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Tag: Big Bend National Park

Wildfire burns historic structures in Big Bend National Park

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 2 Comments on Wildfire burns historic structures in Big Bend National Park

The fire started in Mexico and jumped the Rio Grande River

Castolon Fire Big Bend National Park
Fire damage to the barracks (Visitor Center and store) and picnic area in Big Bend National Park. Credit: NPS/T. VandenBerg.

A wildfire that started in Mexico jumped across the Rio Grande Wednesday May 22 and spread into the Castolon area in Big Bend National Park in Southern Texas. At least one historic structure was very heavily damaged, the barracks structure which housed the Castolon Visitor Center and La Harmonia store.

Castolon Fire Big Bend National Park
Structural and wildland engines used in defense of the Castolon Historic District, as seen from the driveway of the Officers Quarters. Image credit: NPS/CSchuler.

Thursday afternoon the Park provided a summary of the incident:

“Around 6pm [Wednesday], as the fire first entered the park, additional wildland crews as well as structural crews were called in. At that time, shade temperatures were near 109 degrees, with single digit relative humidity. Winds were pushing the fire NW toward the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, and based on fire behavior at that time, the fire was expected to stay in the lower elevations along the Rio Grande burning the mesquite and river cane bosques. Continue reading “Wildfire burns historic structures in Big Bend National Park”

Prescribed fire along Rio Grande River

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

Above: photo of prescribed fire along the Rio Grande River supplied by the National Park Service.

Big Bend National Park in southern Texas conducted a prescribed burn along the Rio Grande River earlier this month in cooperation with Mexico. The objective was to burn out invasive river cane and promote a healthier river ecosystem.

A year ago we wrote about how the park cooperates with Mexico, borrowing their firefighters to assist with wildfires and prescribed fires.

Los Diablos
Screen Grab from The Atlantic’s documentary about a fire crew from Mexico that assists a U.S. National Park.

Mexican citizens fighting America’s fires

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , 2 Comments on Mexican citizens fighting America’s fires

Above: a screen grab from The Atlantic’s documentary about a fire crew from Mexico that assists a U.S. National Park.

The Atlantic produced this seven-minute documentary about Mexican citizens, Los Diablos, that help Big Bend National Park in southern Texas conduct prescribed fires and suppress wildfires. The crew assisted with the Powerline Fire that burned about 1,800 acres in Big Bend in February.

Here is how The Atlantic describes the video:

In Texas, Mexican firefighters are saving the Rio Grande. Known as Los Diablos, or “the devils,” the elite firefighting crew is hired by the National Park Service to fight wildfires and conduct controlled burns along the border. The river provides water to more than 5 million people in the U.S. and Mexico, and sustaining its flow is vital. The water in the Rio Grande is already 150% over-allocated. In this short documentary, The Atlantic follows the group’s conservation efforts to rid the river of giant cane, an invasive plant that narrows the river and threatens native plants and fish.

Below are more screen grabs from the video.

Los Diablos Los Diablos

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Bill.

Powerline Fire burns near headquarters of Big Bend National Park

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

(UPDATED at 7:35 p.m. CST February 5, 2015)

Big Bend National Park reports that the 1,792-acre Powerline Fire is 98 percent contained. They will begin demobilizing firefighting resources Saturday.

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(UPDATED at 5:42 p.m. CST February 4, 2016)

Below is an updated satellite map of the Powerline Fire in Big Bend National Park in south Texas.

Map Powerline Fire 148 pm CST 2-4-2016
Map showing heat detected by a satellite (the red squares) on the Powerline Fire at 1:48 p.m. CST February 4, 2016. The fire appears to be spreading toward the southwest.  Some areas of the fire, especially east of the road, burned and cooled between satellite over flights, and were not detected. The park headquarters and employee housing area can be seen north of the fire.

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(UPDATED at 10:55 CST, February 4, 2016)

Powerline Fire
Poweline Fire in Big Bend National Park, the afternoon of February 3, 2016. NPS photo.

Better mapping has revealed that the Powerline Fire in Big Bend National Park in south Texas had burned 1,537 acres as of 5 p.m. CST on Wednesday, which is a revision of the earlier estimate of 1,995 acres.

Late on Wednesday the park reported that the fire had approached the southern side of the road between Panther Junction and Rio Grande Village, but it had not jumped the road since Monday February 1st and there was no active fire on the north side of the road.

Powerline Fire map
Map of the Powerline Fire for the February 4 operational period. Park Headquarters and the employee housing area are just northwest of the fire. NPS.

Continue reading “Powerline Fire burns near headquarters of Big Bend National Park”