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Yahoo!Telling the story of a wildfire is difficult because so many intense experiences, so many quickly changing facts, so many human dramas must be woven into a whole cloth.
In this issue we have tried to give as clear as possible a picture of what happened to our community during the last week. Ray Ford, our Outdoor Editor, gives a blow-by-blow account of how more than 2,000 firefighters from 28 states assembled in the hills above Goleta to battle the raging blaze. Ethan Stewart, sifting through the more than 60 stories he and other reporters had filed since the fire broke out on July 1, wrote a concise overview of the near catastrophe. Ben Preston, Kathleen Zaratzian, and Abe Peck tell personal tales of life in an evacuation zone.
Also included are a timeline of the fire, day-by-day maps of its explosive growth, and, instead of our usual letters section, we have published just a few of the hundreds of letters and comments from our readers posted online at independent.com. Lastly, we have profiled firefighters, only two of the many great men and women who risked all to save us.
As Ray Ford noted in his July 7 online dispatch, “I cannot think of any other occupation, apart from the armed forces, which requires you to go any place in the country on a moment’s notice, where your are immediately put into the most difficult of circumstances, and then you are expected to devote your every effort to saving a community you may never visit again.”
• The Great Gap Fire of 2008 by Ethan Stewart
• On the Frontlines — Santa Barbara’s Wildfire Expert Reports from the Ground by Ray Ford
• Gap Fire Timeline by Indy Staff
• Just the Facts by Indy Staff
• Firefighter Portraits by Matt Kettman and Ben Preston
• Stories of Evacuation by Indy Staff
• How the Fire Grew by Indy Staff
• Firefighters Lingo by Indy Staff
• The Gap Firefighters by Indy Staff
• Did the Media Help — A Glimpse of the Brave New World of News by Jerry Roberts
• Online Readers Write In compiled by Indy Staff
• All Gap Fire Coverage by Indy Staff
• Gap Fire Photo Galleries by Indy Staff
Double-clicking on any word or phrase in this story will open a reference window with definitions and links to other reference material.
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Thanks to your incredible coverage and the free availability of your website, you've now become Santa Barbara's paper of record. Your major competitor, run by She Who Must Not Be Named, has a subscribers-only website; I don't know how well they did, because I won't subscribe.
rubenken (anonymous profile)
July 10, 2008 at 7:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Fire Retardant.
Does anyone have information about what type of fire retardant was used during the fire?
Fire retardant, some are highly toxic, others less. Fire fighters are exposed to it, wildlife and now us. For anyone unfamiliar, it's the red stuff they used to put out the fire.
Does anyone know if it will still be in the soil in 2-3 years from now?
When the wind blows will it blow ashes and fire retardant into our homes and cause health issues for our young kids and infants?
We are already surrounded by things treated with fire retardant. There is many different types. I know there was talk last year about stopping the use of some very toxic fire retardant.
Please, does anyone know what fire retardant was used during the fire????
shoo (anonymous profile)
July 10, 2008 at 9:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
They used this back in the '70s when I worked on fire suppression, and is still popular today. Evidentially it acts as a fertilizer as well: Phos-Chek ( http://www.phos-chek.com/ )
Wikipedia also presents this great explanation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_retard...
binky (anonymous profile)
July 10, 2008 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks Whatphotosb for your not so nice input about people are dumb. I asked for an answer to my question or information about it.
Do you have any idea about fire retardant? There is different type of fire retardants and they have come out with some that are less toxic and that is the reason why I wanted to know which one they used. .
In what part of my e-mail did I say that they should not use fire retardant and let the fire burn. Besides, the fire is more and more controlled and not right next to our house anymore, thanks to the wonderful firefighters.
Sorry for wanting to know what fire retardant was used and for being concerned about our childrens health and everyone's health. If you are not concerned about fire retardant, good for you.
Most of us do care about our health.
Most people also wore masks when the ashes were blowing, some did not. Some people want to protect themselfs from breathing in ashes that they say can hurt peoples health. And I wanted to know information about fire retardant and what type they used and how harmful that stuff is, what is wrong with trying to be informed.
shoo (anonymous profile)
July 10, 2008 at 1:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks to the Independent for your extensive coverage of the fire. The local TV stations did not provide enough information, and the Independent Web site gave up-to-the-minute, vital news.
TTM (anonymous profile)
July 10, 2008 at 4:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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