inmate crew Archives - Page 2 of 3

California firefighter dies after suffering chain saw injury

Bill GabbertJuly 13, 2017April 25, 2018UncategorizedCalifornia, inmate crew, inmates, lodd5 Comments

A California firefighter died July 11 in a hospital from injuries he suffered July 5 while fighting a wildfire near Lakeside in Southern California.

Frank Anaya, an inmate firefighter with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation based at the La Cima Conservation Camp, was throwing cut brush during line construction operations when he lost his balance and fell into a running chainsaw. He suffered a severe cut to his upper right leg behind his chaps.

The 22-year old firefighter underwent multiple surgeries, but succumbed to his injuries July 11, 2017, according to the CDCR.

Our sincere condolences go out to Mr. Anaya’s friends, family, and coworkers.

Other California inmate firefighter fatalities that we are aware of in the last six years:

January 4, 2012. Crisanto Leo Lionell. Heart attack near the conclusion of a 20-minute, .66 mile exercise hike.
August 19, 2012. Jimmy Randolph. Anoxic encephalopathy combined with complications of heat stroke while assigned to the Buck Fire.
February 25, 2016. Shawna Lynn Jones. Struck by rolling boulder while working on the Mulholland Fire .
May 24, 2017. Matthew Beck. Struck by falling tree while doing project work with his crew.

Edited July 14, 2017 to reflect new information in the Green Sheet. The victim was not running the chainsaw, but was swamping for it (throwing the cut brush).

More details released about the May 24 inmate fatality in California

Bill GabbertJune 6, 2017July 13, 2017UncategorizedCalifornia, inmate crew, inmates, lodd3 Comments

Above: The top of the tree that struck Matthew Beck on May 24, 2017. CAL FIRE photo.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has released a few more details about the accident that killed a California inmate firefighter in Humboldt County on May 24. As disclosed earlier, Matthew Beck died after being struck by a falling tree.

Now we know that the tree had been previously identified as being hazardous but it was thought to be outside the work area.

Alder Crew #4 was working on Ishi Pishi Road towards Somes Bar picking up piles of limbs and brush from the previous two days of work to feed into a chipper. The machine was running at full throttle when the crew supervisor saw the tree falling and yelled a warning, which was not heard by the entire crew due to the noise from the chipper.

The supervisor attempted to call the Fortuna Emergency Communications Center on his hand held radio but could not make contact. He got in the crew carrier truck and drove about 400 yards to a location from which he could talk to the ECC with the vehicle’s mobile radio.

Mr. Beck received a fatal blow from the tree causing blunt force trauma to the head, neck, and torso.

The tree was a 105-year-old, 146-foot Douglas-fir, with a 21.5-inch diameter (DBH). It weighed approximately 3,000 pounds and had a downhill lean of about 46 degrees. Mr. Beck was hit by a portion of the tree that was about 18 feet from the tree top.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Eric.
Typos or errors, report them HERE.

California inmate firefighter killed by falling tree

Bill GabbertMay 26, 2017May 27, 2017UncategorizedCalifornia, inmate crew, inmates, lodd

Matthew Beck firefighter — Matthew Beck. Photo credit: CDCR.

(Revised at 1:13 p.m. MDT May 27, 2017)

The California inmate firefighter in Humboldt County was killed May 24 while working on a county roads project in the northwestern part of the state in Del Norte County.

According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Matthew Beck, 26, was working with a crew in the Hoopa area. He suffered major head, neck and back injuries when a 120-foot tall tree uprooted and fell on him. He died before life-flight crews were able to reach him.

“We are saddened by the death of Matthew Beck, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends,” said CDCR Secretary Scott Kernan. “The inmates who year after year help protect our communities from the devastation of fires perform a valuable public service, and it is a tragic event when we lose one of them.”

Mr. Beck, who was assigned to the Alder Conservation Camp in Del Norte County, was serving a six-year sentence for burglary and was due to be parolled in October. He is the fourth inmate firefighter to die on a fire since the conservation program was created in the 1940s.

In February of 2016 another California inmate firefighter, Shawna Lynn Jones, 22, died after being struck by a boulder that rolled down a hill on the Mulholland Fire near Malibu.

Our sincere condolences go out to the friends, family, and coworkers of both firefighters.

This article has been edited to rectify incorrect information initially provided by the CDRC. The firefighter was not working on a fire at the time of the accident.

California inmate firefighter dies of injuries suffered on wildfire near Malibu

Bill GabbertFebruary 26, 2016July 13, 2017UncategorizedCalifornia, fatality, inmate crew, inmates, lodd4 Comments

Shawna Lynn Jones suffered major head injuries after being struck by a rolling boulder.

Injured inmate hoist helicopter — The inmate firefighter was airlifted after being injured near Malibu on Feb. 25, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)

The California inmate firefighter that was injured February 25 on the Mulholland Fire near Malibu has died, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Friday.

In the early hours of Thursday morning while fighting a wildfire as part of a hand crew, Shawna Lynn Jones, 22, was struck by a boulder that rolled down a hill. She was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center where she was treated for major head injuries. Ms. Jones was removed from life support after her organs were donated, in keeping with her family’s wishes.

Ms. Jones was a Los Angeles County jail inmate who had joined CDCR’s firefighting program in August 2015 and was assigned to the Malibu Camp, which is operated jointly with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Malibu is one of three camps that house a total of 195 female firefighters.

According to the CDCR Ms. Jones is the third inmate firefighter to die on a wildfire since the camp program began in 1943. Female inmates were incorporated into the firefighting program in 1983.

The Mulholland Fire burned about 10 acres and was contained Thursday night.

Our sincere condolences go out to the friends and family of Ms. Jones.

Female inmate injured while fighting fire near Malibu

Bill GabbertFebruary 25, 2016August 25, 2019UncategorizedCalifornia, injury, inmate crew, Los Angeles County FD, women3 Comments

The inmate’s condition was upgraded from critical to serious.

A female inmate was seriously injured Thursday morning while fighting a wildfire near Malibu in southern California. Reportedly she was struck by a rolling rock and was hoisted into a helicopter and transported to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where her condition was later upgraded from critical to serious.

The 22-year-old inmate was a member of Fire Camp 13, an all-female facility.

The fire was reported around 3 a.m. in steep terrain about two miles north of the Pacific Coast Highway.

A total of 63 inmates divided into five work crews were battling the fire, according to Bill Sessa, a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).

From the LA Times:

Of the roughly 4,000 inmates housed in 44 conservation camps across the state, only a couple hundred are women.

The female inmate who was injured Thursday had come from the LA County jail system, and had been with the Malibu conservation camp since August, Sessa said.

The CDCR likes to say that only non-violent prisoners are allowed to work on inmate fire crews, but as was discovered last year, the agency’s definition of “violent” is different from the public’s perception.

UPDATE: *Brush Fire* #Malibu is at 10 acres with 75% containment.

— LACounty Fire PIO (@LACoFDPIO) February 25, 2016

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

Wildfire briefing, December 22, 2014

Bill GabbertDecember 22, 2014December 22, 2014UncategorizedCalifornia, inmate crew

Recently passed California ballot initiative could deplete firefighting inmate crews

A California ballot initiative recently passed could decrease the number of personnel available to staff firefighting inmate crews. The Colbert Report featured this issue on December 2 in their usual satirical style, but Reuters has a more serious look at the potential effects.

Below is an excerpt from their article:

…That measure will likely diminish the very segment of the inmate population that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, draws upon to fill its wildland firefighting crews.

Housed in 39 minimum-security “conservation camps” run by the state corrections department, the firefighting inmates also do brush clearance, flood control and park maintenance projects.

“It might do some damage to our pipeline,” said corrections Sergeant John Lanthripp, assistant commander of the largest of the camps, Oak Glen, in Southern California’s San Bernardino Mountains.

The change comes as California firefighting resources are increasingly stretched by more large wildfires, and a longer fire season, attributed to the state’s prolonged drought…

Fire in Cambodia destroys homes

A fire in Phnom Penh, Cambodia burned 26 homes and injured two people Saturday evening.

Forest Service asks visitors to not decorate trees

I didn’t know this was a thing.

Some national forests in Arizona and New Mexico are concerned about a tradition of decorating trees on forest land during the holidays. Over the past several years, the practice along well-traveled roads has become increasingly popular at the expense of the National Forest’s wild land and natural character.

A spokesperson for the Coconino National Forest said that not only are the decorating items distracting and altering the natural visual character and scenic quality, they are also potentially threatening to wildlife. Various wildlife species can ingest them or in some cases get entangled in them.

Decorating trees is a wonderful tradition, the Forest Service said, but it is much more appropriate on private and commercial property than on the National Forest. This season, the Forest Service will be proactively taking steps to prevent tree decorating on the National Forest. Decorations will be promptly removed, and individuals responsible can be issued violation notices under the Code of Federal Regulations CFR 261.11b for “possessing or leaving litter on the National Forest” with a fine of $150 or more. Please report such activities to the Red Rock Ranger District at (928) 282-4119.

Spectacular photos

We can’t publish them here, but check out these excellent photos taken at wildland fires. The first two won awards: