Take a simulated flight over the 89,000-acre wildfire
Above: screenshot from the video.
This is a flyover virtual tour of the Ferguson Fire burning in and near Yosemite National Park in California. The red line was the perimeter at 12:15 a.m. PDT August 5, 2018. The red shaded areas were intense heat at that time. The blue line is the location of the huge Rim Fire of 2013. The green line is the boundary between Yosemite National Park and U.S. Forest Service managed land. Recorded by WildfireToday.com August 5, 2018.
The fire has burned over 89,000 acres in Yosemite National Park, Sierra National Forest, and Stanislaus National Forest. On the north edge it has burned into the footprint of the Rim Fire that blackened 257,000 acres in 2013.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Ferguson Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.)
Astronaut Alexander Gerst tweeted these photos on August 3 of the wildfires in California, apparently taken from the International Space Station. He didn’t specify the date, but presumably they are very recent.
I’m not positive, but I think the photo that has multiple fires includes, from bottom to top (south to north), the Ferguson Fire at Yosemite National Park, the Mendocino Complex east of Ukiah, and the Carr Fire at Redding. The smoke farther north could be the Natchez Fire and blazes in Oregon. The other photo is most likely the Ferguson Fire.
Click on the images twice to see larger versions.
California burning. These fires are frightening to watch, even from space. Here’s a shout-out from space to all firefighters on this planet, my former colleagues. Stay safe my friends! pic.twitter.com/y7PNmR006b
The fire is well established on the east side of Highway 41 and has crossed Glacier Point Road
(UPDATED at 5:20 a.m. PDT August 4, 2018)
Map showing the perimeter of the Ferguson Fire at 1:30 a.m. PDT August 4, 2018. The red shaded areas represent intense heat at that time. The blue line at the top is the 2013 Rim Fire. Click to enlarge.
These two maps of the Ferguson Fire at Yosemite National Park in California include the latest perimeter data collected by a fixed wing aircraft at 1:30 a.m. PDT August 4, 2018.
Friday afternoon the fire spotted across two highways running for almost a mile in both places — east of Highway 41 at Glacier Point Road, and across Highway 140 below Foresta. The slop over across 41 was approximately 200 acres at 1:30 a.m. PDT on Saturday. About half of that crossed over Glacier Point Road.
Map showing the northeast perimeter of the Ferguson Fire at 1:30 a.m. PDT August 4, 2018. The red shaded areas represent intense heat at that time. Click to enlarge.
Below is an excerpt from a Friday evening update by the incident management team:
The Ferguson Fire grew by 3,647 acres throughout the day and was at 77,207 acres as of 6 p.m. Containment is at 41 percent. Firefighters worked throughout the day on a spot fire that jumped the Merced River early this morning and is burning in the Crane Creek drainage southwest of Foresta. Aircraft dropped water and retardant in support of firefighters.
Bulldozers and hand crews built containment lines between the fire and Foresta. Engines and crews remained in Foresta for structure protection. While Yosemite Valley was not in imminent danger, dangerous road conditions, smoke and a loss of power prompted Yosemite National Park officials to evacuate the area until further notice.
Later in the afternoon, another spot fire emerged west of Wawona Road (Highway 41) and began advancing toward Badger Pass. Evacuations were issued along Highway 140 out of concern that shifting winds overnight could bring the fire back into the communities.
On the north side of the fire, crews completed tactical firing along Pilot Ridge on the Mariposa-Tuolumne county line. They will perform firing operations south along the 13 Road as weather allows to fully contain the fire’s northern perimeter.
(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Ferguson Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.)
(UPDATED at 7:17 p.m. PDT August 3, 2018)
The satellite heat sensing data from 2:43 p.m. PDT August 3, 2018, represented by the red dots, can be seen in the map above.
The satellite heat sensing data from 2:43 p.m. PDT August 3, 2018, represented by the red dots, can be seen in the map above. It shows heat where the Ferguson Fire, at Yosemite National Park in California, crossed Highway 41 near Glacier Point Road, and Highway 140 south and southeast of Foresta.
The Ranch Fire will most likely burn into the Pawnee Fire of June, 2018.
(Originally published at 11:02 a.m. PDT August 3, 2018)
The Mendocino Complex of Fires east of Ukiah, California were extremely active Thursday, adding another 43,000 acres west and east of Clear Lake. Firefighters were again engaged in house to house structure protection as the fire moved through the wildland-urban interface.
The northernmost of the two fires, the Ranch Fire, ran for about 6 miles to the southeast, coming very close to the burn scar from the Pawnee Fire of June, 2018, according to the infrared sensing data from a fixed wing aircraft collected at 11:30 p.m. August 2. The Ranch Fire also grew significantly on the northeast side.
Map showing the perimeter, in red, of the Mendocino Complex of Fires at 11:30 p.m. MDT, August 2, 2018. The white line was the perimeter 24 hours before. The red shaded areas represent intense heat. Click to enlarge.
The River Fire west of Clear Lake only showed major growth on its north side, where it moved to the north for up to a mile along an eight-mile long active edge.
Photographer Kent Porter wrote on Twitter (see below) that more evacuations were ordered north of Clear Lake. He said “the firefight was intense in Scotts Valley” Thursday. His photos confirm that statement.
To see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Mendocino Complex of Fires, including the most recent, click HERE.
Both fires are remaining active throughout the night. On Friday firefighters will prep and construct primary and secondary control lines. Difficult access and hot, dry weather make it difficult to fight fire directly in many areas.
CAL FIRE reports that 41 residences have been destroyed, up from 14 in Thursday’s update. The two fires have burned a total of 153,738 acres — 112,226 on the Ranch Fire and 41,512 on the River Fire, according to the numbers released by CAL FIRE Friday morning. That is a total increase of over 43,000 acres since Thursday.
Kent Porter got some great photos at the fire on Thursday, including one of the 747 Supertanker. Click on the pictures below to see larger versions.
The fire started July 23, 2018 near the community of Kallitehnoupolis on Penteli Mountain, approximately 20km (12 miles) northeast of Athens and 5.6 km (3.5 miles) west of the Aegean Sea. With the extreme weather conditions it spread quickly east to Kallitechnoulopis, Neos Voutzas, Rafina, and reached Mati where it finally stopped at the coast.
The Fire Service responded, sending 60 personnel in 24 vehicles, 2 ground forces teams, 3 Canadair scooping air tankers, and a helicopter.
Pushed by strong winds out of the west the fire ran 5.6 km (3.5 miles) in about 90 minutes, moving through a densely populated area frequented by tourists.
From the report:
The aftermath is tragic. The fire burned approximately 1,276 ha (3,153 acres), estimated from satellite data. Within the area, there are approximately 1,220 totally destroyed buildings (according to official inspections) and 305 burned vehicles. The days following the event, the authorities recovered at least 91 bodies from the scene (updated July 31, 2018 at 11.00am). Several missing persons were reported and tens of injured (approximately 200 at some point) were transferred to nearby hospitals.
The wind speeds recorded by a network of weather stations were the highest seen during the summer months in the last eight years, with gusts of 100 to 120 km/hour (62 to 74 mph).
The rapid spread of the fire and with little effective notification, the residents and tourists in the communities in its path and the densely populated city of Mati had little chance to escape. The report said, “The population had almost zero time between risk awareness and reaction decision”.
Many got in their vehicles and drove away from the blaze toward the coast. They encountered urban planning, or the lack of it, that included narrow streets, numerous dead ends, elongated blocks without the possibility of lateral escape, and the absence of areas that could serve as safety zones. The visiting tourists who were often not very familiar with the layout of the streets were at a particular disadvantage. The low visibility due to the smoke was another challenge. Continue reading “Report issued on one of the devastating fires near Athens, Greece”
Late in the day the Ranch Fire ran for at least five miles to the southeast
The northernmost of the two fires in the Mendocino Complex east of Ukiah, California, the Ranch Fire, was very active late in the day on Wednesday, running for at least five miles to the southeast according to the very reliable information from a mapping aircraft at 11:10 p.m. August 1. It is possible it may have spread for an additional three miles three to five hours later, but the data from the later overflights by the MODIS and VIIRS satellites could have been detecting heat and debris in a powerful convection column, rather than fire on the ground. All of the significant activity on the Ranch Fire Wednesday was on the northeast and east sides.
Map showing the perimeter, in red, of the Mendocino Complex of Fires at 11:10 p.m. MDT, August 1, 2018. The white line was the perimeter about 24 hours before. The red shaded areas represent intense heat. Click to enlarge.
With the expansion of the Ranch Fire it is now about three to five miles northeast of the community of Nice and four to seven miles northeast of Lucerne; both of these communities are on the east shore of Clear Lake.
To see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Mendocino Complex of Fires, including the most recent, click HERE.
Apparently firefighters on the River Fire have been very successful on the south and east flanks, with those locations showing little to no growth Wednesday in the Lakeport and Finley areas. The north side, however, was quite active, spreading north for about a half mile across the north perimeter.
CAL FIRE reports that 14 residences have been destroyed. The two fires have burned a total of 110,168 acres — 74,890 on the Ranch Fire and 35,278 on the River Fire, according to the numbers released by CAL FIRE Thursday morning.
