Day 4 midday update
Oct 24th, 2007 by Mark
CALFIRE Screws the pooch … again
CALFIRE is at it again. They screwed the pooch 4 years ago, and are doing it again. Navy assets are still NOT being used effectively. There are only 4 helicopters being used, and they are not seeing much action. 10 (just at NB Coronado) are idle. The hold up? A turf war, and bureaucrats protecting favored contractors. At least that is my take.
Last night Congressmen Bilbray, Issa, and Hunter along with County Chairman Roberts had to call CALFIRE and ask why they were not letting Naval assets fly. After an hour of less than cordial conversation CALFIRE said they would use Naval assets if the commanding Admiral would sign on to letting CALFIRE direct traffic. No problem, within 10 minutes the Navy was on board.
“It shouldn’t take and act of Congress, and a ‘that ain’t right’ segment [Michael Turko -- local news guy does a segment that starts with that slogan] on the news; to get this handled.”
~~ County Chairman Ron Roberts on the failure of CALFIRE to act
As of 1400 hours PDT only 4 Naval craft are being used. Their are two C130s sitting idle because CALFIRE won’t certify them to fly. There is a “water bomber” made my Martin-Mars [anyone else think it looks like a the spruce goose] that is also not being used. (it can drop 3200 gallons of water, or a fire resistant gel). All thanks to the incompetence of CALFIRE.
Past fires in California — WSJ article
some good news
The breeze is picking up off the ocean. That is cooling things down and raising the humidity. Both important.
Police have ask people to stop bringing donations to the Q. It’s nice to live in a place where people are so generous they have to be ask to stop. There are approximately 15,000 people at the Q. Give you and idea of the generosity happening here.
Airlines are waiving fees to change tickets.
MCAS Miramar is open for Military personnel who have to evacuate.
Christian Life Assembly — who’s church barely escaped destruction — will receive supplies later today from the Assemblies of God district council. They will distribute them to Poway, Rancho Bernado, Ramona, and other affected areas later today. Contact the church if you need some help and are in that area, or want to help. Contact # (858) 748-1875
some bad news
has lost two animals (our of 3500) to the fire. They lost a Clapper Rail, and a Kiang.
The Harris fire is racing toward the Cleveland National Forest.
Palomar mountain is ablaze. No aircraft on scene — thank you CALFIRE. Fire fighters are waging a valiant effort in attempts to save houses.
Between all the fires, it appears that more than 100,000 acres have burned. The cost is now tagged at $1 Billion plus , and it ain’t over.
The worst news? It looks like 2 fires are arson. UN. REAL.
Previous Posts
- Day 4
- Calfire blocking Navy help
- Evening Update
- Midday Update
- Good Morning Ashes
- Late Night Update
- Fire Conditions
- Burn baby, burn!
- Four Years Later
Tags: harris fire, mccoy fire, rice fire, witch fire, buckweed fire, magic fire, ranch fire, canyon fire, malibu, san diego, wildfires, grass valley fire, slide fire, santiago fire, sedgewick fire, roca fire, coronada hills fire, office of emergency services, duncan hunter, arson
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