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I hadn't heard that, but we're training with Cal Fire on Sat and I'll ask when we do shelter deployments.

I asked the training officer and he hadn't heard about it.

We had a good day. We promoted 7 new members to Operational Firefighter after they completed their necessary training. Since we only had about 8 operational guys before, it's a huge jump for us.

I had a good chuckle when a guy from a neighboring department went from being Mr. Know-It-All during the hand line and progressive hose lays to having to do his shelter deployment three times to get it right. :rolleyes:
 
Our wildland refresher on Saturday reinforced that we are in serious drought conditions. Usually this time of year I try to reassure some hand-wringing folks that we're not as dry as you might think--ground moisture and fuels moisture are better than what's apparent to many residents. But not this year. The outlook is pretty spooky.

In 2010 the Fourmile Fire (just over the hill into the next drainage from my place) was the largest, most destructive fire in Colorado history. That's been eclipsed several times since. And I forget whether it's twice or three times last year that we set new state records. Not looking forward to what 2021 has to offer.

On the positive side, I learned that a girl who worked with me briefly in recent years is now in her fourth (5th?) year as a smoke jumper. Pretty impressive. She's now training some of the rookies.
 
One thing we noticed was the grass was only ankle high instead of the usual knee high this time of year in the same meadow.

Next training day for our department will cover water sources, which is good to know in our area. I've been working on a project to add 2 water tanks to my property, bringing my storage from 5k to 11k gallons. My next door neighbor has 15k gallons. My tanks will have valves with NH ports on them, and the neighbor has two hydrants with NH threads.

80-dan_getting_ready_to_take_one_up_3_13_2021_ce935b89f68b4f64553c9b8123f02fc046ad4faf.jpg


80-dan_making_the_pad_3_13_2021_69d82a704b0b5a55d42e30952c74b0dda4cacde3.jpg
 
One thing we noticed was the grass was only ankle high instead of the usual knee high this time of year in the same meadow.

Next training day for our department will cover water sources, which is good to know in our area. I've been working on a project to add 2 water tanks to my property, bringing my storage from 5k to 11k gallons. My next door neighbor has 15k gallons. My tanks will have valves with NH ports on them, and the neighbor has two hydrants with NH threads.

80-dan_getting_ready_to_take_one_up_3_13_2021_ce935b89f68b4f64553c9b8123f02fc046ad4faf.jpg


80-dan_making_the_pad_3_13_2021_69d82a704b0b5a55d42e30952c74b0dda4cacde3.jpg

Yeah last year the Bay Area got a mid April rain spell that re boosted the flashy fuel growth
I’m about Knee to waist high West of Petaluma, but a very different field make up this year.

Nice on the tanks, I have 2-4500 tanks, one cause my well only produces 3-4 gpm

I plumed a gas pump into a “T” I can draw from and I have an old Floto pump
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https://wildfiretoday.com/2021/04/16/cal-fire-director-our-hand-crew-capacity-is-really-dismal/
Obviously the director of Cal Fire can't come out and say this problem is the governor's fault but I can. The hand crews have been slashed over the years to cut costs, not just because of Covid. Newsom has to go and the CDCR crews need to be built back up! There are more than 120,000 prisoners in Cali! Use them!
That's probably not going to happen because of all the reporting of slave labor. Wish folks would hear what the inmate crews have to say, like how much more pleasant it is to not be in a jail. I see more and more reporting of how unfair the system is, when the alternative is to have those folks locked up being of no use. That's what is going to happen I fear.
 
That's probably not going to happen because of all the reporting of slave labor. Wish folks would hear what the inmate crews have to say, like how much more pleasant it is to not be in a jail. I see more and more reporting of how unfair the system is, when the alternative is to have those folks locked up being of no use. That's what is going to happen I fear.
You are probably correct Patty. We have nextdoor.com here and that has given a voice to the crazies who never leave their house. Their expert commentary says the inmates are dropped off at a fire and told to put it out or else. They will receive no food, no water, and no supervision. There is no try, there is only do.

I work with the inmate hand crews every month all year long on grade projects. Believe me they want to be in camp rather than the yard! (Some have asked to return to the yard because the gang leaders have ordered them to stop working with the cops, aka Cal Fire or CDCR. or they will kill their family.)

I may have posted it here but my favorite nextdoor.com comment came from a woman who wants to stop dropping slurry on fires (and spraying contrails) and drop MUD! Dropping regular mud to a depth of 4" on the perimeter of the fir will contain it naturally. Then then can drop mud on all the hot spots. I calculated how much mud the 86K CZU complex would have used but I don't remember to total. suffice to say it was mucho.
 
The best possible opportunity for anyone behind bars is to: 1. get off campus, 2. do useful work that raises his or her standing in the world and also provides a good night's sleep, and 3. do that out in the country.

Nextdoor became available here sometime back. Your info reminds me why I stay away from it.
 
You are probably correct Patty. We have nextdoor.com here and that has given a voice to the crazies who never leave their house. Their expert commentary says the inmates are dropped off at a fire and told to put it out or else. They will receive no food, no water, and no supervision. There is no try, there is only do.

I work with the inmate hand crews every month all year long on grade projects. Believe me they want to be in camp rather than the yard! (Some have asked to return to the yard because the gang leaders have ordered them to stop working with the cops, aka Cal Fire or CDCR. or they will kill their family.)

I may have posted it here but my favorite nextdoor.com comment came from a woman who wants to stop dropping slurry on fires (and spraying contrails) and drop MUD! Dropping regular mud to a depth of 4" on the perimeter of the fir will contain it naturally. Then then can drop mud on all the hot spots. I calculated how much mud the 86K CZU complex would have used but I don't remember to total. suffice to say it was mucho.
Before that you have to transport the dirt to make mud and getting the dirt would essentially strip mine wherever it comes from and before you gotta get some big ****in machines to dig a hole and before that good luck getting that approved.

I hate nextdoor because it gives people a platform to be nosey neighbors plus it's another place for people to share a whole bunch false information.

It's sad that so many people will actually believe the person that says inmates get dropped off unsupervised told to put out a fire and with out food and water especially in this day and age when you can't go 10 yards without seeing someone with a camera in their phone. Somebody would have got a video of it.
 
Yup. I worked near them back in the dark ages. The inmate crews really appreciated getting to get on fires. Their guards said it was good duty also because seldom was one going to try to escape because that meant a return to jail and at that, county jail for a bit, which is supposed to be worse than the state prisons.

Our crew just didn't like how long they took in the showers and one guy on our crew got a bit crude about it. They did take really really long showers making us stand for a really really long time in line.
 
Every inmate crew I worked with loved being outside doing something. Everything they did was voluntary and the privilege to qualify for the work was coveted.

Sure there were a few bad apples that got sent back, really small percentage.

We had a goofball here that was trying to get the nextdoor community all whipped up into a frenzy because they walked by a yard that wasn't as neat as they thought it should be, proposing all kinds of laws and enforcement. nextdoor community pretty much told the person off and made it clear that if they didn't like it they should walk a different route. It was mildly entertaining.
 
Watch out , Elephant King on its way




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I'd say that you can get an engine into pretty much the same places. Lessons learned from working with forwarders in Up Nort Wisconsin are that they don't do well on slopes and would not work on what we here in the PNW consider to be flat ground, they like to go straight, and they are expensive, maybe too expensive to have sitting around waiting for a fire on flat ground.
 
I'd say that you can get an engine into pretty much the same places. Lessons learned from working with forwarders in Up Nort Wisconsin are that they don't do well on slopes and would not work on what we here in the PNW consider to be flat ground, they like to go straight, and they are expensive, maybe too expensive to have sitting around waiting for a fire on flat ground.

For sure. I saw a tracked one with an extendable turret back in ‘08 (NorCal lightning event) above Big Bar on the Trinity river
Used it on steep non- pitched dozer line during a firing op and mop up patrol. Helos dumping into pumpkins and Klump pumps that would fill him.
Think there was big resource draw down though


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For sure. I saw a tracked one with an extendable turret back in ‘08 (NorCal lightning event) above Big Bar on the Trinity river
Used it on steep non- pitched dozer line during a firing op and mop up patrol. Helos dumping into pumpkins and Klump pumps that would fill him.
Think there was big resource draw down though


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08 was had a big resource draw down with fires across the north half of the state then came the telegraph fire with a request for 75 strike teams when it blew up.

I think there were a couple of these on the creek fire, I remember them being in the auberry camp.
 
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