Wildfires Southern California

[Guest]

MALIBU, Calif. — A wildfire driven by powerful Santa Ana wind threatened forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes in the Malibu Hills on Sunday, authorities said. Flames destroyed a church and several homes, one of them a landmark castle.

About 500 firefighters worked to protect some 200 homes in several upscale communities nestled in the hills, officials said. The blaze, which started in Malibu Canyon, had charred at least 1,000 acres.

Winds carried burning embers across the Pacific Coast highway, closing the popular road and setting fire to cars and trees in the parking lot of a shopping center where a supermarket, drug store and other shops were damaged.

TV footage also showed several buildings in flames in the area, including clusters of beach-side homes.

"This fire is zero percent contained, which means we're at the mercy of the wind," acting Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich said.

In all, three homes and two commercial buildings had been confirmed lost throughout the area, county Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said. Nine more homes suffered moderate to minor damages, Freeman said.

No residents or firefighters were injured, he said.

Fire crews responding to a blaze early Sunday found downed power lines, which may have started the blaze, fire Capt. Mike Brown said.

Late Sunday morning, palm trees bent in half and embers were carried through the air as wind gusted to 60 to 65 mph. Thick smoke obscured the sun.

Susan Nuttall sat in her black Mercedes in a cul-de-sac just off the Pacific Coast Highway, saying she had fled her condo just below the Pepperdine University campus.

"We're all scared to death and we have nowhere to go," said Nuttall, 51, still wearing a bathrobe and holding her chihuahua.

The fire is expected to burn for another two-to-three days, Freeman said. Until the blaze is extinguished, "there will literally be thousands of homes that will be threatened at one time or another," he said.

On Sunday, flames consumed the landmark Castle Kashan, a stately fortress-like home with turrets and arched windows, as about a dozen residents watched from across a street. Chunks of brick fell from the exterior of the burning building overlooking the coast.

Erratic wind gusts hampered efforts to drop water from aircraft and pushed flames toward HRL Laboratories, a research and engineering facility jointly owned by Boeing Co. and General Motors Corp. about a mile north of Pepperdine.

One outbuilding on the campus caught fire, Boeing spokeswoman Diana Ball said.

Flames engulfed Malibu Presbyterian Church, which had been evacuated, said youth pastor Eric Smith. "That's the really good news, that everyone's out and safe," Smith said.

Faculty and staff at the 830-acre Pepperdine campus had been urged to evacuate in the morning and students were instructed to gather in the school's cafeteria and basketball arena.

By early afternoon, the campus was "secure," Freeman said. Pepperdine spokesman Jerry Derloshon said flames were no longer visible in the hills around the school and that power to the campus had been restored.

Winds continued pushing flames down the canyon walls and toward the beach, prompting residents of the communities nestled in the hills to flee their homes.

About 200 homes had been evacuated in the communities of Malibu Colony, Puerco Canyon, Monte Nido and Sweetwater Canyon, Brown said.

Meanwhile, an out-of-control wildfire whipped up by 50-mph winds consumed about 500 acres early Sunday amid dry conditions in northeast Los Angeles County, authorities said.

The fire broke out late Saturday in the hills west of the Golden State Freeway in the Angeles National Forest, said Fire Inspector Jason Hurd.

The blaze burned a shed but no homes were immediately threatened and the fire was burning toward the southwest away from the freeway, authorities said.

Fire officials were focused on protecting Piru, a Ventura County town of 1,200 people about 5 miles to the west and across a small lake from the blaze. A condor preserve was also potentially threatened.

"There could be homes threatened by the end of the day Sunday if the fire continues to push to the south and southwest," U.S. Forest Service spokesman Stanton Florea told KNX radio.

L.A. County firefighters were assisting the Forest Service in battling the blaze, Hurd said.

A third blaze burned in an unpopulated canyon area in the Porter Ranch area of the San Fernando Valley.

Los Angeles city fire department spokesman Brian Humphrey said the blaze, fanned by "howling" winds, had burned less than 25 acres, and threatened no homes or structures.

Downed power lines were found in the area, but officials didn't know if they had caused the blaze, Humphrey said.

The fire was burning north of Los Angeles city limits, but city firefighters were attacking the blaze as county crews concentrated on the other two fires.

Farther north in Ventura County, crews battled a wildfire in an area near Moorpark, county fire department spokesman Bill Nash said.

The mostly rural area is home to several new housing developments, where fire officials were urging residents to evacuate, Nash said.

Official did not know how many acres had burned, he said. No damage or injuries were reported.

Another blaze was burning about 40 miles southeast of San Diego, fire officials said.

The 100-acre wildfire near Potrero, Calif., was being driven west by winds gusting to between 30 and 35 miles per hour, officials said.

One structure had been destroyed and an unknown number of people were evacuated, officials said.

Fifty to 100 homes were potentially in harm's way, county fire Capt. Matt Streck said.

Wildfires were widely expected in Southern California over the weekend as hot weather and heavy Santa Ana winds marked the height of traditional wildfire season after one of the driest rain years on record.

Sunday, October 21, 2007 AP

[Guest]

Some pics from Foxnews.com

[Guest]

This from yahoo

No details were immediately available about the death in San Diego County, but four firefighters and four other people were injured and taken to hospitals

Hopefully its not a FF

[Guest]

Good luck to all the FF's and citizens out there. Good luck to our brothers and STAY SAFE!

[Future Fireman 4]

Where's Kujo? Wouldn't he know (somewhat) what was going on down there?

Mike

[RescueKujo 130]

Thanks guys, I was working my backside off regarding the fires in San Diego County. I actually talked to Truck 4 via message on the EMTBravoWest forums. But here are some answers to your questions....

QUOTE

No details were immediately available about the death in San Diego County, but four firefighters and four other people were injured and taken to hospitals

Hopefully its not a FF

4 firefighters were burned over in the Harris Fire, which is in the southeastern portion of San Diego County near a community named Potrero. The fatality (as of now) was civilian. 1 firefighter is reported to be in critical condition at the UCSD Burn Center in San Diego. The number of injured was unknown at the time I left work at 1800. The department the firefighters are assigned to has not been released yet.

The are currently 6 significant fires burning in Southern California tonight. Here's a recap...

Los Angeles County-Malibu and Agua Dulce (East of the area of 6 Flags Magic Mountain)

Santa Barbara County-The Sedgewick Fire, in Santa Ynez near where the Zaca Fire burned earlier this summer

Riverside County- In the area of Agua, in the Southeastern area near the San Diego County line.

San Diego County-The Witch Fire, Started this afternoon between Santa Ysabel and Ramona-as I type this reported to be between 8,000 and 10,000 acres.

The Harris Fire-also 8,000-10,000 acres as described above.

While it's busy, this is not quite like 2003, where the Cedar Fire by this time had already burned 75,000 acres and killed 12 people.

Strike Teams (5 Engines and a Team Leader) from Northern California have been ordered and reported to be on the road. I'm on nights this week, so I'll be on the lookout for interesting engines to photograph.

For some reason I am no longer able to access the forums at work (they really limit what we have access to). Otherwise, this all would have been posted long ago.

Edited October 22, 2007 by RescueKujo

[Guest]

HOPEFULLY our brothers and sisters out there will be ok and NO more injuries

CNN has some pertty wild nite shots

[Guest partyrock]

My heart goes out to those men and women. It takes a level of crazy far beyond what I can muster to attack, without water, a fire so large as it can affect the weather. My crazy ends not long after the water does.

[RescueKujo 130]

Well, when it rains it pours (if only it would rain right now). 3 more fires broke out between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. in the communities of San Marcos, Descanso and Fallbrook. The fire in San Marcos is threatening homes now.

The Witch Fire has split, with one finger heading down the San Pasqual Valley towards Escondido, the other heading towards Poway to the south. This fire is starting to take the same path as the Cedar Fire in 2003.

The Harris Fire is threatening both Jamul and Deerhorn Valley to the southeast.

No acreage updates yet this morning. No updates yet on the injured firefighters.

[Guest]

cnn.com is streaming live shots of the fires.

[ex-commish 490]

Thoughts and prayers to all out there.

[Truck4 48]

We will try to update the California fires in the Incident Alert Posts. I'll mark the second topic line with 'Updated' and the date/time so you'll know it was updated.

Also check out www.latimes.com for the latest, including photos and maps in .pdf format.

[Guest]

More photos

[Guest]

Some more

[Guest]

More

[RescueKujo 130]

San Diego County Update

Overnight the winds did not die down as the usually do in a Santa Ana event. Gusts up to 60 mph with sustained winds in the fire areas of 35-45 mph. 7 fires now burning in the county.

Turbulance is such fixed wing tankers CANNOT fly. Helos are up, but only 7 at this time. Requests are being run through dept of Defense for Navy/Marine helos to assist. These are trained for firefighting on San Clemente Island and Camp Pendleton.

Pomerado Hospital in Poway, numerous nursing homes and senior living facilites are/have evactuated due to immediate fire threat. Qualcomm Stadium has been opened as an evacuation collection point. 250,000 people (that's a quarter of a million, folks) have been evactuated in SD County at this time.

Mutal Aid Assistance agreements are in effect with Nevada and Arizona. Resources expected to arrive either later tonight or tomorrow. For reference, in 2003 for the fires in San Diego County I saw resources from as far away as Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.

If you look at a map, or are familiar with the area, the Witch Fire merged with a fire that started in the San Pasqual Valley early this morning and now is west of I15. Rancho Santa Fe, South Escondido, Rancho Bernardo, Poway all have strutures burning at this time.

The Harris Fire is expected to burn west to bump up into the Eastlake area of Chula Vista. The media is emphasizing the Witch Fire, so I haven't got much of an update for this one or any others.

The Chief that is running the EOC for the County has stated he expects the Witch fire to burn to the ocean.

The wind event is expected to blow until sometime later tomorrow or even Wednesday.

[Guest]

Maybe someone can help me undstand this,

How is it that every house on a block is gone but only 1 stands untouch?

[SageVigiles 1,194]

Wow, mutual aid from Arizona and Nevada? That's pretty intense.

Good luck Brothers, give 'em hell.

[RescueKujo 130]

Dave,

alot goes into it. Type of contruction, roofing materials, vegetation around the structure, and most of the time just dumb luck.

[jack10562 414]

Visible Satellite shows the smoke from the fires.

[Guest]

Dave,

alot goes into it. Type of contruction, roofing materials, vegetation around the structure, and most of the time just dumb luck.

Cool thanks

[Truck4 48]

Some Updates:

California:

-The Gov. activated 1,500 National Guard troops to assist

-The Department of Defense is sending (6) C-130's with firefighting capability to California from (3) states. These should in be service by Tuesday.

-The National Guard has (3) helicopters operating

-Federal firefighters are being deployed from military bases.

Los Angeles:

-The DC-10 super tanker is operating on the Arrowhead Fire.

-The Buckweed Fire (LA County) is now 34,500 acres.

-Malibu Fire is at 3,000 acres.

San Diego:

-The Marine Corps is evacuating aircraft from MAS Miramar due to fire in the area of the base.

-50 Riverside County Sheriffs Deputies are going M/A to San Diego County

-The Harris Fire is at 22,000 acres with 5% containment.

-The Witch Fire is now 145,000 acres and 0% contained. (600) Structures have been destroyed (500 residences, 50 outbuildings and 100 commercial properties). 300 Structures have been damaged (250 residences, 75 commercial properties and 50 outbuildings). (7) injuries to firefighters and (1) injury to a civilian. Communities threatened: San Diego, Poway, Ramona, Escondido, Lakeside, Valley Center, San Marcos, Rancho Santa Fe. Currently there are 89 engines, 9 fire crews, 10 dozers, 2 water tenders- about 625 firefighters. The Command Post has been moved to Kit Carson Park (at Kit Carson Park and Bear Valley Parkway).

[Guest]

CNN just reported another death unknow if a FF or not

[Guest]

I'm slightly confused here. I've been hearing that California needs help and more firefighters, but tonight I was informed that they are refusing help from Idaho fire departments. From what I hear, California doesn't accept Idaho's Red Cards, which certify a firefighter for wildland firefighting duties. Specifically, the Sun Valley Fire Department, with some personnel from Ketchum Fire Department, staffed an engine and was about to drive to California to help out, but they were refused. I believe the wildland fire training course here is the national course, so why wouldn't a Red Card from Idaho be good enough? We recently had a wildfire here and accepted help from California for both Incident Command and firefighting duties. It would be nice to return the favor to California...

Anyone have an insight to the issue of accepting versus rejecting help from other departments/states? Does a department or agency determine that a certain level of training isn't adequate to provide mutual aid help?

Thanks.

[danb 10]

As far as I know the red card is national in all 50 states.

Anyone know anyone/anywhere where I can take my pack test? My red card expired in addition to it being lost in my paperwork when I moved

Edited October 24, 2007 by danb

[Truck4 48]

From RescueKujo:

San Diego County Update 7 p.m. 10-24-2007

10-24-07 7:30 p.m. CAL FIRE provided the following updates on fires.

Harris Fire

75,000 acres

10% contained

Full containment expected on the 28th and full control on Nov. 4th.

1,341 firefighters assigned and 7 injuries to firefighters.

Cost to date to fight the fires is $3,400,000.

155 homes destroyed

250 homes damaged

2 commercial properties and 17 outbuildings destroyed.

The returning onshore flow has moved the fire to the northeast threatening structures along Highway 94 from Jamul to the east, Lyons Valley to the north. The regional communications equipment on Lyons Peak was damaged by fire, cutting off power and destroying the back-up generator. Crews installed a portable repeater to support fire communications. The fire progressed north in the Barrett Lake area, consuming old, heavy fuels.

Witch Fire

196,240 acres

20% contained

No estimated containment or control, but little fire spread.

2,331 firefighters assigned to this fire

Cost to date to fight the fires is $5 million

Fire progression has slowed to the west, southwest, and northwest due to improvement in weather and resources assigned to the fire. Conditions in these areas have improved to the point of evaluating the return of some residents. Winds in the fire area are still variable with coastal influence returning to valleys. Warm, dry and unstable conditions still exist at the higher elevations and the eastern areas of the fire. The Poomacha Fire continues to burn close to the north flank of the Witch Incident, they have NOT joined.

Rice Fire

9,000 acres

20% contained

Full containment expected on the 28th, with full control expected November 5th

1,095 firefighters assigned

Cost to date to fight the fires is $1,283,133

Poomacha Fire

35,000 acres

10 percent contained

719 firefighters assigned.

12 injuries to firefighters.

Expansion of incident in a north easterly direction due to wind shifts. Fire increased in size due to extreme fire behavior, lack of resources and wind shifts. Perimeter control has been initiated and structure protection is still in place. Evacuation centers continue to be staffed and occupied.

Cost to date to fight the fires is $750,000.

[RescueKujo 130]

Okay guys, I'm back. After 2 nights and a day of working my backside off, I am actually able to get on my computer and access the places I can't at work. We are the ambulance coordinator during disasters for San Diego County, and have been coordinating the evacs of convalescent homes and even a hospital. Ambulance strike teams from throughout Southern California have converged in San Diego to safely transport patients to facilities throughout Southern California. In some of our contracted cities/areas, we are sending BLS ambulances as first responders for our medics rather than engines, so they can concentrate on fire and traffic collision responses. It's been a busy few days, but the worst seems to have lessened.

As to comments about what or who was declined when offered, I do not pretend to have any answers. But I believe in the post disaster review, some interesting tidbits about turf wars will be exposed and people will lose their jobs because of it. While I don't believe that there wasn't a lot to stop or even slow these fires at the height of the Santa Ana (you do not fly in 60 mph wind gusts), it really doesn't look good as a leader if you are declining assets and thousands of structures are lost. Poeple may refuse to believe that nothing could be done, but their perception is what they'll remember.

10-25-07 7:46 p.m. CAL FIRE provided the following update.

The Harris Fire is 84,000 acres and 20% contained. Cost to date $5.4 million. There are 1,341 firefighters assigned and 12 firefighter injuries. There has been 97 homes , 2 commercial properties and 17 out buildings destroyed. Active structure protection continued in Lyons Valley. The fire spotted across the south-west arm of Barrett Lake. Approximately 500 more homes were ordered evacuated today. Re-entry for residents only was allowed today in the Thousand Trails, Potrero and Tecate neighborhoods.

No change in acreage for the Witch Fire, but it is now 30% contained, with full containment expected on October 31st and full control on November 5th. Cost to date $7 million, 1,061 homes, 30 commercial properties and 175 outbuildings, 239 vehicles have been destroyed. 62 homes, 10 commercial properties and 50 outbuilding have been damaged. There have been 22 injuries to firefighters, and 2 civilian fatalities. There are 2, 883 firefighters assgined.

The Rice Fire is still 9,000 acres and now 40% contained, with full containment expected October 28th, and full control November 5th. Cost to date $1,917,000. 3 firefighters have been injured, and there are 1,073 assigned. Fire activity generally limited to localized flare-ups. The cause was powerlines.

The Poomacha Fire is 38,500 acres and 30% contained, with full containment expected October 29th. Cost to date $1,619,000. 60 homes and 19 outbuildings have been destroyed. There have been 12 injuries to firefighters and there are 1,406 assigned. Control line has been tied in to the Witch Fire. Some spotting across the line has occurred, but control line is holding. Mop up and patroling is in progress within the flats, but the Pauma Reservation and Palomar Mtn. areas are still active. Fire has entered the Aqua Tibia Wilderness. Control operations are difficult within this area due to steep terrain, inaccessibility and lack of crew resources. Active structure protection in Mt. Palomar area. 450 structures threatened. A general assessment of structures lost is in progress

[Monty 35]

I did see on the CW news that there were some NYS OEM staff flying out from LaGuardia yesterday to California to assist with Command & Control. Short but positive piece.

[Guest]

Police kill arson suspect in San Bernardino; another arrested

The Los Angeles Times reports that campus police in San Bernardino shot and killed one arson suspect last night, and that a suspect in a different arson was arrested. It's not known whether either may have started any of the wildfires that have destroyed 1,500 homes and displaced more than 800,000 people.

The paper says Cal State San Bernardino police spotted a man in a rural area of flood channels and scrub near the campus yesterday about 6 p.m. The man tried to flee in his pickup and was shot when he began ramming the officers' vehicle. The suspect was described as being 27 years old with an Arizona home address. Police said his identity and other information will be released tomorrow.

Separately, John Alfred Rund, 48, of Hesperia is being held on $750,000 bail on suspicion of arson and is to appear in court tomorrow in Victorville. A motorist reported seeing him start a fire along Highway 173, below Lake Arrowhead. It was extinguished quickly. Police say he has not been connected with the bigger blaze around Lake Arrowhead.

At least two wildfires, one in Orange County and the other in Temecula, were started by arsonists, authorities say. The FBI is investigating.

Posted by Michael Winter at 08:40 PM/ET, October 24, 2007 in Nation

[x635 4,066]

Interesting tidbit. You think that lessons are learned from previous incidents, but can't be deployed due to politics-again. Disgusting.

The state (California) has come under criticism for failing to deploy sufficient aerial support in the wildfires' crucial first hours. An Associated Press investigation revealed that nearly two dozen water-dropping helicopters and two cargo planes were grounded by bureaucracy as flames spread.

The Navy, Marine and California National Guard helicopters were grounded for a day partly because state rules require all firefighting choppers to be accompanied by state forestry "fire spotters" who coordinate water or retardant drops. By the time those spotters arrived, the high winds made flying too dangerous.

Additionally, the National Guard's C-130 cargo planes were not part of the firefighting arsenal because long-needed retrofits have yet to be completed. The tanks they need to carry thousands of gallons of fire retardant were promised four years ago.

"When you look at what's happened, it's disgusting, inexcusable foot-dragging that's put tens of thousands of people in danger," Republican U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071026/ap_on_...ornia_wildfires