News and opinion about wildland fire
The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings and/or Fire Weather Watches for areas in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri.
The Red Flag Warning map was current as of 9:52 a.m. PDT on Friday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized10 Comments on OpEd: I am tired of complaints about the cost of fighting wildfires Firefighting and warfighting are both expensive
Above: Whoopup Fire, Wyoming, 2011
(This was first published on Fire Aviation)
The large air tankers on exclusive use contracts have been cut this year from 20 to 13. In 2002 there were 44. This is a 73 percent reduction in the last 16 years.
No scooping air tankers are on exclusive use contracts this year.
The large Type 1 helicopters were cut last year from 34 to 28 and that reduction remains in effect this year.
Some say we need to reduce the cost of fighting wildfires. At first glance the above cuts may seem to accomplish that. But failing to engage in a quick, aggressive initial attack on small fires by using overwhelming force from both the air and the ground, can allow a 10-acre fire to become a megafire, ultimately costing many millions of dollars. CAL FIRE gets this. The federal government does not.
Meanwhile the United States spends trillions of dollars on adventures on the other side of the world while the defense of our homeland against the increasing number of acres burned in wildfires is being virtually ignored by the Administration and Congress. A former military pilot told me this week that just one sortie by a military plane on the other side of the world can cost millions of dollars when the cost of the weapons used is included. The military industrial complex has hundreds of dedicated, aggressive, well-funded lobbyists giving millions to our elected officials. Any pressure on politicians to better defend our country from wildfires on our own soil is very small by comparison.
You can’t fight fire on the cheap — firefighting and warfighting are both expensive. What we’re spending in the United States on the defense of our homeland is a very small fraction of what it costs to blow up stuff in countries that many Americans can’t find on a map.
Government officials and politicians who complain about the cost need to stop talking and fix the problem. The primary issue that leads to the whining is that in busy years we rob Peter to pay Paul — taking money from unrelated accounts to pay for emergency fire suppression. This can create chaos in those other functions such as fire prevention and reducing fuels that make fires difficult to control. Congress needs to create the “fire funding fix” that has been talked about for many years — a completely separate account for fires. Appropriately and adequately funding fire suppression and rebuilding the aerial firefighting fleet should be high priorities for the Administration and Congress.
Maybe we need some teenagers to take on this issue!
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Shawna Legarza discusses firefighting aircraft available this year The U.S. Forest Service Director of Fire and Aviation spoke at the Aerial Firefighting conference in Sacramento Tuesday.
Above: Shawna Legarza speaks at the Aerial Firefighting North America 2018 conference in Sacramento, March 13, 2018.
(Originally published at 8:18 PDT March 13, 2018)
Shawna Legarza, the U.S. Forest Service National Director of Fire and Aviation, gave a presentation at the Aerial Firefighting North America 2018 conference in Sacramento, March 13, 2018. She said we are no longer experiencing fire seasons — fires now occur year round. Firefighters in Southern California have been saying that for a couple of decades, but the epidemic is spreading.
After her talk we spoke with her for a couple of minutes before she had to leave for a meeting in Arizona. We asked her about the firefighting aircraft that will be available in 2018.
The accident occurred near Overton, Texas.
A firefighter with the New London Fire Department in Texas died after the water tender they were using to respond to a vegetation fire rolled over near Overton, Texas. The U. S. Fire Administration released the following information:
Firefighter M.V. Hudson was injured in a fire tender (tanker) crash on the evening of February 28th. Hudson and two other firefighters were responding to a grass fire when the apparatus left the right side of the roadway and rolled over, badly damaging the cab and injuring all three occupants. The three firefighters had to be extracted from the vehicle and were rushed to the hospital. Two firefighters were subsequently released, but Firefighter Hudson died while in the hospital on March 10, 2018.
Mr. Hudson had 45 years of firefighting service and was 86 years old.
Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends, and co-workers.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized6 Comments on Stateline Fire burns more than 20,000 acres in New Mexico and Colorado The fire is burning in the area where Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma converge
Above: satellite image showing the Stateline Fire. Red indicates heat, and the burned area appears black.
(UPDATED at 9:15 p.m. MDT March 12, 2018)
Here is an update from fire officials at 9 p.m. MDT March 12:
“The Stateline Fire burning in Union County, north of Clayton, New Mexico is now 50% contained. An estimated 27,658 acres has burned, of which 16,898 acres is on state and private land in New Mexico, 10,750 in Colorado and 10 acres in Oklahoma.”
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(Originally published at 7:20 p.m. MST March 10, 2018)
The Stateline Fire burning in Union County, north of Clayton, New Mexico, is currently estimated at 21,253 acres, of which 7,160 acres has crossed over into Colorado. The fire started Thursday morning March 8 on private property in New Mexico. There is no immediate threat to structures at this time. Fuels include piñon, juniper, oak, and grass. Currently there are more than 80 personnel from multiple agencies fighting the fire. The cause is under investigation.
The has also crossed from New Mexico into Cimarron County in Oklahoma, making it one of the few fires that have burned in three states.
Stateline Fire burning in far northeast New Mexico near the NM/CO/OK border. 6,000+ acres. 40% contained. Video from Chopper 4. @KOB4 #nmwx #nmfire #statelinefire pic.twitter.com/TeOfcOKqfF
— Jorge Torres (@JorgeTWeather) March 9, 2018
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to L M.
Typos or errors, report them HERE.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized2 Comments on Conditions in Southern Great Plains conducive to rapid fire spread Wildfires could spread more rapidly with more resistance to control
A confluence of weather and vegetation conditions in the Southern Great Plains has led to a situation where large rapidly spreading wildfires are possible, and are already occurring in some areas.
The information below is derived from the “Fuels and Fire Behavior Advisory for Eastern New Mexico, Western Texas, Western Oklahoma, Southeastern Colorado, and Western Kansas” that was effective March 7, 2018:
A copy of the Advisory is below:
Continue reading “Conditions in Southern Great Plains conducive to rapid fire spread”
