Triggered by cellular phones?

Remember all of the discussion in the summer of 2007 about wildfires in California and in Greece? Many people raised questions about whether some of those fires were, in fact, ecoterrorism. There was also some evidence that devices made from cellular phones may have been used to ignite wildland fires. This is plausible enough, considering that remote bombs triggered by cellular phones have been used in other terrorist attacks. But after the fires were extinguished, the story disappeared from the news.

These mysterious remote cell phone bombs have now surfaced – in California.

Undercover Op Leads To Cell Phone-Triggered Bomb

San Jose and Santa Clara police chiefs announced Wednesday the results of a massive sting operation in their cities. Operation Meltdown, as the joint effort was called, netted investigators hundreds of criminals, tons of stolen copper, dozens of stolen cars and weapons, and in one case, homemade bombs.

A Fremont man was arrested in October as part of Operation Meltdown. He is accused of trying to sell the officers improvised explosive devices capable of being denoted remotely by a cell phone. During a news conference at San Jose Police headquarters Wednesday morning, police showed a video, recorded by hidden camera, of the suspect demonstrating the technology to officers by detonating a bomb for them.

Operation Meltdown was begun in March 2007. Undercover officers from both departments opened a fake metal-recycling business in the city of Santa Clara called Jose Clara Co-Op.

Within days, San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis said, customers started showing up offering to sell what appeared to be stolen copper. Over the course of the next year, the undercover officers purchased 14 tons of copper with a street vale of almost $100,000. Soon after the officers began buying the copper, though, Davis said visitors to the recycling shop started offering to sell other stolen goods. The officers eventually purchased 40 stolen vehicles and 74 firearms, including 21 assault weapons.

Over the life of the operation, Davis said, 273 suspects were investigated, 63 of whom were arrested over the course of the investigation. Another 73 suspects were picked up during a sweep Tuesday. There are still another 70 suspects with outstanding warrants yet to be arrested…

Vehicle theft was also part of the picture, including some mighty fancy rides:

40 stolen vehicles were purchased. The vehicles include a BMW, Porsche Carrera, Nissan 350Z, Audi, Toyota MR2, SUV’s, sedans, motorcycles and a new Ford Edge SUV.

Who is involved?

The article mentioned that “many of the suspects were identified as gang members,” but no suspects were named, nor were the gangs identified.

In case you have any doubts:

Forest Fire Jihad Being Threatened on Terrorist Websites

U.S. officials monitoring terrorist web sites have discovered a call for using forest fires as weapons against “crusader” nations, in what may explain some recent wildfires in places like southern California and Greece.

A terrorist website was discovered recently that carried a posting that called for “Forest Jihad.” The posting was listed on the Internet on Nov. 26 and reported in U.S. intelligence channels last week.

The statement, in Arabic, said that “summer has begun so do not forget the Forest Jihad.”

The writer called on all Muslims in the United States, Europe, Russia and Australia to “start forest fires.”

The posting quoted imprisoned Al Qaida terrorist Abu Musab Al-Suri, as saying “Jihad is an art just like poetry, music, and the fine arts. There are people that draw and there are others that are jihadists. They both act upon inspiration.”

(h/t Scarlett Crusader)

KNDO Washington State: Seven Suspicious Fires Monday Night in the Yakima Valley

Posted: Nov 14, 2007 01:50 AM
Updated: Nov 14, 2007 09:11 AM

YAKIMA, Wash – Firefighters responded to seven different suspicious fires in the Yakima Valley late Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

“This is for sure arson,” says Joe Ware, a foreman at Evans Fruit Company in the West Valley, where fruit bins caught fire. That was the first fire reported just before 11:00 Monday night.

Almost an hour later a barn on Prospect Way in Yakima burned to the ground. Fire officials say it was a total loss.

Global Incident Map: Location of Fires

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It’s No Accident

A significant number of these fires appear to have been deliberately set.

Obviously, in drought conditions, where plenty of dry fuel abounds, anybody who thoughtlessly discards a cigarette butt can start a wildfire. Lightning, or spontaneous combustion from rotting debris, can do the same.

But these fires show a suspicious pattern.

Despite the fact that there has long been evidence of al Qaeda’s plans to cause such fires, public figures are unwilling to go on record to warn about jihadist involvement in pyroterrorism!

For more about this, see Is there a terrorist connection with the California wildfires?

Nobody on the 1389 Blog team cares about being politically correct. We bring you all of the news that we can find, and we are not afraid to point out the obvious conclusions about what it means!

If you doubt that pyroterrorism is real:

• Suspicious fires destroy forests in northern Lebanon
• Suspicious Fires in Lebanon
• Rampaging Through Brussels: Turks Set Cars Alight. Coming soon to a location near you!

Pelosi, Boxer, and the global warming contingent exploit fires for political advantage:

• Pelosi plays politics with SoCal fires (Stein hoist to njdhockeyfan at LGF!)
• San Diegans and pro-troop group condemn Barbara Boxer for politicizing fire with comments on Iraq
• CNN demonstrates how fear-mongering works
• CNN Predicts Possible “Century of Fires” Due to Global Warming
• Steven Milloy of JunkScience.com: California Fire Smokescreen
• Fox News Reports, Networks Ignore Consequences of Not Clearing Brush
  

  Fox News, just as Glenn Beck previously, picked up on an observation that the rest of the mainstream media largely ignored: brush left in place under environmental groups’ pressure fueled much of the fires in southern California.

Twitter: A Great Disaster Preparedness Tool

• In Disasters, Everyone, Not Just Bloggers, Should Use Twitter
• Get News Updates: Follow kpbsnews on Twitter
• Twitter 101

Stein hoist to Jenn Sierra on FHK!

California Fire News and Information:

• MODIS California/Great Basin Active Fire Map
• KPBS News San Diego
• • KPBS Fire News
  • Interactive Map: Evac areas, shelters, fire updates
  • Follow kpbsnews on Twitter
  • Email your photos to KPBS
  • Blog: San Diego County wildfires (comments open)
• City of San Diego Emergency Fire Information
• San Diego County Emergency Homepage
• San Diego Fires Wiki
• Sign On San Diego Fire Blog
• Sign On San Diego Fire Scenes
• Welcome to Cal Fire
• San Diego News 8 Wildfire Coverage
• Sacramento Bee: Southern California Fires, Day Four (photos)
• San Bernardino Scanner Blog
• SoCal Mountains Scanner and GPS Resources
• San Diego State Univ. Dept. of Geography (fire maps)
• In the twinkling of an eye (fire maps)
• Suspected California arsonist shot dead
• Officials: Arson Behind Santiago Fire
• Fema sorry for “fake” conference
• The Heart-Warming Fire Stories You Aren’t Seeing
• Boker Tov, Boulder: Fire!
• Wildfire Relief Fund – Chabad Jewish Center
• LGF: That Afternoon, We Prayed With a Little More Intensity
• Iraqi Troops Donate $1000 to California Wildfire Aid, Media Mum
• Poynter Online – Tracking Fire Coverage

Anyone with information about the cause of the Santiago fire (Orange Co) is asked to call a tip line at (800) 540-8282. If you see something, say something!

Stein hoist to Bobibutu and Stuck-in-CA on LGF!

US Fire News and Information

• USDA Forest Service MODIS Active Fire Mapping Program
• National Interagency Fire Center
• Incident Management Situation Report (PDF)
• US Fire Administration: Learn About Fire – The Nature of Fire

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Also see: California Fire News Updates

We have asked this question before:

Wildland Fires in Greece Blamed on Terrorism – Could it Happen in the US?

1389 Blog has been tracking this issue, and we will continue to do so as we await a more definitive answer.

Others are asking the same question too:

• California fires spark suspicion of terror again

  Fire officials in Orange County said today the Santiago Canyon Fire is an arson and offered a $50,000 reward to find the arsonist.

  Officials said the massive fire, which has caused an estimated $10 million in damage, had three separate points of origin. Two were on one side of the road and the third was on the other.

  “Whoever did this knew what they were doing,” said Kris Concepcion, a fire authority battalion chief, who noted the blazes traveled three miles in just the first 20 minutes on Sunday.

  Authorities are reporting five deaths in the blazes so far.

  The National Terror Alert Response Center report said, “We are NOT implying that the California fires are an act of terrorism; however, the threat of pyro-terrorist attacks pose a significant risk to the U.S. and the fires in California and Greece earlier this year should be a wake-up call.”

• The Amboy Times: Suspicious Activity at California Fire Stations

  During the last week of July, fire officials in the Bay Area city of Campbell reported that two men had been seen videotaping routine activities at a fire station.

  The men were reportedly in their 20s or early 30s, and one was using a sophisticated news media-style camera.

  When firefighters attempted to talk with the men, they reportedly jumped into a waiting car and sped off.

• The Amboy Times: Southern California Fires
• Right Truth: Terrorist talked about arson as weapon in U.S.
• Homeland Security Money Improving California Fire Agencies
• Yahoo! Answers – Open Question: Are the cause of the California wild fires an act of terrorism?
• California Fire Battalion Chief – Whoever Did This Knew What They Were Doing
• California OES (Office of Emergency Services): Emergency and Disaster Related Legislation Chaptered After June 21, 2007
• Suspected California arsonist shot dead
• Officials: Arson Behind Santiago Fire
• Setting Fires in California
• The Wild Fires of Pyro Terrorism

Anyone with information about the cause of the Santiago fire (Orange Co) is asked to call a tip line at (800) 540-8282. If you see something, say something!

Malicious motives:

• American Muslim: California Fires Are Allah’s Retribution on Infidels

  An American Muslim in Charlotte, North Carolina, named Samir Khan, chimes in on the great is Allah punishing the infidels in California debate:

  Most Muslims in America shy from discussing the natural disasters that occur to America especially in light of Allah’s anger. They get this strange idea somehow that Allah’s wrath and anger has nothing to do with the great natural disasters…..

  1389 wants to know: Has the FBI gotten around to asking Samir Khan and his associates just how much they know about who set those fires in California?

Past evidence of arson and pyroterrorism:

• Many California fires believed to be arson (October 30, 2003)
• FBI: al-Qaeda detainee spoke of fire plot (7/11/2003)

Other Factors:

Are drought and dry winds to blame?

The answer? Yes, but only up to a point. Drought provides the dry fuel for widespread fires, but it doesn’t provide the trigger that ignites the actual flames. Of course, there’s always room for research to improve the state of the art in firefighting, and for organizational improvements to deploy firefighting resources as efficiently as possible. But none of that explains what ignited the fires in the first place!

• Fabled Santa Ana Winds Fuel Wildfires In California
• Resources ‘outstripped’ battling California blazes

Population, terrain, and fuel:

In densely populated areas, more homes and other buildings are exposed to destruction by fire. It is also more difficult to evacuate threatened areas, to protect existing structures, to create firebreaks, and to do controlled burns to remove the dry fuel that allows wildland fires to go out of control.

• Homes Spared, Lost in Fires’ Random Destruction
• The Great Divide – Man and Nature: Learning Brushfire Lessons From America
  

  With bushfire season fast approaching, a contingent of Australian and New Zealand firefighters have recently returned from North America, where they took lessons from their counterparts in managing extreme bushfires.

  The Department of Sustainability and Environment’s Richard Teychenne was a member of the group who journeyed from Canada, down the west coast of the USA and into Mississippi, in the south.

  “The tour went for about 32 days, we travelled about 60,000 kilometres, took about 16 flights, three bus trips and ended up back at home about a week and a half ago,” Richard told ABC Gippsland’s Gerard Callinan this morning.

  . . .

  He said issues of population also hampered American firefighters’ ability to conduct fuel-reduction burns in fire-prone areas.

  “With a population of over 300 million, compared to Australia’s population over 20 million, the issues that they are facing is how can they actually do fuel reduction burning?”

  “In LA they haven’t done burning in two years,” Richard said.

• Fox News Reports, Networks Ignore Consequences of Not Clearing Brush
  

  Fox News, just as Glenn Beck previously, picked up on an observation that the rest of the mainstream media largely ignored: brush left in place under environmental groups’ pressure fueled much of the fires in southern California.

Copycat arson or accidental fires:

• Officials: Boy with matches started fire

  According to the article, this particular individual has admitted to starting the Agua Dulce fire, which consumed more than 38,000 acres and destroyed 21 homes.

  There were numerous separate fires in California; no one is suggesting that all of them were ignited in the same way. One possibility is copycat crime, which is likely whenever high-profile lawbreaking has been reported or even suspected.

  In addition, when weather conditions facilitate the rapid spread of fire, it’s all too easy for someone to lose control of a small bonfire or debris fire that was never intended to spread. One carelessly tossed cigarette butt or match can be enough to start a major fire.

Innovations on the horizon?

• New Fire-Retardant Gel Can Save Homes

  HOT SPRINGS, S.D. (AP) – It was the most intense fire ever recorded in the Black Hills National Forest, but nearly all homes coated with a slimy gel were saved while dozens of houses nearby burned to the ground.

  The gel was a super-absorbent polymer that can hold many times its weight in water and clings well to vertical surfaces and glass. It is mixed with water and then can be sprayed on homes with a truck-mounted hose or a backpack apparatus, or dropped from a plane.

  The substance is relatively new to firefighting, having been developed about a decade ago, and is not widely used. But some firefighters who have tried it are impressed, saying it offers longer-lasting protection than the foam retardants that have been around for many years.

More Fire News and Information:

• California Fire News Updates
• National Interagency Fire Center

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If you saw the earlier article in this blog, Greek Wildfires Blamed on Arson – Evidence of Terrorism, you might be wondering whether the same thing could be happening in the U.S.

After all, we have had a serious problem with fires in the U.S. earlier in 2007 (see Florida Drought, Wildfire, and Storm Preparedness News Roundup and Storm and fire updates).

According to this article, the answer is yes.

In 2003 an FBI memo alerted law enforcement agencies that an al-Qaeda terrorist being held in detention had talked of masterminding a plot to set a series of devastating forest fires around the western United States.

It was reported that the detainee, who was not identified, said the plan involved three or four people setting wildfires using timed devices in Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming that would detonate in forests and grasslands after the operatives had left the country.

“The detainee believed that significant damage to the U.S. economy would result and once it was realized that the fires were terrorist acts, U.S. citizens would put pressure on the U.S. government to change its policies,” the memo said.

(Quoted from National Terror Alert Response Center: Pyro-Terror: Are Greek Wildfires An Act of Terrorism?)

From a firefighter’s perspective, with some spectacular photos, see:

Greek Wildfires: Terrorism or Lack of Firefighting Resources?

This site makes the valid point that, as with Hurricane Katrina in the U.S., the disaster revealed poor emergency preparedness. Inadequate firefighting equipment was a major factor in the delay in bringing outbreaks of fire under control.

Update 9/2/07:

• Greek fire toll rises to 64, as PM urges revamp

Update 9/17/07:

• Pyro-Terrorism – The Threat of Arson-Induced Forest Fires as a Future Terrorist Weapon of Mass Destruction
• The War Against the Greek State
• Greece: The Political Fall Out Begins

Update 10/24/07:

• Is there a terrorist connection with the California wildfires?

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Arson by cell phone?

We don’t have all the evidence in yet, but we need to be asking a lot more questions. Just because a few of the local outbreaks of fire appear to have been caused by simple carelessness does not mean that all of them were.

Greek broadcasting station SKAi reported that arson devices triggered by cell phones were found. Where have we heard of that before?

• Wildland Fires in Greece Blamed on Terrorism – Could it Happen in the US?
• Who is setting Greece on fire?
• Greek Fires Blamed on Arson, Olympic Antiquities Saved
• Are Greek Fires a Terrorist Attack?
• Greek government points to arson for fires
• 63 dead in Greek forest fires
• Foreigners help fight Greek fires
• Greek fires blamed on “culture of arson”

Photos from Space

Here are some photos from space, showing how widespread these fires are:

• Scientific Blogging: The Fires In Greece As Seen From Space
• My Way News Photo: Greece Fires
• Der Spiegel: Satellite Photos of the Greek Catastrophe

Updates:

• Wildland Fires in Greece Blamed on Terrorism – Could it Happen in the US?
• Is there a terrorist connection with the California wildfires?

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Ever wanted a behind-the-scenes view of how professionals approach hurricanes, tornados, dust storms, wildfires, and other dangerous but exciting phenomena? Here you are:

• Wildfires are an ongoing problem. Wildfires at Jacksonville.com offers an entire section of up-to-date information.
• The U.S. National Interagency Fire Center offers wildland fire maps and firefighting information.
• The Weather Channel blog offers the personal experiences of the weather forecasters themselves, as well as the scientific background explained in layman’s terms.
• For storms in the U.S., check out the NOAA Storm Prediction Center.
• The MODIS Rapid Response System offers new satellite views of extreme weather and fire events worldwide, including some spectacular photos of smoke from the recent Florida wildfires.
• TheStormTrack.com offers updated satellite views and current information on hurricanes and tropical storms worldwide.
• For information about winter storms, snow and ice, avalanches, and cold-climate regions, check out National Snow and Ice Data Center.
• For those of you who live Down Under, there’s Australia Severe Weather.
• For storm-chasing buffs, Stormtrack.org offers a library of storm-chasing information, including maps of recent severe weather phenomena.
• Professional storm chaser Warren Faidley’s Stormchaser.com offers data, links, and media information about severe weather and storm chasing, along with some truly wild photos.

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Lots of news lately, most of it rather worrisome:

• The National Interagency Fire Center website indicates that some wildfires are still burning in Florida and Georgia. No surprise there; smoke is still visible (and smellable) in south Florida.
• An earlier story explained how the fires got so bad in the first place: Strong winds could fan massive wildfire along Florida-Georgia line.
• Florida’s cities scramble to shield scarce fresh water from ocean water contamination.
• Drought forces tighter water use restrictions in Broward, Palm Beach Counties.
• On top of the drought, we’ve got leaky pipes.
• Fines begin for Florida water wasters.
• There’s also dissention among the ranks of U.S. government weather officialdom, as well as disputes about where the money is going; see NOAA confirms cut in Hurricane Hunter funding.
• Not all of the news is bad. Prominent forecasters, including the Florida Power & Light hurricane specialist, are getting ready to launch a one-stop storm help website.

To help prepare yourself, see:

• Learn the fascinating secrets of storm-tracking, extreme weather, and wildfire fighting
• Top ten reasons why South Floridians should prepare for hurricane season

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