Enrique Ruiz was very sick when he went to the emergency room at New York City’s Lincoln Hospital in April. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and bronchitis. Less than a week later, he was being treated for second degree burns on his neck and chest.

Sunday’s New York Post reported on the ordeal by fire that Enrique Ruiz suffered at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx. As doctors were trying to insert a breathing tube, Ruiz caught fire. The pain was severe enough that he woke up from sedation. An electronic scalpel being used to cut an opening in his neck combined with the oxygen he was being given causing a flash fire around the surgical site.

Surgical Fires

Mark Bruley, vice-president of investigations for the ECRI Institute, stated in the Post article that 500 to 600 surgical fires occur in the United States each year. The results can be serious or fatal. A spokesperson for the New York State Health Department (NYSDoH) states that the fire was originally reported as minor but additional information has now been provided. All injuries to patients are required to be reported to the DoH.

Causes of Surgical Fires

A fire needs oxygen, an ignitions source and fuel – something that will burn. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) points out that all of the requirements for a fire are routinely found in a surgical environment. The patient is supplied with oxygen. Alcohol skin preparations, anesthetics and surgical draping are among the fuels present. Ignition is provided by electronic surgical tools such as scalpels and lasers.

Other Surgical Fire Cases

Kira Reed was undergoing a cesarean-section in March 2010, according to the Syracuse, NY, Post-Standard. She was awake and smelled something burning. She was on fire. Her baby was delivered without injury but she suffered third degree burns to her side. An alcohol-based antiseptic skin preparation is being blamed.

In September 2009, Janice McCall died some six days after being burned by a fire on the operating table, MSNBC reports. While her death was ruled accidental, her family is pursuing legal action against Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Il.

In early December, 2011, two separate fires left two patients with severe burns to the face. ABC reports that Kim Grice was burned while undergoing an outpatient procedure in Crestview, Fl. Seattle’s qFox 13 has the story of Tommy Beams, who also suffered facial burns after a fire at Grays Harbor Community Hospital.

These fires are preventable, according to Mark Bruley in the Post. The FDA has a website with information for both patients and medical professionals on how to prevent surgical fires. The agency has no mandatory reporting requirement but does ask that voluntary reports of surgical fires be submitted.

Senior Medic, Master Sgt. James Stranahan, of Shelburn, Ind., 53rd Civil Support Team, was in the third row stands when the stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair, Aug. 13, in Indianapolis. He witnessed the stage fall and jumped over the guardrail to give aid to the injured. Photo by Sgt. John Crosby

An Indiana Air Guardsman and medical expert found himself at the wrong place at the right time late Saturday night, Aug. 13, when the concert stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair here, killing five and injuring at least 40 more.

Senior Medic, Master Sgt. James Stranahan, of Shelburn, Ind., 53rd Civil Support Team, was in the third row stands when the stage collapsed. He witnessed the stage fall onto roughly 50 people who were still in the sand pit. He jumped over the guard rail and took action.

Stranahan triaged, treated and helped evacuate more than a dozen injured in the tragedy. Having responded to mass casualty situations before on deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, he said this hit very close to home.

“In the military, there’s always that potential,” said Stranahan. “But, an accident of this magnitude, it’s tough. I’m an older guy, I feel like I can handle it. I feel bad for those kids that have to live with this memory for the rest of their lives.”

Stranahan has more than 29 years experience in the military including more than 20 years in the Indiana Army and Air National Guard. His military expertise, as well as his mission with the 53rd CST, is responding to civil emergencies from natural disasters to attacks from weapons of mass destruction.

Stranahan attended the fair with this girlfriend after he received a phone call earlier that evening from a coworker offering him tickets to Saturday’s concert. He and his girlfriend watched the opening act in the sand pit, just in front of the stage. Stranahan and his girlfriend returned to their ticketed seats after the opening act. Roughly 30 minutes later, tragedy struck. Stranahan described the strong and sudden 60-mph gust of wind that ripped through the fair collapsing the stage.

“Within just a few minutes, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped,” Stranahan said. “I could see just a wall of dust and debris tear through the Ferris wheel.”

Stranahan said the wind then hit the stage that caused it to fall within seconds. He also thought there would be a lot of injured fans.

“With all my military training, and the medical side, I knew I needed to spring into action to help these injured people,” he said.

“After the collapse of the stage, we started using whatever we could to help evacuate the casualties out from underneath the stage. We used the chairs that were knocked down, we folded them up and used them as litters. Guys were cutting pieces tarp, taking pieces of the collapsed stage, whatever they could find to help these injured people.”

Stranahan and others worked for more than an hour through the storm to try to save as many lives as they could. He treated head wounds, lacerations, broken bones, and other injuries. He dressed their wounds and carried them out. He said he witnessed firefighters, police, emergency medical technicians react but what amazed him was the multitude of bystanders who stepped forward. Doctors, nurses, and military service members there just to watch the show, stepped into action to come to the aid of their community.

“It was very gratifying to me, being military and me being a Hoosier, to see so many people come together, so quickly, from all different walks of life to help save those injured folks,” Stranahan said.

Stranahan’s enlisted supervisor praised his wealth of experience and his actions Saturday.

“His many experiences range from deploying for Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield, Operation Iraqi Freedom, to responding to Hurricane Katrina,” said 1st Sgt. Tyson Johnson, 53rd CST. “All of this contributes to his immediate responsible reaction to the incident at the fairgrounds. According to his account of the events and the many news reports, he and the others were but a small percentage of the attendees that chose to run into harm’s way when all others were running for safety. Without hesitation he did exactly what he has been trained to do, and then some; assuredly, if the need should arise again he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.”

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. John Crosby

A C-130 Hercules from the Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd Airlift Wing in Colorado Springs,Colo., equipped with a Modular Airborne Firefighting System, drops a line of fire retardant in West Texas, April 27, 2011. MAFFS-equipped planes are capable of dispensing 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in under five seconds. MAFFs aircraft have been sent to New Mexico to support the ongoing firefighting efforts in the southwestern U.S. U.S. Air Force photo - Staff Sgt. Eric Harris

Under the direction of the Joint Forces Air Component commander for Air Forces Northern here, two C-130 Hercules aircraft from the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing, both equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems, or MAFFS, deployed to Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., June 15 to conduct fire containment missions in support of wildfire suppression efforts in the southwestern U.S.

The aircraft are being deployed at the request of National Interagency Fire Center officials in Boise, Idaho. Members of the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group will provide command and control of the aircraft from Boise. This year, the 302nd AEG, which is composed largely of personnel from the 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson AFB, Colo., has supported firefighting efforts in Texas and Mexico.

Fire containment missions, which are assigned by NIFC officials or the respective wildland fire manager, are scheduled to begin June 16.

The MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system that can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than five seconds, covering an area one-quarter of a mile long by 60 feet wide. Once the load is discharged, a MAFFS can be refilled in less than 12 minutes.

The MAFFSs are owned by the USDA Forest Service, one of several federal and state government agencies and organizations with roles and responsibilities in wildland fire suppression that comprise the NIFC in Boise, Idaho. Department of Defense aircrews are flying at the request of NIFC officials.

The Department of Defense, through the commander of U.S. Northern Command, provides support to the NIFC in conducting wildland firefighting operations within the continental U.S., Alaska, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as approved by the secretary of Defense.

AFNORTH is the air component for U.S. Northern Command and when tasked, provides support to local, state, tribal, regional and federal emergency service agencies.

Air Force
by Tom Saunders
Air Forces Northern Public Affairs

Photo taken by Ron Sander. Credit: US Forest Service, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

Sunrise in Western Arizona finds the Wallow wildfire still growing and only 5% contained. The morning situation report from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) show that the fire grew by over 50,000 acres in the last 24 hours, to a total burned area of 386,453 acres. 67 structures have been lost including 22 homes in the community of Greer.

The fire is being fought by 3,137 people, using 221 fire engines and 14 helicopters. Costs for this fire to date have reached $19 million. According to the website for the Wallow fire, bulldozers are being used to construct fire lines along the north and northeastern edges of the fire. Controlled burns are planned for tonight.

Two other large wildfires are also burning in Arizona.

The Horseshoe Two fire is 40% contained. It has burned at least 128,000 acres in and around the Coronado National Forest. It is burning south of the Wallow fire also along the New Mexico border.

The Murphy Complex fires are burning to the northwest of Nogales, Mexico. The fire is burning on both sides of the international border. It is 75% contained and has burned 68,000 acres. This fire is also burning in portions of the Coronado National Forest.

NIFC has recorded 31,115 wildfires in the United States in 2011 through June 10. This is less than the ten year average of 33,387 fires. Total acreage burned, however, is two and a half times greater with 3,959,427 acres burned this year compared to the ten year average of 1,523,983 acres. The combination of the current wildfires and those earlier this year in Texas (1.6 million acres) accounts for much of the increased burned acreage.

Exceptional and extreme drought conditions reach from the region of the Arizona fires east to the Atlantic coast in Georgia.

• Arizona: 18.4%, the southeastern counties
• New Mexico: 67.9%, the southern 2/3 of the state
• Texas: 85.4%, all but the northeastern corner of the state
• Louisiana: 70%, all but the northeastern corner of the state. Mitigated in part by Mississippi River flooding
• Mississippi: 7.9%, the southeastern panhandle
• Alabama: the panhandle and the southeastern counties
• Florida: 32.5%, the panhandle, eastern Everglades and Atlantic coast from Vero Beach to Homestead
• Georgia: 54.9%, almost the entire southern half of the state

15.7% of the contiguous U.S. is in either exceptional or extreme drought conditions. Last year it was 0.5%. In 2009, that figure was 1.9% and in 2008 2.4%. The last time the U.S. experienced drought conditions this severe was the winter of 2003-2004.

Japanese firefighters in Fukushima examine the control systems on a fire truck March 15, 2011, delivered to them from Yokota Air Base, Japan. The truck will be used to assist with recovery efforts in northern Japan following the earthquake and tsunami March 11. U.S. Air Force/Airman 1st Class Andrea Salazar

A team of five Airmen and two Japanese nationals drove through the night March 15, to deliver a fire truck to firefighters in the city of Fukushima. The convoy, consisting of three Yokota vehicles and a police escort, departed the base at 1 a.m. enroute to a training site, 50 kilometers from the power plant.

After more than seven hours of traveling, the team delivered the P-22 fire truck to six Japanese firefighters, standing by. After delivering the fire truck, Nobuhito Takeda, 374th Civil Engineer Squadron firefighter, instructed those receiving the truck on how to operate it properly. Once training was complete, the Japanese firefighters thanked the team from Yokota for their help in delivering the truck and they began their journey home.

The request for assistance came from Japanese authorities and it was to aide in the recovery efforts following the earthquake and tsunami March 11.

by 2nd Lt. Christopher Love
374 Airlift Wing/ Public Affairs
Yokota Air Base

Loaders from the 89th Aerial Port Squadron move to a C-17 Globemaster III to unload rescue equipment bound for Japan on March 12, 2011, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. Air transportation Airmen from the 89th APS created 14 pallets of technical search and rescue gear, to include inflatable swift-water rescue boats, generators, trench rescue and cutting equipment. The gear is being transported by C-17 to more than 80 Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue technicians, to provide assistance in the rescue effort after an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, 2011. U.S. Air Force Photo/Senior Airman Perry Aston

Two Air Mobility Command C-17 Globemaster IIIs departed the United States on March 12 and delivered search and rescue, or SAR, equipment and personnel to Japan in support of humanitarian relief efforts after an earthquake and tsunami struck the island nation Friday.

President Barack Obama pledged U.S. support, emphasizing that “the friendship and alliance between our two nations is unshakeable, and only strengthens our resolve to stand with the people of Japan as they overcome this tragedy.”

The first C-17 mission, operated by a 62nd Airlift Wing crew from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., is transporting California-based SAR equipment and personnel from Los Angeles to Misawa Air Base, in northern Japan, TACC facts show. The second mission, operated by a 436th Airlift Wing crew from Dover Air Force Base, Del., is transporting Virginia-based SAR equipment and personnel from Fairfax County to the same destination.

In addition to the C-17s, two KC-10 Extenders from the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB, Calif., are supporting the operation by providing in-air refueling to the C-17s over the Pacific Ocean.

Without the KC-10s, the C-17s would need to land and refuel on the ground adding two to three hours on to each mission, according to officials.

In addition to the C-17 and KC-10 forces, AMC also has additional aircraft and crews prepared to respond if further assistance is requested.

Mission planning and command-and-control for the AMC portion of the humanitarian effort is conducted by AMC’s Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill.

As AMC’s hub for global operations, the TACC plans, schedules and directs a fleet of nearly 1,300 mobility aircraft in support of strategic airlift, air refueling, and aeromedical evacuation operations around the world.

In addition to supporting U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, AMC’s global mission includes humanitarian airlift in response to global events, such as the case with supporting relief operations in Japan.

by Capt. Justin Brockhoff
Tanker Airlift Control Center Public Affairs
US Air Force

One of six Virginia Task Force 1 dogs being deployed on search and rescue efforts in Japan.

At the request of the Government of Japan, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has deployed Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from Fairfax County and Los Angeles County to assist in the rescue effort in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

A VA-TF1 team member prepares his gear.

The USAR team from Fairfax County has now departed Washington, DC via commercially chartered aircraft. The flight will stop in Los Angeles to meet that rescue team and then continue on to Japan. The U.S. rescue teams, comprised of approximately 150 personnel and 12 canines trained to detect live victims, are scheduled to arrive on the morning of March 13 in Misawa, Japan. Upon arrival, the teams will immediately begin the search for live victims alongside the Japanese and international search and rescue teams.

USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) is already in Japan and working to coordinate the overall U.S. Government response effort. USAID will continue to provide additional support to the Government of Japan as needed.

USAID

A C-130 assigned to the 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard, drops 3,000 gallons of water using Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System during the MAFFS 2008 annual certifying event. The upgraded MAFFS II that firefighting units will receive this fall can carry 400 more gallons and shoot fluid with greater pressure. TECH. SGT. BRIAN E. CHRISTIANSEN / AIR NATIONAL GUARD

For additional information about Air Guard and Air Force wildland firefighting activities, please check out these articles:

Air Force Training is Making South Carolina a Little Greener

Air Force Aids California Firefighting

Two Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems 2 aircraft from the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing at Channel Island ANG Station, Calif., responded to a fire July 15 in Riverside County, Calif.

Guard officials said the unit was requested by the U.S. Forest Service through the National Interagency Fire Center after lightning caused a brush fire near Temecula.

The two C-130J Super Hercules aircraft flew one sortie for almost two hours and dropped 3,000 gallons of fire retardant on what the Riverside County Fire Department dubbed the “Skinner fire.”

More than a dozen fires broke out in the county, as powerful thunderstorms rolled across the region, National Weather Service officials said.

The fire had burned about 711 acres and was about 15 percent contained by late July 15, according to local news reports. Full containment was estimated for July 16.

Assistance by the military is normally requested when national civilian resources are committed to fires and more resources are needed, guard officials said. The 146th AW was called to respond to this fire, because it needs 13 drops on actual fires for certification on the new MAFFS 2 system.

The unit was the first to transition to the MAFFS 2 system in 2008, and it remains the only unit flying the new system on the C-130J Super Hercules.

MAFFS 2 systems incorporate new design features and technology that provide a number of advantages over the legacy MAFFS systems, including improvements in fire retardant coverage level, improved safety features, reduction of corrosion of the aircraft and an on-board compressor.

MAFFS is a portable fire retardant delivery system that is rolled into the back of the C-130J Super Hercules cargo compartment. The system is capable of dropping up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant or water on wildfires. They can discharge their entire load in under five seconds.

Along with the 146th AW, there are three other MAFFS units, including the Wyoming ANG’s 153rd AW, the North Carolina ANG’s 145th AW, and the Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd AW, based in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Since 1974, National Guard and Air Force Reserve pilots have flown 6,500 firefighting missions, dropping 167 million pounds of fire retardant around the western U.S., officials said.

United States Northern Command
By Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke
National Guard Bureau

Coast Guard photo

Multiple Coast Guard helicopters, planes and cutters are responding to an explosion and fire aboard a mobile offshore drilling unit approximately 52 miles Southeast of Venice.

Watchstanders at the U.S. Coast Guard District Eight command center here received a report at approximately 10 p.m. Tuesday of an explosion and fire aboard the MODU Deepwater Horizon.

Updated reports are that the estimated 126 people on board have gotten off the rig. Seven critical injuries were reported. Three were met by ambulance at Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans; two were medevaced to West Jefferson hospital in New Orleans, La., by air ambulance and two were flown to Mobile Trauma Center in Mobile, Ala.

There are approximately 11-12 people who remain missing.

Coast Guard units responding:

Air Station New Orleans:

Two HH-65C Dolphin rescue helicopters and crews
Aviation Training Center, Mobile, Ala.:

One HH-65C Dolphin rescue helicopter and crew

One HH-60 rescue helicopter and crew

One HC-144 Ocean Sentry rescue plane and crew

In addition, the Coast Guard cutters Pompano and Zephyr are on scene and cutters Razorbill, Pelican and Cobia are en route to assist.

Video can be found here: http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=46

A next of kin hotline has been set up and the phone number is (832) 587-8554.

The fire is still burning and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

DVIDS

Jason Garn checks on his goats, which are being used by the Utah Army National Guard to create a firebreak on Camp Williams, located near Salt Lake City. The goats have proved their worth during more than one fire season. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy

When it comes to fighting wildfires, many immediately think of water or fire retardant dropped from helicopters and other aircraft, or soot-covered firefighters using hoses and foam to battle back towering blazes.

Few people, however, think of goats as a firefighting tool, but goats are exactly what the Utah National Guard is using to lessen the potential of wildfires here at Camp Williams, located near Salt Lake City.

The Utah Guard has enlisted more than 1,200 goats and sheep to consume fire fuels, such as sagebrush and oak brush, before this year’s fire season, said Army Lt. Col. Hank McIntire, the public affairs officer for the Utah Guard.

Less brush means less fuel for wildfires to feed off of. But contrary to popular belief, goats won’t eat everything.

“There are certain plants that they would just have to be starved to eat,” said Doug Johnson, natural resources manager for the Utah Army National Guard. “But they’ll eat a lot of our heavy fuels pretty readily, like the sagebrush and the oak brush. And they do a great job dealing with those fields.”

Goats nibble on some of the 'fire fuel' found on Camp Williams. The Utah Guard has enlisted more than 1,200 goats and sheep to consume fire fuels, such as sagebrush and oak brush, before this year's fire season. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy

The goats were first introduced in 1999 on an experimental basis in cooperation with Utah State University, said McIntire. Two years later during a massive wildfire that spread through the camp, the goats proved their worth.

“The ‘goat firebreak’ had only been constructed a very short distance but where it was constructed, the fire stopped, even when it jumped roads and other firebreaks,” said McIntire.

In 2003, the goats were officially added to Camp Williams’ fire prevention plan and were used to construct more firebreaks. The Utah Guard has been steadily increasing the length of those areas over the past six years and currently has about 10 miles of goat-cleared firebreaks, said McIntire.

The value of the goats’ efforts was proven again in 2006, when another major wildfire broke out on the camp.

“The fire was driven by winds approaching 20 mph into twin, bulldozed firebreaks,” said McIntire. “The twin firebreaks held for between 10-15 minutes before the fire jumped the lines and raced uphill toward the camp’s northern boundary.”

At that point, pushed by nearly 40 mph winds, the blaze neared the top of the ridge when it hit the area cleared by the goats.

“Under these conditions, the fire line plowed into the goat firebreak and stopped,” said McIntire. “Personnel on the ridge at the time … remarked that had it not been for the goats, the fire would not have stopped at the ridgeline.”

If the fire had not stopped there, said McIntire, it most likely would have continued on to nearby housing developments.

The goats have also helped clear Camp Williams of other unwanted items. In 2007, an unexploded artillery shell was found after they cleared an area along the camp’s artillery impact area. Suspected to have been fired during training in the mid-1980s, the round sat unnoticed in heavy brush before the goats got to it.

“They eat [just about] everything down to stubble,” said McIntire. “It makes it look like a wasteland. Once the area was cleared off by the goats, the round was easily seen.”

A berm was constructed around the shell for safety and an explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the shell in place with an explosive charge. The wildfires of the previous year had come within 200 meters of the shell, said McIntire.

The success of the goats has strengthened ties with those who live near the camp, said McIntire. And plans are underway to increase the amount of goat-built firebreaks.

Currently, a planned extension of the firebreaks is to be built along the western edge of the camp and the cost of the addition will be paid for by the Utah State Forestry and Fire Department, said McIntire.

DVIDS
Story by Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy

Many people associate firefighters with rescuing cats out of trees. For the firefighters assigned to the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, they weren't expecting this animal rescue call Feb. 9. A baby camel was trapped in a manhole.

Many people associate firefighters with rescuing cats out of trees. For the firefighters assigned to the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, they weren’t expecting this animal rescue call where a baby camel was trapped in a manhole, Feb. 9.

“This was the weirdest call I’ve ever been on,” said Staff Sgt. Bryan Senecal, 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron Fire and Rescue Services crew chief. “The situation happened so fast. My first thought when we saw him stuck in there was ‘how are we going to get [him] out of here?”

Senecal said his crew received a call from the Provost Marshal Office reporting there was a camel stuck in a manhole. They needed assistance to try and get it out. “So we got our gear and went out to the local village right outside the main gate,” Senecal said. “We made our way toward the manhole and looked in. Sure enough, there was a camel stuck in it.”

Senecal and fellow firefighter, Airman 1st Class Nicholas Gallagher, went down into the hole with some rope to secure the camel and get it safely out of danger. However, there were a few obstacles they had to overcome. The camel was stuck in a foot-and-a-half of mud and wedged between a valve pipe and wall, Senecal said.

Gallagher said the rescue started a bit rough with the camel being uncooperative. “It was moving its neck a lot, leaning left and right,” he said. “I’ve never been around a baby camel before so I thought it was broken at first. We tried to be as gentle as possible, but finally we had to just get down there and lift it up.”

Senecal said after wrestling the camel from between the valve-pipe and the wall, and dislodging his legs, they realized he was bigger than they thought. They secured the rope around him and tossed the other end of the rope to the engine crew topside. They hoisted the camel out of the shaft without further injury.

“I’m glad we were successful, and he didn’t get seriously injured,” Senecal said.

The firefighters assigned to the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron examine the baby camel they rescued with its owner.

The camel sustained a minor injury on his left hind leg and was shaken up from the ordeal. The crew, along with staff members from the entomology clinic, cleaned and bandaged him up and sent him on his way. Senecal said the camel’s owner thanked them as best she could, despite their language barrier.

“I definitely think events like this help us build a better relationship and trust with the locals because they realize we are here to help them,” Senecal said.

MNF-I
By Staff Sgt. Kenya Shiloh
407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs

As this is written, reports from Victoria, Australia suggest that one hundred or more people have been killed by a series of fast moving brushfires. Reports are that about 400 fires driven by wind have ripped through rural areas north of Melbourne.

It is a rarity in the modern United States for a wildfire to destroy entire communities. The Oakland Firestorm of 1991 was an exception.

In the past, however, communities were leveled by fire. One of the greatest fires and accompanying loss of lives is often overlooked because of another, smaller fire that happened that same day.

October 8, 1871 was a warm and windy day. It had been a very dry Summer and a dry Fall. The next 24 hours would see an outbreak of fires across the Midwest that would leave thousands dead and entire communities burned to the ground.

The Chicago fire began on October 8. Mrs. O’Leary’s cow probably did not start it, but when it ended 300 Chicago residents would have died.

The size of the city and its place as the urban center of the Midwest meant that the news of the fire would receive massive amounts of attention. Overlooked by many was a story that was far, far worse.

Fires rages in other parts of the Midwest on October 8. Manistee, Saugatuck, and Holland, Michigan were either burned or partially burned by fires. It is the Peshtigo fire, though, that remains the single deadliest wildfire in U.S. history.

Peshtigo, Wisconsin was a small town about 250 miles north of Chicago. Peshtigo was a lumbering town, with a small harbor and mills. The region was forested, and the usual debris of the lumbering trade littered the landscape. Branches, brush and sawdust abounded.

The area had several fires in the days leading up to October 8. They had burned themselves out. The town was saved from serious damage by the townspeople working together to wet down roofs and extinguish embers.

The wind came up from the southwest that evening, and a growing roar could be heard. Embers began to fall on the town. Many people ran to the river, to cross what they saw as a natural barrier. When the wooden bridge caught fire, people began to jump into the river for safety.

The fire crossed the river and did not stop until it burned itself out on the shores of Green Bay. Two buildings were all that remained of Peshtigo, that and the charred remains of 800 residents of that community.

Another eleven communities in the region would also burn, over two thousand square miles of land turned to charcoal. The total death toll for the fire is estimated at between 1,200 and 2,200 people.

Our friends in Australia know too well the feelings that the survivors of the Peshtigo fire experienced. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Victoria as they fight the remaining fires and recover from their losses.

The fires are still burning in some places. More fires may come. The immediate danger and the massive, wind-driven firestorm that swept Los Angeles for nearly two days is over. People are going home, some to devastation and some to relative normalcy.

Some of my thoughts:

The Santa Ana River is some sort of parkland that knifes into the heart of Yorba Linda. It allowed the fire to spread deeper into the city than it would have otherwise. Parks are nice, but perhaps some wide and well-maintained firebreaks are in order.

Many of the homes that burned had the required fire resistant roofs. The heat was so intense that radiant heat was starting fires inside the houses, through windows. And, while the roofs were resistant, the underside of the eaves were not. Kinda like putting sunscreen only only your front and not your back, too.

You folks in the fire area ought to make sure your local firefighters do not want for goodies for the next several months. Working in 90 degree heat and 70 mph winds in fire gear, which adds 30-50 pounds, is nearly superhuman. A great many of you owe your homes to these men and women and you should treat them very nice.

Here are a few of the latest stories:

Residents of Sylmar mobile home park line up to survey fire-ravaged community

Hundreds of evacuees from Oakridge Mobile Home Park began lining up at Sylmar High School evacuation center before 9 a.m. today to board police vans for a first look at their fire-ravaged community.

Police are restricting access to the park because it is still considered a crime scene, closed to the public after the Sayre fire destroyed 477 of its 608 homes.

Water pressure hampered Yorba Linda fire fight

Orange County Fire Capt. Bill Lockhart said the fire crew he was working with Saturday afternoon in Yorba Linda had difficulties with water pressure.

On Fairmont Boulevard about 5 p.m. Saturday, he said, “We had a ‘dry hydrant’, where we hooked up to it and nothing came out.” So the crew moved along to the next available hydrant, which worked. “It delayed things a bit, but we were able to make it happen,” he said.

Wildfire victims grapple with the devastation

Orange County officials today said 113 homes were burned in Yorba Linda by the Freeway Complex fire.

“You can look and see how it burned, there are four or five houses in a row that were destroyed and the house next to them is untouched,” Calfire spokesman Justin Scribner said. “That’s the problem with wind-driven fire, it’s unpredictable.”

Investigators Look For Causes Behind SoCal Fires

Authorities say they haven’t determined how two weekend wildfires began in Southern California. But they say another blaze in the Santa Barbara-area was caused by someone./blockquote>

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Table of contents for Los Angeles Fires Nov 2008

1. Los Angeles Fire Resources
2. Los Angeles Fires 11-16-2008 am
3. Los Angeles Fires 11-17-2008 am
4. Los Angeles Fires Wrap Up
5. Iraqi Soldiers send aid to California fire victims

]]> http://northshorejournal.org/los-angeles-fires-wrap-up/feed 0 http://northshorejournal.org/los-angeles-fires-11-17-2008-am http://northshorejournal.org/los-angeles-fires-11-17-2008-am#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:18:33 +0000 Chuck Simmins http://northshorejournal.org/?p=9214

Here’s the latest poop from Twitter Search:

Air quality map of region. Wait for it to load. MAP Pay attention to people with health issues

LA FD blog

Evacuations lifted in Yorba Linda and Anaheim MAP

OC register reports that #ocfire is 19% contained – finally some progress, it had been at 0% all day

Orange County fires map

Made it to airport. Hwy 57 open through Diamond Bar. Lots of smoke. On way to Bay Area.

A spokesman for the LAFD said it appeared the fire was burning away from Diamond Bar as winds shifted back to the southwest.

Drove through the middle of the Sayre Fire Area (I-5) on the way home today. All of the LA/OC area is blanketed in smoke haze.

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Table of contents for Los Angeles Fires Nov 2008

1. Los Angeles Fire Resources
2. Los Angeles Fires 11-16-2008 am
3. Los Angeles Fires 11-17-2008 am
4. Los Angeles Fires Wrap Up
5. Iraqi Soldiers send aid to California fire victims

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