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California Fire Siege 2007 an Overview Cover Photos from Top Clockwise: the Santiago Fire Threatens a Development on October 23, 2007
CALIFORNIA FIRE SIEGE 2007 AN OVERVIEW Cover photos from top clockwise: The Santiago Fire threatens a development on October 23, 2007. (Photo credit: Scott Vickers, istockphoto) Image of Harris Fire taken from Ikhana unmanned aircraft on October 24, 2007. (Photo credit: NASA/U.S. Forest Service) A firefighter tries in vain to cool the flames of a wind-whipped blaze. (Photo credit: Dan Elliot) The American Red Cross acted quickly to establish evacuation centers during the siege. (Photo credit: American Red Cross) Opposite Page: Painting of Harris Fire by Kate Dore, based on photo by Wes Schultz. 2 Introductory Statement In October of 2007, a series of large wildfires ignited and burned hundreds of thousands of acres in Southern California. The fires displaced nearly one million residents, destroyed thousands of homes, and sadly took the lives of 10 people. Shortly after the fire siege began, a team was commissioned by CAL FIRE, the U.S. Forest Service and OES to gather data and measure the response from the numerous fire agencies involved. This report is the result of the team’s efforts and is based upon the best available information and all known facts that have been accumulated. In addition to outlining the fire conditions leading up to the 2007 siege, this report presents statistics —including availability of firefighting resources, acreage engaged, and weather conditions—alongside the strategies that were employed by fire commanders to create a complete day-by-day account of the firefighting effort. The ability to protect the lives, property, and natural resources of the residents of California is contingent upon the strength of cooperation and coordination among federal, state and local firefighting agencies. -
FIRE DEPARTMENT COUNTY Adair County Tri Community Volunteer Fire Dept
FIRE DEPARTMENT COUNTY Adair County Tri Community Volunteer Fire Dept. Adair Bell Rural Fire Department Inc Adair Chance Community Fire Department Inc. Adair Christie Proctor Fire Association Adair Greasy Volunteer Fire Department Inc. Adair Hwy 100 West Fire Protection Adair Hwy 51 West Rural Fire District, Inc. Adair Mid County Rural Fire Dept. Inc. Adair Town of Stilwell for Stilwell Fire Department Adair Town of Watts for Watts Fire Department Adair Town of Westville for Westville Fire Department Adair City of Cherokee for Cherokee Fire Department Alfalfa Nescatunga Rural Fire Association Alfalfa Town of Aline for Aline Fire Department Alfalfa Town of Burlington for Burlington Fire Department Alfalfa Town of Byron for A&B Fire Department Alfalfa Town of Carmen for Carmen Fire Department Alfalfa Town of Goltry for Goltry Fire Department Alfalfa Town of Helena for Helena Fire Department Alfalfa Town of Jet for Jet Fire Department Alfalfa Bentley Volunteer Fire District Atoka City of Atoka for Atoka Fire Department Atoka Crystal Volunteer Fire Department Association Atoka Daisy Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Atoka Farris Fire District Atoka Harmony Fire Department Atoka Hopewell Community Firefighters Association Atoka Lane Volunteer Fire Department Association Atoka Town of Caney for Caney Fire Department Atoka Town of Stringtown for Stringtown Fire Department Atoka Town of Tushka for Tushka Fire Department Atoka Wards Chapel Fire Department, Inc. Atoka Wardville Rural Volunteer Fire Dept. Atoka Wilson Community Rural Fire Association -
The 2007 Southern California Wildfires: Lessons in Complexity
fire The 2007 Southern California Wildfires: Lessons in Complexity s is evidenced year after year, the na- ture of the “fire problem” in south- Jon E. Keeley, Hugh Safford, C.J. Fotheringham, A ern California differs from most of Janet Franklin, and Max Moritz the rest of the United States, both by nature and degree. Nationally, the highest losses in ϳ The 2007 wildfire season in southern California burned over 1,000,000 ac ( 400,000 ha) and property and life caused by wildfire occur in included several megafires. We use the 2007 fires as a case study to draw three major lessons about southern California, but, at the same time, wildfires and wildfire complexity in southern California. First, the great majority of large fires in expansion of housing into these fire-prone southern California occur in the autumn under the influence of Santa Ana windstorms. These fires also wildlands continues at an enormous pace cost the most to contain and cause the most damage to life and property, and the October 2007 fires (Safford 2007). Although modest areas of were no exception because thousands of homes were lost and seven people were killed. Being pushed conifer forest in the southern California by wind gusts over 100 kph, young fuels presented little barrier to their spread as the 2007 fires mountains experience the same negative ef- reburned considerable portions of the area burned in the historic 2003 fire season. Adding to the size fects of long-term fire suppression that are of these fires was the historic 2006–2007 drought that contributed to high dead fuel loads and long evident in other western forests (e.g., high distance spotting. -
Evergreen Fire Protection District Jefferson and Clear Creek Counties, Colorado
2020 Evergreen Fire Protection District Jefferson and Clear Creek Counties, Colorado F Community Wildfire Protection Plan EVERGREEN FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN 2020 UPDATE Prepared for Evergreen Fire/Rescue 1802 Bergen Pkwy, Evergreen, Colorado 80439 Prepared by Forest Stewards Guild 170 2nd Street SW Loveland, CO 80537 1 CONTENTS Evergreen Fire Protection District ............................................................................................................................1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................5 Evergreen’s Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) .......................................................................................................6 Fire History ..................................................................................................................................................................8 Catastrophic Wildfire – Common Factors .........................................................................................................9 Ignition Prevention ................................................................................................................................................. 10 Evergreen’s Preparedness for Wildfire ................................................................................................................. 11 Community Accomplishments since first CWPP ......................................................................................... -
Fire Risk on the Centennial Specific Plan Project Site
December 6, 2018 Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 856 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration 500 W. Temple Street Los Angeles CA, 90012 Submitted electronically to: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] CC: [email protected], [email protected] Clarification of Fire Risk on the Centennial Specific Plan Project Site Dear Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Thank you very much for the continued opportunity to provide input on the Centennial Specific Plan (“Centennial”). As an organization, the California Native Plant Society (“CNPS”) is very concerned with the potential impacts of Centennial. CNPS has detailed the reasons why we oppose Centennial in numerous comment letters that focus on the project’s unacceptable impacts to irreplaceable grassland habitats, lack of appropriate mitigation, inappropriate use of Cap-and-Trade, and other issues. One issue that continues to be a major concern to CNPS members and the general public is that the Centennial project site is a dangerous place to build a new city for nearly 60,000 people. Chief among our concerns are the facts that project site is designated by CalFire as a High or Very High Fire Severity Zone (see Attachment 1), and that Centennial would be built on/adjacent to California’s two largest earthquake faults, the Garlock and San Andreas (see Attachment 2). The issue of greenlighting large development projects in areas with high fire danger should be a primary concern to decision-makers. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors should regard wildfire as a major liability in their pending decision on Centennial. -
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES ~ FEMA EM - 3287-CA Total Incidents from 6/22/08 - 8/06/08
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES ~ FEMA EM - 3287-CA Total Incidents from 6/22/08 - 8/06/08 BEAR WALLOW SHF JUNE LIGHTNING 12,067 Acres 31 Acres Started 6/21/2008 Started 6/21/2008 UKONOM COMPLEX PANTHER FIRE ALPS COMPLEX 43,390 Acres 11,022 Acres 3,026 Acres Started 6/23/2008 Started 7/24/2008 WHISKEYTOWN COMPLEX Started 6/21/2008 6,240 Acres BLUE 2 FIRE SISKIYOU Started 6/21/2008 6,950 Acres COMPLEX GOULD FIRE Started 6/20/2008 57,785 Acres 229 Acres SHU LIGHTNING COMPLEX PETERSON COMPLEX Started 6/21/2008 Started 6/21/2008 86,500 Acres 7,842 Acres Started 6/21/2008 Started 6/21/2008 MAD COMPLEX DEL 3,705 Acres NORTE CORRAL FIRE Started 6/20/2008 12,434 Acres SISKIYOU Started 6/23/2008 MODOC IRON COMPLEX TGU LIGHTNING COMPLEX 83,340 Acres 22,907 Acres Started 6/21/2008 Started 6/21/2008 HELL'S HALF COMPLEX 15,146 Acres LMU JUNE LIGHTNING Started 6/20/2008 SHASTA 50 Acres Started 6/21/2008 LIME COMPLEX HUMBOLDT 63,192 Acres LASSEN Started 6/20/2008 CUB COMPLEX MILL COMPLEX 19,718 Acres 2,100 Acres HUMBOLDT COMPLEX Started 6/21/2008 Started 6/22/2008 1,325 Acres TRINITY Started 6/21/2008 CANYON COMPLEX RICH FIRE TEHAMA 6,570 Acres PLUMAS 37,357 Acres Started 7/29/2008 YOLLA BOLLY COMPLEX Started6/21/2008 6,625 Acres Started 6/21/2008 CRAIG FIRE GLENN SIERRA YUBA RIVER COMPLEX BUTTE 2,500 Acres MEU LIGHTNING COMPLEX 4,254 Acres Started 8/03/2008 54,817 Acres Started 6/21/2008 Started 6/21/2008 MENDOCINO COLUSA YUBA AMERICAN RIVER COMPLEX LAKE NEVADA SODA COMPLEX 20,541 Acres 8,632 Acres Started 6/21/2008 Started 6/21/2008 SUTTER PLACER CAPPS FIRE -
A Classification of US Wildland Firefighter Entrapments Based on Coincident Fuels, Weather, and Topography
fire Article A Classification of US Wildland Firefighter Entrapments Based on Coincident Fuels, Weather, and Topography Wesley G. Page *, Patrick H. Freeborn, Bret W. Butler and W. Matt Jolly USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula Fire Sciences Lab, Missoula, MT 59808, USA; [email protected] (P.H.F.); [email protected] (B.W.B.); [email protected] (W.M.J.) * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-406-329-4821 Received: 12 September 2019; Accepted: 5 October 2019; Published: 9 October 2019 Abstract: Previous attempts to identify the environmental factors associated with firefighter entrapments in the United States have suggested that there are several common denominators. Despite the widespread acceptance of the assumed commonalities, few studies have quantified how often entrapments actually meet these criteria. An analysis of the environmental conditions at the times and locations of 166 firefighter entrapments involving 1202 people and 117 fatalities that occurred between 1981 and 2017 in the conterminous United States revealed some surprising results. Contrary to general assumptions, we found that at broad spatial scales firefighter entrapments happen under a wide range of environmental conditions, including during low fire danger and on flat terrain. A cluster-based analysis of the data suggested that entrapments group into four unique archetypes that typify the common environmental conditions: (1) low fire danger, (2) high fire danger and steep slopes, (3) high fire danger and low canopy cover, and (4) high fire danger and high canopy cover. There are at least three important implications from the results of this study; one, fire environment conditions do not need to be extreme or unusual for an entrapment to occur, two, the region and site specific context is important, and, three, non-environmental factors such as human behavior remain a critical but difficult to assess factor in wildland firefighter entrapment potential. -
Wildfire Impacts of Poorly-Planned Development in San Diego County
November 13, 2018 Via Electronic Mail and Hand Delivery (with references) San Diego County Board of Supervisors Attn: David Hall Clerk of the Board of Supervisors 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 335 San Diego, CA 92101 [email protected] Re: Wildfire Impacts of Poorly-planned Development in San Diego County Dear Supervisors: These comments are submitted on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity (Center) regarding the approval or pending approval of the following Projects: 1. Warner Ranch 2. Lilac Hills 3. Newland Sierra 4. Valiano 5. Harmony Grove Village South 6. Otay Ranch Village 14, 16, 19 7. Otay Ranch Village 13 8. Otay 250 Sunroad 9. Project Specific Requests (PSRs) While the Center has many concerns regarding the environmental impacts and inadequate analyses provided in the Environmental Impact Reports of the proposed Projects, the purpose of this letter is to voice our concern regarding the public safety impacts of these poorly-planned, sprawl developments in fire-prone chaparral ecosystems in San Diego County. The Center reviewed the Environmental Impact Report of each Project to determine the cumulative impacts of these developments on wildfire risk and analyze the adequacy of proposed mitigation measures. Project footprints were compared to the fire history and fire threat of the region, as identified by state agencies (the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection [Cal Fire] and the California Public Utilities Commission [CPUC]), and the total number of housing units and potential residents for all the developments were calculated. The proposed developments would be placed in natural landscapes dominated by fire- prone native chaparral and coastal sage scrub habitats that rely on wildfires to persist. -
FIRE DEPARTMENT TOWN 106 Rural Fire District Association Newkirk Adair County Tri Community Volunteer Fire Dept
FIRE DEPARTMENT TOWN 106 Rural Fire District Association Newkirk Adair County Tri Community Volunteer Fire Dept. Stilwell Airport Road Fire Support Incorporated Bartlesville Albany Volunteer Fire Department Albany Albion Fire Department Association Albion Alden Fire Department Association Carnegie Alfalfa Rural Fire Company Carnegie Arlington Volunteer Fire Dept. Incorporated Prague Arrowhead Estates Voluntary Fire Department, Inc. Canadian Ash Creek Community Fire Department Inc. Wilburton Ashland Volunteer Fire Dept Association Stuart Baker Fire Protection Association Turpin Bar C Rural Fire Department, Inc Burbank Barnsdall Rural Fire Association Incorporated Barnsdall Basin Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Mannford Bear Creek Rural Fire District Association Kaw City Bee Community Volunteer Fire Department Association Kenefic Bell Rural Fire Department Inc Stilwell Bengal Fire Department Assn Wister Bennington Community Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assoc. Bennington Bennington Bentley Volunteer Fire District Atoka Berlin Volunteer Fire Association Sayre Berryhill Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Tulsa Bethel Road Fire Department Association Lawton Big 4 Rural Fire District Association Kingfisher Big Beaver Fire Department Inc. Shidler Big Bend Volunteer Fire Department Inc. Ralston Big Cedar Volunteer Fire Dept., Inc. Muse Black Dog Fire Association Tulsa Blackburn Rural Fire Department Pawnee Blackgum Mountain Fire Department Vian Blackland Fire Corporation Pawhuska Blue Volunteer Fire Association McAlester Bluff Fire Department Inc Soper Boggy Fire Department Association Red Oak Boulanger Rural Fire Dept. Inc. Pawhuska Bowlin Springs Fire Protection Association Chelsea Brent Rural Fire District Inc. Sallisaw Bridge Creek Fire Fighters Association Blanchard Brooken Volunteer Fire Department Stigler Brooksville Volunteer Fire Dept Corporation Tecumseh Broxton Fire Dept. Company Assn. Fort Cobb Brushy Mt. Vol. Fire Dept. Muskogee Brushy Mt.-Sequoyah Co. -
APPENDIX to ANALYSIS of EXCEPTIONAL EVENTS CONTRIBUTING to HIGH PM10 CONCENTRATIONS in the SOUTH COAST AIR BASIN on OCTOBER 13, 2008
SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT PLANNING, RULE DEVELOPMENT, AND AREA SOURCES APPENDIX to ANALYSIS OF EXCEPTIONAL EVENTS CONTRIBUTING TO HIGH PM10 CONCENTRATIONS IN THE SOUTH COAST AIR BASIN ON OCTOBER 13, 2008 SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................................................i A SUPPORTING MATERIALS ................................................................................................................................. 1 A.1 Meteorological Observations ................................................................................................................................ 1 Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS): 10/13/2008 .................................................................................... 1 NWS/FAA METAR Observations: 10/12 – 10/14/2008 ......................................................................................... 13 A.2 National Weather Service Weather Forecast Discussions .................................................................................. 61 NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard Forecast Office ............................................................................................................. 61 NWS San Diego Forecast Office .............................................................................................................................. 69 A.3 National Weather Service Short Term Forecasts (Nowcasts) ............................................................................ -
Wildland Fire in Ecosystems: Effects of Fire on Fauna
United States Department of Agriculture Wildland Fire in Forest Service Rocky Mountain Ecosystems Research Station General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-42- volume 1 Effects of Fire on Fauna January 2000 Abstract _____________________________________ Smith, Jane Kapler, ed. 2000. Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on fauna. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-42-vol. 1. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 83 p. Fires affect animals mainly through effects on their habitat. Fires often cause short-term increases in wildlife foods that contribute to increases in populations of some animals. These increases are moderated by the animals’ ability to thrive in the altered, often simplified, structure of the postfire environment. The extent of fire effects on animal communities generally depends on the extent of change in habitat structure and species composition caused by fire. Stand-replacement fires usually cause greater changes in the faunal communities of forests than in those of grasslands. Within forests, stand- replacement fires usually alter the animal community more dramatically than understory fires. Animal species are adapted to survive the pattern of fire frequency, season, size, severity, and uniformity that characterized their habitat in presettlement times. When fire frequency increases or decreases substantially or fire severity changes from presettlement patterns, habitat for many animal species declines. Keywords: fire effects, fire management, fire regime, habitat, succession, wildlife The volumes in “The Rainbow Series” will be published during the year 2000. To order, check the box or boxes below, fill in the address form, and send to the mailing address listed below. -
2020 Fresno-Kings Unit Fire Plan
Fresno-Kings Unit 5/03/2020 UNIT STRATEGIC FIRE PLAN AMENDMENTS Page Numbers Description Updated Date Section Updated Updated of Update By 4/30/20 Appendix A 36-38 Fire Plan Projects B. Garabedian 4/30/20 Appendix B 40-41 Added Wildland Activity B. Garabedian Chart 4/30/20 Appendix C 42 Update Ignition Data B. Garabedian 4/30/20 Various 103-119 2019 Accomplishment B. Garabedian i TABLE OF CONTENTS UNIT STRATEGIC FIRE PLAN AMENDMENTS .................................................................................... i TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................... ii SIGNATURE PAGE ............................................................................................................................... iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 1 SECTION I: UNIT OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................. 3 UNIT DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................................... 3 FIRE HISTORY ................................................................................................................................ 4 UNIT PREPAREDNESS AND FIREFIGHTING CAPABILITIES ..................................................... 4 SECTION II: COLLABORATION..........................................................................................................