A website known to some of our readers, WildlandFire.com, has changed hands. After existing for about 13 years and following many months of behind the scenes discussions, the two moderators transferred ownership on March 1 to a new organization that currently runs the FireWhat.com website. Headquartered in Dunsmuir, California, FireWhat was first registered August 11, 2010 by Sam Lanier. Describing themselves as “The Emergency Service Website”, the company lists as their launch sponsors Holmatro® Rescue Equipment, SF Police Credit Union (in “the greater Bay area”), and The Supply Cache.
In dual posts on “They Said It”, a bulletin board on WildlandFire.com, the moderators of the site and Mr. Lanier broke the news on March 2 and March 4, respectively. Officially remaining a secret since the site was introduced, Steve Myers and Mellie Coriell came out as the two moderators of the site in their posts. Mr. Myers (“Original Ab”, or “Abercrombie”) created the site and Ms. Coriell (“Ab”) began assisting in the early days.
The moderators said in their announcement:
…As we’ve gotten older and have been at this for a while, remaining cutting edge has become more important and more difficult with only two of us Abs and our great Moderators.
They Said It has been very active in promoting the Wildland Firefighters Foundation (WFF) and the Federal Wildland Fire Service Association, allowing a representative of the FWFSA to frequently post very lengthy articles on the bulletin board about the organization. The WFF is an extremely effective organization that assists the families of wildland firefighters that have been injured or killed on the job, while the FWFSA lobbies, officially or otherwise, for legislation to benefit federal wildland firefighters.
Sam Lanier, the Co-Founder and CEO of FireWhat, told Wildfire Today that he does not plan to remove much of what is currently on the WildlandFire.com site, but does intend to introduce some additional technology, such as more information on the “Hot List” about ongoing fires, such as maps and weather conditions near the fires. “They Said It” will continue to exist, Mr. Lanier said. He told us that Ms. Coriell will remain involved, and that Mr. Myers will serve as a consultant.
We also talked with Ms. Coriell about the transfer. She said:
The thing that’s great about [FireWhat] is that they are able to bring all the new technologies to bear on the website…. Having a younger generation come along is great.
We asked both Mr. Lanier and Ms. Coriell if the transfer of the website involved an exchange of money, and neither was willing to discuss that topic. WildlandFire.com has numerous ads on the site, and FireWhat.com also has ads.
WildlandFire.com has helped to improve the lot of wildland firefighters, and they should be commended for their accomplishments. Any creative endeavor will earn its share of people who praise it and those who don’t. Ricky Gervais, the English actor most known for his television series “The Office”, said:
The best way to avoid criticism is never do anything ever. Or, do what you love, have a great life & let others spend their time criticising.
They Said It has been criticized for concentrating on U.S. Forest Service issues, and activities within the state of California. Some comments of the people who write in to the site have been described as “whining”. I know three people who have been banned from the site after disagreeing with the moderators.
