Scientists expect fire risk in the U.S. to escalate by the end of the century
Hot and dry conditions lead to more fires. Those were the findings presented in 2012 by a team of researchers that used NASA satellite data and climate models to predict fire activity in the United States. Now, a new animation shows how dry conditions will cause different parts of the U.S., Canada and Mexico to experience an increased risk of fire by the end of the century. By mapping projected values for a measure of dryness known as the potential evaporation—a calculation that’s based on temperature, rainfall and wind speed estimates—scientists are able to interpret how fire activity will be influenced by future climates. Changes in dryness relative to 1980 levels are shown in the animation using colors, where reds represent an increase in dryness and blues represent a decrease. Watch the video to see how dry conditions are expected to spread across North America by the year 2100.
Five military Modular Airborne FireFighting System C-130 air tankers were released from fire suppression duty yesterday. Since the year’s initial activation June 11, MAFFS crews have flown 572 missions and made 535 drops using 1,375,981 gallons of fire retardant. That works out to 2,406 gallons per mission.
Granite Mountain Hotshots memorial items to be removed
Soon after 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed on the Yarnell Hill Fire on June 30, mourners began placing memorial items on the fence surrounding their compound at the Prescott Fire Department. Now over two months later the city decided they have to do something with the hundreds of objects which include T-shirts, photos, posters, and other items. The City announced Thursday that the Fire Department and area volunteers would begin to remove them on Sept. 10.
Below is an excerpt from an article in the Daily Courier:
Now, officials say, it is time to begin packing away the items for preservation, and possible inclusion in a more permanent memorial in the future.
“Items that are able to be preserved will be temporarily stored until plans are finalized for the future permanent memorial,” the city’s new release stated.
City officials have noted that the outdoor elements have taken a toll on many of the items. Flowers, cardboard signs, and other perishable items were earlier removed. Many of the T-shirts from fire departments around the country have faded from dark-blue to gray.
The body of Engine Captain Token Adams was found today. At 11:45 a.m. searchers discovered his remains about one-quarter mile from the nearest road. In a video about this development at KRQE, the reporter said there was an apparent crash of the ATV and that Captain Adams had been wearing full protective gear, but the exact cause of death has not been determined.
Below is an announcement issued Friday afternoon by the Incident Management Team managing the search organization:
Friday September 6 2013 – 4:45 pm
We are sad to announce that the body of Jemez Ranger District Engine Captain Token Adams has been located. Token was dispatched to locate a smoke reported on Friday August 30 2013. Search efforts began late Friday afternoon and continued through this morning when his body was discovered.
Token was an Engine Captain working in Jemez Springs NM. He was 41 years old and had been an Engine Captain on the Jemez Ranger District for 1 ½ years. He was a wildland firefighter for 10 years including previous experience as a hotshot. Before coming to the Forest Service Token served in the U.S. Navy. Token grew up in the community of Coarsegold California and was a 1990 graduate of Yosemite High School in Oakhurst California.
Token is survived by his wife Heidi a 3 year old son Tristan his mother a brother and sister. Token’s wife Heidi is expecting their second child.
All public and media are asked to please respect the privacy of the firefighter’s family during this time of mourning. We will release all details of this tragedy when more information becomes available.
Our sincere condolences go out to the family and co-workers of Capain Adams.
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(UPDATED at 7:45 a.m. MDT, September 6, 2013)
There is not much new to report on the search for missing firefighter Token Adams. The incident management team has released a missing person’s flyer, which contains the following information:
MISSING PERSON
Santa Fe National Forest requests your assistance in locating this person.
Search Subject: Token Adams PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Age: 41
Height: 5’ 11″
Weight: 165
Hair: Peppered
Eyes: Wearing black sunglasses
Last seen wearing long sleeve yellow nomex shirt, green nomex pants, and lace up brown leather wildland fire boots. Last seen in the area of Holiday Mesa off Forest Service road 608 on Friday, 8/30/13. Mr. Adams was seen riding a red Polaris 400 ATV while investigating a possible fire start when he disappeared.
If you were in the area of Holiday Mesa and Stable Mesa on or after August 30th and may have seen this individual, please contact the Forest Service at 505-438-5600.
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(UPDATED at 10:35 a.m. MDT, September 5, 2013)
Searchers are still looking for U.S. Forest Service engine captain Token Adams who was last seen Friday, August 30, as he boarded an ATV to attempt to locate a smoke that had been reported on the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico.
The mother of Token Adams, Letake Anderson, visited the Incident Base Camp Thursday morning. She spoke to search crews and thanked them for their hard work.
A Firewatch Cobra helicopter is scheduled to arrive today to provide additional support for the search team. This specialized helicopter has cameras as well as infrared and low-light sensors and can transmit images to search crews up to 30 miles away.
The search and rescue operation continues today, looking for Engine Captain Token Adams who disappeared Friday. Captain Adams has not been heard from since he departed on an ATV trying to find a fire that had been reported in the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico.
Joe Reinarz’s Type 1 Incident Management Team assumed command of search efforts Wednesday morning as part of a unified command and will oversee the organization in coordination with the New Mexico State Police.
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(UPDATED at 12:47 p.m. MDT, September 3, 2013)
Token Adams, USFS photo
Rain on Sunday and Monday hampered the search for Engine Captain Token Adams. The 250 personnel involved in the search are traversing topography described as extreme with sheer cliffs.
Despite the grid pattern being used by the professional and dedicated personnel on the incident, their efforts have not been successful. Searchers are using GPS as part of this grid pattern and are being asked to report their locations hourly. Searchers will focus Tuesday on determining that certain areas have been fully searched.
Weather predictions for today and tonight are for a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms which will once again affect both air and ground operations.
HERE is a link to a map of the area being searched, but be advised it is a huge 19Mb file and will take a while to download.
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(UPDATED at 8:23 a.m. MDT September 3, 2013)
A Southwest Type 1 Incident Management Type, with Incident Commander Joe Reinarz, will assume command of the search efforts Wednesday morning at 6:00 a.m. for missing firefighter Token Adams. The team will begin in-briefing at noon Tuesday, September 3.
Mr. Adams is 41 years old and is an engine captain with the U.S. Forest Service and a former Hotshot. He is married with one son, and is expecting another child in less than a month.
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(Originally published at 2:27 p.m. MDT Monday, September 2, 2013)
A wildland firefighter sent out to look for a fire has been missing since Friday August 30. Token Adams was one of three people that were dispatched to a report of a smoke in the Schoolhouse Mesa area on the Jemez Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico. When they arrived in the general area Mr. Adams went off by himself on an all terrain vehicle to attempt to locate the smoke. He did not return as expected to the meeting point.
John Helmich, a spokesperson for the Santa Fe National Forest, told us on Monday that when Mr. Adams was first outbound to look for the smoke late in the day on Friday he called his wife on his cell phone, and has not been heard from since, either by phone or via the radio he also carried.
At least 200 people from several land management agencies, search and rescue organizations, the National Guard, and law enforcement agencies are actively searching for him. The Civil Air Patrol has used infrared equipment from a fixed wing aircraft and the New Mexico State Police have made a helicopter available.
The fire the three firefighters were trying to locate was eventually found. It was named the Schoolhouse Fire and was fully contained at 25 acres.
The last time we heard of wildland firefighters missing was late in the afternoon on June 30 — the Granite Mountain Hotshots were missing on the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. We hope this incident has a better outcome.
The National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s Risk Management Committee compiled a list of the fatalities, entrapments, burn-overs and other life-threatening accidents and injuries associated with wildfires in the United States in calendar year 2012.
Oscar Montano-Garcia, 50, a firefighter working on a contract Type 2 hand crew collapsed and died while working on the Nabob Fire on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in Oregon on Sunday, August 25.
The crew was rehabilitating a fireline by pulling brush back over the line that connected with the Pacific Crest Trail. They had just taken a lunch break when Mr. Montano-Garcia collapsed. EMT’s on scene and multiple other EMS personnel attempted to revive the firefighter but were unsuccessful.
Our sincere condolences go out to Mr. Montano-Garcia’s family and co-workers.
A female firefighter was killed and nine were injured Thursday on a wildfire in Portugal near the small city of Tondela. Commander Antonio Ribeiro of the Serra de Caramulo firefighters said the crew ran from the fire but the firefighter who died fled in the wrong direction. Euronews reports that three firefighters have died this month. High temperatures and strong winds have contributed to the spread of 13 large fires in Portugal.
The national wildfire situation
Today there are 49 uncontained large fires listed on the national Situation Report in the United States, and that number does not include individual fires within complexes. There are currently 854,480 acres within the perimeters of those active fires. The national Preparedness Level has reached the highest category, PL 5, for the first time since 2008. And while it may seem like much of the west is on fire, the number of acres burned to date, 3.4 million, is much less than average, which is 5.6 million.
Competition for firefighting resources is occurring. There is only one California-based Type 1 or Type 2 incident management team available that is not assigned to a fire; 33 IMTeams are assigned nationwide. But surprisingly, there are no Area Command Teams committed.
We have 11 large and very large air tankers working right now on exclusive use contracts, and there are another 9 that the USFS has borrowed from the military, the state of Alaska, and the Canadian government. In 2002 there were 44 large air tankers on contract.
Forest Service runs out of money for firefighting
For the sixth time in the last ten years the U.S. Forest Service has run out of funds for suppressing wildfires. Even though the number of acres burned to date this year is below average, the USFS is having to divert funds from other non-fire accounts in order to cover the shortfall. This is due in part to reductions in the amount of money Congress allocates for the FLAME fund, which is supposed to fund firefighting while protecting other accounts. The Washington Post has more details.
Scott Olsen writes about a firefighter’s first day on the job
You may have seen the articles written last year by W. Scott Olsen, a professor of English at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota about “the war on wildfires out west, meeting shot-callers and looking at the operation from the inside”. He has just published a new article at the Huffington Post about a wildland firefighter’s first day on the job.
Granite Mountain 19
The issues surrounding the deaths of the 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots June 30 on the Yarnell Hill Fire continue to make the news. Firefighters with the New York City Fire Department have raised $30,000 so far for the families of the 19, and they are hoping to add to that total. The Prescott Daily Courier asked the candidates for Mayor and the City Council to express their positions on the discrepancy between the benefits for the seasonal and full time members of the crew. And there is a debate about whether the city’s hotshot crew should be rebuilt.
Montana residents contribute for free coffee for firefighters
Residents near Lolo, Montana are contributing to a fund to provide free, good quality coffee for firefighters working on the Lolo Creek Complex. According to an article at KZBK, Samantha Harris, a barista at Florence Coffee Company in Lolo, said customers have been donating money to give firefighters coffee.
“We have a huge tab here so all the firefighters’ coffee is paid for,” Harris said. “Which has been really fun to tell them their coffee is free.” The tab is at nearly $300, she said.
Florence Coffee Company is at 11880 HWY 93 in South Lolo, Montana.
Photos of pyrocumulus
The Alaska Dispatch has some very impressive photos of pyrocumulus smoke columns caused by wildfires.
Goat manure fire stinks up town
A burning pile of goat manure is affecting the quality of life for residents of Windsor, Vermont. The pile ignited from spontaneous combustion Wednesday at George Redick’s 800-goat dairy. Windsor Town Manager Tom Marsh said he could smell the fire at his home which is five miles from the dairy.
The Associated Press reported that a truck driver working for a contractor on the Grassy Mountain Fire in eastern Oregon died Saturday. Carolyn Chad, a BLM spokesperson, said said Kevin Hall, from Ontario, Oregon, apparently suffered a medical issue while he was working for a bulldozer contractor. Mr. Hall was the driver of the low boy truck that transported the equipment to the fire. The dozer was assisting in the rehab of fire lines.
After he was found unresponsive in his vehicle, BLM employees and another fire contractor administered CPR until an air ambulance arrived, the BLM said. Hall was pronounced dead the scene.
The Grassy Mountain Fire started from lightning on Wednesday and was contained Friday after burning about 17,000 acres of grass and brush.
We send our sincere condolences to the family and co-workers of Mr. Hall.
Hot and dry conditions lead to more fires. Those were the findings presented in 2012 by a team of researchers that used NASA satellite data and climate models to predict fire activity in the United States. Now, a new animation shows how dry conditions will cause different parts of the U.S., Canada and Mexico to experience an increased risk of fire by the end of the century. By mapping projected values for a measure of dryness known as the potential evaporation—a calculation that’s based on temperature, rainfall and wind speed estimates—scientists are able to interpret how fire activity will be influenced by future climates. Changes in dryness relative to 1980 levels are shown in the animation using colors, where reds represent an increase in dryness and blues represent a decrease. Watch the video to see how dry conditions are expected to spread across North America by the year 2100.
