The U.S. Forest Service and the BLM set up a web site for listing fire restrictions, broken down by geographic area. So far only 4 areas are participating.
Here is a screen grab of the site.
Author: Bill
Deaths, injuries, and fires caused by fireworks, July 4
New Madrid, Missouri-
A New Madrid, Missouri volunteer firefighter, Bill Poley, 40, was killed when a fireworks mortar struck him while he was assisting with lighting the mortars at their local fireworks show on July 4.
Charles City, Iowa-
Thirty-seven people were injured Friday night in a malfunction during the Charles City fireworks display .
According to a spokesman at the Floyd County Medical Center, 34 people were treated at the hospital Friday night. Another three victims who suffered injuries as a result of the fireworks incident, came into the hospital today for treatment.
Assistant Fire Chief David Boehmer said today 12 of the injured were taken to Floyd County Medical Center. Condition reports were not immediately available but Boehmer said there were no fatalities.
Boehmer said the incident was apparently caused by a misfire involving 13 racks of firework tubes.
(from wcfcourier.com)
HERE is a link to a video of the malfunction.
Cincinnati, Ohio (Union Township)-
Seven people were injured when a spark fell into a bag of fireworks and exploded. Two people taken to hospitals had second-degree burns and five others – four of them children between the ages of 2 and 9 – were treated at the scene for minor burns.
Ticonderoga, New York-
Three people were injured Friday night about 10:40 p.m. during Ticonderoga’s fireworks display when a rocket prematurely exploded after its fuse was lit, sending fragments of the device in a 200 foot radius. Some fragments struck several employees of Pyro Engineering Inc. of Nassau County which was conducting the fireworks in addition to two people attending the display.
Pyro employee John M. Michalak, 42, who lit the fuse of the explosive device, was transported to Moses Ludington Hospital for lacerations and bruises on his right leg, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office said. He was later transported to Fletcher Allen Hospital in Burlington, Vt.
(From North Country Gazette)
Port Huron, Michigan-
A 51-year old man was critically injured when he was struck in the face by a fireworks mortar. He was listed in critical condition at a hospital in Ann Arbor.
Riverside, Ohio-
A man lost part of his leg when fireworks went off inside his SUV, blowing the windows out.
Bayville, NY-
A 6-year-old girl in Bayville, N.Y., suffered second-degree burns when fireworks landed in her lap. Investigators said it was not immediately clear who launched the fireworks bu
t said the child was not at a public pyrotechnics display.
Toledo, Ohio-
Fireworks landing on the roofs set fire to and destroyed eight apartment buildings and damaged three others, home to 200 people.
The Solution-
I don’t know what the answer is to the injuries and fires caused by fireworks. The worst incident, injuring 37 people, was put on by a professional fireworks company, J&M Displays of Yarmouth, Iowa. Many of the other incidents were the results of individuals exercising their right of stupidity, which is difficult to legislate against. The Police Chief of Toledo where the eight apartment buildings were destroyed is calling for a fireworks ban.
CA: Piute fire July 8
The Piute fire south of Lake Isabella made some major runs late yesterday on the northwest and north sides, pushed by strong southeast winds. On the northwest side it ran for about tw
o miles on the west side of King Solomon Ridge to King Solomon peak, and ate up significant acreage on the north side, while blowing across firelines on the west side in the Red Mountain area.
From Kern County FD:
Crews are actively engaged in structure protection around Havilah and an assessment is being made of structures lost. Along the north, contingency lines under construction will be evaluated in the morning to assess fire movement and potential alternative line locations. Crews completed indirect dozer and hand line in the Kelso Valley area to prevent the fire from moving onto private land.
The fire was reported to be, as of late yesterday, 26,285 acres and 22% contained.
Photo: Piute fire, by Michael Meadows
Update, July 8 @ 1700 MT:
From the Kern County FD site:
• Firefighters are constructing dozer line to protect the communities at risk. Dozer line will be constructed around the communities of Havilah, Bodfish, Squirrel Mountain Valley, South Lake, Bella Vista and tying back into the Kelso Valley.
• Fire made significant runs to the Northwest, pushed by strong SE winds. The fire moved 3-4 miles in the northeast corner and is now at the south rim of Bob Rabbit. On the western perimeter the fire moved 2-3 miles toward Walker Basin and is currently on Solomon Ridge. On the SW corner, the fire has not moved much and remains on the SW side of Erskine Creek. Fire increased 4462 acres.
• Fire officials are assessing damage to property in the Red Mountain area.
• Forty-five additional engines have arrived to provide structure protection and suppression support; an additional thirty engines are on order.
• A recommended evacuation notice was issued for the residents living on both sides of the Caliente/Bodfish Road.
The map was produced by Kern County FD at noon PT today.
CA: Basin fire, July 8, 2008
Firefighters are making progress with the firing operations on the north and south sides. The mandatory evacuation for the Big Sur valley will be lifted at 10 a.m. today, Tuesday. This is very positive news for the residents who have been out of their homes for quite some time. The fire is 80,474 acres and is 18% contained.
North side-
The firing along Mescal Ridge for the last 36 hours has gone well. There were a few slop-overs but they were contained. As of late yesterday it was almost tied in with the Old Coast Road.
South side-
The firing along the dozer line down Dolan ridge from the North Coast Ridge Trail towards the Square Black Rock south of Esalen is almost complete. They worked downhill yesterday until reaching the marine layer, when the relative humidity was too high to support the firing. The control line is still about 2 miles from reaching the Indians fire in the Rodeo Flats Trail area.
East side-
On the northeast corner the fire has reached Uncle Sam Mountain. It was quite active in the Deer Pasture area 5 miles south of Tassajara.
The map is current as of 1900 on Monday.
Piute fire heads west
Due to an unexpected wind shift from the southeast, the Piute fire, south of Lake Isabella, jumped containment lines on the west side and made a run up to Brown Peak. The fire is also very active on the north flank. Satellite photos show a very large smoke plume being blown to the west.
The incident has ordered additional engines for structure protection and recommended evacuation for residents along a section of County Road 483. The last reported size of the fire was 25,722 acres and was 26% contained, but this may have been before or after the major blowup this afternoon. The Kern County FD has more information HERE.
The map below, according to Kern County, was current as of 5:00 p.m. today, but it does not appear to show any major increase in acreage on the west or north sides that would be consistent with the smoke seen on the satellite views. Click on it to see a larger version.
Basin fire, July 7 update
The Basin fire was very active yesterday due to the change in the weather.
East side-
Late yesterday the fire made a run north of Willow Springs campground, spreading over a mile to the north. It is now less than a mile from Tassajara. It was also very active at Lost Valley campground and west of Wildcat campground.
South side-
There was additional fire movement north of the Rodeo Flats trail where firefighters hope to tie in the fire to the Indians fire. The two fires are very close at this point. Slow progress continues on the Dolan ridge fireline; they have a couple of miles to go before the firing along this line reaches the coast highway.
North side-
Firefighters fired out at least 4 miles along Mescal Ridge between the Old Coast Road and east of Bottchers gap. They continued working on this overnight and may have completed much more. We hope they did, since the main fire is spreading rapidly towards the north.
The map below shows heat, in red, orange, and black, detected by satellites last night, with the red areas being the most recently burned. The yellow lines are the perimeters uploaded by the incident management teams yesterday. Click on the map to see a larger version.
