Owner: The Laguna Interagency Hotshots URL:http://www.lagunahotshots.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 10:07:15 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The Laguna Interagency Hotshots are an elite 20 person Wildland Fire Crew that travels across the United States to forest & wildland fires. The crew is based out of the San Diego area in California. Site statistics:Click here
Work Capacity Test (Pack Test) 2007-04-30 22:03:00 All crew members have passed their Pack Test. The "pack test" is intentionally stressful and is a good indicator of aerobic capacity, muscular strength and muscular endurance. This is an annual test and all Wildland Firefighters must pass. The test requires the Firefighters to walk 3 miles with 45 lbs on their back in 45 minutes or less. Non-completion or going over the 45 minute time limit will disqualify you as a Wildland Firefighter. Read more:Capacity
Crew Availability 2007-05-11 05:18:00 The crew is currently available for local fires. We will be available for national response by Tuesday 5/14 after completing some agency required training. Read more:Availability
Completed 80 hrs. Training 2007-05-11 03:01:00 The crew completed their last 40 of the 80 hours of Fireline Safety Refresher training. The crew spiked out for 4 days and did the listed field exercises below:Morning BriefingLine ConstructionMedi-VacHmmm, MRE'sHidden Danger!!Fire Shelter Deployment DrillFirefighters use this personal protection as a last resort if a wildfire traps them and they cannot escape. Firefighters can get into the tent-like shelter, made of heat reflective material, in about 25 seconds.The fire has crossed the drainage and is heading your way!!!DEPLOY DEPLOY!!LeadershipDistrict Ranger Tom Gillett and Div. Chief Acree Shreve speaks to the crew on district/forest core values and leadership expectations.The BBQ (Real Food)Night ShiftEnd of the Field Exercise Read more:Training
Family Day 2007-05-14 04:43:00 The crew has an annual tradition, "Family
Day". On this day, we hold a BBQ for the family members and loved ones. This is also the day we go available for national response. Since after going available we could be gone for most of the summer, this allows family members to spend time with their hotshot and to see our equipment.
Good Luck Damian 2007-05-18 17:55:00 Damian Ojeda is one of our Senior Firefighter's who has been on the crew for about 5 years. He has just accepted a Firefighter I position with Cal-Fire (CDF). The crew gave Damian a eye opening goodbye. Read more:Damian
, Good Luck
BAD NEWS-Still Home! 2007-06-01 20:33:00 Well, we are still home. It has been a rough start with missing certification paperwork, training requirements, and just a lack of orders coming in. Typicaly we would be in Region 3 (Southwest) by now. Everyone is predicting that June will be the season kick off. So to make best use of our time, the crew has be training the new folks on S-212 "Wildland Fire Chain Saws" and has been doing some tree thinning to help with our fuels reduction program on the district. This Monday we will have our Readininess Inspection by the Forest Fire Chiefs.
FINALLY!! 2007-06-04 13:42:00 The crew has been ordered up for the Goldledge Fire on the Sequoia National Forest. The fire is currently 1000+ acres and is expected to grow with the predicted weather.
Made it safely!!
The crew made it safely to the fi... 2007-06-05 18:18:00 Made it safely!!The crew made it safely to the fire camp yesterday afternoon. They are currently assigned to the day shift. This is probably a good thing, since it's a steep area. The fire blew up after being driven by winds today. No confirmation on size as of today. But the crew is there safely and has begun their long awaited tasks.Here's a live camera for their fire: (although pretty smoky today) http://sierrafire.cr.usgs.gov/output/swfrs/webcams/tobias_peak_4/tobias_peak_4.jpghttp://sierrafire.cr.usgs.gov/output/swfrs/webcams/breckenridge_2/breckenridge_2.jpghttp://sierrafire.cr.usgs.gov/output/swfrs/webcams/jordan_peak_3/jordan_peak_3.jpg
Back Home 2007-06-08 11:46:00 The crew is been demobed from the Goldledge Fire and is back home on days off. The fire containment lines withstood the 2 days of high winds. The crew's assignment was mopping up Division Y and on the 2nd day to rehab a dozer line. The last acreage size was 3,900 acres and 70% contained. Not the best assignment for us but we where able to take care of some necessary training. Capt. Steve Vigil was able to get his Strike Team Leader (Crews) signed off. We where married up with our sister crew the Palomar Hotshots as a Strike Team. Having this qualification signed off will now take the crew out of trainee status or Type 2 IA and make us a Type 1 crew based on the National Interagency Hotshot Crew Operation Guide for crew overhead qualification requirements. Squad Leader Tim Kraling got his Crew Boss Task Book signed off as well as Apprentice David Rodriguez who got his Fire Fighter I (Squad Leader) signed off.GOLDLEDGE FIRESteve briefs the Strike Team.
South Lake Tahoe 2007-06-24 21:58:00 The crew has been ordered to the Angora fire near South
Lake Tahoe
. The Angora Fire is burning near North Upper Truckee Road. The fire is burning toward the the town and is burning in the beetle kill trees. So far, the fire has burned more than 800 acres and is spreading rapidly due to strong winds. 50 homes have been burned by the fire so far and more are threatened.The whole area along Upper Truckee Road is evacuated. Highway 50 is closed at Lake Tahoe Boulevard.
The 4-4-40 2007-06-21 23:12:00 What is the 4-4-40? It is a challenge that many will take few will win.The CHALLENGE: Drink 4 qt of water in 4 minutes or less and keep it down for 40 seconds.The PRIZE: $195The CHALLENGER: Kai GavitThe RESULT: Click here for the video result-WARNING Not for the squeamish!! Click here for the close up photo result-WARNING still implies!!This is what happens when firefighters are FIRE DEPRIVED!! Idle hands are the Devil's tools.
Day Shift on Wednesday 2007-06-27 23:21:00 Little activity on the fire today. The crew mopped up and fell hazard trees. The forcasted wind event did not occur today, however is still being forcasted for tomorrow's weather, potentially bringing wind gusts to 30 mph.The Red Flag Warning will remain in effect until Saturday. The fire containment is about 55% as of this evening.The estimated size is 3,100 acres.The little brown bear was spotted again today. Read more:Shift
, Wednesday
, Day Shift
Fire forces the crew out 2007-06-27 14:22:00 The crew was involved in burnout operations yesterday in attempt to keep the main fire away from structures. The wind shifted on the crew and the fire was heading their direction, so they left the area and made it to a safe staging area. Also, while leaving the area, they encountered a young brown bear leaving the area. There was a shelter deployment on the fire, but the crew was not involved in that. The crew was moved to the head of the fire in a residential area to fire out around the structures, and was successful in holding the line. Many of the first season employees got a real taste of the "hotshot" life and intense fire behavior sights and sounds. Their first shift was very busy and they headed back to camp last night to eat, sleep and get ready for shift two on the fire.As of this morning the fire is 44% contained, but there is a red flag warnings of high winds.
First Shift on Tahoe Fire 2007-06-26 11:15:00 The crew arrived at the the firecamp yesterday, at Heavenly Ski Park. They were kept in camp to prepare for day shift today. Sounds like the efforts to battle the fire within the first hours has paid off, especially with the help from the weather. The humidities are up, and the winds have died down. Sounds like the main fire activity has almost stopped. As of today, the containment is 40%. However, after having more than 2,000 acres burn, the mop up and containment will probably keep the crew there for a few days. Read more:Shift
, First
, Tahoe
Diverted to Los Padres N.F. 2007-07-01 13:49:00 The crew made it to Bakersfield last night. About 11:00pm the the crew was ordered to the Rancho Fire on the Los Padres
National Forest, in Santa Barbara County. Doesn't sound like it's a big fire ( 700 acres, 50% contained) but they are expecting some winds, high temps and low humidities.
Headed Home 2007-06-30 19:56:00 The crew has been demobed from the fire @ 1330 and is en route back home. ETA to station tomorrow @ 1400.
Crew saw the lake today.... 2007-06-28 23:54:00 Today was a routine shift on a fire assignment. They mopped up in about 1000' and continued to drop snags and other hazard trees. There wasn't much fire activity today. The wind event that was expected never showed up. The crew actually saw Lake Tahoe today, which hadn't been seen in days, due to smoke and fire activity.They saw the "bear" again today. He's a real live Smokey Bear. The first day of the fire, he was seen clinging to a tree, while the fire raged around him. He has been spotted everyday by the crews. Today he was seen near a tree, and then he was leaning up against it, just resting. Looks like he has some blisters on his feet and maybe a little scuffed up, but still alive. (When I find the pic of the bear, I'll post it.)The crew was seen on High Definition News today. They were cutting down a snag. It was such a great shot of them!!
Zaca Fire 2007-07-05 15:37:00 The crew made it to the fire camp around 11:30 last night. The fire camp is 7 miles south of where the Rancho fire camp was. So they are familiar to the area. The reports this morning (0630) put the fire at about 690 acres. They are estimating the fire containment at 30%. Fire is burning in steep, rocky and broken terrain. Weather will become hotter and drier. There were some significant down slop runs last night.
On the road again!! 2007-07-04 22:15:00 The crew enjoyed a little time home last night with their family & loved ones. This afternoon they were ordered to a fire near Zaca Lake, in Santa Barbara County. The fire is burning towards the Los Padres National Forest. The fire is 700 acres, 0% Containment and in rugged, inaccessible terrain.No pictures of the fire yet, but here's a picture of where Zaca lake is..........
Itch, Itch, Scratch, Scratch 2007-07-03 18:26:00 The crew has been released from the Rancho fire. They had to make a trip to the doctors, because many individuals on the crew managed to get poison oak. Unless diverted to a fire, they should be headed home, today. Read more:Scratch
ZACA Fire is increasing in size 2007-07-07 18:03:00 The fire was caused by sparks from grinding equipment.The size of the fire as of 1315 was 6,300 acres.Only 15% containment today.The fire continues to burn in very rugged inaccessible terrain, and significant fire activity continues to the Northeast. Most of the vegetation that is burning hasn't burned since 1966, and other areas have no recorded data, meaning it could be pre-1900. The fire continues to make a significant fuels driven run on the North side of the San Rafael Ridge, burning to the east. The north flank of the fire is backing down to the Sisquoc River. Control efforts are focused on containing the fire to South of the Sisquoc River, West of the Sierra Madre Ridge, East of Schoolhouse Canyon (CURRENTLY AT 1600, THE CREW IS LOCATED ABOVE SCHOOLHOUSE CANYON IN ZACA CANYON) and North of Figueroa /Catway. The fire is bumping into the old Marre Fire from 1993. Crews are experiencing high heat and low humidity on the fireline. The fire has potential for increased growth and an
Zaca is 30% contained 2007-07-06 14:04:00 Yesterday the fire blew up and consumed 1200 acres in a few hours. There was so much fire activiy yesterday on the Division that Laguna was assigned to, they couldn't even get into the area. However, despite the activity yesterday, they still have 30% estimated containment. As of this morning the fire is 1500 acres. However, steep, rocky terrain and high temps are making containment efforts difficult. These pictures were taken yesterday when the blow-up happened. Read more:contained
Crew is heading home.... 2007-07-14 01:19:00 The crew is heading home tomorrow after 1 1/2 weeks on the Zaca Fire. They've been spiked out since Sunday. There will be more updates & pictures when they return home. Since the end of June, they've had 10 hours home in between assignments (Tahoe & Zaca), and no days off. Everybody is ready for a little R&R.
What happened the last 6 days?? 2007-07-19 11:32:00 Well, as you know sometimes life gets busy, so I hope you except that excuse for not posting for the last 6 days. The crew made it home safetly Saturday 7-14-07 and enjoyed 2 days of quiet R&R. The downfall to being gone is no days off, so even 2 days off are wonderful. They have been in station all week sharpening tools and getting caught up on paperwork.
Order Denied 2007-07-25 13:29:00 Well, all this waiting and it looks like our dispatch decided to send another crew out of region who just finished their R & R days off from being out of region. Not sure how this worked out but it looks like we'll be stuck home for awhile. Read more:Order
Still waiting on that order 2007-07-23 13:50:00 Our fire management told us this morning that their was a phone conference with the region. It sounds like the crews in the region are now up for grabs from NICC (National Interagency Coordination Center). They seem to think we will be on the road to Idaho or Montana by this afternoon.
New order on the way 2007-07-20 12:11:00 Well, our dispatch called this morning to give us a heads-up that the Southern California Coordination Center (South Zone) was inquiring about our availability. She said that an order should be coming for us for out of region (Oregon, Montana or Idaho). So it looks like we be on the road here shortly.
Still on the Road 2007-07-27 11:11:00 The crew made it to Stateline, NV last night. They loaded up and hit the road around 7:00am. Today they have a long drive ahead of them. The lightning caused fire they are headed to is called the Garceau fire, located midway between Polson and Hot Springs, on the west side of the Flathead River. It's about 100 miles North of Missoula, MT. Currently, they are putting the fire at approx. 2800 acres. The area forecast for today is a chance for more thunderstorms.
Crew En-Route to Montana 2007-07-26 15:56:00 OK, so we lied about staying home. The crew is en route to the Garceau Fire on Polson, MT. We will be driving so it should take a day & half to get there. The fire is currently 3,000 acres and is threatening homes in Polson. Read more:Montana
Day Shift (Monday) 2007-07-31 01:35:00 The crew finished putting in the fire line today. Despite the weather warnings for today, things look like they are holding pretty well. Weather forecasts are calling for gusty winds, hot temperatures and low relative humidity, resulting in more active fire behavior. The Division would like them to do 1-2 more shifts, then they will probably be reassigned to another Montana incident. Today this is what they saw from another fire close to them (pictured below). Read more:Shift
, Monday
, Day Shift
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