Since we have a lot of new members with every incident, I have been asked to introduce myself. First off let me start by saying that I am NOT an official source by any means nor did I create this page (my ego is NOT that big! Lol). I am a private citizen (more on background in a minute) that is gathering information from both official sources that many of you have access to, as well unofficial sources such as scanners, FB firefighter groups, wildland fire forums, as well as contacts around the fire and/or the state, all of which is filtered through years of fire experience and passed along as much as possible in plain English. PLEASE check with your local Law Enforcement PIO pages, any FB pages set up by local and state agencies as well as various state and federal websites for official fire information. DO NOT DEPEND ON THE NEWS for information; they have been very wrong more than a few times. The same goes for some other groups on FB as well. Hand drawn maps, posted by persons with no clue to fire behavior, topography, fuels or the like, based on wild supposition, are dangerous. This group is unofficially monitored by at least 4 current and retired Chief Officers that I have worked for/with, as well as other fire officers and they will have no problem letting me know if I have been incorrect when it comes to strategy, tactics, procedures and/or fire weather but you should always check with official sources for the important information. Who am I? I am a 3rd generation (ret) firefighter that grew up in and around fire stations, and who has somewhere around 25 years as a volunteer and career “wildland – urban interface” (WUI. Where most of us in Cali live) firefighter/fire officer. I have been with both “Local Government” (LG) and Cal Fire and have lost count of the number of major wildfires I have been on. I have somewhere around 50 different fire certifications including a series in fire weather and wildland fire behavior and for a short period was working on starting an Urban-Wildland Fire business called Prep and Go Urban Wildfire Preparedness, which is still on the back burner for the moment. Being a firefighter’s son and grandson, I grew up around radios and scanners, and also worked my way through college as a dispatcher so I have an “ear” for radio traffic and the ability to understand who is talking about what and what they are talking about. On the personal side, I am married 30 years (wife Debi, daughter of a firefighter), have two sons, Tyler a former marine who has low tolerance for BS, and Brandon, who was a local volunteer and seasonal for a time and we’ve lived in Kelsey in EL Dorado County for around 17 years. Currently I am the Chair of Great Pyrenees Rescue of Northern California and help out with Debi’s website design business Bright Hope Designs. A couple of notes/rules. 1) Share away. Anything here with the exception of photos is free game and you are encouraged to share but please give credit to this group. All photos, especially those of WhiteFire Photos are the property of their respective photographers and you must include watermarks AND credit when sharing if they are known. Failure to do so will result in banning and blocking. 2) To prevent further rumors you wouldn’t be able to start a new post. If you have a question or information please feel free to post them on the thread about the incident or PM me. I check both mailboxes so should not miss it. 3) No politics period. This is about your particular incident and while discussions about factors affecting the incident are encouraged, political attacks are not permitted from/about either/any side. 4) No attacking firefighters or a particular fire agency. If you are an experienced WUI firefighter, critiques of policies, procedures and tactics are ok on a LIMITED basis as the primary focus here is to assist folks with getting no-BS info on their incident as well as educating the public as to the reasons things are done and the “behind the scenes” aspects of WUI firefighting. If you are not an experienced firefighter, you are more than welcome and encouraged to question what you have seen but do not attack the firefighters that are risking their lives to save your stuff. We have what is arguably the greatest wildland firefighting force in the world in this state and we need to remember that. And last but not least: 5) BE PREPARED FOR DISASTER! If you live in “the interface” (near where wildland fires occur) and its fire season, BE PREPARED TO EVACUATE. Have a plan and make sure it includes your animals. BE PREPARED TO BE GONE FOR 1-2 WEEKS!!! You likely will not be able to get back in to get things you forgot. If you decide to stay behind due to fears of looting, the need to “stay and defend” (hey, I get that) or because you are none too bright and think it’s all overblown or a government plot to steal your pot (I was actually told that once!), please make sure your next of kin is notified and do not expect my brothers and sisters to come in after you (although they likely will risk their lives trying). Fires are nothing to mess with.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 06:46:23 +0000
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