Category Archives: California

National Forests, National Parks, News, Wildfire

Legal posturing begins in Rim Fire aftermath

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Both sides are girding their loins over the Rim Fire case.

Keith Matthew Emerald, a 32 year old man and resident of Columbia, a town in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California, is accused in a four-count indictment or starting the Rim Fire when he lost control of an illegal campfire on August 17,2013.  In August of this year he pled not guilty to the charges.

The Rim Fire burned 400 square miles of land in California, including parts of Sequoia National Forest and Yosemite National Park over the course of two months.  The fire destroyed 11 homes and cost $125 million to fight.

In August a grand jury returned the four-count indictment against Emerald, alleging that he started an illegal campfire on August 17, 2013 in an area where such fires were prohibited and that the fire spread beyond his control.

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General Aviation, National Parks, Wildfire

Crash of CAL FIRE Airtanker Claims the Life of Pilot near Yosemite

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

On the afternoon of October 7, 2014 a wildfire began at Dog Rock on the El Portal Road between the Yosemite National Park boundary and the Arch Rock Entrance Station. The Dog Rock Fire was first reported around 2:45, and swelled to approximately 130 acres. Fire crews and aircraft were dispatched to the scene and responded to the fire.

The FAA reported on October 8 that a CAL FIRE airtanker, Tanker 81, impacted rugged terrain after a wing tip strike on a tree while performing fire fighting duties.

CAL FIRE Chief Ken Pimlott and Yosemite Deputy Chief Deron Mills announced on the same day that the body of pilot Geoffrey “Craig” Hunt of San Jose – a DynCorp contractor who had been working for the state firefighting agency CAL FIRE for 13 years – had been located, and that the remains were escorted down the mountain by the firefighters who stayed with them at the crash site through the night.

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Conservation, National Forests, News

Rally to oppose National Monument designation of the San Gabriel & San Bernardino Mountains

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Rally will be Monday, October 6, at 2PM in Pasadena

On Monday, the field office of Congresswoman Judy Chu will hear from a growing movement of citizens and elected officials against her lobbying efforts to have 620,000 acres of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains designated as a national monument.

They will deliver letters of opposition to Representative Chu on Monday October 6, 2014 at 2pm. Local groups will speak out against the plan and hold a media event outside Rep Chu’s office at 527 S. Lake Ave, Pasadena CA 91101.

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Conservation, National Forests, News

Public Officials raise concerns about fast-tracked National Monument plan

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Congresswoman Judy Chu currently has a bill, HR4858, being reviewed by a Congressional committee to designate the San Gabriel Mountains as a National Recreation Area, however she hopes to bypass the legislative process and have President Obama declare the mountains a National Monument with an executive order as early as this month without proper studies or public input.

San Bernardino County supervisors unanimously expressed serious concern for the impact of Rep. Chu’s plan on their county. Several Los Angeles County supervisors have also expressed concern over Chu’s legislation. Residents and public officials have created a grassroots movement against Chu’s campaign for further federalization of local lands.

Elected officials independently opposing the National Monument designation are City Council members from the municipalities of Arcadia, Bradbury, Claremont, Diamond Bar, Glendora, La Verne, Monrovia, Rosemead and West Covina.

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News, Wildlife

Brown signs bill to fix fire fee provisions

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

From Capital Press:

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that reduces penalties for late payments of rural fire prevention fees and waives the fees for landowners who’ve lost their residences to fire.

SACRAMENTO — The more than 800,000 rural California residents charged $150 per structure for fire prevention will get some relief in certain cases.

Gov. Jerry Brown this week signed legislation that reduces the penalty for late payments from 20 percent to 10 percent per month and waives the fee for homeowners who lose their residence to a wildfire or other natural disaster.

Assembly Bill 2042 was authored by Assemblyman Brian Dahle, R-Bieber, and passed unanimously in both legislative chambers.

“Like most north state residents, I’d rather see the fee simply repealed,” Dahle said in a statement. “In the meantime, this bill reforms some of the worst aspects of the fee. In particular, it was egregious that the law taxed homeowners who’d lost their homes to fire.”

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