Wildfire Today

Firefighters making progress on Whittier Fire, but it was very active on west side Tuesday

Bill GabbertJuly 12, 2017July 12, 2017UncategorizedCalifornia, Whittier Fire

Above: A 3-D map of the Whittier Fire looking southeast. The data was updated at 7:30 p.m. PDT July 11, 2017. The areas shaded in light red were burning very actively when the fire was mapped.

(Originally published at 7:52 a.m. PDT July 1, 2017)

Firefighters have completed a containment line around almost half of the Whittier Fire northwest of Goleta, California, but it was still very active in some areas Tuesday. On the east side it spread into Hot Springs Canyon putting up a large plume of smoke that got the attention of residents in Goleta and Santa Barbara. But as of 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday the east side was still about half a mile away from San Marcos Pass Road which has served as a barrier on the north side.

By 7:30 p.m. Tuesday it had burned 11,920 acres.

map Whittier Fire — Map of the Whittier Fire updated at 7:30 p.m. PDT July 11, 2017. The areas shaded in red were burning very actively when the fire was mapped. Click to enlarge.

A containment line is complete on the northwest side from San Marcos Pass Road up to the rock quarry, but beyond that, going up the slope, the terrain is much more steep and complex. Firefighters are scouting that area up to the ridge, hoping to find a route for a line.

Wednesday morning a deeper marine layer put a damper on fire activity. Later in the day the forecast for the north side of the fire calls for mostly sunny skies, 88 degrees, 37 percent relative humidity, and winds at 8 mph gusting to 12 shifting from the southeast to the southwest and eventually out of the west.

All of the articles we have written about the fire are tagged “Whittier Fire” and can be found here, with the most recent at the top.

A chance to study vortices in a smoke plume

Bill GabbertJuly 11, 2017July 12, 2017UncategorizedCalifornia, fire behavior, vortices, Wall Fire

Above: screenshot from the Wall Fire time-lapse video below.

This time-lapse video of the Wall Fire condenses one hour of high intensity fire behavior into a one minute video. It was photographed using the camera system operated by the Nevada Seismological Lab between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on July 8, 2017, the day after the fire started. Since then it has burned 5,800 acres and destroyed 41 homes and 55 other structures southeast of Oroville, California.

If you are interested in wildland fire behavior, you may be fascinated by the occasionally counter-rotating as well as single horizontal and vertical vortices as the fire rapidly spreads across the landscape.

This phenomenon is important to firefighters because of the extreme fire behavior that can put personnel in immediate danger.

If you want to read more about horizontal vortices, here are the results of a quick Google search. One of the links leads to an interesting paper titled Three Types of Horizontal Vortices Observed in Wildland Mass and Crown Fires, by Donald A. Haines and Mahlon C. Smith.

Here is a copy of their abstract (click it to see a larger version):

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Kelly.
Typos or errors, report them HERE.

Firefighters make progress on Alamo Fire east of Santa Maria, CA

Bill GabbertJuly 11, 2017UncategorizedAlamo Fire, California1 Comment

Above: Map of the perimeter of the Alamo Fire, at about 2 a.m. PDT July 11, 2017.

(Originally published at 8:36 a.m. PDT July 11, 2017)

There was very little growth on the Alamo Fire Monday, with the primary activity consisting of the fire backing down slopes into canyons. Firefighters took advantage of cooler and more humid weather to construct additional containment lines. The Incident Management Team is calling it 28,926 acres.

The forecast for Tuesday predicts mostly sunny skies, 81 degrees, 42 percent relative humidity, and winds out of the southwest at 9 mph gusting up to 14. Similar conditions are expected to continue through Thursday.

Resources assigned to the Alamo Fire include 179 engines, 26 water tenders, 10 helicopters, 48 hand crews, and 29 dozers for a total of 2,027 personnel.

Whittier Fire showed moderate growth on Monday

Bill GabbertJuly 11, 2017July 12, 2017UncategorizedCalifornia, Whittier Fire1 Comment

Above: A 3-D map of the Whittier Fire, looking west. The perimeter at 2:30 a.m. PDT on July 11 is shown in red. The white line was the perimeter 28 hours before.

(Originally published at 7:38 a.m. PDT July 11, 2017)

The Whittier Fire six miles northwest of Goleta, California showed moderate growth on Monday. The most active areas were the south side and the upper slopes on the east and west sides. The Incident Management Team has not changed the reported size yet and is still calling it 10,823 acres. The onshore breeze, higher humidity, and cooler temperatures worked in favor of the firefighters.

On Monday dozers worked the east flank from the Winchester Gun Club toward Hwy. 154. On the west side firefighters improved initial firelines and scouted for an area to complete the line up to Santa Ynez Ridge.

Whittier fire map — The perimeter of the Whittier Fire at 2:30 a.m. PDT on July 11 is shown in red. The white line was the perimeter 28 hours before.

Retardant lines are temporarily holding the south line while the incident management team works with local ranchers and residents to determine the best location for a fire line north of Goleta.

Most of the area within the perimeter of the fire has not burned since the Refugio Fire in 1955. Over the last several years these fuels have been stressed by the exceptional drought conditions and a high percentage of the fuel bed is dead. The combination of old, dry fuels with a newly cured heavy grass crop contributed to the rapid growth of this fire.

A total of 842 firefighters are assigned, including 97 fire engines, 11 hand crews, 8 dozers, 8 helicopters, and 2 water tenders.

The 20 structures that burned during the early stages of the fire included 8 residences and 12 outbuildings.

The weather forecast for the north side of the fire today predicts mostly sunny skies, 84 degrees, 40 percent relative humidity, and 7 mph southwest winds gusting to 12. Similar conditions are expected to continue through Thursday.

The photo below makes me wonder if binoculars were available during the briefing.

#WhittierFire-The 7 am briefing for FF’s working the day shift underway at Dos Pueblos High School, which is serving as the Base Camp. pic.twitter.com/FpNxnUH1sE

— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) July 11, 2017

All of the articles we have written about the fire are tagged “Whittier Fire” and can be found here, with the most recent at the top.

Satellite view of four wildfires in Idaho and Nevada

Bill GabbertJuly 11, 2017UncategorizedAntelope Fire, Idaho, Loveridge Fire, Nevada, Roosters Comb Fire, Tabor Flats Fire

Above: Smoke from the Roosters Comb Fire was captured in a photo by the (non-operational) GOES-16 satellite at 7:30 p.m. MDT July 10, 2017.

(Originally published at 7:20 a.m. MDT July 11, 2017)

Four wildfires in northeast Nevada and southern Idaho are large enough that satellites are able, in some cases, to see the smoke and the blackened burned areas. These photos were taken late in the afternoon on Monday July 10.

The one putting up the most smoke Monday was the Roosters Comb Fire which as of Monday evening had burned approximately 25,000 acres in Nevada 17 miles northeast of Battle Mountain. It was reported at 9 p.m. Sunday July 9. The fire is spreading rapidly through grass, sagebrush, and pinyon-juniper.

smoke Roosters Comb fire Nevada Idaho — Four wildfires in Nevada and Idaho were photographed by a satellite Monday afternoon, July 10, 2017.

Farther to the east in Nevada is the Tabor Flats Fire 27 miles northeast of Elko close to Interstate 80. The reported size of this fire is also 25,000 acres. The fire behavior in the tall grass is described as “extreme, running, flanking, wind driven runs”.

In Idaho the Loveridge Fire has burned over 38,000 acres 18 miles south of Mountain Home. It was shown as contained in the Tuesday morning national situation report. The heat detected by the satellite in that area (shown as red dots) could either be from the Loveridge Fire or a new fire in the same area.

The Antelope Fire at Shoshone, Idaho just south of Interstate 84 has covered 29,500 acres. It is exhibiting extreme fire behavior with wind-driven runs.

US Forest Service firefighter dies during physical training

Bill GabbertJuly 10, 2017July 10, 2017UncategorizedCalifornia, lodd2 Comments

On July 8 a firefighter on the Six Rivers National Forest died during physical training activities, according to media articles and the Wildland Firefighter Foundation which reported that the Forest issued this press release.

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“Dear Six Rivers Family and Friends,

It saddens me to announce the untimely death of a William Jaros. William, Bill a firefighter with the forest service for over twelve years was with engine crew 312 assigned to the Gasquet/NRA Ranger District.

[Saturday June 8], Bill was on a conditioning hike with several crew members and became ill, then collapsed. Immediate life-saving efforts were initiated, however Bill was not able to be revived.

USFS LEI helped us inform Bill’s next of kin in a Georgia early today and so I’m sending this out immediately after the family is notified.

A Critical Incident Stress Management team was been requested and are in route to the Gasquet/NRA district to support all that would like to talk about this sudden and tragic loss of life.

In accordance with agency protocols, a serious incident team will be arriving on the Gasquet/NRA district to gather all information concerning the loss of our fallen Six Rivers Family member. I will personally be on the Gasquet/NRA Ranger district to assist in all aspects related to Bills passing.

As we get more information surrounding Bill’s sudden and untimely passing, I will provide you this information in a timely manner. It is my intention to have an all Forest Members VTC meeting on Monday to provide you with the latest information as it becomes available.

My heartfelt condolences goes out to all that have served with Bill. This is a difficult time for the forest, and together we will make it through.
My heart and prayers goes out to the family, friends and colleagues of Bill—it is a loss for us all.

Sincerely
Michael Green
Acting Forest Supervisor”

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Our sincere condolences go out to Mr. Jaros’s family, friends, and coworkers.