News and opinion about wildland fire
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Red Flag Warnings in seven states, November 27, 2017 The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings in areas of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri.
The map was current as of 7:47 a.m. MST on Monday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.
The fire started Friday morning, November 25
Above: Air Tanker 103, an MD-87, drops on a wildfire on Vandenberg Air Force Base November 24, 2017. Photo by Vandenberg Fire Department.
(Originally published at 9:08 a.m. PST November 25, 2017)
A wildfire that was reported at about 9:30 a.m. Friday burned 380 acres on Vandenberg Air Force base in Southern California before the spread was stopped six hour later. Personnel in the area were evacuated and there were no reports of damaged structures. Firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service and Santa Barbara County assisted the Vandenberg Fire Department in attacking the blaze.
There was confusion about the name of the fire — it has been called Ensalada, Encelada, and Encelados, but it burned adjacent to Ensaladus Road. Information sources that usually provide reliable information on wildfires, such as InciWeb and the Southern California Coordination Center, did not provide information on their public websites, but the 30th Space Wing referred to it as “Encelados Fire”
Check out the photo on the right below.
Air tankers attack #EnsaladaFire at Vandenberg AFB off El Rancho Rd. pic.twitter.com/WNXON7atm1
— Len Wood (@lwood83) November 24, 2017
#VegFire- #EnsaladaFire – UPDATE-An MD-87 makes a Phos-chek drop near the fire. Fire is 100 acres with 10% contain. Fire is burning away from town of Casmalia and is entirely on VAFB. Photos by Div Chief Woody Enos/SBC. Pls try & continue to contact VAFB PA for further updates. pic.twitter.com/uUP8ZzvEIk
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) November 24, 2017
Always amazed at the seamless integration of the fire departments of the Central Coast. 100 Firefighters from Vandenberg, Santa Barbara County, Lompoc, Santa Maria, and Los Padres combatted a wind driven fire on Vandenberg stopping it at 380 acres. pic.twitter.com/DKd7yUAlBv
— Mark Smith (@MarkThomasSmith) November 25, 2017
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Wildfire east of Black Hills burns 291 acres The fire appears to have started from grinding and welding operations on a railroad line
Above: Dry Creek Fire, November 22, 2017. Photo by Josephine Weekley, Fairburn VFD.
(Originally published at 1:33 p.m. MST November 24, 2017)
A wildfire east of the Black Hills of South Dakota burned 291 acres between Hermosa and Fairburn November 22. It occurred on a day when the weather station at Rapid City Regional Airport recorded wind gusts up to 42 mph and a minimum relative humidity of 29 percent. The suspected cause, Jim Strain, Assistant Chief at the Fairburn Fire Department said, was railroad maintenance that included welding and grinding on the tracks.
The fast moving fire threatened structures on several ranches but was knocked down by 4 p.m. the same day. It was declared controlled Friday, November 24.
Railroads start many wildfires in the United States. The most common causes are inadequately maintained spark arrestors, faulty brakes, and like in this case, grinding and welding. Too often the companies are not held accountable or required to pay for the costs of suppressing the fires.
(articles on Wildfire Today tagged “railroad”)
“rescEU”, if approved, would establish a reserve force of air tankers and other firefighting equipment
Above: file photo of air tankers, mostly water scoopers, at Dryden (Ontario, Canada) Regional Airport in June, 2015 before they were dispersed around the province to deal with the rising number of wildfires. Photo by Chris Sherwin.
(Originally published at 10:55 a.m. MDT November 24, 2017)
The proposal would complement national assets and would be managed by the European Commission in order to support countries hit by disasters such as floods, forest fires, earthquakes and epidemics. Alone in 2017, over 200 people were killed by natural disasters in Europe and over one million hectares of forest have been destroyed.
President Jean-Claude Juncker said:
Europe can’t be on the side-lines when our Member States suffer from natural disasters and need help. No country in Europe is immune to natural disasters which have sadly become the new normal. When a disaster strikes, I want the European Union to offer more than condolences.
“rescEU” would create an EU civil protection response reserve of civil protection assets to assist Member States in responding to disasters, when national capacities are overwhelmed. rescEU would include assets, such as firefighting aircraft and water pumping equipment, to complement national capacities. All costs and capacities of rescEU would be fully covered by EU financing, with the Commission retaining the operational control of these assets and deciding on their deployment.
In parallel, the Commission would assist Member States to boost their national capacities, by financing the adaptation, repair, transport and operation costs of their existing resources – whereas today only transportation costs are covered. The assets would become part of a shared pool of emergency response resources under the European Civil Protection Pool, and would be made available for deployment when disaster strikes.
So far in 2017 over 200 people have been killed by natural disasters in Europe. Since 1980, as well as the human cost, EU Member States have lost over EUR 360 billion in weather and climate extreme events. In Portugal alone, the direct economic damage of forest fire events between June and September is estimated at close to EUR 600 million, representing 0.34% of Portugal’s Gross National Income.
Since its establishment in 2001, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has monitored over 400 disasters and has received over 250 requests for assistance. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism can be activated in response to man-made and natural disasters, but also supports disaster preparedness and prevention.
The EU Civil Protection Mechanism includes all EU Member States as well as several other participating states outside the EU, namely, Iceland, Norway, Serbia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey. rescEU would be extended to these participating states as a sign of European solidarity.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized5 Comments on Looking back at the fatal wildfire that burned into Gatlinburg 14 people were killed and 2,500 structures were damaged or destroyed.
Above: Chimney Tops 2 Fire at 9:37 p.m. November 28, 2016 after it had burned into Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Screenshot from the Knox News video.
(Originally published at 11:04 a.m. MST November 23, 2017)
As the one year anniversary of the deadly Chimney Tops 2 Fire approaches, Knox News will be publishing a series of articles about the fire that burned into Gatlinburg, Tennessee on November 28, 2016 killing 14 people, forcing 14,000 to evacuate, destroying or damaging 2,500 structures, and blackening 17,000 acres. Part 1 appeared yesterday along with the video below that includes interviews with first responders and residents, 911 recordings, and dash cam imagery of the fire in Gatlinburg.
Among other issues that came to light about how the fire was managed, the video has an example related to the evacuation. At 7:12 p.m. on November 28 the Gatlinburg Fire Department Captain that was the commander at the time of the firefighting forces working the wildfire in the city, recommended that the single siren, intended to be used for flood warnings, be activated to notify residents and tourists to evacuate. It was not done. Twice more he made the recommendation, at 7:15 and 7:50, but the 911 recordings did not detect a reply. At 8:20 p.m. the Fire Chief ordered a complete evacuation of the city and at 8:30 the siren was activated.
The article has quotes from a piece that we wrote on June 13, 2016 about the decisions made by Great Smoky Mountains National Park personnel during the first five days while the fire was much smaller.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Erik.
Typos or errors, report them HERE.
The incident occurred October 18 on the Nuns Fire in Northern California
Above: photo from the report.
(Originally published at 10:28 a.m. MST November 22, 2017)
A report has been released about a near miss that occurred October 18 on the Nuns Fire between Santa Rosa and Napa, California. According to the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center’s summary of the incident there were no injuries on the five-person crew but the truck sustained major damage from a falling tree.
Data from the National Interagency Fire Center shows that between 1990 and 2014 18 firefighters were killed by hazardous trees.
Below is an excerpt from the report about the incident on the Nuns Fire:
On the Nuns Fire on the morning of October 18 at approximately 1145, during mop up operations, a large (60-inch DBH) fire-weakened, green Douglas fir tree fell from upslope, at a 90 degree angle, and landed across the hood of an engine that was parked on the road below with two people inside.
The five-person engine crew had been assigned to evaluate and identify hazards for the MM Division Supervisor.
In addition to patrolling, as the engine crew moved through the burned area, they were also mopping up hotspots along the roadside.
The crew had scouted the road to the end and were working their way back, suppressing hotspots.
The Engine Boss stopped the engine directly below a large green tree with fire and smoke coming from its base—which was obscured by unburned brush. One crewmember dragged hose from the live reel toward the base of the tree while another crewmember helped with hose deployment from the back of the engine. Another crewmember stood on the road as a lookout behind the engine.
The Engine Boss and Engine Boss Trainee remained in the engine’s front seats writing intel information for the Division Supervisor that had been gathered from their scouting mission.
The Engine Boss would later explain:
Intel for the Division Supervisor had not been passed forward and he (the Division Supervisor) had not sent anyone into the area for three days. We knew there were hazard trees in there and had received a good briefing. You just don’t look at a green tree with smoke at the base with green stuff all around it and think to yourself that this thing’s coming down any second. That’s just another smoke for the rest of the crew to knock out. We had knocked out half a dozen smokes before going down that road.
Approximately 90 seconds after assessing the base of the tree and spraying it with water, crewmembers outside of the engine began yelling that the tree was starting to fall. Crewmembers on the road moved quickly down the road. The Engine Boss didn’t put the engine into reverse because he couldn’t see if any of the crew was behind the engine. He attempted to move forward, but the tree had already fallen and hit a large oak tree across the road from the engine.
Oak Tree Reduces Impact onto Engine
The full impact of the falling tree split the large oak in half. The oak tree was located approximately 40 feet in front of the engine. The oak reduced the impact and possibly the location of impact to the engine. Ultimately, the 60-inch wide and 120-foot tall fir landed across the hood of the engine.
The impact caused major damage to the engine, impaling a branch in the hood and shattering the windshield. While all crewmembers were stunned, everyone was physically OK.
Afterwards, one of the crewmembers said: “We were making the area safe for someone, we were doing our job.”
The engine crew was on their eighth day on this fire and had been assigned to four different Divisions. The crew was frustrated by lack of assignment continuity. The area that the crew was working in appeared to have had chainsaw work prior to their assignment.
A brief defusing was conducted at ICP [Incident Command post] by PEER staff assigned to the incident.
