BRIEFING NOTES, AUGUST 26th, 4 p.m.

COMMUNITY BRIEFING, AUGUST 26, 4:00 P.M.


Chief LARRY CRABTREE:  meetings will continue to be here 4 p.m, Word of Life Fellowship, for rest of week.
- thank you to dozer teams -- at least 9 dozers
- strike teams of engines -- usually 6 engines/strike team
- identifying landmarks that will help them in case of emergency if they need them -- i.e. flags on trees near water sources; difficult roads; they are stopping at MWSP fire station to get maps; local landmarks like Mi Wuk Triangle which is not on maps
- important telephone numbers:  533-5174 - vacuation info;  805-727-4775

Wild land fire is a dynamic ‘animal’.  Fighters focus on immediate needs

Interfaith Community Social Services will take donations (9-2 m-f; they also welcome volunteers) Ask for Cathy Peacock.

DR. STOLP - COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER:
- everyone needs to get rest; take care of self
- smoke:  visibility is a good measure of air quality.  2.5 micron particulant matter. 
- 5 miles--if you can see 5 miles or more, air quality is ok
- less than 5 miles visibility + respiratory conditions means stay indoors
- if visibility is less than 1 mile it mean hazardous conditions or anyone
- If you need to be out in the muck -- “N-95” mask will remove 95% of particulant matter)  Make sure the mask says Niosh which means they are officially certified.


EVAN ROYCE, DISTRICT 3 SUPERVISOR:
- went to incident command post above Groveland.  Awesome, excellent; army of 3700+ are ighting this fire. 
- It’s emotional when you see how many people are working so well together for a common cause.
- governor was at the Groveland briefing today
- Air Natinoal Guard General was here
- makes a resident PROUD


FRED WONG - MW RANGER DISTRICT:
- been here 1-1/2 months!
- commending Marty’s (incident commander) Blue Team as well as other teams
- Ranger Station and rangers offer local knowledge i.e. informing re water sources
- forest closure in place for Mi Wuk  Ranger District, south of 108

SCOTT JOHNSON - Sheriff Spokesman
- Evacuation Advisory is being extended from Coffill Rd. to (and including) Pinecrest
- animal control available for animals
- country transit available for those who need transportation
- 60 OES (Office of Emergency Services) law enforcement personnel in ‘the neighborhood’
- 10 2-man units will be in place 24 hours per day

MARTY BENTLEY -- Blue Team Rim Fire Incident Commander -
- Div A (PML) doing good
- Div R - movement yesterday--smoke
- Div Q - limited amount of available control points--inside Yosemite
- Lake Eleanor -  fire moving up into granite
- Div L, F, E, - movement in fire right now.  Looking for control lines.  
- Div D - lined and under control around to Div break up near Duckwall.  Had to drop back due to building of containment lines elsewhere.
- contingency lines- just about complete.

Questions/Answer period:

- updates on circumference???  Marty will have that info tomorrow
- great incident map--> www.inciweb.org
- phone numbers:  comcast is now online per recently signed agreement for reverse 911 calls
- be alert - pay attention - don’t rely on any single source for your info; talk to neighbors
- Scott (sheriff):  if lower elevation advisory goes up, we have to anticipate that ours will go up shortly thereafter
- what can we do for helpers?  continue cooperation with helpers.
- contingency line?? what does it do?     it’s a fall back line;  3-4 bull dozers widths wide
- urban myth - flag in front of home means that home will or will not be ‘saved’  --  flags mean that firefighters have been in an area and are marking landmarks or points of need; tag so efforts are not being duplicated.
- How far is Mi Wuk from fire?  6 miles from fire front to Mi Wuk, Sugar Pine
- Lyons reservoir ?- helicopters are dipping out of there -- no spot fire near Long Barn.  Command tries to take advantage of different dipping sources.
- recognizance planes flying around:   day- fixed wing platform (plane)  that burns donuts (goes round and round) in sky looking for fire hot spots and then directs resources;  night - infrared scan/flight done every night.
- 15% containment still holds  (amended at 8:00 p.m. to 20% containment)
- on a map: red = active fire edge; black = line is in control
- question of comcast charging to conform to reverse 911 requirements - needs to be investigated
- cell phones - cannot be programmed into current reverse 911 system; will happen in a few months
- in a few weeks - county website for announcements will go live.
- Branch 1, 2, 3, 4 (as seen on Rim Fire maps) show the command structure; after there are too many divisions in one area they then get subdivided
- branch > divisions > strike teams
- public access channel ?? - info on that channel on a routine basis?  New face:  PEPPER BALTIMORE-PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER ASSIGNED TO MGMNT TEAM.  She will look into that channel 8 access
- how far is the first from TH ?  5-7 miles
- how to get dogs to shelters?  Tuolumne County Transit will take YOU and DOGS to shelter
- storms coming in ???  NOAA person on staff?  There is an incident meteorologist on staff. 
weather - long range planning 3-4 days; very spot specific
- could spotter planes take pictures??  All non fire specific planes are restricted in air space.

These notes are written as individuals are speaking.  When placing them here on the blog, I've tried to make them as sensible as possible.  Please ask if you have questions.

NEXT BRIEFING:  TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 4 P.M., WORD OF LIFE FELLOWSHIP