Wildfire news, October 24

Ohio: Canton firefighters to get bulletproof vests

For a while we worked in an area where we frequently responded to wildland fires in an urban-interface area with a high crime rate. Part of the standard fire dispatch for that area included a law enforcement officer along with the fire apparatus. We never had any serious problems, but we worried about leaving our engines unattended.

But the Canton, Ohio firefighters feel they need bulletproof Kevlar vests and requested them during the last round of contract negotiations. Their paramedics have had problems before and have already been wearing them on some calls.

A draft standard operating procedure for the Canton firefighters says the body armor should be worn when responding to shootings, stabbings, altercations, domestic violence, assaults, and anytime there is a potential for violence.

About $100,000 worth of the vests which cost $800 each will arrive in a couple of months.

More information is available at CantonRepository.com.



New Jersey: Salders Ditch fire


The fire that started Tuesday 10 miles southeast of the Philadelphia suburbs has now burned 1,950 acres and is 50% contained. Some areas within the fire are swampy and contain peat which can be several feet deep, requiring massive amounts of water to put out. Smoke will be a problem for quite a while, possibly requiring additional closures of a major highway, Route 206.


A video about the fire on the courierpostonline.com site included this image of a clever fire danger sign on the back of a vehicle. We assume the arrow is magnetic and can be easily moved.

Wildfire news, October 23

New Jersey: Wharton State Forest fire


The 1,800-acre Salders Ditch fire which began Tuesday afternoon in the Wharton State Forest southeast of Philadelphia is proving to be rather difficult to put out. Yesterday strong winds caused it to jump across a major highway, Route 206. One of the firefighters was quoted as saying the "rugged" terrain was one of their challenges. The fire is 50% contained.

Two injuries have been reported. On Tuesday, a police officer was struck by a vehicle as he directed traffic and a firefighter was hospitalized briefly after complaining of chest pains.


California: Santa Ana winds... again

The Sepulveda fire near the 405 freeway in Los Angeles

The Santa Ana winds are back and are expected to blow until Saturday. A red flag warning is in effect for some areas until Friday night.

Early this morning a 150-acre 100-acre fire, named Sepulveda fire, caused the 405 freeway in Los Angeles to be closed for a few hours during rush hour. Before sunrise at least eight night-flying helicopters washed the fire off the hill.

A night-flying helicopter makes a drop on the Sepulveda fire.

According to Vertical, a publication about helicopters:

The nighttime helicopter fire fight saved numerous homes and allowed ground resources to contain the Sepulveda Incident to 100+ acres with no injuries reported or structures lost. The Los Angeles City Fire Department sent four Bell 412 helicopters and one Bell 206L for command and control, while the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded with three Sikorsky S-70 Firehawks and two Bell 412s to assist in the nighttime battle.

In addition to the 17 agency owned helicopters of the Los Angeles City and County Fire Departments, County Fire has two CL-415 SuperScoopers from the Province of Quebec in Canada, and one Erickson S-64 Helitanker on contract. City Fire also has one Erickson S-64 Helitanker on contract to assist in combating the devastating wind driven Fall fires common this time of year in Southern California.

At least one Sikorsky Sky Crane helicopter also worked the fire after sunrise.


California: Chalk fire

This fire south of Big Sur has now burned 16,094 acres and is 89% contained. The Coast Highway, Highway 1, has been closed occasionally due to rolling rocks. Big Sur Kate has some great nightime pictures of the fire reflected in the ocean.

Wildfire News, October 22

Fire in New Jersey burns 1,200 acres

The fire burns near Atsion Lake in Shamong Township in New Jersey on Tuesday. Photo by Curt Hudson.

Update @ 9:13 p.m. ET

By 4:30 p.m. the fire had burned a total of 1,800 acres and was 40% contained. No homes are immediately threatened, a spokesman said.

=======================================

A fire 10 miles southeast of the Philadelphia suburbs has forced the evacuation of several homes and has burned 1,200 acres as of Wednesday morning. The fire is burning in the New Jersey Pine Barrens in the Wharton State Forest and a portion of it has burned into an area that burned last year. Two helicopters and an air tanker are assisting firefighters. A major highway, Route 206, has at times been closed due to the fire, which is 20% contained. Strong winds are predicted for today, 15-20 mph with gusts to 30.

National Guard troops used on fires in California

For the first time in more than 30 years National Guard troops were used on fires in California during the Siege of '08, the lightning bust earlier this summer when 2,096 fires burned 1.2 million acres. Over 4,400 troops worked on the fires, with 150 of them being treated for injuries. The most common injury was a strained back, but others suffered snake and spider bites.

The National Guard says 400 are on "high alert" for fire duty as needed and that 2,000 have been trained as firefighters. We are not sure if that means 2,400 worked the fires without being trained, or if some of them had multiple assignments and were counted twice.

Michael Gardner of the San Diego Union-Tribune described the tools used by the troops:

"....the California National Guard dispatched crews with picks and shovels to the front lines from Big Sur to the Oregon border."

Anyone ever used a pick on a wildland fire?

New Term for Prescribed Fire?

The Philadelphia Inquirer is using terms that are new to me, calling a planned New Jersey prescribed fire a "preventive burn", and later a "partial burn". This burn project is in the area where an Air Force F-16 dropped some flares last May and started what became a 17,000 acre fire.

"N.J. plans a preventive burn today in Pinelands

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is scheduled to conduct a partial burn today in the Stafford Forge area near Warren Grove in southern Ocean County.

The burn is to begin about 10 a.m. east of Route 539 near the Warren Grove Gunnery Range, and wind and other conditions will determine its duration, said Jim Petrini, a spokesman for the service.

The service plans to burn as much as 2,200 acres of the Pinelands in the next few weeks in an effort to eliminate dry underbrush and tree debris that accumulate and act as tinder and fuel when a fire ignites.

The prescribed burn is a response to a May 15 wildfire that scorched 17,000 acres near the gunnery range, forced hundreds of residents to evacuate, and destroyed or damaged dozens of homes. "

Air Force to Reimburse for Fire Costs

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.