Our main article about the Mountain Fire in southern California has the details about the fire and is updated frequently, but here we have collected some video of the fire activity.
The first one is long, 39 minutes, but if you skip around you’ll find something that interests you. DC-10s can be seen dropping retardant at 10, 20, and 22 minutes. The video was shot on July 16 and 17 by “Lakeside Fire” at Garner Valley, Lake Hemet, Palm Springs, and the Hemet-Ryan Air Attack Base.
The next one, much shorter at 27 seconds, is a time lapse view of the fire on July 15, shot by Mike Sauder.
The next one is another time lapse and covers portions of four days, from noon on July 15 to about 8 a.m. on July 18. It is an animation of images taken every two minutes from a web camera on Toro Peak and was compiled by Hans-Werner Braun.
The next one, only 17 seconds long, was shot by the Riverside Press-Enterprise and shows the fire burning across a road on July 15.
Monsoonal storms brought heavy rain to the Mountain Fire west of Palm Springs early this morning. The weather station at the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway just north of the fire measured 1.61 inches between 11 p.m. Saturday and 8:53 a.m. today. The Keenwild weather station 5 miles southwest of the fire had 0.23″ since midnight. A flash flood watch was issued for the fire area as well as the Riverside County Mountains, San Diego County mountains and San Diego County deserts. There is a 55 to 80 percent chance of more rain through 10 p.m. with additional accumulations of up to 0.60 inch.
This morning the incident management team said firefighters are taking advantage of the break in the weather:
With diminished fire activity, firefighters made great progress with line construction particularly along the East side towards Palm Springs. Although conditions were hazardous and some crews were taken off the line due to the severe weather, firefighters continue to fight the fire aggressively where possible. Todays priority for fire operations is focused at the northernmost part of the fire with crews at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway constructing direct hand line at the fires edge to reduce the threat to Idyllwild and surrounding communities.
The U.S. Forest Service has been using their new night flying helicopter and air attack ship on the fire, and proudly produced this graphic.
****
(UPDATE at 7:25 a.m. PDT, July 20, 2013)
3-D Map of the north side of the Mountain fire, at 10 p.m., July 19, 2013, looking north. The pink line was the perimeter at 10 p.m. Friday, and the red line was 24 hours before that. (click to enlarge)
The Mountain Fire continued to spread to the north Friday, coming closer to the highest point in the area, Mt. San Jacinto, and within 0.7 mile of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The 3-D map above which shows the north portion of the fire illustrates the very steep slopes the firefighters have as their work environment. The fire spread very slowly on the south side, while the east and west sides were relatively quiet Friday.
A major change in the weather is in the works, with the forecast for the higher elevations calling for much higher humidity and a 30 to 40 percent chance of showers over the next 48 hours. This should slow the fire’s spread and give firefighters a better opportunity to construct more direct fireline.
The incident management team has produced a map of the fire.
****
(UPDATE at 9:23 a.m. PDT, July 19, 2013)
Mountain Fire, from Hwy 74, July 17, 2013 USFS Photo by Sam Wu
The variable wind direction Thursday caused the fire to spread, as expected, in multiple directions. It continued to progress in the Tahquitz meadows area, but firefighters on the ground assisted by aircraft, including two military MAFFS C-130 air tankers from the California Air National Guard, held the fire at a ridge. The fire remains active on the north side and continues to threaten the community of Idyllwild, according to the Incident Management Team.
The IMTeam produced a very readable map, below. It was released at 6 a.m. July 18 and contains the fire perimeter as it was known late in the day on July 17.
IMTeam map of Mountain Fire, July 18, 2013
We put together the following maps using data from various sources.
Map of Mountain fire. The white line is the perimeter at 9 p.m. PDT July 18. The red line is the perimeter 24 hours before that. The red squares represent heat detected by a satellite at 2 a.m. PDT July 19, indicating that the fire continued to spread to the north during the night. The apparent growth on the east side is most likely not new growth, but is probably a correction, showing movement of the fire several days earlier. (click to enlarge)3-D Map of the Mountain fire, looking toward the northwest. The white line is the perimeter at 9 p.m. PDT July 18. The red line is the perimeter 24 hours before that. The red squares represent heat detected by a satellite at 2 a.m. PDT July 19. (click to enlarge)
Congressional hearing about Wildfire and Forest Management
On Thursday the House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing about wildland fire and forest management. You can watch a 2 hour and 15 minute video of it at C-SPAN. (Are there any volunteers who would like to watch it and give us a summary?)
Here is how it is described at C-SPAN:
“Wildfire and Forest Service officials testified on ways to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. The hearing also focused on the increasing number and intensity of wildfires in the West and Southwest.
Representatives Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Scott Tipton (R-CO), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) testified in the first panel.
Panel Two:
Jim Hubbard, Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
James Douglas, Acting Director, office of Wildland Fire, Senior Adviser, Public Safety, Resource Protection and Emergency Services, U.S. Department of the Interior
Phil Rigdon, Deputy Director, Yakama Indian Nation Department of Natural Resources
Joe Duda, Deputy State Forester, Colorado State Forest Service, Colorado State University
Christopher Topik, Director, Restoring America’s Forestsm, North America Region
Chuck Roady, Vice President & General Manager, F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Company”
NIFC lowers Preparedness Level
The National Interagency Fire Center has lowered the national Preparedness Level from 3 to 2.
MAFFS sent home
By the end of the day the U.S. Forest Service will release the four Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) C-130 air tankers being operated by the military. The last four remaining are from California and North Carolina.
Map of Chariot Fire
CAL FIRE, the agency responsible for suppressing the devastating wildfire that spread from the desert to the mountain community of Mt. Laguna east of San Diego, still has not released a current map of the fire showing that it burned significant acreage in the Cleveland National Forest and wiped out much of the Al Bahr Shrine Camp. Their last map is dated July 8. Approximately 149 structures were destroyed and 9 were damaged.
Smoke Map
Wildfire smoke map at 4:30 p.m. MDT July 12, 2013
The map below shows the distribution of smoke from fires in the United States and Canada as of 4:40 p.m. MDT, July 12, 2013.
The Chariot fire is listed at 100 percent contained, so the map below could be the final one. A zoomable map is available HERE.
Map of Chariot fire, July 15, 2013
****
(UPDATE at 9:15 a.m. PDT July 10, 2013)
S-2T dropping near electronic site on Mt Laguna at 3:29 pm July 8, 2013 HPWREN
The Chariot Fire not only burned a landmark-type lodge on Mt. Laguna east of San Diego, it also destroyed 120 structures, according to CAL FIRE, the agency attempting to suppress the fire. Initial reports by the San Diego Union that the lodge at the Sierra Club’s facility across the highway was destroyed were incorrect, but at least one structure there did burn.
Most of the structures, including the lodge built in 1925, were in the Al Bahr Shrine Camp a mile north of the US Forest Service’s Laguna Engine Station and about two miles north of the post office in the small community.
The fire started Saturday afternoon near the Butterfield Ranch in the Anza-Borrego Desert, 3.000 vertical feet below the community. Most of the damage was done Monday afternoon. CAL FIRE reports the fire has burned 7,055 acres and is 40 percent contained. The only map provided by CAL FIRE is dated July 8 and does not show the fire’s presence on Mt. Laguna.
Shriners International contributes funding to children’s hospitals, but most people know them as the organization that drives tiny cars performing maneuvers in parades.
The web cameras operated by the University of California’s High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network (HPWREN) captured the aerial fire fight as air tankers dropped retardant to protect the electronic sites, including their own, on Mt. Laguna at the former Air Force base.
S-2T dropping near electronic site on Mt Laguna at 3:39 pm July 8, 2013. HPWRENDC-10 dropping near electronic site on Mt Laguna at 6:38 pm July 8, 2013 HPWREN
Thanks go out to the Lone Ranger for pointing out the HPWREN site that has 14 other photos of the air tankers working on Mt. Laguna.
****
(UPDATE at 11:18 p.m. PDT, July 8, 2013)
3-D Map of Chariot Fire 1:20 p.m. PT July 8, 2013. The squares represent heat detected by a satellite, with the red ones being the most current. The location of the squares can bee as much as a mile in error.
The San Diego Union is reporting that the Chariot Fire not only made it to the top of the slope, from the desert 3,000 vertical feet up to the Mt. Laguna area, but it crossed the Sunrise Highway and burned into the Cleveland National Forest. And, most importantly, it burned two landmark-type buildings on special use permits in the Forest — the large and very old lodges at the Sierra Club and the Al Bahr Shrine Camp on opposite sides of the highway, plus about six other buildings.
The fire crossed the Sunrise Highway and burned into at least one of the group campgrounds in the Laguna Campground complex adjacent to the Shrine Camp. A fire spokesperson said 120 residences were evacuated. The fire is burning about a mile north of the Laguna (or Camp Ole) engine station… one of my old stations on the Cleveland National Forest.
CAL FIRE reports the fire has burned 4,700 acres and is being fought by 1,383 personnel. It is about 50 miles east of San Diego.
The San Diego Union also reported, (incorrectly) “Loud booms could be heard as trees caught fire and their tops exploded.” The old “exploding trees” myth lives on.
****
(UPDATE at 3:42 p.m. PDT, July 8, 2013)
Kelly found this photo on the Mt. Laguna web cam that shows a crew in the foreground.
Chariot Fire at 12:34 p.m. July 8
****
(Originally published at 7:12 a.m. PDT, July 8, 2013)
Chariot Fire at 6:10 a.m. PT, July 8, 2013
The Chariot Fire north of Mt. Laguna, California that is causing evacuations on the mountain can be watched in near-real time thanks to a web camera at the old Air Force Base at Mt. Laguna. The photo above was taken at 6:10 a.m. on Monday — the one below at 11:58 a.m. Sunday. Several campgrounds as well as the Al Bahr Shrine Camp have been evacuated.
Chariot Fire at 11:58 a.m. July 7, 2013
CAL FIRE said at 7:15 Sunday night the fire had burned 2,500 acres. The fire is burning on the desert slopes below Mt. Laguna, my old stomping grounds. There is a difference in elevation of about 3,000 feet from the desert floor to the forested area at the top. In the last 10 years or so there have been several fires in this general area so it is possible that it will burn into one or more of those and slow down considerably.
Map showing heat detected by a satellite on the Chariot Fire at 2:20 a.m. PT July 8, 2013. The icons representing heat can be as much as a mile in error.
The map of the Chariot Fire above shows heat detected by a satellite at 2:20 a.m. Monday.
The San Diego Union has some photos of firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service’s Descanso Engine Crew watching the fire from the top of the hill. The slopes below are far too steep on which to attack a rapidly moving fire.
Kenneth Alan Jackson. Madera County Sheriffs Office photo.
After a rash of suspicious fires, CAL FIRE law enforcement officers Tuesday night arrested a Yosemite Lakes Park couple on suspicion of dozens of arson fires. Kenneth Alan Jackson, 40 and Allison Marie Waterman, 46, both of Coarsegold, were booked into the Madera County Jail for arson. Jackson is being charged with 31 counts of arson, resisting arrest, as well as attempted battery on a peace officer. Waterman was booked on a single charge of arson.
“The Yosemite Lakes Park community has been threatened by countless wildfires over the past several months that we believe were a result of arson,” said Chief Nancy Koerperich, CAL FIRE Unit Chief for the Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit. “We appreciate the community’s support and assistance as we worked to track down these suspects.”
Below is information provided by the U.S. Forest Service about the final arrangements for Luke Sheehy who lost his life while suppressing a wildfire in northern California on June 10. Mr. Sheehy was struck by a falling portion of a tree on the Saddle Back Fire in the South Warner Wilderness about 15 miles southeast of Alturas, Calif.
****
“UPDATE: Latest on Saddle Back Incident Support
Release Date: Jun 17, 2013
Contact(s): Saddle Back Support Public Information (530) 638-3319
REDDING, Calif.– Preparations are underway to support the family of recently deceased firefighter Luke Sheehy. The 28-year-old perished on June 10 as a result of injuries received on the Saddle Back Fire on the Modoc National Forest in northeast California.
There will be a procession to honor and transport Luke Sheehy on Wednesday from Alturas, Calif. to Susanville, Calif. The Sheehy family would like the procession in Alturas to remain a private family affair. For Susanville, close family and the firefighter community are invited.
Details on the agency memorial ceremony are currently pending. The ceremony is planned for June 23 at 1 p.m. at the Civic Auditorium in Redding, Calif. The Sheehy family has requested that family members, close friends, fire community and all those who want to honor Luke are invited to attend.
The family will be holding a separate memorial at the Walker Mansion Inn located in Westwood, Calif. on June 22 at 2 p.m.
Those interested in showing support for the Sheehy family can send flowers, cards and donations to: Doug and Lynn Sheehy or Sheehy Family, 2850 Main St., Suite 12 #386, Susanville, CA 96130
Or the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. Mail in a donation: Care of Sheehy Family. Make your check payable to: Wildland Firefighter Foundation, 2049 Airport Way, Boise ID 83705. Or, online at: http://www.wffoundation.org/ Or to any U.S. Bank location; account number: 157501822199 “
