Map showing the locations of two wildfires on Eglin Air Force Base in northwest Florida. The red and yellow dots represent heat detected by a satellite; the red dots are the most current: 1:47 p.m. EDT, March 22, 2019. Click to enlarge.
Two wildfires have been burning on Eglin Air Force Base in northwest Florida since Thursday.
One of them, the Wet Pond Fire, is burning on Test Area A-77 that contains unexploded ordnance, so firefighters are not entering the area and are formulating a plan to suppress it indirectly with burnout operations from roads or natural barriers. If implemented, that strategy would increase the size to about 4,000 acres.
Base spokesperson Mike Spaits said the fire started during a training mission of the U.S. Army 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), an Eglin-headquartered unit based in Crestview.
A second fire, in Test Area A-78, had burned about 500 acres as of Friday morning. Work on the fire, Mr. Spaits said, “will include improving dozer lines and continued scouting for additional opportunities to construct fire lines.”
Both blazes are being managed by “members of the Eglin Wildland Support Module with assistance from Florida Forest Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Longleaf Alliance,” according to an 11 a.m. update from Mr. Spaits.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Darryn. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
New dozer and transport for the Nevada Yuba Placer Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. CAL FIRE photo.
The Nevada Yuba Placer Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection recently received a large piece of fire suppression equipment. (Back in the old days we would lovingly refer to them as a Big Yellow McLeod.)
Here is how it is described by the agency:
CAL FIRE NEU took possession of a new 2018 D6N Caterpillar Dozer and 2019 International HX Series Transport.
The dozer has been modified with an extended track frame which helps with climbing and side hill performance. The engine compartment is configured with a 75 gallon water fire suppression system that can be activated by the operator for fires within the dozer. For operator safety the cab has a pressurized filtration environmental cab system and complete roll over protection system. An advanced lighting package will increase night time vision and allow safer operation under dusty and dark conditions.
The dozer and transport both have the CAL FIRE Automatic Vehicle Location System which operates from radio, satellite, and cellular.
New dozer and transport for the Nevada Yuba Placer Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. CAL FIRE photo.
The transport is has a Cummins X15 Performance motor that produces 605 Horse Power and 2050 lb-ft Torque. It is mounted to an 18 speed transmission.
Both Pieces of equipment will service the entire state but are based out of the Nevada City CAL FIRE Station.
One of the two operators assigned to this equipment will be Joe Kennedy recently made famous by videos showing his heroic efforts saving citizens at the Camp Fire in Paradise.
The other operator is Shawn Entz who is a fourth generation Nevada County resident who has over 20 years logging and firefighting in California.
If anyone has a link to the videos referred to above, let us know in a comment.
We might be jumping the gun a little, but you need to know that Smokey Bear turns 75 this year. His birthday is usually celebrated on August 9, but there will be additional festivities this year — because 75 is evenly divisible by 25 and is three-quarters of the way toward 100.
SDG&E’s has developed a system that can shut off the electricity to a broken power line before it hits the ground. SDG&E graphic.
Some of the wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes in California in the last two years were caused by broken power lines. A utility that supplies electricity to much of Southern California, San Diego Gas and Electric, has developed a system intended to cut off power to a falling power line before it hits the ground, therefore avoiding a possible ignition.
SDG&E’s research found that it takes 1.37 seconds for a broken conductor to hit the ground, for example, if a tree falls into the line or a vehicle hits a power pole. When the line contacts the ground sparks can ignite vegetation. The system is designed to detect a break and shut off the power before the clock hits 1.37 seconds — hopefully, avoiding what could become a dangerous wildfire.
In SDG&E’s video below, they describe the system beginning at 1:40.
If this actually is effective in the real world, it would be a very important method of preventing some wildfires caused by power lines.
The Butte Fire at 6:09 p.m. on September 10, as seen from above Jackson, CA, looking southeast. Photo by Matthew Rhodes.
A Calaveras County employee working on a brush clearing project along a road in the scar from the Butte Fire was killed Monday March 18 by a rolling tree or log. County Public Works personnel were working with a CAL FIRE Conservation Camp crew inside the perimeter of the fire that burned 71,000 acres south of Jackson, California in September, 2015.
Kevin Raggio, Calaveras County Coroner, identified the man as 57-year-old Ansel John Bowman.
A very brief “Blue Sheet”preliminary report released by CAL FIRE said the county employee “was hit by a previously downed tree and suffered fatal injuries”. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A fire southeast of Salem prompted evacuat.ion orders Tuesday
Numerous wildfires have broken out recently in western Washington and northwest Oregon after several days of warm, dry, and windy weather.
“That’s a result of very strong dry eastern winds that have been pushing across the cascade mountain range and through the Columbia Gorge,” Northwest Coordination Center fire weather program manager John Saltenberger told KGW8 news.
A fire southeast of Salem, Oregon near Lyons jumped the Santiam River and prompted evacuation orders on Tuesday, which were lifted Wednesday. Reported Tuesday afternoon near the North Santiam State Recreation Area off Highway 22, it was mapped at 189 acres after firefighters stopped the spread. By Thursday morning they had a fire line around 80 percent of the perimeter.
A three-alarm vegetation fire south of Seattle in White Center started in a vacant lot Wednesday afternoon. Burning embers landed on the roof of an apartment building and set it ablaze, damaging all seven units in the structure.
The King County Sheriff’s Office reported that a 34-year old man was arrested, suspected of setting the fire.
— Puget Sound Fire (@PugetSoundFire) March 20, 2019
No residents were injured but two firefighters were transported to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
TDN.com reported that the Washington DNR responded to eight wildfires in its seven-county Southwest Region on Wednesday — three in Cowlitz, two in Lewis, two in Clark and one in Wahkiakum. All of the personnel from Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue, were out on fires Wednesday.
Below is an excerpt from TDN.com:
About 40 firefighters and three state helicopters Wednesday fought a wildfire east of Cathlamet that was estimated Tuesday at 40 acres but had grown to 100 acres Wednesday. DNR Spokeswoman Mary McDonald said late Wednesday afternoon it is considered contained.
The fire, which broke out Tuesday and was spread by brisk gusts, burned up a steep slope on the north side of State Route 4 in the Little Cape Horn area. The highway remained opened, said Russ Truman, fire dispatch and prevention officer for the State Department of Natural Resources regional office in Castle Rock.
McDonald said a DNR helicopter was rerouted from the wildfire near Cathlamet to Tower Road after reports the brush fire had reached a structure there. Further details were not available.
“We are tapped,” [ Cowlitz 2 Fire Chief Dave] LaFave said. “Our people are worn out. This is a record. I’ve been in this department 36 years, and I’ve never seen this. People need to stop burning. … There can’t be anything so pressing that (burning) needs to happen right now.”
Russ Truman, fire dispatch and prevention officer for the State Department of Natural Resources regional office in Castle Rock said “Things are burning like they do in September.”
Eatonville (referenced in the tweet below) is about 50 miles south of Seattle.
#BREAKING– Firefighters are working on scene of a large brush fire at S.R 702 and Jackson Road in #Eatonville. Firefighters urge residents on Jackson Road to evacuate as this fire continues to grow. #wawildfire ? @komonews@KING5Seattle @KIRO7Seattle @Q13FOX pic.twitter.com/FUI8kZnZQT
— Pierce County Firefighters (@IAFF726) March 20, 2019
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Stanley. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
50 wildfires in WA this week w/ 49 on the west side. Our meteorologist says weather conditions paired w/ abundant dead/dormant grasses/shrubs allowed for a “perfect storm” to bring considerable fire activity over the last few days. ? Be #WaWILDFIRE aware! https://t.co/tpvqWey9G3
— Washington State DNR Wildfire (@waDNR_fire) March 21, 2019
