The image above was distributed by the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, showing a map of the Gold Mine Road Fire 17 km southwest of Towamba in the Yambulla State Forest. The map is part of the agency’s Common Operating Picture.
It was apparently obtained by infrared equipment that processed the data in a format we have not seen publicly in the United States. The black lines are most likely the path of the line scanner as the mirror rotated at thousands of RPM in a fixed wing aircraft. It’s interesting that the target discrimination marks (TDMs) only appear at the ends of each line, rather than at every heat source. The intensity of the heat is represented by a range of orange and yellow colors.
The U.S. Forest Service has been mapping fires with infrared equipment for at least four decades, but the folks down under also have very advanced IR systems.
Map of the Gold Mine Fire as seen in the NSW RFS Common Operating Picture.
Part two of the three-part series of interviews with Tom Harbour, National Director of Fire and Aviation Management for the U.S. Forest Service, is now available.
Bill Gabbert interviewed Mr. Harbor for Wildfire Today two weeks before his retirement date. In this segment, Mr. Harbour talks about how many firefighters the USFS will have in 2016, tracking firefighters and the location of a flaming front, smokejumpers, the agency’s responsibility regarding protecting structures, and the decline in the number of air tankers between 2002 and 2013.
UPDATE: Part 1 and Part 3 of the interview are available.
Many wildland firefighters live in areas where firewood is available, as long as you have a permit and know how to use a chain saw. The Guardian has an interesting review of a new book about a very old subject, collecting and processing your own firewood.
“…Now, at last, wood is being rehabilitated. More than that: it is suddenly fashionable, and Norwegian Wood has become one of the most uplifting publishing stories of 2015. A simple, elegant book about how to fell trees – about how to move the timber and then split and stack the logs in the most efficient, aesthetic ways – it has already sold hundreds of thousands of copies. It is one of those books, full of lush, earthy photos, about which people seem to become almost evangelical.
The reason for its appeal is clear: in this depressing age of bombs and bullets, of financial instability and screen-mediated reality, there is something honest, solid and reassuringly ancient about wood. As Lars Mytting says about the woodpile: “Its share price doesn’t fall on the stock market. It won’t rust. It won’t sue for divorce. It just stands there and does one thing: it waits for winter. An investment account reminding you of all the hard work you’ve put into it.”
It helps that Mytting is able to put primitive yearnings into lyrical prose. He quotes beautiful poems, like one at the beginning of the book by Hans Børli: “The scent of fresh white wood / in the spring sap time: / as though life itself walked by you, / with dew in its hair.” And the fact that he is Norwegian gives him much authority and many anecdotes: in Norway, 25% of energy used to heat private homes comes from wood, and half of that wood is chopped by private individuals. It is a country obsessed by all aspects of firewood, and, as Mytting jokes, many weddings and funerals have seen heated arguments about the best make of axe, or whether wood should be stacked bark up or bark down…”
Vaughn Jones as been selected as the Section Chief of the Wildland Fire Management Section of Colorado’s Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Paul Cooke, Director the agency announced today. Mr. Vaughn has held the position on an acting basis for the past seven months.
“I am pleased I had four qualified finalists from which to make a selection and I am certain that Vaughn was the best choice for the job” said Director Cooke.
Until his appointment as acting Section Chief on May 15, 2015, Mr. Vaughn served as the Branch Chief of Operations, a position he held since transferring to DFPC. Before that he was the Northeast Area Fire Management Officer with the Colorado State Forest Service for 8 years and an Assistant District Forester with the CSFS Golden District for 6 years.
Prior to working for the State, he held forestry, range, and wildfire positions with the U.S. Forest Service on the White River National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland. Mr. Vaughn holds a B.S Degree in Natural Resource Management and a Master’s Degree in Ecology, both from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. His experience includes serving as a member of the Rocky Mountain Area Type 1 and Type 2 Incident Management Teams.
Tom Harbour, National Director of Fire and Aviation Management for the U.S. Forest Service, was interviewed by Bill Gabbert for Wildfire Today, December 14, 2015. In this Part 1 of 3, Mr. Harbour talked about his early years, how studying chemical engineering helped him in his USFS job, working with politicians, and what it was like dealing with firefighter fatalities.
UPDATE: Part 2 and Part 3 of the interview are available.
A study by the World Bank determined that the impact of the vegetation fires this year on Indonesia’s economy was double that of the 2004 tsunami that required rebuilding many of buildings and much of the infrastructure in the province of Aceh.
Most of the fires were started intentionally, and illegally, by landowners who want to increase the value of their property before they sell it to companies who will produce palm oil or pulp. Fees from the sale of the land go to several different groups — the term “land mafia” has been used.
Below is an excerpt from an article in the Guardian:
…In a quarterly update on the Indonesian economy, the World Bank said the fires had devastated 2.6 million hectares (6.4m acres) of forest and farmland across the archipelago from June to October.
The cost to south-east Asia’s biggest economy is estimated at 221 trillion rupiah ($16.1bn), equivalent to 1.9% of predicted GDP this year, it said.
In contrast, it cost $7bn to rebuild Indonesia’s westernmost province of Aceh after it was engulfed 11 years ago by a quake-triggered tsunami, with the loss of tens of thousands of lives, the bank said.
“The economic impact of the fires has been immense,” said World Bank Indonesia country director Rodrigo Chaves.
The estimated costs are based on an analysis of the types of land burned and take into account the impact on agriculture, forestry, trade, tourism and transportation, as well as short-term effects of the haze such as school closures and on health.
More than half a million people suffered acute respiratory infections in Indonesia, while many in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia also fell ill.
