AUG 31- HURRICANE UPDATE

AVAILABILITY
FL 04 - AVAILABLE - Pre-Alert to the Gulf Coast - Hurricane Support
FL 05 - AVAILABLE - Pre-Alert to the Gulf Coast - Hurricane Support
FL 06 - AVAILABLE - Pre-Alert to the Gulf Coast - Hurricane Support
FL 07 - HURRICANE GUSTAV SUPPORT - Baton Rouge, LA

Gustav is now a catagory 4. Officials say it could become a Cat 5 today.

Texas Forest Service received several mission assignments from the Governor's Division of Emergency Management. The Lone Star State Incident Management Team is activated. Team members will rally in College Station no later than 1500, 8-31-08 and await deployment instructions. Five Type III local government teams, led by TFS personnel, have also been activated and will rally in College Station no later than 1500, 8-31-08 and await deployment instructions. TFS aviation personnel (seven team members) have been requested by Galveston Island to assist with the airlift of patients from the University of Texas Medical Branch planned for 8-31-08. Additional missions to support evacuations from the Beaumont/Port Arthur area are pending and will be supported with adequate numbers of trained personnel. TFS is assisting with planning and resource tracking at the Corpus Christi and San Antonio District Disaster Councils. TFS is assisting with setting up the Resource Staging Area in Tyler and eleven employees will provide support in managing the RSA as commodities begin arriving 8-30-08. TFS has placed an agency representative at the SOC in Austin and also an additional support person to liaison with the private sector teams in coordinating commodities distribution though the Points of Distribution. The U.S. Forest Service is working with FEMA and placed personnel in the FEMA Region VI headquarters in Denton, in addition to several planning personnel at the State Operations Center in Austin.

18 Urban Search and Rescue Task Force Teams have been activated.
Multiple Private organizations contracted by FEMA have been activated.

The first Frontline Medical unit will travel Monday morning. I will do my best to keep you all informed of our situation. Cellular service may be limited for a short time, internet access may be scarce. As soon as communications are back up and running, I will be updating this site daily. It feels a little funny to be driving in to something most folks are running away from. It sounds as thought things are a bit more organized than Katrina. New Orleans Mayor announced there would be no help for those who stayed behind.

Dj

AUG 30 - HURRICANE UPDATE

AVAILABILITY
FL 04 - AVAILABLE - Pre-Alert to the Gulf Coast - Hurricane Support
FL 05 - AVAILABLE - Pre-Alert to the Gulf Coast - Hurricane Support
FL 06 - AVAILABLE - Pre-Alert to the Gulf Coast - Hurricane Support
FL 07 - HURRICANE GUSTAV SUPPORT - staging in Dallas, TX

Gustav is now a catagory 4.

FL 07 might set up in Baton Rouge, LA. We are waiting to see where exactly Gustav makes landfall. We might get put right back into New Orleans.

New Orleans is being evacuated. It is possible to see flooding worse than Katrina.

Officials are saying this might build into the storm of the century.

AUG 29 - HURRICANE UPDATE

AVAILABILITY
FL 04 - AVAILABLE - Pre-Alert to the Gulf Coast - Hurricane Support
FL 05 - AVAILABLE - Pre-Alert to the Gulf Coast - Hurricane Support
FL 06 - Unavailable - Pre-Alert to the Gulf Coast - Hurricane Support
FL 07 - AVAILABLE - Pre-Alert to the Gulf Coast - Hurricane Support

Gustav is the first wave....Hanna is sitting right on the tail of Gustav.

FEMA has activated their staging centers in Denton, Texas and in Atlanta, Georgia.

Frontline will start moving equipment in a few days. FL 07 will be the first to move, followed by FL 04 and FL 05, followed by FL 06. Of course mother nature will dictate the actual needs, so all of this can change in a moments notice.

It is still fire season in California.....

Stay Safe.

Dj

Ps. Toaka says..."Another hurricane? Hmmm....maybe dad will bring me some South Texas BBQ!!!"

HURRICANE ALERT

AVAILABILITY
FL 04 - AVAILABLE
FL 05 - AVAILABLE
FL 06 - Unavailable
FL 07 - AVAILABLE - Pre-Alert to the Gulf Coast - Hurricane Support

Thank You For Your Support

Frontline Medical has been put on alert to respond to the Gulf Coast.

Hurricane Gustave is predicted to make landfall somewhere near New Orleans on Monday evening. This week-end will unvail what Gustave has in mind for the Gulf Coast. Predictors say it will build into a catagory 3. Katrina was a catagory 3 when she made land fall. What ever Gustave builds up to, I am confident he will do some major damage.

As of right now, one unit has been placed on alert. More may be needed.

Stay tuned.......I'll keep you posted.

dj

Aug 26

AVAILABILITY
FL 04 - AVAILABLE
FL 05 - AVAILABLE
FL 06 - Unavailable
FL 07 - AVAILABLE

Thank You For Your Support

Good Morning.

Just a quick note....All Frontline Medical Wildland Support Trailers are available for assignment.

Everybody has had rest and is ready to go again. Thank you to all the incident management teams who continue to support Frontline Medical. We appreciate your confidence in our service.

On another note.... I am seeing quite a few "Line EMT's" arriving to incidents with a physical fitness rating of "light". NWCG does not have a specific rating requirement as of yet. Everybody in the fire world is in agreement.... EMT's should meet the same requirements as a fire fighter, as per 310-1. A light rating should NOT be allowed on a fireline. A line EMT must be able to hike where ever and when ever he or she is requested. From staging in a vehicle to hiking the line, following a hotshot crew, a line EMT must be physically prepared to do all of the above. As a Medical Unit Leader, I will not place an EMT on the fireline with a light rating. I hope all other Medical Unit Leaders will follow suit. Safety is the key issue here. This season I have seen EMT's who can barely take care of themselves on the line, let alone care for a patient. NWCG needs to publish some sort of basic requirements for Line EMT. The physical fitness rating should be, at a minimum...Moderate...Arduous would be preferred. I know the requirements for Line EMT is a hot topic, let's not worry about what we carry in our packs yet. Let's set some standards for how we show up to an incident. The packs are heavy enough, showing up with an extra 80lbs on yourself and a "light" physical fitness rating is asking for a huge problem. Maybe not today...maybe not tomorrow...but you will go down. You will not be able to perform the duties you have been assigned to perform.

Off my soap box.....for now....

Stay Safe.

Dj

Ps. Toaka says..."Hey!! If I carry a pack on the fireline....would I get an extra snack?"

Aug 24

AVAILABILITY
FL 04 - AVAILABLE
FL 05 - AVAILABLE
FL 06 - Unavailable
FL 07 - Unavailable

Thank You For Your Support

Aug 21

AVAILABILITY
FL 04 - AVAILABLE
FL 05 - AVAILABLE
FL 06 - Unavailable
FL 07 - Unavailable

Thank You For Your Support

Aug 19

AVAILABILITY
FL 04 - AVAILABLE
FL 05 - AVAILABLE
FL 06 - ASSIGNED
FL 07 - ASSIGNED - Ukonom-Siskyou Complex, Orleans

Thank You For Your Support

Aug 17

AVAILABILITY
FL 04 - UNAVAILABLE
FL 05 - AVAILABLE
FL 06 - ASSIGNED
FL 07 - ASSIGNED - Ukonom-Siskyou Complex, Orleans

Thank You For Your Support

...and here comes some more lightning.

Over 150 down strikes since yesterday morning. Fires are starting to pop up on the Lassen National Forest, Siskiyou National Forest, Los Padres National Forest... and I am sure a few other places as well. Just when you think you can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Latest news.... ?? .... Last night we all got to see Michael Phelps and crew make history. Unreal...8 Gold Medals. I am sure there is some 6 year old kid somewhere, with dreams of 9. We watched the 100 meter sprinters. A guy from Jamaica ran 1st place in a semi-final. He was 1/100th second slower than the olymp[ic record....he slowed down at the end because he had won. It's kind of cool...American Flags hanging every where. Every night folks gather in the dining area to watch the United States. They hoot and hollar. They laugh. They just hang out and act like old friends. Some have never met the guy they are sitting next to. Some will never see each other again. Still they are all on the same team right now. The Olympians are on a team, competing with other teams for a medal. The fire fighters are on a team competing for nothing, but they are still on a team. They work together, all for a common goal. They will get no medals. They are guaranteed 3 meals and a tent. They wake up in the morning, go out on the fire line, do thier job that has been assigned to them. Tonight they will come back to camp, eat a hot meal, (some of them) shower, and watch the US go for the gold. They will laugh...they will hoot and hollar.....you get the picture....tonight will be the same as last night. Tomorrow will be a new day....but will most likely be the same as today. Today will be the same as yesterday.

Have a great day. Stay safe.

d

Aug 15 - Bigfoot Found

AVAILABILITY
FL 04 - UNAVAILABLE
FL 05 - UNAVAILABLE ( Avialable on Aug 15 )
FL 06 - ASSIGNED
FL 07 - ASSIGNED - Ukonom-Siskyou Complex, Orleans

Thank You For Your Support

Every morning there is a haze of smoke surrounding camp. When you look outside, it feels cold. It looks like a mist of fog. You should hear the fog horn. You should be wearing a coat or sweater. It should be wet with dew. Nay, Nay. It is actually very warm. No fog horn. No mist. No dew. Just smoke and heat. The air is dead calm this morning...no wind at all. That means the day will remain filled with smoke. This optical illusion of a wet coastal fog will hover in the air all day. Blah, Blah, Blah.....welcome to my morning.

On to the good stuff....Michael Phelps is just an animal. Another gold medal last night. The Beach Volley Ball Team almost lost their first game. They held on to win....again. I'm sure they will medal. The Olympics are being watched every night. It helps boost the moral of tired firefighters.

The big news in the area.....BIGFOOT has been found. This area has "Bigfoot Hunters" walking the forest every year. They have never found proof of anything. But wait!! Two yahoos in Georgia have a body in a freezer. They won't reveal it yet....September 1st. Oh yeah...let's get this hyped up a bit more. They were offered 1 million dollars for their "body". But NO...They say they can get more. The body in their freezer is most likely a dead bear, a dead deer, ...or ...maybe a dead cousin from the woods. Who knows. It is most likely NOT a Bigfoot. None the less.....our local bigfoot hunters have gotten their feathers all ruffled up. I don't think they want Bigfoot to be in Georgia...they want it to be here. If Bigfoot is found in Georgia, their little "Bigfoot Hunting Trips" will be gone. No more ghost hunting in the Marble Mountain Wilderness. I remain a skeptic. Why is it...??...Things like this are never found by reputable, educated people?

Have a great day. Stay safe.

d

Aug 14 - Pics

They're Back !!


The "Clean Hippy".

Aug 12

AVAILABILITY

FL 04 - UNAVAILABLE

FL 05 - UNAVAILABLE ( Avialable on Aug 15 )

FL 06 - ASSIGNED

FL 07 - ASSIGNED - Ukonom-Siskyou Complex, Orleans

**ALL FRONTLINE RESOURCES ARE ASSIGNED**

Thank You For Your Support

Things seen to be slowing down a bit. Now it feels more like a normal fire season. That's kind of a good thing. Everyone could a little break.

We are still going strong in Orleans CA. It feels like fall in the mornings, but the afternoons are hot. Our fires might be sort of contained soon... but they will continue to burn for quite some time.

Talking to the locals, they say the Steelhead and Salmon are moving up the river. Maybe a short fishing trip is in order. We'll see... we are still too busy to sneak in a wet line or two. A couple of years ago, the Incident Commander allowed us to "stage" right where the Salmon River dumps into the Klamath River. Of course we needed to cast our lines into the river....this improved our radio reception (wet lines and all)....the lines seemed to act as some sort of antenna. Of course I am full of crap....we were fishing. We could hear and see all of the crews we were assigned to. This year we are still too busy to "stage" at the river.

We are showing the Olympics on TV every night here at the Med Unit. Of course, most of guys really enjoy the womens beach volley ball. They are cheering for Michael Phelps. I think they mostly enjoy escaping from the world of fire camp. Watching TV for just 5 minutes seems to take you away from this feeling of groundhog day I have told you all about. They laugh, smile, cheer for the US....they are not holed up in their tents. Some have a hot cocoa before wandering off to sleep, some just wander off. All seem to leave with a smile on their face. A brief encounter with the real world seems to be a better a medicine than any of the pills or syrups we provide. For a short time, their colds are not so bad. From the sounds of the cheering, their throats are definately feeling better.

Have a great day. Stay Safe.

d

Crash Update

AVAILABILITY

FL 04 - UNAVAILABLE

FL 05 - ASSIGNED - Lime Complex, Hayfork

FL 06 - ASSIGNED

FL 07 - ASSIGNED - Ukonom-Siskyou Complex, Orleans

**ALL FRONTLINE RESOURCES ARE ASSIGNED**

Thank You For Your Support

Helicopter Crash Update
Four survived. Nine perished.
Two of the injured fire fighters are being released from the hospital.
The remains of the nine deceased are still being collected from the crash site.
The cause of the crash has not been identified.
The ship took off low, then struck a tree, landing on it's side.
The fire soon followed.
It has not been determined how the nine died.

I suppose it doesn't matter how they died. The fact still remains...they perished while performing their chosen line of work. Fighting fire is dangerous...period. No matter what we do, we are still faced with the risk of not returning home to our loved ones. When I think of all the times it could have been me....my stomach ties up in knots. I get choked up thinking of the tremendous loss the families are faced with. Old or young, they all left behind families. Some say..."18 years old!...how sad". 18, 19, 20....38....it does not matter the age. They are gone.

We will remember how they died. We will remember how they lived. We will remember. An event like this leaves a scar in the fire fighting community. Every time I step into a helicopter, I think of all the scars. I pray I won't fall to a new scar. I pray for all who have already fallen. I pray.

God speed to all the heroes who have given their lives this season.

Iron Complex Helicopter Crash

By
Shasta-Trinity National Forest Supervisor Sharon Heywood
Crash of contract helicopter
August 6, 2008

I would like to extend a very special heartfelt thank you to the employees of the Forest Service, Trinity County Sheriff’s Department, Mercy Medical Center and staff for all their support and efforts in this very trying situation.

This is what we can confirm at this time:

• At approximately 7:45 p.m. last night, Forest Service officials were notified that a Sikorsky S-61 contract helicopter assigned to the Iron Complex on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest crashed.
• Four fire personnel were airlifted to Mercy Medical Center and arrived at approximately 9:30 p.m. Two fire personnel, one of which is the pilot of the helicopter, were air lifted to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. This morning at about 8 a.m. a third individual was air lifted to UC Davis Medical Center
• At this time:
• The first individual, identified as the Pilot, is located at UC Davis Medical Center in serious condition
• A second contract firefighter is located at UC Davis Medical Center in critical condition
• A third contract firefighter is located at UC Davis Medical Center in serious condition
• A fourth contract firefighter remains at Mercy Medical Center Redding and is listed in serious, but stable condition.
• I ask the public to join me in our thoughts and prayers for the fire personnel, family and friends.
• We still have people unaccounted for and we are working in close cooperation with the Trinity County Sheriff’s Department. The location of the incident is within the Trinity Alps Wilderness. This area is step, remote and rugged and difficult to access.
• The helicopter went down on the north end of the Buckhorn Fire, approximately 15 miles northwest of Junction City, Calif.
• We can confirm the helicopter was shuttling fire crews.
• The helicopter is a contract helicopter registered to Carson Helicopters with offices in Grants Pass, Ore. and Perkasie, Penn.
• The National Safety Transportation Board has the lead investigative authority over the incident. From this point forward the NTSB will be the lead agency. Any information related to the circumstances of the helicopter accident will be released by the NTSB.

I’d like to thank our extended fire service family, as well as police and public service agencies and the public, your support means a lot to us, especially at this time.

We will continue to aggressively fight all fires on the forest, while working to provide for firefighter safety.

Thank you for attending today.

Aug 3

AVAILABILITY

FL 04 - ASSIGNED - Iron Complex, Weaverville

FL 05 - ASSIGNED - Lime Complex, Hayfork

FL 06 - ASSIGNED

FL 07 - ASSIGNED - Ukonom-Siskyou Complex, Orleans

**ALL FRONTLINE RESOURCES ARE ASSIGNED**

Thank You For Your Support

Woo Hoo!!!! A real cup of joe. I made it home last night for a very short rest. This morning the DeLonghi is fired up and spitting out a real cup of coffee. I kicked it up last week and started using a french press in camp. That helped with the coffee situation, but it's not the same. So... this morning I am enjoying a nice STRONG espresso. Mmmm.. Mmmm...good.

Two of the fires we are assigned to have bumped down to a type 2 team. Some folks seem to think we will be off of those fires soon. I flew over those fires yesterday and I saw a lot of fire still uncontained. 85% containment of a 3000 acre fire leaves only 450 acres to contain. 85% of a 40,000 acre fire is a lot of work still to be done. It's important to keep your head in the game. Just because things are ramping down a bit doesn't mean we can relax. Stay alert. Pay attention to your surroundings. This is the time that most bad injuries occur. People start leaving their gloves off, take their packs off.....you get the picture. This is when the wind can kick up. This is when the fire can remind us of how powerful it really is. Two years ago we were assigned to a fire that was 99% contained.....all but out. Within one hour there were two 40,000 foot columns and another week of work shortly followed. All I am saying is....be careful. It's not over yet. Take your head out of the game when you get home...not before. Even on the ride home...pay attention.

Stay Safe.

Dj

Aug 1

AVAILABILITY

FL 04 - ASSIGNED - Iron Complex, Weaverville

FL 05 - ASSIGNED - Lime Complex, Hayfork

FL 06 - ASSIGNED

FL 07 - ASSIGNED - Ukonom-Siskyou Complex, Orleans

**ALL FRONTLINE RESOURCES ARE ASSIGNED**

Thank You For Your Support

Good Morning. Today started with a Memorial Service for a fallen fire fighter.

Our prayers go out to his family. 

We must all remember, this an extremely dangerous line of work. Even the safest, most alert fire fighters can fall victim to mother nature. The wind shifts, the humidity drops, the temperature goes up.... any one of a wide array of factors can change your situation dramatically. Sometimes theses changes can occur very quickly. Sometimes they change so quick, there's no time to think... only time to react. Hopefully our reactions take us to a safe spot to avoid the wrath of mother nature. Sometimes mother nature wins. When she wins, we are reminded of how fragile and special our place on this planet is. 

Please stay safe.

Dj