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The Oakland firestorm of 1991 was a large suburban wildland–urban interface conflagration that occurred on the hillsides of northern Oakland, California, and southeastern Berkeley over the weekend of October 19–20, 1991, before being brought under full control on October 23. The official name of this incident by Cal Fire is the Tunnel Fire. It is also commonly referred to as the Oakland Hills firestorm or the East Bay Hills fire. The fire ultimately killed 25 people and injured 150 others. The 1,520 acres destroyed included 2,843 single-family dwellings and 437 apartment and condominium units. The economic loss from the fire was estimated at $1.5 billion.
The California State Capitol Museum consists of a museum in and grounds around the California State Capitol in Sacramento, California, United States. The building has been the home of the California State Legislature since 1869. The State Capitol Museum has been a property in the California State Parks system since 1982.
Firefighting jargon includes a diverse lexicon of both common and idiosyncratic terms. One problem that exists in trying to create a list such as this is that much of the terminology used by a particular department is specifically defined in their particular standing operating procedures, such that two departments may have completely different terms for the same thing. For example, depending on whom one asks, a safety team may be referred to as a standby, a RIT or RIG or RIC, or a FAST. Furthermore, a department may change a definition within its SOP, such that one year it may be RIT, and the next RIG or RIC.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various areas under state responsibility totaling 31 million acres, as well as the administration of the state's private and public forests. In addition, the department provides varied emergency services in 36 of the state's 58 counties via contracts with local governments. The department's current director is Joe Tyler, who was appointed March 4, 2022, by Governor of California Gavin Newsom.
In the United States, a Shot Crew, officially known as an Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC), is a team of 20-22 elite wildland firefighters that mainly respond to large, high-priority fires across the country and abroad. They are assigned to work the most challenging parts of the fire and are considered strategic and tactical wildland fire experts. Hotshot crews are considered the most highly trained, skilled and experienced wildland firefighters, along with smokejumpers. They are qualified to provide leadership for initial-attack and extended-attack on wildland fires. Hotshots are trained and equipped to work in remote areas for extended periods of time with minimal logistical support. They are organized by agencies such as the United States Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, and state/county agencies; the National Interagency Fire Center coordinates hotshot crews on the federal level.
Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts depend on many factors such as the available fuel, the local atmospheric conditions, the features of the terrain, and the size of the wildfire. Because of this wildfire suppression in wild land areas usually requires different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure fire fighting found in populated areas. Working in conjunction with specially designed aerial firefighting aircraft, fire engines, tools, firefighting foams, fire retardants, and using various firefighting techniques, wildfire-trained crews work to suppress flames, construct fire lines, and extinguish flames and areas of heat in order to protect resources and natural wilderness. Wildfire suppression also addresses the issues of the wildland–urban interface, where populated areas border with wild land areas.
The New York State Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Albany, New York is dedicated to the New York firefighters who have died in the line of duty. Governor of New York George Pataki officially dedicated the memorial on October 5, 1998. It features a 54-foot (16 m) by 15-foot (4.6 m) gray granite wall, with 2,312 names permanently etched into the stone. In front of the wall stands a 10-foot (3.0 m) high dark bronze sculpture of two firefighters rescuing an injured colleague created by New York sculptor Robert Eccleston. The sculpture rests on a paved plaza with charcoal and red bricks forming a Maltese Cross. The Memorial stands on the northeast side of the Empire State Plaza in the park-like area bordered by Norway maples. It is easily accessible to the hundreds of thousand of visitors who travel to the New York State Capitol and Plaza each year.
The Los Angeles Fire Department Museum and Memorial is located at Old Engine Co. No. 27, also known as Fire Station No. 27, on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood. The museum houses old fire engines and fire apparatus, some dating from the 1880s. The museum also houses a reference library and fire safety learning center. The building was named a Los Angeles Cultural-Heritage Monument in 1976 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The Fallen Firefighters Memorial in front of the station consists of a memorial wall listing all of the Los Angeles firefighters who have died in the line of duty and five life-size statues of firefighters.
The 747 Supertanker is a retired aerial firefighting airtanker derived from various Boeing 747 models. The aircraft is rated to carry up to 19,600 US gallons (74,000 L) of fire retardant or water. It is the largest aerial firefighting aircraft in the world.
Wildfire suppression equipment and personnel is part of the science of fire fighting focusing on the use of specialized equipment, training and tactics to effectively control, surround and eventually extinguish a natural cover fire. There are several specially designed tools that through their function and user training, perform specialized tasks that are specific to natural cover firefighting. This is used together in conjunction with the general understanding of the behavior of fire to form a viable plan of attack.
Firefighting in the United States dates back to the earliest European colonies in the Americas. Early firefighters were simply community members who would respond to neighborhood fires with buckets. The first dedicated volunteer fire brigade was established in 1736 in Philadelphia. These volunteer companies were often paid by insurance companies in return for protecting their clients.
The Thirtymile Fire was first reported on July 9, 2001 in the Okanogan National Forest, approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Winthrop, Washington, United States. The wildfire had been caused by an unattended campfire that spread rapidly in the hot and dry weather in the Pacific Northwest. Four firefighters were killed when the fire cut off their only escape route out of the narrow canyon.
On August 18, 1937, a lightning strike started the Blackwater Fire in Shoshone National Forest, approximately 35 miles (56 km) west of Cody, Wyoming, United States. Fifteen firefighters were killed by the forest fire when a dry weather front caused the winds to suddenly increase and change direction. The fire quickly spread into dense forest, creating spot fires that trapped some of the firefighters in a firestorm. Nine firefighters died during the fire and six more died shortly thereafter from severe burns and respiratory complications. Another 38 firefighters were injured. The fire killed more professional wildland firefighters in the U.S. than any other in the 103 years between the Great Fire of 1910 and the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013.
The Yarnell Hill Fire was a wildfire near Yarnell, Arizona, ignited by dry lightning on June 28, 2013. On June 30, it overran and killed 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of firefighters within the Prescott Fire Department. Just one of the hotshots on the crew survived —he was posted as a lookout on the fire and was not with the others when the fire overtook them. The Yarnell Hill Fire was one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires since the 1991 Oakland Hills fire, which killed 25 people, and the deadliest wildland fire for U.S. firefighters since the 1933 Griffith Park fire, which killed 29 "impromptu" civilian firefighters drafted on short notice to help battle the Los Angeles area fire.
The Wildland Firefighters National Monument is an American monument and memorial dedicated to wildland and wildfire firefighters. Located on an acre of land on the grounds of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, it was dedicated on May 25, 2000.
The 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California's Butte County was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history. The fire began on the morning of Thursday, November 8, 2018, when part of a poorly maintained Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) transmission line in the Feather River Canyon failed during strong katabatic winds. Those winds rapidly drove the Camp Fire through the communities of Concow, Magalia, Butte Creek Canyon, and Paradise, largely destroying them. The fire burned for another two weeks, and was contained on Sunday, November 25, after burning 153,336 acres (62,050 ha). The Camp Fire caused 85 fatalities, displaced more than 50,000 people, and destroyed more than 18,000 structures, causing an estimated $16.5 billion in damage. It was the most expensive natural disaster of 2018.
The Fawn Fire was a destructive wildfire in Shasta County, California, near Redding, in September–October 2021. Caused by a suspected act of arson on September 22, the fire began in mountains to the northeast of Redding and was driven by high winds the following day south and west into wildland-urban interface (WUI) neighborhoods. The fire ultimately destroyed 185 structures and damaged 26. At least three firefighters were injured. The Fawn Fire cost more than $25 million to suppress and burned 8,578 acres before being fully contained on October 2. A Palo Alto woman was arrested the day of its ignition and charged with starting the fire. As of 2024, legal proceedings remained ongoing.
The 1992 Fountain Fire was a large and destructive wildfire in Shasta County, California. The fire ignited on August 20 in an act of probable but unattributed arson, and was quickly driven northeast by strong winds. It outpaced firefighters for two days, exhibiting extreme behavior such as long-range spot fires, crown fire runs, and pyrocumulonimbus clouds with dry lightning. The fire was contained after burning for nine days, though work to strengthen and repair fire lines continued for more than two months.
The 49er Fire was a destructive wildfire in 1988 in Northern California's Nevada County and Yuba County. The fire ignited on September 11 when a man accidentally set brush on fire by burning toilet paper near Highway 49. Driven by severe drought conditions and strong, dry winds, firefighting crews were hard-pressed to stop the fire's advance until winds calmed and humidity levels recovered. The fire burned 33,700 acres throughout the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, impinging on the communities of Lake Wildwood, Rough and Ready, and Smartsville before officials declared it fully contained on September 16.
References
- ↑ "Application for submission of name to memorial wall" (PDF). California Fire Foundation. Retrieved 29 Apr 2016.
- ↑ "California Fire Foundation - the California Firefighters Memorial ... A Timeless Tribute". Archived from the original on 2016-04-28. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
- ↑ "California Firefighters Memorial". Archived from the original on 2013-11-15. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
- 1 2 Statutes of California and Digests of Measures, Volume 6. J. Winchester. 1997. pp. 34, 250.
- ↑ "title". Orange Coast Magazine. November 2008.
- ↑ "California Farmer". California Farmer Publishing Company. September 16, 2005 – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Gallery: 16 California firefighters honored at Memorial Ceremony in Sacramento". Merced Sun-Star.
- ↑ "Sacrifice Remembered". The San Diego Union-Tribune . 20 Aug 2004. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 18 Apr 2016.
- ↑ "The New Generation Fire Shelter" (PDF). National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 18 Apr 2016.
- ↑ "California Firefighters Memorial names". Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2016.