News and opinion about wildland fire
This is a screen grab of an Instagram photo posted approximately two weeks before today, February 13, 2017. “406” probably refers to Montana’s area code.
I didn’t know this was a thing. If that is on public land…wrong on so many levels.
Above: Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Watches affect seven states, February 10, 2017.
(UPDATED at 2:57 p.m. MT February 10, 2017)
Evacuations, earlier mostly lifted, have been reinstated for the wildfire west of Longmont, now named the Rogers Fire.
Due to flare ups #RogersFire evacs for people & animals have been reinstated for west of 65th between Nelson & St. Vrain.
— Boulder OEM (@BoulderOEM) February 10, 2017
The name of the fire northwest of Boulder is Wagon Wheel Gap Fire.
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Originally published at 10:07 a.m. MT February 10, 2017.
While Red Flag Warnings and Fire Weather Warnings are in effect in seven states, two fires erupted early Friday morning just outside the warning area in Boulder and Longmont, Colorado.
Before 7 a.m. a grass fire started near the 5000 block of Nelson Road west of Longmont that forced the evacuation of 125 homes. It burned two barns and a haystack before firefighters stopped it at 15 acres.
Just after 8 a.m. a second fire broke out northwest of Boulder near the intersection of Lee Hill Drive and Wagon Wheel Gap Road that required the evacuation of 157 homes. At the last report at 9:10 a.m. it had burned three to five acres.
There is no indication so far that the two fires, 12 miles apart, are related.
The video below shows the fire near Boulder burning in steep terrain.
Video of fire in Wagon Wheel Gap west of #Boulder pic.twitter.com/V0Cnfscfnm
— Paul Aiken (@PaulAikenBDC) February 10, 2017
Strong winds that pushed the fires have also toppled semi-trucks across the state and left 3,960 customers without power in Boulder County.
It is unusual to have wildland fires burn structures and require evacuations only an hour or two after sunrise in mid February. Much of the front range in Colorado has had less snow than usual. When I drove through the area a few days ago there was virtually no snow on the ground near Colorado Springs, Longmont, and Denver, and these are areas above 5,000 feet.
Most of the Red Flag Warnings were issued around 5 a.m. on Friday and will expire at 5 to 6 p.m. local time today, depending on the area.
Wildland firefighters don’t work night shifts as much as we used to, but many of us have experienced a long night when there is not much mopup left to be done and it’s 2 a.m. The temperature is in the 40s or 50s, and the chill starts to creep into our sweat-soaked clothes. We might have thrown some unburned branches onto a smouldering hot spot and encouraged them into flames, seeking a little warmth.
That’s about the simplest campfire there is. But maybe you should step up your game.
Field and Stream has an article describing 10 fancy campfires. This is not your typical missive about how to START a fire with tinder, kindling, and one match. We’ll assume you know that basic stuff. These fires all have a specific purpose, such as burning all night, signaling for help, sheltering the fire from wind, streamlining ignition with duct tape, and building a fire under a tarp.
Do you have hours to kill and need to stay warm? Impress your colleagues with one of these.
A bipartisan group of 76 Congressional Representatives have signed on as sponsors for legislation that would establish a national cancer registry for firefighters diagnosed with this deadly disease. The bill is titled Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2017. (UPDATE March 25, 2019. A version of the legislation was signed into law. The Centers for Disease Control has more information. We expect to write more about this later, in articles tagged “cancer registry“.)
Most firefighters know others in their profession who have suffered from and in some cases died of various forms of cancer.
The British Columbia government recognizes at least nine “presumptive cancers” among firefighters, including leukemia, testicular cancer, lung cancer, brain cancer, bladder cancer, ureter cancer, colorectal cancer, and non-Hodgkins’s lymphoma.
According to Congressmen Bill Pascrell of New Jersey and Chris Collins of New York:
…The creation of this registry would enable researchers to study the relationship between firefighters’ exposure to dangerous fumes and harmful toxins and the increased risk for several major cancers. In the future, this information could also allow for better protective equipment and prevention techniques to be developed.
“Public servants like our firefighters put their lives on the line every day for us,” said Congressman Chris Collins. “Unfortunately, firefighters see a higher rate of cancer than the rest of the public. This legislation will provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the tools they need to improve their data collection capabilities on volunteer, paid-on-call, and career firefighters. We hope that by creating a voluntary ‘Firefighter Registry’ that includes the many variables that occur over a firefighter’s career, the CDC will be able to better study this deadly trend. In the future, this information can be used to provide better safeguards and protocols for these brave men and women.”
The United States Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture have renewed an international arrangement with Australia to continue a partnership that provides mutual assistance for wildland fire preparedness, suppression and post-fire recovery.
These agreements have existed for years but language was added during this revision to enhance prevention and presuppression activities. Here is how the National Wildfire Coordinating Group defines presuppression:
Activities in advance of fire occurrence to ensure effective suppression action. Includes planning the organization, recruiting and training, procuring equipment and supplies, maintaining fire equipment and fire control improvements, and negotiating cooperative and/or mutual aid agreements.
U.S. Embassy Canberra Chargé d’Affaires James Carouso and Emergency Management Australia Director-General Mark Crosweller signed the renewal of the Wildland Fire Management Arrangement January 23, 2017 in Australia. The arrangement builds on 15 years of close collaboration between firefighters, and allows for the sharing of personnel, research, and technology to boost the mutual wildland fire management capabilities.
Since the U.S. and Australia have opposite fire seasons, and because these countries use interchangeable methods and doctrine, a mutually beneficial mechanism was established in 2002 for quickly sharing trained personnel and critical resources.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Jim.
Typos or errors, report them HERE.
