Screenshot from Part 7 of the Santa Fe NF series of videos on fuel management.
Here are parts seven and eight in the series of 12 videos produced by the Santa Fe National Forest on the topic of fuel management and forest restoration.
Fuel Management is defined as:
An act or practice of controlling flammability and reducing resistance to control of wildland fuels [vegetation] through mechanical, chemical, biological, or manual means, or by fire, in support of land management objectives.
Forest Restoration:
Actions to re-instate ecological processes, which accelerate recovery of forest structure, ecological functioning and biodiversity levels towards those typical of climax forest, i.e. the end-stage of natural forest succession.
The map shows heat detected on the Cattle Fire by a satellite at 3:48 a.m. PDT Oct. 5, 2019.
Updated at 10:52 a.m. PDT October 5, 2019
A new fire that ignited overnight 9 miles northeast of Bakersfield, California has forced the closure of State Highway 178. The fire, named Cattle Fire, is just inside the boundary of the Sequoia National Forest.
There is a report that the spread of the fire has been temporarily stopped at about 93 acres.
Kern County Fire Department said the highway could be closed through the day on Saturday.
It could be used to pretreat areas at high risk of fire ignitions to make them fire resistant
Overhead time-course images of 3 m × 3 m unmowed (standing) grass plots that were untreated or treated with different coverage levels, dried, weathered, and allowed to dry again over time in the environment prior to burning. The normalized area burned over time demonstrates that CL2 (coverage level 2, or 2 gallons per 100 square feet) is sufficient to preclude spreading of the fire. Air tankers use the same unit of measurement, coverage level, to specify how much retardant will be dropped. Figure from the research.
A group of scientists and engineers have developed a new fire retarding chemical, actually a gel in this case, that they say can be effective for months after being applied to vegetation.
The millions of gallons of red fire retardant that air tankers drop every year is usually made from ammonium phosphate or its derivatives. It has been called “long term fire retardant” because even after it dries, the chemical can interfere with the combustion process and may still retard the spread of a vegetation fire to a limited degree. However research and experience in the field has shown some formulations can be toxic to fish.
Gels have been used by firefighters for several decades on structure fires occasionally on vegetation fires. The products can be more effective than plain water due to their ability to stick to a vertical surface or vegetation. Water can remain in the gel for an hour or more depending on the ambient temperature, wind, and humidity. GelTech Solutions recently received a contract from the Oregon Department of Forestry to supply a blue-colored version of FireIce HVB-Fx gel to be used in air tankers. The company says the product passed the U.S. Forest Service’s newly revised, more challenging requirements for wildland fire chemicals. But the safety data sheet for the product says, “Titanium dioxide [a component of the product] has been classified by IARC as a possible carcinogen to humans (Group 2B) through inhalation of particulate dust.” The safety data sheet goes on to say, “This classification is based on inadequate evidence for carcinogenicity in humans, but sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in animals (rats). It should be noted that recent studies have demonstrated that the rat may be particularly sensitive to high levels of toxicity dusts such as titanium dioxide. Epidemiology studies do not suggest an increased risk of cancer in humans from occupational exposure to titanium dioxide. The conclusions of several epidemiology studies on more than 20,000 TiO2 industry workers in Europe and the USA did not suggest a carcinogenic effect of TiO2 dust on the human lung.”
This is not the first time blue gel has been used in air tankers. The photo below was taken in the Black Hills of South Dakota August 15, 2006.
A single engine air tanker drops blue gel on a fire near Shep’s Canyon in the Black Hills of South Dakota August 15, 2006. Photo by Bill Gabbert.
The scientists who developed the new fire retarding gel that they claim has “persistent retention”qualities said their formulation is environmentally benign, nontoxic, and will “biodegrade at desired timescales.” After application, it will retain its ability to prevent fires throughout the peak fire season, even after weathering that would sweep away conventional fire retardants. The cellulose-based gel-like fluid stays on target vegetation through wind, rain and other environmental exposure, they said.
“This has the potential to make wildland firefighting much more proactive, rather than reactive,” said Eric Appel, the study’s senior author and an assistant professor of materials science and engineering.
Treating wildfire prone areas prophylactically could provide a highly targeted approach to wildfire prevention, but, until now, long-lasting materials have not been available.
The researchers have worked with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to test the retardant materials on grass and chamise — two vegetation types where fire frequently starts. They found the treatment provides complete fire protection even after half an inch of rainfall. Under the same conditions, a typical commercial retardant formulation provides little or no fire protection. The researchers are now working with the California Department of Transportation and CAL FIRE to test the material on high-risk roadside areas that are the origin of dozens of wildfires every year.
“We don’t have a tool that’s comparable to this,” said Alan Peters, a CAL FIRE division chief in San Luis Obispo who monitored some of the test burns. “It has the potential to definitely reduce the number of fires.”
The Stanford-developed treatment contains only nontoxic materials widely used in food, drug, cosmetic and agricultural products, according to the developers. The unique properties of these gel-like retardant fluids allow them to be applied using standard agricultural spraying equipment or from aircraft. It washes away slowly, providing the ability to protect treated areas against fire for months as the materials slowly degrade.
The fire is about three miles south of Salida, Colorado
Decker Fire as seen from the north side of Salida, CO October 2, 2019. Photo by John Phillips.
(7:30 a.m. MDT October 4, 2019)
A mapping flight Thursday night found that the Decker Fire south of Salida, Colorado had grown by 2,078 acres since the previous flight about 48 hours before, bringing the size up to 5,824 acres. Most of the expansion occurred on the north side bringing it to 2.5 miles south of Highway 50. On the northeast side it spread almost a mile outside the boundary of the Rio Grande National Forest toward Wellsville.
Thanks to higher humidity and calmer winds the fire was not as active Thursday as in recent days (see map below). Instead of the 2 percent relative humidity seen on the fire Wednesday, the minimum reached Thursday was 20 percent.
3-D map showing the perimeter of the Decker Fire (in red) at 7:23 p.m. MDT Oct. 3, 2019. The white line was the perimeter about 48 hours before. Looking southeast.
The weather forecast for the north side of the fire calls for 73 degrees and 15 mph winds out of the southwest or west on Friday and Saturday. The humidity will be in the teens Friday and single digits on Saturday.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Decker Fire, including the most recent, click here.)
Map showing the perimeter of the Decker Fire (in red) at 7:23 p.m. MDT Oct. 3, 2019. The white line was the perimeter about 48 hours before. The green line is the boundary of the Rio Grande National Forest.
Resources assigned to the fire Thursday evening included 8 hand crews, 10 engines, and 5 helicopters for a total of 458 personnel. Approximately $2.3 million has been spent on managing this less-than-full-suppression fire to date.
The flight path of Colorado’s MultiMission Aircraft, a PC12, providing intel on the #DeckerFire south of Salida, Colorado Thursday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/NMnVn6GrHS
Christian Johnson, 55, was severely burned on the Spring Coulee Fire in Washington
Christian Johnson, Assistant Chief of the Okanogan Volunteer Fire Department.
A firefighter who received second and third degree burns over 60 percent of his body September 1, 2019 while battling the Spring Coulee Fire in Okanogan County, Washington passed away yesterday, October 2, 2019. Christian Dean Johnson, 55, of Okanogan was surrounded by his wife Pam, family, and friends at Harborview Medical Center.
From the GoFundMe page that was created September 3:
Christian has served his country as a sergeant in the Us Army, and was deployed with the Washington State National Guard from November 2003-May 2005 in Baghdad. He retired after 22 years of service and has volunteered for the Okanogan Fire Department for 20 years.
Christian is a selfless man, who is always willing to help those in need, and never ask for anything in return. We are now asking for your help to make this long journey a little easier for him and his family. Any amount of donations are greatly appreciated and will go towards helping his wife (Pam Johnson) with travel, housing, food, etc.
Our sincere condolences go out to Mr. Christian’s family and friends. May he rest in peace.
Smoke from the Decker Fire west of Colorado Springs will affect areas southwest of Denver
Above: Smoke forecast for 8 p.m MDT October 3, 2019, near surface and vertically integrated.
These maps were generated by NOAA at 6 a.m. MDT October 3, predicting the distribution of smoke. The forecast below indicates that near surface smoke from the Decker Fire south of Salida will be affecting the Denver area as well as locations southwest and north of Denver on Thursday.
Forecast for smoke created by the Decker Fire that will be near the Earth’s surface in the Colorado area at 8 p.m MDT October 3, 2019.
