An effort to help protect these iconic trees from being destroyed in wildfires
Case Mountain. BLM photo by Robert Hedlund Jan. 6, 2022.
The Bureau of Land Management plans to burn up to 1,000 piles of downed hazard trees, branches, and understory brush at Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Management Area (ERMA) southeast of Three Rivers in Tulare County, California. Pile burn operations will start as early as Monday, January 10, and continue periodically until Spring, depending on weather, air quality conditions, onsite observations, and resource availability. Smoke may be visible in Three Rivers.
The ERMA contains the only giant sequoia groves managed by the BLM. They are on Case Mountain approximately 7 miles southeast of the town of Three Rivers, California. The complex is comprised of six distinct sequoia grove units, which total about 444 acres.
The prescribed fire is part of a multi-year fuels reduction effort in the groves. The objective is to strategically thin trees; remove ladder fuels which can feed flames to the treetops; and remove needles, branches, and brush on the forest floor. The prescribed fire will enhance protection of the wildland-urban interface for the town of Three Rivers, improve landscape health, and remove hazardous fuels near giant sequoia trees. Burning will take place only when weather and fuel moisture allow safe and successful operations.
The project is funded by a CAL FIRE grant and is a joint effort of the BLM, CAL FIRE, Tulare County Resource Conservation District, tribes, private landowners, and technical experts. It is closely coordinated with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
The Case Mountain Forest Health Project is associated with California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities.
Protecting these iconic trees
In 2020, 10 to 14 percent of all giant sequoias across the tree’s natural range in the Sierra Nevada that were at least four feet diameter were killed in the Castle Fire when a substantial proportion of all sequoia groves touched by the fire burned with unprecedented severity.
Three fires in two years that killed giant sequoia trees. The darker green areas represent groves of giant sequoias.
In 2021 two additional large fires destroyed more of these iconic beasts of trees — the KNP Complex just north of the Castle Fire, and the Windy Fire which spread into the south side of the Castle Fire. These three fires were primarily in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and the Sequoia National Forest.
Film about the fatal 1977 Honda Canyon Fire on Vandenberg Air Force Base in which four were killed
A documentary about the 1977 Honda Canyon Fire is now available for streaming. Firestorm ’77 is based on Beyond Tranquillon Ridge, the book by Joseph N. Valencia about the brush fire that burned across Vandenberg Air Force Base on the California coast northeast of Santa Barbara. It started on December 20 during Santa Ana winds gusting to 100 mph and was fought by over a thousand personnel ranging from full time firefighters to military personnel who had zero experience or training in battling a wildfire.
There were multiple entrapments and 65 injuries. Four were killed.
The winds made the effort from the beginning futile, but military commanders, fearful of the base’s cold war secrets being compromised, attempted to control the strategy. In one case, when a General heard that a firing operation was planned he said he didn’t want any more fire on his base and it was not going to happen. Eventually, he relented.
Almost ten thousand acres burned resulting in significant damage to the military installation’s infrastructure. On the second day the winds were replaced by rain. The Air Force quickly declared it a victory, a battle won by its brave Airmen.
Remarkably, about 15 people who were on the fire 44 years ago were interviewed and appear in the film. Unsurprisingly they have a different take from the interpretation by the Air Force.
The film portrays the events in a way that has nothing in common with the 1998 movie with a similar name, Firestorm featuring NFL player Howie Long. The events are described in a serious, matter of fact manner through interviews with those who experienced it. It also addresses the effects it had on those firefighters, some of whom to this day are still dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One person still feels guilt, he says, and blames himself for a horrific injury that occurred to someone else.
The documentary could be a useful tool to begin a serious discussion about how firefighting practices have changed in the last 44 years. However, I was a firefighter in 1977 and I never saw a fire managed anything like this one, with decisions made by military officers with no fire experience, and attempting to suppress a fire during 100 mph winds with untrained personnel. One part of the film that could use improvement is the maps, which were a little crude and difficult for me to follow. Of course that comes from a guy who has made hundreds of fire maps, so I’m not your typical map consumer.
In addition to this documentary, a staff ride that has been developed to help transfer the lessons learned is described in the film by a member of the Vandenberg Hotshots, a crew that was created after the fire.
At the time of the fire, Mr. Valencia, the author of the book and producer of the film, was a 19-year old reserve firefighter and hotshot for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. He was part of the Santa Barbara County “Strike Team” that arrived early where he was involved in two burnovers and two rescues. After the fire he worked for 37 years in Aerospace and Defense programs at Vandenberg Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral, Florida.
I asked Mr. Valencia why he decided to create the documentary.
“The inspiration for the book and the film came from the night of the Honda Canyon Fire back on December 20th, 1977,” he wrote by email. “That night, I felt it very necessary to pray to God to say goodbye to my loved ones, and I asked for God…to save my life. Like many who face situations like this in war or other life or death moments, I prayed that I would do anything that God asked of me, if he could just “spare my life.” I honestly believe that this book and film — is what God asked of me, and it originated from that prayer! I am fulfilling a promise.
“Fast forward many years…
“In 2016 I met Dennis Ford, who was a US Air Force Augmentee on the fire, and who read my book Beyond Tranquillon Ridge. “Dennis was full of anger about the fire, about how Officers sent them out there with no training or proper tools to fight a wind-driven wildfire. He remembered standing at the bottom of a canyon at o-dark-thirty, intuitively knowing that if the fire changed direction and it came towards him, he would not be able to outrun it, and he would meet his maker.
“Dennis and I struck up a conversation, and he indicated he was taking a Film class at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. Dennis approached his film studies professor, Mr. Chris Hite, and told him about the fire, and to see if he would be interested in creating a film about the fire. Chris Hite was immediately taken by the story and agreed to give his time and effort to this documentary.
“The three of us Chris Hite (filmmaker), Dennis Ford (Director) and me Joe Valencia (Producer/Author) soon began a four-year journey in to creating our film FireStorm ’77. We all believed in this film, and in telling the story of what happened. All of us feel a little bit of serendipity as to what we have done, where we are, and why it all happened!
“By the way, I think this film has had positive healing effects on myself, Dennis Ford, and the other firefighters we interviewed in the film. The film shows the psychological effects on us all, that the book doesn’t really show.”
Firestorm ’77 has been selected for 33 film festivals. It is streaming on iTunes, GooglePlus, YouTube, and MagellanTV. The cost on YouTube is $4 to rent or $5 to buy.
Two strike teams of CAL FIRE engines, including 9271C, preparing for their shift on the Caldor Fire Sept. 3, 2021. CAL FIRE Amador-El Dorado Unit photo.
A group of Republicans and Democrats in California’s Senate are sponsoring legislation that would add 1,124 firefighters to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Currently the agency has about 7,200 uniformed personnel.
“The men and women who are the heart of CAL FIRE would never say this out loud, but they’re at the breaking point,” state Senator Mike McGuire said at a news conference in Sacramento Friday. “What’s been happening over this past decade in the state of California with the rise of megafires, and simply not enough staffing, is not sustainable.”
The legislation would add 356 full-time and 768 seasonal personnel and require that every engine be staffed by at least 3 firefighters. CAL FIRE engines currently only average around 2.7 per engine. One of the greatest needs is hand crews. In 2020 there were 1,426 inmate firefighters in state camps, down from 4,200 a decade ago.
The proposed legislation has seen little opposition.
From the California Globe:
Wildfire fighters praised the bill, saying that long stretches of overtime with no breaks had been wearing thin on them, with the bill allowing some breathing space.
“People think we’re lucky because we largely don’t have to work for months at a time,” a Cal Fire firefighter who wished to remain anonymous told the Globe on Friday. “But, like football players or other professionals whose work comes around a certain time of the year, we are still working. We’re training, learning new equipment, working out to maintain strength levels needed, teaching rookies, going over practice scenarios, and, if the firefighters are more local, even being “loaned out” to other wildfire hotbeds like Australia.”
In a very close call, they all escaped, but two were treated in a hospital burn unit
Route Fire, Sept. 11, 2021
On September 11, 2021 dozens of firefighters working on the Route Fire north of Los Angeles suddenly found themselves with fire on all sides of them. Even though it occurred three months ago the story has not been publicly told, until today.
Helicopter-based flight crews, hand crews, and several Los Angeles County and US Forest Service engine crews were working on the fire seven miles north of Castaic between Interstate 5 and old highway 99, also known as Golden State Highway. The crews and engines positioned ahead of the fire had been on scene for about 30 minutes looking for the right time and place to engage the fire, which had previously moved west across the 99. Eventually it turned hard north, then east back to the highway behind the crews, with spot fires occurring out ahead. As it neared the highway, flames seen in the videos appeared to be 20 to 40 feet high when they bent over the road as the heavy brush was rapidly consumed.
Route Fire, Sept. 11, 2021. Looking south.
The fire spread north was undetected by the firefighters on the highway due to topography, and the lookouts became inadequate as the fire grew. Air resources observed the pinching action of the fire, along with fire crews on Interstate 5. As they tried to communicate it was time to leave, a bottleneck occurred. South and north of the crews the highway was four lanes wide, but at that point it was only two lanes wide.
Route Fire map. USFS.
The two flight crews of approximately 11 persons each had been transported by helicopters, but were obviously on foot after being dropped off. The crew that was the furthest out from the worst of the entrapment was able to load their personnel into LA County engines and escape.
Closer to the roaring flames the other flight crew, on foot, was in imminent danger. Two US Forest Service engines, each staffed with five firefighters, were able to find a way to cram the 11-person flight crew plus two others into the two FS engines, coordinated by Engine Boss Tom Guzman. Seven members of the flight crew climbed into one engine, and the other took four plus an additional two firefighters who were on foot nearby. They had trouble getting the doors to close. There were 23 bodies in the two engines, with seating designed for five each. The last person in one of the engines came in through the driver’s door and was lying across several people on the front seat as the driver found a way to still operate the truck as he navigated through the smoke, avoiding parked or slow-moving fire apparatus on the two-lane highway as his air horn blasted.
Route Fire, Sept. 11, 2021
Many of the flight crewmembers were rookies and kept their tools as they climbed over bodies into the suddenly very cramped cabs. One of them was on his first fire.
A firefighter from the US Forest Service suffered second degree burns to his ears, neck, nose, cheeks, and arm. Another from LA County received a second degree burn to his neck. They were both treated by paramedics on scene, transported to a hospital emergency room, and later to a burn unit, and then released.
Route Fire, Sept. 11, 2021
“The more experienced firefighters were more shaken up than the new guys,” one firefighter told Wildfire Today. “Firefighters on the outside looking in were pretty shaken up, but as best as I can tell I think we are all doing good. I’ve learned that things like this are more common than people realize, but until recent times they haven’t been captured on video, so they were never made known.”
Route Fire, Sept. 11, 2021
Multiple firefighters captured it on videos. Wildfire Today obtained a three-minute version that the US Forest Service distributed internally, below, which tells part of the story of the near miss.
By the next morning the spread of the Route Fire had been stopped at 454 acres thanks to the work of firefighters on the ground and numerous aircraft.
For his actions on the Route Fire, Tom Guzman, who was serving as an Engine Boss, received a “USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region Emergency Response Award”. More details about the award are at the end of the video.
After the interviews that were conducted shortly after the incident the firefighters were told that a “Rapid Lesson Sharing” document would be produced. As of December 11, 2021 it has not appeared.
The still images seen here are from the videos shot by the firefighters.
The blaze burned more than 77,000 acres, destroyed 374 structures, and caused the evacuation of about 185,000 residents north of Santa Rosa, California
The Kincade Fire as seen from the St. Helena North camera at 9:06 a.m. PDT Oct. 27, 2019. Looking toward Healdsburg.
The California Public Utilities Commission has penalized Pacific Gas and Electric $125 million for violations related to the 2019 Kincade Fire that burned more than 77,000 acres and caused the evacuation of about 185,000 residents north of Santa Rosa, California.
The fire started October 23 northeast of Geyserville, California and destroyed 374 structures.
The settlement agreed to last week requires that PG&E shareholders pay a $40 million fine to the state. The company will also not raise rates to cover the $85 million cost for permanent removal of abandoned transmission facilities, bringing the total fines and penalties to $125 million.
The company was charged with five felonies and 28 misdemeanors, including “unlawfully causing a fire that resulted in great bodily injury, unlawfully causing a fire that resulted in the burning of inhabited structures, and unlawfully causing a fire that resulted in the burning of forest land, as well as various air pollution crimes,” according to the District Attorney’s office.
Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection sent a report to the District Attorney’s office in July of 2020 which concluded PG&E’s equipment was at fault.
On October 24, 2019 PG&E filed a required preliminary report with the California Public Utilities Commission that stated “at approximately (9:20 p.m.) on Oct. 23, PG&E became aware of a Transmission level outage on the Geysers No. 9 Lakeville 230kV line when the line relayed and did not reclose. At approximately (7:30 a.m.) on Oct. 24, a responding PG&E Troubleman patrolling the Geysers No. 9 Lakeville 230 kV line observed that CalFire had taped off the area around the base of transmission tower 001/006. On site CalFire personnel brought to the Troubleman’s attention what appeared to be a broken jumper on the same tower.”
File photo of a jumper cable on a high voltage electrical transmission tower.
PG&E told a judge on November 29, 2019 that it was investigating whether there was a systemic problem with a piece of hardware on their high voltage electrical transmission towers that can start wildfires, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Investigators with PG&E and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection were looking at the possible failure of jumper cables on towers near the points of origin of two huge recent fires, the 2017 Camp Fire at Paradise, California and the Kincade Fire.
Map showing in red the perimeter of the Kincade Fire at 12:49 a.m. PDT October 29, 2019. The white line was the approximate perimeter about 24 hours before.
Investigators determined that PG&E equipment started other fires in recent years. The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reported that investigators attributed more than 1,500 fires to PG&E power lines and hardware between June 2014 and December 2017. CAL FIRE attributed 12 large fires that started on October 8 and 9, 2017 to PG&E power equipment.
The blaze burned more than 221,000 acres south of Lake Tahoe, CA
Caldor Fire, looking northeast from Armstrong lookout, August 29, 2021. AlertWildfire.
A father and son are now under arrest, accused of reckless arson in connection with the Caldor Fire that burned more than 221,000 acres south of Lake Tahoe in California.
David Scott Smith, 66, and Travis Shane Smith, 32, are accused of violating section 452 of the California Penal Code, commonly referred to as “reckless arson,” which causes inhabited properties to burn and results in great bodily injury to multiple victims. This type of charge can be filed against someone who unintentionally starts a fire. Both David and Travis are being held on a $1 million bail, the district attorney’s office said. They are expected to appear in court December 10.
Most of the community of Grizzly Flats burned in the Caldor Fire and forced the entire city of South Lake Tahoe to evacuate. CAL FIRE reported that the blaze destroyed 782 homes, 18 businesses, and 203 minor structures; another 81 structures were damaged but remained mostly intact. A map shows the status of structures in the area.
The El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office worked with the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, the California Department of Justice, and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Crime Lab to investigate the cause of the fire.
