Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Month: July 2014

Canadian fires continue to rage, “worst fire season in years”

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , ,

Dry heat is fueling several out of control wildfires in Alberta and British Columbia this week, where fire officials say this is the worst fire season the region has seen since 2003.

There are 156 fires burning in Canada’s Northwest Territories, The Toronto Sun reports.

As of Monday morning, around 11 fires were burning out of control in Alberta, according to the province’s wildfire situation report. Meanwhile, the explosive Spreading Creek fire near Banff National Park, British Columbia, is being held for the first time since lightning ignited it on July 3, The Calgary Herald reported. The fire had burned more than 6,800 hectares (around 16,800 acres) as of July 14.

The fire has intermittently shut down parts of the Icefields Parkway that winds from Banff to Jasper. Photos capturing its spectacular plume of smoke have sparked an international interest in the fire.

 

While fires spread on both sides of the national park, conditions are no different in BC’s interior, where a fire ignited on Tuesday in tinder-dry country near West Kelowna. The so-called Mount Boucherie fire had burned around 12 acres by Tuesday evening, and was being held by fire retardant lines, local media reported. The fire continued to burn into Tuesday night.

West Kelowna is in a fire-prone corridor known for regular wildfires. In 2003 in nearby Kelowna, lightning ignited the Okanagan Mountain Park fire, which went on to burn hundreds of homes and prompted the largest fire-evacuation in Canadian history.

I’ve spent some time in Kelowna and last year wrote a story about the Okanagan Mountain fire, ten years after the historic blaze. It had some eerie parallels to another wildfire, the Waldo Canyon fire, which I covered while working at The Gazette in Colorado Springs. Read my story on the Okanagan Mountain fire here. 

Michigan woman found dead near brush fire

Author BillPosted on Categories Uncategorized

Firefighters extinguishing a small fire in northern Michigan on Sunday came across the body of a 58-year-old woman, The Grand Rapids Press reported.

The fire started around 6 p.m. on Sunday in a residential neighborhood in Benzie County. While the woman’s body showed no signs of foul play, officials say the fire might have been intentionally set.

The woman has yet to be identified.

Red Flag Warning, July 16, 2014

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

Screen Shot 2014-07-16 at 11.51.42 AM

Warnings for elevated wildfire danger were issued Wednesday by the National Weather Service for areas in Washington, Oregon and Utah.

The Red Flag Warning map was current as of 11 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 site.  

Lightning starts 100+ fires in Oregon

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized
Fires east of Burns
Wildfires east of Burns, Oregon. The yellow and red squares represent heat detected by a satellite. The fires are 33 to 50 miles east and southeast of Burns. (click to enlarge)

Thunderstorms that passed over the Cascade Mountains on Sunday started over 100 fires in Oregon’s central district. Three of the fires had burned over 5,000 acres by Monday night.

The four fires shown on the map above, Buzzard, Saddle Draw, Twin Reservoir, and Lamb Ranch, are all burning in Bureau of Land Management areas and exhibited extreme fire behavior on Monday.

Below, from the national Situation Report, is a list of the current fires in Washington and Oregon.

Northwest area fires July 15, 2014
*New fires

Firefighter wins Emmy

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized2 Comments on Firefighter wins Emmy

This may be the first time a full time firefighter has one an Emmy. Steve Schopper, a videographer for Colorado Springs Fire Department, won the prestigious award for the videos he shot at the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest Fires in Colorado Springs, Colorado..

On June 14, 2013 we embedded the following video that was recorded on the Black Forest Fire by the Colorado Springs Fire Department.