Technology Fights Fires
Sequoia Forest Uses Unmanned Drone

By Rick Elkins

Sequoia Forest - For more than five decades, Smokey the Bear was the U.S. Forest Service's best firefighting tool. Today, the forest service is finding technology is one of its best tools to combat wildfires across the nation.

As crews got a handle on the Clover Fire in Sequoia National Forest last week, the latest in technology was used to determine remaining hot spots in that 15,000-acre inferno. An experimental unmanned drone aircraft operated by NASA and outfitted with heat-detecting equipment was flown over the fire area. It detected two areas of heat, both well within the fire interior.

The unmanned drone is just one of many forms of technology the forest service is utilizing to detect and combat wildfires, said Wayne Cook, fire technology transfer specialists with the USFS Fire Service Lab in Missoula, Mt.

“There is a tremendous amount of technology available and being developed to assist us,” he said, stressing it is those tools that will help the forest service improve on its 98 percent success rate on catching fires that are small, “and keeping them from becoming large.”

The unmanned drone, which flies at 22,000 feet, uses its infrared imaging to detect ground temperatures, which are accurate to within 0.5 degrees centigrade. With global positioning, the forest service is able to pinpoint those hot spots. The data are relayed through a communications satellite to NASA's Ames Center in Mountain View, where it is overlaid on Google Earth maps and sent to the interagency fire center in Boise, Idaho. From there, it is sent back to firefighters in California, enabling commanders to anticipate the fire and better allocate resources.

The Ikhana, which was made available to the Sequoia Forest at no charge, was first used last August when it flew over the Zaca fire in Santa Barbara County. Last week was the first time it has been used on Sequoia National Forest.

“It's a new tool,” said Cook, adding the forest service is working with NASA to evaluate the effectiveness of the drone.

After the drone flight, forest service personnel flew over the fire in a helicopter and used a Palm Infrared device – another tool – to also survey the fire for hot spots. “We found multiple hot spots the drone didn't find,” said Cook.

“We need to make sure the users of information from the drone are aware of limitations,” he added, stressing the helicopter was a few thousand feet above the fire, while the drone flies at 22,000 feet.

“The closer you get to the ground, the better information you get,” he said. However, the drone can fly in smoke and high winds that a plane or helicopter cannot.

The two flyovers and technology allowed the forest service to release personnel from that fire sooner so they could be reassigned to some of the other fires burning in California.

On Monday Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the use of the drone, saying it saved lives, time and money.

Besides the Clover Frie, Ikhana flew over 10 fires along a route over the Sierra Nevada, west to the Cub Complex fires and south to the Gap Fire in Santa Barbara County.

Detection Tools

The biggest advancement in fire suppression has been made is in detecting fires. Satellite imagery now assists firefighters in detecting hot spots or lightning-caused fires. Agencies such as the forest service and Cal Fire have had ground sensors to detect lighting strikes and now they have the satellite imagery twice a day to detect if those lightning strikes spark a small fire. Before, the firefighters had to rely on flyovers by fixed-wing aircraft or land crews to spot the small fires.

Not only does the Modis Satellite pinpoint the hot spots, using Google Earth photos fire officials can determine the threat from that hot spot – the fuel load, terrain – and estimate how fast that fire might grow and in which direction it is likely to advance, said David Allen, who took over as incident commander of the Clover Fire once it was determined the fire was mostly contained.

“It's a quick and easy way to determine where you're most vulnerable,” he said, adding it allows them to prioritize within minutes which hot spots need the most immediate attention. “You just work your way from high to low,” said Allen as to how they approach each fire.

“This has provided us with incredible verification that hey, there's something here. Sure enough, we'll find a fire,” added Cook.

All of the tools help the forest service to achieve what many in the public do not realize – that thousands of fires every year don't make headlines.

“Tens of thousands of fires are suppressed. People have no idea of our success catching those fires,” he said.

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Homeowners See Property Taxes Drop
Lower Property Values Hit Local Governments

By Miles Shuper

Tulare County - Despite a $600 million drop resulting from a massive reassessment of residential properties, Tulare County's assessed property values are expected to increase by 4 to 5 percent to a level of about $27 billion for fiscal 2008-09.

The drastic downturn will be reflected in Tulare County's upcoming budget as well as the budgets of cities. Properties taxes are based on 1 percent of assessed value. The estimated 4 to 5 percent overall increase comes on the heals of fiscal years soaring 12.8 percent rise last tax year and of a 14.3 percent jump the prior tax year. The 2005-06 tax year just missed a double-digit increase, totaling 9.9 percent.

Those surges are in the past, at least for a couple of years, local fiscal experts agree.

The $600 million plunge isn't likely to be repeated soon of the one-time massive reassessment of nearly 11,000 Tulare County residential properties. Those property owners are being notified their home's assessed values have dropped.

County Assessor Greg Hardcastle said the reassessments were based on the plunging real estate values which peaked in the fiscal year 2005-06. Only homes bought in 2005-06 were reassessed, he explained. A computer program was designed to tackle the massive task of reassessment of those 11,000 homes.

Roland Hill, assistant assessor, explained how the computer program was set up. “This project involved developing parameters, developing current and historical MVIs Market Value Indicators (MVIs) - i.e. price per square foot - and deriving percentage changes in value over specific periods of time.” Hill said parameters also induced data rages, property type and city/community areas.

The 2007 year will be analyzed and included into the project for the 2009-10 tax year.

Value notice cards are in the process of being mailed, Hardcastle said, adding that homeowners will be able to determine the current assessment value of their homes. “Should a homeowner determine that their property has not been included in the project or feels that the assessed value of their property is higher than the current market value, they should file an application for changed assessment with the clerk of the Board of Supervisors. That deadline is Nov. 30.”

The area parameters include all single family properties but not multi-family units such as duplexes, triplexes, etc., he explained.

Hill said that the actual individual property reductions run the gamut of percentage changes depending on the property's data parameters such as size, location, time of purchases and improvements. He said the reductions run the gamut from 5 percent to a high of about 35 percent.

He did relate, however, an example of a family which purchased a home for about $400,000. That home was reassessed at around $260,000 in today's real estate market. The annual property tax dropped by nearly $1,500, which figures to about $125 per month.

That sounds like welcome news, but it isn't.

The homeowners, who asked not to be identified, purchased the two-story 2,500 sq. ft. home in southwest Visalia in 2006. The wife said although she and her family like the home and the neighborhood, they are troubled with the fact they could not sell it if they wanted to without facing a substantial loss.

“We owe much more than it is worth,” she said, adding that there are several nearby houses for sale, including one across the street facing foreclosure auction.
“There are houses still being built in the area, but at a much slower pace” than when she and her husband bought there, she said.

Even if the market rebounds, it is unlikely it will be at a swift increase.
County and city officials already are aware that surge in assessed values in and around Tulare County will have a significant impact on their revenues and budgets.
With California continuing to face critical budget deficits, counties and cities know they face tough budget decisions.

Although local officials can't make final decisions until the State of California budget is finalized, they are preparing for cuts.

With the state returning an average of about 16 cents on the property tax dollars to Tulare County and state officials working around the clock to find ways to cut programs, a downturn in total assessed value makes things even harder.

Tulare County Executive Officer Jean Rousseau says the $600 million bite the residential reassessment takes from the new fiscal year property values will be felt for some time. He said it is unlikely there will be significant growth in the next year or two to offset the 2008-9 fiscal year decline.

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Drilling for Oil in Tulare County

Tulare County - Who knew? Tulare County has a small but active oil field in the south part of the county called the Deer Creek field near the town of Terra Bella. Commuters who have taken Highway 65 down to Bakersfield over the years have seen oil pumping units on both sides of the highway that have been slowly pumping away for decades through $9 a barrel days to $130 a barrel today.

By industry standards, Tulare County production is literally a drop in the bucket with on average 4,000 barrels of oil being produced monthly, according to state statistics. That's up a little from past years when the averages were about 500 barrels less. By contrast, Kern County pumps out about 14 million barrels a month – around 80% of the state's production.

“Most wells around the county aren't gushers,” says Bill Filippi whose family-owned enterprise is Pentarch Petroleum. Instead, they produce about 2 to 3 barrels of crude a day, says Filippi whose father bought land in the 1950s based on a chance encounter.

“My uncle and my dad had business in San Fernando. One day this bum came up to them and told them he knew of a secret oil field up near Deer Creek that people had invested in but the driller said it had come up dry. Turns out the drillers were trying to fool the investors and were planning to return later to drill. My uncle ended up coming up to Tulare County and buying a section of land. “He liked to come up on weekends to watch them drill.”

Turns out that there was oil on the property, he says.

A family feud had Bill's father and his uncle dividing up the land in 1978.

The tall tale notwithstanding, the Deer Creek field has been pumping out oil since the mid-1970s and in the '80s, wells in the area were producing nearly 8,000 barrels a day – about double what they do today, perhaps reflecting the overall decline in the supply of south valley crude that has been declining as well. Just this year, two of the producers in the Deer Creek area – Filippi and Bakersfield-based Longbow – applied to the county for additional permits to drill with both applications approved.
Well drilling applications to the state have increased about 30% this year over last – no doubt because oil is fetching $130 a barrel – double what it was just a few years ago.

Not that drilling for oil in Tulare County is easy. Filippi says he waited nine months to get his conditional use permit from the county that will allow him to drill up to 60 more wells in the area. He has six wells producing now and does expect to drill more than two or three in the year, probably down to about 1,000 feet each if they look promising.

“They tell you to go out and drill, drill, drill, but the wheels of government seem to go pretty slow,” he notes.

When he first applied for the permit, he was surprised to talk to county planners who didn't know there was oil in Tulare County.

Then it's tough to get drilling companies to come to Terra Bella to drill or do repair work with Filippi, noting he waited three months for a contractor to come with a rig at $400 an hour. “We are a small player on the edge of the oil patch,” he says.
Ironically, an average well puts out lots more deep ground water than oil, says Filippi, and in the Deer Creek area it's just about drinking water quality. With the skyrocketing price of water in the valley, they might want to start a side business.
Deer Creek is small but “every barrel counts,” says state Department of Conservation official Don Drysdale.

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New Water Bond Proposed
Legislature Would Have to Place Measure on Ballot

By John Lindt

California - With crops withering on the Westside and much of the rest of California going up in smoke from wildfires, the California drought appears to be top of the mind for California's voters.

That's the view of Tim Quinn, executive director for ACWA – Association of California Water Agencies – pointing to a new poll showing 80% support for the notion that the state is in the middle of a water crisis. In addition, 63% of statewide voters said they would vote for a water bond between $9 to 12 billion, a July 2 poll revealed.

Last week, Gov. Schwarzenegger and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein submitted a specific and downsized proposal to the Legislature to support a $9.3 billion bond that could help the Delta promote conservation and add water storage. With the state's top Republicans and top Democrats joining forces – this bi-partisan approach just might work this time, say water officials.

“I've heard most positive signals coming from Democratic leaders,” says Quinn referring to state Senator Don Perata and Assembly leader Karen Bass. But environmental groups, like the Sierra Club, have been skeptical.

Schwarzenegger has indicated he believes there is enough support to build a two-thirds majority in both houses to send the matter to the voters in November. Quinn says “we have until around mid-August to pass a bill.”

“This is the fourth water bond proposal I've been involved with,” says Ron Jacobsma of Friant Water Users Authority. “I think this one has the best chance yet.” He notes that this version offers $3 billion for water storage – down from over $5 billion in past bonds. It also offers $2 billion for regional projects that include water projects on the San Joaquin River and in the Tulare Lake Basin. It also includes $1.9 billion for the Delta and sets the stage for a conveyance device like a new peripheral canal.

Not so optimistic is Lower Tule River Executive Director Dan Vink who fears continued opposition by environmental folks to water projects that include storage will sink this bond proposal too. “People have to realize it's been 40 years since we built any new infrastructure to deliver water but for environmental groups – storage (dams) are still a problem.”

But Quinn points to several environmental groups' statements that appear to support the new bond plan particularly the highly regarded Nature Conservancy that sees the need for additional water infrastructure is important to help the fish population survive. “We hope the Legislature will use this proposal as the basis for negotiations to work to place a carefully considered, comprehensive measure on the November ballot,” says executive director for the Nature Conservancy Mike Sweeny.

Declines in fish species in the Delta has forced the cutoff of water supplies to the south that serve both farmers and cities with water from the wetter north part of the state.

Environmentalists blame “corporate farmers” greed for water for the decline of fish even though waste water from Sacramento appears to have as much blame from flushing toilets at the capitol.

But these farmers also employ a lot of workers who are suffering even more pain than the farmers this summer because the lack of water means no work.

Rationing up and down the state spreads the pain making it likely that if the measure makes the ballot – crowded or not – it has a good chance of passing, say supporters.

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Northside Shopping Center Filling Up

Visalia - Orchard Walk East at Riggin and Dinuba Highway is filling up with a planned fall opening for a number of the stores. The top anchors are Target, expected to open Oct. 12, Sportsman's Warehouse, a big box hunting and fishing-oriented outdoor retailer, and Ross Stores, says Commercial Retail Associates representative Shane Anderson.

With one larger 25,000-square-foot anchor space still up for grabs after PetSmart decided against a second store in town, the rest of the center is filling up.

Asked if it seemed like a tough time to market a new “green” location like this, Anderson says retailers looking at Visalia still see it as a “two store town” with many of the retailers having a south Mooney location as well. “They are talking long term.”

Anderson says other retailers signed up or with leases pending are Radio Shack, Famous Footwear, Game Stop, Super Cuts and four eateries – Que Pasa, McDonalds, Subway and Mountain Mike's Pizza.

The other new retailer is Maurices – an affiliate of Dress Barn that has a store on mid-Mooney. The retailer has a new proposed location next to Target in Porterville and a location at the Hanford Mall. The store plans a 5,500-square-foot outlet in north Visalia.

“I think many of the retailers want to open by Nov. 1 to ensure they take advantage of the holiday season.”

As to the future of Orchard Walk West, on the other side of Dinuba Highway, the big anchor Home Depot has yet to pick up its building permit at the city, although sources believe the big home improvement retailer will move forward with some pads to be marketed at this sister center. “I think they are about nine months behind the other center,” says Anderson.

Just a few blocks south, Joe Gong's Food 4 Less shopping center has attracted new tenants as well with a Panda Express and CVS Pharmacy under construction and several smaller tenants planned including Verizon, Cigarette Store and Check N Go. Already open at the center are a hair salon called Metro Cut, a nail salon, El Agave restaurant and Fred Loya Insurance.

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Driving, Accidents Down in Area

By Rick Elkins

Tulare County - It is not easy to find many positives in today's high price for fuel, but apparently with a reduction in driving comes a reduction in traffic accidents.

Lt. Steve Sullivan with the local CHP office said the number of traffic accidents through May of this year is more than 8 percent less than the three-year average for the same period. And, the number of injury accidents is also down.

“If you want to look for a silver lining – there it is,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan said that for the first five months of the year the number of accidents is off 8.4 percent – from a three-year average of 943 through May to just 864 through May of this year. The 864 accidents are the lowest of the three-year period. Injury accidents in the Visalia area are down 12.8 percent from last year.

“Statewide, the number of accidents is down,” as well, reported Sullivan.
Officers with the Visalia CHP report fewer drivers on the road. Sullivan said all of his officers have not only noticed a decrease in traffic on roadways in the county, but it appears many motorists have slowed down just a little.

Less traffic is being reported across the nation as motorists cope with record high gas prices. Americans drove less in March 2008, continuing a trend that began last November, according to estimates released by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

The FHWA's “Traffic Volume Trends” report, produced monthly since 1942, shows that estimated vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on all U.S. public roads for March 2008 fell 4.3 percent as compared with March 2007 travel. This is the first time estimated March travel on public roads fell since 1979. At 11 billion miles less in March 2008 than in the previous March, this is the sharpest yearly drop for any month in FHWA history.

Sullivan said he noticed a drop in traffic when he traveled to Southern California over the Fourth of July holiday. “We went to Disneyland and I was amazed by the lack of traffic,” he said.

When he checked with his officers, they all said they had noticed not only lighter traffic on most days, but that people are slowing down – probably to save on fuel.
That could be the reason for a drop in the number of accidents, although Sullivan said accidents come in bunches and it could just be a down time. However, if people have slowed down, then the severity of accidents could diminish as well.
Gas prices have remained steady for about three weeks now, the longest period they have not gone up significantly in nearly three months. The average is still around $4.50 a gallon at most locations in Tulare County, but prices about $4.70 a gallon can be found as well.

Not Everyone Staying Home

Despite record gas prices and concerns about the economy, a majority of the Automobile Club of Southern California's members are planning to take at least the same amount of vacation trips this summer compared to last year, and 90 percent will make at least one out-of-town getaway, according to a new survey by the Auto Club.

The survey showed that 41 percent of Auto Club members plan to travel about the same amount this summer as last year, while 26 percent plan to take more trips than last year and 33 percent expect to take fewer trips.

“Three-quarters of surveyed members stated that they expected to spend about the same amount or more on travel compared to last summer, while 25 percent said they expected to spend less. When asked why they expected to spend less, 85 percent of the latter group cited high gas prices as their primary reason.

Cell Phone Law

Sullivian said his officers have been pleasantly surprised by how well drivers have complied with the new cell phone law.

On July 1, people could no longer use their cell phones while driving unless they had a hands-free cell phone device and those under 18 are prohibited from speaking on a cell phone at all while driving.

The head of the Visalia CHP said his officers wrote six tickets the first day the law went into effect and have written a few tickets every day, but not as many as they expected.

“Overall, compliance has been pretty good,” he said.

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What's New

Jerry Snifit, general manager of the International Agri-Center in Tulare, says the Agri-Center and the Tulare County Economic Development Corporation have worked out space issues at the Hertiage Complex that will allow the EDC to remain at that location and for the Agri-Center to move all of its offices into the complex. Snifit said they hope to move the rest of their administrative staff into the Heritage Complex before February's World Ag Expo.

Home building in Visalia continues to be slow with just 650 new homes likely to be permitted this year, say city officials. That's a third of what it was at the peak of the boom. But large mixed-use projects are still being constructed, including 198 apartments near Caldwell being proposed this week on land owned by McMillin Homes and a large seven-acre, 223,000-square-foot senior housing project on Lovers Lane being proposed by a Pacific Northwest company, Mountain West Retirement Communities. This is the first project for the big firm in California.

Visalia realtor Brad Maaske and his wife caught a late dinner at Tommy's in downtown Visalia a few nights ago only to be accosted by three men brandishing a gun afterwards in a parking lot. Maaske told his wife Brenda to run while he refused to hand over his keys or wallet and struggled with the three men. His wife, who had driven separately to the restaurant, threw her keys at the guys and ran away. The guys backed off with no shots being fired but the men took off in Brenda's Mustang. The shaken couple heard from police that the Mustang had been found the next day stripped and burned in the countryside near Tulare. It was the second such car jacking incident in the past few weeks. Police are investigating if the incidents are related.

Visalia is the 18th fastest growing city over 100,000 residents in the United States, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week. Visalia gained 4,101 residents from July 1, 2006 to July 1, 2007, a 3.6 percent growth rate. Victorville was the second fastest growing city with a 9.5 percent growth rate and cities in California made up five of the top 25 listed.

An improvement in timber prices and the availability of logs has allowed Sierra Forest Products in Terra Bella to increase its milling to three weeks out of a month. Low prices and the threat of running out of logs this summer had forced the mill to cut back operations to every other week earlier this year. “Hopefully, in a few months we can get back to full time,” said Kent Duysen, president of the mill.

Ross Stores, Inc. reported sales of $628 million for the five weeks ending July 5, a 15 percent increase over the same period in 2007. Same-store sales for the five weeks rose 8 percent on top of a 4 percent gain in the prior year.

The Visalia City Council agreed to spend between $7 million and $14 million with Carollo Engineers to run a four-mile pipeline from the city's water conservation plant to ponding basins west of town to carry treated effluent to be used on agricultural lands.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says she will seek $910 million in emergency federal funding for fire suppression, hazardous fuels reduction and rehabilitation projects across the United States in wake of recent disastrous fires, most in California.

The American Chemistry Council has tapped former Democratic Congressman Cal Dooley to lead its association. Dooley, 54, is currently the president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association. He will take over the helm of the ACC on Sept. 8. Dooley served in Congress representing Tulare and Kings counties from 1991-2005.
Compared to May of 2007, the number of people unemployed in Tulare County has risen 15 percent. The biggest decline in jobs has been in real estate, rental leasing where employment is off 21.4 percent and textile mills, off 18.5 percent. The biggest gain was in leisure and hospitality with a 20 percent gain in jobs. Farm jobs were off 2.6 percent and all job categories combined showed a 0.8 decline. Local government jobs increased 3.6 percent.

Back to the 1940s? UC Cooperative Extension advisor Rose Hayden-Smith is calling on Californians to plant Victory Gardens to ease a variety of the nation's ills. The last great push for Victory Gardens came from the federal government during World War II. Today, Hayden-Smith said, there isn't as strong a connection between American military involvement and the home front, but the American way of life is imperiled by more than foreign wars – ever-rising fuel and food prices, the threat of global warming and a high rate of obesity.

Three straight weeks of gas price declines have brought only slight relief at the pump for drivers, with most area gas price averages dropping by less than 10 cents from their records, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California's Weekend Gas Watch. Gas prices in Tulare County average about $4.48 a gallon for unleaded regular.
The law firm of Dooley, Herr, Peltzer and Richardson was given a two-year extension as the city's legal representative. The retainer fee is $23,000 a month and $160 an hour for attorney services, and $110 an hour for para-professional services.

The Visalia City Council awarded a $791,445 contract to add lighting for declared distances, install security gate access and remark a runway at the Visalia Municipal Airport. The bid was $41,000 less than the engineer's estimate.

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Top of the News

Visalians Generally
Happy with City

Visalia - The annual public opinion survey taken by the Citizen Advisory Committee found most residents are generally happy with their city and with city government.

Based on 400 responses, 76 percent rated the quality of life as high or very high. The gang problem was the number one concern listed and 68 percent said it was important to enhance the downtown area. Sixth-four percent of the respondents said traffic conditions were average or worse in the city.

On public safety, 76 percent of those who had contact with police said they received good or better service, while 80 percent said they had received excellent service from the fire department.

Council members expressed a desire to see the next survey better reflect all segments of the community as the recent survey make up was 77 percent caucasian and 80 percent owned homes. Also, only 13 percent of the respondents lived in the northeast area, while 40 percent were in the northwest.

Serpa Opens Hyundai
Store in Hanford

Hanford - Car dealer Frank Serpa has opened Serpa Hyundai on 198 at 12th in Hanford. “My daughter's birthday is July 4 and I always try to open new dealerships on that date,” says Serpa, who has several dealerships in Visalia.

The new 20,000-square-foot dealership cost $4 million to build offering Kings County both new car service and parts for the Korean car maker. Serpa owns the lot next door and has long range plans to bring in another car line.

The new dealership is next door to the Toyota and Scion dealerships. Serpa says fuel-efficient cars like Hyundai, Kia and Suzuki are increasingly popular with motorists looking to save money on gas. For now, Serpa is retaining his Lacey and 11th used car dealerships even though the city – the property owner – has indicated it might want to convert it to recreational use.

Citizens in the Know
Academy Gets Council OK

Visalia - Applications are being taken soon for the first ever Citizens in the Know academy for up to 25 participants after the Visalia City Council approved its formation Monday night.

The goal of the academy is to increase public participation in local government and provide citizens with a first-hand look at the internal workings of the city. The academy will run for six weeks.

Those seeking to apply must be residents of the city of Visalia, be at least 18 years old and commit to attend all sessions. Applications will be taken through Sept. 5 at the Community Relations Manager's office at 425 E. Oak St., Suite 301.

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