NOVEMBER 2008 FIRE MAPS — CLICK HERE …
California Wildfire Update — Today Situation is Worse Near San Diego Compared to L.A.
Tanker 910 operated by 10 Tanker Air Carrier, is a converted McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft used for fighting wildfires is on the job in California (file photo).
The following stats are preliminary:
16 wildfires in California — fires have still ignited in the last one to 24 hours
Fires are burning from Malibu to the Mexican border
Winds have subsided today compared to yesterday
2 civilian deaths
Over 6,000 firefighters fighting fires
18 firefighters have been injured
9 critical condition, 7 fair condition — at UCSD Burn Center — unknown if firefighters or civilians
Firefighter dehydration and exhaustion occurring — some haven’t slept for days
500,000 to 750,000 California residents asked to evacuate their homes
300,000 evacuated in San Diego area
1300 structures destroyed
1,000 homes destroyed in the City of San Diego
250,000 acres burned in San Diego County
68,000 homes in threatened
$1 Billion Damage — most expensive fire in California history
90 aircraft involved in fire suppression
6 tanker planes from the federal government waiting for winds to subside before takeoff
1,000 gallon Firehawk Helicopter — The Sikorsky FIREHAWK™ helicopter derived from the U.S. Army’s UH-60L BLACK HAWK.
Tanker 910 Jet that drops orange fire retardant — A DC-10 can carry 12,000 gallons of water or fire retardant — 10 times the volume of the standard propeller planes that make up the bulk of California’s firefighting air fleet. The DC-10 air tanker dropped orange-pink fire-retardant foam over East Los Angeles where more than 100 homes were destroyed by fire in the San Bernardino Mountains. The airplane had a serious accident on June 25, 2007 when a downdraft dropped the plane about 200 feet and caused the left wing hit some trees. The left side was damaged, but the plane has been seen back in the air fighting the October 2007 California wildfires.
Causes of the California Fires and Wildfires — Unconfirmed
Embers fly threw the air from other fires
Stalled car
Downed power line
Arson
Related links:
fire.ca.gov
insurance.ca.gov
National Interagency Fire Center :: National Fire News
USDA Forest Service California Wildfire Map
San Diego Weather Forecast from Weather Underground
Recent Satellite Images Showing Smoke Over Southern California — from NOAA
kpbs.org | twitter.com/kpbsnews | KPBS Radio Stream
latimes.com
mercurynews.com
signonsandiego.com
nctimes.com
KPBS Map of Southern California October 2007 Fires with Evacuation Centers and Animal Shelters
LA Times Map of Southern California October 2007 Fires
Firehawkhelicopters.com | Video File of a Firehawk water drop
UCSD Burn Center — University of California Burn Center
Themo-gel — thermogel.com — a sticky gel that stays on a structure for hours as a blanket of water that will adhere to vertical surfaces, windows, soffits and all types of surfaces.