Arizona could be primed for an early fire season

Arizona’s wildfire season typically starts in late May and runs until the monsoons start in mid-June. But the fire activity so far this year indicates the state may be seeing an early beginning. The dry and warm weather they have had since the first of the year is similar to 2002 and 2011 when the very large Rodeo-Chediski and Wallow fires scorched hundreds of thousands of acres each.

Below is an excerpt from Azcentral:

…In the first quarter, 294 wildfires that burned 21,383 acres were reported, compared with the 147 fires that burned 452 acres of land in the same period last year, according to the forestry department.

“Our dry February and March months have brought the fires ahead of schedule,” said Bill Boyd, a spokesman for the Arizona State Forestry. “These disastrous seasons come in cycles of five to eight years. Given the right conditions, it’s possible that we can see one this year.”…

Senator calls for forest thinning to prevent exploding trees

U.S. Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, both representing Arizona, spoke to residents in Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside March 24. According to an article in the Arizona Journal, Senator McCan discussed the importance of thinning forests in the state, in part to prevent trees from exploding. Here is an excerpt from the article:

“In the State of Arizona, and in Navajo County, the future rests on two issues to a large degree, and that’s fire and water,” said Sen. McCain, relating the statistic that 20 percent of U.S. national forests have been consumed by fire in the past 15 years.

McCain noted that the issue of forest thinning has been given top priority by officials at the nation’s capitol. “Unless we thin these forests, we are going to see the kinds of things that we saw with the Chedeski fire and the Walleye fire, and that is trees literally exploding as the fuels that have accumulated around the bases of the trees burns up,” he predicted.

“Without forest thinning, fires will just sweep right through,” he said, also pointing out the ‘snowball’ effect that forested areas decimated by fire also become susceptible to chronic ground surface water runoff, which worsens drought conditions.

Having been a wildland firefighter for 33 years, as far as I know trees exploding in wildland fires is a myth. I’ve never seen it, heard it, or talked to anyone who has witnessed such an event. This has been perpetuated in a number of books and articles, but I have never seen the evidence.

When lightning strikes a tree it can explode when the moisture inside is converted to steam in a millisecond. And maple trees can explode in below freezing temperatures when the sap freezes. There are unconfirmed reports that eucalyptus trees in Australia can explode in a fire but I’m not convinced this is true. I understand that heated gasses or sap can shoot out of a crack in a eucalyptus tree and can be ignited during a fire. Maybe some of our Australian friends can provide more accurate information.

Wildfire News, March 7, 2016

Alaska April wildfire potential
April wildfire potential in Alaska, based on vegetation conditions and weather predictions.

Fire officials say to ‘expect an early start’ to Alaska wildfire season.

Shooter’s tracer rounds ignite 2-day forest fire at Missouri gun range

–A proposed Utah law would enable police to shoot drones, but people have been arrested for doing so.

–A massive bushfire cut off and isolated the South Island town of Hanmer Springs, New Zealand on Tuesday (local time).

–The Arizona Wildfire Academy is taking place in Prescott this week.

Hubbardston, Massachusetts gets military surplus truck to help battle brush fires.

Hubbardston Mass mil surplus truck
Hubbardston, Mass. military surplus truck. Photo: Hubbardston Fire Department.

Wildfire briefing, March 1, 2016

Wildfire closes I-15 in northwest Arizona

A fire between St. George and Mesquite late Monday caused Interstate 15 to be closed for several hours. A sheriff’s deputy suffered a broken leg when he attempted to assist a resident who was on the roof of a home using a water hose to keep the fire at bay. Mohave County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Trish Carter said a person burning weeds on his property caused the fire and may face charges.

Pipeline companies ordered to pay $6.5 M in damages from Oklahoma wildfire

From the Insurance Journal:

Two pipelines companies have been ordered to pay more than $6.5 million in damages to more than 70 plaintiffs whose property was destroyed in a 2012 wildfire in Oklahoma.

Court documents say a Payne County jury ordered IPS Engineering L.L.C. and Global Pipeline Construction LLC to pay the damages to be divided among 72 plaintiffs nearly four years after the fire consumed farmland, homes, timber and other property. Tulsa World reports that IPS Engineering was ordered to pay an additional $1 million in punitive damages, and Global Pipeline Construction was ordered to pay $100,000.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer says the nearly 8-mile fire broke out near Glencoe on Aug. 4, 2012, when company employees continued welding despite a statewide burn ban issued the day prior.

Forest Service requests information about suspicious fire

Fire managers on the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona suppressed a suspicious human-caused fire on Sunday, Feb. 28, just west of Buckskinner Park. The Clover fire, which was reported just after
1 p.m., was knocked down by fire personnel and will continue to be monitored. The fire is currently under investigation by Forest Service Law Enforcement. Anyone with information regarding the cause of the fire, or that observed anyone suspicious in the area near the time of the fire is encouraged to contact Kaibab National Forest Dispatch at 928-635-2601 or Fire Information at 928-635-5653.

Good weather for the Pack Test in Arizona

While a blizzard was hitting the eastern U.S. on Friday, firefighters in Arizona were taking the Pack Test.

Pack Test Arizona
Members of the Tribal Nations Response Team take the pack test in Sacaton, AZ January 22, 2016. Photo by Tom Story.

There was no snow slowing down the members of the Tribal Nations Response Team who took the pack test in Sacaton, Arizona on Friday. The team, which supplies personnel for Type 2 IA, Type 2, and camp crews, draws many of its members from the Gila River, Fort McDowell and Salt River-Pima-Maricopa Indian Communities in the Phoenix area, as well as the Pascua Yaqui Tribe south of Tucson.

All the participants easily completed the test and after their safety refresher or S-130/S-190 class will be ready to go.

pack test Arizona
Members of the Tribal Nations Response Team take the pack test in Sacaton, AZ January 22, 2016. Photo by Tom Story.

 

Report released for rollover of BLM truck in Arizona

A BLM truck rolled over in northwest Arizona while assigned to the High Meadow Fire. 

BLM truck rollover Arizona

The Bureau of Land Management has released a report about the rollover of a utility vehicle, a Ford F-350 Crew Cab flatbed truck, that occurred August 13, 2015 in northwest Arizona about 26 miles southeast of St. George, Utah. The driver, an Administratively Determined (AD) employee, not a regular BLM employee, was hauling supplies back from the High Meadow Fire and sustained a minor injury.

The findings in the report included the following:

  • The vehicle’s data recorder indicated the truck was going 51 mph five seconds before the crash.
  • The speed limit was not posted on the road. After a week of investigation, it was found that the “legal speed on the road was 35 mph”.
  • The investigators found that multiple accidents had occurred within 20 yards of the rollover.
  • Due to the mechanism of the accident it was feared that the driver could have a serious injury and should be transported to a hospital. However it would have taken 2.5 hours for an ambulance to get to the scene. After two assessments by individuals with medical training, the employee was taken to a hospital in a government vehicle.
  • The document that authorizes a BLM employee to operate a government vehicle, BLM Form 1112-11, was missing in the person’s personnel folder.
  • The AD employee and most of the district staff personnel could not determine who the supervisor of record was for him or other AD employees during the fire incident. The report indicated that the person was “conducting logistical support” for the High Meadow Fire.
  • A Wilderness First Responder and EMTs were valuable in assessing the patient and getting him the appropriate care for an accident in a remote area.
  • The investigators recommended that all engine crews and fire modules have an EMT in place to help assess situations and get initial care started for accidents that occur in remote areas.

Our commentary about the frequency of fire engine rollovers.
Articles tagged Rollover.