Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Month: August 2015

Okanogan Complex continues to expand, pushed by strong winds

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 3 Comments on Okanogan Complex continues to expand, pushed by strong winds

(UPDATED at 4 p.m. PT, August 22, 2015)

Helicopters at Okanogan Complex of Fires
The arrival of the predicted dry cold front on August 21st, 2015 brought strong winds to the Okanogan Complex of fires and drove part of the blaze into an area near the Okanogan airport where a K-Max helicopter performed bucket work in an area near one of the Washington DNR UH-1 Hueys. Two of the DNR ships joined the K-Max and a civilian Blackhawk in the engagement. Photo by Tom Story.

The Okanogan Complex of fires was very active again on Friday as a cold front with strong winds passed through the area. According Incident Commander Todd Pechota (via Joe O’Sullivan) more than 227,000 acres have burned since the fires started on August 15. Additional evacuation orders were issued as the portion of the fire west of Okanogan spread south and approached and in at least one area crossed Highway 20, which is closed.

Map Okanogan Fire
Map of the Okanogan Complex of Fires. The fire perimeters shown were mapped at 9 p.m. on August 21. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite during the 12 hours before 2:22 a.m. on Aug 22, 2015. (click to enlarge)
Washington UH-1 Huey Okanogan Complex of fires
A Washington DNR UH-1 Huey at the Okanogan airport takes off to engage the Okanogan Complex of Fires with some bucket work. Photo by Tom Story.

On Friday, President Obama signed an emergency declaration, ordering federal aid to assist in battling Washington state’s wildfires. The declaration allows FEMA to coordinate disaster relief efforts in Asotin, Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, Klickitat, Okanogan, Pend Orielle, Skamania, Spokane, Stevens, and Yakima counties. It also brings aid to the Colville, Spokane, Kalispel, and Yakima tribes.

For the first time, volunteers are being asked to fight the fires. More than 3,000 people have called and emailed in response to the state’s request for volunteer help with wildfires.

Dino sent us this link to four webcams in the Methow Valley between Twisp and Winthrop, Washington. He said they refresh once an hour. When I checked them Saturday afternoon they were shrouded in smoke.

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(UPDATE at 9:47 a.m. PT, August 21, 2015)

Map Okanogan Fire
Map showing heat detected on the Okanogan Fire by a satellite at 3 a.m. PT August 21, 2015.

The Okanogan Complex of Fires consumed another 40,000 acres of vegetation on Thursday and now covers 124,083 acres, crossing the 100,000-acre threshold to obtain megafire status.

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(Originally published at 2:58 p.m. PT, August 20, 2015)

map Okanogan Complex
The red line was the fire perimeter of the Okanogan Complex at 11 p.m. PT August 19, 2015. The white line is from about 24 hours before. (click to enlarge)

The Okanagan Complex, comprised of 11 fires, some of which grew together, quadrupled in size on Wednesday. It added 60,282 acres and as of 11 p.m. Wednesday night it was 83,441 acres and still growing rapidly (see map above). The Twisp River Fire, on which three firefighters were killed Wednesday, was added to the Complex this morning. A Type 1 incident management team will inbrief on Thursday.

The fire is near Omak, Riverside, and Okanagan in north-central Washington.

The area is under a Red Flag Warning through Friday (see map below) for continued warm temperatures, low humidities and strong north winds on Friday that could reach 50 mph — possibly downing power lines that could start new fires.

wildfireRed Flag Warnings, August 20, 2015

Washington Governor and FS Chief discuss the firefighter fatalities

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

This morning at 11 a.m. PT Washington Governor Jay Inslee and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell conducted a news conference at the fire station in Chelan, Washington. They discussed the general fire situation in the Northwest, and mentioned the three USFS firefighters who were killed near Twisp, Washington the day before, on August 19.

Not enough firefighters available for the 70,000 acres burning in the Twisp, Washington area

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized5 Comments on Not enough firefighters available for the 70,000 acres burning in the Twisp, Washington area
Twisp Okanogan Fires
Heat detected by a satellite on the Twisp River and Okanogan Complex Fires at 3 a.m. PT August 20, 2015. The red areas are the most recent. (click to enlarge)

The Twisp River fire that killed the three firefighters and injured four others on Wednesday started earlier that day about six miles northwest of Twisp, Washington. Pushed by a strong northwest wind, it quickly approached the town which was under an evacuation order along with the city of Winthrop. Thursday morning it is listed at 16,000 acres.

As you can see on the map above, that is not the only fire in the area. Within 10 to 40 miles to the east an additional 54,000 acres are on fire. The Okanogan Complex of fires closed in on the community of Riverside north of Omak on Highway 20 Wednesday requiring the complete evacuation of the town. That complex, comprised of at least 10 fires, some of which have merged, is listed at 54,000 acres but could be significantly larger after the fire activity late in the day on Wednesday. Fire managers report that “there is still a shortage of qualified resources”, but that may be partially mitigated since the priority of the incident was recently upgraded.

There are so many fires burning in the west now that there are not enough resources nationwide to suppress them. On some fires very little is being done to slow them down since they don’t have the needed amount of firefighters, incident management teams, caterers, shower units, dozers, fire engines, Type 1 Hotshot crews…. the list goes on.

Part of the problem is that between 2011 and 2015 there was a 17 percent reduction in the number of federal wildland firefighters, according to testimony by Tom Tidwell, Chief of the USFS, in hearings before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee.

Today there are 93 uncontained large fires in the United States and 46 incident management teams are assigned. Two area command teams (ACT) are deployed according to the National Situation Report. The ACT page indicates that all three teams are deployed. This year the number of ACTs was reduced from four to three. Right now there is probably a need for six to twelve.

In May, 2015 a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service explained the rational for the reduction:

Based on analysis of Area Command Team use over the past 15 years, it was determined that 3 Teams were adequate.

An ACT may be used to oversee the management of large incidents or those to which multiple Incident Management Teams have been assigned. They can take some of the workload off the local administrative unit when they have multiple incidents going at the same time. Your typical Forest or Park is not usually staffed to supervise two or more Incident Management Teams fighting fire in their area. An ACT can provide decision support to Multi-Agency Coordination Groups for allocating scarce resources and help mitigate the span of control for the local Agency Administrator. They also ensure that incidents are properly managed, coordinate team transitions, and evaluate Incident Management Teams.Today there are 593 hand crews and 29,506 total personnel committed to fires.

 

Firefighters standing by at Twisp as the killer fire approaches

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

Twisp fire, August 19, 2015The fire that killed three firefighters on Wednesday is still very active and is heading toward the town of Twisp, Washington. The above tweet was sent by KHQ reporter Gabe Cohen at 10 Wednesday night. It sounds like firefighters in the town are going to have their hands full. The entire town and the nearby community of Winthrop are under evacuation orders affecting 3,000 people.

Twisp fire - August 19, 2015

And the weather will not be their friend. Red Flag Warnings are posted for the area through Friday night for strong winds. The chart below (click on it to see a larger version) predicts that Wednesday night the wind at Twisp will be from the northwest at 15 to 17 mph with gusts to 24 mph, pushing the fire closer to the town. It will decrease to 6 to 15 during the day on Thursday and then crank up again Thursday night with gusts up to 22 mph. Friday a cold front will move through but the relative humidity will remain fairly low and the winds will be even stronger, gusting to 28 mph.

Twisp wind and weather

Three firefighters killed in Washington wildfire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , 8 Comments on Three firefighters killed in Washington wildfire

(Originally published at 6:12 p.m. PT, August 19, 2015; updated at 8:12 a.m. PT, August 20, 2015)

Three U.S. Forest Service firefighters were killed Wednesday, August 19, while they were fighting the Twisp River fire west of Twisp, Washington. The agency confirmed that they were “engaged in initial attack operations and were involved in a vehicle accident when it is believed that the fire overtook the vehicle.”

According to Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers, the three Forest Service deaths occurred in a fire on Washington Department of Natural Resources land.

Four additional firefighters were injured: one USFS, two DNR, and one DNR contractor.

Evacuations of the 3,000 residents of two nearby towns were ordered, Twisp and Winthrop.

The names have not been released, pending notification of next of kin.

“We are devastated by the tragic loss of three of our Forest Service firefighters,” said Mike Williams, Forest Supervisor on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.  “We are working with County and State partners to notify the families of those lost.  Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and fellow crewmembers of these brave firefighters.”

The Forest Service said a national incident management team has been ordered.

Q13 Fox reported that the county “sheriff said the wind suddenly shifted and the firefighters became trapped as the fire was turned back on them”.

The rapidly spreading new fire that caused the evacuations is represented by the six red dots in the map below, 6 miles northwest of Twisp. Heat from the fire was detected by a satellite at 1:05 p.m. PT, August 19. Click on the map to see a larger version.

Map fires near Twisp
Fires near Twisp, Washington. The dots represent heat detected by a satellite, with the red ones being the most recent, recorded at 1:05 p.m. PT on August 19, 2015. (click to enlarge)

Evacuation information can be found at the Okanogan County Emergency Management Facebook page.

The first articles to report the fatalities were time-stamped shortly before 6 p.m. PT, August 19.  The reports say shifting winds may have contributed to the entrapment of the firefighters. The weather station between Twisp and Winthrop, NCSW1, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday recorded winds from all directions, starting from the north at 8 a.m., the wind direction changed going clockwise until they were from the north-northwest at 5 p.m. The wind speeds were light, at 1 to 6 mph until 5 p.m. when they increased to 10 with gusts to 20 mph. The relative humidity was in the mid-teens and the high temperature was 95 degrees.

Our sincere condolences go out to the families of the injured and deceased firefighters.