| Fire News - August 2008
To read the full article, click on the link to be redirected to the news site. FUSEE members are in the news! August 31, 2008 RENO, Nev.—Gov. Jim Gibbons has criticized U.S. Forest Service officials' decision to let a wildfire in northeast Nevada burn unchecked for two weeks, saying it allowed the blaze to "get out of control" and substantially spread. Satellite phones make cowboys wildfire sentinels SILVER CITY, Idaho (AP) — The craggy gullies where Idaho cowboy Paul Nettleton runs 1,200 head of cattle are often precious minutes from reliable cell phone coverage. That could spell disaster in this region where sudden summertime storms howl in from eastern Oregon, bringing dry lightning that can ignite fast-moving wildfires on sage- and juniper-covered hillsides. Unchecked, the flames could quickly turn this old mining town's historic wooden buildings to ashes. August 29, 2008 The memories are 20 years old now, but if I close my eyes, I can still smell the smoke. All summer long that year, clouds of smoke roiled over Yellowstone National Park. August 27, 2008 Ten months after a wildfire swept through his neighborhood in Ranch Bernardo, a community nestled in the coastal mountains north of San Diego, Brian Toth is incredulous. August 26, 2008 Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology wishes to express our sincere sorrow for the victims of the June 19 helicopter crash. It is a shame that our statements of sympathy for the families, friends and coworkers of the fallen firefighters were edited out of the Mail Tribune's Aug. 14 article quoting us. This unfortunate omission was further compounded by the Aug. 17 editorial accusing FUSEE of making "political statements" about the tragedy, and stating several false assumptions about our organization. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) says it will change its fire-fighting strategies yet again in an effort to reduce the risk of wildland fire deaths. This in the aftermath of a criminal case that ended August 20 in U.S. Federal Court in Spokane with the sentencing of Ellreese Daniels, the first Forest Service crew boss ever to face criminal charges for his actions on a fire line. Daniels was the Forest Service's Incident Commander at the disastrous fire in North Central Washington in 2001, when four young firefighters were killed in what was called the Thirtymile Fire, on the Chewuch River north of Winthrop. He will serve 90 days on work-release time and three years of probation, but no jail time. August 25, 2008 HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The cost of fighting large fires in California and elsewhere is forcing the U.S. Forest Service to divert hundreds of millions of dollars set aside for work including roads, trails, recreational improvements — even fire prevention. Wildfire grows, and fire crews say that’s a good thing Nestled in the mountains of Alleghany County, the Peters Ridge Fire is creeping along slowly, nibbling on everything in its path. Sharon Mohney is with the U.S. Forest Service, and she says the bigger the appetite, the better. Fires fry local forest funds EAGLE COUNTY — The rising costs of fighting wildfires is forcing the U.S. Forest service to pull more than $400 million in funding from a wide range of programs, and those cuts are having a big impact on local foresters and researchers. August 24, 2008 It's been 25 years since I put on a yellow fire shirt and green fire pants and lugged a shovel to a forest fire, but fighting fire has been on my mind since seven local firefighters died in a helicopter crash Aug. 5 in Northern California. August 22, 2008 The U.S. Forest Service is again allowing controlled fires in California, after a ban last month in response to air quality concerns and personnel limitations. The ban on such fires, revealed by The Bee two weeks ago, drew criticism from groups representing Forest Service professionals. Report: Chopper lost power Investigators think a Sikorsky firefighting helicopter that crashed in Trinity County on Aug. 5, killing nine and injuring four others, lost power to the main rotor while rising after takeoff. Editorial: Firefighters deserve thanks for all they do The sun rose with a reddish cast over Central Point, Ore., on Aug. 15, smoke from a rash of Northern California wildfires hanging over the mountains as the vanguard of 3,500 firefighters and their families headed for the amphitheater at Jackson County Expo Park. August 21, 2008 CHOTEAU — Protecting houses from forest fires in Montana is costing the state millions extra, and it's only going to get more expensive as more residents settle on large rural lots, a new study says. Forest pinching pennies because of fire costs Bridger-Teton National Forest is making cutbacks and more could come because the cost of fighting forest fires nationwide is expected to balloon over budget. Australian Firefighters to Bring Down Under Fire Strategies to Idaho Wildfire Conference BOISE, Idaho - Australian fire experts have been scheduled to highlight the upcoming Idaho Widlland Fire Conference to be held at the Doubletree Riverside Hotel in Boise on Oct. 8 and 9, 2008. The two-day conference, now in its third year, has been designed to provide a forum for collaboration between firefighters, officials from local, state and federal governments, and county emergency services. Faulty part is suspected in other copter crashes The type of helicopter involved in this month's fatal crash in Northern California has gone down four other times in the past 15 years under similar circumstances, leading some safety officials in the United States and Canada to raise questions about a part in the aircraft's clutch system. Crews begin attack on NV fire as it burns beyond wilderness RENO, Nev.—Federal firefighters initiated efforts on Thursday to combat a wildfire they'd previously been allowing to burn unchecked for nearly two weeks in a remote wilderness area in northeast Nevada. August 20, 2008 Twenty years ago today, Joan Anzelmo was standing on a hill near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, with the wind blowing past her at near gale force. The former Boise resident and National Interagency Fire Center staffer, who now is superintendent of Colorado National Monument, was touring the park with her boss, Yellowstone Superintendent Bob Barbee. It was Black Saturday, the day 165,000 acres burned and the great Yellowstone fires of 1988 doubled in size in an afternoon. Central Oregon Ranch Owners Blame Forest Service For Fire More than 1000 acres of private ranchland next to the Ochoco National Forest has been scorched as part of the Bridge Creek Fire. And the private landowners are unhappy about it because they take issue with fire management policies. Opinion: 'Let it burn' isn't right I was very interested in the article in last week's journal regarding the effect of the forest fire smoke on the grape crop. Many of us in the county have been scratching our heads for weeks, wondering why tomatoes which were supposed to ripen in July are still showing only tiny, green fruits. It's kind of amazing when you think about it. The Forest Service , with their "burn, baby, burn" policy has actually managed to create its very own ecological disaster. Fire near Hungry Horse still burning" A fire burning in the Great Bear Wilderness northeast of Hungry Horse may have been helped by rain, but still sits at around 300 acres as of Thursday morning. Lighting ignited the Triangle Fire, which was first reported on August 10th. And the fire is managed to provide resource benefits to the area, including decreased fuel accumulation as well as improve wildlife and plant habitat. Feds watch as Nevada wilderness burns unchecked for 12 days RENO, Nev. -- While armies of firefighters battle wildland blazes across much of the West, federal crews are watching from the sidelines as a 12-day-old wildfire burns unchecked in a remote wilderness area in the northeast corner of Nevada. Thirtymile crew chief will avoid prison time SPOKANE -- A federal judge suggested Wednesday that Ellreese Daniels, incident commander at the fatal Thirtymile forest fire, was not responsible for the deaths of four Central Washington firefighters. August 19, 2008 SPOKANE, Wash. — The commander charged for the deaths of four central Washington firefighters at the Thirtymile Fire in 2001 will be sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Spokane. August 18, 2008 CENTRAL POINT, Ore. — Scott Charlson never dreamed of becoming a firefighter. But when a job on a fire crew came calling this summer, Mr. Charlson, a budding sportswriter and a college student, jumped at the chance to make some quick but hard-earned cash. “That was his main goal in going out there,” said his brother, Jake. “To get money for school and to buy himself a new car.” That never happened. Mr. Charlson, 25, died this month when a helicopter ferrying fire personnel over a Northern California forest crashed, killing nine aboard and injuring four. Mr. Charlson, a student at Southern Oregon University, and the other victims were eulogized at a memorial here on Friday, a somber ceremony that spoke to both the ever-present dangers of firefighting and the changing complexion of its workforce. Wildfires: Put them out or let them rage? FORESTHILL, Calif. - Rowdy Muir's voice cuts through the smoky air over a scratchy, public-school loudspeaker. The men and women who are listening lead crews that have labored for weeks to pound wildfires out of a steep, gnarly canyon a few miles east of this schoolyard. Many watch their new commander wearily in sweat- and soot-stained fire clothes even though it's just past dawn. Opinion: Budget gets burned out The financial news for California just gets worse and worse. The latest blow is the huge amount the state has been forced to pay fighting wildfires. In just the past six weeks, the state has burned through nearly $300 million. That's more than the state spent to fight fires in nine of the previous 10 years. Forest Service must shift funds to boost firefighting budget in Inland area Within weeks, wind, high temperatures and brittle brush will bring the worst part of the Inland area's fire season. But fires elsewhere already have burned through the U.S. Forest Service's firefighting budget -- again. Tribune Editorial - Pay to play: Building in disaster-prone areas should cost more Forestry and fire experts say that the question is not "if" but "when" a fire will hit areas in Utah's mountains and Wasatch Front foothills that have become the residential outskirts of our cities. Such a fire could be deadly for those residents and devastating to their property. It would also endanger the firefighters who must risk their lives trying to save homes from flames that leap up hillsides. Oregon wilderness fire was being managed BEND, Ore. -- A wildfire that got a boost from shifting winds and threatened an Eastern Oregon town began as a smaller blaze that was being managed rather than suppressed. Fire supervisors working in five national forests in Oregon and Washington have the authority to hold back on some fires, designating them as beneficial to the forest. South Barker Fire continues to grow Better mapping has prompted Forest Service officials to increase the estimated size of the South Barker Fire from 2,787 acres to 4,172 acres. Located west of the Wood River Valley near Featherville, the blaze continues to back down into grass and sage with occasional tree torching and spotting, a news release from the Sawtooth National Forest states. Smoke from the fire has created some haze in the Wood River Valley. The fire tends to become more active in the afternoon as temperatures increase, officials said. The blaze is being managed as a "wildland fire use" event, meaning that it will be allowed to burn to help achieve management objectives until it threatens public safety or valuable structures. August 17, 2008 Close your eyes, and a 3,000-acre wildfire on the banks of the New Fork River in Wyoming’s Bridger Wilderness crackles deceptively, like a soothing campfire. But any sense of security is shattered quickly by the blaze’s more violent noises. The sounds of falling century-old pines clap across the meadow like gunshots, and the fire roars like a passing train when trees suddenly torch from the ground up. Shock and anguish are usually among the first responses to any tragedy. They are often followed by efforts to fix blame. In the firefighting tragedy that took nine lives, we hope the second response can be set aside while the first are allowed to play out. August 16, 2008 Analysis of the cockpit voice recorder that could shed light on what happened when a helicopter went down in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest killing nine men and injuring four others, will be delayed because some components were damaged, federal officials said Friday. August 15, 2008 Idaho has had a relatively calm fire season, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been smothered in smoke blown in from California since early July. Nor does it mean Idaho's federal agency budgets aren't going to be impacted by the ever-rising costs associated with combating the California flames. Congress budgeted $1.2 billion for the Forest Service to combat fires this year. Current estimates have that figure climbing as high as $1.6 billion. The entire agency will tighten its belt to make up the difference, and in the Wood River Valley that means some projects will not be completed as planned. Worry over tactics grows after firefighter deaths When a firefighting helicopter went down in Northern California last week, killing nine and injuring four, the mountain crash site was so remote that it could only be reached by air or a full day's hike. According to the U.S. Forest Service, fighting the stubborn wildfire in an area nowhere near homes or businesses was necessary because massive plumes of smoke were threatening the health of residents across the region. Global warming blamed for increased wildfire risk Global warming and past forest management are making forests in the western United States more susceptible to fire while large wildfires, like two in Utah last year, are blamed with making climate change worse and putting unnatural stress on ecosystems, according to a report released Thursday. August 14, 2008 A "holdover" start from the lightning storm that passed through Central Oregon last week, currently a 3/10-acre fire located on the southwest side of Broken Top and on the Deschutes National Forest, has been identified as another candidate for Wildland Fire Use (WFU) implementation in Central Oregon. Smoky skies put fire crews in wilderness: Concerns about smoke buildup in Northern California led to the decision that sent wildland firefighters into the Trinity Alps Wilderness, where seven Southern Oregon men died in a helicopter crash Aug. 5. Firefighters went into the wilderness after a regional forester decided to suppress all fires that were burning, including those in remote areas where lives and property were not at risk. Fire managers also were worried that the Buckhorn fire could close the highway linking Redding to the coast, said Mike Odle, a spokesman for the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Officials stepping up fire prevention campaign Even as Angeles National Forest officials this week raised the level of fire danger, they reported Thursday that the number of blazes started this year is dramatically lower than previous years. So far this year, 107 fires have been started in the forest, compared to 298 during 2007 and 284 the year before, according to Stanton Florea, fire information officer for the Angeles National Forest. Op-Ed: Open Forum – Only We Can Prevent Forest Fires MOST OF US have little fear of a large wildfire threatening our homes and lives here in the Valley. Yet, we read about the huge conflagrations that have burned millions of acres in all of the Western states, destroying thousands of homes and causing great economic and human loss. August 13, 2008 BILLINGS, Mont. — As large swaths of Yellowstone National Park burned during the destructive fires of 1988, a small group of fire analysts descended on the park for a firsthand look at how massive fires burn. From those observations, U.S. Forest Service researcher Richard Rothermel crafted a technique to track some of the largest and most dangerous types of wildland blazes known as crown fires. Did Communication Errors Exist In Fatal Crash? WEAVERVILLE, Calif. -- New documents obtained by KCRA 3 appear to paint a picture of confusion and miscommunication in the hours following last week's fatal helicopter crash in Trinity County. August 12, 2008 JUNCTION CITY, Calif. -- The thick layer of haze hanging over the charcoal mountains of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest glows like a lingering fog at noon. Pervasive smoke and dust seem the only constant about this makeshift city of tents and mobile trailers, home to the 1,100 men and women battling the now 95,000-acre fire known as the Iron and Alps Complex. Last week, officials said the vast tract burning since late June was 87 percent contained. Today, with temperatures rising to 102 degrees and winds up to 12 mph, crews have a handle on just 68 percent. These are the ever-changing conditions that define life for 19-year old Chris Schultz, one of a growing number of contract firefighters employed by Oregon companies that have jumped into privatized firefighting. The firefighters' existence at the front lines is as temperamental as the winds they work against. "We don't usually find out until that day what we're going to be doing," said Schultz, in his first summer working for Jacksonville-based Eagle Pass Reforestation Inc. "But I love being outdoors and the hard work." Tribes object to fighting fire in sacred places GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Indian tribes from the Klamath River canyon are worried that the U.S. Forest Service is violating some of their sacred lands by fighting a remote wilderness wildfire rather than leaving it to burn naturally. August 11, 2008 The U.S. Forest Service has busted its budget for firefighting barely halfway through the fire season and is about to siphon money from other programs that include fixing potholed roads and renovating deteriorating campgrounds. The agency is even yanking $30 million from efforts to reduce the buildup of flammable tinder in forests, which is designed to reduce the risk of big wildfires that crews have to fight, according to a letter from Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell to field offices. The U.S. Fire Administration Releases Latest Firefighter Fatality Report The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has released the report, Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2007, indicating the causes for the 118 on-duty firefighter fatalities in 2007. Ranger District says it will let Barker Fire burn The Fairfield Ranger District of the Sawtooth National Forest said Monday it will let the Barker Fire located three miles northeast of Featherville burn. Lightning started the fire on Thursday. District Ranger Mike Dettotri said in a news release: “A Wildland Fire Use management strategy for the Barker Fire is allowed ... The area was previously planned for a prescribed fire to improve wildlife habitat and reduce hazardous fuels that have built up in the area.” August 10, 2008 SAN FRANCISCO -- Witnesses of a fiery helicopter accident that killed nine people told investigators the aircraft had lifted off more slowly than normal before it struck a tree and crashed in a remote Northern California forest. They said the nose of the helicopter hit a tree about 40 to 50 feet above ground and that the blades hit trees and branches before the crash. Bob Cuddy: Building in remote areas fuels fires Fire is on most people’s minds this summer, as it is with Californians most every summer. One question it sends crackling into my mind is this: Should people be allowed to build a house out in the middle of nowhere, if that home creates a potential fire hazard? August 9, 2008 After Tuesday's helicopter crash that killed nine men, critics are questioning the U.S. Forest Service's decision to attack California's raging forest fires rather than let them burn themselves out. Transporting firefighters into wilderness areas adds unnecessary risk to what's already a dangerous profession, said Timothy Ingalsbee of Eugene, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology. Agencies and families make plans to honor crash victims As news of the helicopter crash that killed seven Southern Oregon firefighters spread around the world, local government, nonprofit agencies and the families of victims began taking steps to honor the fallen men. Our Natural World: Climate change seen in long, fierce wildfire season It's one thing to talk about climate change, and another thing altogether to see its effects on landscapes. Recently, I had the chance to see large-scale change in action. It wasn't pretty. August 8, 2008 The regional chief of the Forest Service recently banned a practice that allowed local fire managers to let some blazes burn if they don't pose a threat. Critics said the ruling could expose more firefighters to deadly risks like the helicopter crash that killed a pilot and eight firefighters in California's Trinity County on Tuesday. That crash occurred in the Trinity Alps Wilderness, part of which has been identified as an appropriate place for the "let it burn" policy. Tragic crash of firefighting chopper raises questions about Shasta-Trinity forest policy As transportation officials probed Tuesday's fatal crash of a firefighting helicopter, questions arose about why firefighters were in the area at all. But unlike some national forests, the Shasta-Trinity National Forest has no plan in place to allow fires to burn unchecked in some conditions. This approach, dubbed "wildland fire use" by the Forest Service, has been embraced in many other forests and national parks. It can be a cheap and effective means to thin overgrown forests and restore more natural conditions. Shasta-Trinity forest's policy "is all suppression," said forest spokesman Mike Odle. "We have made no progress implementing wildland fire use here." Foundation announces website to aid families of copter crash Members of the public who want to provide support to the surviving families of the Iron 44 fatal helicopter crash can donate to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation through the foundation's website, www.wffoundation.org . The foundation provides direct financial support to the family members of fallen wildland firefighters. The National Transportation Safety Board is now in charge of the investigation into the tragedy. It typically takes several months before they issue a final report. Editorials: North state's wildfire season grows deadlier Our view: In town, we grumble about smoke, but the firefighters in the mountains face far worse hazards. Days after the crash in the Trinity Alps that appears to have killed nine members of a firefighting team and injured four more, details about precisely what went wrong were still far from clear Thursday. The terrain is remote. The fire consuming the crashed Sikorsky helicopter was intense. The blaze that the crew was battling never paused. What is certain is that we've seen the most horrifying reminder of the risks of wildland firefighting. August 7, 2008 Fire department vehicles assemble for a memorial procession, Thursday, August 7, 2008. PUYALLUP, Wash. -- For the second time in four days, local firefighters filled the streets in a memorial procession for a fallen colleague. Oregon mourns firefighters killed in crash MERLIN, Ore.—Firefighter families were mourning Thursday after two companies based in this small rural community long involved in battling wildfires read off the names of their dead from a helicopter crash that killed nine in Northern California. Seven were firefighters from Grayback Forestry, which has mustered contract firefighting crews since 1979, and an eighth was a pilot for Carson Helicopters, which has specially modified heavy lift helicopters and sent them to battle wildfires for 25 years. Investigators probe deadly NorCal chopper crash JUNCTION CITY, Calif.—After a long day battling one of Northern California's most stubborn wildfires, dozens of weary firefighters gathered in a remote wilderness clearing near the fire's front lines to get a chopper ride back to camp. Two veteran pilots flying a Sikorsky S-61N, a workhorse helicopter that can carry 16 passengers, already had ferried out two groups and returned to pick up another. The third group boarded, but then there was a problem. "They went forward a slight bit. Then the aircraft rapidly descended and hit the hillside," said Andy Mills, chief of helicopter operations for Carson Helicopters Inc., which owned and operated the chopper. Opinion: Don't give the brush off to brush management Beating the drum about fire prevention and brush maintenance may be part of an old song. But it should be moving up the hit parade this year as we see one of the earliest and most damaging fire seasons already upon us. It used to be that our minds turned to thoughts of brush fires when the Santa Anas blew through in the fall. No more. Look no further than Big Sur or Yosemite, or Lakeside where sparks from a weed whacker started a 225-acres fire last SaturdayAugust 6, 2008 Nine people were missing and presumed dead and four were hospitalized Wednesday after a helicopter carrying firefighters crashed the night before in northern California, aviation spokesmen said. The Sikorsky S-61 helicopter had entered a remote area to pick up firefighters battling wildfires, said Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration. The crash happened about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 35 miles northwest of Redding in the Trinity Alps Wilderness area. Two crew members and 11 firefighters were aboard, Gregor said. Three of the injured were contract firefighters, and the fourth was the pilot, said Sharon Heywood, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service. Parks chief honors firefighter in Boise National Park Service firefighter Andy Palmer was remembered Tuesday at Boise's National Interagency Fire Center. NPS Director Mary Bomar and parks staff held a moment of silence at the National Wildland Firefighter's Monument for Palmer, a resident of Port Townsend, Wash., and an Olympic National Park firefighter. Rahal-Grijalva-Dicks bid to put out wildfires passes House Lawmakers Study Wildfire Threat, Resources DENVER -- A legislative interim committee is scheduled Wednesday to continue its discussion on ways to keep the growing mountain communities safe from wildfire. The Interim Committee on Wildfire issues in Wildland-Urban Interface Areas convened Tuesday afternoon at the Legislative Services Building. The committee chair, Sen. Dan Gibbs, a democrat whose district covers the Silverthorne area, is also a wildland firefighter. "Unfortunately, the likelihood that a fire will encroach on our mountain and rural communities increases as those communities boom," Gibbs said. August 5. 2008 VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Firefighter officials in California - a state well known for its wildfires - have declared 2008's fire season an extremely active one so far. Among those officials is Juan Mendez, crew superintendent for the Sycuan Fire Department Golden Eagles Interagency Hotshot Crew in San Diego, and Battalion Chief J.P. Savala from the Chumash Tribe in Santa Ynez. According to a statewide fire overview from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, on June 20 a thunderstorm system moved over the state's wildlands and started more than 2,000 lightning-sparked fires. Since that time, well over 1 million acres have burned and nearly 13,000 fire prevention personnel have been involved in attending to these wildfires. Of the 287 fire crews that have been mobilized to fight these California wildfires, the BIA has supplied its share of firefighting forces. Among them stood the Zuni, Fort Apache, Navajo and Geronimo IHCs and the Golden Eagles Hotshots. August 4, 2008 San Diego - Officials at the Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park in California adopted an unusual wildfire policy four decades ago: When possible, they'd let fire be fire. Controlled or monitored fires don't actually prevent future blazes because brush and trees grow back. "Nothing will stop 200-foot-high flames," says Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety Ethics and Ecology. "But when such a fire does encounter one of those areas where they've done prescribed burns, it'll change its intensity. It'll drop to the ground and allow firefighters to get a handle on it." Firefighters weren't always willing to let fires burn. "The old policy was to put the fire out as quickly as possible, keep it to the smallest size, the shortest duration," Mr. Ingalsbee says. "That's not humanly possible any more in the midst of climate change, invasive weeds, urban sprawl, and a lot of careless recreationists." Group opposes regional fire tax plan A group of academics and retired fire officials says it opposes a plan to levy a tax on property owners to pay for more fire services because it doesn't require hiring more firefighters. The proposed parcel tax, which would generate about $50 million a year, is scheduled to be discussed at the Board of Supervisor's meeting Tuesday. If approved by the supervisors, the $52-per-parcel tax would be put on the ballot in November. San Diego wildfire cleanup billing questioned SAN DIEGO—Two companies hired by the city of San Diego to clear away homes destroyed by October's wildfires charged three times initial estimates for the job and considerably more than contractors hired by homeowners to do similar work, according to a newspaper report. August 3, 2008 Residents in the path of bushfires are told to evacuate early or stay and fight. A family that chose to stick one out endured a frightening test of endurance and determination. ANAKIE, AUSTRALIA — It was brutally hot, 108 degrees, and the wind was howling. Bushfires were raging in the hills, making their way inexorably toward the Baker farmstead at the foot of the Brisbane Ranges. John and Carlene Baker had moved here to get away from the hurly-burly of the city. They lived with their two children and a cast of orphaned animals on a 60-acre spread they called Foxford. Now, all of it was threatened. Embers were falling around the house. The animals were growing restless. The Baker property sits deep in a box canyon, a mile from the main road. The couple knew there was little or no chance firefighters would reach them. Southern Californians might respond to such a predicament by packing the car and evacuating. The thought never entered the Bakers' minds. Instead, they did what they had been trained to do: stay and fight. Reader's View: We need more action on all fronts The Idaho Statesman's "Fire Wise?" series ended appropriately with a quote from Forest Service scientist Jack Cohen, "Anything we do we need to do with the idea there is going to be fire." We face a situation that the Andrus Center for Public Policy aptly labels "the paradox of success." Decades-long successful fire suppression in our national forests created thick stands of brush and trees, at the same time the spread of residential development created a burgeoning wildland-urban interface. Climate change effects like earlier fire seasons, hotter summers and drought cycles add to the challenge. August 2, 2008 California fire and chaparral expert Rick Halsey will speak at 1 p.m. Aug. 9 in the Cuesta College Student Conference Room 5402. The talk is sponsored by the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden and Cal Fire and will include a slide show and discussion. Halsey, a founder of the California Chaparral Institute, is a natural history teacher, wild land firefighter and lecturer. His book, “Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California” will be on sale. A docent-led tour of the garden will be offered after the talk. For information, visit www.slobg.org. Beige plague Grassy invaders stoke immense fires that are obliterating huge swaths of the West's sagebrush. ELKO, NEV. — Around every bend of the dirt road, Tom Warren recites another name, another date. The Sheep, the Amazon, the Winters, the Suzie. The list goes on and on. It is a chronicle of loss, of wildfires ravaging one of America's mythic landscapes, the sweeping, lonely sagebrush country of the West. On mountainside after mountainside here, in valley after valley, the richly textured, muted green of sage has yielded to a monotonous, dried-out sea of dirty-blond cheatgrass. -------------------- FUSEE is a non-profit organization dedicated to public education on fire ecology and management issues. We believe this news service to be 'Fair Use' of the cited copyrighted material for educational purposes and will advance awareness, understanding, and public discussion of issues relating to firefighter safety, ethical land management, environmental protection, ecological restoration, and other issues in the public interest. |