Firefighter burned while fighting Holloway Fire

Holloway fire,
Holloway fire, photo by Dave Toney

A firefighter was entrapped and burned Sunday afternoon while working on the Holloway fire, which is burning in both Oregon and Nevada. The female firefighter, whose name was not released, was separated from her crew, the Zuni Interagency Hotshots from New Mexico, and took refuge in a fire shelter which reflects most of the radiant heat from a vegetation fire.

The rest of the 20-person crew made it to a safety zone. The injured woman was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Winnemuca, Nevada, and later was taken to a burn center in Salt Lake City for treatment of burns on one leg and a forearm.

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UPDATE at 7 p.m. MT, August 15, 2012:

Below is an excerpt from the text of the narrative of the 24-hour report:

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“On August 12, 2012 at approximately 1830 hours, a member of the Zuni Interagency Hotshot Crew received minor burns to her arm and leg and suffered minor smoke inhalation after deploying her emergency fire shelter on the Holloway Fire in Oregon. The injury occurred on the northeast flank near Oregon Canyon Creek, 20 miles northwest of McDermitt, Nevada. The fire crew encountered extreme fire behavior including fire whirls, and were forced to retreat to a safety zone. During the retreat, one firefighter was separated from the rest of the Hotshot Crew and forced to deploy their shelter. The injured firefighter, who is a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) employee, was evacuated by helicopter to the incident command post in Denio, NV and examined by paramedics assigned to the Holloway fire before being flown to the Humboldt General Hospital in Winnemucca, Nevada, where she was treated and released.

On August, 13, 2012, the firefighter was transported to the regional burn center in Salt Lake City, UT. This transport is precautionary and was based on the recommendation of the Winnemucca District Manager/Agency Administrator and the agency of the firefighter.

The remainder of the Hotshot Crew has been released from the Holloway Fire.”

(end of excerpt from 24-hour report)

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UPDATE at 3:53 p.m. MT, August 16, 2012:

The 72-hour report has been released, but contains little additional information.

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Firefighters: don’t screw around with burns. Here are the guidelines for burn injuries that should be referred to a burn unit (from Ameriburn.org)

Guidelines for referral to burn unit

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Holloway fire at sunset
Holloway fire at sunset, Photo by Dave Toney

The Holloway fire, ignited by lightning on August 5, has burned 432,378 acres and is 68 percent contained. The growth potential is described on InciWeb as “extreme”. The fire is still very active on the northeast side in Oregon.

Map of Holloway fire, August 14,
Map of Holloway fire, August 14, 715 a.m.. The east-west line is the border between Oregon and Nevada, Map by ESRI
Holloway fire, August 10
Holloway fire, August 10, InciWeb photo

Tanker 910, a DC-10, assists firefighters on the Buck Fire

Tanker 910 dropping on Buck fire
Tanker 910 dropping on Buck fire. Still image from the ABC7 video.

The video below shows one of the two DC-10s, in this case Tanker 910, dropping on the Buck fire near Aguanga in southern California.

The Buck fire, near Sage Road between Lewis Valley Road and Buck Road, has burned 3,000 acres, destroyed 4 structures, and is 15 percent contained.

Resources on the fire include 50 engines, 13 hand crews, 11 air tankers, 7 helicopters, and 11 dozers.

More information on the Buck fire.

Another DC-10 video

Below is another video of a DC-10 dropping on a fire. This time it is from August 7 on the Lost Fire 20 Miles southeast of Eagleville, California. After the drop the camera pans over to see the BLM’s Folsom Lake Veteran’s Hand Crew as they clean up and hold a dozer line.

A couple of tips: after you click Play, then click on “Large Player” or “Full Screen” mode; and turn down the sound (there is a lot of wind noise on the microphone).

Update on firefighter fatality in Idaho

Ann Veseth
Anne Veseth. Credit: Facebook

The firefighter that was killed by a falling snag on Sunday, August 12 has been identified as Anne Veseth of Moscow, Idaho, a second-year firefighter with the Nez Perce & Clearwater National Forests. She also worked for one year on a U.S. Forest Service trail crew. Ms. Veseth was 20 years old and was attending Lewis and Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.

According to KLEWTV, she was working toward a Bachelor degree in Business administration after earning an associate degree in Auto Mechanics Technology. She was on the Dean’s List all four semesters.

Her older brother, Brian Veseth, is also a wildland firefighter.

A rosary will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 1st and Polk, Moscow, Idaho (map) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, August 17. Full Mass services will be held for Anne on Saturday, August 18, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The family asks that all firefighters attending the services wear their yellow shirts and green pants (clean, but used).

Wildfire burns 15 percent of Lassen Volcanic National Park

Reading fire, Lassen
Firing out on the Reading fire, Lassen Volcanic NP. Photo by Steve Burns

A wildfire with the odd name of “Reading” has burned 15 percent of Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. Approximately 15,506 acres of the 23,958-acre fire are within the northern boundary of the park (see the map below).

The Reading fire is being managed by Pincha-Tulley’s Type 1 Incident Management Team; 1,239 firefighters and overhead are committed, including 36 crews. The fire burned 2,380 acres on Monday. Heavy timber and brush burned actively Monday night with low rates of spread and isolated single tree torching. Lassen Volcanic National Park Highway continues to be closed for seven miles from Manzanita Lake to Summit Lake. Summit Lake, Butte Lake, Lost Creek and Crags Campgrounds remain closed. (Source: National Park Service)

Below is a map showing the perimeter of the Reading fire, 48 miles east of Redding, California.
Continue reading “Wildfire burns 15 percent of Lassen Volcanic National Park”

Critical fire weather for Wyoming and South Dakota

The South Dakota State Fire Meteorologist, Darren R. Clabo, distributed this weather statement Tuesday afternoon at 3:55 p.m. MT:

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“Critical fire weather conditions will continue through the afternoon today over eastern Wyoming and western South Dakota. The southern Black Hills may have the most critical conditions this afternoon with breezy winds and RHs below 15%.

A very windy day is in store for tomorrow as a strong cold front pushes through the state. Although temperatures will only reach the mid 70s and minimum RHs will likely not fall below 30% over West River areas, northwest winds will gust over 50 mph throughout the afternoon. A High Wind Warning has been issued for southern Meade, central/eastern Pennington, eastern Custer, and Shannon Counties in effect from 0600-1800 tomorrow (Wednesday 15 August). Wind gusts will likely exceed 35 mph over the rest of SD. With the cured fuels, fast moving fires are a possibility, especially in the grassland. Little precipitation is expected with this front (with the exception of southeastern SD).”

Wildfire smoke map, August 14, 2012

Wildfire Smoke Map, 2:12 p.m. MT, August 14, 2012
Map showing the distribution of smoke from wildfires, at 2:12 p.m. MT, August 14, 2012. (Click to see a larger version.)

Smoke from wildfires is degrading visibility in many western states. Some scenic spots that normally attract hordes of tourists have been affected to the point where, for example, you pull off the highway into a turnout that normally has a spectacular view of the Grand Teton, but the only thing visible where the “Grand” is supposed to be is a gray shadow of a ridgeline.

The areas that are most affected include Wyoming and southern Idaho. Much of the smoke is being produced by fires in northern California, Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho.