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INCIDENT COMMANDER CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTERDECEMBER 23 -- SPOKANE, WA: In what's probably the first case of its kind, federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged Forest Service employee Ellreese Daniels with manslaughter and lying to investigators in the wake of the fatal Thirtymile Fire in 2001 in north-central Washington.
Daniels, 46, was the incident commander on the fire on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, and the 11-count criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Spokane says Daniels was "grossly negligent" in supervising firefighters on the fire. Four of them died and several others were injured.
If convicted, Daniels could spend six years in prison, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Hopkins said that's unlikely because Daniels has no criminal record. According to a Seattle Times story, his attorney, Tina Hunt, said the charges are without merit.
The 70-page complaint was filed by John Parker, a special agent of the USDA Office of Inspector General. In it, Parker states that Daniels supervised firefighters under his command "in a manner that was grossly negligent ... in wanton and reckless disregard for human life." He charges that the circumstances of the fire should have caused Daniels to foresee that his conduct might place the lives of firefighters in danger, and that that was the proximate cause of their deaths.
In numerous other counts of the complaint, Parker states that Daniels knowingly and intentionally made false and fictitious statements and representations concerning his conduct while supervising firefighters on the fire.
After the fire, an OSHA investigation determined that Forest Service supervisors had violated all ten of the Standard Fire Orders and cited the Forest Service for several willful violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The Forest Service Safety & Accident Investigation Team concluded that the fatalities were preventable and that a combination of human errors and conditions in the Chewuch River canyon that day caused the loss of life. The agency said the primary errors were the failure to withdraw the crew from the canyon when initial attack failed, which resulted in their entrapment, and the failure to ensure that the crew properly deployed shelters on the best available site.
"The consensus of experts is that all four deceased firefighters would have survived if they deployed on the road near the other crew members," says the complaint.
After the investigations, the Forest Service proposed administrative discipline and removed Daniels from the fire program. He now works at a supply cache in East Wenatchee.
The case has been referred to a grand jury, which will meet next month to decide whether to issue an indictment against Daniels.
MONTANA RESIDENTS GRILL FIRE MANAGERSDECEMBER 22 -- COLUMBUS, MT: A packed crowd on Tuesday demanded answers about how agency personnel handled the 199,500-acre Derby Mountain Fire in August, which burned south of Big Timber. The fire was ignited by lightning on August 22 and wasn't contained till October 15.
Why was a private helicopter called off the fire, residents asked, and why were some homes protected and others seemingly written off? With severe red-flag conditions forecast, why were resources sitting idle elsewhere?
County, state and federal representatives answered some of those questions and provided insight into others, according to the Billings Gazette, at the meeting organized by local residents with the help of Rep. Denny Rehberg.
Steve Fry with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation explained that when the Derby Fire took off, there were 64 large fires burning in the nation -- seven of them in the Northern Rockies Region.
Local rancher Keith Martin asked about the use of a private helicopter that had been working in the area for a mine exploration company. The pilot told Martin that he had been dropping 100 gallons of water on the fire every four minutes when the Forest Service called him off.
The Forest Service, though, says the plane carrying smokejumpers to the fire was unable to communicate with the helicopter, and when the helicopter landed to refuel, the plane took off and the helcopter didn't return to the fire. "We never, ever intended to run that guy out," said Jeff Stockwell of the Custer National Forest. "We were only trying to establish communications with that private helicopter."
Fry said all aircraft and pilots must be evaluated before they fight fires. "We can't assume the responsibility for aircraft and pilots we aren't certain can meet the standards of performance," he said.
Fire contractor Dave Russell of Bozeman said carded helicopters aren't always easily available. He said it was five days before a helicopter was sent from Lewistown and questioned why it wasn't released earlier.
In response to questions about protection of homes, Mike Gagen, forest fire management officer for the Gallatin National Forest, said the agency is not prepared to fight structural fires, which are handled by local fire departments. Rich Cowger, Columbus fire chief, said the county's 50 engines were stretched among the 150 homes they were trying to protect.
Sweet Grass County Commissioner Phil Hathaway said forests should be logged to prevent wildfires. "We have to have local control of our forests, instead of environmental groups and activist judges in San Francisco," he said. "If we are going to continue to let fires do their thing, we must be ready to spend as much (as it takes) to keep fires from leaving the Forest Service boundaries."
NASA DATA HELPS PREDICT WILDFIRESDECEMBER 22 -- SANTA BARBARA, CA: Data from NASA satellites may help scientists to predict when and where wildfires occur; according to a UPI story released today, researchers at the University of California in Santa Barbara said the satellite data could improve current methods of calculating fire potential across the U.S.
Numerous programs already exist for using satellite data to track and map fires, smoke, and fire-related weather. NOAA's Operational Significant Event Imagery (OSEI), for example, tracks wildfires and smoke patterns around the world -- and their online images include recent bushfires in Australia and Indonesia.
NASA's Earth Observatory program also tracks fires around the world, and their site includes recent images of the Shekell Fire in southern California and December fires in Victoria.
In studying southern California shrublands prone to wildfires, scientists have found that NASA satellite data accurately detected and mapped two important factors: fuel moistures and fuel loading. Dar Roberts of UC Santa Barbara said improving the role of satellite data in wildfire prediction and monitoring is crucial because field sampling is limited by costs and frequency of site samplings.
BUSH SIGNS BILL RELEASING ESPERANZA DONATIONSDECEMBER 22 -- WASHINGTON, DC: The families of five firefighters killed on the Esperanza Fire in October won't have to pay taxes on the more than $1 million in donations they receive, and the local United Way chapter is off the hook for its previous liability potential.
President Bush yesterday signed a House bill put forth by several California legislators that provides an exemption to IRS tax laws that would have threatened the United Way chapter's tax-exempt status. Donations began pouring in shortly after the members of Engine 57 were burned over, and Riverside County Supervisors asked the local United Way chapter to handle the fund. But they found out when the fund reached a half million dollars that tax-exempt charitable organizations can't raise money for specific individuals -- in this case the families of the five firefighters. So the funds were held up.
Sponsored by Rep. Mary Bono and Sen. Barbara Boxer, along with Reps. Jerry Lewis and Ken Calvert, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Fallen Firefighters Assistance Tax Clarification Act grants tax relief on the donations for the families of the Esperanza firefighters.
DC-10 SEEKING CUSTOMERSDECEMBER 19 -- VICTORVILLE, CA: Fire chiefs from Los Angeles County were in Victorville last Friday to watch demo drops by the tanked DC-10 owned by 10 Tanker Air Carrier, and they may consider a contract for the airtanker next year.
"I think we're going to try to get it on contract ourselves where the crew is here all the time," said Anthony Marrone, chief of air operations for L.A. County Fire -- referring to the delay in dispatching when the DC-10 was ordered for the Esperanza Fire, when pilots were not available in Victorville.
The Daily Press reported that the cost for contracting the tanker may run as high as $5 million. "Look at the Day Fire -- it cost $72 million," said Marrone.
Though the DC-10 has not yet been approved by the U.S. Forest Service for use on federal fires, it was on a call-when-needed (CWN) contract this season with CDF. But CDF officials say the agency can't afford a full-season contract. They're willing to issue another CWN contract next year, but Chief Mike Padilla says the cost to operate CDF's entire fleet of 23 S-2 airtankers is not much more than the estimated $5 million it would cost for a full season contract with the DC-10.
The DC-10, which carries 12,000 gallons, made 26 flights on 14 days this season,
according to a report by the Press-Enterprise.
LEGISLATION WOULD RELEASE FIREFIGHTER DONATIONSDECEMBER 15 -- RIVERSIDE, CA: Scrambling to organize a fund for families of the five firefighters killed on the Esperanza Fire in October, county officials and the Central County United Way in Hemet missed a small but important detail of the IRS tax laws.
Donations began pouring in shortly after the members of Engine 57 were burned over, and Riverside County Supervisors asked the local United Way chapter to handle the funds.
But as the L.A. Times reported, no one checked with a tax attorney. The United Way chapter found out when the fund reached a half million dollars that tax-exempt charitable organizations can't raise money for specific individuals -- in this case the families of the five firefighters. So the funds were held up, and now the United Way chapter risks losing its tax-exempt status if the funds are released.
The Wildland Firefighter Foundation in Boise, Idaho, which also received hundreds of thousands of dollars for the firefighters' families, didn't solicit any funds specifically for the families, and the Foundation has already released about $80,000 to them. Executive Director Vicki Minor said the money just poured in. "This is the largest amount we have had come in for a fire," she said. "We didn't solicit it, but it has come in earmarked for that, and I just want to make sure that this money gets right where it's supposed to go."
When California Senators and Representatives got wind of the snafu, they introduced corrective legislation -- S. 4112 in the Senate and H.R. 6429 in the House. These bills were drafted to treat the Esperanza fire victims in the same way as 9/11 victims -- Congress passed a special law exempting the families of the September 11 terrorist attacks from most of those IRS regulations. Last week, H.R. 6429 passed both the House and the Senate by unanimous consent before adjournment. Final passage in the Senate was at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, December 09.
The Fallen Firefighters Assistance Tax Clarification Act specifies:
For purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, payments made on behalf of any firefighter who died as the result of the October 2006 Esperanza Incident fire in southern California to any family member of such firefighter by an organization described in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 509(a) of such Code shall be treated as related to the purpose or function constituting the basis for such organization's exemption under section 501 of such Code if such payments are made in good faith using a reasonable and objective formula which is consistently applied.
The bill also limits the exemption to payments that are made prior to June 1, 2007.
Senators and Representatives from California yesterday sent a letter to President Bush urging him to move quickly in signing the bill into law. Firefighters and families across the country, spurred into action by the hosts of the TheySaid firefighter website, have mounted a campaign to email [email protected] asking the President to sign the bill.
Introduced by Rep. Mary Bono, the bill is in the House Clerk's office. It's expected to be released to the President's desk sometime this week, and Bush then has ten days to sign the bill.
OYLER'S LAWYER SAYS PROSECUTORS
HAVE NO DNA MATCHDECEMBER 15 -- RIVERSIDE, CA: No preliminary hearing date was set today for Raymond Oyler, the 36-year-old Beaumont man charged with murder and arson in connection with the Esperanza Fire that killed five firefighters.
Mark McDonald, Oyler's defense attorney, said there was no collectible DNA from the suspected starting device on the Esperanza Fire. He said he was increasingly confident in his case. "The tragedy cannot be overstated. The thing is, they have the wrong guy."
The Press-Enterprise reported that Oyler's preliminary hearing will not be held until at least January 26, to allow for more discovery.
McDonald said he is conducting polls for a possible change of venue request, because he is wary of the "sympathetic attachment" Riverside County jurors may have.
The AP reported that court documents indicated that investigators found Oyler's DNA on incendiary devices left at arson fires started in June. But McDonald said he's reviewed 1,500 pages of discovery from prosecutors, including a lab report on the incendiary device found at the ignition point of the Esperanza Fire. He said that report indicated no DNA was found on the device.
Oyler was charged November 2 with five counts of first-degree murder, 11 counts of arson, and 10 counts of use of an incendiary device.
VIRGINIA FIRE LIKELY ARSONDECEMBER 15 -- BIG ISLAND, VA: A fire that burned nearly 3,000 acres on the George Washington National Forest was purposely set, investigators concluded yesterday.
"We are investigating the fire as a criminal act," said Woody Lipps, a law enforcement officer with the U.S. Forest Service. He said an investigation determined that no natural events nor campfires were to blame.
The Peavine Complex was contained yesterday at 2,871 acres. It started last Sunday and burned through hardwood litter and pine and laurel patches. Extremely steep and rocky topography challenged crews, who fought the fire in unseasonably warm weather with low humidities.
The AP reported that the fire began as ten small fires in the Peavine Mountain area of Amherst County. The fires threatened the Blue Ridge Parkway, a gas line, and private and federal timberlands.
GUILTY PLEA IN MONTANA FIRESDECEMBER 14 -- MISSOULA, MT: Jonah Micah Warr, who was arrested in September in connection with a number of fires in western Montana, pleaded guilty yesterday to nine counts of arson.
 The 19-year-old Warr appeared with his attorney in U.S. District Court in Missoula, where he could receive penalties of 45 years in a federal penitentiary, a fine of $2.25 million, and three years of supervised release.
"I find there exists clear and convincing evidence the defendant presents a serious danger to the community," wrote Judge Jeremiah Lynch.
The Missoulian reported that Warr has been in custody since September. He was seen in a car along U.S. Highway 12 shortly after a fire started nearby, and a resident reported the sighting.
Investigators matched the car's tire tread to tracks at the site of another fire.
Warr had a criminal history including arson and became the prime suspect for investigators. He admitted setting at least 19 fires in the Bitterroot Valley, along Lolo Creek, and in the Blue Mountain Recreation Area, including the Gash Creek Fire southwest of Victor, which burned 8,250 acres in August and ran up $8 million in suppression costs.
SANTA ANA FIRE Wx
MEANS PRE-POSITIONINGDECEMBER 11 -- RIVERSIDE, CA: When the Shekell Fire near Moorpark, California, took off last week, CDF Fire Capt. Mike Mathiesen and his 17-person strike team showed up in less than 30 minutes. Pretty impressive, considering the crew is based 250 miles away in northern California.
Mathiesen's team was dispatched in advance of the fire when state officials were warned that major Santa Ana winds would hit the region. Such early deployments are an essential tool, according to an AP report in the San Bernardino Sun, and recent advancements in high-tech weather-mapping have made the fire behavior forecasts more detailed and accurate.
"A lot of times, we can catch fires early," Mathiesen said.
Crews couldn't catch the Shekell Fire, but the early deployments helped.
"It is impossible to quantify what would have happened should they not have been here," said Chief Candace Gregory, who oversees the state's southern region.
There are two Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACCs) in California. Referred to as North Ops and South Ops, they're located in Redding and Riverside; staffing at both centers includes fire behavior specialists who monitor and map weather conditions and predict fire weather. Using records and data including past fire behavior, relative humidity, precipitation, and fuel moistures, the forecast offices issue products including fire weather outlooks, reports on the potential for large fires, spot forecasts, and smoke dispersion forecasts.
"It's a fantastic piece of mathematics that takes an incredible amount of computer power," said CDF Fire Capt. Tim Chavez, a 22-year veteran trained in fire behavior.
He said data were indicating major Santa Ana winds throughout southern California the week before the Shekell Fire started. Five days before the Shekell Fire, resources from northern California were mobilized. Six state inmate strike teams, about 480 firefighters, were moved to a staging area in Riverside County along with three engine strike teams. Four airtankers and two helicopters were activated and sent to Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties.
For more information, check the fire weather websites for North Ops and South Ops.
FOR YOU FIRE PILOT FANS:DECEMBER 10 -- SAN BERNARDINO, CA: New wonderful website alert:
 firepirates.com
This FIRE PIRATE used to have a website online with dozens of wonderful aerial firefighting photos. Then he quit it. Someone finally shamed him into putting it back online. Check the photo section; pushing 400 photos on there now.
'Bout danged time, too.
WESTSIDE 80% CONTAINEDDECEMBER 09 -- LEBEC, CA: Crews reported 80 percent containment this morning on the Westside Fire burning near the freeway pass known as the Grapevine.
Kern County Fire Captain Chuck Dickson told KESQ yesterday that firefighters made good progress on the fire despite winds gusting to 30 mph that pushed the fire across 2,500 acres.
The fire was at 4,025 acres this morning. It started Thursday evening and is burning west of I-5 about 4 miles west of Lebec. The fire was human-caused.
About 450 firefighters are assigned, and full containment is expected this evening.
SHEKELL 80% CONTAINEDDECEMBER 05 -- MOORPARK, CA: The Shekell Fire in Ventura County is 80 percent contained at 13,600 acres this morning, with just five homes and two commercial properties destroyed. Another five homes and six other buildings were damaged.
The fireline along the western perimeter is holding, but fire managers say the potential still exists for spotting across the line. Pungent smoke caused by smoldering commercial mulch piles is a problem in the Highway 118 corridor, and about 500 acres of thick mulch is still burning.
The fire's threatened agricultural areas, oil production sites, high-tension powerlines, a high-pressure natural gas line, and archaeological sites.
Winds were light this morning, with temperatures in the high 50s and RH of about 3 percent. Red Flag Warning conditions are expected to continue until this evening. All road closures and evacuation orders were lifted last night, and the evacuation centers were closed. Firefighters said significant progress was made through the night with line improvement and mop-up.
More than 1,700 firefighters have worked the fire, and demobilization begins today.
SHEKELL FIRE PUSHES 10,000 ACRESDECEMBER 04 -- MOORPARK, CA: Fire managers said this morning that they're hoping to contain the Shekell Fire by tomorrow night. The fire was at 9,686 acres early this morning, with zero containment.
Five homes were confirmed destroyed, with numerous outbuildings and three homes damaged.
Crews have been fighting high winds, and northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph are predicted for today, with gusts to 50 mph or more.
The L.A. Times reported that recommended evacuations cover about 200 homes, while the precautionary level includes 125 homes. Most of the homes are in the areas of Happy Canyon, Grimes Canyon, Walnut Canyon, and the northern border of the city of Moorpark. The city of 36,000 is about 50 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and has grown rapidly since it was incorporated in 1983.
Numerous road closures are expected today. The Ventura County Fire Protection District and CDF have established a unified command.
SANTA ANAS PUSH VENTURA COUNTY FIREDECEMBER 03 -- MOORPARK, CA: A fire threatening hundreds of homes has burned about 1,500 acres in the canyons and hillsides in the northwest section of Moorpark. The Shekell Fire is threatening 3,000 homes and has damaged or destroyed numerous others.
Firefighters reported that high winds and loss of aircraft are making control difficult. Extreme fire behavior was reported, with spotting a half mile ahead and flamelengths of 50-75 feet. Several outbuildings have been lost and an unknown number of structures have been damaged or lost.
The AP reported that the fire started about 2:30 a.m. and burned through heavy brush, eucalyptus groves, and orchards. Voluntary evacuations are in effect. Winds reaching 70 mph are predicted through evening.
A CDF engine tipped over during initial attack, but the three firefighters on board were not injured.
Another fire started nearby about 7 a.m. and both have been included in the same incident response.
CDF FIREFIGHTER'S TRIAL SCHEDULEDDECEMBER 02 -- BANNING, CA: A firefighter charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter after one of his partners was killed in a wreck will stand trial beginning February 7 in Banning. Michael Lawrence Arizaga, 47, of Hemet, is charged in the August 2005 death of firefighter Chris Kanton.
The Press-Enterprise reported that Moreno Valley Engine 58 was responding to a storm-related call in Beaumont when the truck hydroplaned off an embankment into a grove of trees near the Interstate 10 and Highway 60 interchange. Arizaga, the engine operator, was charged almost a year after the accident when the California Highway Patrol's Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team completed its investigation and sent its findings to the Riverside County District Attorney.
Kanton, 23, was killed in the accident when he was ejected from the engine. He was not wearing a seatbelt. Findings that led to Arizaga's being charged included the fact that the engine brake was not turned off while driving in wet and rainy conditions, and because Arizaga as engine operator should have required that Kanton wear a seatbelt.
Officials say it's probably the first time a firefighter has been charged with manslaughter after an on-the-job accident in the 101-year history of the California Department of Forestry.
A CDF firefighters union attorney will represent Arizaga because he was on duty at the time.
SoCAL RED FLAGNOVEMBER 29 -- RIVERSIDE, CA: Cooler temperatures and recent rain showers may have reduced fire danger by a notch, but falling humidity and strong winds have prompted a Red Flag Warning for parts of southern California beginning this afternoon.
 The warning is in effect for all of the mountains and inland valleys and Orange County. The National Weather Service predicts gusty northeast winds near and below passes and canyons, with the strongest winds developing tonight. Gusts of 60 mph or more are expected.
The RAWS station at Devore recorded gusts of 40 mph this morning, and 32 mph gusts were recorded at Lytle Creek.
Relative humidities are expected to drop below 15 percent this afternoon; the Red Flag is in effect through Sunday afternoon and covers Orange County coastal areas, San Bernardino and Riverside County valleys, the Inland Empire, San Diego County inland valleys, San Bernardino County mountains (including the Mountain Top and Front Country Ranger Districts of the San Bernardino National Forest), Riverside County mountains (including the San Jacinto Ranger District of the San Bernardino National Forest), Santa Ana Mountains (including the Trabuco Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest), and San Diego County mountains including the Palomar and Descanso Ranger Districts of the Cleveland National Forest.
SMOKEJUMPER BENEFIT AUCTION:
OWN A ONE-OF-A-KIND WATCHNOVEMBER 26 -- MISSOULA, MT: Bids are still open for a super-special chronograph in an auction that will benefit the Missoula-based National Smokejumpers Association and an injured Missoula youth.
The SmokeJumper Chronograph is the official timepiece of the NSA. In September, the association teamed up with the Bozeman Watch Company, creator of the chronographs, and Gov. Brian Schweitzer to present the Governor's Edition chronograph for the auction.
 Deadline for preliminary bids is December 1 -- next Friday. When that round of bidding closes, the Bozeman Watch Company will contact the ten highest bidders, who'll have another week to put in final bids.
The Missoulian reported that the minimum bid is $4,700; Doug Houston, NSA president, said the greater portion of the auction proceeds will benefit the Finn Ward fund. Ward, a Hellgate High School student, suffered a traumatic brain injury in May. He's the son of smokejumper Ed Ward.
The Bozeman Watch Company has donated some $2,000 to the NSA through sales of its smokejumper chronograph.
Houston said the NSA also maintains a scholarship fund that is helping pay for the schooling of the children of jumpers Don Mackey and Jim Thrash, who were among the 14 firefighters killed on the 1994 South Canyon Fire on Colorado's Storm King Mountain.
Highest bid as of December 8 will receive the "Governor's Edition" SmokeJumper Chronograph #23, which will be delivered by the Bozeman Watch Company by December 10. There is no sales tax nor shipping cost. The benefit check from the auction will be presented to the National Smokejumper Association the following week. To participate in the closed auction, call the Bozeman Watch Company at (877)878-1780 or at (406)585-0062 or email your bid to [email protected]
or fax it to (406)585-0064.
BRUSH FIRE ON MAUNA KEANOVEMBER 26 -- KAAAWA, HAWAII: Fire crews on the Big Island are hard at work on a stubborn brush fire that started Friday on the Hilo side of the slopes of Mauna Kea.
KHNL reported that the fire's burning in a remote area.
The fire is at about 770 acres, according to Wayne Ching with the Hawaii Division of Forestry & Wildlife. "The Hawaii County Fire Department initially responded," he said. "They requested the assistance of the Division of Forestry & Wildlife. An illegal campfire started the fire at about 1845 hours on Friday evening."
Ching says the fire's burning in short kikuyu grass in pasture land and is about 80 percent contained.
INAJA FIRE:
ORIGIN OF THE TEN ORDERSNOVEMBER 25 -- SAN DIEGO, CA: Working at night, the men were trying to cut a line around the fire when it turned on them. They dropped their tools and ran. The flames were faster. Eleven firefighters died.
The Inaja tragedy occurred 50 years ago today in San Diego's backcountry, and it changed how wildland fires are fought in America. In a way, war was declared. There was a new determination to understand the enemy, and new rules of engagement for firefighters.
In a fine feature in the Union-Tribune, staff writer John Wilkens explains that there have been many changes since then, but the Ten Standard Firefighting Orders have endured.
Jennifer Thackaberry Ziegler, an assistant professor of communication at Purdue University, has studied the orders extensively. Ziegler has found that victims' families don't like the way the orders are used in investigations. "Citing the number of orders violated tends to direct attention to what the firefighters on the ground did," she said, "as opposed to organizational factors such as whether the safety training they receive is effective."
The Inaja Fire was just three years after 15 firefighters were killed on the Rattlesnake Fire on the Mendocino, and seven years after the Mann Gulch Fire that killed thirteen. Forest Service Chief Richard McArdle assembled a task force and charged them with the responsibility of studying ways the Forest Service could "strengthen its efforts to prevent fire fatalities." The task force was given these assignments:
- Recommend further action needed in both administration and research to materially reduce the chances of men being killed by burning while fighting fire.
- Recommend ways to develop experts in fire behavior.
The 1957 Report to the Chief marked the origin of the 10 & 18 -- and of the research into and use of fire behavior knowledge in wildland firefighting. The report was also a milestone in the development of both NAFRI -- the National Advanced Fire & Resource Institute -- and the incident command system.
At the time the orders were adopted, an average of six U.S. firefighters were fatally overrun each year. By 2003, that number had dropped to two per year.
HAYMAN FIRE STILL MESSING WITH DENVERNOVEMBER 24 -- DECKERS, CO: Erosion from burned-off hillsides after a fire of two years ago is dumping tons of mud, ash and decomposed granite into Cheesman Reservoir. It's also creating expensive problems for Denver's water utility.
According to an AP report in the Longmont Daily Times, the reservoir just southwest of Denver is a key source for the Denver Water Board, the state's largest utility, and as much as 3.1 million cubic yards of sediment could drain into the reservoir within five years after the 2002 Hayman Fire, the largest wildfire in the history of Colorado.
Water board officials, though, say the volume could be much higher.
"We were told it would stabilize in five years," said Kevin Keefe with the water board. "This is Year Four. It's not getting better. It's getting worse."
Though rehab after the fire was extensive, the water board says it has spent $7.8 million over the past four years to remove sediment, replace culverts, build sediment dams, and seed slopes. But others with the utility say it could cost an additional $20 million to remove about a million cubic yards of debris from previous fires, and Keefe said the problems could persist for decades.
 The reservoir was at the center of the Hayman Fire southwest of Denver.
This is by no means the first time a watershed or reservoir has been negatively affected by post-fire sediment. After the Cerro Grande Fire in New Mexico in 2000, the Los Alamos reservoir was repeatedly subject to sedimentation from burned-over slopes above it. [PDF report] More than 118 inches of sediment were deposited during the first year following the fire, almost half of it after a storm later that summer. By comparison, measurements indicate that only 8 inches of sediment had accumulated over the 57 years prior to the fire. Also, sediment in the reservoir prior to the fire was primarily fine-grained sediment that would have been carried in suspension. The sediment deposited during the storm was predominantly silt and very fine sand with a large component of ash.
The Hayman Fire was initially reported June 8, 2002, and was contained at just under 138,000 acres on July 2 -- the fire was not officially declared controlled until July 18. The fire destroyed 600 structures -- including 133 homes, 466 outbuildings, and a commercial building.
The Hayman Fire was a historic disaster for Colorado and for firefighters; during one devastating run, it burned nearly 60,000 acres and ran for 17 miles -- in just one day. Fire crews reported that on June 17 it made a half-mile run in just four minutes.
Three years of drought, a tinder-dry forest, and high winds all came togeether to push the Hayman Fire into the largest wildfire since Colorado became a state, according to a report released after several months of study by 45 scientists from across the Rocky Mountain region. They said there was no number of firefighters, aircraft, or initial attack resources that could have stopped the fire.
For an in-depth look at the Hayman Fire, check the Rocky Mountain News feature on the fire or the official USFS Hayman Fire page. For more information and photos on erosion and flash flooding following fires, see this USGS page.
ACADEMY GRADS HELP LOTZIE'S FAMILYNOVEMBER 21 -- SAN MARCOS, CA: Recruits in Palomar College's 30th Basic Fire Academy knew they had to do something when they first heard about the Esperanza Fire fatalities. And on Monday night, in front of hundreds of friends and family members in a ceremony at Mission Hills High School, the academy graduates presented a check for $21,000 to the wife and children of Capt. Mark Loutzenhiser.
The North County Times reported that the 38 recruits in the academy decided to dedicate their class to Loutzenhiser's family.
"When we first heard the firefighters were killed, we were not sure what happened," said recruit Keith Albright. "As we got details, that he had a wife and five kids, there wasn't one person that didn't want to do everything we could. We said the family is definitely getting our help any way we could."
The money, raised through donations and two car washes held by the recruits, will be dedicated to the Loutzenhiser Remodel Fund through Habitat for Humanity.
AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRE SEASON
CLAIMS ITS FIRST LIFENOVEMBER 21 -- NELLIGAN, NSW: New South Wales firefighters found the body of a man yesterday in burnt-out bushland on the south coast. NSW police said Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighters found the body near a fenceline after responding to reports of a bushfire on a rural property near Bateman's Bay.
TVNZ reported that the bushfire was contained, but firefighters worry that increasing winds will push two other fires in the Blue Mountains out of control.
Wind gusts of 50 mph were expected overnight. About 400 firefighters and 18 waterbombing aircraft spent the day trying to slow the fires that have already burned about 20,000 acres in the Blue Mountains National Park.
A total fire ban has been declared for much of the state, including the Greater Sydney and Greater Hunter areas, the Illawarra and far south coast, southern and central ranges, the upper and lower central west plains, and the eastern Riverina.
The fire in the Blue Mountains breached containment lines on the northern end of Hat Hill Road at Anvil Rock. Strong westerly winds and dry conditions hindered operations and crews were unable to hold the fire on that edge. Crews conducted a backburn overnight along the Mount Banks Fire Trail; the fire was burning erratically and spotted over to the east. A strike team has been deployed to Mount Tomah to the northeast of the fire as a precautionary measure.
All areas of Blue Mountains National Park will remain closed until further notice.
In Victoria, a fire in the Little Desert National Park northwest of Horsham has grown to 22,000 acres.
FLORIDA FIREFIGHTERS BUSYNOVEMBER 20 -- WESTON, FL: A pair of grass fires burning in western Broward County are expected to burn together if high winds continue. The 1,000-acre Bass Fire and the 700-acre Deer Fire are burning near the intersection of I-75 and Highway 27, according to CBS news.
The Deer Fire is 25 percent contained and is burning in grass, muck, and tall pine. The Bass Fire is also at 25 percent containment; full containment is not expected till the weekend.
Smoke signs have been erected for haze and smoke on I-75 and Highway 27.
FIREYS BUSY WITH NSW FIRESNOVEMBER 19 -- LAKE COWAL, NSW: A bushfire emergency has been declared in the Bathurst and Forbes districts of New South Wales, where Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighters are working to contain two large fires. A fire that started yesterday north of Lake Cowal has burned almost 5,500 acres of grazing country.
"I have never seen such a spectacular burn of lignum burning in all my life," said local landholder Geoff Buttonshaw. "It was just so ferocious."
ABC News reported that another fire south of O'Connell is at about 500 acres and has burned onto a private pine plantation.
RFS Incident Controller Randall Ferrington said weather is their biggest worry.
In the Blue Mountains, two bushfires that have been burning for the past eight days have grown to about 9,400 acres. About 250 firefighters are completing a second stage of backburning operations along The Bells Line of Road between the Darling Causeway at Bell to Mount Tomah. Crews from the RFS and National Parks and Wildlife Service will be mopping up; about 50 remote area firefighters and 16 aircraft are still working inaccessible parts of the fire in the Grose Valley.
CALIFORNIA WILDERNESS FIRE
NOWHERE NEAR CONTAINED YETNOVEMBER 19 -- AZUSA, CA: Thirty percent contained tonight at 240 acres, the Nowhere Fire northeast of Azusa on the Angeles National Forest experienced some roll-out that threatened established containment lines. The fire's threatening the East Fork San Gabriel River watershed, the Sheep Mountain wilderness, and habitat of the Santa Ana sucker and bighorn sheep.
Inaccessible and extreme terrain has necessitated the spiking out of crews. The East Fork Road at Glendora Mountain Road is still closed.
About 230 people are assigned to the fire.
SHERIFF AND CDF DISPUTE OYLER CASENOVEMBER 19 -- RIVERSIDE, CA: Two agencies investigating the arson-caused Esperanza Fire that killed five wildland firefighters are disputing each other's accounts of when Raymond Oyler was first identified as a suspect.
Shortly after Oyler was arrested in late October, Riverside County Sheriff's officials said that state arson experts had identified him as one of several suspects in an investigation dating back to May related to a string of arson fires in the Banning Pass area.
But the day after Oyler was charged with multiple felony counts of murder and arson, a CDF captain said Oyler had not become an arson suspect until after the fatal Esperanza Fire. Exacerbating the dispute is the question of whether Oyler could have been arrested before the Esperanza Fire.
In an AP report, Tom Freeman with the Sheriff's Department said that the department stands by its statement and explained that they were not involved in the investigation of the earlier fires because of a long-standing agreement with CDF that its investigators would handle arson cases. He said the Sheriff's Department was not involved until October 26, when the sheriff learned from CDF that they had a multiple homicide.
"Sheriff Doyle and Undersheriff Lingle have no intention of modifying their prior statements with respect to this case," he told the Desert Sun.
Prosecutors who charged Oyler say they have "overwhelming" evidence against him, but Oyler's attorney Mark McDonald claims his client has an "airtight alibi." He says Oyler was home with his 7-month-old daughter the night the fire was set. "I am here to tell you that he did not have a damned thing to do with the fires he is charged with starting," said McDonald, "and he will be vindicated when this political circus act is over."
Attorneys watching the case said it's unusual for a district attorney's office to be so adamant about its case so early in the prosecution. "It's unusual for a DA to speak in such absolute terms," said Steve Harmon, a Riverside defense attorney who's handled arson cases. "I've heard, 'We have a strong case' or 'We are building a strong case,' but never 'overwhelming.'"
The AP reported that Oyler's been charged not just in the Esperanza case, but also with setting ten other fires since June. Legal experts say prosecutors appear to be methodically building a case with evidence from other fires for which Oyler is charged that share characteristics with the origin of the Esperanza Fire.
Remote cameras mounted on utility poles caught images of Oyler's car leaving the location where the Esperanza Fire was started. At 10 of the 11 fires, investigators recovered remains of incendiary devices. They also recovered DNA from cigarette butts found at the June 9 and June 10 arsons, and the samples match Oyler's profile.
FIRE ON THE ANGELESNOVEMBER 19 -- AZUSA, CA: A fire northeast of Azusa started yesterday afternoon on the Angeles National Forest and grew quickly to 80 acres. The Nowhere Fire was reported at 100 acres this morning with zero containment. It's threatening the East Fork San Gabriel River watershed and wilderness bighorn sheep habitat.
Kerr's SoCal Team 2 is on the fire.
ABC reported that the fire started near the Bridge to Nowhere and the Sheep Mountain Wilderness.
Burning in chapparal and heavy brush ahead of 20 mph winds, the fire prompted the closure of East Fork Road at Glendora Mountain Road.
Fire managers expect the fire to burn west into Devil's Gulch today. They are helicoptering crews in to work on the fire, and plan heavy use of airtankers and helicopters.
About 85 firefighters are assigned. Sheriff's deputies were helping to evacuate hikers and campers in the area.
MORE FIRE-STARTING CHARGESNOVEMBER 18 -- SPOKANE, WA: A 22-year-old woman has been charged with starting a 460-acre wildfire in August that burned four homes and 14 outbuildings near Valley, Washington.
 Heidi Marie Day, of Loon Lake, was charged earlier this week with first-degree reckless burning -- a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The Spokesman-Review reported that she was not arrested but was summoned to appear in Stevens County Superior Court for arraignment on November 28.
Day was reportedly visiting a friend south of Chewelah on August 8 when she started a garbage fire that burned out of control.
A burn ban was in effect at the time but Day said she was unaware of it.
She said she watched the fire about five seconds after she lit it and then went back into the house. By the time others in the house noticed trees were burning, they were was unable to control it with a garden hose.
The Valley Mill Fire burned toward Highway 395. Suppression efforts included airtankers, helicopters, and more than 200 firefighters. Costs were estimated at more than $1.1 million.
MAN ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH OV-10 CRASHNOVEMBER 18 -- VISALIA, CA: The AP reported that a Tulare man is being held on homicide and arson charges for allegedly starting three small wildfires in a remote Central Valley canyon, one of which led to a plane crash that killed two people.
Patrick Courtney, 29, is being held without bail at the Tulare County jail.
The September 6 crash of an OV-10 air tactical plane -- Air Attack 410 -- in the foothills above Porterville killed CDF Battalion Chief Rob Stone of Visalia and pilot Sandy Willett of Hanford. The Enterprise-Record reported that Courtney is charged with arson and an open count of homicide in connection with the fires.
Courtney's arraignment is set for Tuesday.
The September plane crash ignited a fire on a ridge -- the fourth in the area over the Labor Day weekend. CDF investigators confirmed the first two fires -- the Jaguar and Camp fires - were human-caused.
CDF has operated 13 of the OV-10 air attack planes from air attack bases across the state. Air Attack 410 was based at the Porterville airport and showed no signs of problems prior to takeoff. Investigators from the NTSB, the FAA, and CDF are still working on the accident investigation.
Stone, 36, was a Visalia resident and an 18-year CDF employee who was well-liked by colleagues. He is survived by his wife, Rindi, and two young children. Willett, 52, was a DynCorp pilot for four years. He is survived by his wife, Judy, of Hanford.
EL CARISO MONUMENT EFFORTS STALLEDNOVEMBER 18 -- EL CARISO VILLAGE, CA: Just after you turn off Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore onto State Highway 74, also known as Ortega Highway, there's a sign on the right that reads "California Wildland Firefighters Memorial Highway."
State legislation in 1998 officially renamed the mountain roadway cutting through the Cleveland National Forest to honor firefighters who have died fighting wildfires across the state. The renaming was part of a three-phase memorial project proposed in 1993 for the hills west of Lake Elsinore, not far from the site of one of the region's deadliest wildfires.
The other parts of the project included refurbishing El Cariso Memorial Park, renaming it the California Wildland Firefighters Picnic Area, and constructing a memorial for the hundreds of California firefighters have died fighting wildfires.
Saturday, the 8th of July in 1959, was a hot sticky day in southern California. In the brushy hills above Lake Elsinore, members of a teen car club were drinking beer in the woods. Two of them left after a fight and loaded an empty beer keg into the back of a pickup. They headed down the twisting mountain road toward Lake Elsinore. When the driver lost control of the pickup, it flew off the roadway and down a 200-foot embankment. The wreck ignited an inferno that became known as the Decker Canyon Fire.
One of the firefighters who responded was John Guthrie. His mother Carlo Guthrie, now 70, says John had always wanted to be a firefighter. When the Decker Canyon Fire took off, Guthrie and his crew got the call. More than 500 firefighters responded as the fire swept out of the hills. Lakeland Village was evacuated.
Guthrie and his crew were sent off the main road east of El Cariso Village and into a canyon to start backfiring operations, but shifting winds pushed a wall of flame up the canyon toward them. Guthrie ordered the crew back to the engine.
The engine and everyone in it were overrun; Guthrie was outside the engine with a hose. Another 27 firefighters on the incident were injured. Three of those who died were members of the El Cariso Hotshots.
Guthrie, though burned over 85 percent of his body, began walking out of the canyon before others came to his aid. An ambulance took him to a hospital in Hemet. He was the last firefighter to die, succumbing to his injuries at a hospital in Redlands more than two months later.
In the years immediately following the fire, El Cariso Memorial Park, with picnic tables and benches, was built to honor the fallen. A stone memorial drinking fountain was added with a plaque honoring those "who gave their lives fighting forest fires in these mountains." For years, wooden markers stood along the highway bearing the names of the men who died fighting the Decker Canyon Fire. In the early 1990s some firefighters who had fought the fire or knew those killed began an effort to replace the signs. That work inspired others to form a committee to build a monument to those who'd died on California wildfires.
Initial efforts were successful, but the memorial at Cariso -- the first of its kind in the state -- stalled out.
A wonderful feature story by John Hunneman in the North County Times details the story and the history of this almost-forgotten monument. Hunneman explains that Carlo Guthrie in 1959 was a young mother of two who worked the graveyard shift at a Riverside manufacturing plant to help make ends meet.
A week after October's Esperanza Fire burnover, she and John Guthrie Jr., sat at a picnic bench near the partially built memorial. She said volunteers had hoped to have the tribute built by 1999 to mark the Decker Canyon Fire's 40th anniversary. But it wasn't -- the original $200,000 memorial project budget has been cut in half over the years as fundraising efforts floundered. But by 2004, the fire's 45th anniversary, most of the land for the memorial had been cleared and a cement retaining wall and walkways had been built by volunteers. The Riverside Chapter of the Benevolent Fund of CDF Firefighters donated $10,000 to help, but not much has happened since then.
"I'm amazed at how many people involved in firefighting don't even know this exists," said Carlo Guthrie. She said that in the aftermath of the Esperanza Fire fatalities, she renewed her commitment to seeing the El Cariso site completed. "We're still going to get this done," she said.
About $60,000 is needed to complete even the scaled-down memorial. Donations to help build the memorial can be sent to the California Wildland Firefighters Memorial Committee, CDF Headquarters, 210 West San Jacinto Avenue, Perris, CA 92570.
ARIZONA COUNTIES CAN ENFORCE FIRE CODESNOVEMBER 17 -- PHOENIX, AZ: Arizona counties do have the legal power to enforce fire codes restricting new construction to comply with fire safety standards; Attorney General Terry Goddard said yesterday in a legal opinion that state or county fire codes supersede private regulations imposed by subdivisions when they conflict with the government codes.
Private regulations, known as ��covenants, conditions and restrictions,'' or CC&Rs;, may apply if they are more restrictive than state or county codes.
The Mohave Daily News carried an AP story that said newly enacted fire codes are not retroactively incorporated into existing private CC&Rs; -- and counties may not enforce CC&Rs; unless they were adopted as a condition of subdivision or other zoning approval.
State Forester Kirk Rowdabaugh said he requested the opinion because of questions about the authority of counties to impose codes dealing with emergency vehicle access, evacuation routes, defensible space, and other concerns. He said the attorney general's opinion will uphold wildland/urban interface codes adopted by Coconino and Yavapai counties.
��This will really help clarify what authority the counties have to ensure that future development is done with fire-wise practices in mind,'' said Rowdabaugh.
BORDER FIRES DRIVE UP B.C. SUPPRESSION COSTSNOVEMBER 17 -- VICTORIA, BC: Fighting fires along the U.S. border has pushed the cost of the 2006 British Columbia fire season to more than $122 million (USD).
By mid-September the forest ministry had recorded 2,487 fires that burned about 324,000 acres. The South Delta Leader reported that costs this year are approaching the record 2004 season, when a similar number of fires burned about 550,000 acres.
Forests Minister Rich Coleman said firefighters are achieving better results on wildland/urban interface fires, and that communications and emergency preparedness have dramatically improved over the last few years.
"It was a fairly active season from the standpoint of the volume of forest fires, but it wasn't very active from the standpoint of interface, because we didn't have a major interface fire like we had in 2003 with Kelowna," he said. The Okanagan Mountain Park Fire of August and September 2003 burned over 61,000 acres of forest and park land south and east of Kelowna, forcing the evacuation of more than 27,000 people and destroying 239 homes.
Fire crews are still working on two major fires at the edges of Manning Park -- the Tatoosh Fire that spread north from Washington and the Border Lake Fire that started early in September in remote wilderness.
The Tripod Fire, on the U.S. side of the border on the Okanogan National Forest,
still had B.C. Forest Service personnel on it in September, along with five helicopters. The Tripod Fire took off when two fires burned together after being ignited by lightning in July. It burned more than 175,000 acres just south of the border, and briefly threatened the communities of Conconully and Loomis.
WINDS MAKE FOR CHAOS IN AUSSIE BUSHFIRESNOVEMBER 16 -- CALOUNDRA, QLD : Strong winds forecast for the Sunshine Coast today are expected to hinder efforts to contain a bushfire that has caused chaos in the region. The Age reported today that police declared an emergency situation after a bushfire took off west of Caloundra, burning through state pine forests.
Fast-moving flames and billowing smoke fanned by strong, dry winds forced the evacuation of homes and businesses in the area. The bushfire closed an airport and a school, and traffic came to a standstill as roads were closed. The Courier-Mail reported that fire managers were preparing for a wind shift that could push the fire into the bushland.
Andrew Berkman with the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service said crews were working on containment lines and dampening down ahead of an expected southeasterly wind change.
Almost 100 firefighters fought the fire overnight, including 35 who were dispatched from Brisbane as relief. Waterbombing helicopters are expected at first light.
Another bushfire in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, in New South Wales, burned out a large area of private property between Mount Victoria and Bell. A NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) spokesman told The Age that crews were trying to keep the fire from entering the Grose Valley.
According to the RFS this evening, about 140 firefighters were working on two fires burning in the Grose Valley and north of Mt. Victoria in the Blue Mountains. The fires have burned over 4,500 acres of bushland; the Lawsons Long Alley Fire started on Tuesday afternoon near Hartley Vale, in the Lithgow District. A second fire, the Burra Korain Fire, is burning north of Blackheath.
A total of 11 aircraft, including two helitankers, will work aerial suppression.
Fire conditions have been favorable, with unseasonably low temperatures and light winds and even snow, but firefighters say it's not enough to mitigate for long-term drought conditions and high fire danger.
The RFS will hold public information sessions in communities around the fire areas; for more information, see the NSW Rural Fire Service pages. The RFS also maintains an emergency update page.
TEXAS FIRE BLAMED ON ILLEGAL BURNINGNOVEMBER 16 -- DRIFTWOOD, TEXAS: The illegal burning of a pile of trash is what started the Rimrock Fire in Hays County -- not an escaped burn as was erroneously reported earlier. The fire, according to KEYE-TV, was burning in northern Hays County near Driftwood, about 40 miles southwest of Austin.
It was 75 percent contained this afternoon at about 960 acres, according to Rich Gray's Texas incident management team.
As of this evening, all evacuated residents have been allowed to return to their homes, and roads have been reopened. Stiff winds backed off today and crews on the fire worked on hot spots; more than 300 homes were threatened by the fire, but no structures were lost.
TEXAS FIRE EVACUATES 200 HOMESNOVEMBER 15 -- DRIFTWOOD, TEXAS: A 300-acre fire in northern Hays County is burning across rugged terrain ahead of stiff winds; Leroy Opiela with the Hays County Sheriff's Department told News 8 Austin that about 200 homes were evacuated and a road closed because of the Rimrock Fire.
The fire was 40 percent contained this afternoon about 3 p.m. with 150 homes threatened.
The Texas National Guard dispatched two Blackhawk helicopters to drop water on the fire. Firefighters from 10 departments and the Texas Forest Service responded.
Powerful winds produced by a strong cold front have buffeted central Texas with gusts of as much as 56 miles per hour. KWTX-TV reported that another wind-whipped fire destroyed seven houseboats at the Lake Waco Marina.
Another fire in Bandera County northwest of San Antonio was contained at 143 acres this afternoon; firefighters on the Sistrunk II Fire reported red flag conditions with 40 mph winds, 9 percent RH, and extreme fire behavior.
The winds downed trees throughout central Texas, blocking roads in some areas. Scattered power outages were reported because of downed powerlines; one line over the Brazos River in Waco snapped because of the wind and was dangling into the river.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport canceled 150 flights and delayed others; a red flag warning has been issued for all of south Texas, and many counties are under a burn ban.
GLOBAL WARMING CHANGES FIRE DYNAMICSNOVEMBER 14 -- SAN DIEGO, CA: Global warming is making wildfires more frequent, bigger, and more destructive; thousands of fire professionals at the Third International Fire Ecology and Management Congress in San Diego heard from Robin Wills, president of the Association for Fire Ecology, that global warming is changing wildfire dynamics.
"We're going to see more fire, not less," said Wills.
The meeting, which continues through Friday, has attracted thousands of scientists, firefighters, and fire professionals representing 25 countries.
The Union-Tribune reported that in a statement issued yesterday, scientists made several recommendations. Firefighting budgets should be based on climate and fire projections, they said, not only on historical fire trends. Fire managers and agencies should rely more on season-to-season and year-to-year climate and fire outlooks.
Another recommendation is that prescribed fires to reduce fuels should be expanded during low-risk fire seasons.
Climate changes, according to the Association, will limit our ability to manage wildland fire and use prescribed fire. The San Diego Declaration on Climate Change and Fire Management says that fires may become larger more quickly -- and be more difficult to manage. Fire suppression costs are expected to increase, with decreasing effectiveness under extreme fire weather and fuel conditions. Extreme fire events are likely to occur more frequently.
Fire Congress Chair Melanie Miller said over 500 papers and 120 posters will be officially presented to the 3,000 attendees. "We expect this to be the largest gathering of fire professionals in history," said Miller.
AUSSIE CAPITAL REPORTS FIREFIGHTER SHORTAGENOVEMBER 13 -- CANBERRA, ACT: Volunteer firefighters are asking the Australian Capital Territory government to address staff shortages, warning that the fire service needs an extra 300 volunteers.
Pat Barling from the Volunteer Brigades Association in Canberra says there are currently about 320 volunteers available -- and that's not enough. ABC News reported that bushfires in 2003 hit the western side of the capital city and destroyed almost 500 homes. Four people were killed.
Barling said the government needs to ensure that the capital is well-protected this fire season, and it is unfair to put pressure on volunteers.
"It's looking like to be a fairly horrendous fire season and the government seems to be relying or expecting to be relying on volunteers to do most of it," he said.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was established in 1911 as the capital of the newly federated country of Australia. Some 2330 square kilometres (about 900 square miles) were set aside, 53 percent of which today is nature park or reserve. Canberra, the urban centre of the ACT, is a city of 320,000 surrounded by rural areas and stretches of natural bushland, award-winning wineries, and stunning nature parks.
Canberra yourguide reported recently that Canberra firefighters are worried about thick regrowth scrub in the southern Namadgi National Park and describe the inaccessible bushland as a "death trap." Hundreds of acres of national park razed in the 2003 bushfires has regrown into heath scrub -- with tinder-dry weeds and heavy fuel loads.
Southern Districts volunteer fire service captain Val Jeffery said local fire crews were afraid to go near the area. "It's a death trap and we have to be very, very careful," he said. "It gave me a bloody fright when I went out to inspect the area, as I wasn't expecting it to be that bad -- it's really frightening."
Local firefighter Karim Haddad, who has been a volunteer for 14 years, said the undergrowth near Tharwa is much different from previous years. "There's deadwood nicely cured that's sitting there waiting for something to happen," he said. "It's really scary and you could be trapped."
Emergency services personnel have been planning fire breaks in tactical areas, and
two Erickson Air-Crane helitankers recently arrived in Canberra from Greece; one of them will be based at Canberra for the season. Canberra Airport's Steven Byron told ABC News that the other will be based in Melbourne.
FIRE BEHAVIOR KEY TO ITS SOURCENOVEMBER 13 -- BEAUMONT, CA: An understanding of wildfire behavior helps investigators trace a fire to its source -- and sometimes discover what and who started it.
"You can learn some really interesting things by looking where a fire's burned," says Janice Coen, a wildland fire researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). She told CNN that investigators examine weather conditions, scorch patterns on grass, ash deposits, and tree damage when assessing the origin and cause of a fire.
Fire direction indicators, tips from the public, and eyewitness accounts from firefighters can help investigations, too. Paul Steensland, a former senior special agent for the U.S. Forest Service, says it's like following footprints through the snow.
"What we are trying to do is retrace the fire's progression away from where an ignition source came in contact with the materials that first ignited it," he said. "We typically move from the area of most damage to the area of least damage."
Steensland explained that investigators enter a burn area and start a methodical zig-zag search, marking the fire transition zones with colored flags -- red for advancing, yellow for lateral, and blue for backing fire.
In an arson case, the hardest part is connecting the ignition site to a person. Steensland says most cases are repetitive -- serial arson. The average arsonist sets about 35 fires before being apprehended. "And we usually catch the guys," he said. "If they continue to set fires, we will eventually catch them -- it's just a matter of when not if."
Investigators who helped in the arrest of Raymond Oyler on November 2 in connection with the deadly Esperanza Fire haven't released details of the evidence they collected, but it was enough that they agreed unanimously to file arson and murder charges. He's suspected of setting numerous other fires in the Banning Pass area -- an area with a history of arson-caused wildfires. Prosecutors charged Oyler with five murder counts, 11 counts of arson, and 10 counts of using an incendiary device -- all felonies.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY FIRE GOES TO 150 ACRESNOVEMBER 13 -- LAKE ELSINORE, CA: A wildfire this afternoon burned across hillside brush and trees in Riverside County; voluntary evacuations were issued for 100 homes in Lakeland Village.
The Lookout Fire, according to an AP report, threatened about 300 homes in Lake Elsinore. Capt. Julie Hutchinson with CDF said the fire burned through dense brush and trees on the hills west of Lake Elsinore and north of Highway 74.
By late evening the fire was 15 percent contained at 150 acres, with about 150 homes threatened in Lakeland Village, La Cresta, El Cariso Village, Wildomar, and Rancho Capistrano. The fire was burning in chapparal, chamise, tall grasses and scrub oak. Firefighters said the fire area was in steep, rugged, and inaccessible terrain.
The fire was first reported at about 4:30 p.m., but the aircraft cut-off time had just passed, which limited the initial attack to ground resources.
THREE RENO WILDFIRES CAUGHTNOVEMBER 12 -- RENO, NV: Snow and rain helped crews contain three fires in Reno yesterday; the Pine Haven Fire started about 4:30 a.m. and burned about 300 acres, with winds gusting to 35 mph. Steve Frady with the Reno Fire Department said the fire put up a huge smoke plume.
The fire damaged powerlines and burned to within a quarter-mile of homes. More than 100 firefighters responded.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reported that shifting winds and slopes in the area contributed to the fire's spread; it was burning in several directions at different times.
Another fire in the North Valleys was held to about 15 acres, and a third fire reported just after 3 a.m. burned about 13 acres near Bordeaux Drive and Mount Rose Highway. It was contained by 6:30 a.m. and the cause was apparently related to powerlines and windy conditions.
MINNESOTA GRASS FIRE CONTAINEDNOVEMBER 10 -- ELK RIVER, MN: Crews fought a grass fire late yesterday in the Sand Dunes State Forest in central Minnesota; KSTP-TV reported that the fire was burning just north of Elk River and Big Lake.
Sherburne County Chief Deputy Scott Gudmundson said six homes were evacuated but that marshy and wet conditions probably prevented the fire from spreading to other homes in the area. He estimated the fire at about 200 acres.
Minnesota DNR reported fires in the last week in the Brainerd, Park Rapids, Deer River, Detroit Lakes, Aitkin, Cloquet, Two Harbors, Little Falls, Sandstone and Cambridge areas. Cool dry weather continues to dry fuels; both Waseca and LeSueur counties in southern Minnesota are enforcing burning restrictions.
BRUSH FIRE ON SANTA CRUZ ISLAND CONTAINEDNOVEMBER 10 -- SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, CA: Firefighters have contained a brush fire one of the Channel Islands, according to KGET-TV; Yvonne Menard with the Channel Islands National Park said the fire burned 14 acres of grass and sage in a remote valley on Nature Conservancy property. The Conservancy owns 76 percent of the 96-square-mile island.
Two USFS helicopters flew in a crew of firefighters, and two airtankers dropped on the fire. It was burning near a breeding area for the Santa Cruz fox, an endangered species found only on the island off Santa Barbara. A descendent of the mainland gray fox, the island fox evolved into a unique species over 10,000 years ago.
FAST-MOVING FLORIDA FIRE CONTAINEDNOVEMBER 09 -- LAKE CITY, FL: A fire in Baker County was contained at 400 acres about 20 miles north of Lake City after it threatened local timber resources and the Osceola Wilderness Study Area.
Fire crews have been working on parts of the fire that were smoldering in swamp fuels adjacent to control lines, and firefighters worked today on mop-up of burning swamp fuels near the control lines.
The fire, in the rural Georgia Bend community, rolled 14 units and dozens of firefighters who were deployed into three task forces. Structure protection focused on homes among the tall pines off Farley Burnsed and Bob Thrift Road, and spotter planes from both Georgia and Florida kept an eye on the fire, according to the Baker County Standard. The fire jumped several dirt roads and crowned over the pines before forestry plows managed to contain the fire's head.
"This fire could have gotten really bad," said Macclenny Fire Chief Buddy Dugger. "It was reminiscent of those bad wildfires we had back in 1998 over in Georgia."
SASKATCHEWAN WILL GET NEW AIRTANKERNOVEMBER 09 -- SASKATOON, SK, CANADA: The Government of Saskatchewan has decided to purchase another Convair 580A, replacing the one that crashed last May and bringing the province's complement of airtankers back up to four.
 The one that went down had three pilots on board during a training run with the recently re-manufactured plane. Two were injured, according to saskatoonhomepage.ca, and one was killed in the crash near LaRonge. The airtanker was operated at the time by Saskatchewan Government Northern Air Operations.
The Convair 580A, introduced during the 2000 fire season, is a land-based airtanker that can fly over one-third faster than the Tracker aircraft they've been replacing. They carry about a third more retardant than is currently delivered by a group of three Trackers.
The new Convair is planned for delivery in March 2008 and will cost $13 million -- currently about $11,500,000 in U.S. funds. OHS Canada reported that the province was able to acquire the previous airtankers at $10 million each because it purchased more than one at a time. The Convair will be re-manufactured to meet government specs, able to carry 100 people and equipped to drop retardant.
BUSHFIRE THREATENS SYDNEY WATER SUPPLYNOVEMBER 07 -- SYDNEY, NSW: Sydney's drinking water could be compromised by a bushfire burning near Warragamba Dam.
The fire in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales is in a remote area that's near Lake Burragorang; the Warragamba Dam catchment supplies 80 percent of Sydney's drinking water.
TVNZ reported that about 100 firefighters on Monday were winched into a remote and rugged area of the Barkers Creek Fire.
The fire started last week and has burned more than 22,000 acres. Remote Area Firefighting Teams (RAFT) from several agencies are working on the fire, including volunteer firefighters from the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), crews from National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), and Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) firefighters.
Recent rains helped reduce fire activity, but also meant that vehicles cannot gain access safely, even to the few parts of the fire where tracks exist.
Twelve water-bombing aircraft were used on the fire. The strategy is to keep the fire away from the lake. Infrared imaging technology was used to map the fire and surrounding area, which was devastated by bushfires in 1997.
MONTANA TROUT RELOCATED AFTER FIRENOVEMBER 07 -- HELENA, MT: About 1,000 Yellowstone cutthroat trout are being captured and moved to streams not threatened by fire damage. Two tributaries of the Yellowstone River are at risk from last summer's Derby Mountain Fire, according to an AP report. Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) personnel said snowmelt carrying ash and soil into streams in the spring could smother the trout, clog spawning areas, and reduce populations of aquatic insects.
Yellowstone cutthroat were determined to be at high risk in four streams in the area. The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team determined that fish mortality and perhaps extirpation of the fish population in Lower Deer Creek after high intensity rainfall is probable. The FWP plans to move cutthroat from Upper Deer Creek and Lower Deer Creek, which flow through the area burned by the 199,500-acre fire area. The trout will be flown to other streams southeast of the fire area for several years, till the habitat is stabilized, and then they'll be returned.
The fire was started by lightning on August 22 south of Big Timber on the Gallatin National Forest, and it destroyed 26 homes.
DELUZ FIRE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY
SHOULD BE CONTAINED TOMORROWNOVEMBER 06 -- SAN DIEGO, CA: The Deluz Fire was 25 percent contained this evening at just over 50 acres with one home damaged and one injury reported. The Press-Enterprise reported that the Deluz Fire started as a structure fire shortly before 2 p.m. on De Luz Road and Tenaja Drive near Camp Pendleton.
Fire managers hope to have the fire controlled by tomorrow evening.
Resources included 25 engines, six airtankers, six hand crews, two dozers, and five helicopters. About 275 firefighters are assigned to the fire.
SIERRA FIRE THREATENS RIALTONOVEMBER 06 -- DEVORE, CA: A fire from a freeway construction site burned on both sides of I-15 this morning and was threatening homes in Rialto and Fontana. Pushed by 20 mph winds, the fire was headed west toward homes and grew quickly.
By 5 p.m. it was 85 percent contained at 640 acres. Two structures were destroyed and fire crews reported temperatures in the mid-80s with low humidity.
Evacuations in the area north of I-210 and east of Sierra Avenue have been rescinded.
A report at lasvegasnow.com said that the fire forced the evacuation of several dozen students from two schools.
The fire was started in the wash at I-15 and the Lytle Creek bridge by a construction crew cutting rebar. Hot slag and sparks fell into the wash area below and ignited the brush, and the fire was pushed by brisk winds. The fire moved south and threatened homes and commercial buildings, and engulfed a pallet yard near Sierra Avenue and I-210. That fire, called a "fire within a fire" by one fire official, burned hundreds of wooden pallets, two small outbuildings, eight forklifts, four flatbed trucks, a pickup, and six trailers.
Left standing, according to KLAS-TV, were cargo containers warped by the heat and the burned skeletons of forklifts.
A commercial building south of the pallet yard sustained heavy damage; the estimated loss is $1.2 million.
Fitzgerald Elementary and Kucera Middle School south of Glen Helen Park were threatened. The Press-Enterprise reported the fire at 500 acres by 10:30 a.m.
The Sierra Avenue on-ramp and off-ramp to the northbound I-15 were closed, along with the Sierra Avenue off-ramp to the southbound I-15. Santa Ana winds carried smoke from the fire from the Inland Empire to the coast.
ESPERANZA INVESTIGATION UNNERVES FIREFIGHTERSNOVEMBER 06 -- CABAZON, CA: A U.S. Forest Service employee has asked to have an attorney present before answering investigators' questions related to the deadly Esperanza Fire.
In the aftermath of the 2003 Cramer Fire, which killed two firefighters, the Forest Service proposed disciplinary actions to six employees. The incident commander was held criminally liable, lost his job, and was placed on federal probation for 18 months. His liability for the deaths was determined after an investigation by the USDA Office of the Inspector General, which is currently investigating USFS employees' actions on the Esperanza Fire.
Dick Mangan, president of the International Association of Wildland Fire, told the Press-Enterprise that the Inspector General's involvement has brought a distrust in the investigative process.
"Now what we've done is say, 'We think you robbed a bank. Tell us how you did it. But you're still going to go to jail if you cooperate.' "
TWO MORE FIREFIGHTERS LOSTNOVEMBER 06 -- SANTA YSABEL, CA: Two U.S. Forest Service firefighters were killed and a third was injured Saturday night in a vehicle accident near Julian. The three were returning to Pine Hills Fire Station on the Cleveland National Forest after having dinner in Julian.
Francesco D'Amico, 20, of Chula Vista, who was driving, and Daniel Duran, 29, of Calexico, the front seat passenger, were both killed in the accident. Injured was Adrian Rios, 20, of Chula Vista, who was riding in the back seat.
The Union-Tribune reported that D'Amico attended the firefighter academy at Southwestern College. The CHP said the car went off the side of the road, went down an embankment on its side, and struck an oak tree. Rios was trapped in the car for two hours, till a passerby saw the lights from the damaged car.
BUT THEY SO LOVED GOIN' HOMENOVEMBER 05 -- DEVORE, CA: The five firefighters who died on the Esperanza Fire were remembered today as just "ordinary men" who happened to love their firefighting jobs and their families.
Miles of engines and tens of thousands of people paid tribute this afternoon to the crewmembers of U.S. Forest Service Engine 57 just a ways west of where the five of them died -- on the arson-caused Esperanza Fire, the worst disaster to hit the wildland fire community since the 1994 South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain in Colorado.
Canyon breezes blew over the crowd this afternoon as they gathered for the memorial service.
Jeanne Wade Evans, forest supervisor on the San Bernardino, said the sense of loss felt by all firefighters is profound and painful. "But I hope that the loss will be tempered by memories of who these men were," she said. "They loved doing their jobs, but they also loved going home afterwards. This time, they could not go home."
Killed in a burnover last week on the Esperanza Fire were Mark Loutzenhiser, 43, of Idyllwild; Jess McLean, 27, of Beaumont; Jason McKay, 27, of Phelan; Daniel Najera, 20, of San Jacinto; and Pablo Cerda, 23, of Fountain Valley.
The Press-Enterprise reported that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the firefighters "extraordinary public servants;" he said that firefighting is a noble profession, the stuff of little kids' dreams.
At the memorial service, Tom Harbour, USFS Fire & Aviation director, said that the crew of Engine 57 was one that others in the field trusted. He used a phrase common to fire crews -- "bump up" -- shouted on the fireline when firefighters have finished their job and others in front of them should move up and keep going on to something ahead.
"Can we go forward?" asked Harbour. "Engine 57, can we bump up? The answer from Mark, Jess, Jason, Pablo and Daniel is yes."
Harbour said the crewmembers have anchored their line. "As tough as it is," he said, "we will lift our faces. We will look to the ridge."
FIREFIGHTER MEMORIAL TODAYNOVEMBER 05 -- DEVORE, CA: The organizers of today's memorial service for five firefighters killed on the Esperanza Fire get only one chance to properly honor the fallen.
"You can't go back tomorrow and make it right," said Jim Wilkins, a retired 30-year veteran fire captain who's coordinating the memorial service.
The service is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the 65,000-seat Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore. [MAP]
The Press-Enterprise reported that Wilkins found a Riverside County firefighter who is a video technician and put him in charge of the six television cameras that will cover the stage and audience at the Engine 57 memorial. That video feed will be available to local media and will be beamed to a satellite where it will be made available to every cable television system in the country.
There's also a flyover planned by firefighting aircraft. The formation will be led by a BLM aerial supervision Beech King Air, with Tanker 25 (an Aero Union P-3) and Tanker 09 (a Neptune P-2V) on its wings. Four helicopters will form up behind them for the flight, which will launch from San Bernardino Airtanker Base.
TRIPOD FIRE REHAB BUDGET: $28 MILLIONNOVEMBER 04 -- CONCONULLY, WA: Months after a wildfire burned 274 square miles of state and federal land, the Okanogan National Forest has announced plans to spend $28 million over the next two years to protect hundreds of miles of roads, trails, river channels, and wildlife habitat -- probably the most expensive rehab project the agency's ever undertaken.
The Tripod Fire took off when two fires burned together after being ignited by lightning in July. It burned more than 175,000 acres just south of the Canadian border, and briefly threatened the communities of Conconully and Loomis. Over 20 percent of the fire area was severely burned.
The AP reported that the Forest Service already received $14 million to begin work this fall before heavy snow falls. Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) work includes clearing downed trees and cutting hazard trees along 259 miles of road and 70 miles of trail inside the firelines. Culverts must be rebuilt or enlarged to handle winter runoff.
Mel Bennett, a forest hydrologist assigned to the recovery team, said erosion poses the biggest risk, resulting in landslides and sediment loading in streams important to threatened and endangered fish. Aerial seeding, hazard tree assessment and removal, fertilizing, heli-mulching, and road work were all planned on the Okanogan, and the aerial seeding and hazard tree work have been completed. About 6,600 acres were seeded, and 10,000 danger trees were felled.
As funding and resources permit, more seeding and danger tree work may occur in the spring.
"After this winter, it's likely that there may be more danger trees, or trees that have fallen across roads or trails," said Matt Woosley with the BAER team.
Heli-mulching is still ongoing for some of the more severely burned drainages; more than 300 truckloads of straw have been hauled to staging areas; eight helicopters worked to apply 8,580 tons of mulch across 14,000 acres.
More information on BAER projects is available on the Tripod Complex BAER site and on Arizona's Brins Fire BAER site.
ELDORADO 'SHOTS PLAN 52-MILE WALKNOVEMBER 04 -- CAMINO, CA: The Eldorado Hotshots have announced that they'll complete a 52-mile walk in Sacramento in December to raise funds for the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.
 "The recent event on the Esperanza Fire has affected us all," said Captain Mike Sandoval. "The families of our brothers from San Bernardino Engine 57 who lost their lives are in our thoughts and prayers. With this event, and all other tragic events this fire season, the Wildland Firefighter Foundation has been there for us each and every time. The Eldorado Interagency Hotshot Crew feel it is their duty to now try to give back."
The crew is planning a 52-mile walk in Sacramento, California, in support of the Foundation's 52 Club. Crewmembers said they were inspired by Kenneth Perry, an air attack pilot who has brought in over $70,000 for the Foundation by making long-distance runs to raise funds.
 The hotshots plan their walk on Sacramento's American River Parkway, from Discovery Park to Folsom Dam and back. The tentative date is December 9, rain or shine.
"The Foundation assisted us this season when we went through our own event on the New York Peak Fire," said Sandoval. Six crewmembers were burned on that fire in July in northern Nevada.
"We are excited about this opportunity to give back to our community, get the public and other agencies involved, and most of all, support our fellow firefighters and their families that need our help," said Sandoval.
For more information, call the Eldorado Hotshots at (530)644-3588 or email Aaron Humphrey or Nick Matheson. The crew website at eldoradohotshots.org has more information and will include regular updates on their 52-mile walk.
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