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View Past Issues
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Fire Crews Gear up for 2014 Season
An NPS fire training refresher class on May 7th kicked off the 2014 season with an emphasis on lessons learned from the tragic loss of 19 firefighters during the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona last year. "Why did they leave the black?..." was the unanswered, thought-provoking question that everyone who took the class walked away with. The "black" refers to an area which has already burned, and can provide a safety zone during a wildfire because its fuel has already been consumed.
 Flaming front visible from Hwy 89, Yarnell Hill Fire, 2013
The National Park Service S.F. Bay Area Network Fire Program consists of a 12-person hand crew, a 5-person engine crew, leadership, and support staff who will be tasked with a series of fuel reduction projects, while also being ready to respond to wildfires. These resources are augmented with other local crews from Marin County Fire Department and Conservation Corps North Bay who complete park projects through cooperative agreements. Park maintenance divisions also play an important role in reducing fire hazards.
Preliminary 2014 fuels management project list:
Point Reyes National Seashore
- Bayview / Limantour Bishop Pine Thinning
- Estero Prescribed Fire
- Highway One Prescribed Fire
- Bolinas Ridge Fuel Break
Golden Gate NRA
- Tamalpais Valley Eucalyptus Thinning
- Marinview Fuel Reduction
- Fort Barry Eucalyptus Thinning
- Coral Reef Eucalyptus Thinning
John Muir National Historic Site
- Mount Wanda Fire Access Mowing
- Mount Wanda Perimeter Defensible Space
Pinnacles National Park
- Park Facilities Defensible Space
- Bear Valley Roadside Fuel Reduction
Fire-related maintenance projects:
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Golden Gate NRA - Boundary Mowing, Rancho Corral de Tierra
- Point Reyes National Seashore - Roadside Mowing, Limantour
Project details will be announced soon when the 2014 work plan is finalized.
TOP BANNER PHOTO: Eucalyptus thinning on GGNRA lands near Smith Road in Tamalpais Valley.
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Mount Diablo after the Morgan Fire
Citizen science project monitors change
The  Morgan Fire, which burned more than 3,000 acres in and around Mount Diablo State Park last September, now offers a great opportunity to witness change in the post-fire landscape. Nerds for Nature, a group of technologists, environmental professionals, students and citizen scientists, have set up photo-monitoring locations on the Mount Diablo trail system, where they are encouraging visitors to take photos with their cell phones and upload them to the internet through social media. This photo archive will be used to create time lapse animations that document the changes after the fire. The last major wildfire on Mount Diablo was in 1977, and the one before that was in 1931. Other research teams are studying the vegetation up close, recording occurrences of rare plants that are only seen in the first year or two after a major wildfire. The S.F. Chronicle reports that 18 flowering "fire followers" have been seen already, including Kellog's snapdragon pictured above. (See slideshow image 6 in the May 14 article by Kevin Fagan.)
Nerds for Nature setting up a photomonitoring site on Mount Diablo with instructions for how to upload cell phone photos. "Cyndy and Amador make sure the sign is ADA-compliant". See more of this Nerds for Nature photostream on FLICKR ...
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TOP: Burned vegetation seen at the Mount Diablo Summit during a Nerds for Nature Meet-Up Field Trip in March 2014.
DETAIL: Kellog's snapdragon (Antirrhinum kelloggii) hasn't been seen on Mount Diablo in decades, but reappeared after the Morgan Fire. The photo included here was taken by Keir Morse at Pinnacles National Park, in April, 2008.
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Bay Area Headlines
From the Ashes: Mount Diablo Recovers from Wildfire
(Contra Costa Times, April 28, 2014)
(Marin Independent Journal, May 9, 2014)
(San Francisco Chronicle, May 14, 2014) Bay Area Fire Crews Head South to Help with San Diego Wildfires (Contra Costa Times, May 16, 2014) Wildfires Worse Due to Man-made Climate Change, Studies Show(Huffington Post / AP, May 19, 2014) |
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Upcoming Fire Safe Council Meetings
June 11, 2014 - Fire Safe San Mateo County -
Woodside, CA -
Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month from 9:30 to 11:30 am at the Woodside Town Hall. More...
June 13, 2014 - FIRESafe Marin - San Rafael, CA - Meetings are held on the second Friday of each month from 9:00 to 11:00 am at the Marin County Civic Center. More...
June 19, 2014 - Diablo Fire Safe Council - Orinda, CA - Meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month from 9:30 to 11:30 am at the EBMUD Watershed Headquaters, 500 San Pablo Dam Road. More...
June 19, 2014 - San Benito Fire Safe Council - San Juan Bautista, CA - Meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month from 5:00 to 6:30 pm. Locations vary. The June meeting will be held at the San Juan Bautista Fire Station at the intersection of Polk and Second Streets. More...
June 26, 2014 - Fire Safe Council for Monterey County - Monterey, CA - Meetings are typically held on the last Thursday of the month at 9:00 am at the CAL FIRE San Benito-Monterey Unit headquarters, 2221 Garden Road. More...
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Fire Information Resources
FIRE DANGER / FIRE RESTRICTIONS
Golden Gate NRA Fire Danger Hotline ...
415-561-7400
This recorded phone message gives the fire danger rating for park sites north of the Golden Gate Bridge and south of the Golden Gate Bridge as well as any fire restrictions that may be in effect.
Point Reyes National Seashore Weather / Tides / Fire Information Line ... 415-464-5100, ext. 2, ext. 1
This recorded phone message gives the fire danger for Point Reyes National Seashore, and any restrictions that may be in effect.
FIRE INFORMATION
This report summarizes the uncontained large fires across the United States and the resources assigned to them.
This information system provides information, photos, maps and updates about wildfires and prescribed fires across the United States. Other incident information (hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.) may be posted here as well.
This information system provides information on large fires in California.
When planning your summer travels, remember to consider fire danger, fire permits, fire restrictions, trail closures, road closures and possible smoke....
Have a safe fire season!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Chapman
Fire Communication and Education Specialist
S.F. Bay Area National Parks
415-464-5133 TEL
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