Wildfire Archives - Page 26 of 151

More than 70 cars burn in grass parking lot near Temple, Texas

Bill GabbertOctober 18, 2022October 18, 2022WildfireTexas5 Comments

The parking lot at the Robinson Family Farm in Temple, Texas turned into an inferno Saturday afternoon during their annual pumpkin patch event. According to the owner of the farm no injuries were reported but approximately 73 vehicles were destroyed when a wind-driven fire spread rapidly through the mowed pasture used as a parking lot.

From KWTX:

The Temple Fire & Rescue Department responded to the blaze at around 1 p.m. Oct. 15. Multiple fire departments from Little River Academy, Troy, Rogers, Salado, Holland, Bartlett and Belton were called to assist.

The first units to arrive found approximately 10 cars on fire in the pasture area used for parking but due to the numbers of cars involved, the East Side Strike Team was called to bring in additional resources.

Fire crews were able to move some of the cars out of the way of the flames.

One attendee on Facebook wrote, “I have to say that is the most exciting and expensive pumpkin patch we’ve been to” after their family van “burned to a crisp.”

On April 3, 2020 3,516 rental cars parked in a mowed field near the Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) near Fort Myers, Florida burned in a similar manner.

“The cars were stored in a location not ordinarily used for any specific purpose”, Victoria B. Moreland, Director of Communications and Marketing for the airport said at the time. “The large number was due to the car rental agencies serving RSW not renting inventory during the peak season due to the current COVID-19 crisis.”

rental cars burn fire Fort Myers Airport — More than 3,500 rental cars burn at Southwest Florida International Airport at Fort Myers, Florida April 3, 2020. Fort Myers Fire Department photo.

At one point firefighters in Florida used dozers to build fireline through the cars to stop the spread.

Strong winds spread fires in Western Washington

Bill GabbertOctober 16, 2022WildfireLoch Katrine Fire, Nakia Creek Fire, Washington10 Comments

4 p.m. PDT October 16, 2022

map Wildfires in western Washington, 3 p.m. PDT Oct. 16, 2022 — Map of wildfires in western Washington, 3 p.m. PDT Oct. 16, 2022

Strong winds out of the east and southeast are increasing the spread of wildfires in Western Washington. Red Flag Warnings Sunday afternoon predicted 10 to 20 mph winds out of the southeast gusting at 25 to 30 with relative humidity in the low 20s.

Hilary Franz, the state’s Commissioner of Public Lands gave an update at about 2:20 p.m. Sunday:

The Loch Katrine Fire on private land and the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest 30 miles east of Seattle had burned about 2,000 acres at the last estimate Sunday afternoon. Aviation resources are being used where they can be effective. A Type 2 Incident Management Team will assume command on Monday.

Ooof we can see the plume of the new #LochKatrineFire from Mount Baker ridge.

Those rains can’t come fast enough! pic.twitter.com/uWK2fdYYAC

— Blair Hunter-Lull (@blairh) October 16, 2022

map Smoke from wildfires in western Washington, 326 p.m. PDT Oct. 16, 2022 — Smoke from wildfires in western Washington, 3:26 p.m. PDT Oct. 16, 2022.

Evacuations for approximately 1,000 homes are in effect at the Nakia Creek Fire 9 miles north of Washougal, Washington 11 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon. At 2 p.m. Sunday it had burned about 400 acres.

Updated map for #NakiaCreekFire from CRESA. Evacuation zones have increased. See https://t.co/kUCWOZxEZ4 pic.twitter.com/p3oReZ3xM7

— Clark Co Wa. Sheriff (@ClarkCoSheriff) October 16, 2022

Lookout damaged in Bovee Fire to be assessed by engineer

Bill GabbertOctober 15, 2022October 16, 2022WildfireBovee Fire, Nebraska16 Comments

Updated at 4:38 p.m. CDT October 16, 2022

Scott Lookout Tower, Nebraska National Forest — Scott Lookout Tower — Nebraska National Forest, Sept. 15, 2022. Photo by Rick.

We received photos taken by Rick of the Scott Lookout on the Nebraska National Forest that were taken September 15 about two weeks before the tower was damaged in the Bovee Fire on October 2. Rick is a Forest Service employee from another state and is knowledgeable about wildland fire.

Scott Lookout Tower, Nebraska National Forest. September 15, 2022. — Scott Lookout Tower — Nebraska National Forest, Sept. 15, 2022. Photo by Rick.

“The road up to the lookout was lined with big, old (well cured) hand piles and the tower was surrounded by ponderosa pines with an excellent needle cast duff layer,” Rick wrote.

12:53 CDT October 15, 2022

Bovee Fire Scott lookout tower burning — Scott lookout tower burning during the Bovee Fire, October 2, 2022. USFS photo.

The Scott lookout tower that was damaged during the Bovee Fire in Nebraska on October 2 is going to be assessed next month by a structural engineer to determine the integrity of the structure that remains. The damage easily visible in photos includes wood steps and the cabin at the top. The steel framework still stands.

Bovee Fire Scott lookout tower — Scott lookout tower damaged during the Bovee Fire. USFS photo.

The fire burned nearly 19,000 acres of the Nebraska National Forest and private land on both sides of Highway 2 west of Halsey. When it started October 2 the relative humidity was in the 20s and the wind was gusting to 34 mph out of the south-southeast.

In addition to destroying most of the structures in a 4-H camp, several thousand acres of hand-planted forest burned. The forest was an experiment started in 1903 to provide timber for the railroad and early Sandhills residents. The first planting consisted of 35 acres of jack pine from Minnesota, 15 acres of yellow pine from the Black Hills, and 34 acres of mixed red cedar, blue spruce, jack, and yellow pine.

Bovee Fire grass — Grass sprouting after the Bovee Fire. USFS photo.

Washington Post article about six wildland firefighters

Bill GabbertOctober 14, 2022WildfireAmanda Monthei17 Comments

Fairview Fire, Sept. 7, 2022 — Fairview Fire southeast of Hemet, CA, Sept. 7, 2022. By Ryan Grothe.

The Washington Post has published an interesting article about wildland fire. It was written by Amanda Monthei who had several seasons experience on hotshot crews. In recent years she has been busy writing about wildfire and climate adaptation for national publications.

In this case Amanda tells us about six former and current wildland firefighters from federal, tribal and private crews.

The excerpt below from the long article is about Jordin Schramm, a former rappeller and now an assistant engine captain for the US Forest Service in Oregon. The full article is here (subscription).

…Schramm knows a lot of women who work in the field, including four others who worked with her on her helirappel crew before she left to take a position as an assistant engine captain for the 2022 fire season. But as she nears 11 years of working in fire, there is one experience that she has found very few people can relate to: wanting to have children and stay on the line as a woman.

“I want kids, but I really don’t want to get out of fire,” Schramm said, suggesting that in wildland fire, that decision can feel like one or the other. “But it’s not one of those things where I’m going to stay in fire and have kids and be like, ‘I’ll show everybody.’ I want to stay and keep my qualifications because this is what I really like to do. But I’m not so naive to think that plan won’t change.”

[…]

“There’s nothing to complain about, but at the same time, maybe your expectations of your life have to change a little. And it’s hard to talk about this kind of stuff because there are only a couple of women who I know that are trying to stay in fire and have been able to make it work [with a family], while all my other female friends are like, ‘I don’t want kids.’ So I’m, like, ‘Okay, I can’t talk to you about this.’ Nobody ever really talks about this, which is understandable, because a lot of women [in fire] don’t want kids or don’t have kids. But at the same time, there’s a very small percentage of us that would like to have kids. And not having anybody to talk to in that situation is really difficult.”

You can follow Amanda on Twitter.

Photos of retardant dropped in Sespe Creek during Howard Fire

Bill GabbertOctober 14, 2022October 14, 2022WildfireCalifornia, FSEEE, Howard Fire, lawsuit, retardant11 Comments

Map retardant Sespe Creek Howard Fire — Map showing location of photos of retardant near Sespe Creek at the Howard Fire. The red area is the western side of the fire Oct. 12, 2022. The photo locations were obtained from the metadata in the iPhone photos.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday alleged that the US Forest Service has polluted waterways by firefighting air tankers inadvertently dropping fire retardant in or near waterways in violation of the Clean Water Act and a policy adopted by the Forest Service and other federal agencies in 2011. The policy requires that retardant not be dropped within 300 feet of a waterway on federal land.

Photo 1. Retardant near Sespe Creek at the Howard Fire. Oct. 12, 2022. Peter Deneen.

Fire Aviation has acquired photos and a video that reportedly show signs of retardant being dropped into Sespe Creek on the Los Padres National Forest 8 miles northeast of Ojai, California October 8, 2022. The photos were shot by Pete Deneen on October 12, 2022 at the 85-acre Howard Fire. The creek is designated a “wild and scenic river” and is in a wilderness area.

The photos show retardant on rocks and other objects very close to water in Sespe Creek.

Some organisms, including aquatic threatened and endangered species or their habitats, can be adversely affected by retardants. In addition, retardant in water is a pollutant.

According to US Forest Service data, between 2012 and 2019, the Forest Service discharged retardant on at least 376 occasions totaling 761,282 gallons from aircraft directly into national forest waterways.

In the video below Mr. Deneen explains that there were two locations where retardant was dropped very close to the creek. In one case the aircraft may have turned as it was dropping to follow the creek for several hundred yards, or a second drop accounted for the retardant in the waterway.

The lawsuit was filed Oct. 11 by the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, FSEEE. In the group’s complaint they are seeking:

A declaration that the Forest Service’s placement of retardant in waterways is a violation of the Clean Water Act.
An injunction “to compel the Forest Service to comply with applicable environmental statutes, prevent irreparable harm, and satisfy the public interest.”
Reimbursement for FSEEE’s costs, expenses, expert witness fees, and attorney fees.
“Such further relief as may be just, proper, and equitable.”

More about FSEEE’s history of protesting retardant, and the federal government’s policy of retardant avoidance areas established in 2011.

Spanish wildland firefighters march to demand rights

Bill GabbertOctober 10, 2022October 10, 2022Wildfire2 Comments

Wildland firefighters in Spain demonstrate for workers rights. Image from Reuters video.

On Saturday about 2,000 wildland firefighters demonstrated in Madrid for improved workers’ rights. In Spain most of them are employed by regional agencies and work for four months during the summer fire season.

They are asking for more training, that the government recognize the category of wildland firefighter, and that they take into account the risk inherent in the job.

“We are risking our lives for a four-month-a-year contract and earning just over 1,200 euro,” said Jesús, who said he was one of five firefighters entrapped in a fire in Almorós, in Toledo.

“I am 57 years old and I don’t know how long they are going to keep me in a forest fire or carrying a chainsaw,” said María José.

Reuters has video of the demonstration which appears to show hundreds of firefighters demonstrating in the street. Many of them are wearing their uniforms and in one scene a group with flappers beat them on the ground rhythmically.

In the United States federal wildland firefighters have many of the same issues as their colleagues in Spain. But they have not yet taken to the streets.

Nine countries in Europe set records in 2022 for the total burned area since the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) began collecting wildfire data in 2006. They were Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. The difference this year compared to the 15-year average was extreme in Spain, Romania, and France.

Spain’s new record is by far the most notable with 299,635 hectares burned this year compared to an average of 66,965.

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