Florida officials: Contractors to blame for prescribed burn that destroyed 36 homes, boats

A wildfire mitigation group contracted by the state of Florida is responsible for a weekend prescribed burn that got out of control and destroyed dozens of homes and several boats, officials confirmed Wednesday.

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam on Wednesday announced that a burn conducted by Wildland Fire Services Inc. on behalf of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission caused the Sunday wildfire in Eastpoint, Florida over the weekend.

Fanned by high winds, the fire burned more than 800 acres and destroyed 36 homes in the small coastal community on the Florida panhandle.

Drone footage of the aftermath is available here. 

“My heart goes out to those affected by this devastating wildfire, and I thank all of our partners in the response effort to stop the spread of the fire,” Putnam said in a statement Wednesday.

The Florida Forest Service led response efforts to contain and control the wildfire with assistance from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Eastpoint Volunteer Fire Department, and other local fire departments.

https://twitter.com/APSouthRegion/status/1012076626799218688

The fire burned through the heavily wooded residential area Sunday near the edge of Tate’s Hell State Forest. No one was killed in the blaze itself, though one man who was trying to help during the evacuation suffered an apparent heart attack and died.

For obvious reasons, the news on Wednesday did not sit will with Franklin County residents. Reporters spoke with several in the area.

From the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper:

“I am so furious right now,” said April Dalton, who lives in the neighborhood hit by the wildfire. “There was a loss of life and damage because someone dropped the ball. Children and families are homeless now because someone did not do their job.”

Dalton said she and her husband escaped the blaze after rescuing their dogs, turning their chickens loose and wetting their house down with a hose. Her husband had to be treated for low oxygen and heat illness later.

John Matthew Polous, a shrimper and oysterman, lost 14 boats, his home and pickup trucks, the Associated Press reported.

“They finally admitted to what done it, now let’s see what they are going to do,” Polous, 51, said while walking through the burned remains of his home. “Why was they even burning this time of year back here? That don’t make sense, but they was and there’s nothing nobody can do about it.”

The Florida Forest Service was among those who joined in sharing an online fundraiser aimed at assisting those affected by the fire. More than $67,000 had been contributed by Thursday morning. The state is also planning on offering immediate financial assistance. 

Red Flag Warnings for Wednesday

Red Flag Warnings are in place across much of the West Wednesday and going into the weekend.

Red Flag Warnings are in place across much of the West Wednesday and going into the weekend.

Increasingly gusty winds and single-digit relative humidities are forecast Wednesday and Thursday across much of the West, spurring a series of Red Flag Warnings.

The warnings affect swaths of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Arizona. Any wildfire starts could spread rapidly, the National Weather Service says.

Conditions could hinder some of the progress crews have made on the Pawnee Fire burning since Saturday in the Lake County hills northwest of Sacramento, California.

Wildfire concerns going into the weekend before July Fourth have already put a damper on some fireworks celebrations. Flagstaff, Arizona, has canceled their planned display, as have a number of other smaller cities across the state.

 

Pawnee Fire progress, but challenges predicted for weekend

#PawneeFire [update] off Pawnee Rd & New Long Valley Rd, northeast of Clearlake Oaks (Lake County)

Pawnee Fire off Pawnee Road and New Long Valley Road, northeast of Clearlake Oaks (Lake County), Courtesy CAL Fire via Twitter.

Firefighters on Tuesday made some progress on the lines of the Pawnee Fire in Northern California, but they’ll have their work cut out for them going into the weekend.

The blaze burning in Lake County charred approximately 13,000 acres as of Wednesday morning. While some areas saw fire growth Tuesday — roughly 1,500 additional acres burned, according to estimates — containment jumped to 17 percent by Tuesday night, CAL Fire reported.

“The fire burned very actively throughout the day in the Spring Valley area, north east of Clearlake Oaks in Lake County,” CAL Fire said in a Tuesday evening update. “The fire is being driven by low relative humidity, erratic winds and above normal temperatures. Expanded evacuation orders are in effect for the entire Spring Valley area and residents are reminded to heed all evacuation orders.”

A Fire Weather Watch kicks in Friday morning and will last through the weekend. Forecasters are calling for 20 mph north winds gusting to 35 mph and relative humidity levels as low as 10 percent, per the National Weather Service.

The Pawnee Fire is threatening upward of 600 structures, CAL Fire said.

Twenty-two have been destroyed.

News media on Tuesday accessed some of the areas where homes were destroyed in the days since the fire started Saturday afternoon northwest of Sacramento.

In terms of resources assigned to the Pawnee Fire as of Tuesday night:

  • Total Fire Personnel: 2,700
  • Total Fire Engines: 235
  • Total Fire Crews: 58
  • Total Helicopters: 15
  • Total Dozers: 69
  • Total Water Tenders: 25

As often accompanies disasters, including wildfires that regularly affect Northern California, scammers are at the ready.

“The FBI has received indications that fraudsters are using email and social-networking sites, including job search engines, to facilitate fraudulent activities,” according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office website.

The National Weather Services is calling for potentially dangerous fire conditions in Northern California going into the weekend.
The National Weather Services is calling for potentially dangerous fire conditions in Northern California going into the weekend.

Florida wildfire season underway; crews working multiple lightning-caused fires

The Greenway Fire burned more than 6,000 acres in Florida as of Sunday, March 25, 2018. Photo: Greater Naples Fire Rescue

Spring has sprung, and so have wildfires in parched parts of Florida.

The Greenway Fire, burned 6,600 acres by Sunday afternoon and was 20 percent contained, according to Greater Naples Fire Rescue. A 17-acre spot fire was complicating efforts, and crews have worked to keep the blaze from reaching southwest Florida communities, including VeronaWalk and Winding Cypress.

“As long as wind conditions do not unexpectedly change, the outlook for these communities looks favorable as of this report,” fire officials said Sunday.

Elsewhere, the 116th Ave SE Fire was listed at 8,000 acres and 45 percent contained Sunday, per the the Caloosahatchee Forestry Center. This fire is moving toward the Flag Pond Fire, which burned 2,600 acres and was 100 percent contained Sunday — at least one occupied RV/home was destroyed, officials said.

Each of the fires was caused by lightning, officials said.

The Florida Forest Service and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office were assisting in the effort, with teams conducting water drops in the area.

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam and the Florida Forest Service last week urged Floridians to exercise caution due to significantly heightened wildfire risk throughout the state. Despite recent rainfall, drought conditions throughout the state are expected to continue — the Florida Forest Service has worked more than 700 wildfires across the state since the start of this year 2018.

“Florida’s wildland firefighters have proven time and again that they are prepared to put their lives on the line to keep Floridians safe,” Putnam said. “Floridians can do their part by keeping preventable human-caused wildfires at bay and preparing their families and homes for wildfire.”

Florida Fire Risk for Sunday, via Florida Forest Service website.

Texas volunteer firefighter dies after injuries from March 10 grassfire

A Texas firefighter injured two week ago while working a brushfire has died, officials confirmed.

Firefighter Larry Marusik, a member of Ellinger Volunteer Fire Department, died Friday at Brooke Army Medical Center, according to the Caldwell County Office of Emergency Management. He was 68 years old.

“The Caldwell County Office of Emergency Management offers our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Firefighter Larry Marusik,” officials said. “We also send our profound sympathies to his fellow firefighters in Fayette County, especially the Ellinger VFD.”

Marusik grew up in the community and moved back after he retired, KXAN news reported. He was a member of the fire department for four years.

Additional details about the injuries he suffered or the incident he was working were not immediately available.

https://twitter.com/CCTXOEM/status/977646110012510210

California utility latest to talk power shutoff when conditions ripe for wildfires

A firefighter works a blaze in Northern California. Photo courtesy CAL FIRE.

Above:  A firefighter works a blaze in Northern California during the fires in Wine Country in October, 2017. Photo courtesy CAL FIRE. 

A San Francisco-based utility provider that has come under scrutiny in the aftermath of 2017’s California wildfires on Friday outlined a series of steps it says will reduce future fire risks — including preemptively cutting the power in areas facing high fire danger.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company is drafting guidelines to boost wildfire prevention, create new safety measures and harden the electric grid across many of the same areas devastated last year, the company said. PG&E provides utilities to a major swath of California, including Wine Country, which was ravaged by deadly fires in October.

Perhaps the most controversial proposal, a move toward preemptive power shutdowns coincides with conversations elsewhere in the state and across the country. Officials said they were refining protocols for shutting down power lines in “areas where extreme fire conditions are occurring.” They also vowed to implement “appropriate communications and resources to help inform, prepare and support” customers and communities.

The move is not without precedent or controversy.

San Diego Gas and Electric has cut power during red flag warnings and critical fire situations, hoping to prevent a utility-sparked blaze. The policy change came on the heels of the firestorm in 2007 that investigators blamed on power lines.  In December, the San Diego company cut power in some rural areas of the county, again triggering debate about fire prevention at the cost of isolating power-dependent swaths of the population who rely on electricity for communication, disaster preparation and even medical care.

Pat Hogan, PG&E senior vice president of electric operations, said the options were not ideal but remained necessary.

Per the Sacramento Bee newspaper: 

“We really view this as a last resort,” Hogan said. “It’s one public safety risk vs. another. We’re very cognizant that when we shut off the power, that creates a whole set of safety risks. You potentially impact hospitals, fire stations, police stations, traffic lights go out, garages don’t open.”

However, Hogan said “there are going to be times where the conditions on the ground are so extreme, that the potential for ignition, and the potential for spread if there was an ignition, is so high that we’re going to de-energize those lines.”

The utility, facing multiple investigations and the subject of multiple lawsuits and liability claims since October, also said it is planned to expand its weather forecasting ability by ramping up a network of company-owned weather stations.

The move is also similar to that of SDG&E that we reported on last year. 

Those tools will help inform an expanded staff of fire-focused personnel at a to-be created Wildfire Safety Operations Center that will monitor wildfire risks in real-time and coordinate prevention and response efforts with first responders, the company said.

Officials also said they would harden the electrical system by replacing wood utility poles with less-vulnerable ones and pre-treat infrastructure with fire retardant in high-risk areas.

PG&E officials said they are working with regional first responders and fire officials as the utility explores its next steps with the multi-pronged approach. The decisions are not in response to any legal trouble, officials maintained, but rather to address the ever-intensifying risks of climate change and “extreme weather events.”

“Our system and our mindset need to be laser-focused on working together to help prevent devastating wildfires like the ones in the North Bay in October and in Southern California in December from happening again, and in responding quickly and effectively if they do,” Hogan  said in a news release. “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, which is what the Community Wildfire Safety Program is all about.”

Wildfire starts on Colorado military post, burns 2,100 acres

The Carson Midway Fire burned hundreds of acres in Colorado Friday, March 16, 2018. Photo credit: Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District

Evacuations remained in place Friday night and several structures reportedly burned after a fire broke out on a Colorado military post and spread to surrounding areas, officials said. 

The fire, which started midday Friday in the southeastern portion of Fort Carson’s training area, burned approximately 2,100 acres in Pueblo and El Paso counties — on and off the Army post — by Friday night, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office. 

Firefighters from Fort Carson, near Colorado Springs, in conjunction with El Paso and Pueblo county agencies worked the Carson Midway Fire through the day Friday.

Air resources from Fort Carson worked with Bambi Buckets to assist fire fighters on the ground, officials said. Additional fixed-wing air assets have been requested and are on scene.

Approximately 100 Pueblo County residents living in the Midway Ranch area were evacuated. A large-animal shelter was also established at the Colorado State Fairgrounds.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Additional details about the number of structures affected were not immediately available.

Red flag warnings were issued across the region Friday. Gusty, dry conditions are forecast to return Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

‘Catastrophic fire conditions’ possible today as Kansas blazes continue

Fires raced through grasslands in Kansas this week, drawing the National Guard, which captured this photo.

A series of wildfires have burned thousands of acres of grasslands in Kansas this week, and while relief might be in sight, there’s still a full day of volatile conditions ahead, officials say.

“Friday will be a very dangerous day for fire weather in many areas of the state. Some areas will see catastrophic fire weather conditions,” the Kansas Division of Emergency Management said.

Most of the state is under red flag or high wind warnings with forecast to gusts up to 40 mph in some areas Friday. Temperatures around 70 degrees are expected to drop into the 50s this weekend, with rain in the forecast, according to the National Weather Service.

Fires erupted Wednesday. Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer made an emergency declaration for three of the fires burning in Rice County and deployed Black Hawk helicopters from the Kansas National Guard to assist in the response.

According to The Wichita Eagle, state officials tracked 45 fires across the state on Thursday alone, with several breaking out in the Kansas City area. The fires burned an estimated 13,000 acres, and many remained active or out of control.

More detailed assessments of acreage or causes were not immediately available.

About 20 percent of the state is classified as being under an “extreme drought,” according to the latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

NOAA report: Warmer-than-average spring, worsening drought across West

Areas of the United States where the average temperature for April-June 2018 is favored to be in the upper (reddish colors) or lower (blue colors) third of the 1981-2010 seasonal temperature record. Within a given area, the intensity of the colors indicates higher or lower chances for a warm or a cool outcome, not bigger or smaller anomalies. For example, both Texas and Tennessee face better than even chances of experiencing well above average spring temperatures, but the chances are higher in Texas (60-70%) than in Tennessee (40-50%). NOAA Climate.gov map, based on data from NOAA CPC. Photo credit: NOAA

Above: Areas of the United States where the average temperature for April-June 2018 is favored to be in the upper (reddish colors) or lower (blue colors) third of the 1981-2010 seasonal temperature record. Within a given area, the intensity of the colors indicates higher or lower chances for a warm or a cool outcome, not bigger or smaller anomalies. For example, both Texas and Tennessee face better than even chances of experiencing well above average spring temperatures, but the chances are higher in Texas (60-70%) than in Tennessee (40-50%). NOAA Climate.gov map, based on data from NOAA CPC. Photo credit: NOAA

Spring is likely to be warmer than the historical normal this year in much of the country with a worsening drought situation across swaths of the West, according to the latest report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The report, issued Thursday, encompasses April-June.

The Northern Rockies is the only region leaning toward below-average temperatures this spring, forecasters said.

In addition to increased probabilities of warmer temperatures across much of the U.S. — and especially the Southwest — the outlook suggests drought is likely to develop or worsen in Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and part of Utah, Colorado and Kansas.

“It appears La Nina is on its last legs,” said Mike Halpert, with the Climate Prediction Center. “As sea surface temperature anomalies weaken, their influence on springtime temperature and precipitation should also weaken.”

Drought is likely to worsen or develop across much of the Southwest quadrant of the contiguous United States this spring. Pockets of drought are predicted to continue in the Southeast and Oregon. Map by NOAA Climate.gov, based on data from the Climate Prediction Center.
Drought is likely to worsen or develop across much of the Southwest quadrant of the contiguous United States this spring. Pockets of drought are predicted to continue in the Southeast and Oregon. Map by NOAA Climate.gov, based on data from the Climate Prediction Center.

The outlook also noted a moderate risk of flooding in the Ohio River Valley basin and lower Mississippi River where streamflows and soil moisture are above normal after recent heavy rain.

Ranchers affected by Thomas Fire file lawsuit against California utility

Thomas Fire

Thomas Fire. Photo credit: Ventura County Fire Department.

Ranchers in Ventura County who lost cattle and property during the devastating Thomas Fire filed a lawsuit this week against Southern California Edison, claiming the utility’s outdated equipment and lagging fire mitigation efforts were to blame for what became the largest blaze in modern state history.

“The Thomas Fire was the inevitable byproduct of SCE’s willful and conscious disregard of public safety. SCE, although mandated to do so, failed to identify, inspect, manage and/or control vegetation growth near its power lines and/or other electrical equipment. This created a foreseeable danger of trees and/or other vegetation coming into contact with SCE’s power lines and/or other electrical equipment and causing electrical problems, including ignition of fires,” the complaints state.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of two ranchers, is the latest in a series of suits lodged against the utility provider.

According to The Ventura County Star newspaper, a spokesman for Edison said the company would not comment until the official cause of the blaze has been released.

“The Thomas fire obviously has had an impact of many individuals, but the origin and cause of the fire continue to be under investigation and no report has yet been issued,” a spokesman said in a statement, as reported by the newspaper. “This and other lawsuits are not based on findings related to an investigation. Therefore, it would be premature for SCE to comment on the origin or cause of the recent wildfires.”

The Thomas Fire burned 281,893 acres, making it the largest wildfire in recent California history. It destroyed 1,063 structures, damaged 280 more, and set in motion the factors that led to a series of flash-floods and landslides that killed 21 residents. 

A report on the official cause may still be several weeks away.