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Caldor Fire prompts evacuations east of Placerville, California

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 13 Comments on Caldor Fire prompts evacuations east of Placerville, California

It has burned more than 62,000 acres 18 miles southwest of Lake Tahoe

8:57 p.m. PDT August 19, 2021

Caldor Fire map
Caldor Fire map. The white line was the perimeter at 8:20 p.m. August 18, 2021. The red areas represent heat detected by an aircraft at 6:44 p.m. PDT Aug. 19, 2021.

Fire behavior on the Caldor Fire was moderated most of the day Thursday by an inversion, but activity picked up after 3 p.m. It was mapped at 68,630 acres Thursday afternoon.

The map above shows in red the areas of intense heat at 6:44 p.m. Thursday. An aircraft detected a small amount of growth on the northwest and southeast sides, but the fire was more active around the spot fires northeast of the main fire.

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

The Caldor Fire has not moved much closer to Highways 50 and 88. It is 18 miles southwest of Lake Tahoe.

10:02 a.m. PDT Aug. 19, 2021

Caldor Fire map.
Caldor Fire map. The white line was the perimeter at 8:20 p.m. August 18, 2021. The green line was the perimeter 24 hours earlier. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 1:45 a.m. PDT Aug. 19. The brown areas had extreme heat Wednesday evening.

The Caldor Fire east of Placerville, California was active Wednesday but not nearly to the degree seen on Tuesday when it ran for miles to the northeast. Most of the growth Wednesday was on the northeast side. During an 8:30 p.m. mapping flight it was still completely south of Highway 50 except for a spot fire that was suppressed at the highway near Riverton seven miles east of Pollock Pines. The size reported by the Incident Management Team Wednesday evening was 62,000 acres.

Many structures have been destroyed, including in Grizzly Flats, but evaluation teams have not yet been able to get into the burned areas and report the details.

A large number of spot fires on the northeast side near Morrison and Pilliken are in the process of merging to form a large finger of fire two miles south of Kyburtz.

The wind at a weather station northwest of the fire on Pleasant Valley Road (Placer) has been recording winds from the southwest since 11 a.m. Wednesday with the exception of a few hours very early Thursday morning. This accounts for the spread to the northeast. Wednesday afternoon the speed was 4 to 6 mph with gusts at 8 to 12 mph. The relative humidity was in the 40s, pretty high for California in the summer, which limited the movement of the fire.

The forecast for the fire area at 4,700′  Thursday could lead to more active fire behavior than on Wednesday. It predicts 6 to 10 mph winds in the afternoon out of the west-northwest, temperature 85 degrees, and relative humidity in the high teens. Friday will be about the same, but with winds out of the southwest. No chance of rain.

Fire resources assigned to the fire Wednesday evening included 11 hand crews, 61 engines, 20 dozers, 10 water tenders, and no helicopters for a total of 601 personnel. Fire personnel state that the limited number of resources available presents a significant challenge.

The Sacramento Bee reported that Wednesday CAL FIRE transferred 30 fire engines from the Dixie Fire to the Caldor Fire due to a greater need at the time.

“They were released from the Dixie Fire and sent straight over the hill because they were the closest resources available,” CAL FIRE director Thom Porter said.

Quick Reaction Force of helicopters fire Caldor
Quick Reaction Force of helicopters dispatched to Westover Field near the Caldor Fire. Coulson image.

A group of three large helicopters that has been on contract in three Southern California counties since June 15, called a Quick Reaction Force, has been dispatched to Northern California. Carrying from 1,000 to 3,000 gallons each, they all will be working 24/7 and have the capability of dropping water or retardant on a fire at night, as well as the ability to refill while hovering at night. They will be based just north of Jackson at Amador County Airport, also known as Westover Field 18 miles southwest of the Caldor Fire. It is unclear where they will be used — to support the Caldor Fire, other large fires, or for initial attack on new fires.

7:02 p.m. PDT August 18, 2021

Map of the Caldor Fire
Vicinity map of the Caldor Fire. The white line was the perimeter during a fixed wing mapping flight at 8:20 p.m. PDT August 17, 2021. The red areas represent heat detected by a satellite at 1:27 p.m . PDT Aug 18, 2021. The brown area was intense heat Tuesday night.

The Caldor Fire near Pollock Pines in Northern California has grown rapidly since it was reported at 7 p.m. on August 14. With it now covering more than 53,000 acres, the Sheriff’s Offices in Eldorado and Amador Counties have ordered evacuations in the face of what firefighters are calling unprecedented fire behavior. CAL FIRE has a list of evacuation orders.

At 1:27 p.m. PDT August 18, a satellite showed it was 18 miles southwest of Lake Tahoe, 12 miles east of Placerville, 3 miles southeast of Pollock Pines, and was about a half mile south of Highway 50. However, a spot fire was detected at Highway 50 near Riverton.

Map of the Caldor Fire
Map of the Caldor Fire. The white line was the perimeter during a fixed wing mapping flight at 8:20 p.m. PDT August 17, 2021. The red areas represent heat detected by a satellite at 1:27 p.m . PDT Aug 18, 2021. The brown area was intense heat Tuesday night.

On Tuesday structures were damaged or destroyed. Assessment teams will evaluate the areas as soon as the access is safe.

The fire is being driven by heavy drought-stressed fuels at record setting low moisture levels and large amounts of dead and down material in steep drainages that were in alignment with the northeast winds.

Firefighters expect the active fire behavior to continue through Thursday. One of the challenges they are facing is an inadequate number of firefighting resources.

Caldor Fire map, Aug 15 & 17, 2021
Caldor Fire map, August 15 & 17, 2021.

Strong wind forces Dixie Fire to the south

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 6 Comments on Strong wind forces Dixie Fire to the south

More than 635,000 acres have burned

8:05 a.m. PDT August 18, 2021

Dixie Fire map
Dixie Fire map, northeast area. The red areas represent heat detected by a satellite at 3:45 a.m. PDT August 18, 2021. The white line was the perimeter on the morning of August 17, 2021.

A wind event hit the Dixie Fire Tuesday, and from a direction we have rarely seen since the fire started from a PG&E power line on July 13.

Predominantly from the northwest Tuesday, the winds pushed the fire from Lassen Volcanic National Park three to four miles south. It mostly remained east of Highway 36, but satellite data shows that it likely crossed the road five miles east of Mineral. This growth south of the park alone burned about 13,000 acres.

The Incident Management Team reported Wednesday morning that the total size was 635,000 acres, an increase of 31,000 over the previous update, but it is not clear if that included all of the massive growth over the previous 24 hours.

Their report helpfully included the information that, “California historically experiences some of the most devastating wildfires.”

There has been no recent fixed wing perimeter mapping flight, but the satellite data suggests that the fire did not grow much closer to Susanville Tuesday. While much of the north edge backed into the wind and grew closer to Hwy. 36 east of Westwood, the fire has not spread very far into the five-year-old Willard Fire scar.

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

On the east side, south of last year’s Sheep Fire, it was very active in Wilcox Valley. South of the valley more of the perimeter spread into the two-year old Walker Fire.

Dixie Fire map
Dixie Fire map, northwest area. The red areas represent heat detected by a satellite at 3:45 a.m. PDT August 18, 2021. The white line was the perimeter on the morning of August 17, 2021.

The most extreme growth Tuesday and Tuesday night was south of Janesville west of Honey Lake where it ran for six miles. Satellite information showed it to be very close to Highway 395 and may have crossed it again.

The specifics about the wind Tuesday are variable due to the broad and complex land area we’re looking at, but on the east side of the fire at the Pierce weather station north of Antelope Lake the wind speed began increasing at 10 a.m. —  10 mph with 17 mph gusts. Between noon and 6 p.m. the sustained winds were 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 31 mph. The direction was not very consistent, but was generally from the northwest. The wind slowed during the night but picked up again at 4:00 Wednesday morning, 14 mph gusting to 34, this time out of the northeast.

The relative humidity Tuesday and through the night stayed in the twenties, finally rising to 52 percent at 6 a.m. If it had been in the teens Tuesday afternoon the fire would have been even more dynamic.

The east side of Dixie Fire is under a Red Flag Warning Wednesday. The National Weather Service reports that northeasterly winds are expected to persist Wednesday with gusts around 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. While pushing the blaze to the southwest, it will also help bring improving air quality to many areas, lasting into Thursday and possibly much of Friday. Light westerly winds may bring smoke back into the region Friday afternoon but confidence in that is fairly low right now, the NWS said..

The numbers of confirmed destroyed structures has risen to 653 residences, 134 commercial buildings, and 413 minor structures.

Resources assigned include 533 fire engines, 184 water tenders, 20 helicopters, 84 hand crews, and 199 dozers, for a total of 6,041 personnel.

Many federal firefighters to receive one-time monetary awards

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags 13 Comments on Many federal firefighters to receive one-time monetary awards

In recognition of their inadequate pay

Firefighters Boulder 2700 Fire
Firefighters on the Boulder 2700 Fire in Montana, August 2, 2021. InciWeb.

It has become widely known in the last eight months that federal wildland firefighters are embarrassingly underpaid. Numerous articles in national publications (and Wildfire Today) have been pointing this out. If the Senate version of  S.2377 – Energy Infrastructure Act also passes the House, it will be a major step forward to fix this. But until then, the five federal land management agencies that underpay firefighters are going to provide pay awards to fire personnel up to the GS-9 level ranging from $1,300 to 10% of six months of their base pay. It’s not huge, but I’m sure they will take it.

A joint press release from the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Department of Agriculture (Forest Service) gave a few details:

The pay increase will go into effect immediately, and wildland firefighters will receive a minimum of $15 an hour with a backpay date of June 30, 2021. To ensure the pay increase happens immediately, the Departments will provide pay awards to all frontline firefighters that earn less than $15 an hour to ensure their pay will meet that minimum. In addition, all temporary frontline firefighters will receive a $1,300 award and all permanent frontline firefighters up to GS-9 will receive an award equal to 10% of six months of their base pay.

Here is the way it was described in a memo sent by the US Forest Service’s Northeast Region office:

…It is important to note that the incentive awards firefighters in the categories below will receive this year are one small, but immediate step to achieve fair compensation.  It is just the first step to acknowledging our firefighters.  We know there is more that needs to be done longer-term around pay, benefits, title, series and mental health and well-being.  The Agency is not delaying on these other important steps, but they take more time and more help from other parts of the Federal government.

In the meantime, incentive awards will be coming in the following ways:

—Temporary (1039) Seasonal Fire Employees GS-9 and  below, and WG-8 and below– Temporary (1039), primary/secondary-covered positions for wildland firefighting, GS-9 and below and WG-8 and below, will receive an Achievement cash award of $1300 (resulting in an after tax amount of $1000).
—Permanent Full-Time and Permanent Seasonal Fire Employees GS-9 and below, and WG-8 and below– Permanent full-time and permanent seasonal, primary/secondary-covered positions for wildland firefighting, GS-9 and below and WG-8 and below, will receive an Achievement cash award equivalent to 10% of your base salary for 1040 hours (based on step 5 of your grade and the locality pay for the “rest of the United States”).
—All GS-3 employees earning a basic rate of less than $15 per hour– Permanent and seasonal GS-3 employees who earn a basic rate of pay of less than $15 per hour will receive additional compensation in their Achievement cash awards equal or more to the difference between their current rate and $15 per hour for a tour of 1040 hours, regardless of actual tour.  This has been calculated to be an additional $1,612.

In the DOI and the FS the pay increases and awards will appear in firefighter paychecks around August 23 or 24, 2021.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Ben and Kelly.

Wildland firefighters’ silent crisis

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 14 Comments on Wildland firefighters’ silent crisis
Bighorn Fire, night ops in Summerhaven
Bighorn Fire, night ops in Summerhaven. Coronado NF, Arizona. Photo by David Melendez, June 23, 2020.

Today The Guardian published a well-researched article written by Daliah Singer about stresses the 20,000 wildland firefighters face on the job, including mental health issues. Here is an excerpt from “Burning out: the silent crisis spreading among wildland firefighters.”

“ ‘The exposure to human suffering in the last three years is not something you’d see at a typical day of work at firefighting – entire communities destroyed, loss of human life, loss of wildlife, loss of the landscape that we treasure. That’s not what wildland firefighters signed up to do, but it’s what they’re exposed to,” says Nelda St Clair, who worked in wildland fire for 40 years and is now the national critical incident stress management program manager for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

“Mental struggles can become more acute in the offseason, when firefighters lose their connections to their crews and transition from rigorous schedules to quieter lives.

“ ‘[Wildland firefighters] have more risk than the average firefighter because of social disconnection,” says Thomas Joiner, a psychology professor at Florida State University and one of the country’s foremost experts on suicide. A recent study by his team included a sample of wildland firefighters – just 20 individuals – and found that 55% of them reported clinically significant suicidal symptoms compared with 32% of non-wildland firefighters.

“Dr Patricia O’Brien, a clinical psychologist and former hotshot – an intensely trained firefighter working directly on fire lines – expanded those results with a survey of more than 2,500 current and former wildland firefighters. Her early data, which is not yet peer-reviewed or published, shows that rates of self-reported probable depression, generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD, as well as past-year suicidal ideation, past-month binge drinking, heavy alcohol use and smokeless tobacco use were all two to 10 times more prevalent among wildland firefighters than the general public.”

(end of excerpt)

The article refers to research conducted by former hotshot Dr. Patricia o’Brien.  Here is an excerpt from the abstract of her work.

“Wildland firefighters in the sample reported relatively high rates of probable depression (17.3%), probable generalized anxiety disorder (12.8%), probable PTSD (13.7%), past year suicidal ideation (20.1%), past-month binge drinking (57%), heavy alcohol use (22%) and smokeless tobacco use (36.9%). These rates were 2-10 times higher than rates typically seen among the general public. Further, data showed a disparity between the prevalence of depression and PTSD identified by the study screening measures and the rates at which participants reported having been diagnosed by a healthcare provider. Finally, wildland firefighters in the study reported exposures to a variety of stressful events. Results of the study provide preliminary research data suggesting that wildland firefighters may be at greater risk of developing mental health conditions than the general public, and that a significant proportion of those conditions are under-detected and under-treated. Findings highlight the need for health surveillance and evidence-based health promotion and illness/injury prevention program development for wildland firefighters, particularly in psychological and behavioral health domains.”

 

Help is available for those feeling really depressed or suicidal.

Dixie Fire makes strong push to the east, reaches Hwy. 395

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 1 Comment on Dixie Fire makes strong push to the east, reaches Hwy. 395

A spot fire occurred five miles ahead

2:33 p.m. PDT August 17, 2021

An update from the Dixie Fire’s Incident Management Team includes the fact that the fire has been mapped at 604,000 acres, an increase of 26,000 over the previous update.

The numbers of confirmed destroyed structures has risen to 638 residences, 134 commercial buildings, and 400 minor structures.

Resources assigned include 516 fire engines, 186 water tenders, 20 helicopters, 103 hand crews, and 203 dozers, for a total of 5,963 personnel.

Dixie Fire map August 17, 2021
Dixie Fire map, northeast area. The white line was the perimeter on the morning of August 17, 2021. The green line was the perimeter at 11:30 p.m. August 15, 2021. The yellow areas represent intense heat.

Strong frontal winds caused the Dixie Fire, between Susanville and Chester, California, to grow substantially in several locations Monday.  (see map above) The fire is so huge, more than 578,000 acres, generalizations can’t be used. The south portion has been relatively quiet for several days, while other portions across the north end have been extremely active.

A weather station near Susanville recorded winds Monday afternoon from the southwest, west, and northwest at 10 to 18 mph gusting up to 29 mph while the relative humidity at one point dropped to 9 percent.

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

Southwest of Susanville the fire made a four-mile run between two fires from 2020, the Sheep and Hog Fires. The two-mile gap between those blazes is partially filled by a fire from 2016, the Willard Fire. As of early Tuesday morning the Dixie Fire has moved a short distance into that old burn. Presumably firefighters have been anticipating the fire spreading into this location and had made preparations, such as very wide dozer lines or tactical burning to remove fuel.

The Incident Management Team reported that northeast of Antelope Lake a spot fire developed five miles east of the main fire. That is a long, but not unheard of, distance for a spot fire to occur. It was three miles south of Janesville and three miles west of Highway 395. By early Tuesday morning it had spread to and crossed the highway, forcing its closure. The fire was also very active west of the lake.

Dixie Fire map August 17, 2021
Dixie Fire map, northwest area. The white line was the perimeter on the morning of August 17, 2021. The green line was the perimeter at 11:30 p.m. August 15, 2021. The yellow areas represent intense heat.

A new fire separate from the Dixie Fire has been growing on the west side of the fire near the intersection of Highways 89 and 36. It blew up Monday, running for about six miles north-northeast, and early Tuesday had advanced two miles inside Lassen Volcanic National Park, about a mile from merging with the Dixie Fire. The portion of the Dixie Fire already in the Park was also extremely active, moving a mile to the west and north.

This fire and others in the West are driven by very low fuel (vegetation) moistures resulting from drought. On the Dixie fire fuel moistures are historically low and the Energy Release Component is extremely high.

A Red Flag Warning will continue until 11 p.m. Tuesday due to low RH and gusty winds creating critical fire weather conditions. Ridgetop winds will pick up out of the west at 15 to 22 mph with gusts of 30 to 35 mph. Afternoon minimum relative humidity readings will again fall into the teens. A dry cold front will pass over the fire Tuesday night with winds out of the north.

The video below shows the Dixie Fire hitting Highway 395 Monday night.