March 2015 - Page 8 of 14 - Wildfire Today

Dry, warm weather during the early fire season in Black Hills

Bill GabbertMarch 15, 2015March 16, 2015UncategorizedSouth Dakota

(To see a larger version of the video below, click on the icon at the bottom-right in the video.)

With the recent warm temperatures and a scarcity of precipitation in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and a forecast for today predicting record highs in some areas as temperatures reach 80 degrees, firefighters are having to gear up early for the fire season.

Since March 1 the Great Plains Interagency Dispatch Center has handled 12 wildfires, with the largest being 721, 400, and 60 acres

The video above emphasizes the North Pole Fire, which we covered HERE and HERE.

Red Flag Warnings, March 15, 2015

Bill GabbertMarch 15, 2015August 25, 2019UncategorizedRed Flag Warning3 Comments

Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches have been issued today for areas in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma.

The map was current as of 10:15 a.m. MDT on Sunday. 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 NWS site or this NWS site.

Red Flag Warnings, March 14, 2015

Bill GabbertMarch 14, 2015August 25, 2019UncategorizedRed Flag Warning6 Comments

Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches have been issued for areas in Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and South Dakota on Saturday.

Interestingly, after our discussion on March 12 about the two different versions of NWS Red Flag Warning maps, and how the one at the site illustrated above did not show Red Flag areas that went into effect later in the same day, today’s map, above, shows an area in North Dakota as Red Flag even though it does not go into effect for another three hours, at 1 p.m. CDT today. Which is what they should do. The forecasters should not expect land managers and firefighters to have to visit their site every hour or two to determine if they are under a Red Flag Warning. You should be able to visit the site just once a day to see the warning areas.

The map was current as of 9 a.m. MDT on Saturday. 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 NWS site or this NWS site.

Lewis and Clark wrote about fire

Bill GabbertMarch 13, 2015Uncategorized

The soil of these prairies appears rich but much parched with the frequent fires.

One of the entries that mentioned fire in Lewis and Clark’s journal.

Contemplating the Alaska fire season

Bill GabbertMarch 13, 2015March 12, 2015UncategorizedAlaska, fire season, weather

A grizzly bear near Bill Gabbert’s campsite in Denali National Park in Alaska. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

It can be a fool’s errand to attempt to predict the severity of a wildfire season. Using past weather data to predict the nature and number of future fires often fails.

But an article written by Ben Boettger for the Peninsula Clarion is more intelligent than most about discussing what affects a fire season and what this one might look like.

Below are some excerpts from his article:

…[Meteorologist Sharon Alden of the Alaska Fire Service’s predictive office] said there is not a correlation between a warm winter and a busy fire season, nor a correlation between a less-snowy winter and a busy fire season.

“However, there is a correlation between snowpack and the early fire season—how fast things melt out, how soon fire season starts,” Alden said.

Alden said that the intensity of fire season is more tied to precipitation than temperature, leading Fire Services to begin early preparation during the critical months of spring.

“In early spring, before green-up, the forest fuels are dryer,” Alden said. “When you have green-up, when you have trees fleshing out and new green grass is growing, you have more moisture around and it becomes a little less receptive to getting a fire started.”

In addition to leaving less moisture on the ground, a lack of snow contributes to an early fire season through its effect on grass, since grass crushed down by snow burns less easily than standing grass. Kristi Bulock, fire management officer for the US Fish and Wildlife Service region that includes the Kenai Wildlife Refuge, said that the locally-abundant calamogrostis grass is a particularly good wildfire fuel.

“One of the concerns we have this year is that without the snowpack, the grass is still three feet tall,” Bulock said. “It’s up and it’s fluffy, and it’s available for burning, where generally, under a good snowpack, it would be matted down. And then as we start getting green-up we would start getting green shoots in between, and that would lessen the potential for that fuel to carry fire. But if you look out your window now you see these giant patches of cured grass… if we have any kind of ignition source — a cigarette, somebody dragging a chain on the road — the potential could be there for it to really move through that grass…”

DHS to help stimulate development of wearable technology for first responders

Bill GabbertMarch 12, 2015UncategorizedHoly Grail1 Comment

On Tuesday the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced its first business accelerator program, EMERGE!, aimed at entrepreneurs who have innovative ideas that address the unique needs of the Homeland Security community and whose wearable technology could be adapted for first responder operations.

The accelerator program seeks innovative solutions that help the “responder of the future” save lives and carry out their mission, particularly in the area of wearable technologies, such as body-worn electronics, advanced sensors, and integrated voice and data communications embedded in a responder’s gear.

“First responders can benefit from these new emerging technologies, to not only ensure their personal safety, but to better save the lives of those they serve,” said DHS Deputy Under Secretary for Science and Technology Dr. Robert Griffin, a former firefighter and emergency manager. “There may be innovators who have ideas for the latest scientific advancements that can make a difference in helping these first responders.”

The EMERGE! Accelerator program will help innovators to develop and launch their ideas into investable companies by providing early market validation, mentoring and access to private investment. This program will accelerate the development of selected commercial wearable technologies and provide a path to introduce those technologies to a variety of markets, including Government sector partners.

This accelerator program is one part of S&T’s overall strategy to reinvigorate federal government research and development. Through prize competitions, open dialogues, and accelerator programs, S&T is hoping to attract innovators, keeping pace with the speed of technological advancement.

S&T’s EMERGE! Accelerator program was developed in partnership with the United States Air Force Academy, DHS Center of Innovation, and the Center for Innovative Technology.