Daily Commentary – Monday, September 7, 2015 – Just Got Back From A Trip Thru Montana, Idaho and Washington and Witnessed All the Smoke From the Fires

• Those emergency personnel that put their lives on the line to battle these fires are the real heros

Daily Commentary – Monday, September 7, 2015 Download

Daily Commentary – Friday, August 14, 2015 – California Fires Burning Up Some Medical Marijuana Farms

• Cannabis plants that are growing around some of state’s fires, especially the Rocky Fire near Clear Lake are in jeopardy of being destroyed in the fires

Daily Commentary – Friday, August 14, 2015 Download

Happy Birthday … Smokey Bear Turns 70 Years Old, “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SMOKEY THE BEAR TURNED 70 ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014.

Wow, hard to believe that Smokey the Bear turned 70. Smokey the Bear is probably one of the best and enduring PSA’s put out by the government and the US Department of Forestry. Over the decades Smokey the Bear has had makeovers. Personally, I like the 50′s and 60′s Smokey. What is most interesting is that Smokey’s PSA’s were not originally from the Forestry department, but from the “Wartime Ad Council” instead. Smokey’s job was to warn Americans of the danger of forest fires, not those set by Americans,  but by the Japanese. During World War II, Japan launched fire bombing balloons into the jet stream hoping to destroy American natural resources.

Remember … Only You!

Happy birthday, Smokey Bear! Forest firefighting symbol turns 70.

The Forest Service unveiled Smokey Bear as a symbol for fire prevention on Aug. 9, 1944. Tidwell said the country averaged about 160,000 wildfires annually in 1944, compared with 60,000 today, a decline he attributes to the Smokey Bear campaign.

Up to 90 percent of U.S. wildfires are caused by humans, according to the National Park Service.

Tidwell said today’s wildfires tend to be larger due to drier, hotter weather. With more people living near forested areas, Smokey’s message is more relevant than ever, he said.

Smokey The Bear Song – 1952

CBS NEWS:

He goes to work in blue jeans and utters only one sentence, but his message is loud and clear – “Only you can prevent wildfires.”

Smokey Bear just turned 70 years old, and his image is getting a reboot, reports CBS News’ Ben Tracy.

“Smokey has had a little work done. His costume has been updated… He’s got a fresh new look,” said Peggy Conlon, president of the Advertising Council, the organization that has overseen Smokey’s iconic image from the beginning.

“Ninety-four percent of Americans recognize Smokey Bear,” she said. “He’s really survived generations. And he’s beloved and everybody remembers his phrase.”

Smokey was created in 1944, one of the first campaigns from the newly created “Wartime Ad Council.” The same folks also coined the phrase, “loose lips sink ships.”

Smokey’s job was to warn Americans of the danger of forest fires — not those set by Americans — but by the Japanese. During World War II, Japan launched fire bombing balloons into the jet stream hoping to destroy American natural resources.

Missing California Firefighter Michael Herdman Found Dead One Mile Away From Where He was Last Seen Alive (Update: Coroner Rules Death Accidental)

36 year old Michael Herdman has been found dead about 3/4 of a  mile away and 1200 feet up from where he was last seen alive in in Los Padres National Forest. Herdman’s body was found. Herdman’s body was discovered at 10 a.m. Friday by a pilot flying overhead and they called in searchers to that area. The body lay over terrain and was partially covered by brush. Through dental records a positive ID was made but it is not yet been determined what caused the firefighters death.  Herdman was last seen Friday, June 13 on a cliff above the Sespe River in rugged terrain of the Los Padres National Forest.

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said there was was no sign of foul play. Michael Herdman is survived by his wife and daughter.

A California firefighter who went missing two weeks ago during a camping trip after he ran after his dog has been found dead among rugged terrain in Los Padres National Forest, authorities said Friday.

Michael Herdman, 36, ran after his black lab, Duke, the night of June 13 while he was barefoot and wearing just a T-shirt and shorts.

The wayward pooch was found Saturday in a parking lot where his owner had parked his car — about 12 miles from where Herdman and buddy Taylor Byars, 27, had set up camp along a river bottom in woods outside the city of Fillmore.

The partially covered body was spotted by a helicopter and eventually recovered. Authorities are unsure if he fell or how exactly Herdman died.

Press Conference for deceased Michael Herdman

UPDATE I: Coroner says Missing Arcadia firefighter Mike Herdman died instantly in a cliff-side fall.

Arcadia Firefighter Mike Herdman died instantly after falling from a cliff in the Sespe Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office.

“The injuries were significant enough that when the fall occurred it caused immediate death,” said Armando Chavez, chief deputy medical examiner. “He’d fallen off the edge of a mountain or a cliff.”

36 Year Old Off-Duty Arcadia Firefighter Michael Herdman Missing Since 6/13/14 While Hiking in Mountains North of Filmore in Ventura County, CA (Update: Dog Matching the Mkie’s Dog Duke Description was Spotted Wednesday)(Update: Mike Herdman’s Dog Duke Found Safe)

36 year old off-duty  Arcadia firefighter Michael Herdman went missing Friday night, June 13, 2014 while hiking in the rugged mountains of Ventura county in the Sespe Wilderness area north of Filmore, California. According to Capt. Mike Franke of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Herdman took off after the dog on Friday while he was hiking with a friend to Tar Creek Trail Head, which is off a dirt road in the Topatopa Mountains. Herdman was barefoot and wearing only shorts and a T-shirt when he was last seen by his friend, Taylor Byars. Herdman also had no food and no water with him.

Missing Michael Herdman - click on pic to watch KCAL 9 VIDEO

UPDATE I: The Search continues for missing Michael Herdman:

Michael Herdman, 36, and fellow firefighter/paramedic Taylor Byars hiked to Tar Creek Trail and set up camp along the Sespe Creek on Friday evening when Herdman’s dog ran away.

Herdman, who was barefoot and wearing shorts and a T-shirt, along with Byars, ran after the dog.

A short time later, the two men became separated, authorities said.

Byars searched for Herdman for nearly two days before he made his way out of the wilderness and reported his friend missing Sunday evening.

Deputies said it took a long time for Byars to report what happened because the camp was so far out.

Investigators said there are no signs of foul play.

Byars made his way back to the campsite, but Herdman, a seven-year firefighter veteran, and his dog, Duke, never returned.

Map – screen grab from KCAL video above

UPDATE II: Missing California Firefighter’s Backpack, Footprints Found.

Rescuers scouring a rugged corner of California hoping to find missing firefighter have found the man’s backpack and footprints leading away from his camp.

Mike Herdman, 34, an avid outdoorsman, was on a weekend camping trip in the Los Padres National Forest with his buddy, fellow firefighter Taylor Byars. Byars told authorities he last saw his friend on Friday chasing after his dog Duke, which had run into a creek.

“We found his backpack. We found footprints in the directions that he was last seen going. So we are starting from there and working our way out methodically, rock by rock and bush by bush,” Buschow said.

UPDATE III: Dog Matching Pet’s Description Seen.

As efforts continued to locate a firefighter who went missing after chasing after his dog during a backpacking trip in the Los Padres National Forest, a canine matching the pet’s description was spotted Wednesday.

The sighting of the dog by search teams offered hope that Michael Herdman, a seven-year veteran of the Arcardia Fire Department, was alive in the mountain about Fillmore.

“We are all expecting to see Mike come over the hill behind us and be surprised to see us all here,” said family friend Mike MacGregor.

UPDATE IV: Helicopter in Search for Missing Firefighter Grounded by Private Drone Interference.

Civilian searchers with good intentions were arriving to aid the professional effort to find Mike Herdman, 36, but were ill prepared for the wilderness,  Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Eric Buschow said.

Additionally, a helicopter that had been used in the search was grounded because a private party had launched a drone into the search area, Buschow said.

“It is absolutely illegal to fly anything back here other than our operation that’s going on now,” he said.

It was not clear how long the helicopter was grounded for.

UPDATE V: Searchers Find Dog of Missing California Firefighter.

Search crews have located the dog of missing California firefighter Mike Herdman more than a week after he went missing in a national forest north of Los Angeles.

Officials said the dog, named Duke, was “exhausted” but in good shape. Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean said there was no sign of Herdman and that the search would scale down starting tonight.

Duke – Facebook

Update 2:24 p.m.: Search crews find missing firefighter’s dog.

Search crews looking for a missing Arcadia Fire Department say they’ve found the dog he went after when he left his camp ground, shoeless and without his gear. They still haven’t located Herdman himself, however.

The Arcadia Fire Department’s union posted a photo of the dog, named Duke, on their Facebook page Sunday afternoon.