On Monday astronaut Jerry Williams posted these photos on Twitter from the International Space Station showing the Hayden Pass Fire 17 air miles southeast of Salida, Colorado
Located near Canon City Colorado, the Hayden Pass Fire looks menacing from space. Be careful down there. pic.twitter.com/1e6XZgVeNU
Perhaps with too much time on my hands I thought it would be interesting to attempt to duplicate them using Google Earth images with labeled landmarks. Click on the photos below to see larger versions.
Below, the first and third images are Mr. William’s, while the second and fourth are from Google Earth. The photos are looking east.
The smaller smoke in the distance may be the Hairy Fire on Ft. Carson south of Colorado Springs.
The red fire perimeter was the location of the fire at 11 p.m. MDT on July 12. The white line is from 10 p.m. on July 11. Mr. Williams posted his photos on July 11.
In this video that NASA published today the agency explains their role in working with the U.S. Forest Service in developing a fire shelter that would hopefully increase the survival chances of a wildland firefighter entrapped in a vegetation fire. NASA is looking at materials they have used or plan to use on spacecraft that could reflect heat, provide some insulation from the outside temperatures which can exceed 2,000 degrees F, is thin and flexible enough to be folded and easily carried, is durable enough to be carried by tactical athletes for years, and weighs less than five pounds. That’s tough criteria.
They have been working on this for about a year, which we have covered here and here. When I saw that they had just published this video, I assumed they would report on their progress, saying perhaps that they had selected a new very promising space age material and would be make a bunch of prototypes for rigorous testing. But no. In the five-minute video they simply say they are looking at materials.
Maybe I’m naive, thinking that when the vast resources of NASA are used to design a fairly straightforward product with no circuit boards or interplanetary radios, after a year their scientists could report at least SOME progress.
The video simply stops after five minutes and 18 seconds. There is no conclusion, no timetable is laid out, and there is no cause for celebration or hope. The video just ends. Like the final episode of The Sopranos.
During a training exercise a volunteer firefighter fell from a helicopter.
A firefighter with the Lewes Fire Department in Delaware was killed Monday night when he fell from a State Police helicopter during monthly hoist training.
..”Two volunteer firemen, along with a pilot and a trooper medic, were on board the helicopter,” said DSP spokesman Sgt. Richard Bratz. “As one of the firefighters stepped out onto the skid, at an undetermined height, he fell to the grassy area below the helicopter. At that point, the helicopter immediately landed, and the trooper medic and volunteer firefighter on board immediately responded and began medical assistance.”
Other firefighters rushed to the scene and assisted, Bratz said. The firefighter was transported to Beebe Healthcare, where he was pronounced dead. No one else on the scene got medical attention…
It is with deep, deep regret that the Officers and Members of the Lewes Fire Department announce the passing of one of our own earlier today. Further details on remembrance services are to follow.
Our sincere condolences go out to the friends and family of the firefighter.
Hayden Pass Fire at noon July 14, 2016. InciWeb photo.
The Hayden Pass Fire near Coaldale, Colorado grew by about 1,000 acres on Thursday and has now burned approximately 15,700 acres.
The incident management team reported Thursday night that they received more helicopters and seemed to imply that suppression of the fire had been hampered by a shortage of aircraft:
Additional helicopters arrived, enabling firefighters to utilize seven ships this afternoon, performing water drops and vital reconnaissance for fires that begin outside the fire perimeter.
Evacuations, road, area and trail closures are in effect and one structure has been destroyed.
The fire has spread south towards the Lake Creek drainage and west of the Duckett fire scar of 2011. Structural protection teams are installing sprinkler systems and removing vegetation around some structures out ahead of the fire.
3-D Map of the Hayden Pass Fire looking northwest toward Salida. The red line was the perimeter at 10 p.m. MDT July 14, 2016. The white line was the perimeter two days earlier. Click to enlarge.
The weather forecast for the Coaldale area for Friday and Saturday predicts temperatures in the low to mid-80s, southwest winds at 8 to 10 mph, and relative humidities in the low teens with very little chance of rain. Parts of Colorado will be under Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches Friday and Saturday.
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(UPDATE at 1:30 p.m. MDT July 14, 2016)
Hayden Pass Fire at 3 p.m. July 10, 2016. InciWeb photo.
The incident management team for the Hayden Pass Fire issued the information below as part of a Thursday morning update:
…Crews are actively suppressing the fire outside of the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness utilizing structure defense, direct and indirect fire control strategies. Helicopters and air tankers are supporting these strategies, to include retardant drops for structural protection. Firefighting resources are shifting as priorities are completed and new risks are prioritized. Firefighters will continue to suppress the fire using resources and tactics to minimize firefighter risk with the highest probability of success.
The fire continues to burn in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness. Crews are not currently engaging the fire within the wilderness due to complex terrain causing safety concerns; rather, they will closely monitor fire movement and assist Forest Service staff by informing recreationists of area closures…
The update on the fire posted today at InciWeb did not include the revised size of the fire. Members of the media who attended a press conference this morning reported it had grown to more than 14,500 acres.
The way the U.S. Forest Service describes the management strategy of these less-than-full-suppression wildfires is confusing — to the public and even some firefighters. Officially the Hayden Pass Fire is listed as a “monitor/confine/contain” fire rather than “full suppression” like most fires. But the agency and the Information Officers communicating with citizens do not like to discuss that publicly. It can be scary to some when they hear that the government is not pulling out all the stops in order to put out a fire quickly. And it can be disconcerting to think about a fire within sight of hundreds of homes burning from early July until October 1, which is the “completion” date for the Hayden Pass Fire listed in the excerpt below from the National Situation Report. (See “Cnt/Comp” which refers to Contain or Complete, with Contain being suppression, and Complete referring to less-than-full-suppression.)
Information about the Hayden Pass Fire from the National Situation Report, July 14, 2016.Information about the Hayden Pass Fire, from the Rocky Mountain Coordination Center, July 14, 2016.For comparison, this is information about the Cold Springs Fire, from the Rocky Mountain Coordination Center, July 14, 2016.
Below are two video briefings that were posted on Thursday. The first features Incident Commander Jay Esperance. Following that is Operations Section Chief Travis Lipp. Click on the full screen icons to see larger versions.
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(UPDATE at 21:20 p.m. MDT July 13, 2016)
At a 10 a.m. press briefing today a spokesperson for the Hayden Pass Fire said it grew yesterday by about 600 acres to just under 13,000 acres
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(UPDATED at 8:20 a.m. MDT July 13, 2016)
The red line was the perimeter of the Hayden Pass Fire at 11 p.m. MDT July 12, 2016. The white line was the perimeter 25 hours before. Click to enlarge.
The Hayden Pass Fire 17 air miles southeast of Salida, Colorado added less than 1,000 acres on Tuesday mostly through activity on the southeast side but also on the north side. Dozers constructed fireline from Hayden Creek toward Big Cottonwood drainage while a hotshot crew built line from Big Cottonwood drainage toward Hayden Creek and the dozer line. Aircraft were used in those areas to slow the fire and support firefighters on the ground.
The fire is still 1 to 2 miles southwest of Coaldale.
The weather on Wednesday could be conducive to additional fire spread. The forecast for the fire area 3 miles south-southwest of Coaldale predicts 85 degrees, relative humidity in the low teens, and a west wind at 10 to 13 mph.
Map showing the perimeter of the Cold Springs Fire at 1 a.m. MDT July 11, 2016. Click to enlarge.
The Cold Springs Fire has caused evacuations of about 2,000 residents near Nederland, Colorado, 10 miles west of Boulder. The fire, now 606 acres, started at about 1:30 p.m. on July 9 from an escaped campfire. Three transients were camping on private property and failed to extinguish the campfire they had Thursday night, according to the Boulder County Sheriff personnel, who arrested two of the three people Sunday, Jimmy Andrew Suggs, 28, and Zackary Ryan Kuykendall, 26, both of Vinemont, Alabama.
Screen shot from the Daily Camera interview.Booking photos of Jimmy Andrew Suggs (left), 28, and Zackary Ryan Kuykendall (right), 26. Photo by Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.
On Sunday strong winds pushed the Cold Springs Fire toward Highway 119 and Boulder Creek Canyon, but firefighters worked overnight to construct fire lines and protect newly-threatened homes. Two very small spot fires on the south side of Boulder Creek Canyon were fully contained. At least 17 engines crews and four 20-person Hotshot crews worked overnight to build fire lines from Highway 119 along the fire’s edge. Crews also conducted burnout operations along Highway 119 to strengthen fire lines.
Aircraft dropped 85,206 gallons of retardant on Saturday and 84,555 gallons on Sunday.
The weather forecast for the fire area on Monday could present problems for firefighters. It predicts 10 to 18 mph west winds gusting at 20 to 30 mph and a relative humidity of 16 percent. Conditions will be more benign on Tuesday.
Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team 2 with Incident Commander Shane Greer assumed command of the fire at 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Map of the Cold Springs Fire at 8 p.m. MDT July 10, 2016.
Two Bureau of Land Management firefighters have been killed and one was injured in a traffic accident in Nevada at about 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Below is a statement released by the BLM Monday morning:
For those of you who haven’t heard, we are sad to inform you of the loss of two BLM firefighters in an engine accident around 5 p.m. yesterday. A third firefighter sustained serious injuries. They had been patrolling near Denio following a lightning storm and were headed back to Winnemucca when they were involved in a single vehicle accident. Although first responders worked valiantly for a different outcome, two did not survive and the third was airlifted to a hospital in Reno. Our hearts and prayers go out to the engine crewmembers’ families, as well as our brother and sister firefighters in the BLM Nevada fire organization. We will post more information at the appropriate time.
Our sincere condolences go out to the family and co-workers of the firefighters.
