News and opinion about wildland fire
This is not what the firefighters working on the 85 large uncontained wildfires in the United States need right now.
The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches for areas in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Idaho.
The map was current as of 11:10 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.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized3 Comments on Maps of wildfires in the Northwest U.S. More than 27,000 firefighters are deployed on wildfires in the United States.
(Originally published at 10:35 a.m. MDT September 6, 2107)
These maps show the locations of large wildfires that are currently active in the Northwest United States. The red, yellow, and orange dots represent heat detected by a satellite in the 24 hour period ending at 10 a.m. MDT September 6.
According to the National Interagency Coordination Center, today there are 50 large uncontained wildfires in the United States that are being aggressively suppressed. In addition, there are another 35 fires that are not being fully suppressed.
Very large numbers of firefighting resources are currently assigned across the United States, including 560 hand crews, 1,865 engines, and 222 helicopters, for a total of 27,256 personnel.
As of yesterday 7.9 million acres has burned this year nationally, which compares to the 10-year average of 5.4 million acres for this date.
The video below shows heat and smoke in Idaho and Montana detected by a satellite on September 3 and 4, 2017.
Raging #wildfires with occasional pyroconvection continue in western MT and ID – #GOES16 fire temp RGB + Geocolor – data non-operational pic.twitter.com/H4Fa2jWV6e
— Dan Lindsey (@DanLindsey77) September 4, 2017
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Wildfire smoke creates “unhealthy” air in the Northwest U.S. Wednesday (UPDATED at 4:28 p.m. MDT September 6, 2017)
The map above showing the distribution of wildfire smoke was created at 1:36 p.m. today, Wednesday. You may notice a difference between it and the other maps below that were produced earlier Wednesday morning.
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(Originally published at 9:40 a.m. MDT September 6, 2017. We will update this information through the day on Wednesday September 6.)
The siege of wildfires in the Northwestern United States that has persisted for several weeks continues to produce air that humans and other animals should not breathe. On Wednesday air quality classified as “unhealthy”, “very unhealthy”, or “hazardous” exists in some areas of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.
More detailed information about locations in the following states is available from Airnow.gov:
The image below is the forecast for small particles (PM 2.5) such as those found in wildfire smoke, for September 8, 2017.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Uintah Fire burns homes south of Ogden, Utah Approximately six homes have burned and a Type 1 Incident Management Team has been ordered.
(UPDATED at 8:41 p.m. MDT September 5, 2017)
The Type 1 Incident Management Team (IMT) previously ordered for the Uintah Fire southeast of Ogden, Utah near the community of Uintah has been changed to a Type 3 IMT.
The perimeter was mapped Tuesday evening with GPS; the result, 619 acres.
At 7 p.m. Tuesday 250 homes are still under evacuation orders, according to ABC 4 News.
Local residents can call 211 for information about the fire. I-84 eastbound and westbound is now open.
(Originally published at 3:13 p.m. MDT September 5, 2017)
The Uintah Fire that started around mid-morning Tuesday has burned approximately six homes and caused evacuations southeast of Ogden, Utah near the community of Uintah. Both Highway 89 and Interstate 84 were closed at one point as the fire burned near 89 and jumped across and then burned along the interstate to South Weber where structures were involved.
Uintah Elementary School was evacuated as well as an assisted living facility and several neighborhoods.
At about noon aircraft began working the fire, and National Guard helicopters were mobilized. At one point a small drone was spotted a few hundred yards from helicopters that were assisting firefighters.
At noon the size was estimated at 500 acres and it was running to the northwest. A Type 1 Incident Management Team has been ordered. At 1:22 p.m. MDT the Weber Fire District reported that five fixed wing aircraft and two helicopters were working the fire along with numerous fire engines and ground-based firefighters.
The fire was driven by very strong down-canyon winds blowing to the west where I-84 climbs up the drainage to the east. The Power Plant weather station at the Interstate recorded 12 to 24 mph sustained east winds gusting at 28 to 45 mph. The temperature was in the 70’s with a relative humidity of 30 percent.
Continue reading “Uintah Fire burns homes south of Ogden, Utah”
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized7 Comments on Wildfire smoke and air quality, September 5, 2017 (UPDATED at 9:08 p.m. MDT September 5, 2017)
Here is the latest version of NOAA’s wildfire smoke tracking analysis, created at 5:36 MDT September 5, 2017.
Below is an animated version of a smoke forecast for Tuesday through Wednesday.
If you are noticing a hazy sky, esp. at a distance, that would be #smoke from the Pac NW following the upper air pattern into the Mid-South! pic.twitter.com/GXHEliacsr
— MemphisWeather.net (@memphisweather1) September 5, 2017
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(Updated at 5:47 p.m. MDT September 5, 2017)
Here are two satellite photos of the Western United States. The first was taken on September 4 and the second was today, September 5.
Smoke from wildfires in the northwest United States is having a serious affect on some locations in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Other areas east and southeast of these states have also been affected in recent days.
An updated version of the smoke maps we have been posting this week is not available yet Tuesday morning at 9:36 a.m. MDT. We will add it to this article when it is. We checked a couple of other wildfire smoke sites and they are also not producing updated information.
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(UPDATE at 1:10 p.m. MDT September 5, 2017)
Here is a link to an animation from satellite images that shows smoke being blown around the west. It might take a while to load. Be patient.
We checked more smoke sites and found one that is still working. Below is the forecast for smoke at 3 p.m. MDT September 5, 2017.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Rice Ridge Fire merges with Reef Fire The Rice Ridge fire has burned 108,126 acres just east of Seeley Lake 35 miles northeast of Missoula, Montana.
Above: The red line on the map shows the perimeters of the Rice Ridge and Reef Fires at 12:45 a.m. September 5, 2017. The white line was the perimeter of the Rice Ridge Fire about 24 hours before.
(Originally published at 9:18 a.m. MDT September 5, 2017)
On Monday the Rice Ridge Fire grew on the south, east, and north sides adding another 6,701 acres, and has now burned 108,126 acres. It merged at Otis Creek with another fire to the north, the 10,424-acre Reef Fire. Combined, the fires have blackened 118,550 acres, well beyond the 100,000 threshold of becoming a “megafire”.
The spread on Monday was much less than on Sunday when it almost doubled. Numerous spot fires out ahead of the main fire from Sunday’s growth are active on the east side. On the south it spread for about a mile and crossed Cottonwood Lake-Monture Road.
The transition from Thompson’s Type 2 Incident Management Team to Poncin’s Type 1 Incident Management Team occurred at 6 a.m., Tuesday, September 5.
The weather forecast calls for moderate winds with rising temperatures through Friday, but the relative humidity will reach down into the teens each day.
There is not much expectation of rain on the fire this week except for a 20 to 30 percent chance Thursday night and Friday.
Resources assigned include 15 hand crews, 64 engines, and 4 helicopters. The total number of personnel on the fire decreased Monday from 817 to 787.
