Wildfire Today

Earth’s most extreme wildfires are growing more intense and frequent

Hunter BasslerJune 26, 2024June 26, 2024WildfireAustralia, biomes, Black Summer, bushfire, TasmaniaLeave a comment

A recent study published in the Nature Ecology and Evolution scientific journal broke down 21 years of satellite data to be the next in line to reveal a burning truth: extreme wildfire events are becoming more frequent and intense.

The study, led by researchers at Australia’s University of Tasmania, found that six of the past seven years have been among the most extreme wildfire years on record. The study also found the frequency of extreme wildfires more than doubled between 2003 and 2023.

“This study provides concrete evidence of a worrying trend,” lead researcher Dr. Calum Cunningham told the university. “The intensity and frequency of these bushfires are increasing at an alarming rate, directly linked to the escalating effects of climate change.”

The research also confirmed that, while the total area burned is on the decline, fire behavior on the whole has worsened in several regions, including boreal and temperate conifer biomes in North America and Russia. Hotspots were also recorded in Australia, southern Africa, Mediterranean Europe, and South America. The burning of said biomes would reportedly hold dire implications for carbon storage, human exposure to wildfire, and significant ecological damage.

“The impact of these extreme events is devastating, not only for natural ecosystems but also for human populations,” Cunningham said. “These fires release significant carbon emissions, threatening to create a vicious cycle that further accelerates global warming.”

Australia's "Black Summer" bushfire season — Australia’s “Black Summer” bushfire season

Australia’s “Black Summer” fire season of 2019-2020 was named specifically for its unprecedented scale, intensity, and still-ongoing effects. The most recent “Black Summer” report on the bushfires focused on how they affected the nation’s tourism industry, specifically how previous reports underestimated the financial losses.

“Our novel research into the losses from the tourism shutdown resulting from Australia’s 2019-20 fires found that flowing on from direct impacts of AU $1.7 billion, indirect impacts along supply chains resulted in $2.8 billion in total output losses and $1.6 billion in reduced consumption,” the University of Sydney researchers’ report said. “We calculated significant spill-over costs, with total output losses being an increase of 61 percent on top of the direct damages identified.”

FIREWORKS: Just say no

Kelly AnderssonJune 24, 2024June 24, 2024Preventionfireworks, Lubbock Texas, Orinda California1 Comment

Speaking of fireworks safety over the Independence Day holiday, James Duff with the City of Orinda, California tipped us off earlier this month to this outstanding little 2021 PSA from Lubbock, Texas. We are entertaining nominations for award-winning fireworks messaging, and there is a prize involved, so please nominate your “July 4th Hot PSA” from a fire agency, government agency, or NGO related to fireworks use and fire safety.

Write at least one sentence about who it is and where it is, add the link, and post it in the comments below.

Meanwhile, enjoy this little gem from Texas.

Upper Applegate Fire holding at 500 acres, drone grounded aircraft

Kelly AnderssonJune 22, 2024June 24, 2024Wildfireapplegate, medford, Oregon4 Comments

Fire crews on southern Oregon’s Upper Applegate Fire have made excellent progress, holding the fire at an estimated 500 acres since it started on June 20 south of Ruch in the Applegate Valley. Burning on private, BLM, and USFS land on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, the fire’s been 15 percent lined directly and about 70 percent with direct line — the Northwest Coordination Center reports the human-caused fire still holding at about 40 percent containment. The unlined eastern edge of the fire is steep and rocky and has presented a challenge since the fire was engaged.

Early morning 06/21 Upper Applegate Fire, ODF photo

Despite hot and windy conditions, three federal large airtankers and one very large airtanker were flying out of Medford to keep the fire within its footprint. T-01 dropped on the Upper Applegate on Thursday, and both T-131 and 132 flew the fire on Friday. From McClellan on Friday, both T-103 and T-910 dropped on the fire.

KDRV-TV reported that an illegal drone was seen flying over the Upper Applegate Fire on Friday night, and ODF had to shut down aircraft for the last hour of the day. Drones can cause fatal accidents, and flying one in restricted airspace over or near a fire will ground planes and helicopters on the fire. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office searched late into the evening for the drone and its pilot but were unable to locate them. If you have information, please call the JCSO Tip Line at (541)774-8333.

More than 200 personnel are now assigned to the fire, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), including 27 overhead, seven 20-person crews, three engines, two watertenders, three bulldozers, six tree fallers, and a Rapid Extraction Mobile Support Team (REMS). The terrain on this fire has posed numerous safety issues, from the steep slope to hazard trees and rolling rocks.

Crews managed firing operations on the southern portion of the fire, which is near to houses across the road, connecting up firefighters’ line with a bulldozer line that was already in place.

Fire managers expect temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s with a slight wind in the afternoon. A Type 1 helicopter, along with a Type 3 and two Type 2 helicopters, are assigned exclusively to this incident, and airtankers will be ordered as needed. Portions of the fire area are affected by conifer mortality with large patches of dead Douglas-fir trees. Fallers have been working to remove these trees, allowing firefighters in closer to the fire’s edge.

Resources from across Oregon have been dispatched to this fire, including ODF’s Incident Management Team 2. KEZI-TV reported that crews with McKenzie Fire and Rescue, Junction City Fire District, Coburg Fire District, South Lane County Fire and Rescue, Lane Fire Authority, Pleasant Hill Goshen Fire and Rescue, and Mohawk Valley Fire District are on the fire, and a task force was mobilized out of Polk County. The Oregon State Fire Marshal deployed two strike teams, along with resources from the BLM, USFS, and Applegate Valley Fire District.

Missing Miles photos of the Upper Applegate Fire.

More photos and video [HERE] by The Missing Miles.

Siberian wildfire smoke increases could cause thousands of deaths, billions in costs for East Asia

Hunter BasslerJune 21, 2024Smoke, UncategorizedJapan, Siberia, smokeLeave a comment

A team from Japan’s Hokkaido University’s research study recently uncovered worrying findings for residents across East Asia. The team looked into the increasing frequency of wildfires in Siberia, and the growing threat of smoke that Japan and other areas downwind of Siberia are forced to breathe.

Previous studies have confirmed wildfires are becoming more common in Arctic biomes across the globe, including Siberia. A 2022 USFS study found wildfires in Siberia tripled from the 2001 – 2010 period to the 2011 – 2020 period. The area burned by wildfires in Siberia also increased by a factor of 2.6 during the same period.

“We found that annual fire frequency and the extent of burnt areas were related to various combinations of seasonal air temperature, precipitation, ground moisture, and lightning frequency,” the 2022 study said. “Increased wildfire and loss of permafrost may threaten ongoing settlement and industrialization, particularly for western Siberia.”

But the wildfires have implications for residents in numerous areas other than Siberia. The Hokkaido University researchers used global climate simulation models to evaluate how the expected increase in wildfires, and wildfire smoke, will affect people downwind of Siberia.

The researchers found smoke from Siberia’s wildfires releases aerosols, or air pollution particles that reflect sunlight away from the earth’s surface, which greatly degrades air quality, leading to a drastic increase in air pollution, possibly thousands of deaths, and billions of dollars in economic losses, including upwards of:

- - - 70,000 deaths and $80 billion in losses across China
    - 32,000 deaths and $100 billion in losses in Japan
    - 4,000 deaths and $20 billion in losses in South Korea

“Despite the limitations of our study, our findings provide readers with a critical message on the effect of increased particulate matter caused by Siberian wildfires on climate and air quality as well as mortality and the economy under present and future atmospheric conditions,” the researchers said. “Future studies must aim to prevent air pollution emissions from Siberian wildfires and take further preventive measures in the future under ongoing and future climate changes.”

Read the full study here.

South Fork Fire evacuates Ruidoso

Kelly AnderssonJune 18, 2024June 24, 2024WildfireMescalero Apache, New Mexico, Ruidoso1 Comment

Emergency officials ordered residents of Ruidoso to evacuate last Monday the 17th, and to do it immediately, ahead of a fast-moving wildfire in southern New Mexico.

UPDATE:  RUIDOSO, N.M. -- The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information about those responsible for starting two New Mexico wildfires that killed two people and destroyed hundreds of homes in the past week. The agency seeks information in connection with the South Fork Fire and the Salt Fire  near Ruidoso. The South Fork Fire was 26 percent contained on Saturday and the Salt Fire  was just 7 percent contained on Saturday morning; full containment's not expected till July 15.

“GO NOW: Do not attempt to gather belongings or protect your home. Evacuate immediately.” Residents of the village of Ruidoso got this message about 7 p.m. from local officials if they were online. CBS News reported that the Public Service Company of New Mexico shut off power to about 2000 customers in the town — at the request of fire managers — when the fire burned to nearly 1300 acres.

KRQE-TV reported that hot ash was falling in nearby community of Alto.

By Tuesday officials said the fire was over 13,900 acres and was zero percent contained. The fire’s threatening multiple structures, officials said, and numerous buildings had been lost. Highways are closed and traffic’s being re-routed to Roswell, where hospitals were trying to admit as many patients as possible as they were moved from the hospital in Ruidoso.

The South Fork Fire started Monday on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, where President Thora Walsh Padilla declared a state of emergency. It’s burning on tribal land and USFS land around Ruidoso.

A second fire, the 4880-acre Salt Fire, also was burning with zero containment on the reservation southwest of Ruidoso. Officials have closed Highway 70 from Botella Road to Highway 244 and residents east of Botella Road are evacuating.

Residents at Chatto Ridge are on “ready” status and Apache Summit is being evacuated. The Tribe is receiving reports of multiple additional fires on the Reservation. An evacuation center at Inn of the Mountain Gods Convention Center is available for residents — tribal members or not — at the Mescalero Community Center Gymnasium, and livestock can be held at the Mescalero Rodeo Grounds. Call (575)973-1394 if you need help with hauling your livestock.

::: BY THE WAY, legend has it that the Mescalero Red Hats, along with the Zuni and Santo Domingo fire crews, were the ones who discovered a bear cub with burnt paws in 1950 on the Capitan Gap Fire. That bear would go on to become Smokey Bear, the internationally recognized symbol of the nation’s fire prevention efforts.

NOTE FROM Mt. Taylor IHC

Post Fire over 15,000 acres

Kelly AnderssonJune 17, 2024June 18, 2024WildfireCalifornia, I-5, wind gustsLeave a comment

A fire in Los Angeles County that evacuated hundreds of people from a state park has burned over 15,000 acres since it started Sunday. By Monday evening Cal Fire was reporting the fire at 15,611 acres with 20 percent containment.

late Tuesday update: 31 percent at 15,690 acres.

CNN reported the fire at 8 percent containment Monday morning, with more than 1,000 firefighters assigned — including 34 crews, 7 helicopters, and 114 engines. Numerous airtankers are working the fire as windy conditions allow.

LA County Fire Department (LACoFD) Section Chief Kenichi Ballew-Haskett said Monday morning they’re notifying residents there may be mandatory evacuation orders pending.

“We’re getting people on notice that if we have to issue a mandatory evacuation order that they need to leave,” Ballew-Haskett said, advising residents to have their bags packed, a full tank of gas, and cell phones ready. “Once the sheriffs come by or law enforcement asks you to leave, it means the danger is imminent.”

An Associated Press report said the fire forced the evacuation of at least 1,200 campers, off-roaders, and hikers from the Hungry Valley recreation area on Saturday, but Ben Nicholls, division chief with Cal Fire, said fire activity subsided overnight. “Forecasted winds are supposed to be less than we experienced yesterday, which should allow the resources assigned for this operational period to build and strengthen the control lines that were put in place yesterday,” he said.

USAtoday reported that firefighters battled wildfires across northern and central California overnight. The Post Fire is south of Gorman, about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles; it started Saturday around 2 p.m. and, pushed by strong wind gusts, spread south along Interstate 5. LACoFD said the fire had damaged two commercial properties by Saturday evening. The fire burned an auto repair shop, damaged another building, and threatened other structures to the south and west of I-5, according to the LA Times.

Evacuation orders are in effect west of I-5 between Pyramid Lake and Gorman, and warnings are in place for areas south of Pyramid Lake between Old Ridge Route and the Los Angeles County line. The National Weather Service warned Sunday of wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph and a red flag warning was issued for the I-5 corridor in Los Angeles County and the Ventura County mountains until 5 p.m. Monday.

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