News and opinion about wildland fire
The National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) distributed this image, and wrote:
The % of normal precip for the last 30 days. Much of the US has been wetter than seasonal average for June/early July.
And, some areas have been much drier than normal, including northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and northwestern Montana.
The wildfires in Canada continue to pump smoke into the north-central United States and the midwest, deteriorating the air we breathe. Some air quality monitoring stations in South Dakota and Minnesota are reporting conditions that are “Unhealthy” [for everyone] and “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”. North Dakota only has one station in the entire state that reports to AirNow, and that is in the extreme western part. If there were any in the central or eastern area, they would show some pretty nasty air.
The smoke is reflecting some sunlight, causing temperatures to drop below what they would be if the air was less polluted.
To see the most current smoke reports on Wildfire Today, visit the articles tagged “smoke” at https://wildfiretoday.com/tag/smoke/
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized3 Comments on Contract faller killed on British Columbia fire The British Columbia Wildfire Service released this information late Sunday night, July 5, 2015:
We sign off with heavy hearts tonight. We were saddened to learn that a contract tree faller working with us on the Old Sechelt Mine fire suffered a fatal injury while felling a danger tree earlier today. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his friends, family and co-workers.
This is a tragic reminder of the dangerous work being done by personnel across the province to respond to wildfires.
Our sincere condolences go out to the family, friends, and co-workers.
The Old Sechelt Mine Fire has burned 80 hectares (198 acres) since it was discovered July 2 two km northwest of Sechelt.
UPDATE at 7:30 p.m. MT, July 6, 2015: Kelowna Now reports that the coroner has identified the faller as John Joe Phare, age 60, from Roberts Creek.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Mike.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized44 Comments on Interview with author of book about Yarnell Hill Fire This video is an interview with Kyle Dickman, the author of On The Burning Edge, a recently released book about the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire south of Prescott, Arizona and the 19 firefighters who died there.
At one point the interviewer asks Mr. Dickman who to blame for the fatalities. After he gives her a name, she then throws Mr. Dickman under the bus, saying “It’s not about finger pointing…”
The truth is, until people who were there are willing and able to talk about what they saw and heard that day, we may not know why the crew left the safety of the black, a previously burned area, and walked through unburned brush where they were overrun by the fire.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized3 Comments on Three firefighters injured by falling tree in central California Three firefighters were injured, one very seriously, by a falling tree July 3 in central California near Three Rivers, a town in the foothills of the Sierras. Damien Pereira, 25, underwent surgery Saturday to repair broken vertebrae, and more surgeries are planned to address his broken ribs and bruised internal organs.
Below is a news release issued July 4 by CAL FIRE.
In the image below there is quiet a bit of smoke west of the “smoke shield” seen in the above image — but it does not appear to be dense smoke.
Typically winds would help wildfire smoke situation, but NW winds in #SK will keep pushing the smoke south. pic.twitter.com/xmVfYtV8zU
— Mike Arsenault (@MikeGArsenault) July 4, 2015
