The FireWXPhoto Blog

Welcome to my Blog. I am an Emergency Incident and weather photographer located in Southern California. I am also a member of the Emergency Photographers Network. Feel free to leave comments and enjoy your stay at the FireWXPhoto Blog. Be sure to check out my website at www.FireWXPhoto.com where you will find my photo galleries. If you have comments or questions, send me an email.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

On Sunday evening the San Bernardino County Fire Department responded to a reported off road accident on Means Dry Lake. Upon arrival we found a single vehicle roll over with multiple patients. One patient's injuries required air transport and a second patient was transported by ground to a local hospital. More photos can be seen here in the gallery section of FireWXPhoto.com.

Photo by EPN-564

Monday, January 10, 2011

Weather and Lightning from 2010

I finally got around to editing a few trips worth of photos from the summer of 2010. The photos are from many areas of California, Nevada and Arizona including Johnson Valley, Barstow, Landers, Joshua Tree, Kern County, and Palmdale. There is also a set from the Lake Sutherland and Anza Borrego areas of San Diego County. Some others include Searchlight NV, Kingman AZ, Seligman AZ, Grand Canyon AZ, and Lake Havasu AZ

The rest of the photos can be seen here in the gallery section of FireWXPhoto.com.

Photo by EPN-564

BDC - Structure - 1-7-11 Lucerne Valley

The San Bernardino County Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire on Custer Ave in Lucerne Valley. BDC E8 was the first engine on scene and reported a working fire to the rear of the structure. The crew from E8 got a quick knockdown and did a good save to the structure. Engine 331 from the Apple Valley FPD assisted the county.

More photos can be seen here in the gallery section of FireWXPhoto.com.

Photo by EPN-564
APP 331 doing roof operations

BDC - Structure - 12-25-10 - Mohawk Incident

YUCCA VALLEY — (Hi Desert Star) A Christmas Day apartment fire destroyed two apartments, damaged two more and left seven people homeless.

San Bernardino County units from Yucca Valley, Yucca Mesa and Joshua Tree, assisted by Cal Fire Yucca Valley and the Morongo Valley Fire Department, responded at 1:09 p.m. to the 6900 block of Mohawk Trail, where they learned that victims might be trapped in a two-story apartment complex.

On arrival, the crew from Yucca Valley Medic Engine 41 reported flame and smoke were showing from the first and second floors of the complex. They began fire control and rescue operations.

A woman in a wheelchair was found inside her apartment and was helped out of the burning building by county firefighters and sheriff’s deputies.


The woman told firefighters she was sleeping in bed and woke up to find the “whole side of the window on fire.” She got up and alerted two other residents, including her 4-year-old grandson, of the fire, Battalion Chief Dan Munsey reported.

With help from a friend, the woman initially tried to extinguish the fire by pouring water from pots and pans on the flames. “Quickly they realized the extent of the fire and exited the structure,” Munsey said.

Five engines and one truck were needed to control the fire, which completely destroyed two apartment units and caused minor damage to two others.

Shirley Peters, representing the local American Red Cross chapter, was called to the scene and provided immediate shelter, food and clothing for seven affected people in the apartment complex.

No one was hurt in the fire, which was caused by a faulty electrical outlet in an apartment’s back bedroom.

Dale Adams was visiting his mother at the apartment complex at the time of the fire. Adams tried to fight the blaze and helped evacuate people in the four-plex apartment complex of the fire.


“I smelled something like plastic, like a chemical smell,” Adams said by phone Monday afternoon. “The next building down had smoke coming out the window.

“I went running out the front. We could see fire up to the window sill,” Adams continued.

He went to the front door and found a woman and her grandson on the porch; they told him her cat was inside.

“Smoke was rolling out the front door pretty thick,” Adams said. “She took off running back into the apartment. The little boy followed her. The place was already so full of smoke you couldn’t get a breath of air.

“I went in and drug the boy back outside and told him to go to the parking lot. I found the occupant near where the fire was, on her hands and knees calling for the cat. I grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the front door.”

The cat did not survive.

After ensuring there were no other people in the apartment, Adams returned to size up the situation.

“It was so thick with smoke I couldn’t breathe, so I had to come back out and get a breath of fresh air. My mom was there with the fire extinguisher so I went in with it, then came back out for more air. I made it to the bedroom, pointed it blindly at the orange glow and pulled it for about five seconds.

Adams saw the fire crawling across the ceiling, “Like in a movie or something. It was really trippy. When I saw the flames above my head I decided it was time to pull out of there.”


BE19 was put on the ticket as part of the second alarm. By the time we got there from Landers most of the action was over. I did manage to get a few shots....

More photos can be seen here in the gallery section of FireWXPhoto.com


Photo by EPN-564