Archive for the 'San Diego Fires' Category
(Chronologically Listed)
- A map showing the extent of the fires, including the ability to see where each started and how widespread it was at key points, with some data overlays (population density, median home prices)
- A Google map showing houses burned in the fires (with a separate link to a list of known destroyed houses)
Camp Pendleton Fire Tamed - Santa Ana Winds Sunday
(Photo of the fire overnight from Mike 68’s flickr photo stream)
To those of you waking up and wanting to know about the blaze near the south side of Camp Pendleton, according to fire officials it is now more than 70% contained. This means it is still going to be throwing a huge amount of smoke into the air throughout the day, but it is of little threat to anyone in North County or the base.
From the North County Times:
Marine Maj. Kristen Lasica, a base spokeswoman, said firefighters had the upper hand on the blaze but did not have it surrounded or controlled. Winds of 5 to 10 mph were slowly pushing the flames to the northeast.
The fire started about 3:30 p.m. on a grassy training range on the southwest part of the base. It produced a huge plume of smoke along the southern border of the Marine Corps base, from east Oceanside to Interstate 15.
Although the fire stayed on the base, it burned only about a mile from its border, worrying many residents to the south, authorities said. North County emergency dispatchers said they received “constant” calls from residents concerned that the fire was headed their way.
Following a cooling trend Thursday through Saturday, the dry offshore winds known as Santa Anas are expected to kick up in San Diego County on Sunday and last through Monday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Stan Wasowski.
Santa Anas are known for pushing wildfires throughout Southern California, including the fires that devastated the county in October 2007 and October 2003.
Fire warnings have been issued for Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, where humidity is low and winds are expected to be high, especially along the Interstate 5 corridor.
And this further word from the Camp Pendleton media office:
At this point, the November fire has burned between 900 to 1,000 acres, and is approximately 70 percent contained. A small brush fire was reported south of Serra Mesa Housing shortly after 9:00 p.m. Camp Pendleton Fire immediately responded with multiple engines, and that fire was quickly contained. During this time, several homes in Serra Mesa Housing were threatened. However, no damage to housing occurred. Currently, all roads and gates on Camp Pendleton are open. Power has been restored to all areas of the Base.
So there you have it. A practice run for this year’s fire season, thankfully this one did not get out of control, and no structures were lost.
Fire Season Returns - Camp Pendleton Blaze
October returns, and days before our first real Santa Ana wind event, we get our first good sized fire. This one is burning on the south west side of Camp Pendleton. At present there is not any danger to any structures, as it is burning in a weapons range on the base.
The smoke column can be seen as far south as Solana Beach, and there are reports of ash fall in Fallbrook.
From the Marine Corps Times:
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Helicopters took to the skies to fight a wildfire that flared up Wednesday afternoon in the dusty hills near Marines Memorial Golf Course in Camp Pendleton’s southern section.
More than 100 acres were burning in late afternoon in training areas between the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Air Station and the golf course. Staff Sgt. Jesse Lora, a base spokesman, said the fire wasn’t threatening any buildings or structures.
From the OC Register:
CAMP PENDLETON – Firefighters were battling a 150-acre brush fire that broke out on a training range near the Oceanside end of the 125,000-acre Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base this afternoon.
The fire was reported on Range 401 on at 3:35 p.m., said Marine 1st Lt. Tom Garnett.
The cause of the fire was being investigated, Garnett said. Thick plumes of smoke could be seen from the Oceanside area up to northern Orange County.
They also include the following map.
Winds right now are fairly calm and blowing inland from the sea, so there is not a threat at the moment that this fire will turn into a reprise of the Witch Creek Fire of last year. At present there is a swarm of aircraft attacking the fire, as well as many able Marine hands working to contain it and put it out.
More information on this if something develops.
UPDATE
Excellent photos from someone near the fire over at Jon’s Geek Stuff, including the one below:
UPDATE 2
I created a better map that shows the wind direction, the burn area and the smoke plume. Again, the wind is light and from the ocean, so this fire is not an aggressive mover like the October fires of 2007. It is a good warning for this weekend’s predicted Santa Ana wind event. Map was created 7:30 PM
And of course my fellow San Diego fire trooper is covering this over at Barboni.org.
Update - 8:40 PM
Winds have shifted, now coming out of the North, so the fire is burning slowly south towards the populated areas of Oceanside and Vista. Time for North County fire teams to beat this thing down.
A brief word to everyone who can see the orange glow in the sky north of us in San Diego county. The fire is going to look much more ominous at night (just like last year) because it will be much more visible. The good news is the winds while out of the north (pushing the fire south towards Oceanside and Vista) it is very light and not really a factor. So don’t expect any fast leaps like the Witch Creek, Rice Canyon or Poomacha fires.
Update - 9:25 PM
First off - fantastic Twitter use by Nate Ritter and Barboni can be found here: Nate Ritter’s Twitter They are updating frequently!
Late word from folks living near the base in Oceanside is that the flames have really died down, and it’s mostly smoke at this point. From the NBC San Diego web site:
I live just outside the back gate on Vandergrift and have been watching the fire for several hours through binoculars. It really started blazing up between 7-8:30pm but now at 9 I see it has died down quite a bit. It is still quite a ways away from the Civilian part of town near Douglas and Vandergrift. It basically burned around the perimeter of the on-base golf course and climbed the canyons. I will be checking again before going to bed but I think this one is going to just char some open land and settle down. Before Sunset I saw the wild horses being corralled by a lone Cowboy coming down one of the ridges. Was quite a site to see in the back drop of the orange haze and sunset.
I will post more news if something further happens with this fire. For all in San Diego, think of it as a wake up call for this month’s fire season. Here’s to hoping we get by with just this warning for 2008.
If you can’t get enough fire photos - Mike 68’s flickr photo stream is full of excellent shots of the burn
Fire Watch Southern California - Possible Santa Ana This Week
The local news and weather have been talking up the possibility of a Santa Ana wind period during the Thanksgiving holiday week. At the moment the models are so chaotic that there are no good or accurate predictions of if it will happen, and if it does how significant it could be.
Sadly if the wind starts to blow some mental case will likely set a fire just to watch it go. We will be keeping tabs on conditions, and in the event that San Diego once again is threatened by fire we will try to put out the word on where and how fast.
Lets hope it does not come to pass.
San Diego Fires post-mortem: Calit2
Just today I’ve had some communications with Jerry Sheehan at the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2). During the San Diego fires, they were also providing information to the public via the web, working with NASA to generate and publish satellite imagery of the fires (click on the photo and scroll down to see more satellite images):
Jerry also pointed out a National Academies report chaired by Calit2’s Director, Ramesh Rao, entitled Improving Disaster Management: The Role of IT in Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery (you can order it at the link just given).
Jerry and Calit2 are putting together a site with copies of web-based content (such as ours) that provided information during the fires. If some of the rest of you who were running sites during the fire would be willing to have copies of your fire-related posts on that site, drop me a line, and I’ll give you Jerry’s contact information.
On a vaguely related note, I’ve moved the San Diego Fires blogroll below the regular blogroll, since the fires appear to be good and out. I’ll leave on the blog for the time being. ..bruce w..
San Diego update — Interstate 5 closed for a period (11/02/07 - 1650 pdt)
We’ve been getting Google search hits looking for details on an Interstate 5 closure; my own digging shows that “a suspicious device” has been found near the intersection of I-5 and Genesee:
The discovery of a possible pipe bomb alongside Interstate 5 in the Torrey Pines area forced a complete shutdown of a stretch of the heavily-traveled route for more than an hour Friday, authorities said.
Police found the object on the southbound side of the freeway near Genesee Avenue in the late morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officers initially shut down one lane and several connector ramps and called in a sheriff’s bomb squad, the CHP reported.
In the early afternoon, authorities shut down the entire interstate between I-805 and State Route 52 while the explosives experts used remote equipment to destroy the object, a dispatcher said.
The closure led to stop-and-go traffic along the freeway for miles.
About 3 p.m., the southbound side of I-5 was reopened, CHP public affairs Officer Larry Landeros said.
Go to the link above for current details. From the updated version of the article, it appears that the device may have been thrown from a car while a police chase was underway.
While the I-5 freeway is now open again in both directions, here’s the section that was closed for a few hours this afternoon (the blue marker indicates approximately where the device was found):
Just what you want during Friday afternoon rush hour in San Diego — a major freeway closure like this. Ouch. On the other hand, with the chance of another Santa Ana condition this weekend (albeit milder than a few weeks ago), I’m sure the various officials involved felt they couldn’t take any chances. ..bruce w..
San Diego Fires - infographics from SD Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune has two interactive maps of the San Diego fires available online:
..bruce w..
San Diego Fires post-mortem: ourselves
I’ve previously posted feedback from readers on how the media performed during the San Diego Fires as well as how the government performed. At the same time that I solicited that feedback, I also asked for suggestions on how our coverage here at “And Still I Persist” might have been better. Feedback and my own observations after the jump.
San Diego Fires post-mortem: the government
[UPDATED 11/01/07 0734 PDT] - The San Diego Union-Tribune has an excellent article by Alex Roth and Mark Sauer discussing to what extent government agencies handled things better this time than back in 2003. It particularly notes the need for more fire stations (with matching firefighters and equipment) to meet the risk of large-scale fires such as these. ..bruce w..
As noted in the previous post, I solicited feedback on what the media, the government, and we ourselves could have done better in responding to the San Diego fires. Here are some of your comments about the goverment response (click on ‘Read the article’ to get to them); on the whole, they were more positive than the feedback about the media.
Heroics saved firefighters in SoCal fire
Last week I commented on how courage, heroism and American self-reliance was on full display last week as the area faced its most wide-spread disaster in at least a generation. As the weeks go forward we are going to read dozens of stories about people who saw a chance to make a difference and did it regardless of the cost to themselves.
From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:
A shrill voice pierced Ray Chaney’s headset as he flew a small plane about a mile above the U.S.-Mexico border on Oct. 21. The air traffic controller looked helplessly at the sea of flames below. Chaney, a battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and coordinator of the aerial assault on the fire, called off incoming tankers loaded with retardant. He directed water-dumping helicopters to circle in low to try to spot the victims.
“‘We’re burned over! We have a casualty and burns, we need help!’” Chaney recalled hearing. Three of the firefighters huddling together in the inferno gave him enough information to direct the helicopters. The fourth firefighter had disappeared, and the others feared he was dead.
The first to spot the victims was Michael Wagstaff, a contract pilot flying a helicopter tanker for the U.S. Forest Service.
What happened next, according to firefighters who witnessed it, was one of the most heroic acts in a week of many.
Wagstaff landed on a smoldering patch of scorched ground long enough for the firefighters and the son to pile on board. The father had died in the flames. Chaney, flying above, put out a call for medical help.
“They are heroes,” said Ruben Grijalva, chief of the department. “I have heard about the pilot and that it was a heroic effort. I’m sure there are going to be a lot of Medals of Valor that come out of this incident.”
I would be very interested to hear if Mr. Wagstaff was a formerly a military pilot. He is undoubtedly a hero, and acted bravely to rescue people when seconds mattered.
More from the San Diego Union Tribune:
SAN DIEGO – Mike Wagstaff flew his helicopter into blinding smoke to look for four firefighters and a teenage boy who were badly burned. Eventually, Wagstaff would rescue the entire crew and the boy, whose father was killed in the fire. But he said he doesn’t feel like a hero.
“Not really. No,” Wagstaff said in an interview Tuesday. “A lot of people do, and I’m grateful to that. But I was just doing my job.”
In his first public interview, Wagstaff, 48, shared his story while standing before his helicopter at Gillespie Field in El Cajon. He wore sunglasses and a tan pilot jumpsuit.
See the video here.
San Diego Fires port-mortem: the media
A few days ago, I asked for comments on what you thought the media did wrong or could have done better in covering the San Diego fires. Several of you have taken the time to respond, either via private e-mail or by posting comments. Sad to say, the comments tended to be largely uniform and largely negative. Since this posting is rather length, I’ve placed all the comments after the jump (click on ‘Read the article’ to see them). If you have comments of your own that you’d like to make, feel free to attach them to this post.