News and opinion about wildland fire
The National Weather Service has posted Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches for areas in Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado. The red flag areas expire Sunday evening, while the watches (the brown areas) are valid through Monday.
The Red Flag map was current as of 8:10 a.m. MDT on Sunday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts and maps.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized6 Comments on Hazardous tree on the Emerald Fire Above: Hazardous tree on the Emerald Fire. CAL FIRE Amador-El Dorado photo.
CAL FIRE described this as one of the “many enormous hazard trees on the Emerald Fire. This tree has nearly an eight-foot diameter.”
The Emerald Fire burned 176 acres on the south end of Lake Tahoe near Emerald Bay in California when it started on October 14. After being pushed initially by very strong winds gusting up to 55 mph the spread has been stopped by firefighters — and heavy precipitation. The removal of hazardous trees from Highway 89 and around residences is ongoing. Debris continues to impact the roadway due to the high winds and torrential rains.
The National Weather Service has posted Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches for areas in Nevada, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, New Mexico, and Colorado.
The Red Flag map was current as of 11:15 a.m. MDT on Saturday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts and maps.
There's nothing cool about cancer. Clean it!@paulcombsart #drawnbyfire @fireengineering pic.twitter.com/S92z9d1Qc1
— Paul Combs (@paulcombsart) October 13, 2016
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized5 Comments on South Dakota: Battle Fire east of Hot Springs Above: Battle Fire at 9:40 a.m. MDT October 15, 2016. Photo by Bill Gabbert.
(UPDATED at 2:56 p.m. MDT October 15, 2016)
In the above photo we took Saturday morning the Battle Fire east of Hot Springs, South Dakota looks more benign than it did Friday night. Authorities are reporting it has burned 22 acres.
Fall River County Emergency Manager Frank Maynard said the fire was contained at 2 a.m. Saturday. It will continue to produce smoke for several days as the interior fuels smoulder.
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(UPDATED at 12:12 a.m. MDT October 15, 2016)
The Battle Fire east of Hot Springs, South Dakota continues to spread. At about 11:30 p.m. the size was estimated at 10 acres, but since then has grown slowly to the south and southeast. Firefighters are using a South Dakota state dozer to construct fireline in addition to the crews from a number of engines. At midnight it was surprisingly warm and dry for mid-October. The temperature at the fire was 72 and the relative humidity was 26 percent.
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(UPDATED at 10:17 p.m. MDT October 14, 2016)
At about 8 PM on Friday the Battle Fire broke out east of Hot Springs, South Dakota at the base of Battle Mountain. Firefighters were worried about it spreading to the top of Battle Mountain and endangering electronic sites. By about 9:25 p.m. after it had burned 5 acres the spread had been slowed. But the wind continued to cause spot fires out ahead of the main fire, challenging firefighters.
The fire started under a nearly full moon on the boundary of the Veterans Administration Hospital property east of the facility. Their fire department notified the Hot Springs FD and requested assistance.
A dozer was ordered to help improve a poorly maintained road in order to provide better access for fire engines.
The weather forecast for the fire area predicts 7 mph winds out of the northwest Friday night, slowing to 3 mph at 6 a.m. The maximum relative humidity will be 61 percent at 6 a.m.
For Saturday the National Weather Service expects 73 degrees, 24 percent relative humidity, and 10 to 12 mph west winds gusting to 16 after noon. These conditions could be conducive to continued fire spread.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized3 Comments on Little Valley Fire burns structures northwest of Carson City, NV In the hours before the fire was reported, wind gusting at 87 mph was recorded at a nearby weather station.
(UPDATED at 11:35 p.m. PDT October 14, 2016)
At 9:30 p.m. Washoe County updated the number of structures burned — 22 homes and 17 outbuildings. The fire has blackened 3,455 acres.
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(UPDATED at 3:24 p.m. PDT October 14, 2016)
Washoe County reported at 2:45 p.m. Friday about the Little Valley Fire:
Everyone who lives on the east side of Washoe Lake or the east side of I-580 can return home.
Evacuations for residents of the Galena, Montreaux, Joy Lake Rorad, and St. James neighborhoods can return home but need to be prepared to evacuate throughout the weekend if need be.
The west side of Washoe Lake from Bowers exit to the bottom of Franktown Rd. remains evacuated. Several local hotels are offering discounted room rates for those displaced by Friday’s fires.
A weather station near the fire recorded 0.10 of rain after 11 a.m. today. The relative humidity has increased to 83 percent but the wind is still strong, 14 mph gusting to 34 mph. Radar showed light rain in the area at 3:24 p.m. on Friday.
@TMFPD is the Twitter account for the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District.
#LittleValleyFire update: Fire district got call 1:38 a.m. about glow on hill at site of controlled burn earlier this week. #wildfire
— Jason Hidalgo (@jasonhidalgo) October 14, 2016
“Our crew responded and found about 5 acres on fire at the controlled burn site,” said @TMFPD chief Charles Moore. #LittleValleyFire
— Jason Hidalgo (@jasonhidalgo) October 14, 2016
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(Originally published at 1:16 p.m. PDT October 14, 2016)
Dozens of structures have burned in the Little Valley Fire 6 miles northwest of Carson City, Nevada and 17 miles south of Reno. It was reported at 2 a.m. PDT on Friday, Oct, 16, 2016. At 12:15 p.m. Washoe County reported that firefighters are estimating 2,000 acres, 18 homes, seven outbuildings, and seven barns have burned in the fire west of Washoe Lake.
Authorities have not released a cause for the fire but the Reno Gazette-Journal raised the possibility that it might have been associated with a prescribed fire:
As part of the investigation on the cause of the fire, the forestry division will look into any potential links from a prescribed burn that was held prior to the fire, said Jenny Ramella, Nevada Forestry Division spokeswoman. Ramella stressed that the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
We don’t yet have a good map showing the exact location of the wildfire, but the Nevada Division of Forestry covered on their Facebook page the progress of the “Little Valley Burn”, a prescribed fire, that was ignited between October 4 and 7. On October 12 the NDF reported they had completed 208 acres. The location appears to have been west of where the wildfire is burning now.
Continue reading “Little Valley Fire burns structures northwest of Carson City, NV”
