News and opinion about wildland fire
Originally published at 3:18 p.m. PDT July 23, 2020
During the last 48 hours thunderstorms with lightning moved across several states in the northwest leading to the possibility of new wildfire ignitions. Most heavily affected were northern and northeast California, southeast Oregon, the south half of Idaho, and western Montana. Precipitation accompanying the cells was spotty.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire3 Comments on Photos from the Cedar Fire, 15 miles south of Elko, Nevada Originally published at 3 p.m. MDT July 22, 2020
The Cedar Fire 15 miles south of Elko, Nevada has burned 6,000 acres and Tuesday night was being fought by 8 hand crews, 10 fire engines, 2 helicopters, and various air tankers for a total of 258 personnel. Satellites have not detected any large heat sources on the fire for about 24 hours.
On this fire Sunday July 19 a CL-415EAF scooping air tanker was used for the first time on a fire.
These photos were taken July 19-20, 2020 by Mike McMillan/BLM Elko District.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized5 Comments on Firefighter suicide in Illinois — could it happen in your organization? Rest in peace, Nicole Hladik
All suicides are tragic, but when it happens to a young firefighter who had been on the job for less than a year it is especially so. Nicole Hladik was not a wildland firefighter, but could it happen in any fire organization?
From FirefighterCloseCalls.com:
FIREFIGHTER TAKES HER OWN LIFE.
A family is searching for answers after a 27-year-old Hinsdale Firefighter (Illinois) who died by suicide. Firefighter Nicole Hladik was the only female firefighter at the Hinsdale Fire Department and the third in the town’s history. “Nicki was a bright rising star in the fire service, she was beloved by all of us of course and very happy early on,” Brian Kulaga, Hladik’s uncle, said.
But Kulaga said something changed recently.
“Then she traded shifts and suddenly just a lot of negativity and then leading up to today, which was obviously a complete surprise to all of us,” he said. Hladik died by suicide Tuesday and her brother Joseph Hladik said it was a complete shock. “Super active, super fit, a family person, a great friend, she’s my sister but my best friend,” he said. Hladik’s family said it doesn’t make sense. “Our goal is, we just want someone to look into this, it’s not an accusation. It’s just the facts are, how could someone who was so happy and loved what she was doing go from one spectrum to the other end? It just doesn’t make any sense,” Joseph Hladik said.
Newspaper stories about Nicole Hladik shortly after she was hired at the Hinsdale Fire Department:
–The Hinsdalean, October 9, 2019: Village’s Newest Firefighter Is Happy To be “One Of The Gang”
–Chicago Tribune, October 20, 2019: Shout Out: Nicole Hladik of Willowbrook-Hinsdale’s newest Firefighter
Suicide rates among wildland firefighters have been described as “astronomical.
Help is available for those feeling really depressed or suicidal.
Two large fires, the Hog and Gold Fires, are burning east of Redding, California
UPDATED at 4:37 p.m. PDT July 22, 2020
The information Wildfire Today received from CAL FIRE about the injuries to the two firefighters that were entrapped on the Gold Fire was that they had been treated at the Mercy Medical Clinic in Redding and released. It turns out that is not correct concerning at least one of them, according to a post by a family member on Facebook and reporting by ABC7 KRCR News.
Doctors were concerned about Chief Paul Lemke of the Adin Fire District who had second degree burns on his face, neck, and arms and experienced swelling, said his daughter. This convinced the doctors to fly him to the UC Davis Burn Center. The burnover occurred Monday July 20 and Chief Lemke was released from the burn center Tuesday “due to COVID and dad’s insisting”, his daughter wrote on Facebook. He will continue treatment at his home.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Gold Fire including the most recent, CLICK HERE.)
Below is an excerpt from an article at KRCR:
The other injured firefighter Craig Senseney said they had to deploy their fire shelters to shield themselves from the flames.
“We had to deploy, but what really saved us is, in all honesty, was our engine 47-22,. ” Senseney said. “if it wasn’t for it, we would never have gotten to a point where we were able to deploy safely and survive what happened.”
Chief Lemke is affiliated with a local fire district, but Federal wildland firefighters are required to be treated at a certified Burn Center if one of eight criteria is met. Two of them are, (1)second degree burns to the face, hands, foot, genitalia, perineum, or major joints; or (2) inhalation injury is suspected. More information is in Chapter 7, page 178 of the January, 2020 edition of the “Red Book” (Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations).
During my EMT training I got a tour of the Burn Center at University Hospital in San Diego and saw some of the patients, some of whom had been there for weeks. It made a lasting impression. I vowed that I would never make a decision as a firefighter that could lead to someone being admitted to a Burn Center. It is one of the worst injuries a person can suffer.
Originally published at 5 p.m. PDT July 21, 2020
Two firefighters were injured Monday afternoon while fighting the Gold Fire about 80 miles east-northeast of Redding, California. Alisha Herring, a spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said they were flown to Mercy Medical Clinic in Redding where they were treated and released the same day. The type, severity, and mechanism of injury were not identified. “I’m sure more with regards to the injury will come out, I just don’t have much more information than that at this time,” Ms. Herring said.
The Gold Fire and another incident in the area, the Hog Fire, are both about 80 miles east of Redding in Lassen County. Coordination and dispatching were affected Monday by a fiber optic cable that burned in the Gold Fire, creating communication difficulties with the CAL FIRE and interagency command centers in Susanville.
The Hog Fire was mapped Monday night at 8,004 acres. It is on both sides of Highway 44 about five miles west of Susanville and has crossed Highway 36. Resources assigned to the Hog Fire Monday night included 21 hand crews, 19 fire engines, 24 dozers, and 21 water tenders for a total of 664 personnel, which is a decrease of 953 personnel in 24 hours.
The Gold Fire is 40 miles north of the Hog Fire five miles south of the community of Adin. It was reported at 12:26 PDT July 20 near Highway 139 and quickly spread for at least eight miles to the southeast. At 10:15 Tuesday morning CAL FIRE said it is the result of two fires burning together and had blackened 4,600 acres. Evacuations are in effect and the strategy is full suppression. The Gold Fire is burning on the Modoc National Forest and land protected by the state. Monday night the resources assigned included 2 hand crews, 5 helicopters, 17 fire engines, 6 dozers, and 5 water tenders for a total of 152 personnel.
These two large wildfires in one CAL FIRE unit are presenting challenges for the suppression organizations. A report filed by firefighters on the Gold Fire Monday night said, “Statewide shortages of resources and competition with other incidents in the state will continue to hamper suppression efforts. Upcoming predicted lightning in the area may add new initial attack incidents.”
“I have not heard that, no,”Ms. Herring said when asked about a possible shortage of resources. “We’re constantly moving resources up and down the state to fulfill any resource needs, so I haven’t heard that.”
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire1 Comment on Hog Fire burns more than 5,000 acres west of Susanville, CA Mandatory evacuations are in effect
UPDATED at 4:46 p.m. PDT July 20, 2020
Much of the smoke from the Hog Fire west of Susanville, CA is remaining in the general area.
Updated at 4:14 p.m. PDT July 20, 2020
UPDATED at 5:16 p.m. PDT July 20, 2020
Several of the AlertWildfire cameras near the Hog Fire west of Susanville, California have little to no visibility due to smoke, but the Dyer Mountain 1 cam further to the southwest has a good view of the top of a pyrocumulus cloud generated by the fire.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours indicates conditions favorable to continued fire spread. The prediction for Monday afternoon is for 95 degrees, relative humidity 13 percent, and winds out of the northwest at 9 to 16 mph. Monday night the wind will continue to be out of the northwest at 5 to 9 mph, the temperature will drop to 64 degrees by sunrise, and there will be poor humidity recovery, rising during the night only to 40 percent.
A Red Flag Warning is predicted for Tuesday when the forecast calls for 95 degrees, 13 percent RH, and 3 to 10 mph winds from the southeast in the morning shifting to come from the southwest and west in the afternoon. There is a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
(Originally published at 10:55 a.m. PDT July 20, 2020)
The Hog Fire has prompted mandatory evacuations in northern California west of Susanville. By Sunday night it had burned 5,800 acres of land protected by the Lassen National Forest and the state of California. At 3:30 a.m. July 20 the fire was about one mile west of a housing development on the west side of the William D. McIntosh Highway (A1) and five miles west of Susanville. It has spread approximately 5 miles to the east since it started and is on both sides of Highway 44. Steep terrain and spot fires ahead of the main fire are complicating efforts of firefighters.
Resources assigned Sunday night included 25 fire engines, 8 hand crews, 15 dozers, 15 water tenders, 4 helicopters, and 6 air tankers.
The Facebook page for the Lassen County Sheriff’s office has details on evacuations. Anyone without internet capabilities can get information by calling (530) 282-5714.
An update from CAL FIRE at 9:30 a.m. Monday stated that no structures had been damaged or destroyed.
After the mapping flight at 11:54 p.m. July 19 a shift in the wind pushed a portion of the southern perimeter to the south toward Highway 36.
A wildfire that spread across Interstate 15 prompted evacuations and caused a massive traffic jam as motorists drove within feet of a rapidly spreading fire nine miles northeast of St George, Utah Sunday.
The Cottonwood Trail Fire started about 3 p.m. on the west side of the Interstate and burned across the four-lane divided highway blackening 3,000 acres before being stopped by firefighters on the ground and in the air. Resources assigned included three large air tankers, four helicopters, and 30 fire engines.
Both northbound and southbound lanes were eventually closed temporarily due to the fire, but perhaps a little too late. All evacuations have been lifted. A Type 3 Incident Management Team was slated to assume command of the fire Monday morning.
Videos showed traffic at times stopped or slowed to a crawl as the fire burned intensely near vehicles. Some were abandoned and the passengers rescued by others.
The video below by Griffin Hunt shows the chaos as vehicles inched past flames and became trapped in the traffic jam, with some turning around on Interstate 15. David Hunt posted the video, saying, “We were driving back from a wrestling tournament and got caught by fire. The other group that was with us had to abandon their vehicle and it burned to the ground. Here’s a video my son took.”
#CottonwoodTrailFire was insane today. Feared for my life as the fire was blazing right next to our car. Thank god @GarrettSierra2 kept me calm ? people were getting out of their cars with their kids. A guy backed into our car in a panic. Craziness. pic.twitter.com/KGkVlwQqQF
— rachel (@Moosala) July 20, 2020
UPDATE: Residents of Harrisburg and those west of I-15 in Leeds are now being evacuated due to the #CottonwoodTrailFire.https://t.co/fogFGr3iBT
(Photos: Bradley Pollmann) pic.twitter.com/sTrpf7y4n7
— FOX 13 News Utah (@fox13) July 19, 2020
