November 24, 2010 is the 30th Anniversary of the Panorama Fire
Chuck Mills (Forest Fire Chief) continued his career with FEMA and the private sector
Fire Captain Jim Wilkins (San Bernardino County F.D., Retired) produced and directed the Panorama Fire video documentary. The documentary was widely used as a training aid throughout California for many years and is still an excellent piece of journalism reflecting the history of the San Bernardino Mountains. San Bernardino National Forest used a sole remaining ¾” studio copy of the original to transfer it to digital and ensure it would be around for many more decades for all to see.
The information below is from an email we received from Jim in November, 2006 that describes his efforts in documenting this important piece of firefighting history:
Jim Wilkins - Producer, Editor, and Videographer
In 1980, I had been doing a lot of industrial videos and films as both on camera talent or producer. I had purchased a broadcast quality Sony 3/4″ deck and camera and had been putting a lot of small projects together. On a warm November day, I had been conducting interviews for a PBS documentary about a freeway crash that killed eleven people in the fog. I monitored the radio and heard our units heading for San Bernardino to help with a vegetation fire. I figured I’d tag along and get some stock footage of wild fire. Little did I know what we would be driving into or how long I would be involved.As we drove into San Bernardino, it became apparent that this was no ordinary fire. The sheer size and volume of smoke and flame was incredible. Forty-king came on the air and stated that he was over the high school at a hover and the air speed indicator was reading ninety mph. Comm Center came on the radio and told all units coming in to take independent action until some plan could be organized. Block after block was on fire.
I gave the camera to my driver and showed him how to work it and joined up with my engine. I fought fire for 24 hours while he tried to stay out of the path of the flames and came up with some good shots. The fire was so intense that if a house had just a little bit of flame on the shake roof, we would move two houses over….because it was going to the ground in spite of our best efforts.
On the second day, I resumed shooting and shot until the end of the fire. Sony brought me out cases of tape and batteries from LA. I slept at whatever fire station I was at and most often slept in my car. It was an incredible experience.
When it was all over, I had some 75 hours of raw tape and needed a place to edit. The Air Force ran the Department of Defense Audio Visual center at Norton and had state of the art equipment. I am sure when they agreed to help, they thought I might have a few hours to put together. They never flinched as we unloaded case after case of tape to be bumped up to reel to reel two inch tape. For the next 16 weeks, I worked from 7 to 3 for the Air Force narrating training films or working on live TV broadcasts and from 3 until 10 pm, a crew of five worked on the Panorama program.
I would go home and write the narration and storyboard for the next day’s work. We listened to every 911 call….every piece of radio traffic and collected over 30 hours of outside film or tape that was used in places. Because my microphone was too sensitive, all of the sound was unusable because of the wind noise. So….everything you hear on the program had to be created in the studio. Wind…fire….buildings burning…all were layered sounds that we made on the foley stage. We went around and arranged interviews with dozens of folks and cut those into the program to help illustrate the magnitude of this fire.
Duane Mellinger - Central Valley Fire Chief
When it was over, I was drained. Watching the devastation over and over….seeing the hundreds of homes destroyed day after day, was difficult. It has aired a number of times on PBS and footage has been used in over 25 TV productions around the world. I am proud of the effort and believe that it still stands alone as a chronicle of what happens when fire comes down the mountain. I was proud to be able to tell the story of the men and women who put themselves in harms’ way for the good of us all. ~ Jim Wilkins, 2006
In a continuing quest to race all of the 4 Deserts and to complete an Ultra Marathon on all 7 continents, Kenneth Perry is heading to Antarctica to run a 250-kilometer footrace across the Antarctica Peninsula.
The Last Desert is an epic expedition across the final frontier, Antarctica. Following a similar format to the other 4 Deserts events, The Last Desert is the final 250-kilometer (150 mile) footrace of the series. Due to the unpredictable weather, race stages can vary in distance from 10 to 100 miles (16- 160 km) per stage. Unlike the other 4 Deserts events, competitors will set up camp on an Antarctic ship and will have morning and evening meals provided by the crew. The ship will sail to each stage location overnight and competitors will wake to a different environment and a new challenge each day. Cut-off times will be established daily so that anyone walking the course can complete it. Entry is by invitation-only and competitors must have completed at least two of the other 4 Deserts events (Gobi March, Atacama Crossing, Sahara Race) to be eligible.
Project Enlighten
The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2010 will take place on the Antarctic Peninsula and its surrounding islands. Departing from Ushuaia, Argentina, invited individuals, teams and family and friends will make their way to Antarctica via the Antarctic Dream expedition ship passing through the rough Drake Passage. Several stages totaling 250 kilometers (150 miles) will be run on one or more separate locations which have been carefully chosen taking into account safety, the environment, wildlife and landscape.
Ken running in support of "Project Enlighten"
Kenneth Perry is an Air Tactical Officer and chief instructor/check airman for the Aerial Supervision Module program with the U.S.D.I. Bureau of Land Management. Previously he was a Hotshot and Smokejumper, spending 16 years fighting fire all over the United States and Canada. A lifelong runner, Ken started running long distance events after recovering from multiple back surgeries; he discovered that endurance events were his passion.
Kenneth Perry and Project Enlighten (PE) have teamed up to work together to raise funds for PE. Kenneth is graciously using his passion to create opportunities for the children that PE serves. Ordinary People Doing Extra-Ordinary Things!
Please consider contributing to this worthy cause by CLICKING HERE.
I’m very disappointed. I’m actually very saddened after hearing the experiences and pain that one of our firefighters is having. It doesn’t need to happen nor ever be repeated again… but IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME…. to both the public and our firefighters.
After years of “preaching and advocating” about burn injuries needing proper Regional Burn Center evaluation and treatment (primarily for on duty firefighters)… an “off duty” injury occurs to a fellow firefighter. What happens?
Does the person follow what they’ve learned and/or are expected to do? No.What the f^&% (WTF)!!!!!
The person goes to their local HMO hospital or clinic… receives substandard burn treatment and pain management… and is dumbfounded at the treatment he/she receives… and even worse complains about it…. He/she is even told they are free to return to work without restriction from the M.D. It’s NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.
YOU DON’T have to accept care LESS than the established professional standards. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT to ask for ANDINSIST for specialist care and treatment if you are injured.
Just a short note on why there hasn’t been much activity lately at RamblingChief.Com. We have been working on getting our sister website (WildfireTUBE.Com) switched over to a new high speed / high capacity / high bandwidth webserver. It’s been quite a chore, but we’ve finally found a proper setup.
Here are some of the improvements (might sound like “geek speak”) that will make your experience there more pleasant:
1.98 GHZ Processor
1344 MB of RAM
1 GB of Uplink
Guaranteed High Speed / High Capacity Bandwidth
Ability to Expand
If you haven’t tried WildfireTUBE.Com out yet, give it a try…. It’s free and registration is not required unless you want to upload and share photos or videos.
A public television style adaptation of Gary Hines' one-man play about the first Chief of the Forest Service. The video incorporates historic photos and footage as Hines traces Pinchot's colorful life including his friendships with John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt. Covers the conservation movements stormy beginnings at the turn of the century and e […]
August 5th, 1949. It's a broiling hot day across Montana. The thermometer in Helena reads 97 degrees. But it's even hotter in Mann Gulch - a funnel-shaped canyon that adjoins the Missouri River 20 miles north of Helena. In the afternoon, a fire is reported on the south ridge of Mann Gulch and 16 smokejumpers take off from Missoula and fly 120 miles […]
This video discusses the aftermath of 1988 - the year of fire in Greater Yellowstone. It focuses on the questions of what caused the fires of 1988, how much of the Greater Yellowstone Area really did burn, and what is being done to recover the burned areas. It goes on to detail the progress and direction of recovery a year after the flames. Video Credit - U. […]
The fires of 1910 touched individuals, families, firefighters, army personnel, communities and people worldwide. To many residents of our communities within the fires impact area, the 1910 fires are still a current topic of discussion each summer when smoke is in the air. Many programs in the US Forest Service evolved from the 1910 fires and their aftermath. […]
Original description: On California's State parks. Reel 1 shows forests, streams, waterfalls, brush, and mountains in Redwood, Humboldt, Calaveras, and Tamalpais State Parks. CCC men clear undergrowth, cut and process lumber, dig culverts, build bridges, and work on roads and trails with bulldozers and tractors. Reel 2 shows views of Prairie Creek and B […]
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