Posted on 09/06/2011 9:07:28 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
BASTROP Firefighting-trained volunteers from around the state converged on Bastrop and Smithville Tuesday to lend a hand to the beleaguered local firefighters battling the Bastrop County Complex Fire only to be sent away as federal officials arrived at the scene and took command, apparently because local officials never made a formal request for volunteers.
We were at the station getting set up into strike teams, and this guy came up and said that the U.S. Forest Service had assumed control of the situation, and that If you dont have a vehicle that squirts water, go home, said Gordon Greer of Kirbyville, who drove all night Monday to arrive in the town beset by the worst wildfire in Texas history. Youve got guys who had driven all night long from Corpus Christi and Brownsville on their own dime, and they turned them away. He was really a (bleep) about it.
There was a whole line of beige cars that came in this morning, tinted windows and such, Greer said.
A spokesperson with the U.S. National Interagency Incident Center, Jennifer Jones, confirmed that federal group of several different agencies would be assuming command in Bastrop County around 1 p.m. Tuesday, but had not done so when the firefighting volunteers were told to leave. April Saginor with the Texas Forest Service said her agency had not given any such order, to her knowledge, but promised to provide an update later in the day.
The question is apparently one of protocol, however.
The Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management announced via its Facebook account Tuesday afternoon that Any fire mutual aid requests would always come through (and to) Local, State and National fire service and emergency leadership. This message sent as per Texas Fire Chiefs, TIFMAS, IAFC, USFA and FEMA. If you are a fire fighter wanting to volunteer you have to be activated by the National Forestry Service first.
The Texas Forest Service issued a statement Tuesday evening that it is not requesting firefighters/retired firefighters to report to Central Texas.
"If a person wants to fight fire they can: 1. Apply for a full-time Texas Forest Service position. We are not hiring seasonals as we currently do not have the time to hire, train and certify them. 2. Join a local fire department. 3. Members of local departments should not self-dispatch. Have your fire chief contact TIFMAS Coordinator Joe Florentino at jflorentino@littleelm.org"
Several of the volunteers voiced their displeasure, however, at federal agents taking charge at the scene after appeals by Texas Gov. Rick Perry for federal aid following another series of wildfires earlier this year was turned down.
Theyre willing to sacrifice the lives of the people of Bastrop just so they can come in here and pull rank, said Daniel Miller of Nederland, who had led a group of Texas Nationalist Movement members who were certified firefighters to Bastrop from the Beaumont area. Miller said he and several other members of the group would remain in the Bastrop area to aid with civilian relief efforts.
ahhhh crap...G’Luck Texans..Pullin for ya.
Must be some good Texas marijuana stands that need to stay hidden and protected.
Insurers and trial lawyers.
We’re her from the federal government and were her to help. Time for a little federal commie payback.
May God bless Texas and all who are being affected by these terrible fires.
They were simply going to let part of the town burn.
The locals defied the "order" and ended up saving their and their neighbors homes. They were willing to, and in fact did, risk their lives to save their property and were successful.
This is something beaurocrats and administrators and those the are marshalling sometimes find hard to understand. The King of England also found it hard to understand how indpendent Americans would stand for their own life and liberty.
There are times to follow evacuation orders...there are times people have to decide for themselves to risk what they will to save their own livelihood. When local people, with the same investment and understanding are at the helm, its a whole lot different than when someone like this comes in, pulls rank, and starts throwing their "imagined" weight around.
The people there in Bastrop seem to face such a situation.
Were here from the federal government and were here to help. Time for a little federal commie payback.
Damn, spelling it wrong once could be overlooked as an accident. But twice?
In nine months every woman in the effected towns will be pregnant and the transfer lists for reassignment to the Pacific Northwest will be lengthy at the US Forest Service.
No problem at all. Good points.
The Station fire was a 160,000 acre fire, almost all of it in Los Angeles county, with elevation of the fire ranging from 700 feet above sea level to 6000 feet, and raged for months. For a lot of people, they lost their homes and livelihoods from the fire, and many to this day still consider the response to the fire to be poor to just plain awful. Unfortunately, two firefighters lost their lives in the fire.
The folk art was obviously created by a local resident, and likely done while they were sheltering on the property with pretty much no hope of leaving for weeks. It was a depiction of a federal firefighter, and eventually it became a dart board for frustrated evacuees.
The most fearful words anyone can hear... ‘I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.’ I've seen the looks on people's faces when those words of doom are spoken, and honestly, for many, that was the instant they realized just how bad the situation was.
Well there you go. what Texas needs is the “Burn baby burn” slogan.
Never fear- the gubment is here.
My sincere sadness for those who have and who will lose their homes and livlihood.
Give me a freakin’ break!! Who invited those morons to the fire!!!
Our volunteers are the backbone of our first responders.
How DARE they!!
/rant
Man, we need some rain. It's gonna get worse.
The only thing going for Bastrop is the proximity of local lakes for the helicopter buckets.
and Perry was in Bastrop yesterday, promising help....hmmmm...
Prince John’s minions have made a decision.
The article does NOT say IF another request had been sent for federal aid, but, sure reads like it could have been done. If these fires are on any part of BamBamKennedy lands they would not have to ask to take control.
There does not appear to be any rain coming in the near forecast and so given the drought this year a whole lot of work is ahead.
but to be fair to the Forest Service Fire person, the Incident command structure of a sector fire is modeled after military protocols,.....you don't just dispatch yourself to Afghanistan and start shooting the place up, ....and you dont send crews into hopeless fire skirmishes to get burned up
Yep, can't have 'volunteer' firemen showing up the 'professionals' from FeralGoob.
If they had any idea how stupid they look from here, the feds would crawl back home to DC.
/johnny
And I'm pretty tired of the fire-fighter/warfighter analogy. Fires suck and are difficult. But they don't shoot back with YOU as the as personal target.
/johnny
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