While at Sacramento McClellan Airport last week I couldn’t take my eyes off a particular airplane. It was a DC-3 with a highly-polished bare metal finish. Built in 1939 for Major General Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold, it was used for VIP transport for himself and military command staff, as well as other high ranking officials including the Secretary of War. It was based at Bolling Army Airfield, Washington D.C.
DC-3 at McClellan, March 15, 2018. Photo by Bill Gabbert DC-3 at McClellan, March 15, 2018. Photo by Bill Gabbert
In case you’re wondering, the bottom photo was not captured or converted to black & white. It’s just that virtually all that was there was black, shades of gray, or white. The images above are low resolution. You can get your own high-res copy, framed or unframed, and without the watermark.
Above: A fire burns structures in Tathra, New South Wales. Photo credit: NSW Rural Fire Service.
(Updated at 8:30 a.m. MDT March 19, 2018, US time)
At least 69 homes were destroyed and 39 damaged in the bushfire that spread into the coastal community of Tathra in New South Wales according to the Rural Fire Service.
As the fire ran into the town many residents took refuge on the beach, but very strong winds, smoke, and blowing sand convinced some to leave and head for the evacuation center in Bega.
Initial damage assessment of #Tathra bush fire complete. 69 houses destroyed, 39 damaged. 398 saved or untouched. 30 caravans or cabins have been destroyed. https://t.co/MVB1MsiDDR#nswrfs#nswfires
(Originally published at 11:03 a.m. MDT March 18, 2018, US time)
A fire that started southeast of Bega, New South Wales has burned east to the Pacific coast destroying homes in its path. The official tally of the affected structures is not available but Campbell Fuller, communications director of the Insurance Council of Australia, said “We are hearing several dozen properties” burned.
Google Earth file photo of the area in Tathra NSW affected by a bushfire. Compare this image to the one at the top of the article.
From the Daily Telegraph:
Earlier on Sunday night Bega Valley Shire Council mayor Kristy McBain said up to 35 homes had been lost and the concern was now about people stuck in Tathra as the roads in and out of the town were closed.
Many of the destroyed homes were in the small coastal community of Tathra, population 1,622. After the fire ran east for 5 miles (8 km) from the Bega area to the coast, jumping the Bega River, the wind shifted to come out of the south, slowing the spread. Officials advised residents to continue to monitor conditions and be prepared to enact their bush fire survival plan should the fire threaten again. The evacuation center is at Bega Showground.
Map of the bushfire between Bega and Tathra NSW. Map by NSW RFS.
The NSW Rural Fire Service video below shows Air Tanker 390 making a drop in Tathra.
Firefighters and aircraft still working to protect homes around Tathra. A lot of hard work ahead of them. Sadly, a number of homes and buildings have been destroyed today. The VLAT from @EMV_news is providing assistance. #nswrfs#nswfirespic.twitter.com/On0IBYh0UA
The Carson Midway Fire burned hundreds of acres in Colorado Friday, March 16, 2018. Photo credit: Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District
Evacuations remained in place Friday night and several structures reportedly burned after a fire broke out on a Colorado military post and spread to surrounding areas, officials said.
The fire, which started midday Friday in the southeastern portion of Fort Carson’s training area, burned approximately 2,100 acres in Pueblo and El Paso counties — on and off the Army post — by Friday night, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office.
Firefighters from Fort Carson, near Colorado Springs, in conjunction with El Paso and Pueblo county agencies worked the Carson Midway Fire through the day Friday.
Air resources from Fort Carson worked with Bambi Buckets to assist fire fighters on the ground, officials said. Additional fixed-wing air assets have been requested and are on scene.
Approximately 100 Pueblo County residents living in the Midway Ranch area were evacuated. A large-animal shelter was also established at the Colorado State Fairgrounds.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Additional details about the number of structures affected were not immediately available.
Red flag warnings were issued across the region Friday. Gusty, dry conditions are forecast to return Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Couple more photos from our crew out in the field. Ft. Carson has taken command but County resources will continue to help. #wildfirepic.twitter.com/PwAJbQSovW
— El Paso County, Colorado (@epccolorado_) March 16, 2018
The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings and/or Fire Weather Watches for areas in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri.
The Red Flag Warning map was current as of 9:52 a.m. PDT on Friday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.
Fires raced through grasslands in Kansas this week, drawing the National Guard, which captured this photo.
A series of wildfires have burned thousands of acres of grasslands in Kansas this week, and while relief might be in sight, there’s still a full day of volatile conditions ahead, officials say.
“Friday will be a very dangerous day for fire weather in many areas of the state. Some areas will see catastrophic fire weather conditions,” the Kansas Division of Emergency Management said.
Most of the state is under red flag or high wind warnings with forecast to gusts up to 40 mph in some areas Friday. Temperatures around 70 degrees are expected to drop into the 50s this weekend, with rain in the forecast, according to the National Weather Service.
Fires erupted Wednesday. Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer made an emergency declaration for three of the fires burning in Rice County and deployed Black Hawk helicopters from the Kansas National Guard to assist in the response.
According to The Wichita Eagle, state officials tracked 45 fires across the state on Thursday alone, with several breaking out in the Kansas City area. The fires burned an estimated 13,000 acres, and many remained active or out of control.
One of the farms we visted today was the site of the incredible wall of fire in this photo. I am amazed at the resiliency of Kansans and our ability to come back stronger after facing adversity. #kslegpic.twitter.com/UT8STBrfcX
— Archive: Governor Jeff Colyer, MD (@GovJeffColyer) March 15, 2018
More detailed assessments of acreage or causes were not immediately available.
About 20 percent of the state is classified as being under an “extreme drought,” according to the latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Above: Areas of the United States where the average temperature for April-June 2018 is favored to be in the upper (reddish colors) or lower (blue colors) third of the 1981-2010 seasonal temperature record. Within a given area, the intensity of the colors indicates higher or lower chances for a warm or a cool outcome, not bigger or smaller anomalies. For example, both Texas and Tennessee face better than even chances of experiencing well above average spring temperatures, but the chances are higher in Texas (60-70%) than in Tennessee (40-50%). NOAA Climate.gov map, based on data from NOAA CPC. Photo credit: NOAA
Spring is likely to be warmer than the historical normal this year in much of the country with a worsening drought situation across swaths of the West, according to the latest report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The report, issued Thursday, encompasses April-June.
The Northern Rockies is the only region leaning toward below-average temperatures this spring, forecasters said.
In addition to increased probabilities of warmer temperatures across much of the U.S. — and especially the Southwest — the outlook suggests drought is likely to develop or worsen in Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and part of Utah, Colorado and Kansas.
“It appears La Nina is on its last legs,” said Mike Halpert, with the Climate Prediction Center. “As sea surface temperature anomalies weaken, their influence on springtime temperature and precipitation should also weaken.”
Drought is likely to worsen or develop across much of the Southwest quadrant of the contiguous United States this spring. Pockets of drought are predicted to continue in the Southeast and Oregon. Map by NOAA Climate.gov, based on data from the Climate Prediction Center.
The outlook also noted a moderate risk of flooding in the Ohio River Valley basin and lower Mississippi River where streamflows and soil moisture are above normal after recent heavy rain.
