Wildfire news, August 15

Training to resume at bombing range in NJ

The New Jersey Air National Guard will resume some training in October at a bombing range that was the source of a 17,000 acre fire on May 15, 2007. Here is what we wrote about the fire on January 10, 2008:

On May 15, 2007, a New Jersey Air National Guard F-16 ejected a flare during a low-level pass on a training flight, starting a fire which grew to 17,000 acres. The fire destroyed four homes in two senior citizen housing developments, and damaged 37 others. Some 6,000 people were evacuated. Ocean County agencies will receive $320,000 from the Air Force as reimbursements for their costs during the fire. The Air Force has already paid nearly $2 million in private property claims and other losses, but many claims are still unsettled.

USFA Releases Firefighter Fatalities Report

The United States Fire Administration released "Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2007," an annual report of on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States. There were 118 on-duty deaths in 2007 in the United States.

Of the 118 firefighters that died while on duty in 2007:

• 68 volunteer firefighters and 50 career firefighters died while on duty.
• There were seven firefighter fatality incidents where two or more firefighters were killed, claiming a total of 21 firefighters' lives.
• 11 firefighters were killed during activities involving brush, grass or wildland fires, the lowest in over a decade.
• Activities related to emergency incidents resulted in the deaths of 76 firefighters.
• 38 firefighters died while engaging in activities at the scene of a fire.
• 26 firefighters died while responding to or returning from emergency incidents.
• 11 firefighters died while they were engaged in training activities.
• 15 firefighters died after the conclusion of their on-duty activity.
• Heart attacks were the most frequent cause of death for 2007, with 52 firefighter deaths.

The full report can be downloaded at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/statistics/report.shtm.

From Firechief.com

Li'l Smokey to be on CBS News

The bear cub that was rescued by CalFire firefighter Adam Deem on the Moon fire on July 17 will be featured on the CBS Evening News on Monday. The piece was scheduled to air yesterday, but got bumped due to breaking news stories. HERE is a link to a blog about the bear.


Photo courtesy of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care