Jarhead fire burns 25,000 acres in Big Cypress National Preserve

Jarhead fire in Big Cypress National Preserve
Jarhead fire in Big Cypress National Preserve. Photo: Whitaker

The Jarhead fire has burned over 25,000 acres in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida since it started from a lighting strike on April 26.

Jarhead fire in Big Cypress National Preserve.
Transportation used on the Jarhead fire in Big Cypress National Preserve. Photo: Bastion

Here is an excerpt from today’s National Park Service Morning Report:

Yesterday Preserve personnel verified that two privately owned hunting camps and a known Florida panther den, with four cubs, were lost due to wildfire activity. Additionally, on April 28, another private camp was lost. Owners of the private camps have been notified. In the case of the panther den, it is known that the adult female associated with the den has survived.

Several small outbuildings on private properties and several NPS properties have also been lost. In all instances reasonable fire suppression activities were being applied until such time that fire and smoke conditions dictated the removal of firefighters for safety reasons.

Today’s Activity – Crews are continuing to secure the northeastern perimeter of the fire. Aerial ignition operations will continue on the southeastern flank west of Oasis Trail, and structure protection will be underway in the area north of Oasis Visitor Center. Crews will monitor the burnout along Monument Road on the southwest side of the fire, while protecting structures in the area. Aerial ignition burnouts will be initiated from Monument Road east to tie in with the southwestern and western flanks of the fire. The northwest side of the fire will be assessed to determine feasibility of another burnout operation. Aerial ignitions are used to lower fire intensities and increase firefighter safety.

More information can be found at InciWeb.

Israel contracts for 7 air tankers

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Air Tractor AT 802 air tanker in Israel
Air Tractor AT 802 air tanker in Israel

This year for the first time Israel will have access to a squadron of air tankers. They have contracted with two private companies, Elbit Systems and Chim Nir Flight Services, who purchased seven Air Tractor AT 802 single engine air tankers after submitting a joint bid to the Ministry of Defense.

The government of Israel saw the need for air tankers after the disastrous Carmel fire last December which burned for four days, claimed 44 lives, forced the evacuation of nearly 17,000 people and consumed 8,650 acres of land and natural forest.

Israel asked for and received air support help from many nations for the Carmel fire, including the United States which dispatched four MAFFS C-130 air tankers, but they were cancelled while still en route after the fire was controlled. Over 30 firefighting aircraft from Europe and North America responded. Israel also contracted for Evergreen’s 747 Supertanker which made two sorties dropping retardant on the fire.

Two of the seven Air Tractors will be on floats and can scoop water from the Mediterranean or the Kinneret. The Israel Air Force will have operational responsibility for the firefighting squadron.

Here is a video of Air Tractor 802s in Portugal. And in case you wonder about the music, it is “Into the Fire” by Thirteen Senses. If you watch it until the very end, you’ll see that the 802 has reversible props, which surprised me, making it possible for it to back into a parking spot.

Australia: government to buy properties from owners in high-risk bushfire areas

In Australia, the Victorian government has decided to implement a recommendation by the Bushfires Royal Commission, which investigated the 2009 fires, to buy properties from willing owners that are in high-risk bushfire areas. Here is an excerpt from The Age (if you go to the site, a video that is far down the page and hard to find will begin playing automatically… really annoying!)

The commission recommended a ”retreat and resettlement strategy” that would be adopted ”in areas of unacceptably high bushfire risk”. It said a buyback should focus on land ”near to or adjoining public land”, and give priority to properties that were ”damaged or destroyed by the 2009 bushfires”.

The Victorian government has set aside $5 million for the first stage of the property buying project.

In other down-under fire news, the Country Fire Authority will receive $67 million to build or upgrade 60 fire stations and to acquire 101 new firefighting vehicles over the next 12 months.

Thanks Dick

Photos of MAFFS training at Boise

MAFFS air tankers training at Boise

The National Interagency Fire Center posted on their Facebook page (yes, they have a Facebook page!) nine photos of the Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems (MAFFS) C-130s air tankers from North Carolina and Wyoming training at Boise this week. Here are a couple of the pics.

 

MAFFS air tankers training at Boise

 

Magicvalley.com has an article about the training. They also have some excellent photos of the C-130s, including some taken inside the aircraft.

Texas has received 25 FEMA grants for fires this year

While Texas Governor Rick Perry has been whining that his state has not received enough money from the federal government for firefighting assistance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been quietly shipping mega-bucks to his state. Here is a list of 25 FEMA Fire Management Assistance declarations and grants for the state of Texas since January 1, 2011:

Texas FEMA fire grants 2011
From the Federal Emergency Management Agency

These FEMA grants for the state of Texas, whose Governor has flirted with the idea of seceding from the United States, cover 75 percent of the state’s costs for firefighting. The amount of federal money given to Texas for fires this year is not yet known, since the costs are still being incurred and the state has not submitted all of their claims for financial assistance to the federal government.

These grants are for specific incidents and are different from FEMA’s Major Disaster Declarations, one of which has not been approved for the Texas fires this year. Those are not awarded as often as the Fire Management Assistance grants, but Texas has received 16 of them since 2000. In fact, Texas has benefited more than any other state from federal Major Disaster Declarations.

Here is a list of the ten states that have had the most FEMA Major Disaster Declarations since 1953:

FEMA top ten states major disaster declarations
From the Federal Emergency Management Agency

We feel for the families of the two firefighters that died while fighting fires in Texas recently, and we have sympathy for the individuals that have lost property in the fires. But if and when Texas secedes from the United States as threatened and either forms their own country or becomes a Mexican state, they will have to find a new source for bailing them out of their costs for fires, floods, and hurricanes.

And perhaps, while asking other U.S. taxpayers for money, Texas should reconsider the bill that passed both houses of their legislature that cuts the funding of the Texas Forest Service’s Wildfire and Emergency Program by more than 30%. Or, maybe they should use the $2 billion rainy day fund they are sitting on.

 

Thanks Dick