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Wildfire in Northwest Canada above the arctic circle burns well over 100,000 acres

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 13 Comments on Wildfire in Northwest Canada above the arctic circle burns well over 100,000 acres

President Trump offered assistance to Russia with their wildfires in the Siberian arctic

Map location Inuvik Fire Northwest Canada
Map showing the location of the Inuvik Fire in Northwest Canada, according to satellite data collected at 10:49 a.m. MDT August 1, 2019.

A wildfire in Canada’s Northwest Territories arctic has burned about 45,000 hectares (112,000 acres) according to the last size estimate by the Northwest Territories Environment and Natural Resources agency. Our very unofficial estimate based on satellite data collected Thursday morning showed that it has increased to approximately 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres).

The fire is burning along the Mackenzie River about 47 miles (77 kilometers) east of Tsiigehtchiceast. Presently there is no threat to that community, officials said. (see map above)

This is happening north of the Arctic Circle, at 67.3 north latitude. The Arctic Circle, which defines the southern boundary of the Arctic, is at 66.5 north latitude. Alaska has also had fires this summer in the Arctic and Russia has had many in the extreme northern latitudes.

According to NPR President Trump discussed the fire situation in Russia with Vladimir Putin:

President Trump spoke with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday and offered U.S. help in fighting widespread forest fires raging in parts of Siberia, according to a Kremlin account of the call.

Putin, in response, expressed his “sincere gratitude” to Trump and said that if necessary, he will accept the offer, the Kremlin said on its website.

Another fire burns in the hills above Springville, Utah

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

The Alaska Fire was 450 acres at 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Alaska Fire Springville Utah Jocelyn Marie Cooley
A Neptune Aviation BAe-146 drops on the Alaska Fire, July 31, 2019. Photo by Jocelyn Marie Cooley.

(Originally published at 1:29 p.m. MDT July 31, 2019)

It was just two weeks ago that the Round Peak Fire was ignited by a campfire at 9:30 p.m. July 15 in the hills above Springville, Utah south of Provo. A new fire, the Alaska Fire, was reported at 11:30 p.m. on July 30th near Alaska Avenue, northeast of Springville. The cause is under investigation but there was no lightning in the area.

Wednesday at 1 p.m. MDT fire authorities said it had burned approximately 450 acres and was still moving uphill in grass and brush. A type 3 Incident Management Team will assume command of the incident today. Crews will concentrate on building fireline while supported by aircraft as needed.

Alaska Fire Springville Utah Jocelyn Marie Cooley
The Alaska Fire, July 31, 2019. Photo by Jocelyn Marie Cooley.

These photos, used with permission, were taken just before noon MDT July 31 with a long lens by professional photographer Jocelyn Marie Cooley, from her home in the Springville area. We also used one of her shots when we covered the Round Peak Fire. Thank you Jocelyn!

Alaska Fire Springville Utah Jocelyn Marie Cooley
A Neptune Aviation BAe-146 maneuvers over the Alaska Fire, July 31, 2019. Photo by Jocelyn Marie Cooley.
Alaska Fire Springville Utah Jocelyn Marie Cooley
A Single Engine Air Tanker and a Neptune Aviation BAe-146 maneuver over the Alaska Fire, July 31, 2019. Photo by Jocelyn Marie Cooley.

Opinion: Diversity helps fight wildfires

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized
Big Meadows Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park 2013
The Big Meadows Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park in 2013. NPS photo by Ross Wilmore.

David M. J. S. Bowman  and Cathelijne Stoof wrote the following letter to the journal Nature (571, 478 [2019]), dated July 23, 2019:

Diversity helps fight wildfires

As professionals who study the control and prevention of wildfires, we argue that reducing the resulting loss of life and property calls for the involvement of socially diverse local communities.

People from different cultural backgrounds respond differently to wildfire risk, as do men and women (C. Eriksen; Gender and Wildfire: Landscapes of Uncertainty; Routledge, 2013). This presents practical and policy challenges for firefighting agencies. For instance, fire prevention and emergency warning must be tailored to specific groups. And engagement with local communities could be an awkward fit with wildland firefighting institutions, which are strongly hierarchical and have a masculine culture (A. M. S. Smith and E. K. Strand Fire 1, 45; 2018).

Fire-prevention strategies should include public education and real-time mass communication (see also A. M. S. Smith et al. Bioscience 66, 130–146; 2016). Communities need advice on managing fire risk. This requires devolution of political power from centralized bureaucracies to local organizations, and promotion of disciplinary, sectoral and social diversity among fire scientists, policymakers and wildfire managers.

Cathelijne Stoof and David M. J. S. Bowman
Cathelijne Stoof and David M. J. S. Bowman. Photo: The Fire Centre at the University of Tasmania

New film reveals the untold story of fire in a swamp

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 2 Comments on New film reveals the untold story of fire in a swamp
film fire Big Cypress National Preserve
A screenshot from “Fire Swamp”

Much of Big Cypress National Preserve in south Florida is swampland. And like most areas with native vegetation it evolved with fire as a major component of the ecosystem.

Today the Preserve released a new film, “Fire Swamp,” that explains the relationship. Here is how they describe it:

‘Fire Swamp’ reveals the untold story of how fire burns in a swamp. Get a front row seat to fire flowing through our interwoven ecosystem of high and dry pinelands to cypress swamps with two National Park Service professionals who manage this dynamic ecosystem. Down here in the Big Cypress, the borders between fire, water, people, limestone, plants, and animals creates an exquisite mosaic of beauty.

Jen Brown, and recently with Rick Anderson, has been making films about fire in South Florida since at least 2012. Their company, IntoNatureFilms, has helped the land management agencies in the area interpret for the general public the value of public lands and inform them about how they are managed. More agencies around the country could learn from this approach.

The 2018 Woolsey Fire set back the reintroduction of an endangered frog

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

Three of the four reintroduction sites for the largest native frog in the western U.S. were wiped out by debris flows after the wildfire

Articles on Wildfire Today tagged “Woolsey Fire”.