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Wildfire potential, July through October, 2013

Bill GabbertJuly 2, 2013July 2, 2013Uncategorizedpotential, weather

Monday the Predictive Services section at the National Interagency Fire Center issued their Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for July through October, 2013.

As you probably know, fire activity is high right now in Arizona and New Mexico. Here is NIFC’s prediction for July in the Southwest:

Significant wildland fire potential will remain above normal across much of Arizona and northwestern New Mexico in early July and slowly return to normal across the Area from east to west as the monsoon develops. The Area will remain normal from August through October.

July will bring an end to the typical fire season weather pattern and begin the transitions to a monsoonal pattern. In July, upper level high pressure will be in place over the Great Basin to begin the month which will allow most areas east of the divide to moisten up with higher humidity and areas of scattered wet storms during the first week of July. Moisture will lead to more lightning potential into Arizona during the first week or so of July until the upper high eventually settles far enough north and east to allow moisture intrusion through all of Arizona. As usual, moisture will develop from east to

west leaving northern and northwestern Arizona the last to return to normal around mid-July or shortly thereafter.

Below is the Executive Summary from the document:
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Sole survivor of Yarnell Hill Fire identified

Bill GabbertJuly 2, 2013April 21, 2015UncategorizedArizona, Brendan McDonough, Yarnell Fire1 Comment

The only member of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew to survive the Yarnell Hill Fire has been identified as 21-year old Brendan McDonough. Contrary to earlier reports that he had been assigned to move equipment when the other 19 members of the crew became entrapped and were killed, Mr. McDonough was serving as a lookout.

The duties of a lookout on a wildland fire are to observe the fire and the weather and to notify the crew about changes that could jeopardize their safety. Typically they find a high vantage point from which they can see both the fire and the location of the other firefighters.

In a briefing Tuesday, Prescott Fire Department Public Information Officer Wade Ward said Brendan, who is in his third season with the crew, did “exactly what he was supposed to do”. When he arrived at the lookout point he identified a trigger point for himself and decided that when the fire reached that location he would have to leave for his own safety. Later in the day when the fire reached that trigger point, he radioed the crew Superintendent, telling him that the weather was changing rapidly and the direction of spread of the fire had changed because the wind direction had changed. Brendan told him that he had to leave his lookout location and that if the crew needed anything to contact him. That was his last communication with the crew, after which he walked out and met the Blue Ridge Hot Shots. He looked back and saw that the point where he had been had already burned over. He then got in the Blue Ridge Hotshots’ vehicle and was taken to a safety zone. Brendan was not injured and did not have to deploy his fire shelter.

“The wind changed,” said Prescott Fire Battalion Chief Ralph Lucas, explaining the movement of the fire. “We had a thunderstorm that was above. They have a tendency to push winds around, just because of the dynamics of nature, and that may have been what occurred during that time period, that brought fire up toward his trigger point, indicating that it was time for him to leave his lookout point.”

Mr. Ward implored the audience to protect Brendan’s privacy and to leave him alone, which precipitated applause from the crowd. Then he said, “Give him some time. And when I mean time, it’s going to take weeks, if not longer”.

Rachel Maddow, on the Granite Mountain 19

Bill GabbertJuly 2, 2013July 2, 2013UncategorizedYarnell Fire5 Comments

You may or may not agree with her political beliefs, but Rachel Maddow on Monday narrated an excellent video tribute to Hotshot crews, and especially the Granite Mountain Hotshots who died in the Yarnell Hill Fire on Monday. It also has some historical photos of the Oak Grove Hot Shots in southern California.

To see it full-screen, after the 15-second ad plays click on “Options” then “Fullscreen”.

And please, no comments about politics.

Fire balloon causes massive fire in England

Bill GabbertJuly 2, 2013August 25, 2019Uncategorizedsky lantern, United Kingdom

A fire balloon caused a massive and very destructive structure fire in the UK Sunday night. Fire Geezer has the details, but a security camera caught the device, sometimes called a Chinese lantern or sky lantern, falling into a plastic recycling plant which then ignited causing about $10 million in damages.

Some people in the UK are outraged about these devices, and want a ban on them to prevent similar incidents and “appalling tragedy”.

These incendiary devices use burning material such as rubbing alcohol or a candle to heat the air in a bag made of tissue paper or very thin plastic. The heat makes the device lighter than air causing it to rise into the sky, staying aloft for 10 minutes to 2 hours. They can be very pretty to watch especially when they are released dozens or hundreds at a time such as at a wedding or some other celebration. The problem is they are uncontrollable and sometimes start wildfires or structure fires.

More and more areas in the United States are banning the devices, most recently the state of Oregon and Pismo Beach, California. Wildfire Today has written about these dangerous toys before.

Memorial dedicated for the crew members that died on MAFFS 7

Bill GabbertJuly 1, 2013July 2, 2013Uncategorizedfatality, lodd, MAFFS, Photo by Bill G, South Dakota, White Draw Fire3 Comments

A memorial site was dedicated today to honor the four people that died when the Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) C-130 air tanker crashed in South Dakota exactly a year ago. MAFFS 7, from the 145 Airlift Wing in North Carolina, was dropping retardant to slow the spread of the White Draw Fire when it encountered turbulent air and crashed, killing Lt. Col Paul K. Mikeal, 42; Maj. Joseph M. McCormick, 36; Maj. Ryan S. David, 35, and Senior Master Sgt. Roberts S. Cannon, 50. Two crew members survived, Chief Master Sgt. Andy Huneycutt, and Master Sgt. Joshua Marlowe.

Family members had the opportunity Sunday to travel to the crash site about eight miles northeast of Edgemont, South Dakota. The new memorial is approximately 6 miles northeast of Edgemont on Highway 18 near the point of origin of the fire (map) where the motor home that started the blaze caught fire while pulling the grade between Edgemont and Hot Springs. The memorial consists of a gravel parking area with room for about six vehicles and it has two interpretive panels — one describing the White Draw Fire and the other covers the accident and the four victims.

MAFFS 7 memorial dedication — The speakers at the dedication included: (left to right) Lt. Governor Matt Michels (at the podium); Lt. Col Dale Gadbois; Craig Bobzien, Forest Supervisor of the Black Hills National Forest; Jajor General Timothy Reisch, S.D. Adjutant General; Major General Gregory Lusk, N.C. Adjutant General, and Mike Ortner, Chairman, Fall River County Commission.

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How today’s Yarnell tragedy fits into the history of multiple fatality wildland fires

Bill GabbertJune 30, 2013August 25, 2019Uncategorizedfatality, lodd4 Comments

The very tragic deaths of most of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew on the Yarnell Fire Sunday may cause us to think about other similar incidents. It is not uncommon for firefighters to die on fires, in fact the National Interagency Fire Center has records of 1,030 fatalities of various causes on wildland fires, with 424 caused by burnovers, becoming entrapped in a fire.

But as many as 19 being killed at one time has not happened since October 3, 1933, when 25 firefighters were entrapped and killed while fighting a fire in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. The only other incident with more than 19 wildland firefighter fatalities occurred on the “Big Blowup Fires” of August 21, 1910 when 72 firefighters died in Idaho.

According to records maintained by the National Interagency Fire Center, 21 firefighters have been killed on wildland fires in Arizona going back to 1955. The highest number on one fire up until today was on the Dude Fire, which coincidentally we wrote about earlier today.

More information: a partial list, by date of the year, of some of the more famous, or infamous, multiple fatality wildland fires around the world over the last 150 years.

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