The North Pass Fire in Mendocino County gained acreage yesterday, and the fire is moving northeast into the Yolla Bolly Middle Eel Wilderness. Extreme fire behavior (crowning, torching, and long-range spotting) has been observed in the afternoons. The fire is 18 percent contained at 20,775 acres. There is no recorded fire history for the north side of the fire; both ERCs and live fuel moistures are at critical levels, with temperatures in the mid-90s. The Willits News reported that the fire is burning aggressively north and east. It crossed the Eel River on the southern border and is expanding in an easterly direction.
Smoke has been especially heavy in the Covelo/Round Valley areas, and air quality alerts have been issued.
The Lake County News reported that the fire is under unified command with Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service, and is burning in the Williams Valley area 10 miles northeast of Covelo. Two outbuildings were destroyed and 75 homes are threatened, along with five commercial properties and about 80 outbuildings.
Engines on the North Pass Fire
Mandatory evacuations are in effect for areas on Indian Dick Road and Mendocino Pass Road near Covelo, the Bauer Ranch subdivision, and nearby USFS campsites. There were nearly 1,100 personnel on the fire on Thursday evening, with 96 engines, 26 crews, two airtankers, six helicopters, 34 bulldozers, and 21 water tenders.
A 5-kilometer run to benefit injured firefighter Andy Rosales is scheduled for Saturday at Fort Yuma. Rosales, a Bureau of Indian Affairs firefighter, was seriously injured on the job this summer when his engine rolled en route to a wildfire near Sells, Arizona. According to the Yuma Sun, Rosales’ injuries were more severe than initially thought — his neck was broken in two places and didn’t heal properly despite months of wearing the surgical halo screwed into his skull.
Andy Rosales has a surgical halo screwed into his skull to help heal a broken neck.
The 5K run/walk, sponsored by Kwatsan Radio, begins at 7 a.m. Saturday at the Quechan Diabetes Walking Park at Fort Yuma (Winterhaven, California, just north of Yuma, Arizona). The cost is $10 and participants can register Saturday morning. Check-in is at 6:30.
Kenrick Escalanti, president of the nonprofit online radio station, said the family is in need — Rosales cannot work and his pregnant wife is caring for him at home; they have a 5-year-old son.
Supporters hope to sell enough tickets to raise $700 for a medical bed. Rosales is excited about the run and plans to be there to watch. “There’s no point in being down,” he said. Rosales’ wife, Krystle, said he’s in good spirits, but he misses going to the gym. “My husband is an active person. Before he got in the accident, he was running like six miles a day.” He was injured on June 8 when his wildland fire engine rolled as he and his crew were traveling to the Montezuma Fire near Sells, Arizona; 31-year-old Anthony Polk, another BIA firefighter, was killed in the accident. The crash also injured fellow firefighter John Villicana.
Rosales was initially treated and released, but his boss suggested he seek a second opinion. Doctors at University Medical Center in Tucson found that he’d been walking around all day with a broken neck; they admitted him to the intensive care unit. Earlier this month, x-rays and a CT scan showed that his bones did not align correctly. Rosales will need corrective surgery: a plate, screws, and a cadaver bone inserted through the front of his neck.
Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday and it’s hoped that Rosales will make a full recovery. You can buy tickets [here].
The Northern Rockies Regional Fuel Planner, Stu Hoyt, has issued a Safety Advisory for areas affected by mountain pine beetle infestations. There have been several instances where crews have not been expecting the rapid transition from surface fire to crown fire in lodgepole pine in the green attacked and red needle stages. This advisory is posted on the predictive services website under Fuels and Fire Behavior Advisories and can be found on the Northern Rockies Coordination Center website under Outlooks. Concerns to Firefighters and the Public:
Anticipate rapid transition of surface fire behavior to passive and active crown fire behavior when temperatures are above 75˚, relative humidity is below 20% and foliage is in sunlight.
Wind is not needed to influence this fire behavior transition.
Anticipate rapid fire growth in all directions as this is a fuels dominated condition.
Anticipate long-distance spotting in any direction.
Anticipate independent crown fire movement perpetuated by embers landing in the foliage of beetle-attacked or killed trees.
Mitigation Measures:
Closely monitor fire weather conditions to maintain situational awareness.
Track the probability of ignition.
Utilize the table developed by the Missoula Fire Lab for Mountain Pine Beetle-attacked trees.
Probability of ignition above 70% should be an early trigger point in decision making.
At POI greater than 80% firefighters should be prepared for rapid transitions from surface to crown fire behavior.
When initial attacking new fires in these conditions, if possible delay engagement to after peak burning period or early morning when fire behavior is low.
Escape routes and safety zones must be identified before engagement.
Using the green as a safety zone should not be considered.
Identify at least two different Escape Routes and Safety Zones in case your original ones are compromised.
Monitor and understand the effect that weather changes and topography have on fire behavior.
Post lookouts who can see the flaming front.
For further information, contact Stu Hoyt at (406)329-3266 or (406)370-5757
The L.A. Times reports that the Ponderosa Fire near Manton, California, is threatening nearly 1,000 homes; it’s 57 percent contained. The fire, about 30 miles east of Redding, has now burned more than 80 structures.
A Reuters report put the fire at nearly 28,000 acres, with 84 structures burned, including 64 homes. The report said that another 900 homes, 10 commercial properties, and 30 outbuildings are still threatened. Residents of the town of Mineral have been warned to be ready to evacuate.
VESTRA / ESRI map
Evacuation orders have been issued for Manton and the area around the fire perimeter, and evacuation warnings have been issued for Mineral, Ponderosa Sky Ranch, and Lassen Lodge. anewscafe reported that some residents are returning to their homes and more areas north of the fire will be re-opened. Most of the utilities in the fire area have been restored and roads are being rehabbed. As many as 300 structures inside the fire area were saved.
It’s a waiting game in Featherville. Residents of the rural Idaho town east of Boise were told a week ago that the Trinity Ridge Fire would burn into town; the fire’s just 5 percent contained at 95,000 acres, most residents have left, and firefighters are ready.
Crews began burning out around the edge of town last night. “Instead of waiting for the fire to come to them, we are going to attack it and get it out of the way,” firefighter Alan Roberts told the Northwest Cable News. Crews were burning fuels along the northwest ridge and to the west of town, according to the Idaho Statesman, with helicopter operations on the ridge above town and hand crews burning along the western perimeter of Featherville. Crews are in the Featherville/Pine corridor 24 hours a day, working on structure protection and managing the burnout operation.
Installing a PSD machine (ping pong ball dropper) in a Helicopter Express Bell 407. Kari Greer photo.
The Mountain Home News reported that structure protection prep is complete, with over 9 miles of hose and more than 40 pumps in place. Crews have set up water holding tanks throughout the area.
The Trinity Ridge Fire has burned 105,210 acres since it was started on August 3 by a utility vehicle. It has burned four Forest Service cabins and four outbuildings, and suppression costs are now at $15.6 million.
Because of the size and complexity of the fire, a second Type 1 team has been added; Quisenberry’s Southern Area team has taken over the northern part of the fire. The southern portion of the fire that’s approaching Featherville will transition from Rich Harvey’s Type 1 team to Beth Lund’s Type 1 team on Saturday.
Anne Veseth, a 20-year-old firefighter from Moscow, Idaho, was killed August 12 while working on the Steep Corner Fire near Orofino, Idaho. The U.S. Forest Service firefighter was struck when one tree fell and crashed into another tree, causing it to fall in a domino effect.
On August 11, the day before Veseth was killed, the Flathead Hotshots arrived at the Clearwater-Potlatch Timber Protection Association (CPTPA) station to work on the Steep Corner Fire. They were briefed, received a radio clone, and showed up at the fire about 2 p.m., where they located the CPTPA incident commander. He briefed them on tactical duties, according to the SAFENET report filed three days later, but “had to be prompted for specifics on everything else.” The hotshot report said there was no direct link to Grangeville dispatch, no information on EMS or weather, and no medical plan besides “call the county.”
The report listed a slew of other heads-up flags on the incident, including no mention of hazards and no direction other than “jump in the middle and work south.” The IC was wearing jeans, and the hotshots immediately noticed several other CPTPA personnel without PPE or shelters.
The Flathead superintendent told the IC that they’d go scout the fire before committing the crew, and the IC told him to head down the burned line through the middle of the fire. The hotshot foreman then briefed the crew, and they established their own LCES and posted the first lookout of the day on the fire. The scouting superintendent radioed back that no one should be sent down the burned line — which was still hot — through the middle of the fire because of snag hazards and previously cut log decks. Continue reading
A 2,000-acre fire on the island of Kauai is about 50 percent contained today, but dry conditions and high winds are challenging containment efforts. Koke’e residents are under a voluntary evacuation because of a power outage, and the Waimea Canyon drive was closed.
KHON2 News reported that the fire started early Friday on the northwest portion of Kauai, which is the northernmost and almost westernmost of the Hawaiian islands. Firefighters from at least four agencies are working the fire, which is burning near the island’s Kekaha game management area.
“Most of it is a very steep terrain and we can’t put hand crews on it; we have to let it run up to a defensible space like a roadway,” said Robert Westerman with the Kauai Fire Department. Three helicopters, including one from the U.S. Navy, are dropping water on the fire.
The Garden Island reported today that firefighters made good progress along the Poki‘i, Paua, and Waiaka ridges.
The 2,681-acre Buck Fire south of Hemet, California, was fully contained on Friday morning, and the North County Times reported that an inmate firefighter died yesterday after he became ill on the fire.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and Cal Fire are investigating the illness and subsequent death of 44-year-old Jimmy Randolph, who died at a hospital in Palm Springs with his family at his bedside. The cause of death will be announced after an autopsy is completed.
(UPDATED July 13, 2017. Mr. Randolf died in a hospital August 19, 2012 seven hours after he was found unresponsive where he was sleeping at the fire. The cause of death was listed as anoxic encephalopathy combined with complications of heat stroke.)
Fenner Canyon Conservation Camp on the Angeles National Forest houses minimum-security inmates and is operated jointly by CDCR and Cal Fire.
The Buck Fire also had a microburst rip through the ICP early Thursday, with hard rain and hail and 60 mph gusts that sent tents and much of the camp skittering across the ground. The fire, ignited by lightning last Tuesday, was also plagued with injuries; according to the Desert Sun, one firefighter was taken to a hospital for minor injuries. Three other firefighters incurred minor injuries, along with two civilians, one of whom suffered severe third-degree burns to his legs.
Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a marijuana patch discovered in the area. According to the L.A. Times, firefighters encountered two men trying to protect the small grove of plants.
This fire had more than its share of weirdness. The Desert Sun also reported that a 59-year-old local man was charged with driving over a fire captain’s foot on Tuesday afternoon. Gregory Lance Good is being held in lieu of $30,000 bail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and interfering with a firefighter in the line of duty. He was arraigned in Riverside County Superior Court and entered a “not guilty” plea.
A fast-moving wildfire has burned dozens homes in central Washington and evacuated hundreds of people.
A Seattle Times blog reported that more than 450 people were evacuated overnight. KING5 News reported this morning that construction crews may have caused the initial brush fire that flared up yesterday; by midnight the fire had grown to 16,000 acres and by 2:00 a.m. it had reached nearly 27,000 acres.
The Taylor Bridge Fire is threatening more homes in the area, along with wind farm towers, powerlines, and a chimpanzee sanctuary. The fire’s burned to within six miles of Ellensburg. A state mobilization has been declared and command is transitioning to a Type 2 IMT today.
Rich Elliott, deputy chief for Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue, told the Daily Record News that the fire never did lay down overnight. He said fire behavior is intense and flamelengths are running to 20 feet.
The Seattle Times reported that a crew barely outran flames yesterday, but managed to drive to safety ahead of the fire. KING5 News has a photo collection online.
Residents of Jefferson County southwest of Denver learned tonight that they won’t be receiving compensation from the state for their claims of damage by the Lower North Fork Fire back in March. The fire, a prescribed fire by Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) personnel, got away from them and blazed over a couple of ridges, killed three people, burned a couple dozen homes, and caused $11 million in damage.
ABC7 News reported that residents’ claims will be postponed until an insurance company lawsuit is settled. Back in April, an insurance company and a utility company filed “notice of claims” against the state. But Deputy Attorney General David Blake says compensation, if any, is a long ways off — because of the pending lawsuit by the insurance companies, the state claims board can’t yet address residents’ claims for compensation.
“Realistically, we’re talking about many months, if not over years,” Sen. Ellen Roberts told the Denver Post.
The prescribed fire was ignited on March 22 by the CSFS on property belonging to the Denver Water Department. They completed the burn on the same day; firefighters mopped up the next day and patrolled the area for two more days. But on the next day, a cold front passed through with gusts over 50 mph. The fire re-ignited and took off, crowning and heading northeast onto private lands. Local firefighters immediately responded to the wildfire, but were unable to contain it. It was contained about 10 days later on April 2 by Rich Harvey’s Type 1 team … in 22-degree weather and snow.
Legislators passed new laws after the fire, creating a five-member legislative commission to investigate what happened when the fire took off, along with companion legislation that allows residents to file claims with the state for compensation. The Lower North Fork Wildfire Commission members visited the fire area, led by Elk Creek Fire Chief Bill McLaughlin. His department was one of three VFDs that responded to the fire.
McLaughlin explained how the fire went wrong. Firefighters had specified a trigger point, and decided that if the fire crossed that point, residents two miles away would be evacuated. They were supposed to have a good two hours to get out, but the fire ripped up the ridge in just 12 minutes. McLaughlin said 6-foot flames turned into 40-foot flames and then to 100-foot flames as the fire roared over the hill.
The state enacted an indefinite ban on prescribed fires after the 4,100-acre Lower North Fork Fire was contained.
State Rep. Claire Levy, a member of the investigative commission, said people will want the commission to find blame. “I think we need to work on preparing people who do choose to live in high wildfire areas to deal with that,” she said, “and recognize the risk to loss of life and property is very high and that is something they are knowingly taking on and the state cannot protect them.”
There is no recorded fire history for the north side of the fire; both ERCs and live fuel moistures are at critical levels, with temperatures in the mid-90s. The Willits News reported that the fire is burning aggressively north and east. It crossed the Eel River on the southern border and is expanding in an easterly direction.
