A member of the United States House of Representatives elected by the people of Texas had an unusual question for an employee of the US Forest Service Tuesday. Jennifer Eberlein, the Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System in Washington, was testifying during a live streamed broadcast of a hearing before the House Natural Resources subcommittee on national parks, forests and public lands.
Rep. Louie Gohmert asked her a question. The topic at the time was climate change.
“I understand from what’s been testified to the Forest Service and the BLM you want very much to work on the issue of climate change,” Rep. Gohmert said. “I was informed by the immediate past director of NASA that they found that the moon’s orbit is changing slightly and so is the Earth’s orbit around the sun,” he continued. “And we know there’s been significant solar flare activity. And so is there anything that the National Forest Service or BLM can do to change the course of the moon’s orbit or the Earth’s orbit around the sun? Obviously, that would have profound effects on our climate.”
After a pause, Ms. Eberlien replied. “I would have to follow up with you on that one, Mr. Gohmert,” she said with a smile.
“Yeah, well, if you figure out a way that you in the Forest Service can make that change,” Rep. Gohmert said, “I’d like to know.”
After word got around about the unusual question, Rep. Gohmert tweeted about it. But he only wanted to clarify that he was referring to the Bureau of Land Management, not Black Lives Matter, and to make an accusation of “fake news” when someone quoted him correctly.
Astrophysicist Katie Mack weighed in:
There are two equally distressing possibilities for explaining this.
1) Gohmert thinks we can adjust the orbits of the Earth or Moon or tweak solar activity.
2) He’s knows that’s impossible & is being sarcastic because he thinks addressing climate change is always impossible. https://t.co/LFS9KF5ZK7
The Pack Creek Fire 12 miles southeast of Moab, Utah was very active through most of the night Thursday, moving east and northeast onto the upper slopes of Mt. Mellenthin where the fuel begins to thin above the 10,000-foot level. It was mapped at 4,944 acres Friday morning at 1:25 MDT. Two structures have been destroyed.
The firefighting resources assigned Thursday evening included 3 hand crews, 15 engines, and 3 helicopters for a total of 148 personnel. A Type 2 incident management team, Great Basin Team 4, has been mobilized.
9:30 p.m. MDT June 10, 2021
Hot, dry, and windy weather caused three wildfires in Utah to spread more rapidly on Thursday.
Pack Creek Fire
The newest of the large fires is the Pack Creek Fire 12 miles southeast of Moab which has burned into the Manti-La Sal National Forest. At about 6 p.m. on Thursday Utah Fire Information reported it was about 650 acres, but as this is written at 9:30 p.m. it appears it could be well over 1,500 acres, based on heat detected by satellites. The blaze was caused by an unattended campfire. One structure has been destroyed and additional structures are threatened. Due to increasing complexity a Type 2 Incident Management Team has been ordered to manage the incident.
Bear Fire
Two fires about 35 miles southeast of Provo were very active Thursday. As of 5 p.m. Thursday firefighters have been able to keep the Bear Fire west of Highway 6 in spite of Red Flag weather conditions.
US-6 remains closed Thursday night from milepost 221 to milepost 230. A detour route along Emma Park Road and US-191 is still in place. The detour route adds about 8 miles and 12 minutes to regular travel and gives drivers access to both directions on US-6, which will remain closed overnight and into Friday morning when the closure will be reevaluated.
A shift in wind direction Thursday has pushed more smoke into Helper and Price. Fire officials understand the increased smoke is concerning, but are confident they can keep the fire from reaching Helper.
Fire officials declined to release the size of the Bear Fire, but a very rough estimate based on heat detected by satellites indicates it has burned at least 6,500 acres.
Bennion Creek Fire
The second fire southeast of Provo is the Bennion Creek Fire which started June 4. On Thursday an additional mandatory evacuation area was identified — Aspen Cove in Scofield. Wednesday night the fire had burned 1,471 acres, but that number grew on Thursday.
Vicki Christiansen announced today her intention to retire from her position as Chief of the U.S. Forest Service. In addition to issuing a news release, she recorded what the Forest Service calls a “selfie video.” (below)
At times during the three-minute video she appeared to be emotional, taking a pause to collect herself. But she got right to the point. Here is how it began:
Hi everyone, it’s Chief Vicki Christiansen. Today, I’m going to share a personal decision that I have made together with my family. I will be retiring from USDA Forest Service in August. Please know what a difficult and emotional decision this is for me. I’ve been a wildland firefighter, a professional forester and a land manager for the last 40 years, and my personal passion is connecting people with their natural resources and serving at the Forest Service for the past 11 years has allowed me to do that in partnership with all of you. Serving with you has been a really special privilege, and it’s the best capstone that I could ever ask for my career.
From Wikipedia:
Christiansen worked as a firefighter in Washington for 26 years, eventually serving as the Washington State Forester. She then served as the Arizona State Forester from 2009 to 2010. She joined the United States Forest Service in 2010 as the acting director of legislative affairs before serving as deputy director of fire and aviation management. In 2012, she served as acting regional forester for the Northern Region, which covers 25 million acres across five states and includes 12 national forests.
Christiansen was named the 19th chief of the Forest Service in October 2018.
Chief Christiansen said she “has been working with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to plan her retirement for several months.” He is expected to nominate her successor later in June.
Chief Christiansen received mixed reviews during the last several months. She has been criticized for her meek appearances before Congressional committees, failing to be a strong advocate to impress upon the legislators that inadequate funds are being appropriated for the Forest Service, making it impossible to make adequate progress in managing hazardous fuels, prescribing burning, and recruiting and retaining skilled firefighting personnel.
Below is the complete transcript of the video, “lightly edited for clarity” by the US Forest Service:
“Hi everyone, it’s Chief Vicki Christiansen. Today, I’m going to share a personal decision that I have made together with my family. I will be retiring from USDA Forest Service in August. Please know what a difficult and emotional decision this is for me. I’ve been a wildland firefighter, a professional forester and a land manager for the last 40 years, and my personal passion is connecting people with their natural resources and serving at the Forest Service for the past 11 years has allowed me to do that in partnership with all of you. Serving with you has been a really special privilege, and it’s the best capstone that I could ever ask for my career.
“But, the time has come for me to spend more time with my family: my dear mother, who will turn 90 in a few months, my—of course—my children and my grandchildren. You know, they live a continent away in the Pacific Northwest, and I just need to be closer to them. And they have supported me so much throughout my entire career. It’s time for me to give back and to support them.
“I’ve chosen this moment, in part, because I think it’s the best time. There’s never a perfect time. I’d like to get so much more done with you and for you, but there are great leaders that are ready to step up, and in the coming days or weeks Secretary Vilsack will be announcing the next Chief. And I’ll stick around; I’ll spend a few weeks to do a transition with the new Chief once they’re in place. We want you all to know how much a good transition means for the Forest Service and USDA.
“So, think about all that we have accomplished in the last three years: coping with a global pandemic and horrendous fire years, the good traction that has been made in improving forest conditions and really setting the stage to do even more of that work with shared stewardship, and, of course, changing our culture for the better by naming and living our values through This is Who We Are.
“So, thank you for your support and thank you for your incredibly hard work. I am very proud to be one of you and this great mission of the Forest Service will be in my heart forever. It’s been an extreme honor and a great privilege to serve as your Chief.
“Thank you.”
End of transcript.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today tagged “Victoria Christiansen”, click here.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Riva, SR, and Kelly.
CAL FIRE reports that the spread of the Intanko Fire 15 miles east-southeast of Yuba City, California has been stopped. It was mapped at 950 acres.
Updated at 5:06 p.m. PDT June 8, 2021
At 4:51 p.m. Tuesday CAL FIRE reported that the Intanko Fire 15 miles east-southeast of Yuba City, California had grown to 500 acres and was moving north toward Chuck Yeager Road.
3:47 p.m. PDT June 8, 2021
A vegetation fire 15 miles east-southeast of Yuba City, California prompted evacuations Tuesday afternoon. At least one home was destroyed in the fire that was reported a little before 2 p.m. PDT, 32 miles north of Sacramento.
At 3:24 CAL FIRE reported it had burned 300 acres.
The fire started south of Beale Air Force base. The AFB Fire Chief ordered all housing residents east of East Garryanna that were in base housing to evacuate to the elementary school parking lot.
On June 5 there was another vegetation fire on the southeast portion of the base.
Firefighters on the Telegraph Fire have completed defensive burning operations around the communication towers on Pinal Peak one to two miles east of the main fire. South of Miami andn Claypool they are using dozers to construct several indirect contingency fire lines, and are burning out from some of the lines. On Thursday, for the first time a 15-mile stretch of fire perimeter west of Pinal Peak will be staffed by firefighters. Aerial ignitions are being conducted on the north side of the Pinals to bring fire slowly down the slopes in an attempt to lessen the severity of the fire effects. The fire has burned 85,335 acres.
Good progress is being made on the Mescal Fire, which was mapped at 72,250 acres Wednesday night.
Updated 8:48 a.m. MDT June 9, 2021
The Telegraph and Mescal Fires east of Phoenix continued to grow Wednesday. Both of the fires are near Globe, and are six miles apart separated by Highway 77.
Telegraph
Tuesday night satellites detected heat on Pinal Peak three miles east of the main fire. This could indicate firefighters are using fire to reduce the vegetation around the electronic sites on the mountain. (See the map below.)
The blaze was mapped by an aircraft Tuesday night at 80,822 acres, a 24-hour increase of about 4,000 acres.
Resources assigned include 20 hand crews, 39 engines, and 6 helicopters, for a total of 754 personnel, a 24-hour increase of 457 personnel.
Mescal
The only large concentrations of heat detected on the Mescal Fire Tuesday night by satellites was east of the 700 Road where firefighters are firing out, using the road as a barrier.
The Mescal Fire was mapped by an aircraft Tuesday night at 70,066 acres, an increase of about 3,000 acres.
Resources assigned include 16 hand crews, 25 engines, and 8 helicopters, for a total of 610 personnel, a 24-hour decrease of 49 personnel.
8:52 a.m. MDT June 8, 2021
The Telegraph and Mescal Fires east of Phoenix, Arizona were both active Monday and Monday night.
Telegraph Fire
Most of the growth of the Telegraph Fire Monday was on the northeast side, south of Miami and Claypool. At 2 a.m. Tuesday it was a half mile to one mile west of Russell Road near the Solitude Tailings Pond, about 2.5 miles west of Highway 60 in Globe.
The incident management team said Tuesday morning that it had burned 71,756 acres, an increase of about 10,000 acres in 24 hours.
Firefighters are protecting values in Top of the World, Superior, Claypool, Miami, and Globe. One of the primary goals is keeping the fire south of U.S. 60.
Crews are conducting burnout operations where strategically feasible, generally along roads, to remove fuel ahead of the fire .
The fire is expected to continue spreading to the north. Where the perimeter has not been secured on the north side it could fill in some of the gaps where it has not yet reached Highway 60.
Sunday evening the Gila County Sheriff’s Office announced a “GO” notification for all Miami residents west of the Miami town limits. Earlier evacuations had been ordered for the Top-of-the-World Community between Superior and Miami. All of these communities are along US 60.(see map above)
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Telegraph and Mescal Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.
Resources assigned to the Telegraph Fire include 7 hand crews, 21 engines, and 4 helicopters for a total of 297 personnel.
Mescal Fire
On Monday the Mescal Fire was far less active than the Telegraph Fire. Many of the strategic firing operations to stop the spread have been successful, including about 8 miles along Highway 70.
Some firefighting resources have been transferred to the Telegraph Fire.
At 2:36 a.m. satellites detected large heat sources in only two areas, the west side about 4 miles east of Highway 77, and on the southeast side about 3 miles west of San Carlos Reservoir.
An overnight mapping flight determined the Mescal Fire had burned about 66,000 acres, a 24-hour increase of about 14,000 acres.
Resources assigned to the Mescal Fire include 18 hand crews, 23 engines, and 7 helicopters for a total of 659 personnel.
The Telegraph Fire southwest of Globe, Arizona was active again Monday due to the continuous cured grass and brush, low fuel moistures, and weather conditions — temperature in the upper 90s, 7 percent relative humidity, and 15 mph winds gusting to 24 mph.
At least 3,500 residences are threatened by the fire.
On Monday the fire made runs on the east side near Highway 60 and lofted embers across the road igniting a spot fire north of the Pinal Creek Bridge south of Miami.
Crews are conducting burnout operations where strategically feasible, generally along roads, to remove fuel ahead of the fire .
The fire is expected to continue spreading to the north. Where the perimeter has not been secured on the north side it could fill in some of the gaps where it has not yet reached Highway 60.
At 6 p.m. Monday it had burned about 61,000 acres.
Resources assigned to the fire include 6 hand crews, 8 engines, 1 dozer, and 5 helicopters for a total of 276 personnel.
1:50 p.m. MDT June 7, 2021
Telegraph Fire
Additional evacuations were ordered for the Telegraph Fire which has been spreading rapidly 27 miles east of Mesa, Arizona, 5 miles southwest of Globe. Sunday evening the Gila County Sheriff’s Office announced a “GO” notification for all Miami residents west of the Miami town limits. Earlier evacuations had been ordered for the Top-of-the-World Community between Superior and Miami. (see map above)
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Telegraph and Mescal Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.
All of these communities are along US 60. The next one to the northeast, the direction the fire is moving, which could be threatened later is Claypool, and after that Central Heights-Midland City, and Globe. They were not under evacuation orders as of Monday morning at 10:27 a.m. MDT.
Sunday night the incident management team said the Telegraph Fire had burned 41,109 acres. After the overnight mapping flight data has been analyzed that figure will likely increase to more than 56,000 acres. (Update at about 1:50 p.m. MDT June 7: the incident management team revised the size estimate to 56,625 acres.)
The Southwest Area Type 1 Incident Management Team led by Incident Commander Dave Bales, assumed command of the Telegraph Fire early Sunday morning and additional resources continue to be assigned to the fire.
The fire was reported around 1:30 pm Friday, June 4; its cause is under investigation.
Mescal Fire
The Mescal Fire is 13 miles east of the Telegraph fire, 9 miles southwest of Globe. Firefighters have been conducting strategic firing operations north of San Carlos Reservoir and east of Cutter along US Highway 70.
Evacuation orders were previously issued for Coyote Flats, Peridot Heights, the San Carlos High School Area, and all residents along Route 3.
Air tankers and helicopters are being utilized extensively to support firefighters on the ground as needed.
Sunday evening the incident management team said the Mescal Fire had burned 49,631 acres. After the overnight mapping flight data has been analyzed that figure will likely increase to more than 52,000 acres. (Update at about 1:50 p.m. MDT June 7: the incident management team revised the size estimate to 52,887 acres.)