Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Month: July 2014

PHOTOS: Birch Lake Complex, Northwest Territories

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

Reader D. Cote with Yukon Wildland Fire Management sent us impressive photos of the South Slave fire, one of four massive fires burning in Canada’s Northwest Territories area. The Birch Lake Complex has burned more than 530,000 acres. Read his account below.

D. Cote, Yukon Wildland Fire Management
D. Cote, Yukon Wildland Fire Management

“(The fire) made a major run on the afternoon of July 14th with estimated spread rates of 150 – 200 meters a minute. With a 10 km flame front bearing down on the staging area the ignition team pulled off a ‘Hail Mary’ burn out (heli-torch, lower left in photo) which managed to save the (communications) tower, fire lookout tower and cabin as well as all the heavy equipment…

The fire is SS (South Slave district – NWT) #20, one of four fires in the Birch Lake Complex, which is over 220,000 hectares ( + or – 530,000 acres). (South Slave) alone is 125,000 hectares or so…The day the fire made that run was 36 C (97 F) with a 17% RH. Pretty exceptional for this part of the world.  Fire behavior analysts on the incident clocked the spread rates of any where from 150 to 200 meters a minute  (a meter is roughly one yard).”
 

Canada: Dense smoke blankets BC, fires spread in the interior

Author BillPosted on Categories Uncategorized

Screen Shot 2014-07-18 at 3.02.18 PM

Thick smoke from fires in British Columbia, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories is drifting across Canada, prompting health warnings and the early turning on of night-time street lights.

There are around 155 fires burning around the country, some of which have forced the evacuation of entire towns and shut down portions of the scenic Icefields Parkway.

Some updates on fires we’ve been following:

  • The Smith Creek Fire in West Kelowna, in BC’s interior, doubled in size since it ignited. It’s now at 400 hectares (just under 1,000 acres) and has forced 2,500 residents to evacuate their homes. Kelowna is no stranger to wildfire–in 2003, the area was ravaged by the Okanagan Mountain Fire.
  • The Spreading Creek Fire in Banff National Park is still burning but is considered under control.
  • The Mount McAllister Fire forced the evacuation of Hudson’s Hope, a small town northeastern BC. Town residents were allowed to return home on Thursday, but the fire continues to burn. The fire was at 16,000 hectares (around 40,000 acres) on Friday and was zero percent contained, local media reported. 

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

At least 100 homes destroyed in Pateros

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 2 Comments on At least 100 homes destroyed in Pateros

The entire town of Pateros in northwestern Washington along the Columbia River, population just under 700, was evacuated this week as the Carlton Complex fire roared through. The latest reports indicate that at least 100 homes have been destroyed by the fire, and by mid-day Friday pictures of the devastation started to appear on social media.

 

Report: Engine consumed by fire was “wedged on a large rock”

Author BillPosted on Categories Uncategorized

A crew from the Richfield Rural Fire Department in Idaho was forced to abandon their engine on Wednesday after after it became stuck on a large rock and was consumed by a small wildfire.

The crew was working the small fire along with crews from the Bureau of Land Management, according to the 24-hour preliminary report.  When the crew couldn’t move the engine they retreated to a safety zone. No one in the crew was injured, but the engine and its equipment were lost.

This is a brief update from Thursday’s post on this incident. 

Washington, Oregon fires burn out of control, destroying homes

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , ,

WA-OR fires, 2014-07-17 at 10.41.21 PM

Many wildfires in Oregon and Washington state are burning out of control this week, as both states have been issued almost daily fire weather warnings. Here’s a wrap up of some of the major fires burning in both states:

Chiwaukum Creek Fire: Ignited by lightning on Tuesday, this rapidly spreading wildfire had consumed 6,630 acres by Friday morning, and forced nearly 900 residents near Leavenworth, Washington to evacuate this week. The fire forced the shutdown of several miles of U.S. Highway 2.

The fire is part of the Mills Canyon Complex, which includes the Mills Canyon Fire, burning near Entiat and now at 22,571 acres, and the Kelly Mountain Fire, also near Entiat, which has burned between 60 and 80 acres.

 

Meanwhile, the Carlton Complex  in the Wenatchee National Forest in Washington has forced all residents of the small town of Pateros to evacuate. One of the complex’s four fires has already destroyed many homes and made a run that, by Friday morning, put the fire’s size at 260 square miles, The Associated Press reported. That’s about 167,000 acres. Reports vary as to how many homes the fire has destroyed, but the latest estimate seems to be at least 100. 

All of the Carlton Complex fires were ignited by lightning on July 14: Stokes Fire, Gold Hikes Fire, French Creek Fire and the Cougar Flat fire. The Stokes Fire and the Gold Hikes fire have merged into one fire, according to Inciweb.   

 

There are currently 14 major fires burning in Oregon. The Moccasin Hill Fire has destroyed an unknown number of homes–at last count, officials said that 33 had been destroyed. Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber has declared a state of emergency. 

 

Red Flag Warning: July 18, 2014

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

Screen Shot 2014-07-18 at 8.45.01 AM

Warnings for elevated wildfire danger were issued Friday by the National Weather Service for areas in Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Idaho.

The Red Flag Warning map was current as of 9 a.m. MDT on Friday. 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 site.