The Florida Forest Service announced that they conducted a five-acre prescribed fire today.
Category: Uncategorized
Wildfire potential March through June, 2016
On March 1 the Predictive Services section at the National Interagency Fire Center issued their Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for March through June, 2016. The data represents the cumulative forecasts of the ten Geographic Area Predictive Services Units and the National Predictive Services Unit.
If their predictions are correct, some areas in the eastern U.S., especially the midwest, will experience above normal activity off and on through June.
Here are the highlights from their outlook. Click on the images to see larger versions.
March
- Above normal significant fire potential from the southern Plains to the Great Lakes due to dry conditions, especially during windy periods.
- Above normal fire potential will continue across the Hawaiian Islands associated with long term drought.
- Below normal significant fire potential will persist across most of the Gulf and East Coasts and most of Puerto Rico.
- Significant fire potential is normal across the remainder of the U.S., which indicates little significant fire potential.
April
- Above normal significant fire potential will expand across the northern Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes states with increasing dryness in these areas.
- Above normal fire potential will continue across the Hawaiian Islands and develop over south central Alaska.
- Below normal significant fire potential will decrease to just coastal areas of the central Gulf and Atlantic coasts and Puerto Rico.
- Significant fire potential will remain normal across the remainder of the U.S., though potential for pre-greenup fire activity increases through early spring.
May through June
- Above normal significant fire potential will develop in the Southwest and continue across Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii and Alaska.
- Fire potential remains below normal along the MidAtlantic coast and Puerto Rico, and drops to below normal in Louisiana and southeastern Texas.
Wildfire briefing, March 1, 2016
Wildfire closes I-15 in northwest Arizona
A fire between St. George and Mesquite late Monday caused Interstate 15 to be closed for several hours. A sheriff’s deputy suffered a broken leg when he attempted to assist a resident who was on the roof of a home using a water hose to keep the fire at bay. Mohave County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Trish Carter said a person burning weeds on his property caused the fire and may face charges.
Hearth closes I-15 in Arizona https://t.co/I8YWSXuOf0 pic.twitter.com/wgme2gVKpS
— BuzzTeller (@BuzzzTeller) March 1, 2016
Pipeline companies ordered to pay $6.5 M in damages from Oklahoma wildfire
From the Insurance Journal:
Two pipelines companies have been ordered to pay more than $6.5 million in damages to more than 70 plaintiffs whose property was destroyed in a 2012 wildfire in Oklahoma.
Court documents say a Payne County jury ordered IPS Engineering L.L.C. and Global Pipeline Construction LLC to pay the damages to be divided among 72 plaintiffs nearly four years after the fire consumed farmland, homes, timber and other property. Tulsa World reports that IPS Engineering was ordered to pay an additional $1 million in punitive damages, and Global Pipeline Construction was ordered to pay $100,000.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer says the nearly 8-mile fire broke out near Glencoe on Aug. 4, 2012, when company employees continued welding despite a statewide burn ban issued the day prior.
Forest Service requests information about suspicious fire
Fire managers on the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona suppressed a suspicious human-caused fire on Sunday, Feb. 28, just west of Buckskinner Park. The Clover fire, which was reported just after
1 p.m., was knocked down by fire personnel and will continue to be monitored. The fire is currently under investigation by Forest Service Law Enforcement. Anyone with information regarding the cause of the fire, or that observed anyone suspicious in the area near the time of the fire is encouraged to contact Kaibab National Forest Dispatch at 928-635-2601 or Fire Information at 928-635-5653.
Three fire trucks damaged while fighting fire started by exploding targets
Shooters using exploding targets start 160-acre fire near Salina, Kansas.
A sheriff’s office spokesperson said the people who started a 160-acre fire using exploding targets did nothing illegal, according to the Salina Journal, in spite of the fact that it took firefighters from four fire districts to suppress the fire which threatened homes and damaged fence posts and three fire trucks.
Not everyone who starts wildfires with exploding targets gets a free pass from law enforcement. For example, Tristan C. Olson, of Missoula and Caitlin E. Hoover, of Stevensville, Montana were ordered to pay $9,450 in restitution after starting a fire that burned 50 acres east of Florence, Montana in 2014.
Apparently exploding targets are popular in Kansas. After numerous reports over the last week of two explosions near Wichita, KWCH news tracked down the source to five pounds of powder from explosive targets.
Exploding targets consist of two ingredients that when mixed by the end user create an explosive when shot by a high-velocity projectile. They have caused many fires since they became more popular in recent years, have been banned in some areas, and caused the death of one person. In June, 2013 a man attending a bachelor-bachelorette party in Minnesota was killed after shrapnel from the device struck him in the abdomen causing his death. The Missoulian reported that two years ago a woman in Ohio had her hand nearly blown off while taking a cellphone video of a man firing at an exploding target placed in a refrigerator about 150 feet away.
Oklahoma firefighter run over by brush truck
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Oklahoma firefighter run over by brush truck The Oklahoma State Firefighters Association announced that on February 26 a Ponca City firefighter suffered traumatic leg injuries after accidentally getting run over by a brush truck.
Lt. Lyle Crandall with the Ponca City Fire Department was seriously injured Friday afternoon [February 26] while responding to a reported grass fire. Lt. Crandall and one other firefighter were on a special detail when the call came in. They had to respond back to the fire station to pick up a brush pumper. During this transfer, Lt. Crandall was accidentally run over by the front tires of the fire engine. Lt. Crandall received immediate treatment from the other Ponca City firefighters and was taken by ambulance to the hospital where they were met by a medical helicopter. Lt. Crandall was flown immediately to OU Medical Center in OKC. He sustained traumatic injury to his left foot and leg as well as his right leg.
Please keep Lt. Crandall, his family, and the Ponca City Fire Department in your thoughts and prayers.
Sincerely,
Dereck Cassady
Ponca City FD
OSFA 3rd VPRaanon Adams, President
A backburn in South Africa
#Viljoenshof #Wildfire Backburn Strandveld-style. Well done to your hard work and commitment today pic.twitter.com/a6iFTp7tIO
— Greater Overberg FPA (@OverbergFPA) February 29, 2016
We looked up “Strandveld” on Wikipedia:
Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is an endangered vegetation type. This is a unique type of Cape Strandveld that is endemic to the coastal areas in Cape Town, including the Cape Flats.
