Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Month: July 2014

Person killed escaping flames from Bully Fire

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

California’s Bully Fire has killed one person, who officials say was likely trying to flee the blaze, local media is reporting. 

The body was discovered inside the fire perimeter on Wednesday; on Thursday CAL FIRE officials confirmed that the person died while likely fleeing the fire when it started on July 11.

It has since burned 10,700 acres and is 47 percent contained, according to CAL FIRE’s general information site. The fire is burning 21 southwest of Redding.

Officials believe the fire was accidentally set when a man was driving his truck to an illegal marijuana in Shasta County. Freddie Alexander Smoke III was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of starting the fire.

Small Idaho fire destroys engine, crew “lucky to escape”

Author BillPosted on Categories Uncategorized

A small fire near Richfield, Idaho destroyed an fire engine while its crew was fighting a 27-acre blaze, The Times-News reported.

The Richfield Fire Department was responding to the fire when the engine got stuck in a rock and sand pile, the department’s chief told local media. The crew had to abandon the truck as it fled the encroaching fire.

Crews did “everything they could,” he said. “We’re lucky we didn’t lose anyone.”

The fire was initially started when a truck lost a tire, and sparks from its bare rim ignited flames in nearby brush, the paper reported. Richfield is in south-central Idaho.

I’m working to get more details on story.–Ryan

British Columbia town emptied as fire advances

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

 


The entire town of Hudson’s Hope in northeastern British Columbia has been emptied as the nearby Mount McAllister fire spreads out of control.

The wildfire was ignited by lightning on Sunday, and had grown to more than 20,000 hectares (more than 49,000 acres) by Thursday.

Local officials went door-to-door through the town, urging the town’s 1,150 residents to evacuate, The Huffington Post reported. 

The Mount McAllister fire is one of more than 100 wildfires currently raging in British Columbia, where tinder-dry conditions have fueled one of the worst fire seasons the province has seen in a decade.

Chiwaukum Creek fire: Hundreds evacuated, fire spreads

Author BillPosted on Categories Uncategorized

Screen Shot 2014-07-17 at 10.05.38 AM

The explosive Chiwaukum Creek fire outside of Leavenworth, Washington has forced hundreds to evacuate their homes and has shut down state highways as it spreads, sending up a massive smoke plume that can be seen from Seattle.

Since lightning ignited the fire on Tuesday, residents of 860 homes have been evacuated, Fox News reported on Thursday. The fire has burned more than 4,500 acres and has forced the closure of U.S. Highway 2 for 35 miles, Chelan County emergency management officials said.

A Red Flag Warning has been issued for the swath of central Washington where the fire is currently burning. The worsening fire weather has promoted local disaster declarations in nearly all of the state’s eastern counties, local media reported. 

 

Alberta: Spreading Creek Fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

The Alberta department of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development posted this video of the Spreading Creek fire. It includes scenes showing a briefing for firefighters, hose lays, sprinklers, fireline construction in heavy timber, helicopter drops, and single engine air tankers. It was uploaded to YouTube on June 11, 2014.

Thanks and a hat tip go out to JW.

Moccasin Hill Fire more destructive than initial estimates

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

When it burned through a rural southern Oregon subdivision on Sunday, the Moccasin Hill fire destroyed many more homes than fire officials initially reported.

Officials announced Wednesday that the fire destroyed 33 structures, up from the initial estimate of 20.

The Moccasin Hill fire ignited on Sunday, and prompted hundreds of people to evacuate from a rural subdivision outside of Sprague River, Eugene-based TV station KVAL reported Wednesday. As the fire spread rapidly over the weekend, officials first estimated that it destroyed six homes and 14 outbuildings.

But on Wednesday officials discovered an additional 17 destroyed homes, and some 16 destroyed outbuildings within the subdivision.

 


The structures were all damaged on Sunday, when the fire first broke out. As of Wednesday, the fire had burned 2,500 acres. Crews have established a full containment line around the fire but are working toward the center to put out hot spots.

The cause of this fire is still under investigation.

Oregon, like much of the West Coast, has been drought-stricken for months. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows that Klamath County, the Moccasin Hill fire is burning, is almost entirely in a severe drought.

As we reported on Tuesday,  more than 100 wildfires ignited in an Oregon lightning storm on Sunday.