Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Month: August 2015

250 active wildfires in the United States

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized
map wildfires northwest
The map shows heat detected on wildfires by a satellite in the northwest U.S. during the 24-hour period ending at 9:12 a.m. PT, August 22, 2015. (click to enlarge)

The National Interagency Coordination Center’s Situation Report for Saturday includes 250 “active” wildfires in the United States, and 46 of those are large, uncontained fires. The number of hand crews assigned to fires, 680 now, continues to grow. There are 32,255 personnel committed to battling the fires.

At last count there were 46 incident management teams and 3 area command teams assigned or activated. The Situation Report only shows 2 area command teams assigned; one in northeast Washington and another in northwest California. But including one team on “NCF Fire Support/Preposition”, three have been activated. Earlier this year the number of area command teams was reduced from 4 to 3, which was a controversial decision.

A “fly-through” of the wildfires in north-central Washington

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 2 Comments on A “fly-through” of the wildfires in north-central Washington

This video created by Kenji Kato using Google Earth, is a “fly-through” showing heat data collected by a satellite for the Chelan Complex of Fires, the Okanogan Complex of Fires, and other fires in north-central Washington state. The fly-through starts above the U.S., then flies in on the Pacific Northwest, then Central Washington, before closing in on the fire areas. The icons represent heat detected by a satellite as late as 3:30 a.m. PDT on August 20, 2015.

The icon color is based on fire activity with red representing heat detected in the last 0-12 hours (at the time data was updated). Orange represents activity in the previous 12 to 24 hours, and yellow is data 1 to 6 days before.

washi

Smoke from wildfires in Northwest affects western states

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized3 Comments on Smoke from wildfires in Northwest affects western states

(UPDATED at 3:07 p.m. MT, August 22, 2015)

Air quality, smoke, wildfires 3 pm 8-22-2105

Above is an updated map, at 3 p.m. MT, August 22, 2015, showing the distribution of wildfire smoke across the U.S.

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Map of wildfire Smoke
Smoke from wildfires, August 22, 2015. Weather Underground. (click to enlarge)

The wildfires in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana are creating a great deal of smoke that is seriously degrading the air quality hundreds of miles away.

For example in southwest South Dakota, 800 miles away from the large fires in Washington, there is a very strong smell of forest fire smoke and the air quality measuring stations are recording an “unhealthy” air quality index.

Air quality noon EDT, Aug 22, 2015
Air Quality Index, at noon EDT, August 22, 2015. Airnow.gov (click to enlarge)
Air quality, wildfire smoke
Readings from air quality stations at 8:26 a.m. MT, August 22, 2015. Some areas are affected by wildfire smoke.

To see the most current smoke reports on Wildfire Today, visit the articles tagged “smoke” at https://wildfiretoday.com/tag/smoke/

Firefighters killed in Twisp River Fire identified

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

The three U.S. Forest Service firefighters that were overrun by fire and killed on the Twisp River Fire in Washington August 19 have been identified as Tom Zbyszewki, 20, Andrew Zajac, 26 and Richard Wheeler, 31.

Their vehicle crashed while fighting a fire west of Twisp, Washington. Fox News reported “Authorities gave few details, shedding no light, for example, on the crash, other than to say that it was not the accident itself that killed the victims, but the fire.”

On Thursday, after a team of investigators assessed the accident site, the bodies of the three firefighters were removed in separate ambulances and transported from the scene in a procession of fire engines and other emergency vehicles.

Four other firefighters were injured, one very seriously. King5 had additional information about the serious injury:

Daniel Lyon, 25, of Puyallup [Washington], was airlifted to Harborview Wednesday in critical condition. Doctors say he suffered third degree burns to over 50 to 75 percent of his body.

Doctors said he was in the resuscitation phase, receiving a lot of fluids, and doctors were trying to stabilize his condition. If his condition improves, doctors hope to move him to the operation phase, where they will remove some of the burns from his body.

Lyon had only been a firefighter for a few months with the U.S. Forest Service before heading to Central Washington to battle the Okanogan Complex Fire.

Q13 reported that the other three injured firefighters were treated at a hospital and released.

The investigation into the accident is being conducted by a team led by John Phipps who currently serves as Station Director of the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Investigation into the three fatalities in Washington begins

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 11 Comments on Investigation into the three fatalities in Washington begins

A team that will be investigating the August 19 fatalities of three U.S. Forest Service firefighters on the Twisp River Fire in Washington is being assembled. According to an article at OregonLive they will be using a fairly new protocol that we covered in August of 2014, called the Coordinated Response Protocol, or CRP. The controversial process minimizes traumatic impacts on witnesses, coworkers and others close to the tragedy, but strives to avoid developing causes and conclusions. As we reported last August, Ivan Pupulidy, one of the developers of the CRP, called causes and conclusions “traditional nonsense”.

Aside from the controversial nature of the CRP, OregonLive has a very informative article about the investigation into the Twisp River Fire, and how the team will be organized. Below is an excerpt:

…A team of investigators is arriving Thursday to begin the recently adopted Coordinated Response Protocol. The new rules seek to eliminate missteps on fatal investigations of the past.

“My heart breaks over the loss of life,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in a statement. “They gave their lives to protect others. It was their calling, but the loss for their families is immense.”

Officials often found that people assigned to investigate deaths or serious accidents were so focused on the task at hand they were insensitive to the victims involved during the interview process. The goal is to learn from what happened and take steps to prevent mistakes from happening again.

“It’s a smoother way to help the people involved because they are obviously traumatized,” said Mike Ferris, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. Ferris’ colleague, Jennifer Jones, will join the investigation Thursday as the information coordinator.

“It means the people affected by the incident don’t have to sit through 12 interviews by five or six different people,” Ferris said during a phone interview Thursday morning with The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The process were implemented with the July 30 death of David Ruhl, a U.S. Forest Service captain from South Dakota’s Black Hills National Forest. He died in a wildfire in the Modoc National Forest of Northern California.

A learning review replaces the serious accident investigation process with hope to “minimize the impact that reviews can have on the personnel who were involved in the incident while simultaneously meeting organizational and ethical requirements,” according to Forest Service documents.

Officials also hope briefing victims’ families during the new process relieves tensions that occurred in the past.

The goal is to provide “as clear a picture of what influenced actions and decisions as possible” even if it results in “uncovering hard truths that might appear contrary to protecting the agency,” the documents say…

The graphic below (of strangely faceless people) is from the USFS’ description of the CRP process.

CRP team structure

Firefighters from New Zealand and Australia to assist with wildfires in the U.S.

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 5 Comments on Firefighters from New Zealand and Australia to assist with wildfires in the U.S.

The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho is mobilizing firefighters from Australia and New Zealand to assist with wildfire suppression efforts in the western United States. The two countries have been key partners with the U.S. fire community for more than 50 years but were last mobilized in 2008 when heavy fire activity was similar to this year.

The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group requested 71 fire managers and specialists.  Although final details of the arrangement are still being worked out, the contingent from Australia and New Zealand is expected to arrive in Boise on August 23 for a one-day induction to learn about current fire behavior, fuels, and weather conditions. Upon completion of the orientation, they will be assigned to large fires.

The request includes 15 Division Supervisors; 15 Task Force/Strike Team Leaders; 15 Helicopter Managers; 10 Heavy Equipment Bosses; 10 Safety Officers; 4 Regional Liaison Officers; and two National Liaison Officers.  Fifteen of the total are from New Zealand. Assistance from Australia and New Zealand is a good fit primarily because their fire organizations are very similar to the United States national fire organization in training requirements and structure.