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Tag: California

Judge orders CAL FIRE to pay $30 million for conduct in Moonlight Fire case

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

A judge has ordered the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to pay more than $30 million in penalties, legal fees, and costs to Sierra Pacific and others for their actions related to a lawsuit over the 2007 Moonlight Fire. Retired Superior Court Judge Leslie C. Nichols in a 28-page order issued Tuesday accused CAL FIRE of “egregious and reprehensible conduct” in pursuing a lawsuit against the company.

The Moonlight fire burned about 65,000 acres in 2007, including 46,000 acres in the Plumas and Lassen National Forests in the northern part of the state. CAL FIRE and U.S. Forest Service investigators said the fire was started by a bulldozer operator for a company hired by Sierra Pacific, which denied any involvement in the fire.

In 2012 Sierra Pacific, in order to settle the suit presided over by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller and prevent further actions by CAL FIRE, agreed to pay nearly $50 million and donate 22,500 acres of land to the USFS. The company thought CAL FIRE was ultimately seeking $1 billion, and they were aware that Judge Mueller had ruled earlier that the company could be liable even if it had nothing to do with starting the fire.

Below is an excerpt from an article in the Sacrameto Bee, which said Sierra Pacific…

…was a victim of stonewalling by Cal Fire in that agency’s Plumas County suit, including the alleged withholding of thousands of pages of key internal documents relevant to the legal struggle.

In a 28-page order issued Tuesday, retired Superior Court Judge Leslie C. Nichols essentially agreed with all of Sierra Pacific’s points, adopting a separate, 57-page order proposed by Sierra Pacific and the other defendants almost word-for-word, and excoriating the behavior of Cal Fire and two lawyers from the office of Attorney General Kamala Harris, which represented the agency.

“The court finds that Cal Fire’s actions initiating, maintaining and prosecuting this action, to the present time, is corrupt and tainted,” the judge wrote. “Cal Fire failed to comply with discovery obligations, and its repeated failure was willful.”

The agency withheld documents for months, “destroyed evidence critical (to the case) … and engaged in a systematic campaign of misdirection with the purpose of recovering money from (Sierra Pacific).”

Sierra Pacific, according to the Sacramento Bee, claimed there is evidence that a USFS employee in a fire lookout tower may have been smoking marijuana during the early stages of the fire, which delayed the detection, and they reported that “defense lawyers had to work hard to pry that information out of the Forest Service”.

CAL FIRE was also involved in questionable behavior before the case went to trial. In their billing sent to Sierra Pacific in 2009, they demanded the company make two payments; one for $7.7 million to the state, and another for $400,000 to an account belonging to a nonprofit organization administered by CAL FIRE. The funds in that account had been used for off the books purchases of items such as 600 digital cameras and 26 evidence sheds. In Sierra Pacific’s investigation into CAL FIRE’s demand for payment, they discovered the very unusual account, named “Wildland Fire Investigation Training and Equipment Fund”, sometimes referred to as “WiFiter”.

That account, as we wrote in January of 2013, was not exactly secret, however it was not commonly known that it was an off-the-books account not subject to the standard state regulations for managing and spending money. We found a memo from former CAL FIRE Director Walters, apparently written in 2009, summarizing the year’s fire season in which he mentioned the account:

Office of Program Accountability (OPA) finalized three audits (Volcan Incident, Wildland Fire Investigation Training and Equipment Fund, and Indirect Cost PCA 99200)…

The current Director of CAL FIRE, Ken Pemlott froze the fund in August, 2012 after, according to the LA Times, “receiving a briefing from his staff, said Janet Upton, a Cal Fire spokeswoman”.

 

Thanks and a hat tip go out to Dick, Sunil, and Kirk.

Forest Service criticized for early management of the Rim Fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 20 Comments on Forest Service criticized for early management of the Rim Fire

The U.S. Forest Service is being criticized for their early suppression attempts of the Rim Fire, as well as their lack of transparency about how it was fought and the cause of the fire. Starting on the Stanislaus National Forest but eventually spreading into Yosemite National Park, it became the third largest fire in California’s history, burning 257,000 acres, 11 homes, and 3 commercial structures. As of October 25, 2013, at least $127 million had been spent on the suppression and rehabilitation efforts.

Rumors swarmed about what started the fire, blaming a variety of causes including marijuana growers, the law enforcement officers pursuing them, or even an object falling to the ground that was related to a military operation. The USFS was very tight-lipped about the investigation and finally said a hunter’s campfire was the cause, but provided little additional information.

According to an article in the Union Democrat, the initial attack as well as the firefighting response during the first 48 hours was less than overwhelming. Below is an excerpt from their article:

…Jim Dunn, [a CAL FIRE S-2T air tanker pilot] who retired in November after a 24-year firefighting career , said he was making drops on the fire near Natural Bridges on Aug. 17 when he responded that afternoon to what later became the Rim Fire.

He told The Union Democrat that both air tankers stationed at the Columbia Air Attack Base responded when the fire was first reported. The Forest Service already had planes in the air and initially dispatched the other Columbia air tanker pilot, but grounded him shortly after Dunn began making drops. He said the Forest Service put him on hold as well, after only a couple hours of dropping retardant.

The fire was only about 40 acres after the first day, but grew to about 250 by the morning of Aug. 18.

“The next morning we started early and nobody was on the ground,” Dunn said. “After about an hour or two, we got retardant around most the (fire) line while it was still in the canyon.”

“On the third day, they (the Forest Service) called us and we made two or three drops — but then they put us on hold,” he said. “The next thing I heard on the air was that it had crossed the Tuolumne (river) and was running toward Pine Mountain Lake.

 

Thanks and a hat tip go out to Johnny.

Wildfire briefing, January 23, 2014

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 1 Comment on Wildfire briefing, January 23, 2014

Island fire to be allowed to burn out

A wildfire on an island in Suisun Bay east of San Francisco Bay will be allowed to burn out, according to Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Capt. Robert Marshall. Wednesday afternoon U.S. Coast Guard and fire protection district equipment responded to the fire on Winter Island (map) , which is mostly uninhabited, having just one structure that was not threatened by the fire. They figured it could take anywhere from a few hours to a few days for the fire to burn out. The island is two miles long and about 0.3 mile wide.

Three men charged for Colby Fire

The three men that were arrested January 16 soon after the Colby Fire started above Glendora, California east of Los Angeles, have been charged in federal court. The men, who allowed an illegal campfire to escape, were identified as Jonathan Carl Jerrell, 24; Clifford Eugene Henry Jr., 22; and Steven Robert Aguirre, 21, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Aguirre and Henry were ordered to remain in custody without bail, while Jarrell was scheduled for a Friday detention hearing. All three are scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 11.

Two of the men seen hurriedly moving away from the fire were apprehended by a Glendora police officer. The third was found and taken into custody by an employee of the U.S. Forest Service. The fire destroyed five homes, damaged seven, and burned 1,952 acres.

Mike Wakoski’s incident management team is calling the fire, which has not spread since January 17, 98 percent contained.

After the men were arrested there were discussions between the Glendora PD and the U.S. Attorney’s office whether to charge them with state or local crimes or use federal statutes, since the fire burned both U.S. Forest Service land as well as private property within the city. But the decision was made to charge them in federal court.

Black Forest fire department hires PR firm

The fire-rescue district that managed the Black Forest Fire during the first hours has hired a public relations firm to deal with the fallout caused by the intense criticism directed at the district by El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa. The Sheriff has been carrying on a war in the media against the fire district, saying they should have turned the fire over more quickly to the Sheriff. Colorado is one of a few states that still have the elected county sheriff responsible for suppressing wildland fires in unincorporated areas. The fire killed two people, destroyed 486 homes, and damaged 37 others in June.

The sheriff’s office has been investigating the cause of the fire, in addition to a separate investigation by the fire district, which, according to the Chieftain, has paid an investigator $13,000.

Researchers test new firefighting gel

Researchers with Texas A&M recently tested a new gel that can be used for suppressing active structure or wildland fires, and may have the potential to be effective if used for pre-treating fuel in advance of a fire.

Called TetraKO, it is claimed by the company to be “biodegradable and non-toxic to water, fish, plants and mammals by independent research organizations”.

In a MyFoxAustin video report on the test, the reporter seemed to be surprised that gel applied the day before to the vegetation was not effective in stopping the spread of the fire. However it did keep some treated fence posts from igniting.

Water scooping air tankers dropping on the Colby Fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , ,

CL 415 on Colby Fire

Jeff Zimmerman was kind enough to send us these photos he took of CL-415 water-scooping air tankers dropping on the Colby Fire east of Los Angeles on January 16. The Canadian air tankers are leased every year during the fall by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Their 2013 contract was scheduled to end in December, but was extended due to the extremely dry conditions in southern California.

You can see more of Jeff’s photography at his site. Thanks Jeff.

CL 415 on Colby Fire CL 415 on Colby Fire CL 415 on Colby Fire. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.

More information about the Colby Fire.

Earlier we posted some extraordinary photos and videos of the CL-415s scooping water at Santa Fe Dam.

Additional photos and information about air tankers can be found at FireAviation.com

Colby Fire, near Glendora, California

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 14 Comments on Colby Fire, near Glendora, California
Smoke from the Colby Fire, as photographed by a NASA satellite
Smoke from the Colby Fire, as photographed by a NASA satellite

(Originally published at 8:20 a.m. PST, January 16, 2014)

(UPDATED at 12:42 p.m. January 20, 2014)

The incident management team reports that the Colby fire is 46 acres larger than it was yesterday, at 1,952 acres now, and they are calling it 84 percent contained.

The team reported today that resources assigned to the fire include 1,112 personnel, 45 hand crews, 100 engines, 3 helicopters, 5 dozers, 8 fixed wing aircraft, and 3 heli-tankers.

(UPDATED at 11:18, January 19, 2014)

Firefighters are gaining a stronger hold on the Colby Fire east of Los Angeles. The incident management team is now calling the 1,906-acre fire 78 percent contained.

Evacuations were lifted for the Community of Mountain Cove at 6:00 PM. January 18, 2014. No evacuation are currently in place. Highway 39 remains closed and is only open to residents.

The Colby Fire is being fought by 1,112 personnel, 26 hand crews, 100 engines, 3 helicopters, 5 dozers, 8 fixed wing aircraft, and 3 heli-tankers.

Six residences have been destroyed and five have been damaged.

Some excellent photos of the water-scooping air tankers dropping on the Colby Fire are HERE.

firefighters Colby Fire
Firefighters put in a hose lay on the Colby Fire. InciWeb Photo.
Cleveland NF engine crews Colby Fire
Cleveland National Forest engine crews after a shift on the Colby Fire. InciWeb photo.

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(UPDATE at 10 a.m. PST, January 18, 2014)

The Incident Management Team has revised the mapped size of the Colby Fire to 1,863 acres, and they are calling it 30 percent contained. Today’s high temperature is expected to reach 87 degrees with relative humidity in the single digits. They anticipate a “medium” potential for additional fire spread. The area continues to be under a Red Flag Warning until 6 p.m. for elevated wildfire danger. Today’s fire operations will be primarily focused on reinforcing containment lines along the fire’s northern perimeter and cooling hot spots.

Firefighting resources assigned include 1,112 personnel, 33 hand crews, 140 engines, 9 helicopters, 1 dozer, 4 and fixed-wing aircraft.

****

(UPDATE at 1:15 p.m. PST, January 17, 2014)

CL-415 scooping at Santa Fe dam

The photo above is a still image from an amazing video of the Super Scooper CL-415 air tankers scooping water at Santa Fe Dam yesterday. One of the videos is below, others are at Fire Aviation.

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(UPDATE at 12:25 p.m. PST, January 17, 2014)

Below we have a map showing the official perimeter of the Colby Fire. The perimeter data was produced by the Incident Management Team as was current as of 5:04 PST January 16. Reportedly, the fire has not spread much since then. Click on the map to see a larger version.
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