Five firefighters were injured, one seriously, when this engine collided with another vehicle near Clovis, California. Photo by California Highway Patrol.
Five U.S. Forest Service firefighters were injured when their Stanislaus National Forest fire engine collided with a small SUV at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, July 12 near Clovis, California (map).
According to the U.S. Forest Service, one of the firefighters had major injuries, another had moderate injuries, and the other three firefighters sustained minor injuries.
The driver of the SUV had minor injuries as well.
The firefighters were providing additional fire suppression coverage for the Sierra National Forest and were traveling from their hotel to the High Sierra Ranger District in Prather, California. There are no major wildfires on the Sierra National Forest at this time.
MyMotherload.com had some information about the cause of the crash:
Update on July 12 at 6am: The CHP reports that 53-year-old Maria Constable of Fresno was attempting to pass the fire engine in her Kia SUV, but collided with the side door. Both vehicles had been traveling east on Highway 168. The sideswipe caused the fire truck to drive off the road and overturn four times before ending up on its side. Constable’s SUV rolled over twice and landed on its rooftop. The crash is under investigation.
Three firefighters were injured, one very seriously, by a falling tree July 3 in central California near Three Rivers, a town in the foothills of the Sierras. Damien Pereira, 25, underwent surgery Saturday to repair broken vertebrae, and more surgeries are planned to address his broken ribs and bruised internal organs.
Below is a news release issued July 4 by CAL FIRE.
Lightning has been hammering parts of California, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, and Nevada during the last two days, especially on Tuesday and Tuesday night. The maps below show the strikes that were detected as well as the approximate amount of precipitation that came along with the storms. The black areas indicate no rain, while red means there was less than 0.08 inch.
The first map is for the 24 hour period that ended at 6 a.m. MT on June 30. The second is for the 24 hour period that ended at 6 a.m. MT on July 1.
Lightning, 24 hrs ending at 6 a.m. June 30, 2015.Lightning 24 hrs. ending at 6 a.m. MT July 1, 2015.
A reserve firefighter on the Tule River Indian Reservation in central California has been sentenced to two years in state prison for setting wildland fires. In a Visalia courtroom on Wednesday Zachary Janoko pleaded guilty to felony arson.
Below is an excerpt from the Porterville [California] Recorder.
…In July 2014, Janoko was arrested for suspicion of arson for starting fires on the Reservation and along the Tule riverbed. During the investigation, Janoko, who was then assigned to the Natural Resource Department at the Reservation, and who at times had assisted the Tule River Fire Department battling fires, was accused of causing the fires for financial gain.
“It was hard on people here. Zack had been assisting here,” said Jay Henshaw, wildland fire investigator with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He said Janoko had been a reserve firefighter that provided backup and support.
“We worked with the county, tribal police and Bureau of Indian Affairs on the investigation and were successful,” Henshaw said.
Henshaw attended Janoko’s sentencing in Visalia and said he was glad that Janoko had been caught and found guilty because it isn’t very often that arsonists are actually caught.
Happy Camp Complex in northern California. Photo by Kari Greer in 2014.
The 2014 Happy Camp Fire Complex is still burning
The Happy Camp “megafire” that blackened over 134,000 acres in northwest California in 2014 is not out. Last weekend firefighters found four small areas that were still burning inside the fire perimeter. During normal weather conditions snow and rain in the winter would usually fully extinguish a wildfire, but the drought and warm weather has allowed some areas within the Happy Camp Complex to continue to burn. There was no indication that the small hot spots were any threat to cause the fire to consume additional acres. Fire managers have re-activated the InciWeb page for the fire.
Florida Governor vetoes pay increase for state firefighters
Florida Governor Rick Scott on Tuesday vetoed a bill containing $1.5 million for state wildland firefighter pay increases that Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam had requested. Some Florida firefighters complained earlier this year that they are “grossly underpaid”, and that their salaries are comparable to cafeteria workers.
Drone grounds air tankers over the Lake Fire
A “hobby drone” spotted over the Lake Fire east of San Bernardino, California grounded firefighting aircraft that were working on the fire Wednesday. The drone was seen flying over the Onyx Summit area around 5:30 p.m., Cal Fire officials say.
A collision between a drone and a helicopter or fixed wing aircraft could be fatal if it damages the windshield, the engine, props, or rotors.
More evacuations on the Lake Fire
Late Wednesday night, June 24, the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department initiated a mandatory evacuation for the Burns Canyon and Rimrock areas. The fire spread significantly to the east on Wednesday. More information at Wildfire Today.
Calgrove Fire north of Los Angeles
The Calgrove Fire burned 398 acres Wednesday afternoon near Santa Clarita, California. Fire Aviation has a video of one of Erickson Aero Tankers’ DC-7s making a retardant drop on the fire. The aircraft, Tanker 60, is sporting a brand new paint job.
A burned area in the Washington Fire. Undated photo from InciWeb.
Below is an update on the fire, from the incident management team Tuesday night:
“Firefighters made excellent progress today by strengthening fire lines and establishing five percent containment on the 16,553 acre fire. The Washington Fire, 8 miles south of Markleeville, CA, experienced lighter winds and burning conditions more conducive to aggressive ground and air suppression actions.
“Several campgrounds along Highway 4 to the north end of Markleeville remain evacuated. For the safety of the public and active fire suppression activities, Highways 4 and 89 in the Monitor Pass area remain closed, as do the Turtle Rock and Indian Creek campgrounds. Markleeville residents remain under an evacuation advisory issued by Alpine County Sherriff’s office. No mandatory evacuations are in effect at this time.
“Twelve helicopters and 8 air tankers support the suppression effort on the fires, dropping retardant, ferrying equipment and supplies, transporting firefighters, and providing essential surveillance of areas far inside the perimeter not safely accessible by foot. Other key resources include 19 engines, 10 water tenders, and 19 crews. There are approximately 681 personnel assigned to the fire.
“Firefighters made significant progress around the entire fire perimeter, with their priority being the line along the north of State Highway 89. The primary tactical priority is to prevent the fire from reaching Markleeville. The next priorities are to buttress the lines along Wolf Creek and the Leviathan Mine reclamation site.”
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(UPDATE at 3:19 p.m. PT, June 23, 2015)
Map of Washington Fire, June 22, 2015. Incident Management Team.
The incident management team for the Washington Fire near Markleeville, CA posted this map today, Tuesday. It is labeled June 22 at 1200, but it does not indicate when the perimeter was mapped. This is a portion of the map; you can see the entire map here. The fire is still listed at 16,544 acres.
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(UPDATE at 10:33 a.m. PT, June 23, 2015)
Satellite photo of smoke from the Washington Fire, June 22, 2015.
The Washington Fire south and east of Markleeville, California was relatively quiet overnight due to very little wind and an inversion that settled into the area.
On Monday the area of the fire that was initially heading to the northwest toward the town of Markleeville moved more to the east than the north. The tactical priority is still to keep the fire from spreading further northwest towards the town.
