Category: Fire Season

Wildfires

There was one in Ventura, that looks like it is under control, and now this one for which T-74 and T-75 out of Paso have been sent. Dispatch said it was on Interlake RD. In Bryson-Hesperia. Let’s hope it stays as small. Still early, so shouldn’t be too big.

Recent Incidents (Prepared 05/12/2016 14:30)

Date Inc # Name Type Location WebComment Resources IC Fuels Acres Lat/Lon
05/12/2016 14:29 LPF-1242
New Wildfire . . . . . . 35.837 x 121.039

Also, you may notice that I am in the process of my twice a year seasonal change from weather to fire links on the right hand side. I use many of these links to check on information which is reported on my blog.

Vegetation Fire, Check Creek, 41 East

5:00pm – 100 acres so far.

…just had a response for a veg fire on 41 East at Check Canyon…..B3414, A/A340, T74 an 75, heli on order, Engs. 50, 3472, 3477, 3481, WT50, D3442, an Questa 2 crews.

They just added 1 eng. from SLO, 3478, 3471, D3440 an D3441 to the fire ……just said 100 acres

30 Acre Wildfire on FHL

6:30 pm – some of the SLO Mutual Aid units are being released, so this must be under control now.

5:30 pm – There is a wildfire on FHL near Jolon and Sulphur Springs. SLO has sent units as well as LPF. So far, no planes called out yet. Will update as I hear. From WildCAD

05/02/2016 16:11 FHL-1165
PN J8QN (1502)
PNJ8QN (1502) Sulphur Wildfire FORT HUNTER LIGGET M . DIV1LPF E16LPF 4X4 E17LPF E319LPF PAT18LPF Q CH8803, Toll Effective 17:10 30 (acres)

Fires, 4/28/16

at 2:45 pm – a fire broke out near King City. It is reportedly black smoke, so possible structure fire.

Around 3 pm, Cal Fire and AA were dispatched to a brush fire about 3 miles north of the Paso Robles Airport.

Around 2 pm – a wildfire was reported at Casitas and 33 in Ventura Co. LPNF sent a full wild land fire response. This one is named Casitas and has an IC. It is reported at 20 acres.

Campfire Rules & Regulations

As with many statutes, rules, regulations, etc. especially by the federal government, these statutes are spread throughout several codes. There is the Code of Federal Regulations and the United States Codes, both quoted below. I did my best to find all the applicable ones, but may not have succeeded. I simply have laid out the statutes, and am NOT offering any legal advice.

Federal Campfire Statutes:

CFR › Title 36 › Chapter II › Part 261 › Subpart A › Section 261.5
36 CFR 261.5 – Fire.

The following are prohibited:
(a) Carelessly or negligently throwing or placing any ignited substance or other substance that may cause a fire.
(b) Firing any tracer bullet or incendiary ammunition.
(c) Causing timber, trees, slash, brush or grass to burn except as authorized by permit.
(d) Leaving a fire without completely extinguishing it.
(e) Causing and failing to maintain control of a fire that is not a prescribed fire that damages the National Forest System.
(f) Building, attending, maintaining, or using a campfire without removing all flammable material from around the campfire adequate to prevent its escape.
(g) Negligently failing to maintain control of a prescribed fire on Non-National Forest System lands that damages the National Forest System.
[42 FR 2957, Jan. 14, 1977, as amended at 46 FR 33520, June 30, 1981; 73 FR 30307, May 27, 2008]

§ 261.1b Penalty

Any violation of the prohibitions of this part (261) shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than six months or both pursuant to title 16 U.S.C., section 551, unless otherwise provided.

§ 261.52 Order

When provided by an order, the following are prohibited:
Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire

16 U.S. Code § 551 – Protection of national forests; rules and regulations

The Secretary of Agriculture shall make provisions for the protection against destruction by fire and depredations upon the public forests and national forests which may have been set aside or which may be hereafter set aside under the provisions of section 471 [1] of this title, and which may be continued; and he may make such rules and regulations and establish such service as will insure the objects of such reservations, namely, to regulate their occupancy and use and to preserve the forests thereon from destruction; …

Once the order is in effect under 16 USC § 551 then the following penalties are provided:
18 USC § 3559 lists the classification of offenses and states: [when not specifically designated in the statute it is determined by its punishment] six months or less but more than thirty days, as a Class B misdemeanor
18 USC §3571, class B misdemeanor carries a maximum fine of $5000
18 USC §3581, class B misdemeanor is carries a maximum jail time of 6 months

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I have an example of the 2014-2015 order I will post, probably tomorrow if events allow.

 

In Preparation for Fire Season

A neighbor asked me a question, which I thought I knew the answer to, but I questioned what I knew when informed a USFS personnel disagreed with me. Hmm…nothing I like better than to prove ANY governmental agency misinformed, particularly if I can do it with their own codes, regulations, ordinances – their laws – comes from almost 30 years of fighting the government oppression for my indigent clients.

So, I have found I was correct. I found the CFR and US Codes which govern campfires in the national forests, what is legal, what is not, what the fines are if permitted but not done properly, and what the fines are if campfires have been prohibited by the Forest Supervisor.

Rather than have to research this again in a few years, I decided I would put together a hand-out, if you will, that each of my neighbors and any other interested parties can print out and carry with them (maybe carry multiple copies?) with which to educate the USFS personnel, particularly seasonal workers, F&G wardens, MCSO, AND more importantly, the visiting uninformed. I will post it here next week, after Easter. So look for a little something with which to inform yourself, your neighbors, our enforcers, and more importantly, potential violators. I’m just going to quote the laws and where they can be found. I will not be providing advice, legal or otherwise. Just the law. Arm yourself with the law and you will learn all sorts of things. One way to fight ignorance and hopefully even uncaring individuals.

I saw on a free campsites web page a person who admitted that while she KNEW campfires were prohibited, she had a “little” one anyway to keep the bugs away. We’ve got to get the word out. We can get their information and call it in. Just a few $5,000 fines would pay for all the enforcement we could tolerate.

Solimar Fire – Ventura Fire Closes 101 in both directions

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9:00 am – There is no expected opening time for the freeway, so if you are traveling north or south, alternate routes are recommended. This fire has been crazy last night and this morning with embers described as hockey pucks being blown across all lanes of the 101. The fire has burned 1100 acres, threatened many homes. The CHP website reports:

8:24 AM 19 [22] SR 166 FROM SANTA MARIA OVER TO THE I-5 IS OPEN AND AN ALTERNATE ROUTE FOR TRAVELERS HEADED SOUTH
4:49 AM 18 [20] 1039 C20
4:49 AM 17 [19] ^31-S4 – IT IS NOT RECOMMEND THAT TRACTOR TRAILERS USE THE 150
4:39 AM 16 [16] ^ALL FRWY CLOSURES FOR UNKN DURATION AT THIS TIME***
4:39 AM 15 [15] ^FURTHER MEDIA INQUIRY MAY BE MADE w/ VCFD
4:38 AM 14 [14] ^PRESS CONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR 1000 HRS AT ICP VENTURA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS
4:37 AM 13 [13] ^NEXT BRIEFING AT 0900 HRS
4:26 AM 12 [12] ^SB PCH AT SEACLIFF – CLOSED
4:26 AM 11 [11] ^NB PCH AT EMMA WOOD – CLOSED (FIRE TOO CLOSE TO HAVE A MANNED CLOSURE IN PLACE)
4:26 AM 10 [10] ^SEACLIFF ONR TO SB 101 – CT MANNED HARD CLOSURE IN PLACE
4:26 AM 9 [9] ^MUSSEL SHOALS ONR TO SB 101 – CT MANNED HARD CLOSURE IN PLACE
4:26 AM 8 [8] ^BATES RD ONR TO SB 101 – CT MANNED HARD CLOSURE IN PLACE
4:26 AM 7 [7] ^SR150 ONR TO SB 101 – CT MANNED HARD CLOSURE IN PLACE
4:26 AM 6 [6] ^SB 101 AT SR150 – FULL CT HARD CLOSURE IN PLACE // TRAFFIC CURRENTLY BEING DIVERTED TO SR150
4:25 AM 5 [5] ^W MAIN ST at PEKING ST – VPD MANNED CLOSURE
4:25 AM 4 [4] ^W MAIN ONR TO NB 101 – CLOSED
4:25 AM 3 [3] ^SB 33 TO NB 101 TRANS – CONE CLOSURE w/ CHP UNIT 97
4:25 AM 2 [2] ^NB 101 AT SR33 – CT MANNED HARD CLOSURE IN PLACE // TRAFFIC CURRENTLY BEING DIVERTED TO SR33
4:25 AM 1 [1] ^INFO FOR THE PUBLIC/MEDIA – CLOSURES IN PLACE DUE TO THE SOLIMAR FIRE

Prescribed Burn near Arroyo Seca

NEWS RELEASE

Los Padres National Forest
For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrew Madsen (805) 895-0841
Twitter: @LosPadresNF

Prescribed Burn Scheduled in Los Padres National Forest

GOLETA, CA, November 12, 2015…Los Padres National Forest officials announced today that fire crews plan to conduct a prescribed burn next week at the Abbott Lakes adjacent to the Arroyo Seco Administrative Area on the Monterey Ranger District. The 18-acre project area is approximately 25 miles west of King City.

The purpose of the burn is to use prescribed fire to consume the emergent vegetation of the lower Abbott Lake and increase its water storage capacity. This in turn would:

· Provide a reliable source of water for fire suppression activities in order to better protect Arroyo Seco Administrative Site facilities, the surrounding community of Fred’s Camp, and other residential and commercial structures from wildfires.
Reduce or prevent the amount of water needing to be drafted from the Arroyo Seco River during active wildfires because water drafting may exacerbate summertime stress in steelhead trout populations and other aquatic species.
Improve aquatic and wetland habitat of the lower lake by filling it in the late fall, winter and early spring months during high river flows so that the lake is as full as possible on a year-round basis.

If the fuel and weather conditions are safely within prescription, the project could begin as early as November 17. Smoke may be visible from several miles away and residual smoke could be present in the area for several days following the burn.

Forest visitors are advised to call the Arroyo Seco Station at (831) 674-2381 or the Monterey District Office at (831) 385-5434 to obtain current information during the burn operation.

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Fires in Adjacent Counties

there is a wildfire in Santa Cruz County that broke out about 15 mins ago at SR 9 and Keystone Way. The road is closed at both ends. The CHP site did not say which road, but I think Keystone Way is a good bet.

In SLO Co, a vehicle fire broke out about 10 minutes ago at Main St. And the 101 freeway. All occupants are out of the vehicle. Let’s hope it doesn’t go into vegetation.

Ah, yes, Friday night on the Central Coast.

Lightning

I don’t know what the weather reports are, but I can tell you what I am seeing – and that is lightning. It is SSE of here on the other side of Willow somewhere. Can’t hear any thunder, so it is not close, but probably SLO Co or further south. That means the possibility of down strikes, which means possible wildfires. Keep an eye out, where ever you are. Fire season is not over until it’s over. And those lightning strikes could be headed our way. I’ll be keeping an eye out for a bit longer, but gotta get moving a tad earlier than usual tomorrow.