareness to the impact that drones have on wildfire suppression tactics.

In the future I plan on being more cautious when implementing air support into my tactical decisions and suppression efforts.”

****

Note from Bill: I know someone will say planned firefighting tactics should not depend on the predicted availability of aviation resources. However, to give the dozer operator the benefit of the doubt, his initial plan may have been to wait for the expected retardant drops to slow the spread of the fire before he committed himself to crossing the drainage to defend the structures.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: