Firefighters have more to worry about at Camp Pendleton

Fire burns at Camp Pendleton
The Associated Press
Posted: 09/03/2009 07:41:23 PM PDT
Updated: 09/03/2009 07:41:23 PM PDT


CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.—A fire is burning on a firing range at the Camp Pendleton Marine base, but officials say firefighters are keeping their distance in case of possible unexploded mines and mortar.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_13265683

More than 20 firefighters reportedly injured in Station Fire

California counts cost of raging wildfires
Story Highlights
More than 20 firefighters reportedly injured in Station Fire; two died earlier in crash

California has spent $21 million fighting fire; it's 22 percent contained

Blaze encroaching on San Gabriel Wilderness Area in Angeles National Forest

Crews battle blaze near historic observatory atop Mount Wilson

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A raging wildfire north of Los Angeles has displaced thousands of anxious Californians, burning 140,150 acres by Wednesday.

Beth Halaas sifted through the ashes of her family's charred Los Angeles County home trying to find something to salvage.

"It's stuff. Hold on to some of it for traditions. But you've got to remember it's just stuff," she said on CNN's "Campbell Brown."

The so-called Station Fire forced Noel and Marta Rincon to evacuate their home in Tujunga.

"I thought that we were losing our home," the husband said of the residence where he was born and the couple raised their family.
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California counts cost of raging wildfires

California:Mourning the loss of two Firefighters

In the Line of Duty.... Mourning the loss of two Firefighters

Wildfire with 'mind of its own' doubles in size

Wildfire with 'mind of its own' doubles in size
A fast-moving wildfire more than doubled in size on Monday and has burned through 164 square miles in Southern California since it started. Fire officials ordered mandatory evacuations for residents of 10,000 homes, and five people who refused to evacuate were trapped by the fire. The blaze "has a mind of its own," U.S. Forest Service official Mike Dietrich said. full story
Schwarzenegger: Heed fire warnings
Explainer: All about fighting wildfires
Fire time-lapse mirrors volcano eruption

Two firefighters die battling blaze in Los Angeles County

Two firefighters die battling blaze in Los Angeles County
Story Highlights
NEW: Two dead firefighters identified

Fast-growing Los Angeles County wildfire has become 42,000-acre conflagration

So-called Station Fire threatens up to 10,000 homes and 2,000 other structures

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Fire officials late Sunday identified two firefighters who died accidentally while battling a fast-spreading wildfire in Los Angeles County.

Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, and Spc. Arnaldo Quinones, 35, were in a vehicle that "went over the side" on Sunday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles Country Fire Department.

They were fighting what is known as the Station Fire, which had spread to 42,000 acres by late Sunday.

Hall was with the department for 26 years and Quinones for eight years.

The accident happened near Acton, about 25 miles north of central Los Angeles, during "intense fire activity that was occurring near Mount Gleason," Deputy Fire Chief Michael Bryant said.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/31/california.wildfires/index.html

UPDATE

LA firefighters killed trying to save inmate crew
By CHRISTINA HOAG and JACOB ADELMAN, Associated Press Writers
Monday, August 31, 2009
18:21 PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) --

As the roaring wall of flame raged through the Angeles National Forest, firefighters Ted Hall and Arnie Quinones worked feverishly to protect their fire-crew camp, made up mostly of prison inmates.

read more hereLA firefighters killed trying to save inmate crew

Santa Barbara wildfire expands, more losses

Please pray for the people in the fire's path but say a special prayer for the firefighters trying to stop it.

More than 2,300 firefighters were on the scene along with 246 engines, 14 air tankers and 15 helicopters. A DC-10 jumbo jet tanker capable of dumping huge loads of retardant began making runs on the fire Friday afternoon.

Santa Barbara wildfire expands, more losses
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, Associated Press Writer

Friday, May 8, 2009

(05-08) 14:13 PDT Santa Barbara, Calif. (AP) --

A wildfire raging along mountain slopes burned more houses Friday as it expanded along a five-mile front above normally serene coastal communities where more than 30,000 people have been forced from their homes.

Authorities warned another 23,000 people to be ready to leave at a moment's notice.

Columns of smoke boiled off the Santa Ynez Mountains after a fierce overnight battle as the 4-day-old, 3,500-acre blaze repeated its pattern of relative calm in daylight and explosive behavior when winds arrive in the evenings.

"Literally last night, all hell broke loose," Santa Barbara Fire Chief Andrew DiMizio said Friday morning, recounting firefighters' efforts to put out roof fires and keep flames out of the city proper.

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Santa Barbara wildfire expands, more losses

Volusia County gets blame firefighter's death

Volusia County gets blame firefighter's death
By Helen Eckinger Sentinel Staff Writer
April 9, 2009

A Volusia County firefighter died in a 2007 accident because of insufficient training and inadequate safeguards, according to a new report from the State Fire Marshal's Office.

The report blames Volusia County Fire Services for the failures during a wildfire-fighting training exercise at a training center near Daytona Beach on Nov. 27, 2007.

John Curry, 30, was killed at the Volusia County Fire Training Center when firefighters chopped down a tree and it fell in an unexpected direction, striking Curry in the head.

Curry was survived by his wife, Kristen, and young son, Owen. He was the first Volusia County firefighter to die in the line of duty, as well as the first firefighter to die at the training center.
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Volusia County gets blame firefighter's death

Training explosion may have sparked Carson fire

Training explosion may have sparked Carson fire
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Mar 4, 2009 16:43:53 EST

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Army says a training explosion may have sparked a 6,500 acre wildfire on Fort Carson near Colorado Springs.

Fort Carson spokeswoman Karen Connelly said Wednesday the detonation of less than a quarter stick of the military explosive C-4 in a rock quarry may have caused the fire.

Connelly could not immediately provide details about the C-4 training.

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California:Autistic boy seeks hope in wildfire's ashes

Autistic boy seeks hope in wildfire's ashes
Seven-year-old Jonathan Reyes whimpered softly as he and his parents approached what was left of their house, one of more than than 500 structures destroyed by wildfires in Los Angeles County. The Reyeses were anguished about explaining the loss to their son. Any child would find such loss devastating, but Jonathan is even more fragile. He has autism. full story
Family says goodbye to burned home
Bonfire sparked wildfire, authorities say

California fires:'This dude saved a ton of houses'

'This dude saved a ton of houses'
10:22 AM, November 18, 2008
Jeff Reeves became a local hero in one Yorba Linda neighborhood after spending a day and a half spraying down his neighbors' homes with his water truck.

Reeves, a grading contractor, heard that people in his neighborhood were encountering a fierce fire. So he pulled the water truck out of his yard, filled it with 2,250 gallons of water and, at 10:15 a.m. Saturday, when the fire hit, began spraying homes with loads of liquid.

He kept going all day and all night, repeatedly spraying dozens of threatened homes with gushes of water, which emerged from a nozzle on the side of the white vehicle bearing a U.S. flag. He sprayed out 49 loads, finishing up at 5 o'clock the next morning.
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Obama acts presidential even as he lays low

Obama acts presidential even as he lays low
Posted: 03:15 PM ET
From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

President-elect Obama called California's governor and the mayor of Los Angeles to express concern about the wildfires raging in Southern California.
(CNN) – The man once referred to by a rival campaign as “the biggest celebrity in the world” has intentionally been keeping a very low profile in the awkward limbo period between Election Day and his inauguration on January 20.
But on Monday President-Elect Barack Obama stepped out a little and acted decidedly presidential in the middle of a disaster in California.
Obama called Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villraigosa “to express his concern over the wildfires and to receive an update on the situation,” according to a statement released by the Obama transition team Monday.
In the nearly two weeks since Election Day, Obama has taken great pains to make it clear that President Bush remains in charge of the country and its affairs until Obama’s swearing in two months. At his first press conference as president-elect, Obama stressed that the country only has one president at a time and, Obama did not participate in the recent economic summit of world leaders convened to discuss a coordinated response to the financial crisis that has roiled global securities and credit markets.
Update 3:15 p.m.: The Web site of President-elect Obama's presidential campaign, barackobama.com, was altered after Obama's calls to Gov. Schwarzenegger and Mayor Villaraigosa in order to encourage visitors to the site to donate to relief efforts for the victims of the Southern California wildfires. Click here to read a blog post on the Web site.

L.A. County offers crisis counseling to fire victims

Most of you know I do videos on PTSD. There are several that should go here. More later.

L.A. County offers crisis counseling to fire victims
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
By Kate Linthicum
12:07 PM PST, November 17, 2008
The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health is offering free crisis counseling to victims of the Sayre and Freeway Complex fires.

"When you talk about traumatic events like these, they will be affecting people for days, weeks, months and even years after," said Ken Kondo, a spokesman for the department. "The recovery process has to start now."
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First one is that while we focus on the victims, we need to remember the firefighters trying to save lives and as much property as they can. PTSD I Grieve is about firefighters and police officers who also happen to be members of the National Guard. They train to serve here and their communities, then they get deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, then come home again. They need a lot of help.


Second one is PTSD Not God's Judgment. While it was intended for warriors, it has been used to help firefighters and police officers. We tend to come out of tragedies and wonder if God just judged us after it happened. PTSD is not a judgment against anyone.



PTSD After Trauma is for the victims.



IFOC Chaplain Army Of Love is about the Chaplains who go rushing in to help and they are never really reported on. These are quiet heroes, going where they are needed and when they are needed. It does not matter what the cause of the trauma was, usually, they are right there.



For more information about the IFOC, go here

International Fellowship of Chaplains Chaplaincy Training ...
Dave and Judy Vorce
The International Fellowship of Chaplains, Inc. (IFOC) is a non profit, providing training, recognition, certification and information

California firefighters make gains

MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ / AP

California firefighters make gains
Calm winds have allowed firefighters in Southern California to make gains on two raging wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of residents to flee.
Read story

National Guard Iraq vets switch tools to battle California wildfires

A battle far from Iraq, but just as hot
Story Highlights
National Guard Iraq vets switch tools to battle California wildfires

Robert Rosbia and Mike Valdivia are among 400 deployed to help fight fires

They are working tirelessly to clear fire lines that will help firefighters

From Paul Vercammen
CNN

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Their weapon in Iraq was a rifle.


In California, it's a tool with a line of shark-like teeth.

National Guardsman Robert Rosbia takes a break from the sweaty, grimy job of slicing through thick foliage in the northern California woods.

"Here, we're protecting lives," the Iraq veteran said. "But this time I am doing it with this instead of a .50-caliber machine gun."

Rosbia and another Iraq veteran, Mike Valdivia, are among the first of 400 National Guard troops to be deployed on the ground in California in more than three decades. Their hours are spent hacking away at the brush to create fire lines -- areas cleared of vegetation -- so that firefighters can make a stand with water from the ground and help from the air.

Valdivia, a father of three from Seaside, California, said the two are prepared for working in oppressive heat.

"Your body starts kicking up a lot of heat under the collar," Valdivia said, tugging at his soaked undershirt. "In Iraq, we had temperatures of 117 degrees plus. Here, there's a lot of physical labor like Iraq."

A truck driver and married father of two, Rosbia said his wife is just happy he's deployed near his San Francisco Bay area home and not in Iraq.
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California firefighters battling blazes before heatwave

California firefighters battling blazes before heatwave


LOS ANGELES (AFP) — California firefighters were racing to make inroads against wildfires raging across the state on Monday before the arrival of a forecast record heatwave later this week, officials said.

More than 19,000 firefighters are battling some 330 active fires across California. Nearly 1,800 blazes have erupted since June 20, scorching around 597,000 acres (241,600 hectares) according to latest figures.

The frontlines of the battle are two separate out-of-control wildfires threatening thousands of homes which are burning in the Los Padres National Forest near the coastal town of Santa Barbara and the tourist haven of Big Sur.
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Please pray for the firefighters.

California fires threaten Big Sur, Santa Barbara County

California fires threaten Big Sur, Santa Barbara County
Story Highlights
The Gap Fire in Santa Barbara County declared the state's top priority Friday

Fire has charred 3,000 acres, threatens town of Goleta

Some 1,400 Big Sur residents ordered to leave homes due to Basin Complex Fire

Volunteer dies north of San Francisco; more than 1,700 wildfires in last two weeks

BIG SUR, California (CNN) -- Fast-moving flames early Friday burned the steep mountainsides a mile from homes on the northern edge of Goleta, California, near Santa Barbara.


Mandatory evacuations ordered Thursday morning for mountain home communities outside Goleta were widened Thursday night as winds kicked up after sundown, making it tougher to fight the fire, a state fire spokesman said.

Farther north up the California coast, 1,400 residents of Big Sur were ordered to leave their homes because of the Basin Complex Fire, which has burned about 65,000 acres of the Los Padres National Forest in the last two weeks. At least 20 homes have been destroyed.

Besides forcing residents from their homes, the fire also is likely to deter tourists, who would usually flock to the area for the July Fourth holiday.

"I'm sure the season is just toast," Kurt Mayer, who stayed to defend his Big Sur Deli despite mandatory evacuation orders, told The Associated Press. "Usually the busiest time is July and August, so I'm sure it's just going to be zero."
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Everglades fire forces prison evacuation

Everglades fire forces prison evacuation
Story Highlights
NEW: More than 2,200 inmates and detainees are moved to other facilities

Fires consuming thousands of acres across Florida, officials say

Fire official says Everglades wildfire about 30 percent contained

Smell of "burning tires" permeates air, says Broward County resident


(CNN) -- A fast-moving wildfire in South Florida forced the evacuation of more than 2,200 inmates and detainees on Monday, authorities said.

About 1,700 inmates were evacuated from Everglades Correctional Institution.

The Krome Detention Center, which houses 535 people, was also evacuated, said officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The evacuees were being taken to other facilities, corrections officials said.

The wildfire has scorched 36,000 acres of the Everglades National Park and is the largest in a series of blazes that erupted in Florida recently.

The blaze had been held to areas inside the park but winds have been pushing to the southwest, dangerously close to the detention center, said Nina Barrow of the Southern Area Inter-Agency Management Blue Team.

The fire in the southern Florida park of hiking trails and campgrounds was about 30 percent contained Monday, said Barrow.

"We are making some progress on the fire, and we may get some help with the weather today," Barrow said. "Forecasts today said we have our best chance of rain in the next week or so -- a 30 percent chance -- but we also have a chance of lightning."

The fire sent a haze of smoke over parts of South Florida -- including Miami. Watch the Everglades fire spread »

Visibility in some parts of Broward County could be as low a quarter-mile, the weather service said.


Gary Takes, who lives north of Miami in Broward, said thick smoke hung in his neighborhood Monday, leaving an odor that smelled like "burning tires." Learn how wildfires spread »

"The stench permeates through the ventilation system at the office as well as within your car while commuting," Takes said. "Most people in the area are very edgy, with lawns and vegetation the brownest they have been in many years."

Five fire crews were battling the blaze Monday as helicopters dropped water from overhead, Barrow said. Firefighters were working to protect structures in the park and also the Cape Sable seaside sparrow, a federally protected species whose only habitat is in the Everglades. iReport.com: Send your wildfire photos, videos

Firefighters also were battling blazes in other parts of Florida, according to state and federal fire officials:

• In Glades County, the Myakka Cut fire threatened the towns of Moore Haven and Lakeport. The fire, about five miles north of Clewiston, was burning about 19,000 acres and was 50 percent contained.

• Six fires raging across 12,500 acres in Brevard County near Palm Bay were about 80 percent contained Monday morning. The National Interagency Fire Center said it expected the fires to be fully contained by Tuesday. Damage totals more than $9 million, officials said. Last week, Florida authorities charged a suspect with arson in connection with some of the fires in Palm Bay. Watch as authorities handle a suspect »

• The Mud Swamp fire in Liberty County, about five miles northeast of Sumatra, was scorching about 1,400 acres -- some of it in the Apalachicola National Forest -- and was 80 percent contained.

• An 800-acre fire in Volusia County, about six miles west of Daytona Beach, was almost fully contained, and firefighters were conducting "mop-up activities," according to the Florida Division of Forestry.

• A 225-acre fire that started on the shoulder of Interstate 75 in Sarasota County caused two "rubbernecking"-related highway accidents, the forestry division reported. The fire was about 60 percent contained Monday.
go here for links and videos
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/19/florida.wildfires/index.html

Fires across Florida some arson suspected

Brush fires battering Brevard County; I-95 closed


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Wildfire burns acres near Fort Carson

Chris McLean, Pueblo Chieftain / AP



Wildfire burns 9,000 acres near Carson

By Ivan Moreno - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Apr 16, 2008 10:58:21 EDT

ORDWAY, Colo. — Firefighters were hoping rain and snow Wednesday would help them quell a blaze that scorched 9,000 acres near Fort Carson, forcing the evacuation of people living near the base.

A firefighting plane crashed near the post, killing the pilot who was battling a blaze the fire, which raged unchecked late Tuesday, said Capt. Gregory Dorman, a base spokesman. Two shelters were set up at the post and a third at a nearby community college to house evacuees.

One state highway was closed. The cause of the fire hadn’t been determined.

Winds gusted up to 50 mph along the Rocky Mountain Front Range and eastern plains Tuesday, fanning flames of another fire that quickly spread across 7,100 acres of grassland near Ordway. Authorities told all 1,200 residents to leave.

By late Tuesday, firefighters had contained 50 percent of the blaze, which damaged at least 20 buildings, four within town limits, fire information officer Chris Sorensen said.

Officials said two people died in the fire, though they didn’t immediately release details.

A third fire, near Carbondale in the western Colorado mountains, damaged at least two homes and injured one person, though the nature of the injury wasn’t known.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_carsonfire_041608/