Photos of prescribed fires, Oregon and Florida

St.Vincent Island prescribed fire
St.Vincent Island prescribed fire USFWS photo by Brian Pippin

Today we have photos of prescribed fires in opposite corners of the United States, all are from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service projects. The photo above is a prescribed fire on St. Vincent Island in north Florida (map). The entire 12,000-acre island is a USF&WS refuge. Brian Pippin took this photo from a helicopter during the the 1,150-acre burn.

The photos below show prescribed fires in Williamette Valley near Eugene, Oregon. More photos from similar projects can be found on their Facebook page.

USFWS Prescribed fire
Williamette Valley prescribed fire near Eugene, OR. USFWS photo

USFWS Prescribed fire in Williamette Valley

Thanks go out to Brian

Red flag warnings and record-breaking heat expected in California

A weather forecast for record-breaking triple-digit heat and single digit humidities has brought out a red flag warning for some areas in southern California for Monday and Tuesday. The temperatures are expected to be about 20 degrees hotter than normal,  between 95 and 105 at the lower elevations in the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties on Monday, then a few degrees cooler on Tuesday. Downtown Los Angeles is expected to hit 100 degrees on Monday, with it reaching 105 degrees in Burbank and Pasadena.

Northeast winds at 10 to 20 mph with 30 mph gusts are expected on Monday, with Tuesday afternoon bringing 25 mph onshore winds.

Red Flag Warnings, October 1, 2012

The map below shows the area in southern California covered by the red flag warning, which is in effect from 6 a.m. Monday until 6 p.m. PDT Tuesday.

Red Flag Warning, Southern California, October 1, 2012

There is also a red flag warning for some areas in northwest Montana for gusty winds and low humidities from 11 a.m. through midnight MDT on Monday. The winds are expected to be southwest at 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50, with the humidities as low as 16 percent.

The passage of a cold front has resulted in a red flag warning for western Minnesota from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. CDT on Monday. Winds should be northwest at 20 with gusts up to 30 mph along with humidities as low as 20 percent.

A fire weather watch is in effect for areas in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Wildfire morning briefing, September 29, 2012

Men who started Wallow fire may owe more than $3 million

The two cousins who started the 2011 Wallow Fire may be on the hook to pay over $3 million. Caleb and David Malboeuf are on probation following last month’s sentencing for leaving a campfire unattended. During restitution hearings this week attorneys for both sides agreed that $3 million is appropriate, but they are still haggling over an additional $500,000, with the defendants’ attorney saying documentation is incomplete for those funds.

The Wallow Fire, which burned from eastern Arizona into New Mexico, became the largest fire in the history of Arizona. It burned over half a million acres and destroyed 32 homes and 4 commercial structures. At least $79 million was spent to suppress the fire.

Turn over federal lands to the states?

There is a growing chorus among certain political groups and at least one state to give away millions of acres of federal land. For example, the Governor of Utah signed a bill that demands that the federal government hand over almost 30 million acres to the state. Other states are looking to follow Utah’s lead, and a candidate for President, Mitt Romney, is on board. Timothy Egan has a thoughtful article in the New York Times about this expanding threat.

If the national parks, forests, and BLM lands are given away or sold, the 16,000 wildland firefighters that now work for the Department of Interior and the US Forest Service, if they still have jobs, may find themselves working for a state, or a private company such as British Petroleum, Weyerhaeuser, or Union Pacific Coal Company.

Waldo Canyon fire slowed air travel into Colorado Springs

While the Waldo Canyon Fire was burning in and near Colorado Springs, three of the four airlines serving the city reported a decline in passenger numbers. The fire started June 23, killed two people, and destroyed about 346 homes.

Fire activity in the Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains

Usually by early to mid-September the fire season in the northern Rocky Mountains and the Northwest is seriously winding down, but firefighters in those areas are still busy. It is very unusual this late in the year, but air tankers are still stationed at Billings, Montana.

Below is a map showing heat detected today by satellites on wildfires in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming and Oregon. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Map of wildfires detected by satellites, September 29, 2012

Interesting headlines

I like this headline in Utah’s Park Record:

Fire prescribed for 570 acres near Wyoming border

Here is another one, this time from the Ramona Sentinel in California:

Cal Fire crushes grass fire near airport

 

 

Thanks go out to Chris and Dick

Happy National Coffee Day

So what are you doing to celebrate National Coffee Day?

Wildfire Today coffee mug

Yep, that’s what today is. It’s a real thing. So real, in fact, that some businesses are actually giving away coffee on this very special day — for example Krispy Kreme, McDonalds, Caribou Coffee, and Dunn Brothers. Not all chain locations are participating, so ask first.

And another reason to enjoy your cup of coffee today; researchers this year found that java drinkers who average several cups per day had the lowest risk of death during the study.

I’m going to enjoy this cup and then watch some football. What are you doing today?

 

Man gets death sentence for starting the Old fire in 2003

Rickie Lee Fowler
Rickie Lee Fowler

A jury has recommended that Rickie Lee Fowler be sentenced to death for starting the 2003 Old fire that destroyed 1,003 homes, burned 91,000 acres, and led to five deaths. He was convicted on August 15 of two arson charges and of murdering the five people who died of heart attacks after their homes burned or while they evacuated during the fire near San Bernardino, California.

The judge in the case has the legal authority to reduce the death sentence to life in prison, but that rarely occurs in California.

In the trial, the State employed the same principle used when prosecutors in neighboring Riverside County won a death penalty conviction against Raymond Lee Oyler, an auto mechanic who set the 2006 Esperanza wildfire that killed five federal firefighters. Oyler is believed to be the first person in the U.S. to be convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in a wildland arson case.

Before the trial Mr. Fowler said he and three men in a van had intended to rob John Aylward, a person he identified as his godfather, but realized they were too drunk or stoned to pull it off. Instead, they decided to start a fire, as one person testified before a grand jury, “to burn John’s house down”.

In an interview with investigators, Mr. Fowler said he struck the flare and threw it into the vegetation, but corrected himself and said one of the other men in the van struck the flare. In a later interview, he said he intended to strike and throw the flare, but Martin Valdez Jr. took it from him, struck it, and threw it into the brush.

While in prison before the trial, Mr. Fowler was convicted of sodomizing another jail inmate and sentenced to three 25-years-to-life prison terms.

Morning briefing, September 28, 2012

Junior firefighter killed while responding to wildfire 

A 17-year old junior firefighter for the Dagsboro Volunteer Fire Department in Delaware was killed while en route to the fire station to respond to a wildfire. According to WBOC, Justin Townsend was a passenger in a vehicle driven by an 18-year old boy on September 27 when due to excessive speed the driver lost control on a curve causing the vehicle to strike a utility pole. Mr. Townsend died at the scene. The driver was treated at a hospital and released.

We extend our sincere condolences to Mr. Townsend’s family and the members of the Dagsboro Volunteer Fire Department.

TNC studies use of prescribed fire to remove red-cedar 

The Nature Conservancy has released a study they conducted on the Niobrara Valley Preserve in Nebraska, looking at red-cedar, an invasive species that can reduce the productivity of grazing land. The trees occupy grassland areas shading out light, falling foliage covers the grasses, and the trees consume significant amounts of water, leading to dryer conditions for grass. Red-cedar also burns intensely, making wildfires more difficult to control.

Nebraska prescribed fire
Prescribed fire in Nebraska to help remove invasive red-cedar. Photo credit: The Nature Conservancy

The study looked at two methods used to remove red-cedar on the property — mechanical removal and prescribed fire. Fire can be useful for removing red-cedar until the trees become large. After that, only mechanical methods are effective, which may include cutting the trees, and then 1) chipping, 2) piling and burning, or 3) scattering them to be burned in a prescribed fire later.

Here are some excerpts from the report.

Red-cedar, a tree that reproduces by seed only, can be destroyed by fire if its growth points at the tip of the twigs are exposed to high temperatures. Cedar infestation will proceed steadily without intervention, and the periodic use of prescribed burning may be a more effective approach compared to periodic mechanical removal. Mechanical removal actually can contribute to spreading the seeds. Importantly, when applied early, burning is a significantly less costly method to eliminate young trees and to prevent re-infestation.

and…

Of more interest to ranchers, in areas where cedar was removed, the desirable plant species for grazers were on average 34% of groundcover compared to 12% in non-cleared areas (+22%) and the undesirable plant species were 13% in cleared areas versus 47% in non-cleared areas (-34%) but all save 3% of the difference in undesirable plant species is from cedar clearing.

Warmer temperatures in California may be leading to more wildfires

The LA Times has an article about how hotter temperatures in California along with “incredibly dry conditions” have resulted in a higher number of wildfires, especially in the northern part of the state. The traditional busiest part of the fire season in southern California is just beginning, when lower live fuel moistures combined with Santa Ana winds can result in very large fires.

Photos of fire in Columbia River Gorge

A wildfire in the Columbia River Gorge near Hood River, Oregon provided Richard Porter with an opportunity to capture some interesting nighttime images of the fire reflected in the waters of the Columbia River. Check them out HERE. Below is a sample.

Fire in Columbia River Gorge
Fire in Columbia River Gorge. Photo by Richard Porter