News and opinion about wildland fire
A Red Flag Warning is in effect for areas of Western Nevada and Northwest California from 11 a.m. Wednesday until 1 a.m. Friday. The forecast calls for southwest winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts at 40 to 45 with relative humidity levels at 8 to 10 percent. A Fire Weather Watch is in effect for Southern Nevada for the same time frame and similar weather conditions.
(Red Flag Warnings can be modified throughout the day as NWS offices around the country update and revise their weather forecasts.)
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Firefighters staging in Sacramento to assist with wildfires in Canada 
On Friday U.S. Forest Service firefighters from several National Forests in California assembled at the Sacramento McClellan Airport as they were mobilized to assist with wildfires in Western Canada.
There is a report that two 20-person crews from South Africa are also en route.
They hope Captain Cal will help them connect with children
Fire safety mascots have been around at least since since the 1950s, such as Smokey Bear for wildfires and Sparky the Fire Dog for structure fires. Forestín, the official mascot of the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) of Chile, was created in 1976.
Now the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has adopted its own mascot. Captain Cal, based on a mountain lion, was introduced to the public earlier this week at the state capitol in Sacramento.
CAL FIRE hopes that the mountain lion character will help them connect with young people about fire safety, wildfires, and other topics.
“We want to make sure we get a character out there that identifies all safety hazards,” CAL FIRE information officer Richard Cordova said, “not only just wildland, but pool safety, earthquake safety, whatever message we want to push we will use Captain Cal to do that.”
Disney animators helped design Captain Cal, the mountain lion that walks erect on two legs. Of course Smokey does also.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
The park ordered visitors to evacuate, then the fire department asked them to remain in the park
A brush fire near Six Flags Magic Mountain Sunday caused concern among the park’s guests as smoke blew into the facility. The park managers ordered an evacuation just after noon but not all of the guests got the message. But 50 minutes later firefighters closed the roads and asked everyone to remain in the park.
The size of the blaze, named Sky Fire, was variously reported by the media to be 40 and 100 acres.
The park planned to reopen Monday morning.
A roller coaster can be scary to some people at any time, but riding it while a brush fire appears to be threatening the amusement park takes it to another level.
— Ryan Reede (@ryreede) June 9, 2019
The video below was captured by Robert Schwemmer, who also shot the photo at the top of this article. Thanks Robert!
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized5 Comments on Sand Fire in Northern California causes evacutions The fire is in Yolo and Colusa Counties near Rumsey
(UPDATED at 3:54 p.m. PDT June 9, 2019)
At 3:50 p.m. PDT Air Attack estimated that the Sand Fire had burned approximately 2,220 acres. He said the spread had been stopped except for an area encompassing 500 acres. Some of the smaller air tankers, the S-2s, were released so they could be ready for initial attack on new fires, and a few of the larger ones are being told after dropping retardant to return to their reload base to “load and hold”.
The Lake Berryessa camera that had been pointed at the fire for the previous 24 hours and captured the photos below, apparently got bored with the decreased activity on the Sand Fire. When we checked at 4 p.m. it was pointed in a different direction where no smoke or fire was visible. Back to its regular job of detecting new fires, apparently.
(Originally published at 12:15 p.m. PDT June 9, 2019)
The Sand Fire reported at 2:50 p.m. on June 8 had burned approximately 1,800 acres as of Sunday morning. It started near the Colusa/Yolo county line and spread southwest along both sides of County Road 41 (Sand Creek Road) crossing Highway 16 northwest of Rumsey.
Most of the fire is in Yolo County 13 miles west of Interstate 5 and 19 miles east of the town of Clearlake. It is 4 miles east of Lake County, which has seen numerous very large wildfires over the last several years.
Evacuations have been ordered for all residents on County Road 41. The evacuation Center is the Esparto Boy Scout Cabin at 16980 Yolo Avenue. (evacuation map)
At about 9 a.m. Sunday Air Attack began requesting air support and by 9:54 a.m. bumped the order up to a total of three large air tankers and two S-2 fixed wing air tankers. However, the availability of all of those aircraft proved to be challenging. At least three Type 1 helicopters are also being used on the fire.
The photos below were taken Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized3 Comments on Investigators determine Ranch Fire caused by spark from hammer 
Investigators for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, CAL FIRE, determined that the Ranch Fire that started east of Ukiah, California July 27, 2018 began when a man used a hammer to drive a 24-inch metal stake into the ground.
An hour after the Ranch Fire began during Red Flag Warning conditions, the River Fire started about 13 miles to the south, west of Clear Lake. The two fires were later managed as the Mendocino Complex, named after the county in which they started. The Ranch Fire consumed 410,203 acres and damaged or destroyed 280 structures.
The investigators talked with a property owner who explained that he was installing a shade cover over a water tank when he agitated an underground yellow jacket’s nest. Being allergic to bees, he retreated until after they stopped swarming, then using a claw hammer he drove the metal stake 10 to 12 inches into the ground to plug the hole. He smelled smoke and saw a fire that was about two feet by two feet. His efforts to put it out with a shovel and two different water lines were not successful.
While he was riding his four-wheeler to try to get out ahead of the fire, the vehicle rolled downhill, lodging itself between the water tank and a cut bank.
The investigator said that at the time of the interview the man appeared to be suffering from smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion but he refused an ambulance and medical treatment.
The recently released investigator’s report was written March 28, 2019.
