COMMUNIQUE’California Department of Forestry and Fire Protectionw

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SUMMER/FALL 2001

Summer/Fall 2001 2

From the Director

See DIRECTOR, page 3

In the face of adversity

It has been an unsettling year for CDF. The list ofadversities and challenges placed in the Department’spath have severely tested us. From the emotional to thefiscal, from program operations to long-term Departmentplans – the CDF family’s resolve has been shaken by thenew millennium.

The tragedies that took place in New York, Washing-ton D.C., and Pennsylvania have affected each and everyAmerican. But the deaths of so many firefighters, lawenforcement, and emergency workers in New York hashit our CDF emergency response personnel on anotherlevel. It has been said that - - while we run away from aburning building, they run toward it. This truth becameclear to all of us the morning of September 11. CDFurban search and rescue team members contributed tothe effort in New York - and here at home our uniformedCDFers live it on a daily basis.

Just prior to the terrorist attacks, CDF lost twomembers of its family when Airtanker Pilots LarsStratte and Larry Groff were killed in a mid-air collisionover the Bus Fire in Mendocino County on August 27.Family and friends have said over and over again thatboth pilots loved what they did – even with the inherentdanger in their chosen profession. My thoughts andprayers go out to the families and friends of Larry andLars. My admiration also goes to our Chaplain Corpsand the staff in the Units, who responded in numbers to

comfort families and fellow colleagues, stepped up to thedifficult tasks of investigation, and helped with thearrangements for the very moving, full-honor memorialservices.

These tragedies came on the heels of a fire seasonthat has challenged us with one major conflagrationafter another. Thanks to early predictions and reinforce-ments from the Governor, we were better prepared forthe record low fuel moistures of early spring in thenorth. But still, thousands of firefighters from CDF, andfederal and local government agencies, have battled firesthat started in May with the Devil Fire threatening thecommunity of Susanville, and the Jones Fire on theKlamath National Forest. It continued with the MartisFire, then the Ponderosa Fire, the Leonard Fire, theCreek Fire, the Oregon Fire, the Star, Poe and Darbyfires. CDF now faces what often are our most challeng-ing fire season months as we look for the Santa Ana’s toblow in Southern California, and the potential forlightning along the Sierra.

Administrative and management issues have bedev-iled us more than usual too. The global economy isslowing, and California is not immune. Incoming rev-enues are far below the past few years, and just when wethought we could rebuild programs, the state is nowforced to contemplate budget cuts. Nothing is harder forour managers and executives than trying to decidewhere to cut when in reality we cannot afford cutsanywhere. We don’t know yet what the next budget willlook like, but CDF will need to take some share. A newlaw requiring departments to “fill it or lose it” makes thehandling of vacant positions now more challenging, sincewe have such a dynamic hiring pattern, especiallycompared to other departments. Miraculously, Manage-ment Services succeeded in salvaging many positions atthe last moment, but these herculean efforts only addedto their already full workload.

We also dealt with media attention concerning theacquisition of a specialized airplane that will allow CDFto better map fires, floods, pipeline leaks, and even theeffects of Sudden Oak Death Syndrome more quickly andefficiently than ever before. In spite of what detractorsmay imply, we are confident this is the right plane tocarry the specialized line scan infra-red imaging equip-ment that will give our incident command teams real-time, mapped information to deploy resources strategi-cally and save property. The aircraft can fly higher,

3 Communique’

DIRECTOR: from page 2

The loss of our ownWhen two CDF S-2A airtankers collided while working a fire in Mendocino County on August 27, 2001

CDF lost two members of its family, and two families lost their husbands, fathers, brothers, and friends.From family and fellow tanker pilots, it is clear that Larry Groff of Windsor, California, and Lars Stratte ofRedding, California, died doing a job they loved, but that doesn’t make the loss any easier.

Larry, a Navy pilot for 20 years, began flying CDF S-2’s in 1997. He flew out of the Sonoma Air AttackBase in Santa Rosa. Lars was an air attack pilot for the US Forest Service before he began flying S-2’s in1999. He flew out of the Chico Air Attack Base.

Both pilots were employees of San Joaquin Helicopters, Inc. the contractor that has provided CDF withairtanker pilots, and airtanker and helicopter maintenance since January 1996.

Memorial services for both pilots were testaments to the closeness of members of the emergency servicesfamily - a sea of dress uniforms amidst family and friends.

Services for Larry Groff began as a simple pine casket, draped by an American flag in the back of avintage fire engine led a procession of 150 emergency vehicles to the Charles M. Schultz Airport in SonomaCounty. There, mourners heard friends and family talk about a “humble, unassuming” man who loved to fly.CDF Pilot Jimmy Barnes told the crowd that “Larry thought of himself as a simple country boy…. but hewas so much more than that.”

Larry is survived by his wife, Christine; daughters Kim, Kara, Kristen, and Susie; and son Mick. Over2000 attended Lars Stratte’s memorial service at Bethel Church in Redding. His son, Ian, spoke about thejob his dad helped him get refueling tankers this fire season at the Redding Municipal Airport. He said thathis dad died doing something he loved, and that “he was the kind of man that I want to be in so manyways.” Lars is survived by his wife, Terri Ann; sons Ian and Tryg; brothers Tryg, Joel Stratte-McClure;sisters Leslie Curfman and Scott Peters; and mother Helen.

In memory of the two fallen pilots, CDF Director Tuttle retired their respective airtanker numbers 87and 92.

The Mendocino County Sheriff ’s Office arrested two men in connection with the cause of the fire thatLars and Larry died battling. The Bus Fire was contained at less than 250 acres.

See LOSS, page 4

faster and in inclement weather, and will be able to mapincidents located in both Southern and Northern Califor-nia twice in a single day.

The Department’s adversity has not been exclusive toour fire and emergency response programs and person-nel. Our Resource Management Program has been hitwith its own funding issues. Proceeds from timberharvesting sales on the Jackson Demonstration StateForest (JDSF), the largest of CDF’s eight forests, havelong supported many CDF resource management pro-grams through the Forest Resource Improvement Fund(FRIF). Due to a court injunction blocking harvesting onJDSF, combined with declining timber prices, proceedsfor the current fiscal year, and possibly three to fourfiscal years down the road, will not meet anticipatedlevels. At this time there appears to be no way to com-pensate for the loss of this revenue to the FRIF, andcutbacks may be necessary in forest improvement grantsto landowners, urban forestry, vegetation managementand other programs.

With all of this, and a host of other challenges, theresilience of CDF personnel has amazed me. You have allcontinued to provide the highest level of service to thecitizens of this state. Despite all of the adversity, yourcommitment and dedication to our mission remainsunwavering. Repeatedly, you have also exemplified thespirit of unity among all emergency responders. Fromassisting and attending memorial services, to outwardsigns of patriotism, to fund raising efforts for victim’sfamilies, to the black bands on your shields: I have neverbeen so honored and proud to be a part of an organiza-tion.

As I contemplate the challenges facing the Depart-ment and the breadth of changes that will affect all of usas members of the CDF family, I am confident that everyone of you is up to the task, and will continue to standtogether to get the job done.

Summer/Fall 2001 4

“`I watched two of the air tankers yesterday, just before the mid-air collision, as they circled the Ukiahairport. I remember thinking how majestic they looked and felt glad they were there. Later, after the tragicsequence of events led to the loss of Pilots Groff and Stratte, I was sorrowed at the loss of such dedicatedmen. Yet, as I reflected, I hope that when God calls me, I am doing that which I love to do, as I know theywere. I share this thought with you. Theirs was a greater cause, the service of their fellow man. These pilotshave shed their earthly wings, and donned the golden wings given only by God. They are no longerrestricted to the bonds of earthly flight, their freedom is complete. They soar the heights of heaven and earthwithout restriction. Death is for us, the living, no longer for them, because they are reborn in His glory. Yet,they are not gone from us. From the ground, when you see the air tankers skimming overhead, know that itis them, watching over you. Fellow pilots, know that they are there with you, in the bond of friendship anddedicated resolve to fight the good fight that you carry on, in all ways, always with you in spirit. They arethere with you, making sure the tanks are topped off. They are going through the pre-flight checks with you.They are there helping you steady the wheel during those particularly hard runs. They will always be therefor you.We share and are saddened by your loss. We pray for your rapid recovery and thank you for carrying on,despite your heart felt losses.

May the Heavenly Father bless you in this time of sorrow.”

Sgt. Kevin Cotroneo & FamilyCHP (Ukiah & Santa Rosa)

“Your friends and colleagues in the NationalPark Service extend our condolences to youand your staffs as you all cope with the deathsof airtanker pilots Larry Groff and Lars Stratte.This tragic accident reminds us of howvulnerable our pilots are in their critical workof protecting people and property from thedangers of wildfires. Although we cannot feelthe same grief that their friends and familyhave, we will share a sense of loss over thedeath of these two colleagues. We send ourdeepest sympathy and wish for you strength todeal with the loss.

Please let us know if we can do anything tohelp you during this difficult time.”

Sincerely,John J. ReynoldsRegional Director,Pacific West RegionU.S. Department of the Interior

“On behalf of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, please accept my sincerecondolences on the loss of air tanker pilots Larry Groff and Lars Stratte. Without a doubt, weall recognize the hazards associated with our profession; however, your loss exceeds thebounds of that understanding and we can only imagine the impact on you and CDF.

We would very much appreciate your extending our deepest sympathy to the Groff andStratte families.”

Sincerely,Rick MartinezFire ChiefSacramento Metropolitan Fire District

“It is with deepest sorrow that we learn of thedeath of a member of your family. We offer oursincerest regret for the loss and offer heartfeltsympathy to the family of the fallen heroes. Thisletter is written to let each of you know that weare praying for your department and the familiesof the lost. If there is anything this agency cando, please feel free to call upon us at any time.”

With Deepest SympathyC. Reid VaughanFire MarshalCounty District ChaplainCuba Fire & RescueCuba, Alabama

LOSS: from page 3

5 Communique’

Caring for the emotional well beingof the CDF Family

Employee Support Services Program

See WELL BEING, page 6

The nature of our mission oftenplaces CDF personnel in situationsthat are extremely stressful andfrequently dangerous. Traumaticsituations, such as the recent deathsof two of our airtanker pilots, a burnover on an incident, the break-up ofa marriage, the death of a child, andthe terrorist attacks on this country,can create emotional and spiritualissues for even the most seasonedemergency responder. CDF takescare of its family through the Em-ployee Support Services Program(ESS).

Jay Donnelly heads up thiswidespread program as Chief of theEmployee Support Services Pro-gram. There are four components toESS, each geared to provide assis-tance to personnel and their familiesin complete confidentiality. Thosecomponents are the CDF ChaplaincyProgram, the CDF Critical IncidentStress Management Program, theCDF Substance Abuse AssistanceProgram, and the Employee Assis-tance Program (EAP).

As a long-time, fully licensedminister, Jay has been involved inchaplaincy support for the Depart-ment since 1987. “At that time,because I was a minister, I providedsupport whenever it was requestedby a unit chief,” said Jay. “The roleof, and need for, qualified chaplainshas grown extensively since then.”

Today, CDF Chaplains fulfill manyfunctions. They are there when afamily member is notified of thedeath or injury of a loved one. Theyact as family liaisons with hospitalsand funeral homes. They work withfamily clergy to arrange for services,as well as perform funerals andmemorials. They arrange transporta-tion for employees and family

dealing with the death or injury of aloved one. They respond to thescenes of major critical incidents.They perform last rites. They act asinitial contacts for employees strug-gling with substance or alcoholabuse, and they counsel and referemployees overwhelmed by personalissues. For example, “Since theattack on the World Trade Center wehave had over 300 contacts fromCDF staff,” said Jay. “People justneed to talk to someone about thistragedy.”

CDF is a department of nearly5,000, many of whom are highlytrained emergency responders. Therigors of the job, and the stress ofeveryday life can take a toll, affect-ing job performance and families.“The Department’s chaplains areavailable 24-7 to support ALLmembers of the CDF family,” saidJay. He added that “We do not takethe place of a family minister orpastor, nor do we promote thedoctrines of any church or denomina-tion without a specific request by theperson involved. We are here toprovide support.”

There are currently more than 30CDF Unit Chaplains locatedthroughout the state. “Our goal is forevery CDF Unit to have a chaplain,”said Jay. “We only have a few moreunits to go to make that a reality,and most units have found that theyneed two or three chaplains toensure one is always available.”

The Unit Chaplains consist of awide variety of CDF personnelincluding fire captains, battalionchiefs, fire apparatus engineers,foresters and office technicians.They all volunteer their time,outside of their jobs, in support ofthe program. A person’s specific

religion is not a criteria for involve-ment in the Chaplaincy Program.CDF Chaplains currently representa number of faiths, and in fact, thedepartment encourages personnel ofall faiths and sects to look intobecoming part of this program.What is important is a person’sinvolvement, standing and integrityin their faith. Jay will discuss thatwith all potential volunteers, alongwith a number of other issuesincluding life standards, and dailyconduct.

All volunteers participate in amandatory 40-hour Basic Chap-laincy course. The course providesthem the status of associate chap-lain or “lay minister,” not a licensedminister. “We teach the basicstandards of training provided bythe Federation of Fire ChaplainsInstitute,” said Jay. “These are thestandards used by fire departmentchaplains throughout the country.”There is a 40-hour advanced courseavailable for those who want toexpand their support role. And,many become fully licensed minis-ters through their own churches andfaiths. “Right now, we are about 50/50 licensed ministers and lay minis-ters within CDF,” said Jay.

All CDF Chaplains wear a chap-lain insignia pin, designed similar tothose worn by military chaplains.These pins identify them as CDFChaplains, and at the discretion ofeach chaplain, may display a reli-gious symbol pertinent to their faith,such as a cross, Star of David, orcrescent.

While Jay oversees statewideactivities, the Unit Chaplains areresponsible for the needs of their

Summer/Fall 2001 6

The California Department ofForestry and Fire Protection (CDF)answered the call to duty in thewake of our nation’s recent tragedyin New York City.

The Federal Emergency Manage-ment Agency’s (FEMA) Riverside,California Task Force Six wasactivated to the disaster on TuesdaySeptember 11, 2001 approximatelyfour hours after the collapse of theWorld Trade Center towers.

One of 28 teams nationwide, thisurban search and rescue (USAR)group is a multi-agency team con-sisting of 27 CDF Riverside employ-ees as well as firefighters from theRiverside, Hemet, Corona, PalmSprings, Norco, and Murrieta firedepartments. Also included arecivilian doctors, structural engi-neers, emergency medical services(EMS) personnel, and canine special-ists.

The team consists of three squadsof 62 persons each. Each squad is

evenly distributed with specialists inheavy rescue, search, rigging,hazardous materials, canine, com-munications, and EMS to provideexpertise in all areas of urban searchand rescue. FEMA provides allequipment and funds training forpersonnel. In the event of a disaster,FEMA activates the needed teamsbased on location and on a rotationalbasis. Prior to September 11, theteam had only been activated onetime at the state level to theNorthridge earthquake in 1993.

Shortly into the morning of the11th, while the nation was glued tothe television watching these horrificevents unfold, CDF Battalion ChiefIgnacio Otero received the word thatthe team had been put on officialalert status from FEMA. This putthe wheels into motion.

Fire Captain Jerry Rodman begancalling personnel to compile avail-ability. “No, we haven’t been offi-cially activated yet,” was the word on

the end of the line. “FEMA says upto 36 hours. Just stand by the phoneand I’ll call you back.” Thirtyminutes later the phone rings “We’vebeen activated! Get your gear andmeet at the rendezvous point!”

Two hours later nine CDFers arepart of the 62-person squad atRiverside City Station #3 preparingto head to the Big Apple. This groupincluded Fire Captains Steve Beach,Jerry Rodman, Rich Egerman,Clarence Homer, and myself; FireApparatus Engineers Jorge Juarez,Chuck Tasker, and Tim Buckley; andFirefighter II Jerry Salmeron.

The entire squad was shortly infull swing packing the approximately60,000 pounds of gear required forthe trip. Each box had to be packed,inventoried, weighed, and put oneight-foot cargo pallets which wouldeventually be loaded on our militarycharter. The mobilization plan

Call to duty in New York Cityby Steve Brooker, fire captain, Riverside Unit

See DUTY, page 7

unit personnel. They contact andcreate resource lists of local clergyfrom a wide variety of faiths andsects, and are able to arrange forassistance from these clergy, or referpersonnel to these clergy, wheneverneeded. In some cases, local clergywill train as CDF Chaplains and arethen available to support or fill in forthe Unit Chaplains.

When Lars Stratte and LarryGroff were killed in the airtankercollision, Jay immediately organizeda large group of CDF Chaplains andCritical Incident Stress Management(CISM) team members. Behind thescenes, CDF Chaplains HarryMartin of the Sonoma-Lake-NapaUnit, and John Bruno of the Shasta-Trinity Unit were immediatelyavailable to the Groff and Stratte

families to provide grief counselingand assist in arranging for andparticipating in funeral services.CDF Chaplain Gary Kavanagh ofthe Nevada-Yuba-Placer (NYP) Unitprovided support for all the staff ofMendocino unit, because he was theUnit Chaplain for Mendocino priorto his promotion to NYP. CDFChaplain Tim Ward, from theSonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, focused onsupport specifically for the air attackpersonnel. And, chaplains andCISM personnel were on hand tocounsel the staff and pilots at five ofCDF’s air attack bases. In fact, thesupport provided to those affected bythis tragedy continues; at thiswriting, the incident order numberis still open.

“While people may feel intimi-dated by the term “chaplain” due to

its religious connotation, myselfand the CDF Chaplains statewideare not here to preach to anyone,”said Jay. “I want every singleCDFer to know that we are avail-able to help no matter what theissue. After all, there are fourcomponents to the EmployeeSupport Services program, andanyone can make direct contact toa unit representative from any oneof the four components, or we canmake sure you get the appropriate,and confidential assistance that isright for you.”

The contact numbers for all CDFChaplains, or for any of the fourESS components, are availablethrough the unit ECC’s and will beavailable on the CDF Intranet verysoon. You can always contact Jayat 209-274-5502.

WELL BEING: from page 5

7 Communique’

includes the use of CDF crews toassist in this laborious task. Helparrived in the form of Oak GlenConservation Camp crews #2, #4,and #6, supervised by BattalionChief John Winder. The crews madethis task look easy and shaved hoursoff of the deployment time.

At 1700 hours two semi-trucks ofequipment and two buses of excitedworkers made the first of manypolice escorted trips that wouldoccur during this journey. Sirensdrowned the afternoon hustle andbustle as family and strangerscheered, and media captured themoment. The procession made itsway from downtown Riverside toMarch Air Reserve Base.

Two C-141 cargo planes wereawaiting our arrival. We were tomeet with the LA City Task Force

DUTY:frompage 6

and travel together to McGuire AirForce Base in New Jersey. Bothaircraft left the ground just before 11p.m. after undergoing the usualdelays and the rigorous manifestingrequired by the Air Force. A couple-hours rest came easy on the noisy,but otherwise uneventful five hourflight.

The plane came to rest atMcGuire at 6:30 a.m. A warmbreakfast greeted us and then webegan the all too familiar hurry upand wait. It seems that communica-tions and management at the inci-dent were slow. It was passed alongto us that a large number of chiefofficers and rescue specialists werelost in the collapse significantlycompounding the scope of thisdisaster. There were now four teamsstaging at McGuire including Sacra-

mento, Missouri, LA City, andRiverside.

The teams had to wait for recon-naissance from the federal incidentsupport team which manages theUSAR teams. This was completed at3:30 in the afternoon, at which timeall four teams were ordered to theJavits Convention Center in NewYork City. All four teams configuredinto a massive rolling stock of 11semi-trucks, eight buses, severalsupport vehicles, and an equalnumber of New Jersey state troop-ers. Our second code three convoywas underway headed for New Yorkand ground zero.

Two hours later the group was inNew York. There she was! LadyLiberty in all of her glory greeting

See DUTY, page 8

Above left is the entire 62 member team includingK-9s. Above the CDF team members from L to Rstanding: Fire Captain Steve Brooker, FireCaptain Clarence Homer, Fire Captain SteveBeach, Fire Captain Rich Egerman, Fire CaptainChuck Tasker, and Fire Apparatus Engineer(Paramedic) Tim Buckley. L To R kneeling: FireApparatus Engineer George Juarez andFirefighter Jerry Salmeron. This photo was takenat March Air Reserve Base shortly after the teamsreturn from New York on September 21.

At ground zero, Firefighter/Paramedic DarrellCleveland, from the city of Corona, stands watch as afellow team member climbs into the debris to checkfor voices. There had been reports of knocking noises,unfortunately nothing was heard or found.

Photos by team member Captain Dave Lesh of theRiverside City Fire Department.

Summer/Fall 2001 8

the new arrivals as we crossedinto New York and headedtowards Manhattan. Directlybehind the Lady though, rosea broad, ominous column ofblack smoke confirming thatthe prior days unbelievableevents were indeed true. IntoBrooklyn and across theManhattan Bridge; down 34th Av-enue, underneath the Empire StateBuilding and finally to our destina-tion - we arrived at 6:30p.m.

After procuring our spot in theJarvits Center, we began the task ofunloading all of the equipment -without the help of forklifts. Allteams did their best given the largenumber of trucks clogging the not-so-large truck dock. This task lastedearly into the morning. “OK folks,time to get some sleep. We have anassignment in the morning.”

Sleep was in scarce supply giventhe reports of survivors being pulledfrom the rubble and rumors of cellphone calls from trapped victims.This accompanied by the brightlights and all-night commotion ofmoving cargo, made for tired rescu-ers at daybreak.

After our basic gear was loadedonto military 2 1/2 ton trucks, weagain boarded the buses towards thesite. Traffic was horrendous. Twohours later found us still sitting onthe ramp at the Jarvis Center.Finally, the convoy moved amidst thethrongs of spectators lining thestreets. Closer and closer, our hopeswere rising when…the bus breaksdown! Oh no! All this way fromCalifornia to have this happen!Quickly the word spreads throughthe crowd as hundreds of civiliansstart running towards the bus to oneway or another help resolve thispredicament.

A quick shove from a 2 1/2 tontruck removes the behemoth busfrom the road, and the crew clam-bers onto the military trucks tofinish the journey. We were again on

DUTY: from page 7

the move as water bottles beginwhizzing into the back of the trucks -courtesy of well-intentioned citizens.Some score direct hits as we quicklyretrieved our rescue helmets andposted lookouts for the rest of theride.

Finally, 26 hours after activationthe team reached ground zero. Noneof us could believe the devastation.All of lower Manhattan was coveredin dust and papers. We drovethrough the filthy imitation snow-storm noticing the shattered win-dows for blocks surrounding theWorld Trade Center.

The extent of the disaster wasunimaginable. One of the greatestarchitectural wonders in the worldlay in a mountain of twisted metaland debris several stories high. Theskeletons of the surrounding build-ings stood as silent survivors, badlytattered and burned.

After procuring a building for ourforward base (the American Stock

Exchange and a fitness club), thetrucks were unloaded and 62 eagerrescuers went to work. While thetask force leader was being briefedon our assignment, the team wastedno time assisting in the massivebucket brigades that were removingdebris from the pile. Thousands ofvolunteers worked feverishly as anendless supply of buckets made theirway up and down the remains. Theteamwork was impressive. Soon thetask force leader was back and theteam made its way to the top of thepile burrowing into the small voidsthat were the remains of WorldTrade Center Tower Two. Our searchdogs were quickly snatched by theNew York Fire Department andbrought to the top of the pile. Thedogs are trained to detect livehuman scent and they did indeedalert several times although nosurvivors were recovered.

The team was divided into dayand night shifts providing 24-hour

See DUTY, page 9

The photos speak forthemselves. The devastationis incomprehensible.

President Bush visitedthe site to lend moralsupport all the rescuers. Photos byteam member Captain Dave Lesh ofthe Riverside City Fire Department.

9 Communique’

DUTY: from page 8

work. The 12-hour shifts oftenturned into 16 as traffic plagued theevent from start to finish. Footingwas treacherous and the physicaland mental strain took its toll on thegroup.

The later part of the week foundthe group working in the subterra-nean levels of the structure. Hugesteel beams hung precariously amidthe curtains of tangled rebar andconcrete that threatened rescuers.This area became known as “the pit”and was a challenge to rescuers whohad to access by a ladder or belly-crawling through collapsed stair-wells. FAE Tasker was the first torecon the area and the group lis-

California’s Day of Remembrance

CDF Engine 2389 fromthe Nevada-Yuba-PlacerUnit and Engine 1167from the MendocinoUnit were part of a longprocession of emergencyequipment from all overCalifornia.

Over 130 uniformed CDFers followedthe CDF Honor Guard.

On October 9, 2001, thousands offirefighters, law enforcement offic-ers, and other emergency responsepersonnel marched from WestSacramento to the State Capitol inhonor and remembrance of thosewho died on September 11, 2001.

This “California’s Day of Remem-brance” procession included fireengines, police and sheriff vehicles,dignitaries, and a sea of dark bluedress uniforms with shoulderpatches belying the variety ofagencies and departments that hadtraveled to Sacramento. The proces-sion was cheered and saluted bythousands who lined the streets,

most holding American flags.The procession arrived at the

west steps of the State Capitoland became part of a crowd ofroughly 6,000. A memorial serviceeaturing Governor Davis, familymembers of September 11 victims,and a member of the New YorkFire Department lasted for morethan two hours. And as thefirefighter’s Final Alarm wasrung, there were smiles, tears anda lot of pride on the faces of all inattendance. See REMEMBRANCE, page 10

tened intently as he described thedevastation many floors belowground.

Later in the first week a USForest Service management teamwas brought in to manage the JavitsCenter. The shower units werewelcome as proper hygiene was avery serious concern and was lack-ing. We were also not unapprecia-tive of the one hot meal a dayprovided by a US Forest Servicekitchen from Tennesse.

And so it went until we reachedthe end of our 10-day commitment.We made our way back from our lastshift entertained by Jack, the outra-geous bus driver, as the rains weresettling into New York City. Wepacked our supplies and briefed the

incoming teams and wished themwell. The now silent bus lumberedin the darkness back towardsMcGuire AFB against the magnifi-cent New York skyline. Againanother fitful night with little sleepat Fort Dix before departing towardhome.

As the 757 touched down atMarch ARB we realized our journeywas complete. Many broke ranksand ran toward the welcome arms offamily and friends. Flags waved,people cheered and the media rolled.Although no survivors were found,there was still a tremendous amountof pride among all of us who partici-pated in this event.

Honoring fallen comrades

Summer/Fall 2001 10

REMEMBRANCE: from page 9

CDFers ofall ranksparticpatedin theprocession.

A large groupof lawenforcementofficers led theprocesssionover the TowerBridge fromWestSacramento.

Nearly 6,000 packedthe flag-draped westside of the StateCapitol for thememorial service.At one point a breezecaused the largest ofthe American flagsto wrap itself arounda truck ladder. Afirefighter quicklyclimbed up andunwrapped it -bringing applausefrom the crowd.

The California fire servicewas well represented -from L.A. to SanFrancisco.

11 Communique’

Governor Davis presented CDFBattalion Chief Robert Paulus, alongwith two CHP officers, with theMedal of Valor on August 22 for theiractions when a man went on ashooting spree in Nevada Countyearlier this year.

Once again a CDFer put aside thethreat to his own life to try and savethe lives of others. Battalion ChiefRobert Paulus of the Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit, placed his own safety atrisk last January when he entered arestaurant where a gunman had justshot two people.

At approximately 11:36 a.m. onJanuary 10, 2001, Battalion Chief(BC) Robert Paulus was respondingto a shots being fired call with threeknown victims at the Nevada CountyDepartment of Mental Healthbuilding in Nevada City, when heheard the CDF Emergency Com-mand Center report a new incidentof shots being fired at the Lyon’sRestaurant in Grass Valley. Knowingthat most other county law enforce-ment agencies were committed tothe first incident, and as he wasclose to Lyon’s, he responded to theincident. Chief Paulus arrivedimmediately after a CHP Unit.Together they were the first officerson the scene.

Chief Paulus and the CHP officersarrived approximately 30 secondsafter the initial broadcast. Theyfound people in panic still fleeing therestaurant and felt there was goodreason to believe the shooter wasstill inside the building, and that hewas likely to be the shooter from theMental Health building incident.Concerned about the immediatethreat to the lives of the patrons stillinside the restaurant, and thelikelihood of shooting victims need-ing emergency medical care, ChiefPaulus armed himself with hisshotgun and made the consciousdecision to enter the building,

placing himself in immediateperil.

Upon entering the building, hesaw several patrons hiding undertables. He, along with CHPOfficers David Qualls and TroyMarks began a room by roomsearch of the building looking forthe suspect and victims. Uponentering the kitchen they discov-ered the body of the restaurantmanager who Chief Paulus deter-mined had succumbed to his gunshotwounds. While Officers Marks andQualls finished the search of thebuilding, Chief Paulus went to therear of the building and requestedthe ambulance and fire-rescue unitsthat were waiting in a safe locationfor the treatment and transport of acook who had sustained seriousgunshot wounds. After the victimwas transported, Chief Pauluscontinued to assist local law enforce-ment in securing the scene anddetermining that the suspect was nolonger on the premises.

Four people were killed and twoothers seriously injured in thisshooting spree. The suspect wastaken into custody later thatevening.

The Medal of Valor ceremony tookplace at the California Highway

Medal of Valor for CDFer

Patrol Academy in West Sacramento.There were 31 CHP officers honoredalong with Battalion Chief RobertPaulus. During the ceremonyGovernor Davis said, “We often usethe term hero loosely. I am proud tobe looking at 32 individuals who aretrue heroes.”

CDF Battalion ChiefRobert Paulus standsbetween Governor GrayDavis and CDF DirectorAndrea Tuttle afterreceiving his Medal ofValor.Below, Chief Paulus poseswith his parents, Shirleyand retired CDF ChiefRobert Paulus.

46 CDFershave been

awarded theMedal of Valor

since 1959

Summer/Fall 2001 12

“Gotta tell you guys - I was riding home from the mountains with my brother on Sunday. Wetraveled through Truckee, Weimar, etc. I counted right around 100, give or take a few, CDF vehiclestraveling to or from the fires in that area. We were on the freeway right behind one of the engines. Inthe very back, sitting and facing each other, were two very young people, all geared up to go fight thefire. One was a young female and the other a young male. As we followed behind them, I actually gota little choked up, lump in the throat, and all of that. I just felt so very, very proud to be part of whatthey were doing. Even though my part is very small, considering the whole picture, it is nonetheless apart. I really swelled up with pride and it felt so good. As we passed them I gave them the “thumbsup” sign. My thanks to you for the opportunity to work in this department. I love it and I am, really,very, very, proud to be a part of CDF.’

“Because we were in the way of the Jackson Fire, that started about three miles away, on June 13, Iam writing to thank each and every man and woman who helped contain and put out the fire. We wereable, with their work, to save our animals, most vehicles and all of the buildings.

When I saw it coming with the wind so bad, I didn’t have much hope. It is amazing how, they cankeep going and going. With one less crew member I think the results would have been terrible. It wasalso a comfort to see them on duty all night for so long. Lets not fail to mention the bombers and thehelicopters. They sure see with the help of the spotter, what needs quick attention.

I wish I could personally thank each one. It seems I will have to rely on you to do that. Is there anewsletter type of communication? I understand they came from all over California and some fromNevada. I could go on and on about how wonderful they all are, but I will hope you understand howhard they work and the danger they are in.”

Thank you all so very much.Sincerely,Judy Jackson

Fire Season Appreciation

CDF 2001 Fire Season Top 10 - To DateFIRE UNIT STARTED CONTAINED ACRES STRUCTURES

DESTROYED

Viejas San Diego 1/3 1/8 2,300 CDF/8,053 USFS 16Devil Lassen-Modoc 5/27 6/1 4,400 0Jackson Amador-El Dorado 6/13 6/13 2,240 15Martis Nevada-Yuba-Placer 6/17 7/1 5,600 CDF/8,900 USFS 5Ponderosa Nevada-Yuba-Placer 8/17 8/23 2,780 0Creek Madera-Mariposa-Merced 8/18 8/24 11,500 8Leonard Tuloumne-Calaveras 8/19 8/25 4,185 11Oregon Shasta-Trinity 8/28 8/31 1,680 33Darby Tuolumne-Calaveras 9/5 9/17 14,280 1Poe Butte 9/6 9/12 8,333 170

Janet Baker, CDF Return-to-Work Coordinator

13 Communique’

Many thanks to all the 911 EmergencyCrews that responded to the Weimar

Ponderosa Fire

Thank you for saving birds and butterfliesLadybugs and bees

For being swift to respondTo protect our forest thick with trees

You battled the blaze in the heat of the daysAnd through long hours of each night

Never failing to give your allUntil you won the fight

Thank you for saving wildlifeAnd the land they roam

Thank you for all you’ve riskedTo save each Home Sweet Home

With much appreciation and gratitudeJohn and Deborah Owen

Weimar, CA

“Governor Davis:I am a native Californian, currently residing in

Weimar, California. The recent “Ponderosa Fire”came within one mile of my home.

I wanted you to know what a marvelous job theCDF crews and the auxiliary OES crews did infighting this fire. The terrain here is brutal from afirefighting standpoint. The air tankers andhelicopters were an absolute life saver for those ofus in this area, as were the hard working groundcrews who had to climb in where bulldozers couldnot gain access. We are so grateful for the 2,100plus personnel that were dispatched to squelch thisfire.

The crews were talented, professional, and verycompassionate during a very difficult time for arearesidents. I have heard about their activities on thenews before, but this was my first (and hopefullylast) first-hand experience with them. I feel my taxdollars are well spent in providing such an incredibleteam of people and equipment dedicated topreventing and putting out fires.

When contracts come up for negotiation, I hopethat CDF crews will receive compensation packagesbefitting the importance of their jobs.”

Cassandra ReevesWeimar, CA

“We would like to add our names to what must be an incredibly long list of grateful people.Our property is adjacent to the Needmore Drive property where yesterday’s fire started, and we cannot

adequately express our gratitude for performance of the CDF professionals who responded to thatincident.

While we fully realize the nature of the area where we live, and have done everything we can do tomake our property defensible, we consider the privacy and quiet to be worth the risks. But, we have tosay there is no sound sweeter than that of CDF tankers, helicopters, engines, bulldozers and chainsaws!Every day, the men and women who run them are our heroes, but especially on a day like yesterday.

Thank you seems inadequate, but thank all of you at CDF.”

Don and Patti DolanShingle Springs, CA

“My husband and I are supremely grateful for the hugeefforts of the CDF firefighters, as well as personnel fromother agencies, risking their lives to protect the residentsand property in those areas affected by the Darby Fire. Wehave a home in the Blue Lake Springs area of Arnold, CA,which was on stand-by last week. While we won’t have achance to thank each individual personally we plan to showour gratitude with a generous donation to the California FireFoundation.

Again, you have our utmost gratitude for your heroicefforts. May you all always be safe on your vital missions.”

Bob & Liz MooreGovernor Davis greets the troops during a

visit to the Poe Fire in Butte County.

Summer/Fall 2001 14

Fire season severityrecognized by Governorby Carol Elwell, executive assistant, CDF Executive Office

Does CDF know how to puttogether a major event at amoment’s notice?

YOU BET!! That’s what happenedon June 14, 2001, when GovernorDavis requested a press conferenceat our Aviation Management Unit(AMU) facility at Mather the verynext day!

CDF’s major incident experiencemade pulling this together “a pieceof cake”. And, the reason for theevent increased the incentive tohave everything go off without ahitch. With extreme fire hazardconditions already occurring in thenorth half of the state this early inthe season, Governor Davis woulduse the press conference to empha-size the dangers, and to sign anExecutive Order authorizing fund-ing for additional fire fightingresources.

An outstanding static display ofaircraft and engines was set up atAMU as a backdrop for the Gover-nor and attending dignitaries. TheOffice of Emergency Services (OES)was represented by several engines,and a fire crew from GrowlersburgConservation Camp was also onhand.

When the Governor arrived,Chief Deputy Director WoodyAllshouse began the proceedings byexplaining, utilizing various chartson display, how this summer Califor-nia was already experiencingunusual burn conditions, especiallyin the north half of the state. Achart on fuel moisture levels showedheavy fuels like timber, as well aslighter fuels like grass and shrubs,were already critically dry. When afire starts in these types of condi-tions the potential loss of naturalresources, homes, and lives is high.

In addition, ChiefAllshouse talkedabout the SuddenOak Death Syndromethat was killing oaktrees in severalCalifornia counties.These dying treeswere only contribut-ing to the alreadyextreme fire hazard.

Chief Allshousestated, “We aregravely concernedabout the burningconditions and urgethe citizens of Califor-nia to take everyprecaution and makeevery effort to have a defensiblespace around their homes. Thanks tothe support of Governor Davis, weare prepared to do our best.”

After the Governor made his wayto the podium to begin the formalproceedings, CDF Director AndreaTuttle welcomed all in attendanceand noted what a good friend Gover-nor Davis has been to CDF in sup-porting our efforts. “With his deci-sive action today, the Governor isgetting ahead of the curve by makingsure that CDF and OES have theresources they need to protect thepeople and natural resources ofCalifornia as we head into this severefire season. His commitment tosafeguarding the health and safety ofour citizens is absolute”.

Governor Davis announced severaladditions to the state’s fire fightingresponse capabilities for this fireseason. These included: 27 new fireengines for distribution to localgovernment from OES ; four retrofit-ted S2-T air tankers; funding to adda fourth firefighter position on CDF

wildland engines; five additionalconservation camp crews; re-openingof 10 lookout towers; adding aspecialized infrared camera-equipped aircraft to CDF’s fleet; andhe stated that the California Na-tional Guard would be available forimmediate response to major wild-fire incidents. The Governor said, “Iam committed to doing everything Ican to make your jobs as easy aspossible. I am giving you the tools totake on the task.”

The Governor then signed anExecutive Order outlining this fireaction plan. “I am taking thisproactive step during this extraordi-nary fire season to ensure that thepeople and resources of the Statehave the best protection possible.We’re hoping for the best, but we’reprepared for the worst,” said Gover-nor Davis. Director Tuttle thenpresented the Governor with hisvery own CDF Nomex jacket.

See GOVERNOR, page 15

Governor Davis signs the executive order as CDFDirector Andrea Tuttle, Folsom City Fire ChiefEric Dutton, Elk Grove Fire Chief Mark Meaker,and Glen Newman, CDF Deputy Director, FireProtection look on.

15 Communique’

See GREGORY, page 16

GOVERNOR: from page 14

Following the presentation, theDirector introduced Bryan Zollner,CDF Deputy Chief of Public Educa-tion. Bryan has been a firefighterwith CDF for 17 years, working hisway up the ranks from a summerseasonal firefighter to his currentposition directing CDF’s publiceducation efforts statewide. “Bryanis a dedicated and well-respectedfirefighter who during his career hasbeen awarded the Medal of Valor,”said the director.

Bryan thanked the Governor andother elected officials for the addi-tional staffing and needed resources.“This will help enhance the service

we provide to the public and makethe job safer. Remember, as westand here, the men and women ofCDF are responding to emergenciesaround the state, placing themselvesin harms way.”

Also thanking the Governor forhis support of the fire communitywas Dallas Jones, Director of theOffice of Emergency Services, whowrapped up the event before an S2-Tairtanker demonstration took place.

With all cameras and eyes on thesky, a CDF S2-T airtanker made afly-by along the Mather runway,releasing 1,200 gallons of water justas it would release retardant on anactive fire.

The event was well attended.

Asst. Region Chief, AdministrationSouthern Region

Changes in the ranks

Candace Gregoryby Karen Guillemin, fire prevention specialist I, Tulare Unit

Chief Gregory is a 23-year CDFveteran. She began her career withCDF as a seasonal firefighter in herhometown county of Butte in 1977.In 1980 she promoted to fire appara-tus engineer for the Shasta-TrinityRanger Unit and in 1982 she ac-cepted a forestry graduate traineeposition in Fresno. Chief Gregorythen promoted to fire captain work-ing in both the Fresno-Kings andButte Ranger Units. The call tobecome battalion chief came from theSan Bernardino Ranger Unit in1987, where Gregory worked for theUnit’s Mountain Battalion. Thebattalion is home to the InsectControl Program, which is operatedin cooperation with San BernardinoCounty. She also worked as theWest Valley Battalion Chief, whichrequired interaction with a variety of

local government sections, threecounties, two national forests andseveral local fire departments. In1991 Chief Gregory went to Sacra-mento as a newly promoted divisionchief, assigned to the Department’snew All-Risk Division, which in-cluded FIRESCOPE responsibilities.Chief Gregory returned to SanBernardino in 1994 as the divisionchief in charge of Support Serviceswhere she oversaw an integratedstate and county budget that ex-ceeded $22 million.

In the course of her career, ChiefGregory has served in many incidentassignments. In 1994, she served asincident commander for a head-ontrain collision in the Cajon Pass.The incident involved trains fromUnion and Southern Pacific rail-roads. It received national attention

and involved the coordination ofmore that 20 local, state, and federalagencies. During the 1994Northridge earthquake Chief Gre-gory was liaison for the Governor’sOffice of Emergency Services andthe Federal Emergency ManagementAgency. She was also a member of aCDF Incident Command Team.

Chief Gregory’s ladder of successcontinued as she was appointed

Nearly all Sacramento and some Bayarea television stations were onhand, as were radio and printreporters. Dignitaries included:Senator Mike Machado,Assemblymembers Dick Dickerson,Helen Thompson and AnthonyPescetti; and Tom Gardner, presi-dent, CDF Firefighters. Local firechiefs that were present includedDennis Smith of Sacramento CityFire Department, Tony Corado ofSouth Placer Fire Department, MarkMeaker of Elk Grove Fire Depart-ment, Rich Martinez of SacramentoMetro Fire Department, Mike Kirkleof Woodbridge Fire Department, andEric Dutten of Folsom City FireDepartment.

Summer/Fall 2001 16

Asst. Region Chief, AdministrationNorthern RegionWayne Mitchellby Carlos Garcia, student assistant,CDF Public Education and Public Affairs Offices

The ties between Wayne Mitchelland CDF stretch back 25 years, andin that time the job has taken him toassignments all over California.Recently, in his promotion to assis-tant region chief of Administration,Wayne finds himself at NorthernRegion Headquarters in Santa Rosa.

Wayne’s career path started in1974 when he graduated fromHumboldt State University with adegree in forestry. After graduationWayne headed south to Los AngelesCounty where he worked as a firecrew supervisor. In 1976 Waynejoined the ranks of CDF when hebecame a graduate trainee at the oldCDF Region 5 Headquarters inMonterey. Subsequent assignmentstook him to the San Luis ObispoUnit as a crew supervisor at CuestaCamp and as a station captain atCambria and Cayucos fire stationsand then to the Shasta Trinity Unitas a forest practice inspector.

Wayne soon got his first taste of

acting deputy chief, San BernardinoRanger Unit in 1996. She broughther experience in support services tothis position as she continued thesupport services duties along withthe responsibilities of divisions thatincluded the area between SanBernardino, Inyo and Mono counties.Chief Gregory was appointed toMadera-Mariposa-Merced Unit Chiefon April 1, 1997.

Chief Gregory says she hasworked with many great people whohave encouraged her to reach thelevel she is at today. She noted

especially the encouragement shereceived from her first CDF firecaptain when she was a firefighter.Now retired, Fire Captain JimWilson encouraged his firefighters toparticipate in discovering moreefficient methods of fighting fires.This included hose pack and hose laydesign. Her battalion chief at thetime, now Butte Unit Chief, BillSager, encouraged her to prepareherself to promote, with career pathguidance. It was through this typeof encouraging and mentoring, thatshe decided to make CDF her career.

Chief Gregory says that in light ofthe challenges that CDF is seeingwith the “changing face” impacts, itis this same type of encouragementand mentoring that we should all doto help a future career CDF person.

She has always kept a positiveoutlook toward her jobs with CDFand looks forward to the challengesof her new position, working as theassistant region chief for Adminis-tration in the Southern Region.

GREGORY: from page 15

working with important pre-fireissues when he promoted to aVegetation Management Program(VMP) coordinator position inSonoma County. Wayne assisted theMarin County Fire Department withVMP when they conducted pre-scribed burns on the south face ofMt. Tamalpais in the early 1980s.

Wayne made his way to Sacra-mento in 1986 serving as a divisionchief, fire protection analyst andlater as the deputy chief for FirePlanning. His position at CDFHeadquarters provided many inter-esting assignments. For example, in1988 Wayne spent about three weeksat Moose Creek, Idaho predictingfire behavior on a 54,000 acrewildland fire in the Selway Bitter-root Wilderness.

In 1991, when the Tunnel Fire inOakland resulted in the loss of 2,900structures, Wayne was asked to dodamage assessments. The city ofOakland still uses the core elements

of the geographic information systemthat Wayne and the damage assess-ment team established.

Eventually Wayne promoted tostaff chief in charge of implementingthe newly adopted California FirePlan. As head of the new Fire Plan,Wayne worked to implement newBoard of Forestry and Fire Protec-tion policies focused on preparingcitizens to live with California’sfrequent catastrophic fires. The newplan emphasized pre-fire prepara-tions that allow local and CDF

See MITCHELL, page 17

17 Communique’

authorities to identify and addresshazards before they burn. Theseprojects included many of the sametypes that Wayne had coordinated inthe field, and the Fire Plan enjoyedmany success stories during histenure as staff chief. Looking backon his time with the Fire Plan,Wayne is proud of how fire fightingpersonnel from around the statewere able to take the tools andconcepts provided by the State FirePlan and use them to good advantage.

In his new position at NorthernRegion Headquarters, Wayne findshimself in an assignment that doesnot require him to implement drasticchange. Rather, his position will callon his meticulous devotion to detailthat has characterized his pastprojects in the department.

Looking to the future of CDF,Wayne sees possibilities for thedepartment to use automation tospeed up our crucial work. Whetherit’s pre-fire vegetation management

programs coordinated on theInternet, or E-Pay for CDF employ-ees, Wayne foresees a departmentthat is ever innovating and adaptive.

“CDF is a leadership organization,and that has made us a world classfire fighting operation.” In thatspirit, Wayne’s innovation anddedication will continue to help thedepartment in meeting the chal-lenges of today and tomorrow.

Riverside Unit ChiefTom TisdaleWith over 20 years in CDF and 29

plus years devotion to RiversideCounty Fire Department, Chief TomTisdale has prepared carefully forthe fire chief position.

Tom began his Riverside CountyFire Department career in May of1971 when he signed on as a volun-teer firefighter at the Highgrove FireStation. His long time goal at thattime was to someday be the River-side County Fire Department Chief,a goal that was achieved on January1, 2001.

Tom began his “full-time” fireservice career with the RubidouxFire Department in 1975 and startedhis “full-time” CDF career in 1977 atthe Perris Emergency CommandCenter (ECC) as an emergencycommand center operator. In 1980Tom promoted to a fire crew supervi-sor position at the Rainbow Conser-vation Camp in San Diego Countyand worked there until 1983 whenhe returned to Riverside County FireCDF as a fire captain at the PerrisECC.

In May of 1985 Tom was taskedwith creating the Riverside CountyFire/Health Department HazardousMaterials Response Team, the firstlevel “A” Hazardous Materials

Response Team in Riverside Countyand in CDF. This was one of themany highlights of his career and hecontinued as a commander of theHazardous Materials Response Teamuntil September of 1990, when hewas promoted to battalion chief /county fire marshal for the RiversideCounty Fire Department over theplanning and engineering, fireprevention and law enforcementsections.

In 1993 while attending the CDFPeace Officer Academy in Ione, Tomwas promoted to division chief andwas brought on-board the CDFreorganization team at the RegionalOperations Center in Riverside. Heheaded the Sierra-South RegionEmergency Operations CoordinationCenter serving an area from Sacra-mento to San Diego. In 1997 ChiefTisdale was promoted to deputychief, Regional Operations at theSierra-South Region OperationsSection in Riverside.

August 1999 was his return toRiverside County Fire Departmentservice with his appointment todeputy chief for Administration atthe Perris Headquarters.

Tom resides in Wildomar and isvery active in the local communities

and the activities of the RiversideCounty Fire Department, the River-side County Volunteer FirefightersAssociations and local VFCs.

Chief Tisdale holds an associate ofsciences degree in the field of firescience from Chaffey CommunityCollege. He has served as a FireScience Instructor at Chaffey Com-munity College, San BernardinoValley College, Crafton Hills College,and Riverside Community College aswell as for the California SpecializedTraining Institute (CSTI) in SanLuis Obispo and the National FireAcademy (NFA) in EmmitsburgMaryland.

MITCHELL: from page 16

Summer/Fall 2001 18

Fleet Administration ChiefRich Just

See JUST, page 19

The announcement of Stan Craigto Madera-Mariposa-Merced UnitChief highlights a career thatstarted in 1973, in the OrangeRanger Unit. Throughout hiscareer Stan has worked in Orange,Riverside, the CDF Academy andthe Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit.These assignments have given him abroad base of experience in thevarious roles CDF plays throughoutthe state.

In Orange he worked in truckcompany, engine company, andparamedic assignments. FromOrange he moved to rural RiversideCounty, where he served as a firecaptain at the Elsinore and Lake-land Village stations. His nextassignment led him to Ione wherehe was responsible for curriculumdevelopment and instruction forEmergency Vehicle Operations andLaw Enforcement Pursuit Drivingcourses. He also was involved inVehicle Fire Safety and HazardousMaterials training in conjunction

Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit ChiefStan Craigby Anna Smith,fire prevention specialist II,Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit

with the CHP Academy.From Ione Chief Craig trans-

ferred to Coarsegold as a battalionchief. In 1990 he promoted to theposition of operations division chiefin Madera County. In Madera hehas worked closely with the cityand county governments. He hasalso worked with the city of Maderain the transition to CDF.

In 1997 Chief Craig promoted todeputy chief in Mariposa, servingas executive officer over the CDFUnit, plus Madera and Mercedcounties, and Madera City. Heworked closely with Chief CandaceGregory through her four yeartenure as unit chief.

With all of these accomplish-ments, what brings him the mostpride is his family. Chief Craigresides in Coarsegold with his wifeand daughter. He has two sons,Casey, 25, who after serving sevenseasons as a CDF firefighter I, isnow employed as an emergencymedical technician. Cory, 24, whowas also a seasonal for three sea-sons, is now employed in the con-struction business. Wife, Scarlett is anutrition assistant at the Kaiser-

Rich Just has once again foundhis way back to Sacramento, thistime as staff chief for Fleet Adminis-tration. As a new position for theDepartment, the staff chief overFleet Administration is directlyresponsible for the management ofCDF’s Aviation Management andMobile Equipment Units here inSacramento.

Permanente Medical Center inFresno, and daughter Kelci, eight, isa volunteer in prevention and assistsunit prevention staff with schoolprograms.

Chief Craig is looking forward tocontinuing the strong relationshipswith the various local, county, stateand federal agencies, departments,and governments that share goalscommon with CDF’s. He believesthat from those working relation-ships the taxpayers are best served,and their tax dollars are maximized.

by Alisha Herring, secretary,Fire Protection

Rich started his career with CDFin 1967 as a seasonal firefighter andbecame permanent in 1972 as a fireapparatus engineer with the SanMateo-Santa Cruz Ranger Unit. In1977, Rich moved to fire preventionin the San Luis Obispo Unit andcontinued to promote through theranks. He moved to the Tehama-Glenn Ranger Unit in 1983 as a fireprevention officer I. His dutiesincluded civil cost recovery, coordi-nating the unit’s law enforcementprogram, and working with the CDFArson Investigation Unit. Rich

promoted to a state forest ranger IIin Tehama-Glenn in 1989 and tookover as administrative officer withinthe Unit. In 1992 he promoted todeputy chief for Fire Prevention inthe Region II office in Redding. In1993 he again promoted to Sacra-mento as the chief of Fire Preventionand Law Enforcement. In 1994 Richtransferred to the Northern Opera-tion Center as the operations chief.Just transferred to the Siskiyou UnitChief position in 1997.

19 Communique’

See PADILLA, page 20

In his new position, Rich hasmany significant issues to deal withright now. “All of the supervisorswithin the Mobile EquipmentProgram at Davis are retiring, andthe most crucial issue is to transitiona new team in to carry on the pro-gram,” says Just. “However, I havetwo talented individuals, Rick Brownand Richard Armstrong, who willassist me and the new senior, with

the tune-up of our Mobile EquipmentProgram.” Rich will also deal withrevising CDF’s replacement andallocation standards to reflectfunding levels and the age of theCDF fleet. “I have gathered expertsfrom Sacramento and the field toassist in developing a new standard,”said Just. He expects those stan-dards to be completed by this winter.

“Issues pertaining to the AviationProgram are another concern alto-gether,” said Rich. “We are workingon developing and awarding a newlogistics contract, which will handleall of the supplies and records forour maintenance program. And, wehave been going through the processto award a new aircraft servicescontract to supply all of our mechan-ics, airtanker and air attack pilots.”In addition, Rich and his staff areplanning the move of the AviationProgram from its current location atMather to the other end of Sacra-mento at McClellan Park. “We willrequire assistance from many facetsof CDF to accomplish this majorundertaking,” said Rich.

He feels that one extremelyimportant issue for these programsis the need to develop a five-10 yearplan for the future. “We need to

determine what we are going to doonce the UH-IH helicopters ap-proach the end of their useful life,and how we are going to keepvendors interested in bidding on ourMobile Equipment contracts. Alongwith this, of course, we will have toseek the appropriate funding levelsfor Mobile Equipment and Aviation.”

The position of staff chief, FleetManagement, has been in the worksfor many years. “The Fire ProtectionProgram has been forward thinkingin establishing the position, and Iam fortunate to be the first person tofill it,” said Just. “It acknowledgesthe tremendous importance of theAir and Mobile Equipment programsin CDF’s mission.” The position alsoassists the assistant deputy directorfor Fire Protection by focusingstrictly on the fleet programs.

“Most of my goals, are focused onthe issues mentioned,” says ChiefJust. “But I also want to be able torepresent Fleet Management to FireProtection, and to the other pro-grams of the Department, in a waythat improves the flow of informa-tion to and from the various func-tions.”

JUST: from page 18

Aviation ChiefMike Padilla

On March 12, 2001, CDF ChiefDeputy Director Woody Allshouseannounced the appointment of MikePadilla to the position of senior airoperations officer for CDF’s AviationManagement Unit (AMU). Withmore than 30 years of aviation andfirefighting experience, Chief Padillais well suited for this position. Hehas spent time on the fire lines as aseasonal firefighter, fire apparatusengineer for CDF, helitack crewmanand foreman with the National Park

Service, flown over 4,000 hoursaround the world as a pilot in theUnited States Army and the Califor-nia Air National Guard, served asCEO of a non-profit company dedi-cated to promoting air ambulancesystems in the U.S., worked as asupervisor and manager in variousstate agencies as well as on specialprojects for the Governor’s Office,and performed a myriad of functionswithin CDF’s Aviation ManagementUnit.

Chief Padilla first came to CDF asa seasonal firefighter in 1964. Afterthree years on the fire lines, heworked as a forest fire truck driverin 1968. He then moved on to the

National Park Service, where hesupervised helitack operations forfire and search and rescue inYosemite in 1969 and again from1972-1974.

In 1974, Chief Padilla obtained abachelor’s degree in environmentalresources from California StateUniversity Sacramento (CSUS); heearned his master’s in communica-tions from CSUS in 1978.

From 1976 through 1981, ChiefPadilla volunteered his services aspresident of the board and chiefexecutive officer for the Aero MedicalEvacuation Group (AMEG). This

by Tony Favro,administrative officer II,Aviation Management Unit

Summer/Fall 2001 20

PADILLA: from page 19

non-profit organization promotedthe use of civilian helicopter airambulances in the United Stateswhen only the military had suchassets, advocated a statewidenetwork of cooperating hospitals andclinics, and sought to standardizeaircraft, equipment, and medivaccrew proficiency levels.

Chief Padilla’s state service spansover 25 years and several differentdepartments, from the Air ResourcesBoard where he worked on theimplementation of the CaliforniaClean Air Act, to the ResourcesAgency where he advised, consulted,and conducted special studies at theexecutive level, to the Department ofToxics Substance Control where heserved as the chief of the Office ofPolicy Development and StrategicPlanning, to his current tenure withCDF.

Chief Padilla returned to CDF in1991 when he was appointed as anair operations officer II with theAviation Management Unit. Overthe next 10 years, he served invarious capacities, including avia-tion support program manager,assistant program manager for theFixed Wing Program, assistantprogram manager and lead pilot forthe Helicopter Program, and avia-tion safety officer.

Chief Padilla also has extensiveexperience as a pilot in the UnitedStates Army and the California AirNational Guard, including leadingmedivac and search and rescueoperations in the United States,Southeast Asia, Panama, and mostrecently in Hungary, Croatia, andBosnia-Herzegovina in 1998-99. Heserved as the aircraft commander onthe first military type II aircraftused in fire fighting in California in1976 and on the first military type Ihelicopter to drop water in trainingand on an active fire in 1987. Hehas over 500 hours in type I and IIhelicopters performing initial attack,water drops, crew transport, long-

line, and external cargo operations,and in 1996 he helped develop theInteragency Military HelicopterFirefighting Program used by CDF,the USFS, and the California Na-tional Guard. Chief Padilla last yearturned down an opportunity toreturn to Bosnia as NATO’s civiliandeputy chief of aviation for normal-ization in order to remain with CDF,feeling that there were still manythings he wanted to accomplish here.

Since taking over as chief ofAviation in March, Chief Padilla hasalready faced numerous challenges,including an early and dangerousfire season, the extension of CDF’scurrent aircraft services contract,which provides pilots and mainte-nance for CDF’s fire fighting aircraft,a pending move of the maintenancefacility to its new home atMcClellan, and the development,bid, and initial award of new con-tracts for aircraft services andlogistical support. This last issuehas been the result of countlesshours of work by AMU, the Con-tracts Office, Legal Office, and otherCDF staff to develop and implementa request for proposal process thatwould ensure that CDF attracted thebest qualified bidders. It will mani-fest itself in the years to come as thenew contracts are put into place.

As he looks to the future, ChiefPadilla knows there are manychallenges still facing the aviationprogram. The “changing face” ofCDF by no means has bypassed theaviation program, and the ability tocontinue to attract and retainexperienced people in the aviationcommunity will prove to be thebiggest challenge of all.

“It is important to keep thehistory of the Department’s AviationProgram in mind when looking tothe future”, says Chief Padilla, “Weshould never again be faced withmaking choices that pit safetyagainst training, equipment, andexperience. Too many of our col-leagues have made the ultimatechoice.”

Chief Padilla and his staff are alsoworking feverishly with otherelements within CDF to facilitatethe move of the Aviation Programfrom its current location at MatherField to McClellan Park. In addi-tion, he looks forward to the comple-tion of CDF’s conversion of itsairtanker fleet from the S-2A to thefaster and more powerful S-2T, andhe realizes that CDF’s aging helicop-ter fleet may be facing changes inthe coming years, a challenge hereadily awaits.

“I’ve seen the Department’sAviation Program grow and maturefor the past 20 years and it hasaccomplished a great deal, giving thepeople of California the premieraerial firefighting program world-wide,” says Chief Padilla. “It is themen and women of the CDF aviationfamily working in unison with theentire Department that will take usto the next level of professionalachievement. I am honored to beable to contribute my part to thisprogram, but more honored to beable to serve with an organization asloved and cherished by the citizensof California.”

21 Communique’

Human Resources ChiefBill Robertsonby Carlos Garcia, student assitant,CDF Public Education and Public Affairs Offices

On May 1, Bill Robertson took thereins as chief of Human Resources atCDF. His office directly administerspersonnel services for SacramentoHeadquarters, the Office of the StateFire Marshal and the CDF Academy,while overseeing the administrationof the Northern and SouthernRegion offices.

Included within human resourcesare two units. The personnel ser-vices unit includes classification andpay, examination, transactions andpolicy and project services. TheOccupational Safety and HealthPrograms (OSHPros) unit includesthe health and fitness, safety andworkers’ compensation.

Bill, a graduate from the Califor-nia State College of Pennsylvania,holds a bachelor’s degree in sociol-ogy. His experience in state servicestretches back for 25 years. Origi-nally, Bill started out in 1976 as astaff services analyst at the Depart-ment of Social Services, a position heheld until 1981. Since then Bill hasserved in departments such as:health services, transportation,consumer affairs, and most recently,the newly established Department ofChild Support Services where Billserved as a staff services manager II(SSMII) over human resources andbusiness services.

Though Bill has worked in humanresources for many years in manydepartments, he still finds his workexciting. “Human resources is adynamic field that requires people tobe creative and adaptive. Many neworganizational ideas have comeabout recently and they requirepeople who can look at issues fromboth an administrative and opera-tional perspective,” said Bill.

In addition to his career in human

resource pro-grams, Bill alsohas valuableexperience infiscal analysis,program man-agement andcontract ser-vices. Billbelieves hisdiverse back-ground will be beneficial to humanresources at CDF. “I think it’simportant to be able to look at theissues we will face in human re-sources from a broad perspective,with an understanding of how ourchoices impact the ability of CDF toperform its mission. In regards topersonnel issues, I have been fortu-nate enough to develop a good senseof what works and what doesn’t, andI am looking forward to bringingthose best practices to the issuesfacing CDF.”

One issue that will dominatehuman resources for years to come isthe “changing face” within thedepartment. “CDF has actually beenwell ahead of the curve when com-pared to other state agencies, inrecognizing the impact of this issue,”said Bill. With so many CDFersreaching retirement age, Bill under-stands the importance of addressingthe issue with the most effectivesolutions.

“One of my main objectives,” saidBill, “is to maintain the CDF infra-structure. We need to be sure thatwe are fully engaged in staff devel-opment and in providing testingopportunities for our employees toadvance and fill the shoes of theirpredecessors. We also need toexamine the classification structurehere at CDF to make sure that

emphasis is appropri-ately placed on theskill sets needed tomeet the challengesof our mission.”

Asked what hethought of CDFbefore joining theDepartment, Billtells the story, “Oneof my best friends is

a former employee of CDF. Thoughher career in state service has takenher to other departments, she oftentells me how much she enjoyedworking for this Department. Whenthe Chief of Human Resourcesposition became available, she verymuch encouraged me to experienceCDF for myself.”

While having been with CDF forjust a short while, Bill said that hehas already gotten a feel for thecharacter of the Department. “Theclear sense of vision within theDepartment is remarkably clear. Ihave been impressed by the ability ofall our employees to understand howtheir job fits into the CDF mission.In this Department you see the samededication and sense of purpose fromthe support staff here at humanresources as you see from front-lineemployees out in the field.”

In his spare time Bill enjoysjogging, playing guitar and reading.He and his wife Rhonda are theparents of two daughters and oneson. “My wife and I are extremelyproud of our children,” said Bill.

In regards to his future at CDF,Bill said, “I am looking forward topromoting a healthy office of humanresources that can assist in itsstrategic planning and can effec-tively facilitate CDF in carrying outits mission.”

Summer/Fall 2001 22

Rich Schell has come home toSacramento Headquarters…again.As a matter of fact, the new staffchief for the Fire Plan, is currentlyserving his third tour of duty inSacramento. After almost four yearsat the Northern Region Headquar-ters as the staff chief of ManagementServices, Rich is once again takingthe slow elevator ride every morningto the 16th floor.

Rich enjoyed his time in SantaRosa, and said that as staff chief hehad the opportunity to work with

Fire Plan ChiefRich Schellby Carlos Garcia, student assistant,CDF Public Education and PublicAffairs Offices

EEO OfficerKaren Cohen

On January 22, 2001 KarenCohen was appointed as CDF EqualEmployment Opportunity Officer.With 23 years of state service, Karenbrings a wealth of experience toCDF. During her previous18 years atthe State Personnel Board (SPB),Karen gained valuable knowledge indifferent assignments, includingadministering the departmentalequal employment opportunity(EEO) program there.

EEO is a multi-faceted programthat addresses many issues withinthe Department. Ensuring equalopportunity within CDF is oneaspect of Karen’s new position. Byoffering employees in low payingclasses career development opportu-nities such as cross training andappointment to bridging classes,Karen plans to implement animproved upward mobility program.“Upward mobility programs in stateservice have fallen by the wayside,and one of my goals is to ensure thatCDF’s program is effective,” shesaid.

In addition to upward mobility,Karen is responsible for makingcertain that CDF has adequate stafffor special programs such as bilin-gual services. “It’s imperative thatCDF have enough certified bilingualstaff to meet the ever increasinglanguage needs of all the non-English speaking people that weprovide services to,” she said. Sheplans to attract more bilingualemployees to the Department bypromoting CDF job opportunities tothe state’s diverse workforcethrough job fairs and other inclusiverecruitment efforts.

As the CDF Equal EmploymentOpportunity Officer, Karen intendsto work closely with both the North-

by Carlos Garcia, student assistant,CDF Public Education andPublic Affairs Offices

ern and Southern Regions to ensurethat consistency exists in the EEOProgram throughout the state. “Wemust work together so that all ourprograms are in compliance with themost current court decisions and thefederal and state law.”

The discrimination complaintprocess is another aspect of EEO,and according to Karen, one way ofachieving success with the process isthrough the EEO training CDFprovides its employees. “It’s impor-tant that all our employees under-stand how to avoid discriminatorypractices and how to work coopera-tively in a diverse workplace,” shesaid. Karen wants to improve thediscrimination complaint process byencouraging CDF employees toparticipate in mediation for quickresolution of EEO complaints andother workplace disputes and bysetting up an automated system fortracking complaints.

Another important aspect of EEOincludes working collaborativelywith the Disabled Advisory Counciland using the Limited ExaminationAppointment Process (LEAP) toencourage disabled employees toenter and remain in the workforce.One goal of Karen’s is to increasedisabled representation within theDepartment.

Asked what will be the biggestchallenge of her new position, Karensaid that “Many EEO programs havelost focus as well as funding duringthe last 10 years, and the result hasbeen ineffective and understaffedprograms. It will be a challenge tobring our EEO program up to speedso that we are able both to meet theneeds of our employees and to be incompliance with state and federallaw.”

Karen, who holds a masters inpublic administration from Califor-nia State University, Sacramento,and a bachelor’s from UC Berkeley,is a credentialed K-6 teacher whoalso serves as chairperson of thePersonnel Board for the city ofDavis. She is also active in thetown’s politics.

About her impressions of CDF sofar, Karen said, “I am very im-pressed with the professionalismand commitment of the employees. Ivalue the support and friendliness ofthe CDF employees, and I ampleased to be a part of the CDFfamily.”

See SCHELL, page 23

23 Communique’

Rich’s duties include supporting theUnits and contract counties in theirefforts to develop a local version ofthe fire plan. He works with regionand unit staff to distribute millionsof dollars of federal money from theNational Fire Plan so that solutionscan solve local problems. In addition,Rich provides assistance to the Unitswith their pre-fire projects such asvegetation management programs,fuel breaks, and defensible space.“The 2001 fire season has providedmany examples as to the provenvalue of pre-fire work and the needto further implement these projectsin the future,” said Rich.

One very important project thatRich is working on that will shapethe future of fire planning is a GISdata warehouse that is currentlybeing developed with the assistanceof Battalion Chief Jeff Harter. Itscompletion requires cooperationfrom local, state and federal agen-cies, and when finished, the ware-house will store an electronic data-base filled with critical fire informa-tion, that will be a resource to bothfire planners and homeowners.

While it is clear that Rich enjoyshis new position, how does he feelabout working in Sacramento? SomeCDF staff enjoy working at CDFHeadquarters while others prefer

some of CDF’s finest professionals ina challenging and complex arena.However, talking to Rich, one getsthe impression that he has beentraining for his new position hisentire career, and upon examinationof his resume, it certainly seemstrue. His experience began 26 yearsago when he started out as a forestrygraduate trainee. Since that time, hehas served in various positions atboth the administrative and opera-tions level within the department.

Among Rich’s most memorableassignments is the time he spent asdirector of operations and firetraining at the CDF Academybecause he saw the “changing face ofCDF” first hand. Not only did theAcademy give Rich the chance towork with some of the veteranCDFers who have helped shape anddefine the Department’s recenthistory, he also had the opportunityto interact with students. “Thefuture of the Department is in goodhands,” said Rich, “and I am proudto have been a part of it.”

Another noteworthy assignmentin Rich’s career includes a fireprevention engineer position, wherehe represented the Department andthe Board of Forestry and FireProtection in the development ofPublic Resource Code (PRC) 4290.The landmark regulations dealt withroads, water supplies, and fuelmodification.

Taking the helm now of the StateFire Plan, which has been in placefor a number of years, Rich sees theimportance of continuing to build onthe foundation that has already beenestablished by his predecessors.Specifically, Rich acknowledges theimportant work of those who wereinvolved in the planning, formationand writing of the current CaliforniaFire Plan. “Jack Weist, WayneMitchell and Jim Troehler have to becredited for the tremendous workthey have done here,” said Rich.

As staff chief of the Fire Plan,

SCHELL: from page 22 fieldwork. But, Sacramento is justfine for Rich, and for good reason.Not only are the offices at CDFHeadquarters occupied by many ofRich’s friends, his wife, Alta Glass-Schell works just down the hall fromhim. “She likes having me here,”said Rich, “Not many spouses havethe luxury of understanding eachother’s work, and we’re lucky to havethat.”

So how would Rich’s wife Altadescribe him? “He’s a very caringand professional person,” she said.“He is truly compassionate and isalways there to help other membersof the CDF family.” Welcome home,Rich Schell.

BobMartinessaysfarewellAfter more than 36 years with

CDF Chief Robert Martines hasdecided to retire on July 31, 2001.

Bob started his CDF career in1964 as a seasonal firefighter at theYucaipa Fire Station in the SanBernardino Unit. After a tour withthe US Marine Corps he was ap-pointed to permanent engineer inthe Riverside Unit in 1966. Return-ing to San Bernardino he promotedup through captain and fire preven-tion officer I. In 1977, he promotedto battalion chief and later todivision chief in the Riverside Unit,and then transferred back to SanBernardino Unit as a division chief.In 1988 he promoted to deputy chiefat the South Region Headquartersin Riverside, and in 1990 trans-ferred to the Riverside Unit as theoperations deputy chief. He thenpromoted to region operations chief

See MARTINES, page 24

Summer/Fall 2001 24

distinguished career. He has per-formed in almost every assignmentin operations and administrationwithin CDF. Along the way hereceived a Supervisory SuperiorPerformance Award, a SustainedSuperior Accomplishment Award,and the highest CDF honor, theLewis A. Moran Award in 1995.Martines is well known for hispractical knowledge, innovation, andleadership skills.

Some of the highlights in ChiefMartines’ distinguished careerinclude being one of the first in CDFto be selected on a USFS NationalFire Team, serving as operationschief on the 486,000 acre Clover MistFire in Yellowstone Park in 1988;heading CDF’s largest emergencycommand center in the RiversideUnit and serving as the unifiedcommand coordinator during the1994 Northridge Earthquake. Hewas instrumental in CDF’s firstinvolvement in the FEMA-sponsoredUrban Search and Rescue Team(USAR) from Riverside County.

for the Sierra-South Region atRiverside. In 1998 he promoted toSierra Area Chief in Fresno, trans-ferring back to South Region Head-quarters in Riverside as the SouthArea Chief in July 2000.

Chief Martines has had a long and

Martines was personally involvedin the implementation of the Haz-ardous Materials Team and theSwiftwater Rescue Program, both inRiverside County. The SwiftwaterRescue Program was the first of itstype in CDF. He also helped pioneerthe CDF Helicopter Short HaulRescue Program that is in use today.

“People are our most valuedresource. I have been blessed toalways work with a wonderful staff.My accomplishments are not due tome alone. It is all of us working as ateam. CDF has always been good forme. I think CDF is the best and Iam proud to have been a part of it,”said Bob.

Bob and his wife LoVae reside inRedlands and for the first year ofretirement they plan to travelthroughout the United States andCanada in their new RV. Along theway they plan on attending severalNASCAR races.

Good Luck Bob! Your CDF familywill miss you!

CDF met the Summer energy challenge;fall and winter will test our commitment

Congratulations to all of us at CDF ! We contributed to the state’s success in meeting the energy challengethis summer. This active commitment set an example that helped Californians conserve electricity andprevent rolling blackouts.

This year, CDF and other state offices significantly cut electricity use from January through the end ofAugust compared to the same period in 2000. For example, in monitoring 37 of the state’s largest officebuildings covering nearly 12 million square feet, the Department of General Services has recorded an average22.4 percent drop in electricity use. Despite hikes in utility rates, the state was still able to save more than$800,000 in cities such as Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, Van Nuys, andRiverside.

While the state has made extraordinary progress in bringing new power generation on line, the threat ofshortages remains real. Conservation, both now and for the long term, will continue to be an important part ofthe strategy to keep the lights on.

Fall and winter months present challenges just as tough as the summer months. There are increaseddemands for power across the state for lighting, heating and other priorities. So we cannot let our guard downjust because the seasons have changed.

You can find some practical cool weather tips on the Flex Your Power website:www.flexyourpower.ca.gov that will help all of us to continue to save power, save money and continueserving the people of California.

CHANGES: from page 23

25 Communique’

See HONORS, page 26

Many of CDF’s finest wererecognized for their dedication onApril 30 in Sacramento at thefourth annual Director’s recogni-tion Program Awards. In heraddress to the award recipients,Director Tuttle spoke of the“tremendous effort given by theseexceptional people.”

The Lewis A. Moran Award isthe highest honor bestowed byCDF, and is awarded each year inrecognition of an individual whoseperformance exceeds expectationsfor a sustained period of time.Recently retired Forest ManagerDavid Dulitz received the awardfor his sound resource manage-ment practices during his 21-yearcareer at Mountain Home StateDemonstration Forest. David re-ceived $500 and his name has beenengraved on the perpetual plaque inthe director’s office that houses thenames of the other Moran recipientssince the award’s inception in 1984.

Fire Captain Darryl Sanford ofthe Butte Unit received the 2000Firefighter of the Year Award forhis commitment to the values andmission of the Department. Recog-nized for his commitment to theprotection of life and property,Sanford is the second ever recipientof the award. He received $300.

The Leadership Award recog-nizes an employee who demon-strates the ability to motivate andinspire others to seek solutions todifficult tasks. Joan Jennings, chiefof Occupational Safety and HealthPrograms (OSHPros), received theaward for her work in giving defini-tion and structure to the program.She received $300.

The 2000 Innovation Award and$300 went to Fire Captain SteveNorris of the San-Benito MontereyUnit. Since 1991, Captain Norrisworked on the CDF Automated

Airbase System, and its success canbe attributed to his creativity andinnovation.

Dennis Tremelling of the Amador-El Dorado Unit and the Manage-

ment Services Team were the co-recipients of the OrganizationalEnhancement Award. Theaward is given annually to anindividual and/or group that havedemonstrated a commitment toimproving interaction within allprograms and organizationallevels to ensure a comprehensiveapproach to achieving theDepartment’s mission. Themembers of the ManagementServices Team include: RickBierman and Mark Pratt (Infor-mation Technology), DennisMiranda, Tamara Mulia and SteveSchlim (Program and SystemsAnalysis), and Linda Webb (Account-ing Office). Each received $300.Superior Accomplishment

Awards were presented to thefollowing employees for their perfor-mance and dedication beyond normaljob requirements.

From the Northern Region:Richard Mattos, Gerald McLean,

Rob Bebensee, Kena Daugherty,Kirk McBride and Danny LenSykes (Lassen-Modoc). LonGoetsch, Felipe Guevara, FredricNunes, John Elliff and MichaelMartin (Santa Clara). SeanGriffis (Nevada-Yuba-Placer),Janet Marshall (Butte), MikeSnyder and Lawrence Erickson(San Mateo-Santa Cruz). FredJackson (Siskiyou), Mike Parkerand Chris Vallergra (Sonoma-Lake-Napa). Team awards for theNorthern Region went to MarkEays, Philip Anzo and KatrinaBlumer (Siskiyou Unit). DeeSpradlin, Kathy Niederberger, andTerry Anderson (Region Office).Finally, William Christen, Ed

Brady, Jon Hafstrom, KurtDernedde, Kevin O’Neil and JamesMoranda (Humboldt-Del Norte Unit).

Director honors CDF’s bestby Carlos Garcia, student assistant,CDF Public Education and Public Affairs Offices

Retired Forest Manager Dave Dulitzaccepts the Lewis A. Moran Awardfrom CDF Director Andrea Tuttle.Dave was honored for his resourcemanagement practices on theMountain Home DemonstrationState Forest.

Fire Captain Darryl Sanfordreceives the 2000 Firefighter of theYear Award from CDF DirectorAndrea Tuttle.

Summer/Fall 2001 26

HONORS: from page 25

From the Southern Region: Rich-ard Drozen (Tuolumne-Calaveras),Chris Schrowe (Madera-Mariposa-Merced), Scott Watson, MarkLaunier and Brian Kirk (Amador-ElDorado). Scott Watson, Laurie Halas(San Luis Obispo) and WilliamPeters (San Bernardino). Teamawards for the Southern Regionwent to Bill Johnson and BeckyRobertson (Fresno-Kings Unit), andTed Enberg (Mendocino), CraigKonklin and Keith Hampton(Madera-Mariposa-Merced) werehonored as a north/south team.

Awards for Resource Managementstaff went to Linda Judd, Mark Garyand Alleah Haley (Region Office). Ateam award went to William Snyder,Ronald Pape, Jill Butler, WayneConnor, Wendy Wickizer, Ruth Normanand Alleah Haley (Region Office).

Awards to Sacramento Headquar-

ters staff went to Patricia Sanchez(OSFM-Building Safety Division),Steven Dale (OSFM-Law Enforce-ment), Jeff Hartsuyker (OSFM-Caltrans Airspace Contract), JohnWoods (OSFM-Construction), BobGorham (OSFM Pipeline Safety),Maria Garcia and sandy Margullis(OSFM-Support Services), LisaDowdy and Jeannie Smith (OSFM-Fire Engineering), and Robin Marose(FRAP). Team awards went to MarkRosenberg and Shawn Saving(FRAP), Star Anderson-Hicks(Technical Services), Shirley Ching(Accounting), Bea Walls (BusinessServices), Velma Bermudez, MarvaLee, Windy Bouldin, Jo Harlow,Andrea Mantecon and Glen McCray(Human Resources), RichardKlugkist, CarolAnn Hollahan andCindy Gangler (Information Technol-ogy), and Tamara Mulia (Programsand Systems Analysis). Another HQteam award went to Patty Call

(Support Services), DebbieContreras, (Resource Management),Brent Hinsz (Program Accountabil-ity), Carol Forrest and NancyCrowder (Accounting).

In addition to CDF employeesDirector Tuttle also recognizedoutside individuals and organiza-tions that have assisted CDF tocarry out its mission. The Partner-ship Award recipients from theNorth Area were Lonnie Mahenski(Dept. of Corrections), MichaelWopat (Dept. of Conservation,Division of Mines and Geology) andJesse Cox (Lewiston Volunteer FireDept.). The South Area awards wentto Jan Hamilton (Mariposa Fire SafeCouncil), Nancy Brumbaugh (East-ern Madera Fire Safe Council), ABCChannel 7, and KFRG FM Radio.Finally, the Headquarters Awardwent to Pacific Bell. Partnershipawards are presented locally by thenominating parties.

We all know that California is astate with marked contrasts: soaringmountains (Mt. Whitney 14,400'+) tolow valleys (Death Valley 200'-);world’s tallest tree and “pygmyforests” in Mendocino County. It’ssometimes hard to fathom that about1-1/2 hours from cosmopolitanSacramento is the relic Gold Rushsettlement of Iowa Hill. It’s tuckedaway in the pine forests about 10miles east of Colfax and Interstate80. The road to Iowa Hill is anexciting adventure, it’s steep and fullof tight switchback turns. Onenotable bend is “car wash” turn.Miss it, and 1500 vertical feet lateryou get a free car wash in the river.If you live in Iowa Hill you’re selfreliant. No energy crisis here; thenearest powerline is miles away

by Gary Brittner, division chief, Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit

along the I-80 corridor! If you wanttelephone service, bring your cellphone. Iowa Hill citizens love theirfreedom, solitude, and independence.

On March 15, 2001, I was headingout Kings Hill “Road”, a few milessouthwest of Iowa Hill, to checkseedling vigor and the effectivenessof some herbicide treatment on anarea harvested a few years ago.Kings Hill “Road” is tortuous so I usea Suzuki quad runner in order tosave the shocks and axles on thepickup. Kings Hill is so remote thateven the Iowa Hillians rarely ven-ture there. I was cruising along andin true Smokey Bear fashion caughta whiff of smoke. I didn’t see asmoke column and knew there wereno cabins out there so I was a bitbewildered. I dismissed it as drifting

smoke from Shirttail Canyon. In afew moments I was into a clearingand surprised by a small (2000 sq.ft.)wildfire! Since the fire was so smalland fresh I figured I was about tonab an arsonist red-handed! I waswondering which one of those #$%@was responsible for the crime. ThenI got to thinking: there weren’t anyfresh tracks coming in on the roadand it’s too far to trek into this neckof the woods. As I approached thefire my curiosity was sated. In themiddle of the fire was a tall old pinetree. Then I remembered that aweek ago, on March 9, we had a briefthundershower in the area and thepine tree was zapped by lightning.(Not the first time either, this pine

Blending resource managementand fire protection

See BLENDING, page 25

27 Communique’

The great Eagle Lakefish rescue

On April 5th at 1p.m. the phonerang at Bieber Helitack and a ratherfascinating series of events began tounfold. The caller was State Fishand Game Warden Calvin Albright ofthe Lassen-Modoc area and he had aproblem. It seemed that a rapid dropin water flow in Pine Creek, theprimary feeder stream for EagleLake, had trapped over 2000-trophysize Eagle Lake Rainbows while theyhad been attempting to spawn upthat stream. Cal was with the Fishand Game biologist at the scene andthey were convinced that they wouldloose this major portion of theirbreeding stock if help were notforthcoming in very short order. Thebiologist had remembered readingabout copter 205 from Vina Helitackbeing used some years earlier totransport trapped salmon from BigChico Creek to the Sacramento Riverin the water bucket. He asked Cal tosee if something similar could bearranged to assist in the currentsituation. While I was convinced thatthis was a doable thing I told Cal

was a veteran lighting rod!) It took afull week for the fire to creep downthe tree and ignite some dry leavesand needles.

As wildfires go, this was prettytame, the tallest flames were about6". There was only a whisper ofwind, the humidity was high, andthe temperature in the 50’s. Fortu-nately, I tote a sawed-off shovel onthe quad’s cargo rack in case I needto fix up a dilapidated water bar.Even though I was on Kings Hill,none of his men were available. So,

in the spirit of “total forces”, I putmy firefighting skills to use andmade the initial attack. I anchoredat the road and scratched a linearound the fire perimeter. Aftermaking a containment line I moppedup with my lug sole boots andstomped out a few troublesome conesand branches. The base of the pinetree was still like an oven but therewas wide blackline around it now!

Timing is everything. Had I notbeen there to put out the fire itwould have soon crawled into somebrush and logging slash in steepterrain and the time-delayed light-

ning strike would have cost thou-sands of dollars to extinguish.

This incident affirmed at leastthree things:

Resource Management and FireProtection are intertwined.

Wildfires occur any time of the year.

The job isn’t finished until thepaperwork is done. It took me aboutas much time to fill out the firereport as to scratch in the controlline!

BLENDING: from page 26

that the authorizationfor such a project wouldhave to come from amuch higher level thanwhere I sat and that Iwould begin making thenecessary phone calls and get backto him. I soon discovered that everychief officer in the ranger unit was ata training exercise at area headquar-ters in Redding. I had the emergencycommand center page my battalionchief and our operations chief andsoon had them on the line and wasexplaining the situation and therequest for assistance. Once theywere satisfied with the explanationthe wheels began to turn at an ever-increasing rate until the requestlanded in the office of NorthernRegion Chief Dave Driscoll. Shortlythereafter, with his blessing, copter202 and company saddled up androde to the rescue. Fire CaptainNorm Ross drove the helitender tothe scene while Fire Captains DonnaMcCain and Sam McMurray fol-lowed in the utility pickup. Fire

Apparatus Engineer Adam Mattosaccompanied me in the helicopter.He had retrieved hip waders fromIntermountain Conservation Campfor the crew who would be wading inthe icy waters of the creek whilecapturing the hapless fish. FireCaptain Jeff Wood and Antelopecrew #1 were dispatched to providethe manpower for the capture andloading of the fish into the aircrafts’water bucket. By 4:30 p.m. all theresources had arrived at the sceneon Pine Creek and a plan of actiondecided upon. A short safety briefing

by Gary Lott, forestry fire pilot,Bieber Helitack Base

See, FISH page 28

Antelope Conservaton Camp Crew #1waded into the icy water to capturethe stranded Rainbow trout andplace them in the helicopter’s waterbucket.

Summer/Fall 2001 28

was given and the operation began.With dip nets in hand the crewwaded into the thigh deep water andbegan catching fish, which werethen dumped into 33 gallon barrels.While the helicopter hovered over-head holding the bucket upright onan 80’ line, other crewmemberspoured the fish from the barrels intothe bucket. When the bucket couldhold no more fish Captain Rosswould direct the aircraft by radio upand out of the tall trees surroundingthe site and the fish were then flownto open water in the lake andreleased. This process was repeatedmany times during the next threehours until all the fish that could befound and caught had been returnedto the lake. We then refueled theaircraft, gathered our equipment,said our farewells and returned toBeiber feeling as if we had achievedsomething worthwhile. It was adazzling demonstration of what canbe accomplished by an organizationsuch as ours when combining rapiddecision-making by managementwith the quick professional responseand teamwork of innovative person-nel in the field.

20 years of VMPby Carlos Garcia, student assistant,CDF Public Education and Public Affairs Offices

FISH: from page 27

See, VMP page 29

Two decades ago the CaliforniaDepartment of Forestry and FireProtection (CDF) created the Veg-etation Management Program(VMP) to reduce the build up ofhazardous fuel conditions in Califor-nia and promote optimal growingconditions to native plant andwildlife species.

Techniques such as prescribedfire and mechanical thinning ofvegetation have been used over theyears to “treat areas where fire fuelis most hazardous, so that when firedoes break out, the rate of speed,fireline intensity and final overallsize will all be reduced,” said TomLarsen, division chief, VMP atSacramento Headquarters.

As an example, in May 2001, theAmador-El DoradoUnit began aVMP project near Sly Park. Thearea was chosen because it fits acommon profile - wildlands andsubdivisions coming together. “Ourobjective was to create a shaded fuelbreak that will also provide defen-sible space protection to the homesin the event of a fire,” said FireCaptain David McLean, who is theoperations section chief on the SlyPark Firesafe Project.

VMP projects play a critical rolein protecting life and property inCalifornia, but projects near commu-nities like Sly Park “require sub-stantially more planning due to thecommunities that are adjacent tothe project,” said McLean. The SlyPark burn plan allowed for a seriesof small burns that would reduceheavy vegetation throughout openwilderness acres in the area over aperiod of time.

FC McLean and his crews hadperfect conditions on May 16 whenthey began the first phase of theplan. They were able to burn 10acres that day.

Historically, prescribed burns havetaken place on a large scale in openwildland areas, but in recent yearssome of that has changed. Thecurrent state fire plan, published in1996, implemented a shift in theemphasis of VMP programs fromlarge projects in open wildland areas,“to smaller projects closer to newdevelopments.”

The Sly Park burn exemplifies thechange that has occurred in VMPprojects over the years. Not only haveprojects become smaller, but alsomore technical due to the need toprotect homes and other structuresbeing built in wildland conditions.Like Sly Park, a place where wild-land and structures mix is commonlyreferred to as the “intermix,” andCalifornia has and will continue tosee tremendous growth in theseareas.

Chris Waters, the VMP coordinatorfor the Sly Park burn, was respon-sible for assessing the possibleimpacts of a project. Planning a burnso close to a community is a formi-dable challenge, but the job of a VMPCoordinator does not end there. Theeffect that prescribed fire will haveon air and water quality, wildlife, andcultural recources must all be deter-mined.

The VMP coordinator on a projectmust work with agencies such as theCalifornia Department of Fish andGame, air quality entities and re-gional water boards to complete anenvironmetal checklist on the project.The goal is to have “less than signifi-cant impact on the local environ-ment,” said Tom Larsen.

Once the environmental review iscomplete, a burn prescription isdesigned that accounts for all theenvironmental concerns of the area.

CDF Copter 202 heads out withone of many buckets full ofRainbow trout.

29 Communique’

It’s every student’s dream assign-ment: “please put away your books,we’re going to play computer games.”Now, thanks to the creative use oftechnology, this is one dream thatwill come true in many scienceclasses throughout California.

Burning Issues, an interactivecomputer game on CD-ROM, is fun,fascinating, and challenging. It wascreated to teach students about theimportant role of fire in naturalecosystems and about fire manage-ment practices used to maintain safeand sustainable environments. Manyextremely complex issues are cov-ered, including the role of fire inecosystems, prescribed burns,relationships between fire andinvasive weeds, and wildland firemanagement. Students learn aboutfire ecology and the issues andconcerns that need to be considered

for appropriate fire management invarious ecosystems. They also learnthat there is no one right answer tothese issues but that backgroundknowledge, critical thinking, andproblem solving are required inevery situation.

The CD-ROM contains a multime-dia mix of video, slides, interactiveactivities, student field notebook,and other features that create anexciting (and educational) game thatculminates in an actual fire simula-tion used for training fire managers.Students are challenged to under-stand the many concerns and consid-erations involved in making firemanagement decisions. BurningIssues was developed as a jointproject of the Bureau of Land Man-agement (BLM) and Florida StateUniversity.

The Burning Issues adventure

begins with a trip to the NationalInteragency Fire Center wherestudents are invited in to the Mis-sion Briefing Room. After the brief-ing, they go out to an airfield tochoose transportation to one of fourEcoVentures in various parts of thecountry. Each EcoVenture covers adifferent aspect of fire ecology.

• “Fire Power” takes place in asouthern pine ecosystem whereprescribed burns can help preventcatastrophic wildfires. Studentslearn about the steps required tosafely and effectively prescribe firesincluding discussions with localpeople and calculations of variousweather parameters. They then set aprescribed fire and analyze theresults.

See, PLT page 30

A new tool forProject Learning Tree

VMP: from page 28

Only then is a contract for the burnsigned with the landowner whohelps pay the cost of the project.Once local communities are notifiedthat a project will take place, burnscan be implemented when weatherand fuel conditions meet the pre-scription and crews are available.

Waters emphasized the impor-tance of community support when aburn is planned. “We spent a lot oftime informing and educating theSly Park community about what wewere going to be doing and how theywould benefit,” said Waters. “We hadexcellent support from this commu-nity on this project.”

The Sly Park burn is yet to becompleted due to a statewide burnban CDF issued as a result of theextremely dry conditions in Califor-nia this summer. When finished, the

project will serve as a fuel breakwhere dense vegetation and commu-nities are separated.

The VMP has documented manysuccess stories in the last 20 years,and someday, should a fire breakout, the Sly Park project may helpsave lives and property. In its timethe VMP has adapted to meet the

Heavyunderbrush isburned duringthe intial phaseof this VMPproject in theAmador-ElDorado Unit.

changing needs of a growing state,and has sought the help of resourcemanagement at the local, state, andfederal level in order to be environ-mentally sensitive. The program hasproven its worthiness as a valuablepre-fire tool in the last two decadesand will continue to serve Californiawell into the future.

by Laurie Litman, InfoWright

Summer/Fall 2001 30

See, EROSION page 31

an understanding of a distinctecosystem using video, hyperlinks,actors, and various backgroundresources. Information is providedon the unique animals and plants inthe area. Some of the important fireissues for that ecosystem are dis-cussed. Consultants and scientistsare on hand to give additionalbackground on these issues fromspecific points of view.

In addition, there is a ResourceCenter associated with eachEcoVenture, containing field guidesand further information that can beaccessed at any time. A 49-pagebooklet for students provides back-ground and serves as a field note-book to record observations and datafrom each EcoVenture. Each sectionends with questions, activities, andan EcoChallenge. A Teacher’s FieldNotebook is also available on the CD.

At the end of each EcoVenture,students get a secret symbol. All foursecret symbols are needed to qualifyto enter Incident Command Centerto access “Flames,” a simulationprogram adapted from an actualtraining program for fire profession-

• The chaparral in SouthernCalifornia is known as the “I-Zone,”where the wildlands and urbanareas interface. This area presentsunique challenges for fire manage-ment. Students learn how to developbuildings and communities that maysurvive in this fire-adapted ecosys-tem.

• The ponderosa pine forestecosystem is the location of “FireSuppression,” an EcoVenture thatlooks at strategies for suppressingfire. Students learn about the threeelements of the fire triangle andabout various fire fighting vehiclesand tactics. They can then take aplane out to drop slurry on a wild-land fire.

• In “Golden Eagle,” studentsbecome wildlife biologists in thescrub-steppe ecosystem to learn howfire affects the relationships amongpredators, prey, and invasive plantspecies. This EcoVenture requirescareful data collection and analysisto understand these relationships.

Each EcoVenture gives students

als. In this EcoVenture, studentstake on the role of a fire managerand make critical decisions abouthow to manage the fire and deployresources.

Project Learning Tree (PLT) has agrant from BLM to train teachers touse the Burning Issues curriculum.Workshops will be presentedthroughout California over the nextseveral months. Participants willreceive a free copy of Burning Issuesand a variety of Project LearningTree and other educational materialsfor teaching fire ecology at differentgrade levels.

CDF has sponsored the CaliforniaProject Learning Tree program since1988. PLT is an award-winning,interdisciplinary environmentaleducation program for educatorsworking with students in Pre-Kthrough grade 12. PLT helps stu-dents gain awareness and knowledgeof the natural and built environ-ment, their place within it, as well astheir responsibility for it. For moreinformation, contact Kay Antunez at(916) 653-7958 orkay_antunez@fire.ca.gov.

I hope this unusual headlinecaught your interest and made youthink. Quite often we hear about thenegative consequences of timberharvesting and forget about theluxury of having wood and paperproducts. Timber harvesting pre-sents potential impacts on theenvironment. However, the ForestPractice Act, Board of Forestry andFire Protection Rules, and otheragency rules are intended to mini-mize the environmental impactsfrom timber harvest. When timberharvesting is well planned by aregistered professional forester(RPF), and carried out byconsciencious licensed timberoperators, good things happen.

This anecdote is about a timberharvesting plan in Placer Countynear the town of Foresthill. Aconsulting RPF, Jeff Calvert, wasretained to prepare a timber har-vesting plan for four landowners on110 acres of timberland. Three ofthe parcels have residences. Besidesthe serene forest surroundings,another amenity on one of theparcels is a ½ acre pond. Over theyears, various users of the propertydrove down to the pond through afield. Gradually, during storms andsnowmelt, the road began to erodeand modest amounts of sedimentflowed into the pond.

During field preparation, RPFCalvert noted this and other erosion

problems and included provisions inthe harvesting plan to eliminatethem. (Besides his consulting workJeff served as a Director for thePlacer County Resource Conserva-tion District (RCD).) The pond roadis about 200 feet long and is on a 15percent slope. The licensed timberoperator did not use this road duringthe course of logging the property.But, when he was done logging thearea he installed erosion controls.The erosion controls disperse waterso it does not run down the road andsediment no longer flows into thepond where lunker trout lurk in the

Timber harvesting reduces erosion?by Gary Brittner, division chief, Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit

PLT: from page 29

31 Communique’

shaded water.There is another road on the

property about 500 feet long thatwas abandoned years ago, but it wasnot protected from erosion. Thisroad was not used during the loggingeither, but the harvesting planrequired that it be water-barred todivert water from the road and ontothe forest floor. The logger fixed this

erosion problem with a few well-placed water bars. Besides theseengineering solutions, RPF Calvertdistributed the Placer County RCD’sbooklet “Streamcare: A Guide forStreamside Property Owners” to thelandowners.

This is only one of many examplesof foresters and loggers restoring theenvironment during logging opera-tions by fixing old erosion problems.The upshot of this timber harvesting

plan is win, win, win. The land-owner gets income, consumers getwood products, and fish get cleanerwater. Remember this story nexttime you read a book, build some-thing with lumber, sit in a woodenchair, or use a paper towel.

(Editor’s Note: RPF Calvert nowworks for CDF and runs the Forest

Stewardship Program)

EROSION: from page 30

Sometimes it seems that in orderto protect the natural resources andwatershed values of our forests,recreation and public land use mustbe severely limited. But this is notnecessarily true. Effective forestmanagement and public recreationcan often coexist. In fact, given theopportunity, the public can play acritical role in promoting educationand public awareness about forestconservation.

Consider Soquel, the newest ofCDF’s Demonstration Forests.Located on 2,681 acres of younggrowth in Santa Cruz County, theforest is situated near populationcenters such as San Jose andMonterey. One of the objectives offorest management when CDFassumed control of Soquel Forest in1990, included “studying the benefitsand risks of forest operations close tourban areas.”

For many in the San FranciscoBay Area, Soquel is a recreationenthusiast’s dream. In particular,Soquel has become renowned state-wide for its challenging mountainbike trails. Unfortunately, while somany people utilize the recreational

opportunities at Soquel, not every-one understands the importance ofprotecting the natural resources ofthe forest.

Last year Soquel managementdiscovered a trail that had beenillegally constructed by mountainbikers and that threatened SoquelCreek, home to steelhead trout. Asthe trail crossed or neared wet,boggy areas of the forest, it endan-gered the fish by clouding the creekwith silt. In addition to being athreat to the fish, the trail wasinaccessible to rescue crew vehicles,thus making it very difficult toretrieve a mountain biker in anaccident situation. CDF closesillegally constructed trails, and thusmanagement scheduled the unautho-rized trail to be destroyed.

The story would have ended therehad it not been for the determinationof cyclists to keep the trail open andthe willingness of forest manage-ment to work with the public on theissue. CDF officials knew thatrecreation activities such as the trailare important to many, and while thetrail had been constructed by peoplewho did not understand the biologi-

cal needs of the watershed, themajority of bikers are thoughtful andconcerned with protecting andmaintaining the natural resources ofSoquel. In an effort to maintain astrong relationship with the public,forest officials met with cyclistsseveral times to discuss a plan ofaction regarding the future of the trailand public recreation in the forest.

After the meetings, CDF manage-ment and the mountain bikers foundthat they were both interested increating enjoyable and environmen-tally sensitive recreational opportu-nities. In the end, Soquel manage-ment determined that the trail couldre-open if modified to minimizeerosion and reduce impact to water-courses. In addition, the trail wouldhave to be accessible to rescuepersonnel riding all terrain vehicles.The mountain bikers also agreed towork to end illegal trail constructionand that no other illegal trails would

Soquel and public worktogetherby Carlos Garcia, student assistant,Public Education and Public Affairs Offices

Recreation trail

See, SOQUEL page 32

Summer/Fall 2001 32

Homeowner responsibility stressedat pre-fire season eventImagine having a fire burn right

up to the fence of your child’s el-ementary school! Quick thinkinglast year by the teachers at theConcow School in Butte County, anda calm evacuation by the studentsprevented a fire danger from becom-ing a potential disaster.

With singed fences and burnedhillsides still evident, CDF chosethis site to kick-off Wildfire Aware-ness Week 2001. A proclamationsigned by Governor Gray Davisdesignated May 14 – 19, 2001,Wildfire Awareness Week in Califor-nia as a time to emphasize the needfor citizen participation in fireprevention and fire safety.

CDF Director Andrea Tuttle, andCDF Butte Unit Chief Bill Sagerboth stressed the need forhomeowners and communities totake steps to prevent wildfiredestruction. Glen Nader, formerButte Fire Safe Council (FSC)chairperson, spoke about theimportance of residents gettinginvolved in their local councils andalso emphasized the responsibility ofcitizens to do their part in prevent-ing wildfire destruction. The terrain,dry vegetation and numerousstructures interspersed throughoutthe hills surrounding the school, wasthe perfect back-drop to emphasize

by Carol Elwell, executive assistant, CDF Headquarters

Fire Captain Darryl Sanford ispresented with Firehouse Magazine’sHeroism Award for his efforts to savean elderly woman during the ConcowFire. Director Tuttle made thepresentation as Butte Unit Chief BillSager looks on.

CDF Director Andrea Tuttle addressesthe crowd of media, CDFers, andmembers of the public. She stressedthe need for homeowners andcommunities to take steps to preventwildfire destruction.

SOQUEL: from page 31

See, FIRE SEASON page 33

acres before it was contained onSeptember 22. While 50 structureswere saved by firefighters, includingthe Concow School, the fire de-stroyed 16 structures, and claimedthe life of an elderly woman.

the challenges firefighters face. Andthe fact that the Concow Fireclaimed one life, and threatenedmany others, including the childrenof the Concow School, reinforced thepotential for loss.

The Concow Fire started onSeptember 19, 2000 and burned 1835

be allowed.Working in conjunction with

Soquel staff, local cyclists spranginto action and organized money andvolunteers to support the workneeded on the trail. Recognizing theneed to inform the public aboutproper use and care of the forest, anorganization known as the Stewardsof Soquel Forest was created to

enhance the public’s experience inthe forest and foster educationalprograms. Several workdays tookplace, and the trail was made safefor both the natural resources andrescue accessibility needs of Soquelmanagement.

Recently, the now legal trailofficially opened to the public, andsince that time many mountainbikers have experienced the trailfirst hand. While riding the trail is

exciting, so are the newly forgedbonds between the public and forestmanagement. It is now even moreclear to both the bikers and theSoquel staff, that their interests arenot mutually exclusive. In fact theopposite is true; Communication andcooperation between the public andforest management is not onlybeneficial but an essential compo-nent to effective forest managementnear urban areas.

33 Communique’

The large crowd of local residents,school children, and media represen-tatives were impressed when CDFhad two of its aircraft fly over – anS-2T airtanker, and a Huey helicop-ter. CDF engines and a Butte FireCenter crew were also on hand togive the crowd an idea of thedepartment’s firefighting capabilities.

Also on hand to show theirsupport for the importance of firesafety education, were DeputyDirector of Fire Protection GlenNewman, Assistant Northern

Region Chief Jeff Jones, and DeputyDirector of Public Affairs, PublicEducation and Legislation LouisBlumberg.

Director Tuttle presented aheroism award from the “FirehouseMagazine”, a national publication, toCDF Fire Captain Darrell Sanfordwho risked his life trying to evacuatean elderly resident who had sufferedsmoke inhalation and burn injuries.

The Director also announced thereinstatement of the “Fire SafeCalifornia Award”, which wasestablished in 1987 by then CDFDirector Jerry Partain, to be pre-

Four-legged fire preventionby Anna Smith, fire prevention specialist II,Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit

Miss Evie

The CDF Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit-has adopted a fireprevention dog. Miss Evie, a mixedbreed that was cast out by a personwho felt she was no longer worthkeeping, has found her niche in lifeby showing hundreds of schoolchildren how to protect themselves iftheir clothing catches on fire.

When I came across Miss Evie twoyears ago in Mariposa County shewas afraid of everything. She wouldnot get close to anyone or let anyoneget close to her for several months.After feeding her for some time andtaming her just a little bit, I wasable to finally catch her in a trap.Soon after that Miss Evie showedherself to be a gentle, lovable dogwho thoroughly enjoyed humancontact.

I already had five dogs of my own– all cast aways - so the next stepwas to find Miss Evie a new homewith an owner that would care forand love her. A very nice Mariposacouple, Richard and FrancineGerardi, came along and adoptedMiss Evie. They took Miss Evie to

obedience school and sheearned the highest certificatesavailable.

We all realized that MissEvie was a special dog. Shelives to play with children, bepetted and loved, and wantsmore than anything to pleaseeveryone. We thought itwould be wonderful if a doglike her could go into schools andteach children how to “stop, drop,and roll.” Well, a few days beforelast Christmas, Mrs. Gerardi, who isalso a CDF VIP, called and said shehad a surprise for us at CDF. I wentright over to see what the surprisewas and when I arrived Miss Eviepromptly dropped to the ground anddemonstrated how to do “stop, drop,and roll.” It was wonderful!!!

By taking Miss Evie into schoolsand teaching children how to “stop,drop, and roll”; children, who arenormally too shy or unwilling toparticipate, are now eager to getinvolved.

While doing her part as a newfire prevention tool, Miss Evie

Above, Miss Evie gets ready todemonstrate stop drop and roll underthe guidance of her owner, VIPFrancine Gerardi.

decided doing “stop, drop, and roll”was not enough. She started practic-ing how to get out of the PracticeAnd Learn prop (PAL), which is usedto teach children how to escape aburning bedroom. Miss Evie is a hitin the schools and in the last fewmonths, has taught hundreds ofchildren to “stop, drop, and roll” andhow to get out of a burning bedroom.

With her routine down, and ademonstrated love of children, the

See, MISS EVIE page 34

FIRE SEASON: from page 32 sented to communities takingoutstanding fire safety measures.The first award was presented in1987 to The Yosemite LakesHomeowners Association in Fresnocounty. A fire called the RangerIncident broke out near this residen-tial subdivision. Fortunately, fivehomeowners of the Yosemite Lakescommunity that were directly in thepath of the fire had cleared defen-sible space around their properties,enabling CDF to contain the incidentbefore it could destroy any homes inthe subdivision.

Summer/Fall 2001 34

by Carlos Garcia, student assistant,Public Education and Public Affairs Offices

Summer at Camp Smokey

Every summer brings another fireseason, and fire protection personnelfrom all over the country toil longhours to suppress the flames thatravage our nation. These courageousfirefighters are heroes for the livesthey save, and more than 50 yearsago now, these heroes rescued“Smokey,” a bear cub from theLincoln National Forest of NewMexico.

For the last half century SmokeyBear has been a symbol to Americarepresenting fire prevention efforts.While heroic CDF firefighters battleblazes in the summer, other CDFpersonnel, equally heroic, educatethe public about fire safety. Theseheroes can be found working hotdays at “Camp Smokey,” the inter-agency prevention exhibit at theCalifornia State Fair.

Participating in the fair is adifficult proposition for the agenciesinvolved because it takes place at theheight of fire season. Every yearstaff volunteers are reassigned tofire duty at the last minute, and thismakes scheduling for the fair aformidable challenge. Yet, CDF, theUS Forest Service and local firedepartments know there is some-thing incredibly fitting about havinga fire prevention display during thehottest, driest time of the year, for itis then that Smokey’s preventionmessage is most critical. It is thenthat carelessness or lack of basic firesafety knowledge can cause cata-

next move was to share this new toolwith the community via the media.With one press release Miss Eviereceived front-page coverage inseveral newspapers and appearedlive on a morning television showand several evening news broad-

casts. The combination of a lovingand smart dog, along with a Volun-teer In Prevention willing to give ofher time and energy, has producedan invaluable fire prevention team.

Miss Evie spends most of her timewith children in Madera, Mariposaand Merced counties, however, shedoes go on field trips to other units

strophic damage to both lives andproperty.

This year, just as in years past,more than 15,000 children visitedthe multi agency display. There isno way to tell exactly how manyfires are prevented each year as aresult of Camp Smokey, or howmany families are more prepared foran emergency. However, it is clearbased on the enthusiasm of fairgoersthat the display plays an importanteducational role. “Many kids do notget a basic fire safety educationanywhere else, so it is importantthat we’re able to meet with themduring the fair,” said deputy incidentcommander Jean LaClair. “Everyyear so many parents thank us forwhat we are doing out here,” saidJean.

The fair runs from the middle ofAugust until Labor Day, and in-cludes many activities designed toteach fire safety to children.Whether helping kids identify firehazards, or teaching them what to doif they see a fire, Camp Smokey hassomething for everyone. Parents canoften be seen browsing the newdisplay on sudden oak death whiletheir children tour through otheractivities.

While the fair lasts only 18 days,the CDF Public Education officemust begin planning months prior.Volunteers are scheduled, hotelreservations are made, and displaysare built long before the clicking of

the turnstiles welcomes fairgoers.CDFers from all over the state are

involved in Camp Smokey bothbefore and during the fair. Peoplelike Jerry Letsinger and Romy Pereafrom the Administrative Mappingand Graphics Program at DeuelVocational Institute, create and printthe “passports” that children use asthey navigate through the display.

Among the other CDFers thatmust be thanked for their help arethe Fire Prevention Specialists(FPS’s) and the Volunteers InPrevention (VIP’s) who every yearcome from all over the state toSacramento to help out. “We couldn’tdo the display without their help,”said Jean LaClair, “they’ve beeninstrumental in our success since wecreated Camp Smokey three yearsago.”

Another group that deservesthanks are the volunteers fromSacramento. Every year CDF Head-quarters staff is asked to fill over 70

See, SMOKEY page 35

MISS EVIE: from page 33 and is more than willing to bring hermessage to children in other areas. Ifyou are interested in finding outmore about Miss Evie please contactme, Anna Smith at the Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit , 209-966-3622.

Smokey continues to be a hit withyounger kids.

35 Communique’

volunteer shifts at the fair. Noovertime is paid to them. Said JeanLaClair, “This was our best year sofar. We received volunteers from theAcademy, FRAP and Office of theState Fire Marshal for the firsttime.” Added Jean, “We hope toinclude even more first time volun-teers next year.”

While the main goal of CampSmokey is to teach fire safety, the

display also is beneficial in helpingCDF employees understand theimportant mission of the depart-ment. “This is one of the few waysthat some CDFers get to work withthe public,” said Jean. “We havevolunteers from our accountingoffice, for example, who love workingthe fair because it provides them anopportunity to see a part of thedepartment that they don’t oftenexperience.”

Just as next summer means

another fire season, so does it meananother Camp Smokey. While crewswill be found battling day and nightto put out fires like the one thatdestroyed Smokey’s home, VIPs,FPS’s, and other CDF volunteerswill found battling to spread amessage of fire safety to the public atCamp Smokey. Summer is a time forheroes; both those that put out firesand those that prevent them.

The Monterey County Fire Train-ing Officers Association (MCFTOA)hosted the 22nd Annual Wildland FireTraining School on June 7-10 at FortHunter Liggett. By virtue of itsname, the school has been developedto provide firefighters with invalu-able live fire training and chiefofficers with large-scale incidentmanagement skills.

The Wildland Fire School wasstarted in June of 1979 to preparelocal agencies for the upcoming fireseason. Training consisted of off-road driving, winch operation andsafety, proper use of hand tools, andfire nozzle operation. It was a two-day class and 58 people, not countinginstructors, participated. No live firetraining was conducted the firstyear.

The school has grown continuallysince 1979. Today the school hosts75 engines, an incident managementteam, seven branches and 415personnel. Over 1,000 acres of landsituated on the Fort Hunter LiggettMilitary Reservation, 30 minuteswest of King City, California, serveas the backdrop for four days of livefire training.

The school has been set up torealistically mock a major wildlandfire. Monterey county fire chiefofficers serve as command, generalstaff and branch instructors. En-

gines arriving on the firstday, report to staging forbranch assignment, andan incident base isestablished.

Instruction at the thenbegins on the first daywith firing techniques. A30-foot safety zone isestablished around the1,000-acre perimeter ofthe school. Water pointsare established, anddrafting and pump use is taught.

Day two focuses on the basic skillsof fire fighting. Fire ground safety,line construction, communications,tactics and strategy for mobileattack, and hoselays are the high-lights of the day. Also included issafety for working around and withbulldozers as well as basic helicoptersafety and a water dropping demon-stration. Live fire training thenbegins.

Day three builds on the basics andadds progressive hoselays. One-on-one training is given to the enginecompany officers on resource place-ment while the crew is taught nozzlecontrol, application, water conserva-tion, and the proper use of foam.Mop-up techniques are begun.These fires are bigger and requirestrategy to put them out.

Day four focuses on multiple

engines on single fires. Engines aredispatched from their staging areasto a reported vegetation fire. Areport on conditions is required overthe air, and ICS is stressed.

A “Media Safety Day” is alsoorganized and representatives fromthe media are taught basic firebehavior, and fire weather. Fireshelter deployment is demonstratedand practiced, and the use of safetyon incidents is stressed. The mediais then assigned to a branch andafforded the opportunity (in fullsafety gear) to fight fire and experi-ence a day in the life of a firefighterfirst hand.

Fire training in Monterey

See, TRAINING page 36

by Cheryl Goetz, fire prevention specialist, San Benito-Monterey Unit

SMOKEY: from page 34

That’s CDF Director Andrea Tuttlehandling the hose when she visitedon day three of the training.

Summer/Fall 2001 36

The true meaning ofmulti-agency cooperationis witnessed at this school.The CDF San Benito-Monterey Unit supplies awater dropping helicopterfor air support, a Type 2communications unit forincident communicationsand two bulldozers forroad improvement andline construction. Alsosupplied is the mobilekitchen unit (MKU), which serves ahot breakfast, sack lunches and ahot dinner.

The California Office of Emer-gency Services (OES) uses the fireschool as a training opportunity toset up the Operational Area SatelliteInformation System (OASIS) forincident base telephones, as well assupplying two portable radio caches.Monterey County OES assists incommunications with their mobileemergency communications unit(MECU). North Tree Fire donatesthe services of their water tender fordust control and water points and

also donates their camp clerical unit.Numerous other vendors supplyshowers, potable water, refrigera-tion, trash service, portable bath-rooms, fuel, handwashing stations,foam and food.

The Wildland Fire School is theonly school of it’s kind in the West-ern United States. Fire departmentsthroughout California, as well asother western states send represen-tatives to participate and bring backinformation for starting their ownschool. “This school is a necessaryand realistic tool to prepare new

TRAINING: from page 35

Training included the use of handtoolson the fireline, and some veryimpressive live fire considering it wasonly June.

firefighters and hone the skills offirefighting veterans. We are proudto sponsor this training in MontereyCounty and to be a part of progressfive service training” said IncidentCommander Greg Glass, MontereyCity Fire Department.

For more information on theWildland Fire School you can visitthe Monterey County Fire TrainingOfficers web site at:www.MCFTOA.org or contact theschool at (831) 333-2600.

Training for new firefightersMobile attack training allowed twoengines and student crews to attackopposite ends of the fires that werelit throughout the day. Each studentlearned proper hose use and waterapplication. Photos by RosanneTaylor, VIP, Nevada-Yuba-PlacerUnit.

In June the Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit held livefire training for newfirefighter I’s. Nearly 40firefighters from PlacerCounty Fire and CDFattended the training tolearn about fire fightingstrategy including hoselays,nozzle control, applicationof water and foam, andmopping up.

The temperature was inthe high 90’s and the grasswas extremely dry sostudents got a realisticpicture of what they wouldface during fire season.

Pitchingin with“otherduties”was alsocovered.

37 Communique’

2001 Continuing ChallengeHazMat Training

The 12th Annual HazardousMaterials Emergency ResponseWorkshop took place once again inSacramento, September 4 to 7,2001.

This yearly workshop draws over900 emergency responders fromall over the nation, Canada,and the Pacific Rim. They cometo learn about and prepare foremergency response to hazard-ous incidents.

Over 112 training courseswere given covering such topicsas terrorism, contamination,confined space rescue, andidentification of hazardousmaterials and devices. Eachyear the workshop also includes the“Hazmat Olympics”, “Name ThatUnknown Chemical” contest, and anumber of keynote speakers.

Emergency personnel can marktheir calendars now for the 13thAnnual Hazardous MaterialsEmergency Response Workshop tobe held in Sacramento, September 3to 6, 2002.

by Andrea Clayton, receptionist, Public Affairs

Joe Konefal, senior investigator,CDF/OSFM Arson and Bomb Unit,discusses explosive devices duringthe Hazardous Devices andExplosives class.

A large display of hazardous devicesinlcuded pipe bombs, grenades, C-4explosives, dynamite wire and otheragents used in bomb composition.

The CDF Siskiyou Unit, in cooperation with the College of the Siskiyous,hosted Basic Fire Control 2A-250 class from May 21 through June 8, 2001.The class graduated 33 new limited term fire apparatus engineers to workthroughout the Northern Region.

The top three graduates from Basic Fire Control 2A-250 class are from Lto R: Matt Thau who finished second; Scott Gosselin who finished first; andChris Richens and Nick Ciardella who tied for third.

Don “Ike”Eichmanis retiring

BFCgradsinSiskiyou

Come celebrate with Don

Saturday, November 3, 2001

St. Sava Missionin Jackson, CA

Social Hour 5:30 p.m.Dinner: 6:30 p.m.

Presentations: 7:30 p.m.

For more information contactNancy Martinelli at the

CDF Academy209-274-5535

Summer/Fall 2001 38

PersonnelTransactionsand Kudos

The CDF Personnel Transactionsand Kudos are posted separately on theCDF web site and on the CDFIntranet.

Personnel Transactions cover allappointments, promotions, separa-tions, retirements, transfers, anddeaths reported to the CDF Communi-que’ staff.

Kudos include recognition by thepublic, private industry, cooperatingagencies, and CDF executive staffgiven to CDFers for outstanding effortsand the professional manner in whichCDF personnel always carry out themission of this department.

Find both sections under the CDFNewsletter option on the main page ofthe CDF website: www.fire.ca.gov

Who would you call if your waterline at home broke and you neededto get it working quickly? Theplumber, right? Ok, so who wouldyou call when the main retardantline breaks at your local air attackbase, as it did recently at ColumbiaAir Attack Base in the Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit? In this case it maybe Dan Dineen, fire captain atStation 51. To explain, I need to giveyou a little history.

Dan grew up in Tuolumne Countyin the small community of Columbiain the late 60’s and early 70’s. As akid, he was attracted to airplanesand being that he lived under thedeparture path of the ColumbiaAirport he watched CDF tankerscoming and going a lot in the sum-mer. He also spent a lot of his timeat the tanker base, as TBM’s, F7F’s,and PBY’s flew fires out of Columbia.As a result of these experiences, hedeveloped a strong attachment tothose historic airtankers and CDF’sair program in general.

In 1999, still fostering a strongattachment to the air program, Danwas able to come to Columbia on atraining and development assign-ment, working the season as theassistant tanker base manageropposite permanent base manager,Frank Garcia. During that summerhe and Frank collaborated to developa temporary plumbing system thatcould be put in place, not if, butwhen the existing aging plumbingfailed. Portions of the base plumbinghave been in the ground since theTBM’s and F7F’s were flying out ofColumbia. With Dan’s extensiveknowledge of large diameter watersupply systems, and Frank’s knowl-edge of the Columbia retardantsupply system, they developed aconcept of using excess 4” watersupply hose to deliver retardant to

the pads in the event of a pipefailure.

Now we come to thepresent. It’s the middle ofJuly and fire season has beenin full swing since May.Columbia Air Attack Base isworking the Briceburg Inci-dent, 10 miles west ofYosemite, in Mariposa County.Five of the assignedairtankers are reloading atColumbia. All three reloadpads are being used to loadtankers. Dan is having lunchwith his wife Cherie who is afirefighter/loader at the base.The retardant delivery systemhas been working well up tothis point, when the inevitableoccurs. The main retardantline breaks, putting the base out ofservice. Frank Garcia is headed offto the incident in the air attack ship,but before he goes, he and Danconfer, and Dan indicates that hecould put their plan in effect. Franktells Dan to go ahead.

Dan immediately went to work,locating approximately 600’ ofsurplus supply hose and fittings. Inabout two hours he had bypassed theexisting system and had pads #2 and#3 up and operating at full capacity.The next day he came back andfinished the job on pad 1. In thepast, when the line broke, the basewas out of service for 24 to 48 hoursbefore repairs could be made. Havinga base out of service that long willhave very serious implications to thefirefighters on the incident. Fortu-nately CDF has people like Dan whoare thinking and who are not afraidto act.

This is the kind of initiative thathas made CDF such a great organi-zation. Thanks Dan, for a great job!

CDF “Yankee” initiativeDan Dineen

Cub Scout Dan Dineen, second fromthe left, checking out a TBM tankeron a tour of Columbia about 1969.

39 Communique’

CDF hosts numerous foreigndelegations interested in the pro-grams, operations and activities ofCDF both in the forest and fireprotection arenas. Under thedirection of CDF Deputy DirectorLouis Blumberg, and JenniferStanley, Chief of Legislation, theOffice of Protocol acts as an emissaryand coordinates protocol for CDF.The Office of Protocol works withCDF programs and units to makesure that the desires of all visitorsare fully met.

Visitors from around the worldcome to learn of California’s vastnatural resources, forest manage-

International visitorsCDF Office of Protocol

ment practices, model fire protectionservices and CDF’s cooperativepartnerships with local and federalgovernment fire districts.

CDF has hosted at least 12different foreign delegations sinceOctober 2000. Early this year, CDFstaff met with the Minister ofDefense and three military pilotsfrom Bulgaria to provide informationon the CDF Aviation Unit’s structureand firefighting methods and equip-ment. Also, a delegation from Korearepresenting numerous scientistsand government officials visitedCDF and toured the CDF Academyin Ione, and were briefed on the

different state and local governmentcooperative fire protection agree-ments.

The CDF Office of Protocol hasalso developed a partnership withthe California National Guard toenter into an exchange program withthe Ukrainian government in 2001/2002. This program focuses onCDF’s air attack procedures infighting wildland fires and the airtanker and helicopter equipmentutilized by CDF.

All contacts received from anyforeign/international representativeof meetings, visits, or tours withCDF or the Office of the State FireMarshal should be directed to SteveMcLean or Kathleen Jensen in theOffice of Legislation and Protocol at(916) 653-5333.

FirefightersWhereas, The men and women who devote their time and energy to the duties of fire prevention and sup-

pression have assumed responsibilities essential for the safey of their fellow citizens; andWhereas, California has faced burning conditions and an earlier fire season this summer than is typical for

this time of year; andWhereas, Northern California has incurred a 68 percent increase in the number of wildfire starts and a 429

percent increase in acres burned compared to the five-year average; andWhereas, There are at least nine active, large fires and Complexes currently burning; andWhereas, Nearly 90,000 acres have been burned this summer; andWhereas, These fires have destroyed over 70 buildings and caused several injuries, including the deaths of

two pilots Lars Stratte, 45 of Redding and Larry Groff, 55, of Windsor whose air tankers collided and crashed inwooded hills near Hopland, about 100 miles north of San Francisco; and

Whereas, more than 8,000 firefighters have committed themselves to stamping out these fires, employing250 fire crews using 733 fire engines, 94 bulldozers, 50 helicopters, 71 water tenders, and 1,001 overhead; and

Whereas, This massive effort has prevented fires from wrecking more havoc; andWhereas, The people of Northern California are fortunate to be served by public employees of the caliber of

these firefighers, who display a special care and concern for the safety and well-being of the community, andwho possess the competence, drive and determination to succeed in their efforts; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by Assembly Members Tim Leslie, Sam Aanestad, Dave Cogdill, Dick Dickerson andVirginia R. Strom-Martin and Senators Wesley Chesbro, Maurice Johannessen and Thomas “RicoOller, That the people of Northern California extend their sincere and deepest appreciation to thehardworking firefighters who have worked so heroically to vanquish the flames that have causedsuch horrific destruction.

Members Resolution No. 2544Dated this 7th day of September, 2001

California LegislatureAssembly Resolution

Summer/Fall 2001 40

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTIONCommunique’P.O. Box 944246, Room 1506-17Sacramento, CA 94244-2460

Gray DavisGovernor

State of California

Mary D. NicholsResources Secretary

The Resources Agency

Andrea E. TuttleDirector

Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

COMMUNIQUE’ Lisa BoydEditor

CDF Public Education Office

Carol ElwellCandace Kraemer

Proofreading

Carlos GarciaWriting/Proofreading

The Communique’ is published by theCDF Public Education Office.

Articles and photos from the fieldand retired CDFers are always welcome.

(916) 653-5123.www.fire.ca.gov

Patriotism was theorder of the day atthe Nevada-Yuba-

Placer UnitHeadquartersfollowing theSeptember 11

terrorist attacks.