This is an animation developed by Janice Coen, Ph.D., a Project Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. It simulates through a coupled weather-wildland fire environment model the spread of the Yarnell Hill Fire and the wind direction and speed. The arrows indicate the wind direction; the length of the arrows vary with the wind speed. On June 30, 2013 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were overrun by the fire when the winds from a thunderstorm cell north of the fire changed the direction of spread of the fire by about 90 degrees, surprising the firefighters on the south side of the fire, resulting in their entrapment.
See if you can tell when conditions worsened for the Hotshots.
Dr. Coen’s description of the simulation:
It begins at 2 am on 6/30/13. The fire is initialized in the model using the ~3 am VIIRS active fire detection map. Each frame is 1 minute apart, the sequence extends until 8:15 pm on 6/30. The fatality occurred around 4:45 PM. The color bar on the right indicates the heat flux (watts per square meter) from the fire, with more intensely burning areas in bright yellow and white, and less intensely burning areas in darker reds.
In the simulation, solar heating stirs up the boundary layer circulations throughout the day. Convection occurs in outer domains (not shown) to the northeast, creating high-based convective clouds as air flows south/southeast over the Mogollon Rim. Rain falls into a very dry boundary layer, creating a broad gust front that reaches the south edge of the fire at frame 936, which is 51 minutes after the fatality, so the simulated rush through the fatality site is about an hour slow.
The map below shows the approximate location of the fire at 4:30 p.m. on June 30, 2013, about 15 minutes before the Hotshots were entrapped at the deployment site (X) on the south side.
Yarnell Hill Fire, estimated perimeter at 4:30 p.m. June 30, 2014. Source: Arizona State Forestry Division.
3-D map of the Galahad Fire, looking south at 8:20 p.m. June 4, 2014. Incident Management Team, and Google Earth.
The Galahad Fire on the north rim of the Grand Canyon has grown to 2,702 acres, and the incident management team is calling it 5 percent contained. The containment figure is based on the portion of the fire in which firefighters are continuing to control.
Below is an update from the incident management team Tuesday night:
Today, no additional spots were detected east of the W-4 Road. Containment lines on the W-4 Road continued to be improved by firefighters north and south of Kanabownits Cabin. Firefighters also mopped up along the west side of the W-4 Road where burnout operations were conducted a few days ago. Helicopters were used to assist firefighters in detecting possible spot fires east of the W-4 Road and for water drops in areas below the canyon rim to reduce fire activity.
This video, shot from a helicopter, shows close-up views of the fire. It’s great that the Park is posting these videos, and maybe the next one will include a wide view, showing the context of the fire and its proximity to the canyon and the facilities on the north rim.
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(Originally published at 9:07 a.m. Arizona time, June 2, 2014)
3D map of Galahad Fire, looking south. Perimeter as of 1 p.m., May 29, 2014, Incident Management Team and Google Earth.
Firefighters are not totally suppressing a fire on the north rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but are managing it for both natural resource and protection objectives. The lightning-caused fire was discovered on May 23 and as of June 1 had burned 1,975 acres with an estimated management cost of $525,000 to date. It is being managed by 171 personnel, including 5 hand crews, 4 helicopters, and 8 engines.
Firefighters are attempting to hold the fire west of the W-4 Road, and suppressed three spot fires across the road on May 31. They do not want the fire to become established east of the road due to the lack of any effective fire breaks or safety zones for firefighters.
Galahad Fire, May 27. NPS photo by Ron Brown.Galahad Fire, May 27. NPS photo by Jay Lusher.
The video below was shot on May 29 and provides some aerial views of the fire. Perhaps next time they will include an establishing shot, showing the proximity of the fire to the Grand Canyon. And, having shot a lot of photographs from helicopters, I know that if you position the lens very close to the plexiglass, or better yet, remove the door, it reduces or eliminates reflections off the window. But, it is great having a video of the fire. It is surprising that this is not done and provided to the public more often — recon helicopters and air attack ships sometimes spend hours orbiting fires or flying the perimeter.
In researching this story, we discovered that the National Park Service has a new high-tech, expensive, “Virtual Studio for Kids” at the Grand Canyon, with green-screen technology and an integrated system that allows for high definition, live, multi-camera video production. The park does a great deal of video distance learning with schools. Having this ability on site provides a unique ability to use the studio production facilities to cover the Galahad Fire in a way that has not previously been done. Maybe they will grab this opportunity and figure out a way to break some new ground.
Andy Pearce and Amala Posey in the studio. NPS photo.
The video below is an example of their work. It is very professional, and looks like it could have been filmed at the NBC studios in New York instead of government facilities at the Grand Canyon.
Firefighter Leo Holley, who discovered the cabin site. USFS photo.
Firefighters from the Coronado National Forest working on the Slide Fire near Sedona, Arizona discovered the almost imperceptible remains of a historic log cabin. Leo Holley made the initial find and he worked with several other firefighters to protect the site from being consumed in the fire, constructing fireline and later placing aluminum fire shelter material over the area.
Mr. Holley first noticed that there were logs laying at right angles and continued to examine clues until he decided it was probably a cabin site.
Below is an excerpt from an article in the LA Times (which has more photos of the firefighters and the site):
“What is remarkable is that archaeological remains of the cabin were almost imperceptible,” [Jeremy Haines, a U.S. Forest Service archaeologist] said. “Forest Service archaeologists work … to protect these special places, and Leo’s discovery demonstrates how much we depend on firefighters to help us do this job.”
The cabin probably belonged to someone who was pushing the margins of habitable space because all the prime land is farther south, Haines said.
The cabin was probably destroyed years ago by a wildfire. The cabin was probably no more than 150 square feet. The firefighting crew also found a collapsed mound of rocks, which may have been the chimney.
Cabin site protected from the fire by fire shelter material. USFS photo.
The Slide Fire has burned 21,217 acres and the incident management team is calling it 75 percent contained.
A 3-D map of the Slide Fire perimeter, at 12:15 a.m. May 25, 2014.
The Slide Fire north of Sedona, Arizona has grown to 13,423 acres as of the latest infrared mapping at 12:15 a.m. Sunday.
Smoke over the fire restricted the use of aircraft to drop water or fire retardant on Saturday, but firefighters continued using burnouts to remove the fuel out ahead of the fire in order to ultimately stop the spread and achieve control.
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(UPDATE at 8:10 a.m. Arizona time, May 24, 2014)
Slide Fire perimeter at 11:30 p.m. AZ time May 23, 2014.
The incident management team running the Slide Fire north of Sedona, Arizona is using very large burnout tactics in an attempt to corral the blaze that has grown to over 10,000 acres. Many of the additional acres are a result of the burning operations out ahead of the main fire.
Below is a report from the incident management team Friday night:
The fire burned with lower intensity today across most of the fire, allowing firefighters to make progress. However the fire was very active in the area of Howard Pocket NW of Oak Creek Canyon. Crews conducted successful burnout operations along the “switchbacks” down Highway 89A to the fish hatchery which, will continue tonight. Firefighters, protecting structures in evacuated areas, were able to allow the fire to slowly back downhill to the containment lines behind the structures. This action will provide more security for evacuated homes. Firefighters held fire lines on the SW flank of the fire adjacent to the Secret Mountain Wilderness. On the north and west side of the fire, crews were able to improve lines along FR 535 to the power line and southeast along FR 231, facilitating burnout operations when weather conditions permit.
A burn out operation will be initiated tonight and is part of the overall containment strategy on the NW section of the fire. The idea is to create an area northwest of the main fire that circles the deep canyons, including West Fork of Oak Creek, keeping firefighters out of very hazardous terrain. When burnout operations are completed, it will halt the main fire as it approaches, because of the lack of fuel. Although this strategy will increase the total fire acreage it also lessens impacts to natural resources and provides for the safety of firefighters. These actions are taking place because firefighter and public safety are our number one priority.
Firefighters plan to conduct burnout operations overnight while atmospheric conditions dampen fire intensity.
Warnings for elevated wildfire danger have been issued by the National Weather Service for areas in southern California, Arizona, and Alaska.
In southern California forecasters expect northeast to east winds to be stronger than yesterday, with gusts above 65 mph. Daytime temperatures will top out in the 90s to lower 100s, with humidity values ranging between 3 and 8 percent. The weather on Thursday will also be hot, dry, and windy.
The Red Flag Warning map was current as of 11 a.m. MDT on Wednesday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts. For the most current data, visit this NWS site.
Map of the perimeter of the Signal fire, 10 p.m. MDT, May 12, 2014
The Signal Fire 12 miles north of Silver City, New Mexico is now is now estimated at 4,700 acres with no containment. Although fire activity on Monday was significantly less than on Sunday, the fire continued to spread to the north and east. Several air tankers, including a DC-10, supported firefighters on the ground by dropping numerous loads of retardant on the perimeter of the fire.
A Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team assumed command of the fire Monday.
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(Originally published at 2:31 p.m. CDT, May 12, 2014; updated at 7:30 p.m. CDT, May 12, 2014 with a new map)
Firefighters are battling a new wildfire, the Silver Fire, 12 miles north of Silver City, New Mexico on the Gila National Forest. It started May 11 and has grown to about 3,000 acres with no containment. Sunday, the fire exhibited rapid fire spread and torching with spotting up to ¼ mile. The fire is burning in timber with a grass understory.
A Type 2 Incident Management Team is en route and is expected to assume command at 6 p.m. Monday.
Map of the Signal Fire, showing heat detected by a satellite at 2:57 p.m. MDT, May 12, 2014. The location of the icons can be as much as a mile in error.
Resources assigned to the fire include:
Crews: 1 Hotshot Crew and an unknown number of smokejumpers;
3 Engines
Aircraft:
8 air tankers: including one very large air tanker, 3 Type 2 air tankers, and 4 Single Engine Air Tankers;
5 helicopters
3 air attack, 1 Aerial Supervision Module, and 1 lead plane
Residents in the vicinity of Signal Peak have evacuated. Highway 15 has been closed from the Ben Lilly Monument north to the Gravel Pit near Wildhorse Mesa. Firefighters are employing full suppression tactics to contain and extinguish the fire.
The weather forecast for the fire area on Monday calls for 56 degrees, winds of 15 mph gusting to 23, and a relative humidity of 16 percent. Tuesday should be much cooler, more humid, with decreasing winds. The nearest Remote Automatic Weather Station is the Gila Center RAWS, 20 miles to the north.
