News and opinion about wildland fire
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized2 Comments on Satellite photo shows smoke from wildfires Six states have Red Flag Warnings in effect, August 26, 2018
The NASA satellite photo above taken August 25, 2018 shows heat (in red) and smoke created by the fires in parts of California, Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho. Cloud cover in Washington and Northern Oregon made it impossible to see the fires in those areas.
Six states have Red Flag Warnings (red areas) in effect for August 26, 2018.
On Sunday forecasters expect wildfire smoke to be transported east or northeast in most areas.
The company throttled the data being used by a Santa Clara Fire Department Command and Control vehicle that was fighting the Mendocino Complex of Fires
When executives from Verizon were summoned to California’s capitol Friday to sit for a tongue lashing by an Assembly Committee, the company announced that just hours before, they had changed their policy about limited vs. “unlimited” data for cell phone accounts used by emergency first responders. They had attracted an enormous amount of criticism after the Verizon account used by a Command and Control vehicle working on the Mendocino Complex of Fires in Northern California was victim to having their data rate reduced to 1/200th of their regular rate.
According to The Verge:
The company says it has since removed all speed cap restrictions for first responders on the West Coast and in Hawaii, with the plan to continue doing so during future disasters. Verizon will also launch a new service plan next week that’ll cater to first responders and will feature unlimited data with no caps on mobile solutions. That plan will include priority access.
The Command and Control vehicle’s primary function is to track, organize, and prioritize routing of resources from around the state and country to the sites where they are most needed. OES 5262 relies heavily on the internet to do near-real-time resource tracking.
The Santa Clara Fire Department that operates OES 5262 had a Verizon plan advertised as having “unlimited data”. However the fine print in the contract allowed Verizon to throttle the Fire Department’s data to a fraction of the regular rate after a limit was reached.
While fighting the fire, one of the captains operating the equipment complained to Verizon that the command and control unit had been so hobbled that “it has no meaningful functionality”. The battle with the fire morphed into a fight with Verizon as fire department personnel fought with the company about restoring their “unlimited” data rate. Eventually after getting various sections in Verizon and the Fire Department involved, the cell phone plan in OES 5262 was upgraded to a more expensive plan that had more capability.
In a perfect world the fire department might have known in advance that their “unlimited data” was a gross deception by Verizon and could have switched to a more expensive plan that perhaps didn’t have such severe throttling issues. Or, Verizon would not have described the plan as unlimited, since it wasn’t. Or, Verizon could have un-throttled them very quickly after receiving the department’s first complaint and worked out the details later. But none of that happened.
On August 22 in our article about the throttling, we wrote:
The intentionally misleading use of the term “unlimited” by the four cell phone carriers is part of the problem here. The FCC and the Federal Trade Commission should do their job and stop this practice.
The issue has also fired up politicians in Washington. In a letter to the FTC signed August 24 by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and 12 other representatives, they wrote.
…Unfortunately, with its repeal of the 2015 Open Internet Order, the FCC has abdicated its jurisdiction over broadband communications and walked away from protecting consumers, including public safety agencies. We, therefore, call on the FTC to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices stemming from this incident.
It is unacceptable for communications providers to deceive their customers, but when the consumer in question is a government entity tasked with fire and emergency services, we can’t afford to wait a moment longer. The FTC must investigate whether Verizon and other communications companies are being unfair or deceptive in the services they’re offering to public safety entities, and if so, to determine what remedies are appropriate to ensure our first responders have adequate service when lives are on the line.
The map above is the forecast for the distribution of wildfire smoke at 6 p.m. MDT August 25, 2018. The states being the hardest hit today include California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
Below are the areas under Red Flag Warnings (red) on August 25 and Fire Weather Watches (yellow).
Areas under Red Flag Warnings (red) on August 25 and Fire Weather Watches (yellow).Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized3 Comments on Tatanka Hotshots assist at major accident 
While en route to the the Hirz Fire in northern California the Tatanka Hotshots came upon a major accident. According to the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, they were the first on scene and assisted the EMT’s and helped with traffic control until additional emergency services units arrived.
Thanks for your service, Tatanka!
The crew, formed in 1999, is based out of Custer, South Dakota on the Black Hills National Forest.
The Hirz Fire has burned 24,098 acres north of Redding, California.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Wildfire in Germany sets off WWII ammunition Firefighters are being kept out of the area
Firefighters in Germany are having to deal with a unique hazard at a wildfire 30 miles southwest of Berlin — old rusting ammunition left over from World War II. After several detonations, firefighters are not being allowed to enter certain areas. They are using water-dropping helicopters and water cannons on fire engines to slow the fire in the dangerous areas.
The fire has burned approximately 660 acres.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the munitions that are exploding include grenades. Below is an excerpt from their article:
Some of the heaviest fighting in World War II took place in the forests outside Berlin, starting with the battle at the Seelow Heights on April 16, 1945. More than 2.5 million Soviets launched their attack on and around Berlin with some 6,000 tanks and 7,000 warplanes. The area was left littered with ammunition, grenades and other explosives.
Some of the munitions and ordnance in the area could also have been left behind by Soviet troops who occupied and engaged in “war games” with training exercises in the forests around Berlin during the Cold War.
In July firefighters in Germany also had to contend with WWII munitions at a fire near Fichtenwalde.
The fire is in north-central Washington 10 miles west of Winthrop
Above: The Crescent Mountain Fire on August 15, 2018. Inciweb photo.
(Originally published at 1:50 p.m. PDT August 24, 2018)
The Crescent Mountain Fire in north-central Washington has burned over 40,000 acres since a lightning strike started it on July 29. The fire is being managed at least in some areas as a less than full suppression fire. One of the primary reasons as you can see in the 3-D map below, is that the west side is burning into sparse vegetation above 7,000 feet in steep, remote, inaccessible terrain.
The fire is about 10.5 miles west of both Twisp and Winthrop, Washington.
Evacuation orders are in effect for West Buttermilk Creek Road and Twisp River Road, west of the Buttermilk Creek intersection.
Northwest winds on Thursday caused the fire to be very active. The area with the greatest growth was on the south slope above the Twisp River on both sides of Scaffold Canyon and up to Scaffold Ridge. It has burned down to the West Fork of Buttermilk Creek.
Firefighters provided structural protection and assistance to homes along the Twisp River corridor throughout the day Thursday. Air operations were able to effectively slow the advance of the fire.
On the southwest side crews continue to monitor the fire within North Cascades National Park. Most of the fire is on land administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
