There is so much smoke from so many sources that it is becoming difficult to determine the origin. Today’s smoke map generated by NOAA is very different from the one yesterday. The visibility here in South Dakota is about two miles due to smoke. I just talked with someone in Billings, MT and he said it is about the same there.
So you tell me. Is the smoke in South Dakota coming from the fires in California, or Canada? It seems unlikely it could be coming from both, as the map seems to indicate. Maybe the California smoke is blown to the north occasionally, then later a west wind blows that plume to the east.
The Basin complex near Big Sur continues to to grow on the north side, north of Big Sur, and expand slowly on the east side.
A mandatory evacuation notice was issued Wednesday, July 2, for the entire community of Big Sur and the residents of the east side of Highway 1 between Nepenthe north to Andrew Molera State Park. The total length of the evacuated area along the coast highway is now more than 25 miles.
As the fire moves toward the northwest, east of Big Sur, some of the dozer lines have held and some have not. It is within one mile of Pfieffer Big Sur State Park and within 1 to 2 miles of the community of Big Sur.
On the south side crews have been firing along the North Coast Ridge Trail toward the Rodeo Flats Trail and have reached to within about 2-1/2 miles of the Indians fire. Firefighters in this same area firing from the ridge trail down to the coast are making very slow progress.
The fire on the east side is within about 2-1/2 miles of Tassajara and is moving slowly toward the Indians fire, about 4 miles away, and the indirect dozer line, 3 to 7 miles away.
The fire is 64,304 acres and is 3% contained.
Issued at 1200 today:
There is a A RED FLAG WARNING is in effect through tonight for the Basin Complex (West) calling for strong winds along the ridge tops (NW 10-20mph, gusts to 25mph) and low RH values (20-35%) above the marine layer (1500-2000 ft.).
This is going to test the small amount of held line on the south side and will probably cause significant expansion on the east side, pushing the fire closer to Tassajara.
Six of the eight firefighters that were struck by lightning in North Carolina on June 28 have been released from the hospital. More about their status HERE. We initially reported on the story HERE. There are too many firefighters being struck by lightning. Here is where we reported on the Flathead Hot Shots that were struck on May 29.
I made some inquiries and found out the status of Evergreen’s 747 air tanker. They are still in contract negotiations with the U. S. Forest Service and will soon submit to them a proposal. They are confident that they will have a contract soon thereafter. The aircraft will carry 20,000 gallons and can cruise at mach .85, or 600 mph.
Here is a 22-second video of the 747 dropping water.
A comparison of retardant capacities of air tankers, in gallons.
Earlier Wildfire Today covered the fatality of the firefighter, Michael MacDonald, who died Sunday in the crash of the two medical helicopters in Flagstaff. MacDonald, 26, was a member of the Chief Mountain Hot Shot crew. He and his crew were working on the Walla Valley fire in Grand Canyon National Park when had an allergic reaction to medication while being treated at a clinic for a spider bite. He was being transported by a private air ambulance helicopter to a hospital in Flagstaff, Arizona when the crash happened.
The funeral services will be at the Browning High School, 112 1st Ave. SW, Browning, MT July 5 at 2:00 pm.
The lineup for participating fire apparatus will be at noon. Fire agencies wishing to send a vehicle should contact Dustin at 406-450-4273 or Mike at 406-868-8626
July 6 is the 14th anniversary of the South Canyon fire near Grand Junction, CO.
From the IAWF Wildland Fire Event Calendar:
On the afternoon of July 6, 1994, the South Canyon fire spotted across the drainage and beneath firefighters, moving onto steep slopes and into dense, highly flammable Gambel oak. Within seconds, a wall of flame raced up the hill toward the firefighters on the west flank fireline.
Failing to outrun the flames, 12 firefighters perished. Two helitack crew members on top of the ridge also died when they tried to outrun the fire to the northwest. The remaining 35 firefighters survived by escaping out the east drainage or by seeking a safety area and deploying their fire shelters.
For more information, the Lessons Learned Center has the investigation report. It is a large file, about 4 MB.
