Halfway Hill Fire and Dry Creek Fire were reported about the same time on Friday, July 8
Map, Halfway Hill and Dry Creek Fires in central Utah, 3:11 a.m. MDT July 9, 2022.
Firefighters are working on two fires in Central Utah that were reported Friday 14 minutes apart, separated by 28 air miles.
The Halfway Hill Fire spread rapidly about one mile east of Interstate 15, 2 miles southeast of Fillmore. On Friday the Millard County Sheriff’s Office ordered evacuations for the Virginia Hills subdivision southeast of Fillmore. Utah Fire Information reported Saturday morning it had burned 6,644 acres since it was reported at 3:13 p.m. July 8. At 12:30 p.m. on Saturday aircraft spotted working the fire included four single engine air tankers and two large RJ85 air tankers. They were reloading with retardant at Cedar City.
The blaze started while the relative humidity was 10 percent with a 15 mph wind gusting out of the southwest at up to 30 mph. Conditions are about the same Saturday afternoon.
Halfway Hill Fire — posted by Utah Fire Info July 8, 2022.
The 1,200-acre Dry Creek Fire is 10 miles west of Interstate 15, 2 miles east of Oak City.
Dry Creek Fire — posted by Utah Fire Info July 9, 2022.
While the Forest Supervisor of the Santa Fe National Forest, Debbie Cress, is temporarily assigned to the acting Deputy Chief of Staff position for the U.S. Forest Service in Washington, James Duran will serve as acting Supervisor for the next four months. This is occurring while the largest fire in the recorded history of New Mexico, the Hermits Peak / Calf Canyon Fire, is still not officially contained.
From the Associated Press:
Some have questioned the timing given that the wildfire has yet to be declared contained and recovery work has just begun.Forest officials have dismissed criticism, saying the opportunity for Cress to work at headquarters initially came up in January and was the culmination of her work over the past year with the agency’s leadership.
Cress acknowledged in a statement Friday that it was difficult timing as her home state deals with the aftermath of the massive wildfire.
Debbie Cress. USFS photo.
The 341,735-acre fire is the result of two prescribed fires on the Santa Fe National Forest that escaped control. One was a broadcast burn that crossed control lines during a strong wind. The other originated from slash piles that were ignited in late January that continued burning for months. In mid-April one or more of the piles became very active and began spreading and merged with the other escaped fire on April 22.
In 2018 another pile burning project on the Santa Fe escaped months after it was ignited and had to be converted to a wildfire. A Facilitated Learning Analysis found that “communication” and “prescribed fire preparation and risk” were common themes.
Ms. Cress began as the Forest Supervisor in April of 2021. Three months before, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported, she had transferred from a District Ranger position in Arizona to be the Deputy Forest Supervisor on the Santa Fe National Forest.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Jim and Gerald.
Washburn Fire has burned hundreds of acres in the Mariposa Giant Sequoia Grove
Updated at 5:26 p.m. PDT July 9, 2022
Washburn Fire at 5:24 p.m. July 9, 2022. Sierra Fire Watch image.
Smoke over the Washburn Fire is preventing air tankers from dropping retardant.
The FIRIS mapping aircraft reported at about 4 p.m. that the fire had grown to 1,384 acres
Updated 8:03 a.m. PDT July 9, 2022
3-D map of the Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park, looking east at 10 p.m. July 8, 2022.
The Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park in California was very active throughout Friday night and into Saturday morning. The photo below taken at dawn on Saturday shows a convection column of smoke, something you don’t often see over a wildfire at dawn.
Washburn Fire, looking NNE from the Deadwood camera at 6:03 a.m. July 9, 2022.
The National Park Service, which often “manages” wildfires in Yosemite rather than aggressively putting them out, said they are fully suppressing this fire. California Interagency Incident Management Team 13 has assumed command, and additional firefighting resources will continue to arrive over the coming days.
A mapping flight at 10 p.m. Friday found that it had grown to 703 acres, a number that has no doubt been exceeded in the subsequent hours.
Map of the Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park, 10 p.m. July 8, 2022.
The overnight weather at the Fish Camp weather station south of the fire 1,000 feet lower in elevation, recorded a maximum relative humidity of 53 percent and light winds out of the west and northwest. The spot weather forecast issued Friday afternoon predicted for Saturday 82 degrees, 27 percent relative humidity, and 6-12 mph afternoon ridgetop winds gusting to 18 mph out of the southwest and west. This should influence the fire to continue spreading to the northeast and east.
Approximately 155 acres of the fire has burned into the west side of the 1,300-acre Mariposa giant sequoia grove. The Park Service has been conducting prescribed fires within the grove for years, including about seven since 1999. This should slow the spread in the grove and reduce the fire intensity compared to other locations that do not have similar recent fire history. It remains to be seen how much sequoia mortality will occur under the present low fuel moistures and “exceptional drought” conditions.
It appears likely that the blaze will reach the South Fork of the Merced River, the southern perimeter of the 2017 South Fork Fire, which should also slow the progression of the fire.
Washburn Fire, July 8, 2022. By @countryheliWashburn Fire, July 8, 2022. By @countryheli
7:04 p.m. PDT July 8, 2022
Washburn Fire map. The dots represent heat detected by a satellite as late as 2:42 p.m. July 8, 2022. The red dots are the most current.
Another wildfire is burning in a grove of giant sequoia trees — behemoths that can live for 3,000 years. The Washburn fire was reported at 2 p.m. Thursday July 7 and by 4 p.m. Friday it had been mapped by a FIRIS aircraft at 466 acres. At least 150 acres of the fire are within the Mariposa giant sequoia grove in the south end of Yosemite National Park two miles southeast of Wawona, a community that is under an evacuation order. An evacuation map has been posted and the south entrance to the park is closed.
Preliminary surveys found that in a two year period, 2020 and 2021, almost 20 percent of all giant sequoias in their natural range over four feet in diameter were killed by fire (and neglect) or will die in the next few years. In 2020, 10 to 14 percent of the entire Sierra Nevada population of giant sequoia trees over 4 feet in diameter were killed in the Castle Fire. Early estimates after two fires the following year, the KNP Complex and the Windy Fire, 2,261 to 3,637 sequoias over four feet in diameter were killed or will die within the next three to five years.
Washburn Fire, July 8, 2022. NPS photo.
Aircraft report that as the activity on the Washburn Fire increased Friday afternoon multiple spot fires occurred near the South Fork of the Merced River and east of Highway 41, some of them 0.7 miles out ahead of the main fire. That river was the south edge of the South Fork Fire that burned 7,563 acres in 2017. Normally a fire would slow down considerably when it encountered a fire scar less than 8 or 9 years old, but the Electra Fire near Jackson, CA burned quite well earlier this week in a seven year old scar. It will be interesting to see what the Washburn Fire will do if it bumps the South Fork Fire footprint.
Washburn Fire, looking north-northeast from the Deadwood AlertWildfire camera at 6:07 p.m. July 8, 2022.
The National Park Service has conducted four prescribed fires east of the Washburn Fire, in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2016 for a total of 295 acres. This would have reduced some of the fuel in those areas, which may slow the spread in those treated locations, reduce the wildfire intensity, and the mortality of the giant sequoias. The more recent treatments are the most effective for modifying the behavior of a wildfire.
Washburn Fire, fuel treatments. There have been other fuel treatments in the Mariposa Grove not shown on this map.Washburn Fire, as seen from a firefighting helicopter. Photo by @countryheli July 8, 2022.Washburn Fire shortly after it was discovered, July 7, 2022. NPS photo.
The most famous tree in the grove is the Grizzly Giant, one of the largest trees in the Mariposa Grove and, at an estimated age of 2,700 years, one of the oldest living sequoia.
Beyond the Grizzly Giant sit hundreds of lesser-visited sequoias in the upper grove including the Clothespin Tree, the Faithful Couple and the fallen Wawona Tunnel Tree.
Christopher Kendrick (photo from the gofundme page)
Christopher Kendrick, a wildland firefighter, died while off duty July 4 when the car in which he was a passenger crashed on the way to an Independence Day fireworks display in Ukiah, Oregon. He is survived by his wife, Gabrielle, and their two-month-old son, Cecil.
The 29-year-old Kendrick was a crew member on the Umatilla Veteran Crew (UVC), a Type 2 Initial Attack Hand Crew based out of the North Fork John Day Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest in northeast Oregon.
Before becoming a wildland firefighter, Kendrick spent seven years in the U.S. Air Force, serving as a military policeman, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant before being medically discharged due to an illness he contracted during his second deployment to Afghanistan. Treatment for the disease included surgery to remove several feet of Kendrick’s small intestine, his gall bladder and his bile duct.
Despite these medical setbacks, Kendrick remained undaunted and determined to continue serving his community. He chose to do so as a wildland firefighter. His first year of firefighting saw him serve on a BLM engine in Boise before joining the UVC for his sophomore year.
“He was really driven,” UVC Crew Supervisor Sam Bowen said. “After his injuries in the Air Force, he was really determined to find something similar to the military, a physical and mental challenge, as much to prove it to himself that he still had it as anything. I think he really found that in this job.”
Kendrick’s doggedness showed throughout his time with the UVC, according to crewmembers. During trying physical activities, he would tell his crewmates “I will die before I quit.” Those physical trials included the crew’s annual 12-mile training hike, which the crew said he completed without issue. Kendrick also participated in the UVC’s annual “Freedom Run,” a 17.76-mile run to celebrate the Fourth of July. Kendrick and the rest of the crew completed the run just three days before his passing.
The UVC has established a gofundme to support the Kendrick family during this period of mourning.
Development of a wildland fire respirator. Two versions are being tested, with the filter being carried on the chest hip. Department of Homeland Security photo.
A working group for the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer agency of the World Health Organization, has just “classified occupational exposure as a firefighter as carcinogenic to humans.” Part of the reason is the toxic gasses firefighters are exposed to.
Wildland firefighters working on a vegetation fire can’t wear the conventional self contained breathing apparatus used by structural firefighters. It is too bulky, heavy, and only lasts 10 to 30 minutes.
In an effort to provide less carcinogenic air to wildland firefighters, the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate is developing a respirator capable of removing airborne hazards present in the wildland firefighting operating environment. They are working with the International Association of Firefighters, National Fire Protection Association, International Association of Fire Chiefs, U.S. Forest Service, and local Colorado fire departments to develop and test the Directorate’s Wildland Firefighter Respirator (WFR). It contains a HEPA filter module that will remove very fine particulates, and a carbon sorbent to remove toxic gases. The team is investigating wildland firefighter-approved designs like the Radio Carrier and Hip-Mounted units shown in the photo below.
Development of a wildland fire respirator. Two versions are being tested, with the filter being carried on the chest hip. Department of Homeland Security photo.
The WFR was designed around a lightweight mask covering just the mouth and nose. It relies on filtration, designed to go a whole shift before needing to be changed.
“Our system pushes clean air to firefighters using a powered blower with HEPA and carbon filters,” said S&T Program Manager Kimberli Jones-Holt. The system connects to the half-mask through a lightweight, flexible breathing hose to provide clean air and draws in air from the bottom of the unit to prevent rain or water infiltration.
“The filters were also designed to be inexpensive and easily replaced at $5 to $10 each,” Jones-Holt continued.
It uses an electric blower to force filtered air to the mask, relying on AA batteries for power.
The DHS says if wildland firefighters use respiratory protection, their careers could be significantly extended, leading to a more educated and experienced workforce capable of more efficient operations, with lower medical bills and training costs.
Fall Creek Area of San Miguel County, NM, Hermits Peak – Calf Canyon Fire, May 8, 2022.
The members of a new Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission were announced today. The group is tasked with recommending federal policies and strategies to more effectively prevent, mitigate, suppress, and manage wildland fires, including the rehabilitation of land affected by wildland fires.
The establishment of the commission was required by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, H.R.3684, signed by the President on November 15, 2021, which became Public Law Number 117-58.
More than 500 applications were received, and 36 non-federal members — 18 primary and 18 alternates — were selected. Along with 11 federal members, the commission will be co-chaired by Departments of Agriculture, the Interior, and FEMA leadership. Commission members represent federal agencies, Tribes, state and local municipalities, and private entities, as directed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
*The selections of the members were made by the co-chairs of the Commission.
A government official who is not authorized to speak publicly on the issue said the makeup of the commission “Has been closehold between fire leadership and intergovernmental affairs. Need to know basis; tighter than budget issues or executive orders.”
The members have their work cut out for them, already up to seven months late on mileposts. Their appointments were to be made no more than 60 days after the date the legislation became law, which works out to January 14, 2022. Their initial meeting was to be held within 30 days after all members have been appointed — no later than February 13, 2022. They are to meet at least once every 30 days, in person or remotely and will serve “without compensation” but can be reimbursed for travel expenses and per diem.
Deliverables
Their assignments, according to the law, fall into two broad categories; here are some of the highlights:
1. Develop recommendations to mitigate and manage wildland fires
By February 13, 2023 develop a report describing recommendations to prevent, mitigate, suppress, and manage wildland fires; consider protection of human life, short- and long-term forest management; wildland-urban interface; utility corridors; rehab after fires; streamlining environmental reviews; and, recommendations for modernizing and expanding the use of technology, including satellite technology, remote sensing, unmanned aircraft systems, and any other type of emerging technology to prevent, mitigate, suppress, and manage wildland fires.
2. Report on aerial wildland firefighting equipment, strategy, and inventory
By March 30, 2022 prepare an inventory of surplus cargo and passenger aircraft that may be used for wildland firefighting purposes.
By June 28, 2022 develop an assessment of the number of aircraft needed to fight wildland fires through 2030. The report will include an assessment of the federal government’s authorities to provide or sell surplus aircraft to Federal, State, or local organizations to be used for wildland firefighting, and, identify any additional authorities that are needed. The Commission is directed to consider all private and public sector options for accessing necessary aircraft and aircraft parts, including procurement, contracting, retrofitting, and public-private partnerships.
Membership (as announced July 7, 2022). The categories of membership and types of expertise were specified by the legislation. For example, “not fewer than one representative from wildland firefighters” was required. That was fulfilled by the selection of Kelly Martin, former Chief of Fire and Aviation at Yosemite National Park, currently president of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters. One of 47. However, other members of the committee presumably have on-the-ground fire experience in the past.
