November 16, 2015 - 7th Edition




   
Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department firefighters rescued a man who slipped and fell down a manhole Thursday, Nov. 12
COURTESY OF CAL FIRE/RIVERSIDE COUNTY FIRE

CAL FIRE/Riverside County Firefighters responded to reports of a person who slipped and fell into a manhole that is approximately five feet deep, in the area of Mockingbird Canyon Road north of Harley John Road in Lake Mathews.
 Once on      scene firefighters       reported one patient inside a deep, low grade hole. Law enforcement has been requested to close down Rawhide Lane X El Sobrante Road. Updates will be posted as information becomes available.



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Last week, Cal-JAC once again, solidified its role as a leader within California's fire service at its 13th Biennial Conference  in Rancho Mirage, California. More than 300 fire chiefs, labor presidents, training officers and sub-JAC members participated in the conference - all united in the Cal-JAC's ongoing mission to create excellence in the fire service.

Co-sponsored by California Professional Firefighters and the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Cal-JAC is the nation's model labor-management firefighter training partnership. Read more here
   



Paradise Burned: How Climate Change Is Scorching California

Paul Duncan, a battalion chief with California's state firefighting agency, was at home in Northern California enjoying a day off on September 12 when he got the message: A wildfire was burning on Cobb Mountain, about a dozen miles away from Hidden Valley Lake, where he lived with his wife and two daughters.
Duncan, 46, decided to leave and help knock down the blaze because he knew the fire unit in the area was already short-staffed from putting out on another conflagration. Besides, his nearly 30 years of experience persuaded him there was no way a fire burning on a mountain to the west could burn down to the valley floor and then race eastward to threaten the Duncans' home.
His optimism was short lived. Upon arriving on Cobb Mountain Duncan got some troubling news. The fire he was fighting was heading toward his family. At 5:13 p.m. he texted them: "The fire will be encroaching on Hidden Valley within an hour."
Six minutes later his house was on fire. Read rest of the story  here.

Software Update Triggered CalPERS Billing Trouble
 
A CalPERS official said Tuesday that a computer software updat e more than three years ago contained a flaw that halted service-credit billing and payroll deductions until it was recently discovered.

Read more  here



CAL FIRE NEWS RELEASE
While recent rains and cooler temperatures have lowered the threat of wildfires in some areas of the State, CAL FIRE continues to have extra firefighter staffing statewide and remains at
peak fire season in Central and Southern California. Last week alone CAL FIRE crews responded to nearly 50 new wildfires. Even as CAL FIRE transitions out of peak fire season in Northern California and into its winter preparedness mode, fire officials are still asking residents statewide to be cautious outdoors as 'One Less Spark means One Less Wildfire'.

Read more  here


After the Valley fire, campers face cold, eviction


Alejandra Lopez, 17, and her mother eat dinner at the Hidden Valley Lake campground, Tuesday November 10, 2015 their second temporary home after the family home was destroyed by the Valley fire in Middletown. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2015

Two months after fleeing the massive fire that destroyed their Middletown apartment along with more than 1,300 other homes and 76,067 acres of forest and  wildlands , the Madrigal-Lopez family is still living in a travel trailer at the Hidden Valley Lake campground.  But the onslaught of winter and the planned closure of the campground have them rethinking their limited options.  "It's very cold," said  Rozio Madrigal, who als o rec ently discovered that the loaned travel trailer leaks when it rains.
Most people displaced by the Valley fire apparently have found lodging at motels, with family, or elsewhere, but for a variety of reasons, some families remained this week at the campgrounds, several sleeping in tents, others in trailers. Still others have set up camp on their fire-ravaged properties as they sort out their next action. Read more  here

UPCOMING EVENTS
Executive Board Meeting
December 1 - 3

50th Annual CAL FIRE Local 2881 Convention
January 21 - 24, 2016

No One Left Behind 2nd Annual Pub Crawl
January 23, 2016
 
For the full   event  calendar 




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