Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

Fire at Bountiful Utah forces hundreds to evacuate

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 2 Comments on Fire at Bountiful Utah forces hundreds to evacuate

The Gun Range Fire was reported at about 1 a.m. on Friday

Gun Range Fire
Gun Range Fire. Photo by Davis County Sheriff Search and Rescue.

(Originally published at 11:59 a.m. MDT August 30, 2019)

A fire that started after midnight Friday east of Bountiful and Centerville, Utah forced the evacuation of 400 homes. The blaze was named Gun Range Fire because it is near the Lions Gun Range in Bountiful. Most wildfires are named after the location where they started.

Map Gun Range Fire
Map of the Gun Range Fire based on heat data from a satellite at 4:24 a.m. MDT August 30, 2019. The red line is the approximate perimeter.

By 10 a.m. evacuations in Centerville had been lifted but the order in Bountiful was still in effect. Fire officials estimated the fire had burned 150 to 300 acres, destroyed three homes, and damaged five others. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

NWS Gun Range Fire

Kim Osborn, the public information officer for the Northern Utah Interagency Fire Center said several hotshot crews, air tankers, and helicopters are on the scene.

Other fires that have occurred recently in that general part of Utah include the 6,451-acre Goose Point Fire, the 7,900-acre Shelter Pass Fire, the 450-acre Alaska Fire, and the 167-acre Round Peak Fire  — all since July 17, 2019.

National Wildfire Coordinating Group Announces 2018 Recipients of the Emergency Medical Service Awards

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

EMS logoEarlier this year the National Wildfire Coordinating Group announced the recipients of the 2018 Wildfire Emergency Medical Service Awards. The annual awards program sponsored by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s Incident Emergency Medical Subcommittee (IEMS), recognizes and honors individuals and/or organizations who have demonstrated outstanding work, actions, or programs in emergency medical service for our Nation’s wildland firefighters.

“The mission of IEMS is to identify the need for and establish national emergency medical and occupational health standards and procedures and provide information, updates, and guidance to support the health and safety of workers on wildland fire incidents”, said Kaili McCray, Wildland Firefighter Medical Standards Program Manager and current Chair of the IEMS Awards Selection Committee. “The efforts of the awardees for 2018 stood out to the selection committee as particularly significant contributions. They join an elite group who have received these prestigious National Wildfire EMS Awards and we’re proud of them”.

The purpose of the Wildfire Emergency Medical Service Awards is to recognize the unselfish acts and actions of individuals and/or organizations for going above and beyond their normal duties in rendering emergency medical service care and training for member agency incidents and programs.

  • Heather Wonenberg, Helitack Lead at Yosemite National Park, California. Outstanding Wildfire EMS Individual of the Year Award.
  • Ally Young, Airtanker Base Staff and Jeff Miller, Airtanker Base Manager at Hill Airtanker Base, Uinta-Wasatch Cache National Forest, South Jordan, Utah. Excellence in Wildfire EMS/Rescue Award.
  • Dr. Jon Jui, M.D., Regional Medical Director of Incident Medical Specialist Program, Pacific Northwest Region (Region 6), Portland, Oregon. Outstanding Wildfire EMS Distinguished Service of the Year Award.
  • Steve Otoupalik, Incident Medical Specialist/Manager, Willamette National Forest, McKenzie Bridge, Oregon. Janette Peterson Lifetime Achievement in Wildfire Emergency Medical Service Award.

Below are the details for each of the awards:

Continue reading “National Wildfire Coordinating Group Announces 2018 Recipients of the Emergency Medical Service Awards”

Red Flag Warnings and lightning in the West

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

Red Flag Warnings issued Thursday for areas in Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado

lightning
Lightning between 6 a.m. Aug. 28 and 6 a.m. Aug. 29, 2019 MDT.

Moderate amounts of lightning occurred Wednesday in Southern Oregon, Northern California and Central Nevada, while larger numbers of strikes were detected in New Mexico and Arizona. Most areas where the lightning occurred in Oregon, California, and Nevada received light rain but many locations in Arizona and New Mexico saw heavier precipitation along with the lightning.

Here is a summary from the Northwest Geographic Area Coordination Center issued Thursday at 6:57 a.m. PDT:

Thunderstorms moved north across the Pacific Northwest spreading moderate lightning from the California border to the Puget Sound. Pockets of lightning occurred in South Central Oregon, the Oregon and southern Washington Cascades, and Western Oregon and southwest Washington, with scattered light precipitation. Isolated lightning strikes in Eastern Washington and Northeast Oregon. Light initial attack occurred with the largest fire reported in Central Washington for approximately 100 acres.

 

Observed precipitation
Observed precipitation between 9 a.m. CDT Aug. 28 and 9 a.m. Aug. 29, 2019.

Dry lightning is in the forecast for most of Utah Thursday, resulting in Red Flag Warnings.

Red Flag Warnings
Red Flag Warnings for August 29, 2019.

(Red Flag Warnings can be modified throughout the day as NWS offices around the country update and revise their weather forecasts.)

TBT: dog discovers brush fire, alerts owner

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

For throwback Thursday:

From a post on Wildfire Today April 26, 2008:

Robert Lane and his dog, Max

In Ipswich, Massachusetts yesterday, a dog escaped from his leash, discovered a fire, then like Lassie, barked at his 13-year old master and led him to the fire.

Like a scene out of “Lassie,” Robert Lane, 13, followed his barking dog yesterday to a brush fire burning in the woods behind the family’s home, then ran to a vernal pool to soak his T-shirt in water to try to put out the 10-foot circle of flames.

“I just wanted to get it out as fast as possible,” Robert said.

Discovering the fire was bigger than he thought, Robert ran home to tell his mother, who called the Fire Department at 12:30 p.m. If not detected early by Robert and the family dog, Max, who had escaped its leash, the brush fire could have easily spread and damaged the home and construction business located on their property at 285 High St., David Lane said.

“It could’ve been 10 times worse,” David Lane said by phone last night. “If it wasn’t for the dog getting off the leash, we wouldn’t have a house.”

Firefighters from six communities were able to contain the fire to a 400-by-800 foot area of woods, about three-quarters of an acre, on property across from the Dow Brook Reservoir, said Ipswich firefighter Lee Prentiss. Lane’s antique horse-drawn manure spreader was destroyed, but an estimated 30 to 40 pieces of his equipment were not damaged.

From the Salem News. Photo courtesy of the Daily News.

Lightning in the forecast for some western states

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

Wildfire smoke forecast

Red Flag Warnings wildfire Fire Weather Watches
Red Flag Warnings for August 27 (in red) and Fire Weather Watches for August 28 (in brown). NOAA.

The forecast for areas with Red Flag Warnings in effect Tuesday include gusty winds and low humidities. The Warning area for southwest Utah could also experience dry lightning from noon to 9 p.m. MDT Wednesday. The Fire Weather Watch areas (brown on the map above) are for Wednesday. Some areas in Oregon could receive lighting Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon with light rain.

Below is the forecast for the distribution of smoke from wildfires at 5 p.m. MDT August 27, 2019.

wildfire smoke forecast map
The forecast for 5 p.m. MDT August 27 for wildfire smoke, vertically integrated and near surface.

(Red Flag Warnings can be modified throughout the day as NWS offices around the country update and revise their weather forecasts.)

Many of the photos circulating of wildfires in the Amazon, are not of the Amazon

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags 8 Comments on Many of the photos circulating of wildfires in the Amazon, are not of the Amazon
Bolivia Fires
An actual photo of some of the wildfires in Bolivia, as seen from the 747 Supertanker. It was posted by Global Supertanker August 24, 2019.

According to an article at CNN, “Some of the most-shared images of the Amazon rainforest fires are old or are not of the Amazon”. Their article includes many examples of incorrectly attributed photos.

One of the most glaring examples is very familiar to many wildland firefighters and is often called the “Elk Bath” photo (below). It was taken August 6, 2000 by John McColgan, a Forest Service employee who was assigned as a Fire Behavior Analyst on a fire in the Bitterroot National Forest in Montana. It was taken as part of his official duties and is in the public domain.

Elk Bath photo
Elk Bath photo, taken August 6, 2000 by John McColgan, a Forest Service employee who was assigned as a Fire Behavior Analyst on a fire in the Bitterroot National Forest in Montana.

Below is where the Elk Bath photo was posted on Twitter. It is at the bottom-right. The top-right photo, according to CNN is from a 2018 wildfire in Sweden.

The photo at the top of this article is a legitimate photo of some of the fires in Bolivia, as seen from the 747 Supertanker. It was posted by Global Supertanker August 24, 2019. The air tanker arrived in Bolivia at 1:37 a.m. local time Friday August 23 at Viru Viru International Airport outside the capital city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and began sorties on fires later in the day.

The two photos below do not show fires, but they were also taken from the 747 Supertanker showing scenes in Bolivia. They might give us a glimpse of some of the fuels and terrain involved.

Bolivia 747 Supertanker
Taken from the 747 Supertanker in Bolivia and posted August 24, 2019. Global Supertanker photo.
Bolivia 747 Supertanker
Taken from the 747 Supertanker in Bolivia and posted August 24, 2019. Global Supertanker photo.