Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Category: Wildfire

Unplanned vegetation fires

British Columbia’s fire crisis arrived decades earlier than forecast

Author Kelly AnderssonPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 2 Comments on British Columbia’s fire crisis arrived decades earlier than forecast

British Columbia must adapt its forest management practices to prepare for future seasons, according to a report by Brenna Owen for The Canadian Press published by the CBC News.

The era of severe record-breaking wildfires has occurred earlier in British Columbia than previous research had projected, and experts say the disastrous 2023 season must serve as a springboard for action.

The surge stems from a combination of climate change and entrenched forest management practices, which have together created a landscape conducive to large, high-intensity blazes, says Lori Daniels, a professor in the department of forest and conservation sciences at the University of British Columbia.

“Society is already paying a huge cost for these climate change-fueled fires,” she says.

“The thing we can control in the short term is the vulnerability of the landscape,” adds Daniels.

Reducing that vulnerability means transforming how the landscape is managed. Shifting away from a timber-focused approach that prioritized conifer stocks over less-flammable broadleaf trees and ramping up prescribed burning are key to protecting communities and supporting healthy, resilient forests, says Daniels.

Canadian fires

“The sooner we do it, the better,” she adds.

Daniels is the co-author of a recent paper published by the peer-reviewed journal Nature that examined data from the last century and found an “abrupt” uptick in wildfire activity in B.C. corresponding with a warming and drying trend that began in the mid-2000s.

The province has experienced its four most severe wildfire seasons on record during the past seven years, in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2023.

Canadian fires

“To have four of these seasons out of the last seven is shocking,” she says.

Pine beetle infestations and expanding interface also factors:  As development expands farther into the wildland/urban interface, summers in B.C. are increasingly characterized by hot, dry, and windy conditions primed for fires to burn with the speed and intensity that can overwhelm suppression efforts.

Marc-André Parisien, an Edmonton-based research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service, led the study. He underscores the significance of increasing fire intensity.

“If a fire comes in rolling as a 30-metre wall of flames, there’s not a lot you can do,” he says. “You can dump a lot of water on it, but it amounts to spitting on a campfire.”

Torrential rains follow wildfires in Greece

Author Kelly AnderssonPosted on Categories WildfireTags , ,

Reuters reported today that torrential rains have flooded homes, businesses, and roads in Greece — with at least one death reported after a man died when a wall collapsed, according to fire officials on Tuesday.

The Guardian reported that Greece has been stricken by hundreds of wildfires this summer, with dozens of new fires starting each day. Most are controlled quickly but some have exceeded fire services’ capacity. One fire in the northeast has destroyed homes and vast tracts of forest since it took off on August 19.

Another fire on the island of Rhodes burned for days in July, forcing holidaymakers and locals to evacuate homes and hotels.

Storm Daniel has battered much of Greece since Monday, with  hundreds of calls to emergency services to pump out water just days after a deadly wildfire that has burned for more than two weeks in the north was finally controlled.

Meanwhile, videos posted online on August 23 show Greek members of the political extreme right illegally “arresting” migrants in Evros, a Greek region that borders Turkey. The videos show militants forcing men to sit in the dirt while other migrants were crammed into a trailer. The attackers accuse the migrants of being responsible for the widespread fires in the region.

Louisiana’s drought isn’t record-breaking, so why is its wildfire season?

Author Hunter BasslerPosted on Categories WildfireTags 7 Comments on Louisiana’s drought isn’t record-breaking, so why is its wildfire season?

The state’s largest wildfire on record is still burning, already covering more than Louisiana’s annual average of burned acres. 

The arson-caused Tiger Island Fire has burned more than 31,000 acres and is now estimated  at just 50 percent containment. An ABC News report said law enforcement are searching for the arsonist — and offering a $2000 reward.

Tiger island Fire
Tiger Island Fire, August 27 — inciweb photo.

It’s only one of the nearly 600 wildland fires that have burned across the state in 2023. The vast majority of the fires have been burning in the Beauregard Parish area near the state’s southwest corner. Officials said excess fuels from trees knocked down during hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020 and Ida in 2021 are feeding the fires.

Some  have also blamed drought for the record fire season.

However, the Pelican State’s drought isn’t close to breaking drought records, so why is it breaking wildfire records?

Nearly all of Louisiana is under severe, extreme, or exceptional drought, according to the U.S Drought Monitor. Despite that, NOAA data shows the state’s current drought isn’t close to being one of the driest on record. July of this year was the state’s 17th driest on record, with the period between June and July recorded as the 14th driest on record and the period between May and July being the 11th driest on record.

So, if drought isn’t the primary cause of the state’s wildland fires, what is? Other than a record-breaking number of acres burned, Louisiana this year is also breaking numerous temperature records.

July was Louisiana’s hottest month ever recorded, the National Weather Service reported, and Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency on August 11 when heat indices peaked at 120 degrees. Heat smashed the highest temperature records in numerous areas across Louisiana on August 27.

Drought can contribute to drying, but record-breaking heat can worsen and increase withering, priming vegetation into excellent wildfire fuel, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.

“Hotter temperatures evaporate more moisture from soil and vegetation, drying out trees, shrubs and grasses, and turning leaf litter and fallen branches into kindling,” according  to the EDF. The extreme temperatures showed just how much of a chokehold the heat had on wildfires in the region when intense downpours on August 29 did little to help with numerous wildfires throughout the state.

Under the most extreme circumstances, Louisiana could see upwards of a 12-degree average temperature increase over the next 75 years, and if it does, the state’s bayous should expect wildfires to become an even more common occurrence.

BY THE WAY, loyal fans and other readers, let me introduce our new pyrojournalist Hunter Bassler, hired by me and the IAWF after a recommendation by Judd Slivka, who was for many years the best fire reporter in the western United States (besides Jeff Barnard and the inimitable Sherry Devlin), whom I’m sure many of you remember from his fire reporting days with the Arizona Republic.

Hunter BasslerHunter Bassler is a digital producer and reporter for KSDK 5 On Your Side in St. Louis, Missouri, reporting on environmental, climate, and infrastructure news and issues. Hunter was also a digital producer and reporter for 12News in Phoenix, focused on Arizona’s environmental water crisis, infrastructure, and history. Before that Hunter reported on Brexit and Artificial Intelligence in Brussels at the regulatory wire service MLex, wrote and produced content on global free speech issues for the online and NPR-member station program Global Journalist, and worked as multimedia editor for Columbia, Missouri’s entertainment magazine Vox.

Hunter graduated from the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s in Convergence Journalism. In their spare time, Hunter enjoys watching movies, hiking, and spending time with the love of their life, Jess.

 ~ Kelly Andersson

Oregon’s Tyee Ridge Complex almost 3000 acres

Author Kelly AnderssonPosted on Categories WildfireTags , , 3 Comments on Oregon’s Tyee Ridge Complex almost 3000 acres

The Tyee Ridge Complex consists of 19 fires ignited by lightning on the evening of August 24. About 200 people have been evacuated.

As of August 29, the fires had burned 2,899 acres in the hills around the community of Umpqua, approximately 10 miles west of Sutherlin. According to a report by KPIC-TV, the fires are under unified command with the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Team 1 and the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Red Team. The fires are in rugged, steep, and difficult terrain, but crews are making progress and the fire is now estimated at 5 percent containment.Tyee Ridge Complex map

Firefighters have been working since Tuesday night with very active fire behavior on the Cougar Creek and Lighthouse fires. Active fire behavior is predicted  till cooler conditions and expected showers arrive.

On Wednesday firefighters worked on a number of spot fires that Had crossed containment lines.

Water and retardant drops are supporting ground crews in areas of steep or inaccessible terrain. Single-engine airtankers and helicopters worked closely with heavy equipment operators and hand crews. Among the aircraft were two Chinook CH-47 helicopters from the Oregon Army National Guard.

To the north, the Big Tom Fire saw more active fire, while there was increased mop-up on the Hardscrabble, Blue Hole, and Yellow Point fires, all moving toward patrol status in coming days, according to a KPIC report.

Oregon State Fire Marshal task forces worked around structures, installing sprinkler kits along Hubbard Creek, Briarwood Road, and the Lighthouse community. They are integrated with ODF crews to HELP in cutting line and protecting homes.

Fuel moistures are well below average for this time of year. There is a heavy dead and down component to the fire area, with fuels burning actively and intensely. Even though humidity recoveries are good to excellent overnight and moderate during the day, heavier fuels are slow to respond. The steep terrain is also a factor in fire behavior that accelerates upslope fire runs, torching, and potential for spotting.

Tyee Ridge Complex at night
Nighttime on Tyee Ridge:  Headlamps of firefighters on night shift trace a bright trail beneath the rising moon on one of the fires of the Tyee Ridge Complex. Photo ©2023 Dan Morrison, photojournalist at the University of Oregon.

Currently the evacuations are: Level 3 (Go) from the 11000 block of Hubbard Creek Rd. to Millwood Dr., Level 2 (Set) from Hubbard Creek Rd. from Millwood Dr. to Melqua Rd., and Level 1 (Ready) for Tyee Road at the intersection with Rock Creek Rd. to Fanchin Lane. Closures: Hubbard Creek Road at Millwood Drive.

KPIC has a 5-star photo gallery by Dan Morrison.

California’s becoming uninsurable

Author Kelly AnderssonPosted on Categories Uncategorized, WildfireTags , , 21 Comments on California’s becoming uninsurable

Several major insurance companies have stopped accepting California homeowners for new policies because of growing wildfire risks. As the number of fires in the state increases and other factors escalate, insurance companies worry about the risk — and the expense.

In 2022 there were over 5,000 wildfires, according to Cal Fire, that burned about 118,000 acres. Already this year 4,337 fires have burned over 114,560 acres.

Residents in high-risk fire areas or hurricane regions need homeowners’ insurance — and lenders require it. No insurance, no home loan. More people are moving into the interface, costing insurance companies too much to repair and replace houses while battling inflation, said Janet Ruiz with the Insurance Information Institute. Two insurance giants withdrew from California’s home insurance marketplace, explaining that increasing wildfire risk and soaring construction costs have resulted in their decisions to stop writing new policies in the state. State Farm announced last week it would stop accepting applications for all business and personal lines of property and casualty insurance, according to the Associated Press. The company cited inflation, a challenging reinsurance market, and rapidly growing catastrophe exposure.

“We take seriously our responsibility to manage risk,” State Farm said. “It’s necessary to take these actions now to improve the company’s financial strength.”

Unlike heavyweights State Farm and Allstate, which declined to sign new homeowners in the state, AmGUARD and Falls Lake will also drop their existing policyholders.

Allstate, another insurance powerhouse, announced in November it would pause new policies for homeowners, condos and commercial properties in California to protect current customers.

Homeowners may have to turn to the California FAIR Plan, which provides basic fire coverage, if they aren’t able to find an insurer that will cover fire expenses. The high-risk pool known as the FAIR Plan is not a government entity or a state program. Taxpayers do not fund the FAIR Plan — it’s supported by all carriers licensed to do business in California, which spreads the risk among all the insurance carriers. Because the FAIR Plan is a high-risk policy, people should expect to pay more than they would for a standard homeowner policy.

The San Francisco Standard reported last week that two more companies quietly left the California market, further narrowing options for those trying to insure their home or purchase one with a mortgage.

AmGUARD Insurance — a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies — will withdraw its homeowners and personal umbrella programs, and Falls Lake Insurance will also end its homeowners program. Both companies made the announcements July 21 in little-noticed filings submitted to the state regulator. AmGUARD and Falls Lake are the latest insurers to end or limit their business in the state during the past year.

Unlike heavyweights State Farm and Allstate, which declined to sign new homeowners in the state, AmGUARD and Falls Lake will also drop their existing policyholders. Safeco plans to drop 950 policies in October in San Francisco and the East Bay.

An SFGATE report noted that State Farm held the most policies in the California property market in 2021, and the company experienced about a 60 percent loss that year.