Red Flag Warnings in effect Monday for parts of Colorado and New Mexico
Bear Creek Fire, Lakewood CO, Feb. 7, 2020. 9News image.
Sunday afternoon a large grass fire west of Denver in Lakewood, Colorado burned 537 acres before firefighters were able to stop the spread. Several neighborhoods were under evacuation orders but those were lifted after the fire was contained Sunday night. The fire was known as the Bear Creek and also the Morris Road Fire.
There are no reports of structures being damaged.
Map showing the location of the Bear Creek Fire, mapped Feb. 8, 2020, west of Denver. Map perimeter by Colorado’s MultiMission Aircraft.
The #MorrisonRoadFire has been determined to be human-caused, but it’s not known if it was accidental or intentional. Anyone with information, can contact West Metro at (303) 539-9531. This video shows what the fire looked like earlier today, driven by the wind. pic.twitter.com/tvvJNAsM3t
Bear Creek Fire, Feb. 7, 2020, west of Denver. West Metro Fire image.
Another fire, the Cherry Creek Fire, also broke out Sunday on the southeast side of Denver in Cherry Creek State Park east of the intersection of Interstates 25 and 225. The blaze burned 101 acres.
Map showing the location of the Cherry Creek Fire southeast of Denver. Fire perimeter mapped Feb. 8, 2020 by Colorado’s MultiMission Aircraft.
The strong winds that made the fires difficult to control are going to continue Monday in south-central Colorado and parts of Eastern New Mexico where Red Flag Warnings are in effect until Monday night. The forecast for Trinidad, Colorado on Monday calls for 56 degrees, relative humidity of 13 precent, and winds out of the east at 20 mph gusting to 32.
Red Flag Warnings in Colorado and New Mexico, Feb. 8, 2020
Midewin Engine 611, Tribal Fire Crew 42, Golden Eagles Hotshots, & Joe Demers
An unwelcome visitor under the hood of Midewin Engine 611. Screenshot from their video below.
Fire crews and organizations have produced some excellent videos showing the highlights of their fire activities in 2020. We like to post them each year, and we used to be able to do it with one article, but so far this year we have found 28 — too many for one article. So this year we will do it intermittently over a two-week period.
Here is Volume 5. The last batch will be posted February 10, 2021.
Midewin Engine 611, Illinois
Tribal Fire Crew 42
Golden Eagles Hotshots
Joey Demers (looks like Canada)
We had intended to post a video by the Sawtooth Hotshots, but now we can’t find it.
Lane Lamoreaux at his TEDx talk at Big Sky, Montana January 30, 2021.
Last weekend at Big Sky, Montana a former hotshot and smokejumper gave a TEDx talk about his recipe for resilience in coming back from a life-threatening injury. In 2013 while paragliding in Southern California Lane Lamoreaux hit the ground very hard, shattering several bones and causing injuries that kept him in a coma for nine weeks. He is the subject of a documentary due out this fall.
His portion of the TEDx program begins at 1:20:00. The video should begin at that point.
After recovering from his injuries he worked at the National Interagency Fire Center making training videos, including some on the subject of Short Haul. He has also posted numerous videos on his personal account at YouTube.
Skamania County Community Health members delivered COVID-19 vaccinations to more than 250 people at an appointment-only drive-through vaccination event in Skamania County, Washington last week. The event was planned by the interagency Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team. The IMT is part of a federal response to help support a tri-county COVID-19 vaccination effort in Southwest Washington. USFS photo.
Wildfire Today has previously reported on the activation of an interagency Incident Management Team mobilized to assist in Washington state, assessing and modifying existing COVID plans to enable a broader distribution of vaccinations. They are handling three counties for the Southwest Washington Health Services — Clark, Cowlitz, and Skamania. At least 30 personnel were dispatched, 20 from the USFS, 3 DOI, and 9 from state and local governments.
Alex Robertson of the U.S. Forest Service has an update on the teams’ activities in Washington. Here is an excerpt from his report:
…Fourteen USDA Forest Service staff from the Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team 3 are bringing those skills to bear on the national vaccination effort. More are expected to deploy in the days to come.
In speaking with Incident Commander Randy Johnson, I learned this isn’t the team’s first go-round supporting COVID response.
“Last spring, Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team 3 supported COVID response in Spokane County and now the team is working with the three counties in southwest Washington to develop a coordinated, scalable approach to vaccine delivery,” said Johnson.
The team is helping scout and plan vaccination sites, verify transportation capacity and methods, and develop other critical logistics in support of the Washington Department of Health, and public health authorities in Clark, Cowlitz and Skamania Counties. Team members are helping track eligibility guidelines, vaccination capacity and availability, and striving to ensure equity in access.
Their efforts have already made people safer. Skamania County Community Health vaccinated more than 250 people just last week at an appointment-only, drive-through vaccination site. The team is sharing lessons learned and refining plans for additional vaccination sites for Cowlitz and Clark counties, while working out logistics for mobile delivery to hundreds of eligible seniors living in adult family homes.
It’s support like this that will help make the safe, effective and comprehensive vaccination campaign called for in the National Strategy for COVID (PDF, 24 MB) a reality. President Biden called for a whole-of-government response to end the pandemic, and the USDA Forest Service is delivering.
And this is just one example of how the USDA Forest Service and its national interagency partners can be called up to respond when needed.
“While our team responds to a lot of wildland fires, the Incident Command Structure is easily adapted to many types of incidents. The team has served during disasters like hurricanes, recovering space shuttle Columbia (PDF, 2 MB), and on 9/11,” said Johnson.
“Adaptability and flexibility are crucial for team success on these missions and this team is made up of skilled professionals from local, state and federal agencies who exhibit those qualities.”
I knew when I recently accepted a position as Fire and Aviation Director for the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region, that we’d be facing new challenges this year. As we continue to recover from the 2020 wildfires and prepare for another fire season, we have the added challenge of keeping firefighters, employees and communities safe in the face of the pandemic.
I see this additional COVID support mission as a continuation of what wildland firefighters have always done—supporting the health and safety of the broader community.
I’m grateful that we have this opportunity to add another layer of support. Working closely with our partners, I look forward to seeing all that we can get done together.
Alex Robertson is the director of Fire and Aviation for the Pacific Northwest and Alaska regions in Portland, Oregon.
The blaze has burned 10,579 hectares (26,133 acres) in Western Australia
Map shows heat detected by a satellite at the bushfire northeast of Perth, Western Australia as late as 7:06 p.m. local time Feb. 4, 2021.
Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan announced $4,000 emergency funding will be provided for those whose homes have been destroyed by the fire northeast of Perth. In addition, $2,000 will be made available for those whose homes have been damaged.
The Premier said the Shady Hills area has been saved, “a remarkable achievement given the ferocity of the fire,” he said, but the total number of homes destroyed in the bushfire is now assessed at 81.
Fireys could get some relief Saturday with a 90 percent chance of rain, about 10-20mm according to the forecast. The high temperature Saturday will also drop to 21°C.
One more large air tanker was flown across the continent to assist with the blaze that has burned 10,579 hectares (26,133 acres) according to a Friday morning update from Emergency WA. This brought the fleet of large air tankers temporarily in Western Australia up to three — two 737s operated by NSW RFS and Coulson, and one Coulson C-130.
NSW RFS’ 737 dropping on the Perth Hills Bushfire. ABC image.Tracking the large air tankers working Perth Hills Bushfire, reloading at Busselton. Coulson image; two 737s and one C-130.
White Earth Reservation, Midewin Hotshots, Iron Mountain Handcrew, Folsom Lake Veterans Crew, & Del Rosa Hotshots
Folsom Lake Veterans Crew. Screenshot from their video below.
Fire crews and organizations have produced some excellent videos showing the highlights of their fire activities in 2020. We like to post them each year, and we used to be able to do it with one article, but so far this year we have found 28 — too many for one article. So this year we will do it intermittently over a two-week period.
