Western Edition
Published Nationally ® December 23 2018 Vol. IX • No. 26
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded 1957.” 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
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Unsung Heroes of California Wildfires By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
LiuGong Holds 60th Anniversary Celebration in China...10
Gibson Heavy Haul Delivers Equipment in Time of Need...12
On the morning of Nov. 8, Nolan Merrifield, senior equipment operator of the Butte County, Calif., Public Works Department, headed up into the foothills above Paradise to do some roadwork. Midway there, Merrifield turned and saw a plume of smoke, then he got a call. “My boss said things are not going good,” said Merrifield, a heavy equipment operator of nearly 30 years. “He said the fire was jumping over to Paradise.” And so, began, the tragedy of Camp Fire which would ultimately burn 153,000 acres, take the lives of at least 85 people, destroy 13,696 homes, 275 multi-family structures and 523 businesses. Eighteen days later, when the fire was declared contained, 80 percent of the homes there were destroyed. The cause has not been identified, though downed powerlines are being considered as the possible igniting spark, with heavy winds, drought conditions and thick vegetation fueling the flames. see WILDFIRES page 20
At the command center, the fire battalion chief explained there were eight city transit buses going up to Paradise and he needed the crew of four to follow him with the loader and a backhoe.
$631M Interchange Under Way on I-5 in California...19
Table of Contents ................4
$1.5B Gate Expansion at Denver Intl. Under Way Apple Invests $1B in Austin Campus Read the full story on page 64.
California Section ........19-24 Mini & Compact Equipment Section ..........................25-44 Snow & Ice Section ......48-49 Paving Section..............53-63 Auction Section ............67-71 Business Calendar..............68 Advertisers Index...............70
DEN photo
Construction crews at Denver International Airport (DEN) are on site laying the groundwork for a $1.5 billion gate expansion project.
Apple announced a major expansion of its operations in Austin, Texas, on Dec. 13 including an investment of $1 billion to build a new campus in North Austin. The company also announced plans to establish new sites in Seattle, San Diego and Culver City, Calif., and expand in cities across the United States including Pittsburgh, New York and Boulder, Colo., over the next three years, with the potential for additional expansion elsewhere in the United States over time. The announcement caps a year of continued job creation. Apple added 6,000 jobs to its American workforce in 2018 and now employs 90,000 people in all 50 states. As announced in January, the company is on track to create 20,000 jobs in the United States by 2023. In 16 states, Apple employs more than 1,000 people. see APPLE page 15