These can be effective as long as the wind is at the firefighter’s back. If it is not, embers can be lifted and then blown across the fireline, spreading the fire.
Category: Uncategorized
Smokey Bear becomes an issue at Senate Hearing
As the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources conducted a hearing to consider the nomination of Montana Representative Ryan Zinke to be the new Secretary of the Interior, Smokey Bear became an issue.
The Committee also discussed the Chimney Tops 2 Fire that in November burned into Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Chimney Tops 2 Fire discussed at Senate Confirmation Hearing
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Chimney Tops 2 Fire discussed at Senate Confirmation Hearing Today the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources conducted a hearing to consider the nomination of Montana Representative Ryan Zinke to be the new Secretary of the Interior. I watched a portion of it and two items caught my attention.
Mr. Zinke said in no uncertain terms that he was against turning over federal land to states or other organizations. In fact it has been reported that he resigned from the Republican National Committee this summer when they insisted on making land divestiture a part of their platform.
The other issue was the Chimney Tops 2 Fire that in November burned from Great Smoky Mountains National Park into Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We captured this 3-minute portion of the hearing in the video above. The fire killed 14 people and destroyed 2,013 homes and 53 commercial structures. Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander wanted assurance from Mr. Zinke that he would commit to “paying close attention” to a scheduled review of the incident “so that we can see if there are any lessons to be learned for the future”. Mr. Zinke said, “Senator, I will absolutely commit to that.”
Mr. Alexander also made a pitch to increase the funding for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, arguing that the agreement when the land bought by the people and given to the federal government stipulated that entrance fees could not be charged. He said Yellowstone NP has half as many visitors as Smoky MNP but twice the budget. The Senator did not mention that Yellowstone is almost four times as large, 522,427 acres vs. 2,219,791 acres
After the hearing concludes a video recording of the entire event will be available at the Committee’s website.
For the most current information about the Chimney Tops 2 Fire at Gatlinburg, see our articles tagged “Chimney 2 Fire”.
Typos or errors, report them HERE.
Three firefighters killed in Chile wildfire
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Three firefighters killed in Chile wildfire At least four other firefighters were injured.
Three wildland firefighters were killed Sunday January 15 while battling a fire in the commune of Vichuquén, Maule Region of Chile. An ongoing drought and variable winds led to extreme fire behavior when the accident occurred.
According to Cooperative.cl the deceased were identified as:
- Ricardo Salas, head of the Maqui 3 brigade,
- Wilfredo Salgado, crew chief Maqui 3 and,
- Sergio Faúndez, head of the second crew Maqui 6.
Below is another quote from the above website. It is translated by Google and is a little rough:
The manager of Fire Protection Conaf, Andrés Mascareñ or, noted that 14 years ago no such fact occurred in the region and said that activate the relevant protocols to protect personnel.
“Since 2003 we did not have an accident of this level and all these years we have been presenting a critical situation of forest fires and we have faced them properly,” said the executive.
“According to the protocol we have, when situations such as these occur, the tasks are stopped and measures of safeguarding the personnel are taken,” added Mascareño.
Because this incident has consumed about 50 hectares of pine and presents a conflictive behavior, given the high temperatures and wind generating new outbreaks of fire, the Municipality of Maule decreed for the commune of Vichuquén Red Alert until conditions so They deserve it.
Firefighters in Chile have been very busy in recent weeks. The pilot of a single engine air tanker was killed December 28 when the aircraft crashed about 15 kilometers from the town of Santa Juana after working on a wildfire in the Bío Bío region.
Presidenta Bachelet lamentó muerte de brigadistas de Conaf y expresó su reconocimiento al trabajo que realizan: https://t.co/THFMsLFfnV pic.twitter.com/hf1h7BEBnM
— Cooperativa (@Cooperativa) January 15, 2017
Google translation of the above tweet:
President Bachelet lamented death of Brigadiers of Conaf and expressed its appreciation for the work carried out.
Our sincere condolences go out to the families and coworkers.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to @Tragahumosfire.
Typos or errors, report them HERE.
Currandoole Fire burns 6,000 acres near Tarago, NSW
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized2 Comments on Currandoole Fire burns 6,000 acres near Tarago, NSW 
Above: A helicopter flies over the Currandooley Fire near Tarago. New South Wales Rural Fire Service photo.
The Currandoole Fire has burned 6,054 acres (2,450 ha) and one structure in the Boro and Mount Fairy area south of Tarago, New South Wales.
On Tuesday a severe thunderstorm moved across the fire and dropped some rain, but not enough to extinguish the blaze. Firefighters will continue to strengthen containment lines Tuesday night ahead of challenging hot, dry and windy conditions predicted for Wednesday.
The DC-10 and RJ85 air tankers were dispatched and assisted firefighters on the ground.
A briefing in New South Wales
Above photo by New South Wales Rural Fire Service
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service, in the middle of their down under bushfire season, posted this photo yesterday with the following description:
Multi-agency briefing held this morning at NSW RFS State Operations Centre, ensuring all involved are aware and sharing details of current situation and latest weather forecasts for today. Currently we have 18 fires across NSW, 5 of which are yet to be contained. There are are over 60 vehicles and 200 personnel deployed, as well as 4 Rapid Aerial Response Teams (RART) and 20 aircraft tasked to assist.
UPDATE January 18, 2017: here is a better photo of the NSW RFS State Operations Center on January 18, 2017:
