California Archives - Page 166 of 234

California snowpack 0% of average

Bill GabbertMay 30, 2015May 31, 2015UncategorizedCalifornia, drought

On May 28 the amount of water in the snowpack in California’s Sierra Mountains was zero percent of normal for that date.

Click the Drought Monitor image below to see a larger version.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Barbara.

Fire near Castaic, California

Bill GabbertMay 30, 2015August 25, 2019UncategorizedCalifornia

A fire near Castaic in northern Los Angeles County on May 29 was stopped after burning about five acres. An excellent photo of the Camp 9 crew was captured as they worked right on the edge of the fire.

Spectacular photo of #Camp9 firefighters working as a team to stop #WindFire #wildfire today near Castaic (📷byCamp9) pic.twitter.com/EoTeTx7Aaa

— LACoFireAirOps (@LACoFireAirOps) May 30, 2015

Sierra Club argues against FEMA’s plan for the eucalyptus trees in Oakland’s East Bay Hills

Bill GabbertMay 29, 2015May 29, 2015UncategorizedCalifornia, eucalyptus, Oakland Hills Fire, Tunnel Fire

The Sierra Club and the Sustainability, Parks, Recycling and Wildlife Legal Defense Fund (SPRAWLDEF) filed suit on May 26 over plans by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fund a vegetation-management program in the East Bay hills that would increase fire hazards, threaten endangered species and native wildlife, and increase the financial burden on taxpayers.

“The best way forward is to promote native vegetation that is less flammable and encourages healthy ecosystems and greater biodiversity,” said Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter director Michelle Myers. “That’s a win-win for the environment and for homeowners who want to feel secure that they won’t lose their homes in another Great Fire like the one we lived through in 1991. Unfortunately, FEMA’s approach isn’t in line with the priorities of fire safety and habitat restoration.”

FEMA has over $5.5 million in grant money to disburse for vegetation management in the East Bay Hills from Richmond to San Leandro. These areas contain thousands of acres of highly flammable eucalyptus and non-native pines, which choke out more fire-resistant natives like oaks, bays, and laurel. Flying in the face of the best science and land-management practice, the Sierra Club said, FEMA has signaled its intention to fund a plan to thin flammable non-natives, rather than remove them entirely. The Sierra Club / SPRAWLDEF suit contents that this is the wrong approach.

The Sierra Club and other environmental groups including the Claremont Conservancy, the Golden Gate Audubon Society, and the California Native Plant Society have all advocated for removing all of the flammable eucalyptus and pine trees over time so that less-flammable native habitat can reclaim those areas. In contrast to clearcutting, this approach calls for removing eucalyptus in phases, so that native trees — which cannot grow to full size underneath the eucalyptus canopy — are able to thrive. Mere thinning of eucalyptus and pine plantations in fact denudes hillsides to an even greater extent, as it requires the clearing of native plants in the understory.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Barbara.

Pot grower responsible for Nicholls Fire in California sentenced

Bill GabbertMay 26, 2015May 27, 2015UncategorizedCalifornia

From KBAK/KBFX:

A man was sentenced Tuesday to nearly seven years in federal prison for his involvement in a large-scale marijuana cultivation operation on federal land in Kern County and for his role in starting the Nicolls Fire.

Edgardo Fournier, 46, of Perris, was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $6.5 million to the U.S. Forest Service.

The Nicolls Fire burned more than 1,500 acres in July 2014 in the Onyx Peak area. The fire was so remote that it didn’t threaten structures of force road closures.

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According to court documents, from about April 1, 2014 to July 12, 2014, Fournier helped water and tend 2,090 marijuana plants at a grow site in the Smith Canyon area of the Sequoia National Forest in Kern County. He admitted that on July 11 and 12, he lit fires in the vicinity of the grow site within the boundaries of the federally designated Kiavah Wilderness Area. The fires converged and became known as the Nicolls Fire. The Nicolls Fire destroyed about 1,680 acres of public land causing over $6.5 million of damage. The fire did not damage the marijuana cultivation site, which also caused significant damage to the land and natural resources of the forest.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Karen Escobar prosecuted the case.

Related story on Wildfire Today:

Suspected California pot-grower charged with starting Nicolls Fire (July 25, 2014)

Serial arson suspect arrested in California

Bill GabbertMay 13, 2015Uncategorizedarson, California2 Comments

CAL FIRE Law Enforcement officers arrested 68 year old Michael Wayne Hamilton Sr. on May 11, suspected of starting 27 fires since 2012.

“The hard work that went in to making this arrest is a testament that we do not tolerate arson,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, CAL FIRE director.

Mr. Hamilton, a resident of Squaw Valley, was booked into Fresno County Jail on 27 counts of “Arson to Forest Lands”, and 27 counts of “Use of an Incendiary Device”. The 27 fires all occurred in Fresno County in 2012, 2014 and 2015. Twelve of the fires came during a fire setting spree between Monday, May 4, 2015 and Monday, May 11, 2015. One fire allegedly set by Mr. Hamilton burned in excess of 60 acres.