Above: Storm Hill Fire near Hill City, South Dakota. Photo at 4:40 p.m. April 23, 2016 by Jim Burk, SDWF.
(UPDATED at 9:22 a.m. MDT April 25, 2016)
The Storm Hill Fire just east of Hill City, South Dakota has had a fireline around it since early Sunday morning, and as of Monday morning firefighters have “completed a 30-foot security patrol line around all of the fire”. This easily meets the National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s definition of “contained”. However, the incident commander is calling it “75 percent contained”. We generally ignore the containment numbers publicized by incident commanders for this reason.
More accurate mapping determined that the fire has burned 193 acres of public and private lands.
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(Originally published at 7:05 a.m. MDT April 24, 2016)
The Storm Hill Fire has burned approximately 100 acres near the sawmill east of Hill City, South Dakota. After it was reported Saturday afternoon at 2:05 it burned onto private land and the Black Hills National Forest.
Storm Hill Fire April 23, 2016. Photo by Jim Burk, SDWF.
Firefighters completed a burnout operation at 12:30 Sunday morning in fuels that included bug-killed trees. At that time firelines had been established on the east, south and northwest sides.
By Sunday morning at 6:30 a line had been constructed around the entire fire but the Incident Commander was only calling it 50 percent contained.
Highway 385, a primary highway in the Black Hills, was closed, but reopened at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Storm Hill Fire April 23 by Jim Burk, SDWF.Storm Hill Fire near MItchell Lake just off Highway 385 at 11:15 p.m. April 23. Photo by Rob Lehmann, SDWF.
The use of an unmanned aerial system, or drone, to ignite a portion of the prescribed fire at Homestead National Monument west of Beatrice, Nebraska appeared to be successful, according to the participants we talked with at the completion of the project. After the perimeter was ignited by hand using drip torches, the drone launched to the interior and dropped plastic spheres which burst into flame about a minute after landing on the ground. The spheres are similar to the ones dropped by helicopters for aerial ignition on large wildfires and prescribed fires. This project was 26 acres of grass that had received heavy rain which ended about 30 hours earlier. The ground was wet but the thatch was mostly dry and greenup had started. The temperature was in the high 60s and the relative humidity was around 40 percent. The wind was light, a few miles an hour.
The drone only holds 13 spheres, compared to the hundreds or more that fit into the hopper of a full size machine carried by a piloted helicopter. The drone made around half a dozen or so sorties, returning to the launch spot each time to reload. It followed a predetermined pattern each time, flying to its assignment, dropping the spheres in a line, then returning.
After the first sortie it returned with its full load of spheres. A radio communication problem prevented the deployment of the devices. After this was worked out it went fairly smoothly. At several points, however, the hand igniters had to wait for the drone to launch and light its assigned locations before the firefighters could continue working their way around the perimeter.
Most likely these bugs can be worked out.
A drone is launched to ignite a portion of a prescribed fire at Homestead National Monument.Staff from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln introduce unmanned aerial systems, or drones, that were used to ignite a portion of a prescribed fire at Homestead National Monument.
Below is a video report about the project. It includes images from the burn plus interviews with five key members of the team that helped make it happen.
On April 18 the staff at Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania conducted a 36-acre prescribed fire at Munshower field and a portion of the Trostle woodlot. The overall objectives were to maintain the conditions of the battlefield as experienced by the soldiers who fought there, perpetuate the open space character of the landscape, maintain wildlife habitat, control invasive exotic species, reduce shrub and woody species components, and reduce fuels in wooded areas to reduce fire hazard.
The photos are provided by the National Park Service.
Skyline Drive is closed from Swift Run (mile 65) to Loft Mountain (mile 79).
(UPDATED at 3:15 p.m. EDT, April 27, 2016)
The Rocky Mtn Fire in Shenandoah National Park was recently mapped at 10,326 acres, covering about half of the “Maximum Management Area” established by the Incident Management Team and the Park.
There was rain on the fire Tuesday and more is expected off and on for the next seven days. Considering the forecast and ongoing spring green-up, incident meteorologist Phil Manuel stated that for this area, “Fire weather season is done”.
In the video below, Superintendent Jim Northup describes the 20,000-acre Maximum Management Area within which Shenandoah National Park hopes to contain the Rocky Mtn Fire.
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(UPDATED at 10:35 p.m. EDT, April 21, 2016)
Nicole Mittendorff, 31, of Woodbridge, Virginia.
There is news related to the disappearance of 31-year-old Nicole Mittendorff, the missing firefighter from Fairfax, Virginia whose car was found in Shenandoah National Park. She was first reported missing Friday of last week when she did not show up at the fire station for her shift. At approximately 2:00 p.m. today a ground team of National Park Service and Virginia State Police personnel discovered a body in a remote location more than a mile from the Whiteoak Canyon parking area and about 330 yards from the trail in treacherous rocky terrain. National Park Service and Virginia State Police are currently still processing the scene. The search has been suspended. WTOP reports that the Virginia State Police and the family believe the remains are those of Ms. Mittendorff.
The car and the remains were about 22 miles from the Rocky Mount Fire. There has been no report so far that this incident is related to the wildfire.
As of Thursday afternoon, the fire has burned 7,935 acres.
On Wednesday fire crews improved containment lines by burning out vegetation between the fire and eight miles of containment lines along the northern & northwestern perimeter of the fire. Additional fire line preparation was successfully completed along the Skyline Parkway. Work continues on several dozer lines along the western side of the fire to tie together existing terrain features.
With the changing and variable winds Wednesday fire crews picked up multiple spot fires, catching and containing all of them. These included: on the south eastern side, a spot fire north of the Patterson Ridge Trail west of the Plainfield hut, one small one on the northwest corner of the fire and 6 small spot fires near the One Mile Trail Run.
After it’s been burning for five days, the Incident Management Team put out word today that the name is now “Rocky Mtn Fire 2016”.
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(UPDATED at 1:40 p.m. EDT, April 20, 2016)
Shenandoah National Park Superintendent Jim Northup at a morning briefing at the Rocky Mount Fire. NPS photo.
The Rocky Mount Fire in Shenandoah National Park has expanded to 5,600 acres, according to the Type 1 incident management team that assumed command of the fire Wednesday morning. The fire is burning in mountain laurel, pine, and oak forests with heavy leaf litter.
On Tuesday afternoon the fire burned across Skyline Drive blackening 80 to 100 acres on the east side of the highway near mile marker 76. Today crews are actively suppressing that portion of the fire, assisted by two water dropping helicopters.
Firefighters conducted a burnout operation near the Beldor Hollow Community to help contain the fire to that area. Crews expect the fire will hold at Beldor Hollow Road.
The fire progressed south near Brown Mountain Trail on Tuesday and was active overnight near Two Mile Run Lane. The Virginia Department of Forestry crews monitored the area overnight. Fire crews are providing structure protection near the Two Mile Run and Lam Hollow communities.
Firefighting resources assigned, available, or en route include two air tankers, four helicopters, six engines, for a total of 248 personnel.
