Wildfire Today

Chaparral Fire grows rapidly in Northern San Diego County

Bill GabbertAugust 28, 2021August 29, 2021WildfireCalifornia, Chaparral Fire5 Comments

4:45 a.m. PDT Aug. 29, 2021

Chaparral Fire mapped by fixed wing aircraft at 11 p.m. PDT Aug 28, 2021.

The Chaparral Fire in northern San Diego County was active Saturday night. A mapping flight at 11 p.m. determined it had burned about 1,380 acres and had spread slightly into Riverside County. (See map above.) At that time it was less than a half mile west of Tenaja Road and had reached the end of Calle de Dietel.

The photo below shows active fire at 4:10 a.m. Sunday.

Chaparral Fire 410 a.m. Aug 29, 2021 — Chaparral Fire as seen from the Upper Talega South camera, looking east-southeast at 4:10 a.m. Aug 29, 2021. AlertWildfire.

Firefighters expect the fire to spread to the north on Sunday. The weather forecast for the fire area is sunny, with a high near 95. Light and variable winds will become south 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon gusting as high as 20 mph. The relative humidity will rise from the mid-20s in the morning to the mid-30s in the afternoon.

The video below has incredible footage of the fire. It shows an impressive fire whirl, but it is not a “firenado”. Fire tornados are a real phenomenon. They begin to dominate the large scale fire dynamics and lead to extreme hazard and control problems. In size, they average 100 to 1,000 feet in diameter and have rotational velocities up to 90 MPH. They tend to persist for more than a few seconds or minutes.

Keep in mind that the detailed evacuation information in the video may have changed since it was edited and posted August 28, 2021.

An official map is available showing the evacuation areas.

The 17-second video below conveys an idea of the intensity of the Chaparral Fire Saturday afternoon.

#ChaparralFIRE ? Fire conditions earlier this afternoon captured by @FirePhoto101 pic.twitter.com/pUU6ePbnDM

— CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CALFIRERRU) August 29, 2021

6:42 p.m. PDT August 28, 2021

The Chaparral Fire grew very quickly after it started at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon in northern San Diego County in Southern California. By 5:30 it was mapped at 1,200 acres.

The fire is near Cold Springs Road and Tenaja Road in the community of La Cresta. It is just north of Camp Pendleton, 10 miles west of Temecula, and 12 miles east of San Clemente.

Many structures are threatened and mandatory evacuations are in place. A map is available showing the evacuation areas.

Chaparral Fire as seen from the San Clemente South camera, looking east at 2:57 p.m. PDT Aug 28, 2021. AlertWildfire.

Firefighters on the ground initially had difficulty in gaining direct access in the remote area of the Cleveland National Forest. In the early hours it was completely in San Diego County, but was spreading toward Riverside County which was not far away to the east

Early on, eight air tankers were assigned, including two DC-10 Very Large Air Tankers. Later a third DC-10 was dispatched. That was a large aviation commitment considering the fires ongoing in Northern California. The Air Attack over the fire requested a “no divert” for some of the VLATs and other large air tankers due to life and property that were in danger. If approved, that would prevent the dispatcher from pulling them off the fire to respond to another fire.

At 4 p.m. the humidity began increasing at the Case Springs weather station west of the fire, from 22 percent at 3:22 p.m. to 50 percent at 6:22, and the smoke column started to diminish. Haze or low clouds at times obscured the view from the San Clemente South camera. This type of weather change can slow the spread of a wildfire.

? Footage from the cockpit of one of our #OCFA helicopters ? assisting on the #ChaparralFire. For information visit @CALFIRERRU.

The fire is not in OC nor is it a threat to OC at this time. pic.twitter.com/wtzlBXyaOB

— OCFA PIO (@OCFireAuthority) August 29, 2021

We will update this article as more information becomes available.

200 active-duty soldiers activated to fight wildfires in California

Bill GabbertAugust 28, 2021UncategorizedCalifornia, military13 Comments

Their fire training will begin August 30 near Tacoma, Washington

marines firefighters military — File photo. Robert Baird, Regional Director of Fire and Aviation management in the Pacific Southwest Region of the USFS addresses some of the Marines and Sailors from the 7th Engineer Support Battalion from Camp Pendleton, CA during a welcoming ceremony for Marines at the Creek Fire Incident Command Post on the Sierra National Forest, Saturday 19, 2020. USFS photo.

The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, has requested a Department of Defense (DoD) activation of approximately 200 active-duty U.S. Army Soldiers to assist with wildfire suppression efforts. The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) at NIFC requested the personnel along with command and support staff. After receiving training, the Soldiers will serve as hand crews, assisting with wildfire suppression efforts in Northern California. Two similar requests were granted last year to support the August Complex and Creek wildfires in California.

The Soldiers will be trained over the next week at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) near Tacoma, Washington and on the fireline to provide support in early September in Northern California.

“The United States has been experiencing above-normal fire activity throughout multiple geographic areas, which will likely continue into the fall. These conditions are creating competition for all types of wildland fire resources,” said Josh Simmons, NMAC Chair.

Currently, 84 large fires have burned 2.5 million acres in 9 states. More than 26,000 wildland firefighters are currently assigned to fires across the United States. The country has been at Preparedness Level 5 – the highest level of wildfire preparedness – since July 14. Several geographic areas are experiencing large, complex wildland fire incidents, which have the potential to exhaust national wildland fire suppression resources.

The training at JBLM will consist of both a classroom portion and field training in the basics of wildland fire suppression and firefighter safety. The Soldiers will be outfitted with wildland fire personal protective equipment and other gear. They will be trained by wildland fire agency personnel beginning Monday, August 30 and should conclude by Wednesday, September 3. While providing support, the Soldiers will be accompanied by experienced wildland fire strike team leaders and crew bosses from wildland fire management agencies.

This is the 40th time since 1987 that active-duty military personnel have been mobilized to serve as wildland firefighters. In addition to the U.S. Army activation, eight U.S. Air Force C-130s equipped with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) are currently serving as airtankers, providing wildfire support across the West.

She wrote “I love my job” just days before being killed by a bomb in Afghanistan

Bill GabbertAugust 28, 2021August 28, 2021UncategorizedAfghanistan8 Comments

Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23, of Roseville, Calif. posted this photo of herself six days before being killed by a terrorist in a bomb explosion.

Too often on Wildfire Today I have to write about line of duty deaths (LODD) of firefighters. My heart goes out to the families, friends and co-workers of the 13 troops who were killed and the 18 other troops who were wounded in the bombing that killed at least 170 people Thursday near the Kabul airport in Afghanistan.

To firefighters, that disaster would be equivalent to the South Canyon Fire that killed 14 in 1994. It is likely that at least one of those 10 men or 4 women told someone that they loved their job also.

Each of these individual deaths and injuries Thursday is tragic. One of them on the list of names released today by the Pentagon is being noted in particular because of an Instagram post before the attack. Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23, of Roseville, California posted a photo of herself holding an infant six days before she was killed, writing, “I love my job ?”

The Department of Defense picked up the photo and used it in their Twitter account on the same day with two other photos.

U.S. military service members comfort infants at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. #HKIA pic.twitter.com/8utbOwtcsF

— Department of Defense ?? (@DeptofDefense) August 20, 2021

Two days later she posted another photo of her escorting a long line of evacuees as they boarded an airplane to flee Kabul.

Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23, of Roseville, Calif. posted this photo of herself four days before being killed by a terrorist in a bomb explosion.

Sgt. Gee, a maintenance technician with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, was from Roseville, Calif., Stars & Stripes reported. She was promoted to Sergeant a few weeks before being killed.

At the airport she had been assigned to assist women and girls at the airport as they fled Taliban repression.

May she rest in peace.

Firefighter dies at brush fire in Spokane County, Washington

Bill GabbertAugust 28, 2021August 28, 2021Uncategorizedlodd, Washington2 Comments

Cody Traber firefighter — Cody Traber. Photo on left by Spokane County FD. Photo on right by Robert J. Shaer in 2002.

A firefighter with Spokane County Fire District 9 died while at a brush fire Thursday in Washington.

According to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, Mr. Traber fell from the Wandermere Bridge on Interstate 395.

In a Facebook post the Fire District said Mr. Traber was an 18-year veteran of the District and previously served at the Department of Natural Resources and two other fire departments. He leaves behind his wife, Allisyn and four young children.

We send out our sincere condolences to Mr. Traber’s family, friends, and co-workers.

More evacuations ordered for Caldor Fire southwest of Lake Tahoe

Bill GabbertAugust 27, 2021August 28, 2021WildfireCaldor Fire, California6 Comments

149,000 acres have burned

9:36 a.m. PDT August 28, 2021

Caldor Fire map 11 p.m. August 27, 2021 — Caldor Fire, mapped by a fixed wing flight at 11 p.m. August 27, 2021. The areas shaded dark red had intense heat during the mapping flight.

The Caldor Fire on Friday spread less than in previous days, but still grew by about 6,000 acres to bring the size up to 149,000 acres.

There was incremental movement on northeast side, less than half a mile, but the area where it spread most was on the west side. Late in the afternoon a wind shift pushed flames about 1.5 miles southwest along Camp Creek south of Sly Park Road, forcing firefighters to withdraw from the area. This was southeast of Pleasant Valley and northwest of Somerset. An aggressive attack from the air with helicopters and very large air tankers commenced, but visibility degraded by smoke limited their use, often having to loiter in orbit waiting for the smoke to clear.

To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Caldor Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.

Inversions Saturday night slowed the spread, but with the relative humidity remaining mostly below 35 percent the down canyon winds from the east kept the fire active with spot fires occurring in the Camp Creek area. But the wind direction made it easier for firefighters on the east side to conduct burning operations.

Caldor Fire map west side 11 p.m. August 27 2021 — Map of the west side of the Caldor Fire, mapped by a fixed wing flight at 11 p.m. August 27, 2021. The green line was the perimeter 27 hours earlier.

7:37 a.m. PDT August 27, 2021

Caldor Fire 3-D map — Northeast side of the Caldor Fire in 3-D, looking northeast. Mapped by a fixed wing aircraft at 8:11 p.m. PDT August 26, 2021.

Additional evacuations were ordered on the 143,000-acre Caldor Fire Thursday. The blaze was very active on the northeast side, and that continued into the night due to the humidity rising to only 22 to 28 percent. Short-range spotting produced numerous spot fires across control lines. The wind subsided after midnight and the spread of the fire slowed.

Firefighting aircraft were hampered Thursday with visibility degraded by smoke.

The growth was primarily to the northeast as the fire moves closer to the small communities along Highway 50. Unofficial distances from the fire were measured based on a mapping flight at 8:11 p.m. PDT August 26. This information should not be used for planning or making decisions about evacuation. Strawberry, 1.5 miles; the southern junction of Highways 50 and 89, 8 miles; Fallen Leaf Lake, 8 miles; Lake Tahoe shoreline, 11 miles.

For Friday firefighters expect the growth will continue in the northeastern areas but will be moderated by the arrival of light winds. Spot fires are likely to occur some distance from the fire’s edge and previously undetected sleepers caused by burning embers from earlier activity may emerge. In the evening the light winds will allow nighttime inversions to form.

Caldor Fire map — Caldor Fire, mapped by a fixed wing aircraft at 8:11 p.m. PDT August 26, 2021.

The weather forecast for Friday at 6,000 feet is for 8 mph winds out of the northwest with humidity in the mid-teens and a high of 78 degrees. Saturday will be warmer with lower humidity and 8 mph hour winds out of the south and west.

The fire has destroyed 469 residences and 181 other structures; more than 18,000 are threatened. The El Dorado County Sheriff in collaboration with CAL FIRE has released a map displaying properties that have been inspected for any damage or that have been destroyed by the Caldor Fire.

Mandatory evacuations are in place for 33,723 residents as well as warnings that mandatory evacuations may occur for other areas in the future. Evacuation notices are posted by the El Dorado County Sheriff’s office. Below is a screenshot from the Sheriff’s website, obtained at 7:11 a.m. PDT August 27, 2021. Go to their site for current information.

Caldor Fire evacuation map, obtained from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s website at 7:11 a.m. PDT Aug 27, 2021.

Resources assigned to the fire Thursday evening included 250 fire engines, 63 water tenders, 25 helicopters, 82 hand crews, and 71 dozers for a total of 3,204 personnel.

In the two weeks it has been burning, the average daily suppression cost of the Caldor Fire is $3.4 million; about $24 an acre. And it is far from being over.