Updated at 7:22 a.m. PDT July 1, 2021
Lava Fire
The Lava Fire was most active Wednesday on the east side, north of Mt. Shasta, where beginning at 4:30 p.m. it spread to the east for more than a mile. It chewed up another 2,000 acres to bring the size up to 19,680 acres.
Firefighters conducted burning operations Tuesday night on the west side, south of Highway 97. On Wednesday they made progress on the southwest side with the heavy use of hand crews, dozers, helicopters, and air tankers.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Lava Fire, including the most current, click HERE.)
Resources assigned to the fire Wednesday evening included 26 hand crews, 86 fire engines, and 13 helicopters for a total of 1,273 personnel. Air tankers are used as needed and available, but are not assigned to any one fire.
No information has been released about the number of structures destroyed.
Evacuation orders are in effect; details for the Lava and Tennant Fires are at https://arcg.is/1CrfH40.
Tennant Fire
The Tennant Fire, 15 miles northeast of the Lava Fire, was active on both the east and west sides on Wednesday, spreading for about 0.4 of a mile on both sides. It has burned on both sides of Highway 97 and as of 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday had blackened 9,439 acres, an increase of about 1,300 acres over 24 hours.
The Incident Management Team reported that five structures have been destroyed.
Wednesday evening there were 278 personnel assigned to the Tenant Fire, including 7 hand crews, 14 engines, 5 dozers, 13 helicopters, and 50 overhead personnel. Air tankers are used as needed, but are not assigned to any one fire.
Weather
The weather forecast for Thursday calls for sunny skies, almost no chance of rain, 91 degrees, 15 percent relative humidity, and in the mid-afternoon 15 mph winds out of the south gusting to 23 mph. This could, again, lead to active fire behavior after 1 p.m. The outlook for Friday is about the same.
7:10 a.m. PDT June 30, 2021
Lava Fire
The Lava Fire about two miles east of Weed, California was very active late in the afternoon Tuesday, putting up a large convection column of smoke topped by a pyrocumulus cloud. There was some growth to the north into Juniper Flats near Highway A12, but the majority of the movement was to the south and east in timber stands on the west and north slopes of Mt. Shasta. Spotting from torching trees created spot fires up to 0.75 mile out.
It was mapped Tuesday night at 17,591 acres.
The fire is burning through brush and timber which is interrupted by numerous patches of lava rock left over from many volcanic eruptions over the last 593,000 years. The fire is driven by very dry vegetation, spot fires, and occasional gusty winds.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Lava Fire, including the most current, click HERE.)
The U.S. Forest Service fire organization has entered into unified command, with CAL FIRE assuming the north branch containing the most community protection.
Approximately 3,200 residents have been evacuated in the community of Lake Shastina.
Crews initially attacked the fire when it was small, then left
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that in a town hall meeting Monday night the Forest Fire Management Officer (FMO) of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest said fire crews initially attacked the Lava Fire Friday afternoon when it was 1/4 acre.
Shasta-Trinity National Forest spokesperson Adrienne Freeman said the crews, thinking it was safe, left at 4 p.m. with plans to watch it from afar and return Saturday morning. However an hour later it flared up and spread rapidly.
“I apologize for that getting out”, the FMO said in the town hall meeting. “I’ll take the heat for that … I will own that … They got in with an initial attack and they got beat. It happens sometimes and is not the intended outcome, not what we want. We’re all disappointed that this happened, but it happened.”
Tennant Fire
The Tennant Fire first reported at 4 p.m. June 28 is 16 miles northeast of the Lava Fire on both sides of Highway 97 near Tennant Road. It is mostly on land protected by the Forest Service but is also on private property protected by CAL FIRE. The Forest Service reported Wednesday morning that it was mapped at 8,159 acres. It was very active Tuesday.
California Interagency Incident Management Team 15 will assume command of the Tennant Fire Wednesday.
Evacuation orders are in effect; details for both fires are at https://arcg.is/1CrfH40.
Weather
The weather forecast for Wednesday calls for 98 degrees, relative humidity in the low teens, and in mid-afternoon 14 mph winds out of the south gusting to 21 mph. This could result in fire behavior similar to what was seen Tuesday. A red flag warning is in effect Wednesday for Southern Oregon 17 miles north of the Tennant Fire.
The outlook for Thursday is about the same, but the wind will be from variable directions at 2 to 7 mph.
I went through the lava fire area on Amtrak #11 (southbound) on Sunday morning. The fire was east of the rr and I saw dozens of fire crews and equipment in the immediate area. Lots of smoke to the east of the tracks. So, crews were there at 8-9 am Sunday.
So who’s quals are getting audited? Wouldn’t it be a shame if recruitment/retention issues impacted the rightful reprimand and/or purging the agency of unacceptable employees. Heads should roll for this.
God bless the residents and God bless our firefighters. ??
I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt. I’ve seen one fire in ten years as a fire lookout “restart” because of a mistake: “1/8th of an acre, contained, going in to check again early morning.” At least in one district with good crews this was my experience. It was similar conditions, hot, dry. That same morning two other lightning sleepers ignited too, nearby. All three turned into one big project fire. Even though reading the Lava Fire report, I get angry, and want to blame, I don’t have the information to make the judgement. I wasn’t there.
Praying for all my family and friends that live in the area. I hope they are safe and that their homes will be spared.
I commend him for apologizing, and accepting blame (possibly covering for someone else, above or below the chain-of-command, but he is taking the heat).
Remember when folks like that were branded with the nickname “Reburn”?
He said he apologized. I would be very hesitant to pick apart what he said word by word. He was speaking extemporaneously, and clearly regretted what happened. He most likely was not at the 1/4 acre fire, but said, “I’ll take the heat for that … I will own that.”
An apology and taking the blame is something rarely seen from a public official.
They likely hiked in 140 backpack pumps = 700 gallons?
More likely, 2 each Type 6 engines’ worth of water.
Regardless, if they left it at 1600 and it flared up and spread rapidly an hour later, if resources remained on scene, they may have seen this flare up when it was small, and called in air support sooner. Stay on the fire till it’s out or contained. Day or night, how many times have we all done that. Fundamental.
As far as the apology, he said “I apologize for that getting out”. What does that mean?
The fire was contained. 7,000 gallons of water was used to put it under control. They left to help with other fires when this fire was controlled. The plan was to check again for smokes the next day. How normal is that? If you have fought fire before you know that is normal procedure.
The 800 lb gorilla in this room is the evolution of Federal “we don’t work at night” mentality. The excuses range from, “it is unsafe”, to “if they work all night, they won’t be available during the day tomorrow”. Well so be it. Keeping an engine all night in those fuels and those weather conditions would have been a prudent leadership decision. If an engine had been there, they could have jumped on it, or reported the activity for an immediate response, but that is now for the lawyers
Was an engine on this fire? I Google Earthed the Inciweb coordinates and was curious if this small fire was accessible by any type of tanker’s hose lay.
Had that been a private citizen an apology just wouldn’t be enough for the feds. Criminal charges would ensue. Different strokes for different folks
If it had been a private citizen/company they would have been in federal court for 10 years while the DOJ attempted to destroy them and steal their land. I’m referring to the Moonlight Fire, 2007 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_Fire
The outrageous prosecution of Sierra Pacific Industries finally ended when the Supreme Court denied cert and SPI was left hung out to dry. A complete travesty of justice where a private company was screwed to protect the interests of a completely corrupt judicial system and federal government, who was able to seize 22,500 acres of land that they coveted in the process.
I am familiar with the area. It is dry as a popcorn fart nowadays. ‘Twas inevitable that a wildfire was going to happen again. If your in want of a scapegoat blame big oil for lying to us about climate change going all the way back to the 1970’s.
The fire was 1/4 acres. According to the FS, 7,000 gallons of water was poured on it and it was gloves-off checked for heat and none was found and no smoke was visible. It was in a lava field with numerous small avenues for entrapment of vegetation. Wasn’t what I would describe as heavy timber. That being said, I’d think the locals would understand the potential of having fire hold below obvious ground level. I think they did and that was why they poured so much water on such a small fire – so that it would sink into the pockets found in the lava. Obviously, they didn’t sink enough. It’s also difficult to feel heat on a 100+ degree day with the back of the hand on lava for obvious reasons. D
I can recommend one crew that should not get retention pay and Star Award bonuses.
“OK, which 2 of you want to stay here overnight?” (Hint: you have not made any overtime today)
Thanks for clarifying. Still, the whole “They got in with an initial attack and they got beat. It happens sometimes and is not the intended outcome, not what we want. We’re all disappointed that this happened, but it happened.” sounds flippant. “Disappointed” doesn’t go over well. Like you said, local knowledge should have kept someone on the fire. Was it called contained or controlled? Basics.
Well said!
Hi Don. Thanks for your thoughtful response. I’m with you on this. The real issue is the FMO did not articulate any details about this incident but in saying, “… I will own that…” perhaps there was nothing exculpatory worth saying. Sitting from afar but having been an IHC member for three seasons plus other wildland fire stints, I want to believe the crew leader made a decision based on safety concerns but could not or did not articulate that decision to overhead. Dealing with highly flammable vegetation in a lava field in broken terrain presents serious challenges like, for instance, building a line. With limited air support, probably no hose lays, and with the darkness of night looming, realistically what could a ground crew do? My guess is, do their best in the face of futility and finally, SIT BACK IN THEIR SAFETY ZONE AND WATCH THE FIRE DO ITS THING UNTIL MORNING BRINGS AN AIR ASSAULT. Abandoning the fire probably did not influence its physical outcome.
BOTTOM LINE? With apparently no reasonable or practical explanation presented to the Public, USFS really f’d up. Unless they sensed a reasonable and articulable urgency in bailing versus sitting it out on the fire, they did indeed screw up! LR
I have attempted to traverse one of those lava flows east of 97 near Big Springs road. I was lucky I didn’t break a leg on a clear day in sunlight. Those loose lava rocks and boulders make it almost impossible to get around even on all fours. I don’t see how leaving a team there at night could be effective at all. There could easily be casualties in the dark and even a tracked vehicle would be nearly impossible in that environment!
Thank you Don for the informative post.
Oh well, sorry…
What a joke
You don’t leave a fire until it’s controlled or out. I can see controlling the fire and coming back to check on it, but not after being on it for only a few hours. 1/4 acre in heavy timber, should have stayed on it over night, but I guess you don’t do that anymore.
Some one needs to start teaching these people the fundamentals.
Are you out there risking your life working in unbearable conditions fighting fire? No you aren’t so save your judgments for yourself. Mistakes happen. It does not mean they are incompetent or uncaring. And they owned up to it. Trust me no one is kicking themselves more than the commanders who made the call. They don’t need you kicking them too.