Entries from June 2008 ↓

As wildfires burn across California this summer, the new codes will include some of the strictest standards in the nation for people constructing new homes in high-fire areas from the Oregon border to San Diego and the Sierra to the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The rules require the highest-rated roofing materials: double-pane tempered windows so the glass doesn’t shatter in heat; fire-resistant materials for decking and siding; and mesh screens over attic vents to repel flying embers, a common way firestorms spread.

“We have been looking at how we can make houses more resistant to fire. Embers are the real culprit,” said Ernylee Chamlee, chief of wildland fire prevention engineering for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The new building rules are part of a two-pronged state strategy following historic blazes in 2003 that killed 24 people and burned 3,600 homes in Southern California.

The strategy is simple. It is politically impractical to ban all construction in fire-prone areas - just as it would be to ban all construction in earthquake hazard zones. So state authorities hope instead to reduce the chances of homes burning once fires start.

The other component requires rural homeowners to clear brush and trees 100 feet around their homes, rather than 30 feet, the previous standard. Although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed that “defensible space” law in 2005, state and local fire departments have written almost no tickets for violators. But that’s changing, too. Fines go up to $500.

“This year, we will be more aggressive. If necessary, we will take enforcement actions to see that the work gets done,” said Cal Fire director Ruben Grijalva.

“Defensible space doesn’t mean clear-cutting everything down. It means thinning. It means being lean, clean and green.”

Both the building and thinning rules affect roughly two-thirds of the land in Santa Clara County.

In particular, property in the foothills east of San Jose, Morgan Hill and Gilroy is affected, along with forested land all along the Santa Cruz Mountains from the Lexington Basin to Los Gatos, and up the Peninsula.

Conflict over rules

The building rules - specifically, chapter 7A of the California Building Code - were developed by a task force of government, industry and environmental groups, but they have sparked some controversy.

Homeowners in Plumas County grumbled about overly aggressive state bureaucracy. Some residents in Woodside have been concerned that towns might expand them to remodeling jobs, or insurance companies might raise rates.

At Lake Tahoe, property owners rushed to get applications in before Jan. 1, when the rules took effect there.

“Every year, they need to find things that will ‘improve structures,’ ” said Stephen Clark, a Saratoga architect. “Some of it is damn good research. Some of it is to keep their jobs. But most of this is worth it. If push comes to shove, this is worth it.”

Fire-resistant materials generally cost more than traditional ones. How much the new rules will add to the price of a new home is unclear.

On average, they should increase costs by $1,800 a home, according to Cal Fire and the California Building Standards Commission.

Clark said they might add perhaps 10 percent to the cost of a new home.

For information on innovative Fire and ember resistant vents go to Brand Guard Vents.

West Coast 911 fire news source - Silcone Valley Mercury News / read entire article

Current Situation: State, local and federal firefighters continue to battle hundreds of wildfires throughout California. Fires are actively burning and continue to spread. Firefighters are prepared for the potential of new fires due to Red Flag Warnings issued for dry thunderstorm activity in the Northern Sierra Nevada and Southern Cascade Mountain Ranges in northeastern California through 11 p.m. tonight. Numerous lightning downstrikes have been reported in eastern Lassen and Modoc counties. The priority of firefighting is for the protection of life, property and natural resources.

Summary of Fire by County:

Butte: The Butte Lightning Complex has burned 16,000 acres and is 20% contained. The Butte Fire Information Number is (530) 538-7826. Click Here for more information.

Mendocino: The Mendocino Lightning Complex has burned 35,700 acres and is 20% contained. The Mendocino Fire Information Number is (707)-467-6426. Click Here for more information.

Shasta & Trinity: The Shasta and Trinity Lightning has burned 47,000 acres and is 10% contained. The Shasta-Trinity Unit Information Number is (530) 225-2510. Click Here for more information.

Lassen, Modoc: The Corral Fire has burned 15,000 acres and is 5% contained. The Peterson Complex has burned 7,824 acres and is 95% contained. The Lassen-Modoc Fire Information Number is (530) 257-9553.

Humboldt: The Humboldt Complex has burned for 1,275 acres and is 50% contained. The Paradise Fire is north of Shelter Cove and is 925 acres and 40% contained. The Humboldt-Del Norte Fire Information Number is (707) 726-1225.

Tehama & Glenn: The Tehama-Glenn Lightning Complex has burned 22,907 acres and is 60% contained. The Tehama-Glenn Unit Information Number is (530) 528-5193. Click Here for more information.

Mariposa: The Oliver Fire is located in the Ponderosa Basin and is 2,789 acres and 55% contained. The Oliver Fire Information Number is (209) 966-4784. Click Here for more information.

Lake: The Walker Fire has burned 14,500 acres and is now 100% contained. The Walker Fire Information Number is (707) 967-1456. Click Here for more information.

Napa & Solano: The Wild Fire burned 40,000 acres and is now 100% contained. Click Here for more information.

Santa Clara: The Whitehurst and Hummingbird Fires burned a combined 994 acres and are both now 100% contained. Click Here for more information.

West Coast 911 California wild fire information source - Cal Fire

Vivian Paige was enjoying her Sunday afternoon, cooking chicken enchiladas for her grandson, when her electricity went out.

Soon, she heard: “Ms. Paige, your house is on fire! Ms. Paige, your house is on fire!”

It was her longtime friend, Donald Coleman, who was passing by and noticed the fire coming from the rear of Paige’s single-family home at 1045 Olive Ave.

“I was walking this way,” Coleman said, pointing north on Olive. “I saw the fire and said, `Ms. Paige, your house is on fire!’ I’m lucky, I saved them.”

Paige lives alone, but her two grandchildren, one of whom was not home at the time, are visiting for the summer.

Firefighters responded at about 3:30 p.m. to reports of the blaze, said Long Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Frank Hayes.

The fire, which was extinguished in about 7 minutes, caused major damage to the living area and kitchen and caused a loss of $15,000 to $20,000, Hayes said.

“I have fire insurance, thank God,” Paige said. “I’m just glad I just paid it. It usually comes (due) in June.”

According to the fire department’s arson investigator, the cause was undetermined upon further investigation, Hayes said.

“It does not appear to be suspicious, (but) possibly electrical,” he said.

West Coast 911 firefighter news source - The Press Telegram / Read entire article

Thousands of firefighters continued to battle blazes throughout California on Sunday as help poured in from other states and weather conditions turned more favorable.

At least 19,622 firefighters were combating flames, most sparked by lightning. More than 1,300 were committed to fighting the Oliver fire in southern Mariposa County, which has consumed at least 2,603 acres. The Oliver fire was 45% contained Sunday and was not expected to be fully controlled until Saturday, said Craig Tolmie, a Cal Fire spokesman.

 

In addition, the Star fire eight miles southeast of Wawona in a remote section of the south fork of the Merced River was only 10% contained, said Leanne Langeberg, Sierra National Forest spokeswoman.

The fire has burned 330 acres and is expected to be contained Friday. Twenty smoke jumpers and two hand crews that hiked in are battling the blaze, which was sparked by lightning. No structures are threatened.

The Star fire is the only one of the Silver Fire Complex of blazes that is not controlled. The 570-acre Silver Knob, 105-acre Westfall, the 54-acre Chiquito and nine other fires are 100% contained.

Firefighters struggling to get an upper hand on the Oliver fire managed to secure enough lines along Aurora and Standard Mill roads and portions of Chowchilla Mountain Road that an evacuation order was reduced to an evacuation warning.

Instead of having to leave immediately, residents could remain home and stay apprised of fire conditions, Tolmie said.

The commitment from fire personnel is substantial. In addition to the 1,324 firefighters, 141 fire engines, 30 hand crews, 15 water tenders, 10 bulldozers and nine helicopters were battling the Oliver fire.

Statewide, 19,622 firefighters are trying to control blazes caused by lightning strikes.

The dry lightning storms ignited 1,420 fires that have consumed 364,600 acres and drawn response from an army of equipment: 420 fire engines, 465 hand crews, 331 bulldozers, 375 water tenders and 95 helicopters.

All told, flames from those fires have charred 356,134 acres in the state since June 20, up nearly 48,000 acres since Saturday morning, said Greg Renick, a spokesman for the California Office of Emergency Services.

More than 7,500 homes remained threatened, he said. Among the buildings destroyed are 29 homes and one commercial property.

More than 300 firefighters battled a blaze about 35 miles east of Bakersfield. The fire, which started Saturday, had burned 1,000 acres by Sunday afternoon and was threatening roughly 25 summer homes and cabins in the French Meadow and Brown’s Meadow areas of the Sequoia National Forest.

“The terrain is extremely difficult to deal with,” Kern County fire Capt. Alex Entenman said. “We would like to have more resources, but we’re making do with what we’ve got.”

No new major fires had broken out Sunday as fire crews inched closer to getting some of the largest blazes surrounded, according to the state Office of Emergency Services.

But a “red flag warning” — meaning the most extreme fire danger — was still in effect for Northern California until 5 a.m. today. And the coming days and weeks are expected to bring little relief.

Air quality districts from Bakersfield to Redding issued health advisories through the weekend, urging residents to stay indoors to limit exposure to the smoky air.

Weather conditions were providing some help for firefighters. Thunderstorms near the Sierra crest didn’t produce lightning strikes in Central California and an offshore low-pressure system pushed smoke north of the region, which helped improve air quality, said meteorologist Gary Sanger of the National Weather Service in Hanford.

Thunderstorms have pushed northeast and no lightning is expected today. But lightning is expected in the mountains from Fresno County south later in the week, said Capt. Mike Bowman of Cal Fire.

Meanwhile, firefighters are on the lookout for “sleeper” fires, blazes that spring up after smoldering for days. One occurred near the Oliver fire outside the control lines of the firefighters, and resources had to be diverted to it, Tolmie said.

“These are a normal occurrence after lightning storms,” he said. “They go undetected because they smolder.”

The fires in Northern and Central California were stretching resources to the limit. A federal call for assistance brought response from as far as Arkansas, Bowman said.

Firefighters in Central California have the assistance of strike teams consisting of Ford pickups, a water pump and three firefighters from Colorado and Kansas who can be called upon if needed.

“There are 250 of these pickups that are assigned throughout the state,” Bowman said. “Most are helping with local units like us, but many are assigned to fires up north.”

Fire officials are urging visitors to take extra precautions this summer.

“We’re not even into the typical fire season,” Bowman said. “It’s very early to try to get these under control.

West Coast 911 news - Fresno Bee

On Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 8:01 PM, 15 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 5 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 2 Urban Search and Rescue Units, 1 Rehab Unit, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 4 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, Emergency Air 1, 2 CERT Coordinators, DWP, LAPD, DOT and Building and Safety, all under the direction of Assistant Chief Terrance Manning, responded to a Major Emergency Structure Fire at 5233 E. Monte Vista St. in the Highland Park area.

The first arriving Firefighters on scene, found a 4 story, “C” shaped, center hallway apartment building with heavy smoke and fire showing from a unit on the 4th floor. Occupants of the building were self evacuating “out” as Firefighters raced “in” to establish hoselines in the fast growing fire. Reports from the roof team indicated the first heat holes were emitting large amounts of fire, prompted the Incident Commander to increase firefighting efforts with additional companies.

The roof team provided an aggressive ventilation effort, cutting several heat holes and eventually creating a strip to gain control of the fire. The roof team also initiated an offensive fire attack with hoselines from the roof after interior Firefighters were withdrawn from the immediate area, knocking down the bulk of the fire, enabling interior handlines to be re-established. 34 minutes into the fire fight there was a partial roof collapse and a PAR (Personnel Accountability Report) was initiated.

It took 111 Firefighters 1 hour 10 minutes to call a knock down on the fire. There were 11 units deemed uninhabitable for residents and the Red Cross was requested for rehousing assistance for the displaced families. The cause and dollar loss estimate will be determined at the completion of the investigation. There were no reports of injury.

(Watch News Video)

Written by d’Lisa Davies
Los Angeles Fire Department

Butte: The Butte Lightning Complex consists of 31 fires, which have burned 10,600 acres. Click Butte Lightning Complex for more information. The Butte Fire Information Number is (530) 538-7826.

Mendocino: The Mendocino Lightning Complex has reported approximately 121 fires that have burned approximately 27,000 acres. 34 of these fires are contained. Click Mendocino Lightning Complex for more information. The Mendocino Fire Information Number is 707-467-6426.

Shasta & Trinity: Over 158 fires for a total of 35,000 acres. 68 of the fires have been contained. Click Shasta and Trinity Lightning for more information. Incident Command Team #10 has been assigned to this complex. Shasta-Trinity Unit Information (530) 225-2510.

Lassen, Modoc & Plumas: The Lassen-Modoc Lightning Complex consists of 49 fires burning more than 6,250 acres. 47 of these fires have been contained. Click Popcorn/Peterson Complex for more information on this incident.

Sonoma, Lake, Napa & Solano: The Sonoma-Lake-Napa Lightning Complex consists of 19 fires that have burned a total 19,500 acres. 18 of these fires have been contained. Click on Walker Fire Incident or Wild Fire Incident for more information on these incidents.

Humboldt & Del Norte: The complex has 58 fires that have burned for 1,175 acres. There are currently 13 active fires in this complex. The Paradise Fire is north of Shelter Cove and is 875 acres and 40% contained. The Humboldt-Del Norte Fire Information Number is (707) 726-1225.

Tehama & Glenn: The Tehama-Glenn Lightning Complex consists of 43 fires, 39 of which have been contained. The Antelope Fire is 4,200 acres with 60% contained and the Mill Creek Fire is 11,600 acres with 30% containment. Click on the Tehama-Glenn Lightning Series for more specific information on these incidents. The Tehama-Glenn Unit Information Number is (530) 528-5193.

Mariposa: The Oliver Fire is located in the Ponderosa Basin and is 2,200 acres and 20% contained. Click Oliver Fire for more specific information on this incidents. The Madera-Mariposa-Merced Fire Information Number is (209) 966-4784.

Santa Clara: Click Whitehurst/Hummingbird Incident for more information on these fires.

Source: California Fire Department

Firefighters bulked up their defenses Friday against a wildfire that threatened parts of this storied tourist town and prepared for more lightning strikes that could ignite new fires across Northern California.More than 1,000 fires, mostly caused by lightning, burned across Northern California, including two gigantic blazes in the Los Padres National Forest.

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked President Bush on Friday for a federal emergency declaration to free up more aid, saying the fires this season had burned 265,000 acres, or more than 400 square miles.

Firefighters rushed to protect about 575 threatened homes and historic structures in the Big Sur area. They allowed the fire to rage nearly unchecked through steep mountain forests, where flames torched massive redwoods and sent them toppling.

“This is not going away anytime soon,” said Mark Savage, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.

Low humidity did little to slow the fire overnight, and noticeably hotter weather was forecast for Friday afternoon.

Overnight, firefighters reinforced their fire lines near homes and businesses in the area, moving in heavy engines and more personnel, said Curtis Vincent, a spokesman for the Los Padres National Forest.

The blaze burned nearly 42 square miles in the national forest and was just 3 percent contained, but at least it was growing parallel to the coast - not toward inhabited areas, he said Friday.

The hundreds of smaller fires in remote Northern California burned primarily in Humboldt, Shasta and Trinity counties. No people appeared immediately in jeopardy, though there are homes scattered through the forest areas.

The fire count had gone up from 800 to nearly 1,100 because smoky air had hampered efforts to track all the blazes, said Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.

“That’s part of our problem - all of Northern California has been socked in for days, and aircraft haven’t been able to see the ground,” Kirchner said. Firefighters on the ground have provided most of the intelligence on new fires, he added.

Some 11,000 firefighters from 41 states are battling the blazes. Authorities put the firefighters on notice that they might be abruptly deployed to new fires expected to spring up with new lightning storms already under way.

“Our No. 1 priority is we want to stop any new, small fires,” Kirchner said.

The fire near Big Sur has destroyed 16 homes and two outbuildings since breaking out Saturday, and officials have issued voluntary evacuation notices to residents in 75 homes along a ridge threatened by the blaze.

West Coast 911 firefighter news source - Sac Bee

SAN LEANDRO — A big rig overturned on Interstate 880 Thursday morning, crashing into oncoming traffic and bursting into flames in a five-car collision that left two dead and caused massive traffic delays throughout the day.

The 9:30 a.m. accident occurred near the Marina Boulevard exit when a southbound Waste Management rig swerved for unknown reasons and lost control, plowing into the median and colliding head-on with a flatbed tow truck and a truck carrying empty coffins, California Highway Patrol Officer Oscar Johnson said.

Police said they believed those who died were the drivers of the big rig and the casket truck. The casket truck driver had not been publicly identified by press time. A Waste Management spokesman identified the big rig driver as Victor Mercado of Oakland, a 49-year-old father of four.

The tow truck driver suffered minor injuries and nobody else was hurt, Johnson said.

Mercado was a 24-year employee with a clean driving record, Waste Management’s David Tucker said.

“He was an excellent driver, a safe driver,” Tucker said. “He was a well-liked and well-respected employee.” Mercado had just left the Davis Street Transfer Station and was on his way to the Altamont landfill in Livermore, Tucker said.

“A lot of employees within Waste Management send their prayers to not only Victor’s family, but to the family of the other driver” killed in the crash, he said.

The casket truck belonged to Batesville Casket Co., based in Batesville, Ind. An employee there said the company had heard about the accident but did not have a statement.

The big rig slid about 35 yards, spreading trash, oil and chunks of concrete across the freeway in all directions. About 30 firefighters were summoned to extinguish the blaze that consumed the twisted semi as it lay sideways on the center divide.

Police speculated that the big rig driver might have been trying to avoid something in the roadway, but the official cause is under investigation.

WestCoast911 story source - The Argus/By Gideon Rubin the Daily Review / read entire article

The deputy chief of the Southern Marin Fire Protection District collapsed at work and died Thursday as his own firefighters tried desperately to save him.

Jeff Powers, a 23-year veteran, was 44 and lived in San Rafael. His survivors include his wife and two small children.

An autopsy is pending.

Powers collapsed at 12:20 p.m. while talking to colleagues at the Spencer Avenue firehouse in Sausalito, said county fire Battalion Chief Mike Giannini. Firefighters tried to resuscitate Powers in the ambulance on the way to Marin General Hospital, but he was pronounced dead after reaching the emergency room.

Firefighters sat on the curb outside the hospital and broke into tears, said Curry Eckelhoff, a fire board member whose daughter-in-law happened to be the emergency room nurse who received Powers.

“Everybody knows everybody,” Eckelhoff said. “They are a very big, tight-knit family. It doesn’t matter what department. Those guys are just unglued.”

Powers, second-in-command at the 52-employee fire department, died the day after the fire board met to appoint a successor to Chief Denis Walsh, who is retiring. The board named Battalion Chief Jim Irving to the post, effective upon Walsh’s expected departure in October.

Powers rose from captain to battalion chief before being named deputy chief in April 2007. He was brought up to fill a vacancy left by Walsh, who took the top post when 32-year veteran Mike Stone retired.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

West Coast 911 firefighter news source - The Marin Independent Journal

At 6:24 p.m. today, 9 units from the San Bernardino City Fire Department with assistance from one unit with the San Manuel Fire Department responded to reports of a vegetation fire on Perris Hill near the Elks Lodge, located near Highland Avenue and Elks Rd.

The first unit on scene (Battalion Chief 604) reported fire spreading up Perris Hill and burning towards the Elks Lodge which was becoming threatened by fire.

Several communication towers were also threatened.

Firefighting units quickly positioned themselves to protect the structures and began fire suppression efforts.

Fire control was attained in thirty minutes, with full containment in just one hour.

8 Acres total were burned.

West Coast 911 firefighter news source - SBFD Press Release