Kelly Andersson, Author at Wildfire Today

Woman dies during evacuation ahead of Nebraska fire

Kelly AnderssonAugust 31, 2012August 25, 2019Uncategorizedfatality, Nebraska

A 64-year-old Chadron woman died Wednesday during evacuations ahead of the West Ash Creek Fire in northwest Nebraska. The Omaha World-Herald reported that Chadron dispatch logged a call from a neighbor, who discovered the woman with breathing difficulties when they went to check on her during the evacuation. The sheriff’s department and an ambulance responded; she was pronounced dead at the hospital. Preliminary reports are that the cause of death was a heart attack.

The sheriff’s department evacuated about 150 Dawes County residents and closed Chadron State Park. The sheriff has since issued a mandatory evacuation for residents in the west and south of the Metcalf Wildlife Area north of Hays Springs, because of a third fire in that area.

The Region 23 Complex fires have burned nearly 69,000 acres; the complex comprises two fires, the West Ash Fire near Chadron, and the Douthit Fire near Crawford. Containment this morning is estimated at 25 percent.

The fires were estimated at only 1,300 acres on Wednesday, but grew quickly as hot winds pushed flames through the dry timber and grasslands. Smoke forced additional road closures on Sand Creek, Cottonwood Road, and Highway 20 west of Fort Robinson. Sections of Table Road near Willow Creek Church are closed because of increased fire activity in the area. Highway 385 is open, but controlled in areas with one-lane traffic and pilot car.

The Lincoln Journal-Star reported that the two fires in Dawes County were started by lightning Tuesday. One is south of Chadron and the other’s burning between the smaller towns of Harrison and Crawford. State officials also were responding to fires in Sheridan and Sioux counties, all in the Nebraska Panhandle. Gov. Dave Heineman on Thursday dispatched the state’s mobile operations center to the region.

Fire run-off gives brewery headaches

Kelly AnderssonAugust 30, 2012August 25, 2019Uncategorized2 Comments

The guys who produce Fat Tire ale are using a reserve water supply because they say the water in northern Colorado’s Poudre River was tainted by a fire that destroyed hundreds of homes back in June.

The Coloradoan reported that runoff from the fire affects the local tap water, much of which is sourced from the Poudre River. Jenn Vervier, the brewery’s director of sustainability and strategic development, said “The health of the watershed equals the quality of our beer.” New Belgium’s brewery chemists have identified six compounds in the river water that could affect the flavor of their beers.

The New Belgium Brewery owners have been told that they’ll soon have to go back to using water from the river. But they say, in an AP report, that the Poudre (POO’-der) River water would kill the flavor in the ale. They’re negotiating with the city of Fort Collins to continue using the water reserve.

The city hasn’t drawn any of its tap water from the river since early June. Water quality in the river is in trouble, said Fort Collins Water Manager Lisa Voytko. “Every time it’s rained, the river has turned black,” she said.

The 87,284-acre High Park Fire west of Fort Collins was one of the most destructive in the state’s history. The fire was lightning-ignited; it burned 259 homes and killed one person.

New Montana fires = state of emergency

Kelly AnderssonAugust 29, 2012August 25, 2019UncategorizedMontana

The Billings Gazette reported today that wind gusts of up to 40 mph pushed Montana fires through mixed timber and grasslands, prompting evacuations for residents south of Livingston and south of Roscoe.

The Pine Creek Fire south of Livingston is estimated at more than 2,500 acres. Evacuations have been ordered; the Park County Rural and Paradise Valley VFDs, along with resources from the USFS and Montana DNRC are responding. Several other fires in Montana are under red flag warnings for strong winds and low RH.

“We declared a state of emergency due to the severity of fire,” said Park County Commissioner Randy Taylor. “It has spread so fast over such a vast area threatening numerous structures. If it gets too much farther into the timber, there’s going to be no stopping it.”

KXLH News (fire photo alert) reported that the 19-Mile Fire near Whitehall has burned several structures; residents in the Toll Mountain area were evacuated. A DNRC spokesman, Greg Archie, said the fire burned between 1,000 and 3,000 acres in less than 24 hours. “Fire conditions are at their peak right now,” he said, “and things aren’t going to get any better today for sure.”

Idaho fire in bug-killed timber burns 7,200 acres in an afternoon

Kelly AnderssonAugust 29, 2012August 25, 2019Uncategorizedbeetles, Idaho3 Comments

Road closures are still in effect for the Halstead Fire in Idaho. The fire started on July 27 about 3 miles north of Stanley, and is burning in a rugged area of the Salmon-Challis National Forest.

The fire was active yesterday, gaining more than 7,200 acres in the afternoon. Smoke columns were visible from Challis as the fire rapidly burned through bug-killed trees in Pinyon Creek and Bernard Creek on the north part of the fire.

A small spot fire discovered Monday night, according to Bob Houseman’s IMT, made a 2,000-acre run and went from a low surface-burning fire to an extreme canopy fire that raced across the treetops as wind and topography aligned in the bug-killed timber. The IMT has noted extreme growth potential on this fire.

Fire crews and managers have been warned about the dangers of bug-killed timber stands moving quickly to crown fire behavior in the Northern Rockies.

Heads-up out there, eh?

Montana fires rock’n’roll

Kelly AnderssonAugust 29, 2012August 25, 2019UncategorizedMontana2 Comments

Fire crews are battling Montana wildfires as evacuations were ordered ahead of fires near Butte and Roscoe — fires that threatened at least 130 homes. High temps across much of the drought-parched state, along with gusty winds, have pushed fires through tinder-dry stands of timber and grasslands. The dangerous conditions prompted Montana’s Governor Brian Schweitzer to declare a statewide fire emergency.

The Helena Independent Record reported that most of this season’s fires have been in the eastern half of the state. Just like in the summer of 2007, serious smoke haze has clouded western Montana from fires in Idaho.

The Delphia Fire, east of Roundup, Montana, is about 90 percent contained at 40,653 acres. Heintz’s Type 2 team reports that crews will be out until midnight tonight and then resume a regular schedule tomorrow, focusing on mopup along suppression lines and patrolling for spot fires.

Air quality has deteriorated most significantly in Hamilton [note: downtown web cam, not useful at night MDT], where it’s been listed as “unhealthy” by state officials. In Butte, Helena, Great Falls, and Bozeman, officials downgraded the air quality to “unhealthy” for sensitive groups.

About 10 miles south of Butte, the 19 Mile Fire burned a couple of homes and outbuildings. Crews are expecting red flag warnings for high winds and low humidities; the fire today is at 3,000 acres, burning south of I-90 and north of Highway 2. Firefighters are working on structure protection in the Whiskey Gulch area. A Type 2 Incident Management Team (Stan Benes, IC) is transitioning with local resources and will assume management Thursday morning.

The fire’s threatening about 80 homes and evacuations were ordered for about 150 residents.

Fire Lookouts not obsolete just yet

Kelly AnderssonAugust 29, 2012May 10, 2019Uncategorizedlookout tower1 Comment

“It’s like when you’re home and you see a spider running across the carpet, and you see it because it doesn’t belong,” Arizona fire lookout Helen Roe says. “This is my carpet, these trees. I can see when something’s not right. I know this ridge like the back of my hand.”

The Arizona Republic has a lovely feature online profiling Roe and other fire lookouts in the state. The lookout tower she mans is 14×14 feet and includes a catwalk around the edge. The news feature is a great read.

On a clear day, the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff stretch across the western horizon. To the east, rolling waves of ponderosas reach toward Show Low. On a midsummer day, banks of clouds, not quite afternoon storms, drift across the sky.

The story notes that in theory, technology should render the human lookout obsolete, incorporating remote cameras, GPS units, and satellite feeds.

Ritter Butte Lookout, May 2012, photo © 2012 Kelly Andersson

The Oregon Department of Forestry, however, re-opened a fire lookout near John Day, Oregon, this year — and they staffed it because the area is a lightning hotspot for central/eastern Oregon fires. The ODF is working on implementing a new “remote camera detection system”– and that’s part of the reason for activating this summer the Ritter Butte Lookout, which has not been staffed for something like 20 years.

[Thanks, Dick Mangan]

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