Firefighters threatened at homeless encampment fire in Willows

Firefighters from the Willows Fire Department were on their way to help out with the River Incident in Princeton on Saturday afternoon, when they drove around the corner and saw smoke from a different fire – from a homeless camp on Old 99 (Tehama St.) and Elm St. Since the firefighters were so close they were able to quickly extinguish the vegetation fire at the homeless camp, keeping it under ½ acre. The fire was first reported at 3:18 p.m. They were on the site for an hour and a half, and received help from firefighters from Artois and Orland who had also been ready to head out to Princeton, but stopped in Williams to help out before heading on to assist the fire fight on the Sacramento River. Engineer Timothy Danley told Action News Now that the fire in Willows was caused by an illegal fire in the camp.
KNVN-TV NBC 24 Chico

San Luis Obispo Fire Chief Keith Aggson announces retirement

Following a 34-year career in the fire service, City of San Luis Obispo Fire Chief Keith Aggson has announced plans to retire in November. He has had an illustrious career on the Central Coast, working in the communities of Atascadero, Templeton, and Paso Robles before he began leading the City of San Luis Obispo Fire Department in 2017. “When I arrived here, SLO had a great Fire Department. It has been my honor to work with the team to build upon that standard of excellence so we can be even more prepared to meet the changing needs of our community and continue to provide exceptional service,” Aggson said. Aggson says the fire service has changed significantly over the past three decades, including the types of fires he’s experienced and the technology available to fight them.
Paso Robles Daily News

Communities still dealing with Caldor Fire fallout a year later

Sunday marks one year since the Caldor Wildfire erupted in California, burning through three counties for more than two months. This making it the 15th largest wildfire in the state's history. The blaze burned more than 220-thousand acres destroying one thousand buildings and damaging another 80. Overall, the fire cost the state more than one billion dollars in aid and repair costs, but for those who lived near the fire the cost was much greater. Now, area residents are looking back on the losses they faced and moving to rebuild. "Everybody within this community, whether they lost a home, or they were evacuated or they all were impacted by the Caldor fire," said Grizzly Flats Resident, Jennifer McKim Hibbard. Months after the blaze was fully contained, two men were arrested and charged with arson in connection to the fire.
KERO-TV ABC 23 Bakersfield

Tesla catches fire on I-80 near Sacramento; 1 person taken to hospital

PHOTOS: A Tesla caught fire along Interstate 80 into Sacramento on Monday morning. The incident happened just before 9 a.m. along the westbound side of the freeway near Madison Avenue. Exactly what led up to the Tesla catching fire is unclear. Flames spread from the car fire to surrounding vegetation and a utility pole.
KOVR-TV CBS 13 Sacramento

Retired Menlo Park fire chief aids effort to send donated gear to firefighters in Ukraine

Volunteers from fire services and departments across the Bay Area on Thursday, Aug. 11, finished loading a 40-foot shipping container with firefighting equipment to be sent to Ukraine. Harold Schapelhouman, a retired Menlo Park Fire Protection District chief, aided in the organization of the gathering of used fire tools and supplies to help firefighters in Ukraine with rescues, recoveries and fighting fires. The effort began in April, with Schapelhouman and others reaching out to agencies about the need for tools in Ukraine. Schapelhouman said that his position as an immigrant and husband to a half-Ukrainian woman has brought the issue of the war in Ukraine closer to home. The former fire chief, who also worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services for urban search and rescue, believes that no matter what, those doing rescue work in Ukraine need aid.
Menlo Park Almanac

McKinney Fire in Siskiyou County almost fully-contained at 60K+ acres

As of Sunday morning the McKinney Fire sits at 60,392 acres and is 95% contained. A total of 185 structures have been destroyed and 11 structures have been damaged. Eleven injuries have been reported along with four fatalities, according to officials. Minimal fire activity has been observed, but some interior spots continue to burn aggressively as fire crews continue mop up operations. Multiple evacuation orders and warnings remained in effect. More information can be found at Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office and Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services, as well as the official incident report website.
KRCR-TV ABC 7 Redding

Riverside County rail car chemical leak draws fears of ‘violent explosion,’ spurs evacuations

VIDEO: A rail car leaking chemicals in Riverside County, California, on Friday has prompted officials there to evacuate nearly 200 homes over concerns that a "violent explosion" could occur at any moment. The incident, which started unfolding Thursday night in Perris, also has closed a portion of the 215 Freeway in both directions. Fire officials say the chemical leaking from the train is styrene, which is used to make items such as latex and synthetic rubber, according to Fox11 LA. "I’ve been on the phone with experts all night from Florida to Texas, what they are telling me is this can resolve itself in two days, it could get worse before it gets better," Riverside County Fire Division Chief John Crater told reporters.
FOX News

Man found dead after house fire in Carmichael, officials say

A man was found dead after a house fire in the Carmichael area of Sacramento County sparked on Thursday afternoon, authorities said. A duplex located in the 5000 block of El Camino Avenue near Walnut and El Camino avenues caught fire around 2:40 p.m., the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said. Once the fire was knocked down, crews found the body in a part of the house that was originally unsafe to search because of flames and downed power lines. A spokesperson for the fire department said they believe the man died before fire crews arrived at the scene. There was initially no description of the body because it is unrecognizable, but the fire department later identified the victim as a man. Six residents were also displaced. An arson investigation team is on the scene of the fire, which is standard protocol.
KCRA-TV NBC 3 Sacramento

Redwood Acres Fairgrounds Converted to Cal Fire Emergency Fire Camp

The Cal Fire emergency fire camp is almost completely set up at the Redwood Acres Fairground. The camp provides a number of resources to firefighters as they come off the line of duty. Starting just this last Tuesday, numerous facilities and resources have been brought in to the redwood acres fairground to set up the Cal Fire emergency fire camp. These resources include over 500 overhead personnel that are working to put together and operate facilities. Firefighters from across the state are being brought in to help contain the six rivers lightning complex fire, some using this emergency fire camp as a place to recharge, fuel, and eat. “We have a regular full kitchen that’s set up to provide breakfast and dinners for crews that are here during those times. We have supply stations set up… Camps can have everything from laundry facilities to shower facilities, sleeping quarters,” said Jeremy Ward, the Cal Fire Battalion Chief.
KIEM-TV NBC 3 Eureka

FYREBX: Shasta County native invents new equipment for fighting fires and much more

A graduate from Shasta High School has returned to his roots; excited about a multi-use piece of equipment he first envisioned and has now brought to life. It's called the "FYREBX;" it's the result of more than two years of creating, designing, and research and development while Sean Henry was living in Montana for some 20 years. Now, he's back in Shasta County. Sean gave KRCR's Mike Mangas a demonstration at his home in Shingletown on Thursday. It was just released for sale on the Fourth of July and is already attracting a lot of attention. "It was a tool that I needed for myself," Sean said. "And, once we developed it, we saw that there are a lot of uses for everybody—globally. I mean, we've got people in Australia, Israel, Canada...all over; they're excited about the product."
KRCR-TV ABC 7 Redding

Community support and state funding secure new fire station for the Amador County Fire District

The Amador Fire Protection District will be receiving a new fire station in Pine Grove thanks to an additional $8.1 million dollars in state funding being secured, according to District 5 State Assemblymen Frank Bigelow. The fire protection district is responsible for 491 square miles of Amador County, in which 75% of people live in very high risk to fire danger areas, according to Bigelow. Bigelow said that the additional funding was secured through the efforts of State Assemblymen Ken Cooley of Sacramento County and Bigelow himself.“I am encouraged that California’s leaders recognize the importance of funding a new fire station in Amador County, especially given the recent Electra Fire and the destructive Butte Fire,” Bigelow said.
KTXL-TV FOX 40 Sacramento

Arson suspected as cause of vegetation fire burning in Sacramento County, authorities say

Firefighters battled a vegetation fire they believe to have been started on purpose in Sacramento County, authorities said. The about 15-acre fire burned near North Antelope Road and Antelope Road on Thursday afternoon, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said. The fire had multiple start points and investigators believe it was arson. No one has been arrested, authorities said. No one was reported to have been injured and no structures have been destroyed. There were temporary power outages in the area due to the fire. SMUD reported at one point that about 1,538 customers were without power.
KCRA-TV NBC 3 Sacramento