June 28, 2007
Angora Fire, Patrol, Mop-Up, Demob. C-Ya!
Latest Fire Perimeter Map
(Inciweb)
(Inciweb)
"Tomorrow, crews will continue to work into the fire perimeter to fall dead trees and cool hot spots. Construction and improvement of fire lines will also continue."
Fire Information Centers: LTBMU Forest Supervisor's Office / Incident Command Post
Start Date: June 24, 2007, 2:00 p.m.
Location: South of Lake Tahoe and west of Fallen Leaf Lake
Acreage: 3,100 Containment: 55% Expected Containment: July 3, 2007
Fuel type: Heavy timber Injuries: 3 Cause: Under Investigation
Committed Fire Resources: 2,174
Engines: 164 Crews: 39 Helicopters: 21 Dozers: 4 Water Tenders: 15
Discussion:
· The fire area did not receive the high winds which were predicted for this afternoon. However, strong winds, averaging 15 - 20 miles per hour, with gusts to 35 are predicted for tomorrow. With the lighter winds, crews continued to make excellent progress on building and strengthening fire lines, maintaining structure protection and working into the fire perimeter to cool hot spots."
Labels: Angora Fire
June 27, 2007
10 Tanker Gets Wings Clipped
This article describes the current status of this all important firefighting tool."The plane, which has shown to be effective fighting large wildland fires, encountered a mishap while fighting the White Fire near Tehachapi on Monday.
After hitting severe turbulence, it descended rapidly but the crew was able to recover after hitting some trees by accelerating the plane.
The Forest Service has refused to certify the plane over concerns about the number of hours already logged on the 31-year-old DC-10, said Mark Rey, a Department of Agriculture undersecretary.
Victorville Councilman Bob Hunter said he hoped the plane would be back in action soon. “That plane really presents a critical advantage for CAL FIRE, and hopefully will be for the Forest Service soon.”
The state has contracted with the plane’s owner, 10 Tanker Air Carrier at Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, for exclusive use of Tanker 910 through the 2009 fire season at a cost of $5 million per year. "
Labels: 10 Tanker, firefighting technology
Updated Perimeter Map and Links From Angora Incident
Angora Fire At a Crossroads Today
The major networks and cable news people are reporting new evacuations overnight but their facts are stale. Local journalists are not only closer to the scene but they can turn to their local sources for information. The online edition of the Tahoe Daily Tribune is THE local media outlet of note and they are reporting today;
"Update: 8:17 a.m. Strong winds that fueled flare-up remain concern with Tahoe fire
MEYERS, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters were warned Wednesday that stronger afternoon winds could stoke a turbulent wildfire near Lake Tahoe and pose a threat to their safety, a day after a flare-up forced thousands of residents to flee.
Officials believed they had a handle on the eastern edge of the blaze, which already has destroyed nearly 200 homes at the south end of the scenic alpine lake. But a surprisingly big gust Tuesday afternoon was all it took to push firefighters off the line they had been holding for more than a day.
The surge briefly trapped two firefighters and forced the evacuation of the Tallac Village development, which includes 300 homes.
“It really is hard to predict what these winds are going to do,” said Kelly Martin, a fire behavior analyst who addressed hundreds of firefighters from across the state at a pre-dawn briefing Wednesday."
The guys will be chasing spots at the very least.
"Update: 8:17 a.m. Strong winds that fueled flare-up remain concern with Tahoe fire
MEYERS, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters were warned Wednesday that stronger afternoon winds could stoke a turbulent wildfire near Lake Tahoe and pose a threat to their safety, a day after a flare-up forced thousands of residents to flee.
Officials believed they had a handle on the eastern edge of the blaze, which already has destroyed nearly 200 homes at the south end of the scenic alpine lake. But a surprisingly big gust Tuesday afternoon was all it took to push firefighters off the line they had been holding for more than a day.
The surge briefly trapped two firefighters and forced the evacuation of the Tallac Village development, which includes 300 homes.
“It really is hard to predict what these winds are going to do,” said Kelly Martin, a fire behavior analyst who addressed hundreds of firefighters from across the state at a pre-dawn briefing Wednesday."
The guys will be chasing spots at the very least.
Labels: Angora Fire
June 26, 2007
Angora Fire Photos and Fire Map Updates
Google search visitors- You landed here because of a search on Google.com. Firefighter Blog posted 6 articles about the Angora Fire. Please read the complete log of Angora Fire posts Here.
Update: KCRA reports fire jumped fire lines.
From the latest incident update from InciWeb
"Back fire burnouts continued last night in the north and northeast divisions of the fire perimeter, and account for most of the smoke seen from the fire area this morning."
InciWeb has an updated detailed map of the Angora Fire perimeter.
This thing is not out by a long shot. Depending on the wind and what the fire does behind Tahoe Mountain there may be a lot of life left in this beast. Camp Richardson and the highway may not be out of play just yet. I read two forest service personnel deployed fire shelters and all went well. I also read that Lake Tahoe does NOT honor the 100 foot defensible space ordinances required by the State of California. This is unacceptable and only serves to place fire service personnel in danger. Erosion concerns my butt, there are many ways to halt erosion.
If your property is not brushed correctly it does not deserve the effort required to save it.
Update: KCRA reports fire jumped fire lines.
From the latest incident update from InciWeb
"Back fire burnouts continued last night in the north and northeast divisions of the fire perimeter, and account for most of the smoke seen from the fire area this morning."
InciWeb has an updated detailed map of the Angora Fire perimeter.
This thing is not out by a long shot. Depending on the wind and what the fire does behind Tahoe Mountain there may be a lot of life left in this beast. Camp Richardson and the highway may not be out of play just yet. I read two forest service personnel deployed fire shelters and all went well. I also read that Lake Tahoe does NOT honor the 100 foot defensible space ordinances required by the State of California. This is unacceptable and only serves to place fire service personnel in danger. Erosion concerns my butt, there are many ways to halt erosion.
If your property is not brushed correctly it does not deserve the effort required to save it.
Labels: Angora Fire
Angora Fire Perimeter Map and Update
Image from Geomac
Fire Update
Angora-|CA|TMU|2500|40|7/1|1295|30|89|9|275|
- Size 2,500 acres
- Personnel 1,295
- Engines 89
- Crews 30
- Helicopters 9
- Estimated containment July 1
- Structures Lost 275
Labels: 2007 fire season, Angora Fire
Angora Fire Video
Bob Becker of the U.S. Forest Service discusses the incident with KCRA tv from Sacramento.
High fuel density + Low fuel moisture + Wind = 220 homes vaporized.
More Angora Fire videos
High fuel density + Low fuel moisture + Wind = 220 homes vaporized.
More Angora Fire videos
Labels: 2007 fire season
June 25, 2007
Map And Views Of Angora Fire Area
Google search visitors- You landed here because of a search on Google.com. Firefighter Blog posted 6 articles about the Angora Fire. Please read the complete log of Angora Fire posts Here.
**Update: I was contacted by a gentleman who is trying to coordinate housing relief for residents displaced by the Angora Fire. His intent is to grab vacation rentals for temporary use by affected Lake Tahoe residents. Burned out folks who need a place contact Clark at angorafireoutreach@gmail.com.
According to the Tahoe Daily Tribune "The mass evacuations of residents were ordered in the North Upper Truckee and Tahoe Mountain areas - where the fire shot up the ridge and burned homes on Mule Deer Road, Coyote Ridge Circle, Mount Rainier Drive, Clear View Drive on up to Uplands Way near Angora Ridge. All but two homes had burned on Pyramid Circle."
Google Maps offers an ability to zoom in on the neighborhood and surrounding area via satellite view, road map view or a hybrid view.
Here is a view from the Angora Fire Lookout from Tahoe-Lookouts .
**Update: I was contacted by a gentleman who is trying to coordinate housing relief for residents displaced by the Angora Fire. His intent is to grab vacation rentals for temporary use by affected Lake Tahoe residents. Burned out folks who need a place contact Clark at angorafireoutreach@gmail.com.
According to the Tahoe Daily Tribune "The mass evacuations of residents were ordered in the North Upper Truckee and Tahoe Mountain areas - where the fire shot up the ridge and burned homes on Mule Deer Road, Coyote Ridge Circle, Mount Rainier Drive, Clear View Drive on up to Uplands Way near Angora Ridge. All but two homes had burned on Pyramid Circle."
Google Maps offers an ability to zoom in on the neighborhood and surrounding area via satellite view, road map view or a hybrid view.
Here is a view from the Angora Fire Lookout from Tahoe-Lookouts .
Labels: Angora Fire
Angora Fire Photo and WebCam Link
The Tahoe Sky Cam is LIVE and is located at the top of Harveys Resort & Casino on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, South Shore.
More on Lake Tahoe Angora Fire
Tahoe Daily Tribune reporter Susan Wood describes her close encounter with the Angora fire.
(Editorial note; isn't it about time newspapers begin blogs for major local events?)
(Editorial note; isn't it about time newspapers begin blogs for major local events?)
Labels: 2007 fire season
Angora Fire, Hundreds Of Homes Burn In Lake Tahoe
Straight from the NICC morning report;
National Interagency Coordination Center
Incident Management Situation Report
Monday, June 25, 2007 - 0530 MDT
National Preparedness Level 2
Northern California Area (PL 2)
New fires: 27
New large fires: 1
Uncontained large fires: 1
Type 2 IMTs committed: 1
Angora, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, FS. IMT 2 (Swartzlander). Two miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe, CA. Timber and grass. Wind driven fire with long range spotting. Residences, businesses and recreation
areas threatened. Voluntary evacuation in effect.
* Angora |CA| TMU| 1800| 0| 6/28| 560| 15| 89| 8| 240| 250K|
1,800 acres
0% containment
240 structures
More
There is generally poor media coverage of this event. CNN is trumping Fox News and MSNBC and news wires are all parroting the same byline.
Bloggers talking
National Interagency Coordination Center
Incident Management Situation Report
Monday, June 25, 2007 - 0530 MDT
National Preparedness Level 2
Northern California Area (PL 2)
New fires: 27
New large fires: 1
Uncontained large fires: 1
Type 2 IMTs committed: 1
Angora, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, FS. IMT 2 (Swartzlander). Two miles southwest of South Lake Tahoe, CA. Timber and grass. Wind driven fire with long range spotting. Residences, businesses and recreation
areas threatened. Voluntary evacuation in effect.
* Angora |CA| TMU| 1800| 0| 6/28| 560| 15| 89| 8| 240| 250K|
1,800 acres
0% containment
240 structures
More
There is generally poor media coverage of this event. CNN is trumping Fox News and MSNBC and news wires are all parroting the same byline.
Bloggers talking
Labels: 2007 fire season, wildfires
June 20, 2007
Short Hits
More about the tragedy in Charleston S.C. from Hamptons Fire including a diagram and timeline as well as video.
Copter/Chopper Chick Desiree Horton and her crew are busy.
Copter/Chopper Chick Desiree Horton and her crew are busy.
Labels: Friends of Firefighter Blog
June 19, 2007
Nine Firefighters Die In Charleston Warehouse Fire
This is sad beyond belief. Before they died they rescued 4 civilians from the blaze.
"Nine brave, heroic, courageous firefighters of the city of Charleston have perished fighting fire in a most courageous and fearless manner, carrying out their duties," Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley said at a morning news conference. "To all of their loved ones, our heart goes out to them."
"Nine brave, heroic, courageous firefighters of the city of Charleston have perished fighting fire in a most courageous and fearless manner, carrying out their duties," Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley said at a morning news conference. "To all of their loved ones, our heart goes out to them."
Two employees in the building were rescued from the blaze, which broke out at about 7 p.m. Monday in the Sofa Super Store and warehouse, Riley said. Firefighters punched a hole through a wall of the warehouse to reach them.
Firefighters, police officers and other rescue workers saluted as the bodies were carried from the warehouse during the night.
"To lose nine is just a tragedy of immense proportions," Riley said. "To lose nine is just unbelievable."
The cause of the fire was under investigation, but Riley said arson was not suspected. He said the blaze apparently started in a storage area. He was unsure whether there were sprinklers in the building."More..
Blogs discussing the tragedy
June 15, 2007
USS New York
USS New York
Ship's motto: "Never Forget"
Ship's motto: "Never Forget"
It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center.
It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.
Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept. 9, 2003, "those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence," recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. "It was a spiritual moment for everybody there."
Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the "hair on my neck stood up." "It had a big meaning to it for all of us," he said. "They knocked us down They can't keep us down. We're going to be back."
Facts about the USS New York
Labels: Sept 11 war on terror
June 10, 2007
Two Fire Videos, Both So Wrong For Different Reasons
The first video is an animated effort by persons with a perverted concept of firefighting and firefighters. It's so bad I had to post it.
......don't know why it took 4 minutes to size up once they got on scene.....
Full story from Hope Fire Company
......don't know why it took 4 minutes to size up once they got on scene.....
Full story from Hope Fire Company
Labels: Fire Video
June 02, 2007
Off Topic: The Speech We'll Never Hear
The following was sent to me via an email chain from a source full of good Americans. I cannot attribute it to anyone as it was signed -- Anonymous!
If anyone knows where it came from originally please leave a comment, thanks.
The speech George W. Bush SHOULD give:
"Normally, I start these things out by saying "My Fellow Americans." Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don't know who more than half of you are anymore. I do know something terrible has happened, and that you're really not fellow Americans any longer.
I'll cut right to the chase here: I quit. Now before anyone gets all in a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution or something, let me assure you: there's been no breaking of laws or impeachable offenses in this office.
The reason I'm quitting is simple. I'm fed up with you people.
I'm fed up because you have no understanding of what's really going on in the world. Or of what's going on in this once-great nation of ours. And the majority of you are too damned lazy to do your homework and figure it out.
Let's start local. You've been sold a bill of goods by politicians and the news media. Polls show that the majority of you think the economy is in the tank. And that's despite record numbers of homeowners including record numbers of MINORITY homeowners. And while we're mentioning minorities, I'll point out that minority business ownership is at an all-time high. Our unemployment rate is as low as it ever was during the Clinton Administration. I've mentioned all those things before, but it doesn't seem to have sunk in.
Despite the shock to our economy of 9/11, the stock market has rebounded to record levels and more Americans than ever are participating in these markets. Meanwhile, all you can do is whine about gas prices, and most of you are too damn stupid to realize that gas prices are high because there's increased demand in other parts of the world, and because a small handful of noisy idiots are more worried about polar bears and beachfront property than your economic security.
We face real threats in the world. Don't give me this "blood for oil" thing. If I was trading blood for oil I would've already seized Iraq's oil fields and let the rest of the country go to hell. And don't give me this 'Bush Lied People Died' crap either. If I was the liar you morons take me for, I could've easily had chemical weapons planted in Iraq so they could be 'discovered.' Instead, I owned up to the fact that the intelligence was faulty. Let me remind you that the rest of the world thought Saddam had the goods, same as me. Let me also remind you that regime change in Iraq was official US policy before I came into office. Some guy named 'Clinton' established that policy. Bet you didn't know that, did you?
You idiots need to understand that we face a unique enemy. Back during the cold war, there were two major competing political and economic models squaring off. We won that war, but we did so because fundamentally, the Communists wanted to survive, just as we do. We were simply able to outspend and out-tech them.
That's not the case this time. The soldiers of our new enemy don't care if they survive. In fact, they want to die. That'd be fine, as long as they weren't also committed to taking as many of you with them as they can. But they are. They want to kill you. And the bastards are all over the globe.
You should be grateful that they haven't gotten any more of us here in the United States since September 11. But you're not. That's because you've got no idea how hard a small number of intelligence, military, law enforcement and homeland security people have worked to make sure of that.
When this whole mess started, I warned you that this would be a long and difficult fight. I'm disappointed how many of you people think a long and difficult fight amounts to a single season of 'Survivor'.
Instead, you've grown impatient. You're incapable of seeing things through the long lens of history, the way our enemies do. You think that wars should last a few months, a few years, tops.
Making matters worse, you actively support those who help the enemy. Every time you buy the New York Times, every time you send a donation to a cut-and-run Democrat's political campaign, well, dammit, you might just as well Fedex a grenade launcher to a Jihadist. It amounts to the same thing.
In this day and age, it's easy enough to find the truth. It's all over the Internet. It just isn't on the pages of the New York Times or on NBC News. But even if it were, I doubt you'd be any smarter. Most of you would rather watch American Idol.
I could say more about your expectations that the government will always be there to bail you out, even if you're too stupid to leave a city that's below sea level and has a hurricane approaching. I could say more about your insane belief that government, not your own wallet, is where the money comes from. But I've come to the conclusion that were I to do so, it would sail right over your heads.
So I quit. I'm going back to Crawford. I've got an energy-efficient house down there (Al Gore could only dream) and the capability to be fully self-sufficient. No one ever heard of Crawford before I got elected, and as soon as I'm done here pretty much no one will ever hear of it again. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to die of old age before the last pillars of America fall.
Oh, and by the way, Cheney's quitting too. That means Pelosi is your new President. You asked for it. Watch what she does carefully, because I still have a glimmer of hope that there're just enough of you remaining who are smart enough to turn this thing around in 2008.
So that's it. God bless what's left of America. Some of you know what I mean."
If anyone knows where it came from originally please leave a comment, thanks.
The speech George W. Bush SHOULD give:
"Normally, I start these things out by saying "My Fellow Americans." Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don't know who more than half of you are anymore. I do know something terrible has happened, and that you're really not fellow Americans any longer.
I'll cut right to the chase here: I quit. Now before anyone gets all in a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution or something, let me assure you: there's been no breaking of laws or impeachable offenses in this office.
The reason I'm quitting is simple. I'm fed up with you people.
I'm fed up because you have no understanding of what's really going on in the world. Or of what's going on in this once-great nation of ours. And the majority of you are too damned lazy to do your homework and figure it out.
Let's start local. You've been sold a bill of goods by politicians and the news media. Polls show that the majority of you think the economy is in the tank. And that's despite record numbers of homeowners including record numbers of MINORITY homeowners. And while we're mentioning minorities, I'll point out that minority business ownership is at an all-time high. Our unemployment rate is as low as it ever was during the Clinton Administration. I've mentioned all those things before, but it doesn't seem to have sunk in.
Despite the shock to our economy of 9/11, the stock market has rebounded to record levels and more Americans than ever are participating in these markets. Meanwhile, all you can do is whine about gas prices, and most of you are too damn stupid to realize that gas prices are high because there's increased demand in other parts of the world, and because a small handful of noisy idiots are more worried about polar bears and beachfront property than your economic security.
We face real threats in the world. Don't give me this "blood for oil" thing. If I was trading blood for oil I would've already seized Iraq's oil fields and let the rest of the country go to hell. And don't give me this 'Bush Lied People Died' crap either. If I was the liar you morons take me for, I could've easily had chemical weapons planted in Iraq so they could be 'discovered.' Instead, I owned up to the fact that the intelligence was faulty. Let me remind you that the rest of the world thought Saddam had the goods, same as me. Let me also remind you that regime change in Iraq was official US policy before I came into office. Some guy named 'Clinton' established that policy. Bet you didn't know that, did you?
You idiots need to understand that we face a unique enemy. Back during the cold war, there were two major competing political and economic models squaring off. We won that war, but we did so because fundamentally, the Communists wanted to survive, just as we do. We were simply able to outspend and out-tech them.
That's not the case this time. The soldiers of our new enemy don't care if they survive. In fact, they want to die. That'd be fine, as long as they weren't also committed to taking as many of you with them as they can. But they are. They want to kill you. And the bastards are all over the globe.
You should be grateful that they haven't gotten any more of us here in the United States since September 11. But you're not. That's because you've got no idea how hard a small number of intelligence, military, law enforcement and homeland security people have worked to make sure of that.
When this whole mess started, I warned you that this would be a long and difficult fight. I'm disappointed how many of you people think a long and difficult fight amounts to a single season of 'Survivor'.
Instead, you've grown impatient. You're incapable of seeing things through the long lens of history, the way our enemies do. You think that wars should last a few months, a few years, tops.
Making matters worse, you actively support those who help the enemy. Every time you buy the New York Times, every time you send a donation to a cut-and-run Democrat's political campaign, well, dammit, you might just as well Fedex a grenade launcher to a Jihadist. It amounts to the same thing.
In this day and age, it's easy enough to find the truth. It's all over the Internet. It just isn't on the pages of the New York Times or on NBC News. But even if it were, I doubt you'd be any smarter. Most of you would rather watch American Idol.
I could say more about your expectations that the government will always be there to bail you out, even if you're too stupid to leave a city that's below sea level and has a hurricane approaching. I could say more about your insane belief that government, not your own wallet, is where the money comes from. But I've come to the conclusion that were I to do so, it would sail right over your heads.
So I quit. I'm going back to Crawford. I've got an energy-efficient house down there (Al Gore could only dream) and the capability to be fully self-sufficient. No one ever heard of Crawford before I got elected, and as soon as I'm done here pretty much no one will ever hear of it again. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to die of old age before the last pillars of America fall.
Oh, and by the way, Cheney's quitting too. That means Pelosi is your new President. You asked for it. Watch what she does carefully, because I still have a glimmer of hope that there're just enough of you remaining who are smart enough to turn this thing around in 2008.
So that's it. God bless what's left of America. Some of you know what I mean."
Labels: politics
Firefighters On Wikipedia
Wikipedia now occupies the top search result spot on Google.com for the term "Firefighters".
There are lots of great links and info on the site including this glossary of wildland fire terms.
As much time as I spent in servce there are terms within I never heard. Some terminology must be regional. A brief glance at the list acts as a reminder that fire season is upon us here in the West. Early fire activity in Southern California, Goergia, Florida, New Jersey, Arizona and even Minnesota have set the stage for what could be a very dramatic summer.
Labels: wildfires, wildland fire
