Fire

[2dogs]

The Marine Corp is being gutted. Cody is being transferred to San Jose to be a Motor T Mechanic, which is good news. The bummer is he is being recalled to active duty for 3 months to attend another MOS school, Mechanic. He was told of several options that the Marine Reserves are being "given". One was that the Corp would just drop you and you would lose any and all VA benefits and you would lose the GI bill.

The middle of May he ships out to either North Carolina or back to Missouri.

Cody leaves for NC at 06:15 tomorrow 15MAY1013.

BTW we were called as faller/swamper 2 weeks ago but the request was for a C Faller which I am not. I pointed out that there is no C Faller designation with vendors but that fell on deaf ears. I have asked for an investigation but I have not had a return phone call from Cal Fire as of yet. I am certain I will.

 

[madhatte]

A new Mark III right now averages from around $3700 to $5200 depending on configuration.

Those look to be single-stage centrifugal pumps. I like the 4-stage Wajax/Wildfire pumps way better because I have a supply of new/used/rebuildable ones to replace the ones on slips/Mk3's already in use. The pumps alone go for better than a grand. We have had trouble with the single-stage Darleys; we still have two in service but I saved 3 gear reductions from the old rigs to do upgrades when the Darleys kick the bucket. They move water just fine but they cavitate easily and can't withstand the loss of a single stage the way the 4-stage pumps can. I'd like them way better if they were PTO-driven by the vehicle engine and therefore 2 feet below the bottom of the tank. As it is, they sit almost a foot up and each one we've lost has been because somebody forgot to check the prime. You will have to buy me a beer to get me to tell the story of why we have orphan Darleys in a Wajax fleet.

 

[Gologit]

2dogs

Tell Cody "good luck" and that we thank him for his service.

On that CalFire C-faller thing...was that at a local level or did they wait 'til you got to the fire to let you know?

When we did our FSTEP this year there was no mention of any C-faller rules for CalFire. What's happening with CalFire anyway? Trying to get a straight answer, other than NO, from them is getting to be almost impossible.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Cheeseland isn't really known for big wildfires, but 9000 acres are up in smoke about 2 hours north of me. High temps and strong winds yesterday contributed to make it the largest wildfire in WI in 33 years. It's already 90% contained according to the news.

Nothern MN has a smaller fire going on as well, about 150 miles from the Douglas county fire.

Thanks to those of you that put it on the line out there.

One good thing will likely be some phenomenal hunting in the years to come up there. Friends have a hunting shack less than 10 miles from the fire site.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...=wVu0thzDelSqg_eiUIsWTw&bvm=bv.46471029,d.dmg

 

[Jacob J.]

Cody leaves for NC at 06:15 tomorrow 15MAY1013.

BTW we were called as faller/swamper 2 weeks ago but the request was for a C Faller which I am not. I pointed out that there is no C Faller designation with vendors but that fell on deaf ears. I have asked for an investigation but I have not had a return phone call from Cal Fire as of yet. I am certain I will.

That's ridiculous- I've never heard of a requirement for a contractor to be a C faller. Calfire is on a serious decline into a morass of red tape.

 

[RandyMac]

That's ridiculous- I've never heard of a requirement for a contractor to be a C faller. Calfire is on a serious decline into a morass of red tape.

Yeah no kidding. I have been sent 4 separate billings (extortion) from CalFire, I paid the first one on time, they ignored the fact I live within city limits.

 

[polkat]

Cheeseland isn't really known for big wildfires, but 9000 acres are up in smoke about 2 hours north of me. High temps and strong winds yesterday contributed to make it the largest wildfire in WI in 33 years. It's already 90% contained according to the news.

Nothern MN has a smaller fire going on as well, about 150 miles from the Douglas county fire.

Thanks to those of you that put it on the line out there.

One good thing will likely be some phenomenal hunting in the years to come up there. Friends have a hunting shack less than 10 miles from the fire site.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...=wVu0thzDelSqg_eiUIsWTw&bvm=bv.46471029,d.dmg

it was the real deal lots of little lakes with lots of cabins and homes sprinkled, i didnt get in on action but would have today if things were still out of control. wasnt too far off to the east of our area 8 miles as the crow flies. holefully mop up will go good for them and mabye a little rain this weekend will sure help. the deer hunting could be great even this year..

 

[forestryworks]

One good thing will likely be some phenomenal hunting in the years to come up there.

The best hunting grounds are the ones managed with fire.

 

[paccity]

The best hunting grounds are the ones managed with fire.

the native tribes had been doing it for thousands of years.

 

[forestryworks]

the native tribes had been doing it for thousands of years.

Yup, and we're still trying to learn from them. It also tells me there's no such thing as wilderness - at least not in the last 12,000+ years or so.

 

[Joe46]

Speaking of wilderness. Was just on a small cruise boat in Alaska. We were in the Endicott Arm near the Dawes Glacier. The boat could not use the speaker system because we were in a 'wilderness" area.

 

[FSburt]

That's ridiculous- I've never heard of a requirement for a contractor to be a C faller. Calfire is on a serious decline into a morass of red tape.

Hi Jacob hey I know Cal Fire is setting up their Chainsaw program that mirrors the Federal side with the same quals and process for their employees. I know in the past our local unit asked their falling contractor to demonstrate his skills falling some trees during a saw recert class but not totally sure why since he was a private contractor and like the FS we do not require contractors to be C fallers. This program is just for employees of the agency unless they would be brought on as a AD Faller which pays at the A,B, or C rates and are considered employees so they would have to be carded as such. Most faller I know that work on fires usually sign up as a falling module and get into the contracting system.
Judging from the way the fires are starting down here in So Cal I think you guys will be in high demand this year especially if all of California begins to burn like Northern Cal did last yr.

 

[forestryworks]

Colorado Springs FD Structure Protection video

Got this from the "Wildfire Today" website.

Who in the hell thinks it's a good idea to ring their home with a layer of mulch? When will these homeowners realize they live in a fire dependent ecosystem? Thinning trees is just a first step, and in extreme cases, does nothing to save your home.

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/68342641" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/68342641">Black Forest Structure Protection</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/coloradosprings">City of Colorado Springs</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

 

[2dogs]

Got this from the "Wildfire Today" website.

Who in the hell thinks it's a good idea to ring their home with a layer of mulch? When will these homeowners realize they live in a fire dependent ecosystem? Thinning trees is just a first step, and in extreme cases, does nothing to save your home.

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/68342641" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/68342641">Black Forest Structure Protection</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/coloradosprings">City of Colorado Springs</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Did you read about the fish starting a fire in SD?

 

[RandyMac]

Did you read about the fish starting a fire in SD?

Yeah, Tud told me.

 

[slowp]

The folks who have the house could have raked it off fairly easily into a smoulder pile.

You might be posting how dumb I am if we ever have a fire. I've not pruned or thinned much. Our fire history is one biggie every 300 or so years. I value the privacy the vegetation provides. I do get nervous when a dry August occurs.

I think the neighbor that burned garbage year round may have been a participant in last week's meth bust. That worried me sometimes when we were dry around here.

 

[forestryworks]

Did you read about the fish starting a fire in SD?

Yes. Bizarre.

 

[Tasso]

Hey guys, I hope you don't mind me butting into the conversation. I just got back from the Black Forest fire and on the topic of mitigation what really surprised me was how many standalone houses there were. I've never seen so many. I was in a very rich subdivision most of the time and it showed in what they spent on mitigation efforts. The whole subdivision was mitigated and lolli-popped and all the chips were even hauled instead of broadcast. To make it real interesting, you'd turn the corner and suddenly you were in West Virginia with cars and junk piled up everywhere. The difference in the rate of attrition was amazing. And there was some seriously weird fire behavior going on. Ultimately it was one of those fires where you go home knowing without a doubt that you made a difference.

P.S. The National Guard pilots are freaking cowboys, I've never been so consistently afraid of being dropped on... made for good pictures though.

 

[dooby]

Hey guys, I hope you don't mind me butting into the conversation. I just got back from the Black Forest fire and on the topic of mitigation what really surprised me was how many standalone houses there were. I've never seen so many. I was in a very rich subdivision most of the time and it showed in what they spent on mitigation efforts. The whole subdivision was mitigated and lolli-popped and all the chips were even hauled instead of broadcast. To make it real interesting, you'd turn the corner and suddenly you were in West Virginia with cars and junk piled up everywhere. The difference in the rate of attrition was amazing. And there was some seriously weird fire behavior going on. Ultimately it was one of those fires where you go home knowing without a doubt that you made a difference.

P.S. The National Guard pilots are freaking cowboys, I've never been so consistently afraid of being dropped on... made for good pictures though.

opcorn:

 

[FSburt]

For those out there who want to see what a fuelbed of mastication burns like take a look at the pics of the Carstens Fire during the backfire operation. I am the district fuels officer so I wanted to see how this stuff burns during a wildfire condition and wow this stuff is something fierce. Not like we did not expect it to burn hot though just when you actually see it in action it is pretty eye opening. View attachment 301764View attachment 301765View attachment 301766View attachment 301767View attachment 301768