Panther Fire, heat detected by a satellite (red, yellow, and black circles) at 2:30 p.m. PT, May 2, 2013
(UPDATE at 7:53 a.m. PT, May 3, 2013)
More accurate mapping as a result of the infrared flight Thursday night produced a reduced acreage, now estimated at 6,393 acres and 10 percent containment.
Resources on the fire include 1,094 personnel, 81 engines, 32 hand crews, 7 helicopters, and 14 dozers.
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(Originally posted at 9:26 p.m. PT, May 2, 2013)
The Panther fire in northeast California, 28 miles east of Red Bluff, has been burning for about 36 hours and has already blackened about 10,000 acres. It is located in Tehama County north of Butte Meadows and is 10 percent contained. It is burning in timber, spotting from clear cut block to clear cut block.
While the wind in southern California has been screaming the last two days, at the Panther Springs weather station 6 miles northwest of the Panther Fire the wind was quite sedate on Thursday, ranging from zero to three mph. However, reports from the fire say the fire has been pushed by strong down canyon winds. The humidity was low on Thursday, in the teens. The fire is in the Mill Creek and Deer Creek drainages. There is no imminent structure or infrastructure threat.
One of the U.S. Forest Service infrared mapping aircraft mapped the fire Thursday evening, so hopefully by Friday morning a detailed map will be available.
Map of the Springs Fire near Camarillo, California in Ventura County. The red line was the perimeter at 10:30 p.m. PT, May 3, 2013. The white line is from 24 hours previously, the evening of May 2. (click to enlarge)
(UPDATE May 13, 2013)
Just to finish things up, the fire was 100 percent contained several days ago. The final size was 24,251 acres.
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(UPDATE at 7:23 a.m. PT, May 6, 2013)
It is raining in the Los Angeles area this morning. Some of the weather stations near the fire have received about a quarter of an inch since Sunday night.
The incident commander of the Springs Fire is calling the fire 28,000 acres and 80 percent contained. They expect full containment on May 7.
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(UPDATE at 6:50 a.m. PT, May 5, 2013)
Firefighters are continuing to make progress on the Springs Fire near Camarillo northwest of Los Angeles. The Incident Commander is calling it 60 percent contained and 28,000 acres. CAL FIRE reports that all evacuations have been lifted, with full containment expected on May 6.
There is minimal fire activity. The remaining firefighters continue to construct control lines, mop up, and patrol the fire perimeter. There is an increase in demobilization of firefighting resources.
Potrero Road is closed between Reino Road and Hidden Valley. Residents may return to their homes with proper identification. Residents are encouraged to access Hidden Valley from West Lake Boulevard.
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(UPDATE at 7:10 a.m. PT, May 4, 2012)
The weather that caused the Springs Fire to spread rapidly over tens of thousands of acres has moderated significantly with much higher relative humidites and lower wind speeds. By late Friday night there was much less activity on the fire than earlier in the day. At 7 a.m. Saturday morning the winds over most of the fire varied from zero to 5 mph with humidities ranging from 30 to 74 percent, a drastic change from 30+ mph and 3 percent.
During the day on Friday the fire spread east across Point Mugu State Park coming up to the edge of Hidden Valley, an area with many huge mega-mansions.
With the latest map, updated at 10:30 p.m. Friday (shown above), fire managers will probably fine tune yesterday’s estimate of 28,000 acres, most likely reducing it by several thousand. The incident commander is calling it 30 percent contained.
CAL FIRE reports that 25 outbuildings have been destroyed, and there are 15 damaged residences, 5 damaged commercial properties, and 15 damaged outbuildings. They also said the Pacific Coast Highway has “reopened but with closures at Deer Creek Road, Potrero Road, Reino Road, and Yerba Buena Road”.
The resources assigned to the fire include 1,895 personnel, 55 engines, 48 hand crews, 6 air tankers, and 11 helicopters.
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(UPDATE at 6:40 p.m. PT, May 3, 2013)
The Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) is now estimating that the Springs Fire northwest of Los Angeles has burned 28,000 acres and is 20 percent contained.
At 5:15 p.m. they issued a correction of their earlier announcement. The Pacific Coast Highway has not reopened, due to possible rock slides.
CAL FIRE identified the following evacuations at 6:15 p.m. PT:
Mandatory evacuations effective immediately: South Newbury Park area, South of Potrero Road from Reino Road East to 930 West Potrero Road including Hidden Valley Road South.
Evacuations remain in effect for Potrero Road to Lewis Road, Yerea Buena Road and Deer Creek Road, Sycamore Canyon, Brrome Ranch and La Jolla Canyon.
Evacuations for the Cal State Channel Islands and Dos Vientos area have been lifted and reopened to residents only.
There has been no change in the reported number of structures damaged according to CAL FIRE: 15 damaged residences, 5 damaged commercial properties, and 15 damaged outbuildings.
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(UPDATE at 5:10 p.m. PT, May 3, 2013)
According to the Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD), the the Springs fire that started in Camarillo Springs northwest of Los Angeles, “is now being called 18,000 acres and 20% containment”.
The Pacific Coast Highway will reopen to traffic in both directions at 5:00 p.m. Many cross streets, however, will remain closed. Motorists are advised to drive carefully and watch out for emergency vehicles that may still be in the area.
For current information about evacuations, visit the VCFD web site. Additional road closures and evacuations were announced Friday afternoon.
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(UPDATE at 2:15 p.m. PT, May 3, 2013)
The Springs fire that started in Camarillo Springs northwest of Los Angeles continued to burn very actively overnight fanned by strong northeast winds. It progressed southwest all the way to the Pacific Ocean, about nine miles from the point of origin.
The map of the fire above shows the location of the fire detected by two different sources:
The red and yellow squares represent the approximate location of heat detected by a satellite hundreds of miles above the Earth at 11:50 a.m. PT, May 3, 2013.
The white line is the fire perimeter drawn by an Infrared Analyst who studied infrared data collected by a U.S. Forest Service fixed wing aircraft at 7 p.m. (PT or MT) Thursday evening, May 2. It should be much more accurate than the satellite data, but it is also about 17 hours older than the satellite information. The fire continued to spread after the fixed wing flight.
The Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) reports that the fire has burned 10,000 acres with 10 percent containment, but that acreage figure is likely to increase substantially when they get a chance for more accurate mapping after sunrise. Firefighters spent the night protecting homes and cutting containment lines with hand tools and bulldozers. The air attack is scheduled to resume in the morning.
The VCFD said 2,000 homes have been threatened and 15 sustained damage, but none were destroyed.
CAL FIRE reports damage to 15 residences, 5 commercial properties, and 15 outbuildings. In addition they said 4,000 residences and 300 commercial properties are threatened.
The Red Flag Warning is still in effect until 5 p.m. on Friday, but the winds overnight at the nearby Cheeseboro weather station decreased substantially, from 25-30 mph with gusts to 45-50 mph on Thursday, to south-southeast at 8 mph with gusts to 14 mph at 1:38 p.m. PT Friday. The relative humidity remains extremely low, at 3 percent. The weather forecast for Friday calls for 18 mph winds with gusts to 25, decreasing at 11 a.m. to 10 mph with gusts to 16. The wind direction will change at 11 a.m. from northeast to southwest, a 180-degree switch, which could create problems for firefighters.
Resources on the fire include 925 personnel, 90 engines, 20 hand crews, 6 air tankers, and 8 helicopters.
DC-10 air tanker at Rapid City, April 23, 2013. Photo by Bill Gabbert
Summit fire, 3:49 p.m. PT, May 1, 2013 ABC7 screen grab. (Click to enlarge)
( UPDATED at 9:28 p.m. PT, May 2, 2013)
There was no change in the size of the Summit fire on Thursday, but by 8 p.m. firefighters called it 55 percent contained, up from 40 percent at 2:37 p.m. today.
This will be our last update of the Summit Fire, unless there is a significant increase in the size of the fire.
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(UPDATED at 3:41 p.m. PT, May 2, 2013)
The fire is still described by the Riverside County Fire Department as having burned 2,956 acres, which is the same size as Wednesday night. At 2:37 p.m. the incident commander said it is 40 percent contained and they “are making good progress on the fire line”.
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(UPDATED at 8:00 a.m. PT, May 2, 2013)
The Summit Fire east of Los Angeles near Banning and Beaumont has not grown significantly overnight, according to the Riverside County Fire Department, and remains at 2,956 acres. All evacuation orders have been lifted and the containment has increased to 40 percent.
The weather forecast for Thursday will be very conducive to rapid fire spread with winds expected to be out of the east at 26 to 30 mph with gusts to 48 mph. After 9 a.m. the relative humidity will drop below 10 percent, bottoming out at 5 percent. The Red Flag Warning for the area and the strong winds will affect the fire area until Friday at 6 p.m.
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(UPDATE at 11:30 p.m. PT, May 1, 2013)
The Riverside County Fire Department reports that the Summit fire near Banning and Beaumont east of Los Angeles has now burned 2,956 acres and is 35 percent contained. The rate of spread of the fire has slowed compared to how fast it was moving during the daylight hours. The winds measured at the Cabazon weather station have diminished to 10 mph, gusting to 13 out of the east, but the relative humidity remains very, very low, at 4 percent and should not exceed 10 or 11 percent overnight. The weather forecast for Thursday remains the same as we reported earlier, with east winds of 25 to 34 mph with gusts to 62 mph, along with single digit relative humidities and no chance of rain.
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(UPDATE at 4:27 p.m. PT, May 1, 2013)
The Riverside County Fire Department at 4:10 reported that the Summit Fire near Banning and Beaumont has grown to 1,500 acres.
If firefighters are not able to stop the spread of the Summit fire today (and that is going to be very tough to do) the weather on Thursday and Friday is not going to help. The very strong east-component winds are expected to continue and should be even stronger on Thursday at 25 to 34 mph with gusts to 62 mph, along with single digit relative humidities. Friday will be about the same with winds of 23 mph gusting to 41.
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(UPDATE at 4:16 p.m. PT, May 1, 2013)
Firefighters on the Summit Fire near the U.S. Forest Service fire station at Banning, few seconds after a retardant drop by a P2V air tanker. (screen grab from ABC7 video)
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(Originally published at 3:25 p.m. PT, May 1, 2013. Photo updated at 3:49 p.m. PT.)
Dozens of hand crews and dozens of engines are on order for a rapidly spreading wildfire in southern California near Banning. The fire is burning intensely and is growing very quickly. At least one home has burned as a 15 to 20 mph wind, with gusts above 30, push the fire through the California brush. As we reported earlier today, the area is under a Red Flag Warning for hot, dry, windy weather. Below are the 2:14 p.m. PT weather observations for the nearby weather station at Cabazon. Note that the relative humidity was 5 percent.
At 3:25 p.m. PT the Riverside County Fire Department (RCFD) said the fire, which was reported at 12:38 p.m. today, had burned about 200 acres and had no containment. That acreage figure is going to be much higher later in the day. The RCFD said six air tankers and six helicopters are working the fire or en route. Some communities are under evacuation orders. The RCFD has more information about evacuation.
As this is written, a local TV station, ABC7, is live-streaming large, excellent quality video images of the fire, however this service will probably come and go as the helicopter has to refuel and the news priorities of the station change. It’s the best live-streaming news video I’ve ever seen. Fox in LA also has intermittent live video.
We will update this article as this fire continues to grow.
Below is a map of the fire, as detected by a satellite at 1:47 p.m. PT May 1, 2013.
The red squares represent heat on the Summit Fire detected by a satellite at 1:47 p.m. PT, May 1, 2013. The fire is near Banning, CA
A Lieutenant with Tulare County in California suffered minor burns to his hands when his patrol unit became stuck in a ditch as a vegetation fire approached. Working by himself, he attempted to knock down the fire using the pump and hose on the truck but was unsuccessful. He was transported to a hospital complaining of difficulty breathing in addition to the burn injuries.
Texas legislature considers bills to promote prescribed fire
The Texas legislature is considering two bills that would make it easier in some cases for landowners to use prescribed fire as a tool. SB 702 would establish standards for prescribed burners, as well as education and insurance for those conducting the prescribed fires. A second bill, SB 764, would limit prescribed burning liability on government-owned agricultural lands, making it easier for government agencies to use prescribed fire, even under a burn ban. Both bills passed unanimously in Senate committees.
Colorado’s risk assessment tool for residents
The Colorado State Forest Service has an online tool available for residents which allows them to explore wildfire risk levels within a 1/2-mile radius of a home, or any other point of interest on the map.
Steam engine starts fires in England
North Yorkshire Moors Railway photo
A steam-powered train started three vegetation fires in North Yorkshire County on Sunday in the United Kingdom. The fires burned about 19 acres in a remote area that was difficult for firefighters to access. Some of them hitched a ride on a train from Goathland that was packed with tourists. On Tuesday the train started another fire in Beck Hole. Weather has prevented the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from conducting their usual prescribed fires along the railway.
MAFFS annual training
A C-130 Hercules from the 302nd Airlift Wing drops a load of water April 22, 2013 near Fairplay, Colo during training. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Nathan Federico) Click to enlarge.
Two of the four military units that provide military C-130 aircraft configured to serve as air tankers are conducting their annual training, certification, and recertification. Peterson Air Force base in Colorado Springs had their’s April 19-23 and Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne has chosen the week of May 5. The military Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS) can help fill a need for a surge capacity when all of the privately owned contract air tankers are committed.
I listened to some of the radio traffic while firefighters were attacking the Madison Fire in Monrovia, east of Los Angeles on Friday. Several times I heard Division Supervisors and the Operations Section Chief make routine inquiries about the exact location of various firefighting resources. It did not appear that they were asking for tactical reasons, but simply wanted to update their records about exactly where every resource was on the fire. It occurred to me that this was Accountability, keeping detailed track of everyone so that in case of a sudden change in fire behavior they could move them around, or if there was a disaster, at least they would know who needed rescuing, who was missing, or where to look if they had to search for people later.
In my experience, detailed tracking of resources to this extent, minute by minute, is not something that most wildland fire agencies have practiced. Municipal fire departments have emphasized this in the last decade or three. And, yes, on any fire, an Incident Action Plan should be developed indicating the general location of resources, either in someone’s head on a small incident, scribbled on a note pad, or as a formal 10 to 30+ page document on a multi-day fire. Of course, a Division Supervisor should always know the location of the three to seven units for which they are responsible. But as Moltke the Elder is supposed to have said, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. So updating the exact locations of resources is important.
I got to thinking what may have precipitated what appears to be a change in this procedure, at least for the wildland resources operating on the Madison fire in southern California on Friday. Maybe it was because most of the firefighters were from the Monrovia and Los Angeles County fire departments, used to working in a municipal environment. I was reminded of the Esperanza Fire, where a five-person U.S. Forest Service engine crew working in an isolated location was overrun by fire and killed.
Following the huge explosion at the fertilizer plant in West, Texas on Wednesday, in which 12 firefighters and EMS personnel were killed, for the first several days the spokespersons for the incident were saying they did not know exactly how many emergency services personnel were killed or missing. Maybe they just did not choose to release the information, or, perhaps they did not know how many were actively engaged in the suppression of the fire when the facility exploded.
What do you think about enhanced, detailed accountability on wildland fires? Is what I heard on the Madison fire a result of firefighters operating in an urban environment, or has there been an increased emphasis recently among wildland fire agencies?
Madison Fire in Monrovia at 5:47 p.m. PT, screen grab from ABC7, April 20, 2013
UPDATE at 7:09 p.m. PT, April 20, 2013:
The City of Monrovia says the fire has burned 170 acres and is 10 percent contained. Evacuation orders are still in place for all of the affected areas. For more information, visit the city’s web site.
As we write this a bear has been sighted on the east side of the fire. A few hours ago there was another sighting of a bear.
This will be our last update unless there is a significant change in the size of the fire.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s mobile office. LASD photo by Eric Fox.
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UPDATE at 5:20 p.m. PT, April 20, 2013:
The ABC TV station in Los Angeles is streaming live video of the fire. But there is no guarantee that it will last more than a few minutes.
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UPDATE at 4:54 p.m. PT, April 20, 2013:
The radio traffic has decreased significantly, which usually means the fire is moving more slowly or firefighters are starting to get a handle on it.
The City of Monrovia has announced that the fire has burned 150 acres and mandatory evacuations are still in place. Resources on the fire include 65 fire engines and 6 hand crews. There have been no reports of any structures being damaged.
Madison Fire at 11:57 a.m., April 20, 2013. Photo by David J Smith
