News and opinion about wildland fire
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized4 Comments on VICE on HBO: The Deadliest Wildfire in California History 
VICE News has produced a very good segment about the Camp Fire, which burned over 153,000 acres, destroyed 18,804 structures, and resulted in 85 fatalities in November, 2018. It became the most destructive and deadliest wildfire in the recorded history of California.
This video was uploaded to YouTube January 30, 2019. Since then investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have determined that the fire was caused by a Pacific Gas and Electric power line.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized141 Comments on Trump administration plans to close 9 Job Corps centers The remaining 16 would be transferred to the Department of Labor and run by contractors
An “Inside the Forest Service” document sent to all FS employees today stated that the agency will basically, in so many words, wash its hands of the Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center program and transfer it to the Department of Labor. One thing the newsletter did not mention is that the Trump Administration also intends to permanently close nine of the twenty-five centers in the country.
The Job Corps centers, which are run by federal employees, help train youths in wildland firefighting, forestry, culinary arts, welding, and other trades. Their official mission is to educate 16- to 24-year-olds, many of whom are from disadvantaged backgrounds, while helping U.S. conservation efforts on public lands. After graduating from the program many of the youths have training, skills, and experience that qualifies them for permanent jobs in government or private industry.
Job Corps crews are often used on wildfires and prescribed fires. At best this capability will be reduced by 36 percent with 9 centers closing. It remains to be seen if the personnel at the surviving 16 centers will be trained and allowed to participate in firefighting and other land management activities.
A press release issued by the Department of Labor revealed that nine of the centers would be closed. The Forest Service will have to request reduction in force (RIF) authority to do so, which may mean agency employees will lose their jobs. There is a report that nearly 1,100 Forest Service employees will be laid off.
The administration intends to replace the government employees that will run the remaining 16 centers with contractors, bringing to mind the cages that contain migrant children on the border and prisons that are operated on a for-profit basis, both run by contractors.
The information below came from the Department of Labor, May 24, 2019. They refer to the Job Corps as “Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (CCC)”.
“Sixteen CCCs will continue under a new contract operator or partnership: Angell CCC in Yachats, Oregon; Boxelder CCC in Nemo, South Dakota; Centennial CCC in Nampa, Idaho; Collbran CCC in Collbran, Colorado; Columbia Basin CCC in Moses Lake, Washington; Curlew CCC in Curlew, Washington; Great Onyx CCC in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky; Harpers Ferry CCC in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia; Lyndon Johnson CCC in Franklin, North Carolina; Jacobs Creek CCC in Bristol, Tennessee; Mingo CCC in Puxico, Missouri; Pine Ridge CCC in Chadron, Nebraska; Schenck CCC in Pisgah Forest, North Carolina; Trapper Creek CCC in Darby, Montana; Weber Basin CCC in Ogden, Utah; and Wolf Creek CCC in Glide, Oregon.
“A Federal Register Notice will propose nine CCCs for deactivation: Anaconda CCC in Anaconda, Montana; Blackwell CCC in Laona, Wisconsin; Cass CCC in Ozark, Arkansas; Flatwoods CCC in Coeburn, Virginia; Fort Simcoe CCC in White Swan, Washington; Frenchburg CCC in Frenchburg, Kentucky; Oconaluftee CCC in Cherokee, North Carolina; Pine Knot CCC in Pine Knot, Kentucky; and Timber Lake CCC in Estacada, Oregon.”
What are you thoughts about closing 9 Job Corps centers and having the remaining 16 run by contractors in the Department of Labor?
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to William. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Firefighters working to protect town of High Level The Chuckegg Creek Fire in Northern Alberta has burned more than 241,000 acres (97,600 hectares)
For several days firefighters have been conducting a firing operation to protect the town of High Level, Alberta. The Chuckegg Creek Fire has primarily spread to the northwest but the east flank of the blaze has moved closer to the community of 3,159 residents.
The burning operation is southwest of the town, using Highways 58 and 35 as anchors.
(To see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Chuckegg Creek Fire, including the most recent, click here.)
Alberta Wildfire personnel in conjunction with municipal firefighting resources and air support from helicopters and air tankers continue to focus containment efforts around the fire perimeter south of High Level. With current weather conditions firefighters have been effective due to lighter winds out of the northeast. This aids crews protecting power line poles west and south of the Town. The main direction of spread remains away from town. That is expected to change Sunday when the winds will be out of the south, southwest, and northwest accompanied by warmer temperatures, 80F (27C). .
Heavy equipment has been working on the northeast side of the fire and continues to make progress consolidating a line around the fire perimeter. They have built approximately eight kilometers of containment line.
The High Level Fire Department and other municipal firefighters have completed structure protection on the southwest and northwest sides of the community. In addition, structural protection is complete on Mackenzie County homes southeast of High Level, Tolko and Norbord.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized2 Comments on Wildfire burns historic structures in Big Bend National Park The fire started in Mexico and jumped the Rio Grande River
A wildfire that started in Mexico jumped across the Rio Grande Wednesday May 22 and spread into the Castolon area in Big Bend National Park in Southern Texas. At least one historic structure was very heavily damaged, the barracks structure which housed the Castolon Visitor Center and La Harmonia store.
Thursday afternoon the Park provided a summary of the incident:
“Around 6pm [Wednesday], as the fire first entered the park, additional wildland crews as well as structural crews were called in. At that time, shade temperatures were near 109 degrees, with single digit relative humidity. Winds were pushing the fire NW toward the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, and based on fire behavior at that time, the fire was expected to stay in the lower elevations along the Rio Grande burning the mesquite and river cane bosques. Continue reading “Wildfire burns historic structures in Big Bend National Park”
Angela (Nicole) Hawkins of Columbia, SC was 45
A wildlife biologist died at a prescribed fire at Fort Jackson Army Base in South Carolina Wednesday, May 22. Angela N. Hawkins, 45, of Columbia, who many knew as Nicole, died shortly after noon in a training area where the prescribed fire was taking place. The Army did not release details of the circumstances, or if the death of the mother to two pre-teen sons was directly related to the prescribed fire.
She had worked as a civilian at the base since 2007, with much of her time spent in helping to bring back an endangered species, the red-cockaded woodpecker. One of the techniques used to improve the bird’s habitat was the use of prescribed fire.
The Soldiers, civilians and family members at Fort Jackson are a close-knit family and those who worked with Nicole are deeply saddened. “She will be missed and our thoughts and prayers go out to her family,” said U.S. Army Training Center and Fort Jackson Commander Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle, Jr.
Our sincere condolences go out to Ms. Hawkins family, friends, and co-workers.
Below is an excerpt from an article by Elyssa Vondra (Jackson) last November about Ms. Hawkins’ work at the base:
…The [red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW)] population was officially considered “endangered” in 1970 and won the protection of the 1973 Endangered Species Act. Fort Jackson has since made conservation efforts. The Wildlife Branch of the Directorate of Public Works has built up the RCW’s ecosystem.
This woodpecker’s primary habitat is the longleaf pine ecosystem. Roughly 97% of it has been destroyed in the U.S. by advancements such as settlement, timber harvesting, urbanization and agriculture. Also, 6,801 acres of longleaf pine have been restored at Fort Jackson since 1994.
Installation biologists are using herbicides to convert some slash pine forests to longleaf pine forests and keeping underbrush low to improve the bird’s habitats.
On average, over the past five years, 11,819 acres have been burned on post annually, along with 2,388 thinned.
“It creates a habitat (RCWs) prefer,” said Nicole Hawkins, a wildlife biologist at Fort Jackson. It allows for open park lighting.
One side effect is increased vegetation that RCWs thrive under, she added. Artificial cavities — RCW homes — have also driven up the population count.
Left to their own devices, RCWs can spend as many as ten years making a single cavity. Humans can craft one in 45 minutes.
The Habitat Management Unit at Fort Jackson makes up 26,645 of the installation’s total 51,316 acres, excluding 8,787 for mission requirements. Of them, only 391 total acres, distributed throughout the installation, carry training restrictions related to the species. The acreage is broken down into small sections. Trees with cavities have a 200-foot buffer zone around them where limitations apply.
“That’s very minimal,” Hawkins said. Some training can still take place, provided it doesn’t last more than two hours.
Some installations have been able to entirely remove training restrictions because of population stabilization. Within the next year or two, a review of post policies could potentially allow for change here, too, Hawkins said.
That would benefit the training mission, Morrow said.
With restrictions lifted, “the bird will be invisible to the Soldier, essentially,” Morrow said.
The Army would have more flexibility. For instance, a new range could potentially be built in RCW territory, if necessary.
The 2018 nesting season was the best on the books, according to many measures. There was a 7 percent uptick in active clusters, groups of trees with inhabited cavities, in the past year — from 41 to 44. An increase of just 5 percent was the goal. There were 41 potential breeding groups, RCW gatherings with at least one fertile male and female — an 8 percent rise — among them. Thirty-seven reportedly attempted nesting, 150 eggs were laid — 125 was the former record — and more than 80 hatched. Seventy-two were banded for tracking purposes. At 7-10 days old, some baby birds have uniquely-colored bands placed on their legs. It allows them to be seen with spotting scopes and be individually identified.
This year’s statistics represent record highs.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom and Micah. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
The #ChuckeggCreekFire has burned 92,000 hectares (227,000 acres) in northern Alberta
Firefighters battling the Chuckegg Creek Fire in Northern Alberta, Canada took advantage of a wind coming out of the northeast Wednesday to conduct a burnout or firing operation along Highways 58 and 35 to help protect the town of High Level. The goal is to eliminate fuel by burning to make it more difficult for the fire to make a run into the town if pushed by a southwest or west wind.
(To see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Chuckegg Creek Fire, including the most recent, click here.)
Below is more information from Alberta Wildfire:
The weather forecast for High Level, Canada predicts winds out of the northeast or north-northeast through Saturday, which should make it possible for firefighters to continue the burnout or construct firelines on the east and northeast sides of the fire. Sunday will bring warm temperatures and winds out of the southwest to southeast which could challenge the 76 wildland firefighters assigned to the blaze.
