The Fire Thread

Updates

 

Ouch...

 

My greatest fear with fires... buildings can be replaced, but now a death from it.

The family that started it could now be charged with involuntary manslaughter.

 

Maybe I'm too critical, but IMO that should be the least of the charges.

 

The Wilson cams look pretty good this morning..
http://hpwren.ucsd.edu/cameras/wilson.html

 

It is high time that intentional arson is a capital crime/attempted murder, and negligent arson from being f’ing stupid, like igniting fireworks in a brushy area during a heat wave, means you are under something like house arrest because you simply cannot be trusted outside, and you are fined for the damages. And yeah, if a death results, involuntary manslaughter

 

It is high time we uphold the laws we already have! But with who has been put in place to look the other way, this will not happen! All a working plan!

 

I agree. Problem with fines and restitution is no one can pay anything close to the losses incurred for firefighting, unless you're the Saudi businessman in Idyllwild. The gender reveal fire in AZ cost something like $8M to fight and judgment was won against the accused IIRC but of course even with lifetime wage garnishment he'd only ever pay a small fraction of that. For reference think about a typical mortgage of $300k over 25 years, payment is around $1500/mo.

So rather than fines and restitution I'd rather see sentences for community service where possible. For less serious offences like illegal campfires, accidental fires etc, I'd sentence to dozens or hundreds of hours of community service doing environmental or fire remediation work. Number of hours increases with severity of offence and damage done. We also have all the prisoner fire crews they could be attached to if given jail time. Perhaps weeks or years on the fire line would change their perspective on the seriousness of their action or thoughtlessness. Not much you can do where someone is deemed a public risk. Lock'em up! Climate change isn't going away so we need a way to get through to people to start taking fire safety seriously.

 

Well said. I know most wont be able to pay millions. Great idea about the community service. I’m just venting, so tired of the stupid actions that cause serious damage.

 

210 near azusa

 

Still the Bobcat. Making a run at Juniper Hills in the AV. Homes are burning...

 

It looks a lot closer than that... Silver fish rincon area?

Definitely near 39

 

Most people don't know that half of it, even when they DO decide to prosecute, the DA will frequently make their own standards that exceed what's actually needed per the Penal Code. I knew a 23 year old guy with a 70+ page rap-sheet back in the late 80's. His specialty was "robbery" of tourists who traveled via the Greyhound bus system and military personnel. He was so consistent, we sometimes knew who we were looking for before even talking to the victim, but since he didn't cause any injuries or steal very much money in the grand scheme of things, the DA always reduced his charges, dropped them altogether or let hime plead out to "time served" of a few weeks max.

The same thing happens with these arsonist types. I arrested only (2) in my career and both were let off with time served and probation because the damage was minimal and there were no injuries.

 

yeah, I was just driving North on Beach blvd in Westminster. Looks well East of Juniper. Big billowing cloud.

 

It's a big fire. I don't see any new fire being reported. It has already burned past the 39 and the 2

 

Not a new fire, but definitely a major flare up somewhere near west fork

 

Yup, was just South of the Rincon

 

According to the anf operational update it was strategic firing. It died down after the big initial plume went up

 

Wow, the Bobcat Fire has grown to 90K acres!

AQI here in my area took sh!t overnight and climbed up to over 200.

 

Doubled in size since Wed. If you look at the satellite image on inciniweb you can see how many structures its taken on the northern side.
Really scary sad Sh!t

 

Big plume from the Chantry area.
Hopefully just strategic burns

 

Burning up to Shortcut saddle, taking out an awesome section of the Silver Moc. It might run into the Station fire scar soon. Hopefully, that will slow it down.

 

Got an Amber Alert today to immediately evacuate the Mt. Pacifico Campground.

Of course, we were not there...

 

Closures have been updated.....most of So Cal will remain closed.......


Forest Service to Increase Access to National Forests in California
Contact(s): Public Inquiry Line: (707) 562-9113


VALLEJO, Calif.—The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region announces increased access to some National Forests in California beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, 2020.

The prohibition of the use of any ignition source on all National Forest System lands (campfires, gas stoves, etc.) throughout California remains in place.

Nine National Forests in California remain closed: Angeles NF, Cleveland NF, Los Padres NF, Inyo NF, Klamath NF, San Bernardino NF, Sequoia NF, Sierra NF, and Six Rivers NF. This decision will continue to be reviewed daily with evolving fire and weather conditions.

Nine other National Forests may open to varying degrees. Visitors should contact the following National Forests for more information on their status: Eldorado NF, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Lassen NF, Mendocino NF, Modoc NF, Plumas NF, Shasta-Trinity NF, Stanislaus NF, and the Tahoe NF. These forests will implement their own forest orders that will either limit dispersed use or provide for area closures around fires.

Conditions can change quickly. Therefore, we emphasize that all citizens heed local announcements for changes in conditions and potential evacuations.

"We understand how important access to the National Forests is to our visitors," said Randy Moore, Regional Forester for the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region. "Continued closures are essential based on extreme fire conditions, critical limitations of firefighting resources, and to provide for firefighter and public safety.”

Again, visitors are encouraged to contact their local National Forest for more information. We have developed a web map to help visitors find out which sites are open. Visit our online map at https://www.fs.fed.us/r5/webmaps/RecreationSiteStatus/. For additional questions, please contact your local National Forest.

The Forest Service manages 18 National Forests in the Pacific Southwest Region, which encompasses over 20 million acres across California, and assists State and Private forest landowners in California, Hawaii and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. National forests supply 50 percent of the water in California and form the watershed of most major aqueducts and more than 2,400 reservoirs throughout the state. For more information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/R5.

 

Bobcat burning over Shortcut saddle.

 

Dang man, I'm really bummed to see this! Looks like Chantry got burned too NOOO!

 

We won't know the full extent of the damage for a couple of months.

Sh!t! It's right at the edge of Wilson again! Burning right into the phoschek...It's live on NBC 4