News and opinion about wildland fire
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized7 Comments on Smoke forecast and air quality, August 13, 2021 
Above is the forecast for the distribution of smoke from wildfires Saturday at 6 p.m. PDT August 14, 2021.
The map below shows the actual air quality in the Western U.S. at 6:46 p.m. PDT August 13, 2021, based on PM2.5 and PM10.
To see other articles on Wildfire Today tagged “smoke”, including the most recent, click HERE.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized14 Comments on Smoke linked to thousands of COVID-19 cases on West Coast More than half of the 22 coronavirus fatalities in Calaveras County, CA were tied to smoke
From the San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 13, 2021
The presence of wildfire smoke last year during the pandemic may have been responsible for at least 19,000 additional coronavirus cases on the West Coast, and 700 subsequent deaths, a new study shows.
The study, published Friday in the journal Science Advances, offers the most detailed accounting yet of how the devastating 2020 wildfire season is believed to have amplified the coronavirus outbreak. It traces increases in infections to periods of smoke in more than 50 counties in California, Oregon and Washington.
While a correlation between wildfire smoke and COVID-19 doesn’t prove causation, the study’s authors say the tie is no coincidence. Plenty of research since the start of the pandemic has suggested that exposure to smoke’s primary unhealthy component PM 2.5, which refers to particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers in size or smaller, compromises people’s immunity and increases susceptibility to COVID-19. Scientists also hypothesize that the virus may be spread by the particles.
The team’s models crunched coronavirus numbers in 92 counties during non-smokey periods from March 15 to Dec. 16 and how these numbers changed when wildfire smoke brought particulate pollution. The area that the researchers examined covered 95% of the population in California, Oregon and Washington. They excluded areas that did not have sufficient data for modeling.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire2 Comments on Richard Spring Fire prompts evacuation of Lame Deer, Montana The fire has burned more than 170,000 acres in the southeast part of the state
7:03 p.m. MDT August 13, 2021
The Richard Spring Fire reported August 8, 2021 10 miles southwest of Colstrip, Montana has burned along the Tongue River threatening multiple communities. It has been driven by strong winds through brush, short grass, and timber 90 miles east of Billings.
Evacuations are in effect for Lame Deer, Muddy Cluster, and Rosebud Cut Across.
Highway 212 is closed between Broadus and Crow Agency to all non-residents. Highway 39 is currently open, but this could change at any time.
The north side of the fire spread to the massive coal mines west of Colstrip. The south side, 12 miles to the south, jumped across US Highway 212 east of Lame Deer and has moved into heavier fuels. That is the area that showed the most activity in a 12:31 a.m. mapping flight Friday and is where many resources are currently concentrated.
Firefighters, including four Hotshot crews, are constructing hand line south of Highway 212 in an effort to contain the fire north of the Lame Deer Divide Road. Air tankers and helicopters are supporting the ground-based crews.
Lame Deer Fire
A fire 4 miles west of the Richard Spring Fire, the Lame Deer Fire, has burned 5,427 acres just north of Highway 212 and the community of Muddy. It is 3 miles west of Lame Deer. Firefighters took advantage of the precipitation to construct line and conduct burnout operations. Those efforts have been successful so far, and crews now have initial control lines constructed around most of the perimeter and will continue to strengthen those lines.
Threatens Westwood and Chester
6:30 p.m. PDT August 14, 2021
Here are some updated maps of the north half of the Dixie Fire. The south half is quiet.
Most of the fire activity Friday night and Saturday morning was:
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire8 Comments on Four wildland firefighters receive minor injuries in vehicle rollover Working on the Skyline Ridge Complex 22 miles southeast of Roseburg, Oregon
1:53 p.m. PDT August 12, 2021
Four firefighters assigned to the Skyline Ridge Complex of fires in Oregon were transported by ambulance Wednesday morning August 11 after their vehicle rolled over.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reported that a crew vehicle transporting fire personnel from their night shift assignment on the Skyline Ridge Complex east of Canyonville struck approximately 60 to 70 feet of guardrail before driving up a hillside and rolling over. The crash resulted in non-life threatening injuries to four firefighters who were transported by ambulance to Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, Oregon where they were treated and later released.
The call came in to 9-1-1 at approximately 9:53 a.m. of a single vehicle rollover crash in the 15000-block of Tiller Trail Highway roughly 10 miles east of Canyonville and Interstate 5.
The injured personnel are part of a 20-person crew assigned to the fire. Additional crew members traveling in two other vehicles were not involved in the accident.
Deputies determined the driver, a 38-year-old wildland firefighter from Salem, Oregon fell asleep at the wheel while returning to fire camp after working the night shift on the fire. Alcohol and speed were not contributing factors in the crash and no citations or arrests were made.
The Skyline Ridge Complex is a group of fires started from lightning on August 1, 2021 about south-southeast of Roseburg, Oregon. Combined, the fires have burned 3,546 acres.
These firefighters were very lucky. From 1990 through 2014, 22 percent of the wildland firefighter fatalities were the result of vehicle accidents.
Articles on Wildfire Today tagged “sleep”.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Kelly.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire7 Comments on Dixie Fire grows to more than a half million acres 6:50 a.m. PDT August 12, 2021
An inversion remained over the Dixie Fire southwest of Susanville, California Wednesday and Wednesday night trapping the smoke and reducing visibility, but the blaze was still moderately active. Late in the afternoon fire in the Wilcox Valley 12 miles northeast of Greenville intensified, sending up a smoke column that broke through the inversion. The smoke above the inversion was then transported off to the northwest by upper level winds. Warm temperatures Wednesday night and minimal humidity recovery allowed the the fire to continue to spread.
A mapping flight late Wednesday night found that the fire had grown to 510,000 acres.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Dixie Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.)
In an update, the Incident Management Team said in areas where the fire has been stopped the large fuels on the ground, such as logs and stumps, will require a significant amount of resources to mop up due to the volume of fuels and the steep, rugged terrain.
Aircraft initially working the fire Thursday morning will include 1 Very Large Air Tanker (DC-10), 2 Large Air Tankers, 2 Super Scoopers, 1 Lead Plane, 1 Air Attack aircraft, and approximately 20 helicopters.
Wednesday evening there were 6,133 personnel assigned to the incident, with 511 fire engines, 175 water tenders, 20 helicopters, 81 hand crews, and 198 dozers. The estimated suppression costs to date are $217 million. Nationwide there are over 25,000 personnel committed to wildland fires.
There is a chance Thursday for thunderstorms bringing very little rain with temperatures in the mid 90s to lower 100s and relative humidity in the lower teens. Winds will generally be out of the southwest in the afternoon with the exception of outflows generated by thunderstorms. The rest of the week should bring rising temperatures and dry conditions. Sustained southwest winds are expected to push the fire to the north and northeast.
