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Battle of investigators during Cocos Fire Trial

Bill GabbertMarch 22, 2015March 22, 2015UncategorizedCalifornia, Cocos Fire9 Comments

CBS News 8 – San Diego, CA News Station – KFMB Channel 8

During the trial in which a 14 year old girl is accused of starting the Cocos Fire, wildland fire investigators gave conflicting opinions on how the fire started. The prosecution contends that when the girl, 13 at the time, started a fire near her back yard, a burning ember traveled 0.44 miles and ignited the fire that burned 1,995 acres and destroyed 36 homes in San Marcos, California, north of San Diego.

In testimony on Tuesday CAL FIRE Capt. David LaClair said he and another investigator determined that an ember from the girl’s backyard started the fire 0.44 miles away. She admitted to starting two fires that day. One was small and was extinguished.

Below is an excerpt from an article at utsandiego:

…The second backyard fire grew to 111 feet by 42 feet, according to LaClair. He said that embers from that blaze — fueled by hot and windy Santa Ana conditions — caused three spot fires. One was 14 feet to the west of the backyard fire, and it grew to 6 feet by 27 feet. Another was 245 feet west of the backyard fire, and it grew to 6 feet by 15 feet. The third became the Cocos blaze. LaClair said all three spot fires were to the west of and in line with the backyard fire.

Two other investigators testified on Friday. Below are excerpts from an article at nbcsandiego:

The defense’s wildfire expert, Douglas Allen, testified Friday the Washingtonia Fire did not have enough loft to launch embers more than 200 feet, let along 11 times that distance. He said strong winds like the Santa Anas blowing that day — May 13, 2014 – often bring embers to the ground.

“They have a much better chance of being lofted with less wind affecting the convection column,” said Allen, referring to the rising column of smoke and ashes created by a fire.

Upon cross-examination, Allen admitted he has written that Santa Ana winds could spread embers more than a mile away. However, he maintained that while that statement is in general true, he does not believe that happened in this case.

Deputy District Attorney Shawnalyse Ochoa then tried to put the retired fire investigator’s recent training into question. Asked when was the last time he took a wildland fire class, he said “I couldn’t remember.”

“What decade was that?” Ochoa asked.

“Was that a joke?” Allen replied laughing.

“No, sir,” the prosecutor said.

“In the last decade,” Allen testified.

Ochoa asked if he was familiar computer programs like Behave Plus or Wind Ninja – computer programs that help wildfire experts in their investigation. Allen said while familiar with them, he has not used them.

Earlier in the day, Cal Fire Behavior Analyst Tim Chavez took the stand, directly contradicting Allen. He said he has high confidence an ember from the Washintonia Fire started the Cocos blaze — what the prosecution has been arguing.

Chavez told the court a computer system estimated the wind speeds that day were around 24 miles per hour. However, he said when you stand where the Cocos Fire started, there is a narrow gap in the topography that could have pushed the winds stronger that day, sending an ember from the Washingtonia Fire to the start of the Cocos Fire.

The defense said the report on the Cocos Fire is based on a theory that doesn’t match the same conditions of the Washingtonia Fire and that theory hasn’t been proven.

The images below are screen shots from the video above, showing parts of testimony from Friday. The two people are described as investigators, but are not named. It is probable they are the two investigators named in the article, with the first being CAL FIRE Fire Behavior Analyst Tim Chavez, and the second, retired CAL FIRE investigator Doug Allen. (UPDATE at 8:10 p.m. MDT, March 22, 2015: someone who knows him confirmed that the person in the first photo is Mr. Chavez — the gentleman with the CAL FIRE shoulder patch.)

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

CAL FIRE Director addresses Legislature about scandals at Ione Academy

Bill GabbertMarch 18, 2015August 25, 2019UncategorizedCAL FIRE, California, Ione, Ken Pimlott, scandal, women

Ken Pimlott, Director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, recently felt the need to deal publicly with the scandal at the agency’s Ione firefighting academy. One of the instructors was charged with the murder of the instructor’s mistress, and 16 either resigned, were fired, or were disciplined. All of the disciplined employees are being replaced at the academy.

Below is the text of a briefing he gave to the first Legislative budget hearing of the year.

****

“I want to address the recent problems that we have had at our Academy in Ione. As we have briefed your staff, as a result of the allegations made during a murder inquiry involving one of our former employees, I requested an investigation by [California Highway Patrol] CHP into activities at the Academy. I requested their assistance not only because of the serious nature of the allegation, but because I did not know whether the outcome would be administrative or criminal, and so the review would be independent and impartial.

The Investigation:

A total of 123 Administrative Interrogations and 40 Investigative Interviews were held throughout the State.
The bulk of the interviews were a sampling of students who attended the Academy over the last two years.
The investigation also included the forensic analysis of State owned cellular phones, computers, and email accounts.
The investigation took from May until December 2014.
I have addressed these issues in the following ways:
- 16 employees were identified for adverse action.
  - One resigned
  - One retired
  - 2 were fired
  - The remainder all received a demotion and some also received suspensions or additional reductions in pay.
The State’s law enforcement agency did not find sufficient evidence during this investigation to support any criminal misconduct charges. All the necessary elements of a crime needed for prosecution were not present.
As the Director of this Department, you, and the public, expect me to thoroughly investigate allegations of this nature. You also expect me to take action, and to put in place the necessary measures to try to prevent this from happening again.
As I take this action, it is my responsibility to ensure that the process as set forth by the State is followed. This is important not only to ensure fair due process to the employees involved, but also (even more critically) to protect the confidentiality of innocent witnesses who have come forward during this process. Unfortunately, with the recent media releases which included the names of witnesses, there is a fear by these witnesses of retaliation, not only by those involved, but by members of their own community.
The disciplinary process for the employees is ongoing, and we are working to ensure the integrity of the outcomes is maintained.

However, employee discipline is just the beginning of the steps being taken.

There is new management in place at the Academy in Ione. The individuals who have been chosen to fill these positions reflect my values and the values that you and our other stakeholders expect from a public safety agency.
None of the disciplined employees remain at the Academy, and they are currently being replaced.
The policies and procedures at the Academy are being updated and overhauled.
The Academy Student Handbook, including the expected code of conduct, has been updated, and every student is required to review and acknowledge it.
I have held a statewide managers meeting, as well as attended regional leadership meetings to address my expectations of our staff.

I and my staff are grateful to you for your time and willingness to meet with us as these events have unfolded. As we move forward, I am happy to provide additional briefings on the steps we have taken to address the issues at our Academy.

CAL FIRE is an organization of over 7,000 men and women who are committed to public safety and the natural resources of this State. We ask these men and women to protect the people and resources of the State, often at great personal cost to them and their families. The actions of the small number of individuals at the Academy should not be allowed to detract from the overwhelming number of dedicated public servants in this Department. As you expect from me, I took action to quickly and thoroughly address the conduct of these individuals to allow CAL FIRE to move forward into the challenges that 2015 will present.”

Fire jumps Missouri River, from Kansas into Missouri

Bill GabbertMarch 16, 2015March 17, 2015UncategorizedCalifornia, Kansas, Missouri3 Comments

A fire that burned on both sides of the Missouri river forced residents to evacuate from an area in St. Joseph, Missouri on Sunday. Fire personnel believe the fire started in Elwood, Kansas and jumped the river, spreading over hundreds of acres and for about five miles along the river near St. Joseph. The fire is much less active today, but the area is under a Red Flag Warning.

wildfire Elwood St. Joseph — The yellow, brown, and red dots represent the approximate location of heat detected by a satellite. The locations of the dots are accurate to within about a mile.

We checked Google Earth and found that the river in that area is about 0.16 miles (820 feet) wide. Depending on the vegetation, weather, and topography, it is not unusual for burning embers to start fires quite a distance from the main fire. There is a trial going on now in San Diego County that revolves around a fire that may have been ignited by an ember that traveled 0.44 miles and started a new fire that destroyed 36 homes in San Marcos, California. And last September on the King Fire near Pollock pines in California an ember started a spot fire approximately 2 miles ahead of the main fire front. There have been reports of spot fires starting even farther away.

UPDATE, March 17, 2015: It took me a while to find this. It is in a report about bushfires in Australia, “Report on the Physical Nature of the Victorian Fires occurring on 7th February 2009“. It not about burning embers, but lightning caused by the fire.

In 2003, lightning induced by a pyrocumulus cloud started fires in the Snow River National Park, 25 km [15 miles] ahead of the fire front. These fires did develop into a significant area. Other examples exist of this phenomenon.

Wildfire briefing, March 11, 2015

Bill GabbertMarch 11, 2015March 12, 2015UncategorizedCalifornia, eucalyptus, Florida, volcano5 Comments

Lava from Hawaii volcano continues to spread

Lava from the Kīlauea volcano above Pahoa in Hawaii continues to spread, occasionally igniting the vegetation. The latest breakout is about 0.7 miles upslope of Highway 130, officials from the Hawaii County Civil Defense said after a helicopter flight Tuesday morning. Over the last four days the lava has advanced about 240 yards.

Three additional deceased hotshots to qualify for benefits

Decisions by the City of Prescott, the courts, and the Prescott Public Safety Retirement Board have resulted in the families of three additional members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots being approved to receive public safety survivor benefits. In 2013, 19 members of the crew were killed on the Yarnell Hill Fire south of Prescott, Arizona. Initially only six of the men were classified as full-time, permanent employees and deemed eligible for full benefits. More information is at AZcentral.

Group opposes FEMA’s plan to reduce hazardous fuel near Oakland, California

The Hills Conservation Network has sued several organizations in an attempt to halt a project that would reduce the hazardous fuels over 2,059 acres in the East Bay area. Below is an excerpt from Courthouse News Service:

“(C)lear-cutting and chipping of eucalyptus will not achieve the most effective reduction of fire risks in the project areas and instead increases fire risks by disposing of wood chips in layers up to two-feet deep over extensive areas of the project sites,” the complaint states.

But FEMA’s environmental impact statement, which justifies depositing up to 24 inches of mulch from eucalyptus trees, “fails to acknowledge research that highlights the high potential for spontaneous combustion in deeper accumulations of mulch, the difficulty of fire suppression in such fuels, the severe long-term damage to soils by the intense heating in mulch and wood chip fires, and the documented spotting danger posed by mulch and other forms of masticated fuels,” the group says.

“The net effect is essentially trading one fire hazard for another.”

Eucalyptus trees actually help reduce fire hazard by breaking up strong winds and reducing hazard from flying embers, and the complete removal of the eucalyptus forest would constitute a “catastrophic site disturbance” that would open up the ecosystem to invasive species, according to the lawsuit.

Last year we wrote this about eucalyptus trees:

Wildland firefighters in Australia and in some areas of California are very familiar with eucalyptus trees. They are native and very common in Australia and are planted as ornamentals in the United States. The leaves produce a volatile highly combustible oil, and the ground beneath the trees is covered with large amounts of litter which is high in phenolics, preventing its breakdown by fungi. Wildfires burn rapidly under them and through the tree crowns. It has been estimated that other than the 3,000+ homes that burned in the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire in California, about 70 percent of the energy released was through the combustion of eucalyptus.

Florida wildland firefighters concerned about their pay

Below is an excerpt from NBC 2:

Firefighters with the Florida Forest Service are fired up over small wages. They’re making a plea to state leaders to correct what they describe as being “grossly underpaid.”

[…]

Experience – now one the areas of concern being pointed out by a local union representing some of the firefighters with the Florida Forest Service.

“We do see a fairly high rate of turnover because of that,” said Chris Schmiege, Lee County Forest Area Supervisor.

“That”- being low salaries- in a job wage survey conducted by the union- it states Wildland firefighters receive a starting wage of a little more than twenty-four thousand a year for full-time work.

An amount comparable to a cafeteria worker or plumbers assistant which is considerably less than the average for firefighters at the county and local level, amounts ranging from thirty-nine to sixty thousand a year.

Forest Service officials are now calling on help from state leaders.

“We can definitely use the help, but at the same time we’re doing what we’re doing,” said Schmiege.

Which according to Schmiege also includes going out West to work for other federal fire agencies to stay afloat financially. Right now officials say it’s really almost a labor of love.

Prosecution of girl accused of starting Cocos Fire hinges on an ember that may have traveled 0.44 miles

Bill GabbertMarch 10, 2015March 10, 2015Uncategorizedarson, California, Cocos Fire1 Comment

The trial began today for a girl who was 13 when she was accused of starting a fire last year in San Diego County. In May, 2014 the Cocos Fire burned 1,995 acres and destroyed 36 homes in San Marcos, California, north of San Diego.

The prosecution hinges on the theory that when the girl ignited a “branch” in her back yard, an ember from that fire traveled 0.44 miles to start the Cocos Fire west of Escondido and south of San Marcos. According to NBC 7 in San Diego the defense will have an investigator from CAL FIRE testify that the ember could not have traveled that far to start the fire.

The Cocos Fire, first called the Washingtonia Fire, was one of at least 10 fires that burned in San Diego County during the same time period in mid-May, 2014.

map Cocos Fire — Map showing the Cocos Fire. The dark red squares represent heat detected by a satellite at 2:27 p.m. PDT, May 15, 2014. The location of the icons can be as much as a mile in error.

Our May, 2014 coverage of the Cocos Fire.

The Cedar Fire, Sunday on Dateline

Bill GabbertMarch 7, 2015February 10, 2021UncategorizedCalifornia, Cedar Fire1 Comment

Sunday night, March 8, NBC’s “Dateline” will feature the Cedar Fire, the largest wildfire in the recorded history of California. In the one-hour episode of a three-part disaster series called “Escape,” narrator Josh Elliott visits the scene and interviews 14 survivors whose lives have been changed forever.

In 2003 the fire burned over 273,000 acres in San Diego County. During the first night on October 25, the fast moving fire driven by a strong northeast wind killed 14 people east of San Diego in Wildcat Canyon and Eucalyptus Hills who had little or no warning. Eight of those killed died while they were evacuating. The fire destroyed 2,232 homes in San Diego, Alpine, Harbison Canyon, Crest, Cuyamaca, Julian, and Santa Ysabel.

While trying to defend a house near Santa Ysabel, fire Captain Steven Rucker, 38, from the Novato Fire Department was overrun by the fire and killed on October 29, becoming the 15th victim.

Map of Cedar and Laguna Fires, east of San Diego, California. USFS map by Corey Ferguson. (click to enlarge)

Below is a very interesting animation of the spread of the Cedar Fire, which was initially pushed by very strong Santa Ana winds blowing from the northeast and east.

(The animation is no longer available)

Largest California fires — The 20 largest fires in the recorded history of California. (click to enlarge)

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