About 67 structures have burned, including about 30 homes and numerous vehicles.
Above: The yellow dots represent heat detected by a satellite over the Timberon Fire at 2:10 a.m. MDT July 14, 2016. Click to enlarge.
A wildfire has burned through a portion of the town of Timberon in south-central New Mexico destroying approximately 30 homes 22 air miles southeast of Alamogordo. The fire started July 13 and burned 290 acres before firefighters completed a fireline around the perimeter.
One engine from the Timberon Volunteer Fire Department burned after a mechanical failure. An update provided Friday by incident management team said approximately 30 vehicles were destroyed or damaged, including 14 recreational vehicles.
The Type 4 incident management team headed by Caleb Finch transitioned to the Type 3 Pecos team led by Tom Barta Friday morning.
Five members of the Mid-Plains Interagency Hand Crew received minor injuries.
File photo of the Mid-Plains Interagency Hand Crew at the Beaver Creek Fire in Colorado. It was posted July 4, 2016 on the Mid-Plains Crew’s Facebook Page. The composition of the crew on July 15, the day of the vehicle accident, may have been different.
Two vehicles transporting members of the Mid-Plains Interagency Hand Crew were involved in a serious vehicle accident Thursday afternoon.
Five of the firefighters were transported to the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colorado where they were treated and released with minor injuries.
At the time of the accident they were on Interstate 25 near Fort Collins en route to the Hayden Pass Fire south of Salida, Colorado. Traffic ahead of them came to an abrupt halt and the two vehicles were able to stop but the one in the rear had to swerve to the left to avoid the first crew vehicle.
A semi truck behind them tried to stop but careened into both firefighter vehicles, pushing the second truck into a cable median. A fuel tank on the semi truck ruptured, spilling about 50 gallons of fuel on the highway.
One of the crewmembers is a paramedic who was carrying Advanced Life Support equipment. That individual took charge of the medical response immediately at the accident scene.
The word we received is that both firefighter vehicles were totaled.
The Mid-Plains Interagency Type 2 Initial Attack Hand Crew can be assembled from a roster of fire-qualified personnel from Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota. They can be from the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, local fire departments, state agencies, or other organizations.
The National Weather service has posted Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches for areas in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. Most, but not all, of the yellow Fire Weather Watch areas in Colorado will be under a Red Flag Warning from noon today until 8 p.m. MDT this evening for gusty winds, low humidities, and dry fuels. Similar conditions will exist Saturday afternoon as well.
The maps were current as of 7:40 a.m. MDT on Friday. 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.
Memorial services have been scheduled for Bureau of Land Management wildland firefighters Jacob O’Malley and Will Hawkins who lost their lives July 10 in a single-vehicle accident July 10 on Nevada State Route 140. The services will take place at the Winnemucca Events Complex Exhibit Hall (map) from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 19, in Winnemucca, Nevada.
The BLM firefighters were returning from duty in the Denio area on their way back to Winnemucca when the accident occurred at about 5:20 p.m. Sunday evening. Jacob, 27, and Will, 22, were killed in the rollover accident. Their coworker, Zachery McElroy, 23, was flown to Renown Medical Center in Reno, where he was treated; he was released Tuesday afternoon. The BLM fire crew was returning from a routine patrol looking for lightning fires in the area when the accident occurred.
The two men both resided in Winnemucca, though Jacob was from Lake Tahoe’s Zephyr Cove and Will was from Reno. The families of Jacob and Will have established private family memorial services in the Lake Tahoe and Reno areas, respectively.
“Everyone is invited to attend the Winnemucca services on Tuesday to honor Jacob and Will – two brave, hardworking firefighters who were dearly loved by their families and coworkers,” said BLM Nevada State Director John Ruhs.
The BLM deployed a Serious Accident Investigation (SAI) team to determine the accident cause and other
information.
The fact that firefighters were able to save this home in the Cold Springs Fire is pretty amazing. Click on the photo once, and then again to see a large version.
(First published at 6:42 a.m. MDT July 14, 2016. Updated at 6:44 p.m. July 14 [added the first two photos].)
A fire in Rapid City, South Dakota that started at 7:25 p.m. on Wednesday burned 13 acres on “M Hill”, a very popular hiking area. A benefactor, Edna Marie “Eddie” Larson, created a trust to fund the construction and maintenance of a 20-mile hiking trail system in the 300-acre Hanson-Larsen Memorial Park.
M Hill Fire by Kalisha JuneM Hill Fire by Kalisha June
