News and opinion about wildland fire
Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches have been issued for areas in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, and Virginia.
The map was current as of 8:40 a.m. MDT on Tuesday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts and maps. For the most current data visit this NWS site or this NWS site.
(UPDATED at 6:10 p.m. MDT, March 31, 2015)
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(UPDATED at 12:20 p.m. MDT, March 31, 2015)
The Rapid City Journal has an article about the Sheep Draw Fire.
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Originally published at 9:54 p.m. MDT, March 30, 2015
Jim Strain’s Type 3 Incident Management Team has assumed command of the 10,000-acre Sheep Draw Fire in northwest South Dakota. Two National Guard helicopters are assisting with the fire which is burning on state and private land.
Firefighters were calling it 15 percent contained at noon on Monday.
The weather forecast for Tuesday calls for 17 mph southwest winds gusting to 28 mph, temperature of 80, and a relative humidity that will be in the teens overnight, 16 percent at dawn and rising to 40 percent by sunset.
Can clearly see the #SheepDrawFire in northwest South Dakota on visible satellite this afternoon #sdfire pic.twitter.com/NCC2Q7tLQL
— Chip Redmond (@wx_chip) March 30, 2015
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Two killed when helicopter crashes on prescribed fire in Mississippi Two people were killed and one was injured March 30 when a helicopter crashed while working on a prescribed fire on the Desoto National Forest in southern Mississippi.
More information is at Fire Aviation.
Author BillPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on California snowpack lowest on record since 1950 
California’s snowpack has reached an all-time low since 1950, the California Department of Water Resources announced last week.
Like most states in the West, the department takes regular snowpack measurements, which are used to predict the amount of water California can expect to see in its reservoirs. The measurements are also an indicator of how dry and possibly fire-prone California’s landscape has become.
California’s snowpack accounts for 30 percent of the state’s water, once it melts, the release said.
Snowpack measurements are taken against an average — at 100 percent — making anything less than 100 less than average. California’s snowpack has been on a steady decline since January of this year. The latest measurement was 8 percent of the historical average. Typically, snowpack is at its peak in California by April 1.
The state is going into its fourth year of extreme drought, following three of its driest years on record.
The Pine Crest wildfire near Columbus, Montana burned two homes this weekend and forced dozens of residents to evacuate, the Billings-Gazette reported on Sunday.
The fire started around 1 p.m. on Saturday five miles west of Columbus, which is west of Billings. As of Monday morning it had burned 3,000 acres and was 10 percent contained on Sunday night. Three helicopters fought the fire along with 98 firefighters, according to the Billings-Gazette. InciWeb reports show that one firefighter was injured.
A subdivision was expected to remain on evacuation until Monday morning, when the Columbus Fire Department planned to host a public meeting. The fire’s cause is still under investigation, according to InciWeb.
Another Montana fire near Red Lodge briefly shut down a local ski area on Saturday. The West Fork fire was 20 percent contained at 400 acres as of Saturday night. In a post on its Facebook page, Red Lodge Fire Rescue said the fire ignited when a days-old controlled burn rekindled.
Snowpack in south-central Montana is below average, hovering around 89 percent of normal, according to the latest reports from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. In the National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook released for March through June, Montana was not expected to have an above-average early fire season.
“The periods of warm chinook flow during this time melted snow accumulations over all but the highest elevations east of the Continental Divide in Montana, and dried fine fuels enough to allow sporadic grass and brush fire activity,” the report said. “This is not an unusual occurrence as these warm dry periods in winter occur most years to some degree.”
Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches have been issued for areas in Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and eastern Colorado.
The map was current as of 9:15 a.m. MDT on Monday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts and maps. For the most current data visit this NWS site or this NWS site.
