The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is beginning a study to help determine how wildfires spread through a Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). Many studies have found that structures are primarily ignited during a wildfire by burning embers that are lofted into the air and then land on or near buildings.
Without research, NIST says, building codes and standards do not provide adequate protection to structures within the WUI. More specifically, codes and standards do not adequately address the range of exposures during a WUI fire – especially firebrand or ember exposures.
Emberometer
NIST intends to develop a device which will help them learn more about burning embers. They are calling this instrument a “emberometer”. During the next two years, the researchers plan to fabricate and test an “emberometer” design developed for laboratory settings. Once initial testing is complete, a new design will be developed for an “emberometer” that can be used in controlled field experiments and actual WUI fire events (i.e., outside of the laboratory setting). Once fabrication for the “outdoor emberometer” is completed, NIST will identify field teams that can employ the instrument to collect exposure information on firebrands (embers) during field studies, and initial data collection to characterize firebrand (ember) exposure can begin.
How you can help
Fire photographers who have taken photographs of WUI fires with significant firebrand activity are encouraged to share their pictures and videos for analysis. If you are interested, contact Erica Kuligowski at erica.kuligowski@nist.gov or 301-975-2309 for guidelines.
A BAe-146 drops retardant on the Owens River Fire. Photo by Justin Benttinen.
(UPDATED at 2:43 p.m. PDT September 20, 2016)
The spread of the Owen River Fire in eastern California 36 miles northwest of Bishop moderated on Monday. A heat-sensing satellite only detected a couple of large heat sources on the fire during a Monday afternoon overflight. This does not mean the fire is almost out; there are no doubt many small heat sources that the satellite could not detect from 200 miles above the earth.
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(Originally published at 3:29 p.m. PDT September 19, 2016)
The Owens River Fire has burned at least 6,000 acres in eastern California 36 miles northwest of Bishop. It is approximately 6 to 8 miles from two popular ski areas, Mammoth Mountain and June Mountain. According to a report from a Californian who contacted us, at one point three Very Large Air Tankers, DC-10’s, were dispatched to the fire.
It started during the afternoon of September 17th and is burning sagebrush and Jeffrey pine along Owens River Road near Clark Canyon, east of Highway 395.
Four uninhabited outbuildings and several pieces of heavy equipment were destroyed during the initial response Saturday.
The Big Springs Campground, Clark Canyon (a popular climbing area), and nearby ranches and developments have been evacuated. The Owens River Road and the Whitmore Springs Roads are closed.
There are 483 personnel, 9 hand crews, 48 engines, 3 air tankers, 7 helicopters, 3 dozers, and 6 water tenders assigned to the fire.
The dots represent heat detected on the Owen River Fire by a satellite. The red dots, the most recent, were observed at 3:30 a.m. PDT September 19, 2016.
The cause of the fire is under investigation but appears to be human-caused.
A C-130 at the Owens River Fire.Owens River Fire as seen by Anton Brey from Mammoth Mountain.
Above: Canyon Fire at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the southern California coast, September 18, 2016. Photo by Michael Peterson.
(UPDATED at 12:11 p.m. PDT September 20, 2016)
The Canyon wildfire on Vandenberg Air Force Base on the southern California coast grew by over 5,000 acres on Monday and has now burned 10,542 acres according to officials on the base Monday morning.
Map of the perimeter of the Canyon Fire at 11 p.m. PDT September 19, 2016. Click to enlarge.
Launch complexes for rockets and liquid oxygen facilities are currently threatened. Evacuations have occurred for some areas on the south side of the base.
SLO County OES engines protecting a liquid oxygen plant at Vandenberg AFB from heavy fire conditions yesterday at the Canyon Incident. pic.twitter.com/bmw7jEKS1X
The fire has spread to within less than a mile of Space Launch Complex 3 north of the perimeter where the launch of a Saturn V rocket scheduled for September 18 had to be postponed. The fire has also burned very close to Space Launch Complex 8 on the southwest side of the blaze.
The red line was the perimeter of the Canyon Fire at 11 p.m. PDT September 19, 2016. The white line was the perimeter approximately 24 hours before. Click to enlarge.
The weather on the fire varies greatly due to the proximity to the Pacific Ocean. Where the fire is burning adjacent to Space Launch Complex 8 it is only a few thousand feet from the coast at 400 feet above sea level. The ridge in the interior of the fire is at 1,500 feet. The relative humidity, wind direction, wind speed, and temperature have been very different along the coast, the interior of the fire, and at Lompoc. The minimum humidity ranged from 12 to 30 percent in these areas on Monday. On the west side of the fire, which was the most active area, the wind was variable but mostly from the south during the day, but switched to come out of the north after 9 p.m.
The photo below illustrates the variable weather in the area. While there is fog and high humidity in a low-lying area, the fire hauls ass just beyond.
The weather is difficult to forecast because of the above issues, but on Tuesday firefighters should expect more favorable conditions, with temperatures around 70, RH of 30 to 60 percent, and west winds at 9 mph.
(Originally published at 2:20 p.m. PDT September 19, 2016)
A wildfire burning on Vandenberg Air Force Base on the southern California coast delayed the launch of a satellite. As of very early Monday morning the Canyon Fire was approximately a mile from Launch Complex 3, where an Atlas V rocket was scheduled on Sunday to send a WorldView-4 payload into orbit. The satellite will capture high-resolution images of Earth from space.
“Our procedures require stand-by firefighting crews for every launch to ensure safety of our personnel and facility protection,” said Col. Paul Nosek, Emergency Operations Center commander. “We’ve delayed the launch in order to concentrate our resources on the situation at hand.”
No facilities have been damaged by the fire in the remote canyon between Arguello and Santa Ynez Roads.
According to Col. Paul Nosek, no space launch complexes or critical range assets are in immediate danger.
The Canyon Fire on Vandenberg Air Force Base burns about a mile from Launch Complex 3. Inside is the Atlas V rocket. Santa Barbara County Fire photo.
The fire has been burning since September 17. The cause has not been released. Monday morning it was mapped at 4,528 acres. It has caused power outages in several facilities on the south part of the base. Those buildings are currently operating on generator power. The base’s Civil Engineers will sustain the generators until downed electrical lines can be repaired and commercial power is restored to the facilities.
Firefighters are fighting the fire with air tankers, helicopters, dozers from Santa Barbara County Fire, and personnel from federal, state, and local fire agencies. The aircraft are flying out of Santa Maria and Paso Robles airports.
The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite flying over the Canyon Fire at 1:50 a.m. PDT September 19, 2016. The yellow dots were from 5:50 a.m. on Sept. 18. Wildfire Today, MODIS, Google.
The photos below are courtesy of Santa Barbara County Fire.
A firefighter on the Canyon Fire shields his face from the heat.Tanker 06, a P2V, drops on the Canyon Fire.An S2T drops on the Canyon Fire.
The National Weather Service has posted Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches for areas in California, Nevada and Wyoming.
The Red Flag map was current as of 9:30 a.m. MDT on Monday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts and maps. For the most current data visit this NWS site. However, that site has not been properly displaying warning areas in recent days. This one may work better.
A water tender working on the Soberanes Fire south of Monterey, California last month had a very close call. While driving on a dirt road the right-rear tires slipped off the edge of the road as the soft dirt gave way. Luckily it did not continue sliding or roll down the steep slope.
A dozer and a Rapid Extraction Module responded, and after stabilizing the large truck, the dozer began to pull it out using a tow strap and for backup, a chain, both connected at the same time. As the strap stretched, some of the stress was transferred to the chain. Since the driver, who was in the truck to steer and maintain control after it was pulled out, had not yet let the clutch out, the chain quickly snapped. But they eventually extracted the truck using the tow strap.
The video below shows it being pulled out.
The Rapid Extraction Module probably didn’t anticipate they’d be assisting with THAT type of extraction. An article on Wildfire Today from September of 2015 has more information about what they normally do.
