What I observed was not simply a difficult fire under extreme conditions, Butler said. It was the predictable outcome of a breakdown in leadership, preparedness and command discipline. Firefighters were forced to improvise without adequate resources, unified command or consistent safety oversight. This was not a failure of effort by firefighters. It was a failure of leadership above them.
As Gavin Newsom ramps up his almost certain campaign for president, and polls put him in contention for the Democratic Party's nomination in 2028, he has become a favorite target of right-leaning commentators on network television and in YouTube videos and social media. While some criticism is grounded in fact and reasonable differences, there's also a substrata of highly exaggerated, even fictional, output.
The Los Angeles Police Department has released a report that identifies several shortcomings in its response to the devastating Palisades fire, including communication breakdowns, inconsistent record-keeping and poor coordination at times with other agencies - most notably the city's Fire Department. The after-action report called the January blaze a "once in a lifetime cataclysmic event" and praised the heroic actions of many officers, but said the LAPD's missteps presented a "valuable learning opportunity" with more climate-related disasters likely looming in the future.
The report - compiled by the McChrystal Group and released more than eight months after the fires - found that county practices around issuing emergency alerts, specifically evacuations, are "outdated, unclear and contradictory." That, coupled with confusion about who has what authority around evacuation decision-making, "led to inconsistencies in preparedness strategies across the county and a lack of clear documentation and communication processes," the report said.
A yellow hose runs past the foot of giant sequoias in the Sierra National Forest, and sprinklers drench the forest floor. Those sprinklers are among the last line of defense installed by firefighters to protect giant sequoias in the McKinley Grove from flames, as thunderstorms continue to drive growth on the 29,718-acre Garnet Fire burning in the Sierra Nevada. "The fire is roughly three miles southeast of the grove's southern edge," said Joe Zwierzchowski, the public information officer assigned to the Garnet Fire, in an email to SFGATE on Tuesday afternoon.
Grass fires are commonly caused by human behaviour, whether that be accidental or deliberate. Whilst it can be difficult to determine the causes of these types of fires, the use of disposable BBQs and careless discarding of cigarettes are regularly the cause of outdoor fires. It is also important to place your rubbish with you, if a suitable bin isn't available as it can ignite and quickly start a fire.
Emergency services have been battling forest fires in eastern Germany, with notable incidents in Saxony and Brandenburg, leading to village evacuations and firefighter injuries. A disaster alert was issued for wildfires in the Gohrischheide forest, affecting communities such as Zeithain, Wülknitz, and Gröditz. Reports indicated varying extents of the fire's reach, with estimates between 200 to 1,000 hectares burned. Over 500 emergency personnel have been activated across both states, and the situation was exacerbated by the potential risks posed by ammunition left from military activities.
