Wildfire briefing, May 8, 2014

Train ignites multiple fires in five cities

A freight train spraying sparks along railroad tracks in southern Maine started multiple wildfires in five cities on Thursday. Firefighters responded from 20 communities to the five alarm incident to battle fires in South Portland, Scarborough, Old Orchard Beach, Saco, and Biddeford. The worst hit area was the Wagon Wheel RV Resort and Campground, at 3 Old Orchard Beach Road. Firefighters said 10 campers were destroyed and another six were damaged.

Veterans hired as firefighters in New Mexico

A state-funded program in New Mexico called “Returning Heroes” is putting 46 veterans to work as wildland firefighters. More information can be found at KOAT.

Rain on the fires in Oklahoma

About an inch of rain Wednesday night is helping firefighters in Oklahoma suppress and mop up the fires near Guthrie and Woodward.

Air tanker arrives early at Santa Maria

A DC-10 and other firefighting aircraft are stationed at the Santa Maria airport in California about a month earlier than normal. A spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service said the planes were brought to Santa Maria early because of recent red flag warnings for extreme fire danger in the area.

Prose in a Police Log

The Police Log published in the Georgetown Record in Massachusetts does not waste any words. An entry about a vegetation fire on April 25, for example:

9:48 p.m. Services were rendered for a brush fire on Nelson Street.

Other services “rendered” included “a utility emergency on East Main Street”, “a disabled motor vehicle on Andover Street”, and “an animal complaint on Central Street”.

It takes years of experience and training to write an official report in the style of a firefighter or police officer.

Impressive fire whirl

I don’t think this meets the definition of a “firenado“, if there is a definition, but it is an impressive photo, regardless. Often, fire whirls are partially obscured by smoke and are difficult to photograph clearly.

The photo was posted on Instagram by Janae Copelin who happened to be driving by when a farmer was burning his field. She wrote:

A farmer burning off his field and as we stopped so I could take a picture the wind whipped up this fire twister #nofilter #firestorm #firetwister”.

She said it was the “coolest/scariest thing I’ve ever seen”.

Wildfire briefing, May 7, 2014

Cause determined for southern California wildfire

Investigators found that the cause of the Etiwanda Fire that burned over 2,000 acres east of Los Angeles last week was an illegal campfire. The Colby Fire that burned almost 2,000 acres in January east of Los Angeles near Glendora was also blamed on an illegal campfire.

Report released for fatality on Grassy Mountain Fire

The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center has posted the factual report for the fatality of a dozer transport operator on the Grassy Mountain Fire August 10, 2013 southeast of Rome, Oregon.

Report: firefighter kills intruder

The Christian Science Monitor (CSM) is reporting that a firefighter shot and killed an intruder in the firefighter’s garage. The victim was Diren Dede, a 17-year old German exchange student, which has stirred up interest in the case overseas.

Prosecutors have charged 29-year old Markus Kaarma with homicide.

The CSM referred to Mr. Kaarma as a U.S. Forest Service firefighter. The Missoulian in two different articles referred to him also as a U.S. Forest Service firefighter, and then later as a “former firefighter”.

An excerpt from the CSM:

Kaarma’s live-in girlfriend told neighbors that someone had stolen marijuana from the firefighter’s garage stash on several occasions. Investigators say they removed a glass jar full of pot during the course of their investigation.

An open question is whether a jury will believe police allegations that Kaarma set a trap for Diren by opening the garage door and linking up a baby monitor feed before shooting blindly into the darkened garage after spotting movement.

Brush fire related deaths in Iowa hospitals

Officials in Iowa are concerned about the number of brush fire related deaths in Iowa hospitals recently. Between February and April this year, the University of Iowa Burn Treatment Center reports three people have died and three others have been injured as a result of brush fires.  During that same time period last year, 2013, the Burn Treatment Center reported one death and one injury from burns sustained in brush fires.  All four deaths were of people ages 75 years and older. Not all of the victims were Iowans; some were flown in from surrounding states.

Woman found dead in Omaha brush fire

Firefighters suppressing a brush fire in Omaha, Nebraska late Tuesday night found a deceased woman in the fire area near 14th and Mason. She has been identified as  30-year old Amanda Brown, who had been in and out of a homeless shelter in recent years.
Thanks and a hat tip go out to Ken.

Red Flag Warnings, May 7, 2014

wildfire Red Flag Warnings, May 7, 2014

Warnings for elevated wildfire danger have been issued by the National Weather Service for areas in New Mexico, Colorado Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The Albuquerque office of the National Weather service distributed this graphic Wednesday morning:

elevated wildfire danger

The Red Flag Warning map was current as of 9:30 a.m. MDT on Wednesday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts. For the most current data, visit this NWS site.

Wildfire near Woodward, OK causes evacuations

(UPDATE at 12:48 p.m. CDT, May 7, 2014)

Woodward County Emergency manager Matt Lehenbauer reported on the Ready Woodward Facebook page that the wildfire northwest of Woodward, Oklahoma burned one home. Two people have been injured and were transported by aircraft. 

Mr. Lehenbauer said the fire is contained after burning 13,711 acres. National Guard Blackhawk helicopters dropped 45,000 gallons of water on the fire and were assisted by Aero-Flite’s water scooping CL-415 air tanker.

Resources assigned to the fire on Wednesday include two task forces with a total of
6 dozers, 6 engines and 2 Task Force Leaders, 1 Operations Specialist, 1 Air Attack Platform, 2 Single Engine Air Tankers, and 1 CL-415 water-scooping air tanker

Another fire earlier this week east of Woodward between Moorland and Quinlan is controlled after burning 14,100 acres.

KOCO has an article and photos of Aero-Flite’s brand new CL-415 water scooping air tanker (Tanker 260) that relocated from Florida to Oklahoma City to be used on the fires. Michelle Self posted a video on her Facebook page of it scooping out of Lake Liberty (map) while it was working on the fire near Guthrie, OK. The lake was five to ten miles west of the fire which would have contributed to very fast turnaround times for the 1,600 gallon water drops.

****

(Originally published at 5:43 p.m. CDT May 6, 2014)

Smoke from wildfire near Woodward, OK
Smoke from a wildfire near Woodward, OK was visible on radar at 5:25 p.m. CDT, May 6, 2014.

A wildfire northwest of Woodward, Oklahoma is spreading rapidly Tuesday afternoon, forcing residents to evacuate. The fire is between Woodward and Fort Supply.

Wildfire between Woodward and Fort Supply, OK
The red squares represent heat on a wildfire between Woodward and Fort Supply, OK at 3:31 p.m. CDT May 6, 2014. The heat was detected by a satellite.

The following was sent out Tuesday afternoon May 6 at 4:05 CDT:

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE WOODWARD AND HARPER COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

A WILDFIRE WAS LOCATED FROM 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF WOODWARD NEAR HIGHWAY 270 AND EAST-WEST COUNTY ROAD 36… TO HIGHWAY 34 ONE MILE SOUTH OF THE HARPER COUNTY LINE. THIS WILDFIRE WAS MOVING RAPIDLY TOWARD THE NORTHEAST INTO FAR SOUTHEAST PORTIONS OF HARPER COUNTY. RESIDENTS IN THE PATH NEAR AND EAST OF HIGHWAY 34 SHOULD IMMEDIATELY EVACUATE TO THE SOUTH AND EAST.

PERSONS CAN GO TO THE WOODWARD PIONEER ROOM LOCATED AT 9TH AND OKLAHOMA IN WOODWARD.

At 3:31 p.m. CDT Tuesday the fire was approximately 11 miles long and at least 2 miles wide, spreading toward the northeast. It was moving from Woodward County into Harper County, according to Woodward County Emergency Management Director Matt Lehenbauer. The fire had been contained earlier in the day but began spreading again around 4:30 p.m., according to Mr. Lehenbauer.

Two National Guard Black Hawk helicopters are assisting firefighters on the ground.

The weather forecast for the rest of the afternoon in the fire area is for 91 degrees, a 28 mph wind out of the southwest gusting to 39 mph, and a relative humidity of 6 percent — conditions that are conducive to rapid fire spread. The wind should be decreasing Tuesday night by about 50 percent.

 

 

Wildfire briefing, May 6, 2014

Wildfire tabletop exercise

A for-profit company that provides online exercises and training for emergency managers is making available at no charge a tabletop online wildfire exercise. The Disaster Resistant Communities Group will host the exercise on May 31. All participants will need to register in advance and should allow enough time to become familiar with information that will be distributed before the exercise begins. The company recommends that at least three people from each organization take part, acting as a disaster planning and response team.

US Forest Service Announces National Forest Fire Management Officer of the Year

Gary Brown, Chair of the National Forest Fire Management Officer Committee, recently announced the recipients of the 2012 and 2013 National Forest Fire Management Officer of the Year selections.

Selected for 2012 was Bob Lippincott from the Nez Perce-Clearwater NF of central Idaho, R1. Bob was recognized for his effort that year in leading the forest through an extremely difficult fire season that included multiple type I and II IMTs, supporting fire operations on other forests and regions and for leading the forest and cooperators through a difficult time following the loss of one of our fellow firefighters.

Selected for 2013 is Arlen Cravens from the Shasta-Trinity NF in northern California, R5. Arlen retired this past winter and is being recognized for his life-time achievements as a Canadian and Redding smokejumper, and a career in fire that culminated as a Fire Staff Officer. Arlen was always a student of fire and promoted sound risk and leadership principles.

CAL FIRE Battalion Chief sought in murder

A CAL FIRE Battalion Chief is suspected in the murder of his girlfriend in the Sacramento area. An instructor at the agency’s training academy at Ione, California, 55-year old Battalion Chief Orville Fleming, is being sought following the stabbing death of 26-year old Sarah Jane Douglas on Thursday, May 1. His CAL FIRE pickup was found abandoned Thursday night in Elk Grove, a suburb just south of Sacramento. A ground and air search was conducted by local law enforcement authorities and CAL FIRE law enforcement officers. Some of those officers are providing security at the academy in case Chief Fleming shows up there. The suspect is known to own firearms and is thought to be armed.

He was a firefighter with the city of Madera for three years when the city contracted with CAL FIRE for fire protection and was promoted to fire captain in 2001 and to battalion chief in 2012. He has been an instructor at Ione for about 10 years.