The fire burned more than 6,600 acres in Southern California December 3, 2020
Bond Fire, screenshot from video by FirePhotoGirl.
@FirePhotoGirl shot some fascinating video as she was driving through the Bond Fire in Southern California December 3, 2020.
Here is how she described it:
These videos were shot near the intersection of Santiago Canyon & Silverado Canyon. There were a few times I had to stop and wait it out and let the fire do its thing and cross over before I could continue, but if you ever wonder what it’s like driving through it, I hope this gives you a great visual.
The Bond Fire in Southern California east of Irvine started December 3, 2020 and burned 6,686-acres. Officials reported that 31 structures were destroyed and $14.4 million had been spent on suppression as of December 12.
3-D map showing the perimeters of the Silverado and Bond Fires, looking west.
The fire burned more than 4,200 acres west of Fallbrook, California
Creek Fire on Camp Pendelton Marine Base, December 24, 2020. CAL FIRE image.
The Creek that started on the east side on Camp Pendleton in Southern California forced 7,000 people to evacuate on Christmas Eve. Pushed by north-northeast winds of 5 to 10 mph gusting at 15 to 25 mph the fire spread across the base burning more than 4,200 acres before firefighters were able to stop the spread Thursday evening.
The fire was reported on Camp Pendleton near the intersection of De Luz Road and Harris Trail shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday. By 11 a.m. Thursday conditions had improved and the evacuation order was downgraded to a warning. Late in the afternoon showers helped firefighters slow the spread and at 5:30 Camp Pendleton announced that a fireline had been constructed around the blaze. The entirety of the fire was on the base.
Map showing the location where the Creek Fire started on Camp Pendleton. Map by Camp Pendleton.
There were no reports of any structures that burned. The 200 firefighters were assisted by four air tankers and three water-dropping helicopters.
During the first 14 hours the fire was burning, from 11 p.m. until 1 p.m., the relative humidity was 8 to 10 percent — very low for overnight conditions.
One of the aircraft used on the fire was a BAe-146 operated by Neptune Aviation. Two days before the fire started the company posted on Facebook saying the aircraft was on duty in Southern California during Christmas week, very late in the fire season.
Air Tanker 02 Drops on the Creek Fire on Camp Pendelton Marine Base, December 24, 2020. CAL FIRE image.
#CreekFire
Scoop, Fly, Drop, Repeat.
Make sure you look at the circle mirror for a unique perspective of the hose filling the 375-gallon belly of @SDSheriff ASTREA 10 hovering over Lake O’Neill at Camp Pendleton @MCIWPendletonCA. We will be helping with water drops until sunset. pic.twitter.com/bQZIAxYnoB
Slater/Devil Fire complex, September 15, 2020. InciWeb.
National Geographic has a long, interesting article about the differences in Northern California forests before and after the resident native Americans were prohibited from continuing their practice of prescribed burning. The author, Charles C. Mann, interviewed members of the Karuk tribe that were affected by last summer’s fires, including the Slater Fire that destroyed hundreds of structures near Happy Camp. They are hoping to restore, in a current-day context, a more robust prescribed fire program.
Below is an excerpt:
…The anti-flame campaign profoundly altered the American environment. Wildfire had been common in western forests. Much or most of that burning was due to the area’s first humans, who torched away the undergrowth that fueled future fires before it could build to dangerous levels. Thousands of years of controlled, targeted combustion created a landscape that was a patchwork of new and old burns—meadows, berry patches, park-like woodland, and so on. As these flames ceased, a new kind of forest emerged: a nearly fire-free ecosystem that was unlike anything that had existed since the end of the Ice Age.
[Kathy] McCovey is a retired Forest Service anthropologist. With [Joe] Jerry, she belongs to a Karuk fire-lighting brigade. For years they had been begging the Forest Service to let them burn the brush on the slopes around their homes. If you don’t let us burn, they had warned, there will be a catastrophic fire.
“Whoops,” McCovey said.
When something—lightning, a campfire, a downed utility line, a spark from a tool hitting a rock—sets the forest debris on fire, the flames climb the “fuel ladder” to shrubbery and young trees, then jump to the crowns of the older trees, creating a high wall of flame that can be caught by the wind. “We’re going to have to get these trees out,” she said, pointing to the mass of fire-blasted fir around us. “If they don’t, in five years it will burn again and be worse.” (Here’s how wildfires get started—and how to stop them.)
To McCovey, the problem was not just that the new forests were flammable. It was that they were “a food desert for animals and people.” The Forest Service and western state governments, like her ancestors, had managed the forest—had, in effect, farmed it. But the Forest Service and the states had farmed the forest to produce a single commodity: timber. McCovey’s ancestors had farmed the landscape for many reasons.
(end of excerpt)
More information is at the Indigenous Peoples Burn Network, a growing collaboration of Native nations, partnered with nonprofit organizations, academic researchers, and government agencies. It is a support network among Native American communities that are revitalizing their traditional fire practices in a contemporary context.
Smoke exposure levels at the Creek Fire ranged from hazardous to unhealthy for 30 days
(From Bill: Wildland firefighters and people who live in areas where long-term fires are common, such as Northern California and the Northwest, know that smoke can persist for days or weeks and can cause or aggravate respiratory and other medical issues. But knowing it exists and having peer reviewed quantifiable data proving it is hazardous to health, are two different things. Science like this could lead to changes that may benefit firefighters and the general public.)
In September and October the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deployed two staff members to serve as air resource advisors at wildfires in Oregon and California.
Air resource advisors were fully integrated into the wildfire incident management teams to provide insights into understanding and predicting smoke exposure levels. The individuals interacted with stakeholders, including air quality regulators, fire personnel, public health practitioners, and community residents. A primary aspect of this engagement was to forecast smoke levels for areas immediately affected by fires and generate a daily smoke outlook to keep stakeholders informed about prevailing smoke levels. 2020 is the first year during which the CDC worked with the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program and deployed staff members as air resource advisors for wildfire incidents.
From August 31 to September 14, 2020, one CDC staff member supported wildfires in central Oregon’s Cascade Range east of Sisters, which included the Beachie Creek, Holiday Farm, Lionshead, and Riverside fires. Strong east winds across the Cascade Mountains resulted in more than 560,000 acres of fire growth from September 7 through 10.
GOES-17 photo of smoke from wildfires in Washington, Oregon, and California at 5:56 p.m. PDT Sept. 8, 2020. The photo was taken during a very strong wind event.
Another CDC staff member was deployed to the Creek Fire from September 20 to October 5, 2020. This fire near North Fork, California started September 4 and grew to 193,000 acres during its first week; as of December 3, 2020, the fire had burned 379,895 acres.
Abbreviation: PM2.5 = particles with aerodynamic diameters ≤2.5 μm. * Sensitive groups include persons aged ≤18 years; adults aged ≥65 years; pregnant women; persons with chronic health conditions such as heart or lung disease, including asthma and diabetes; outdoor workers; persons experiencing homelessness, and those with limited access to medical care. (https://www.cdc.gov/air/wildfire-smoke/default.htm). † Fire camps typically offer logistical support to the wildfire suppression operation by providing firefighters and incident personnel sleeping locations (camping), morning and evening meals, workspaces, and administrative services. § The monitoring instrument in North Fork, California, recorded errors and did not report data during September 12–15, 2020. ¶ Start date of Creek Fire in California was September 4. Start dates of fires in Oregon were as follows. Lionshead was August 16; Beachie Creek was August 16; Holiday Farm was September 7; Riverside was September 8.
During these two deployments, several public health concerns came to light. Of note, although smoke from wildfires drifted long distances and affected downwind communities, the brunt of poor air quality was observed in communities adjacent to wildfire incidents. For example, communities near the fires in California and Oregon experienced high concentrations of PM2.5, as measured by air quality monitors, resulting in “Unhealthy” to “Hazardous” conditions, as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Index.
Fire personnel who camped and rested between work shifts at nearby fire camps (North Fork, California and Sisters, Oregon) were also exposed to poor air quality levels. These fire camp exposures contribute to higher overall cumulative smoke exposure and, along with other occupational risk factors such as fatigue and stress, could limit recovery that is much needed for fire personnel while away from the active fire perimeter. In addition, environmental hazards such as extreme heat and higher concentrations of ambient carbon monoxide were prevalent during days with heavy smoke and after extreme fire growth days. These hazards added a layer of complexity to fire response efforts and might have limited fire personnel recovery between work shifts.
From: Navarro K, Vaidyanathan A. — Notes from the Field: Understanding Smoke Exposure in Communities and Fire Camps Affected by Wildfires— California and Oregon, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:1873–1875. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6949a4
3-D map showing the perimeters of the Silverado and Bond Fires, looking west.
The spread of the 6,686-acre Bond Fire in Southern California east of Irvine has been stopped for several days but there are still two hand crews and 15 fire engines assigned. Officials report that 31 structures were destroyed and $14.4 million has been spent on suppression since it started December 2, 2020.
The fire burned very close to numerous homes in Silverado Canyon, as well as the Orange County/U.S. Forest Service fire station. Judging from the video below and the vegetation seen in the satellite photos, there may have been an interesting fire fight at the station.
Silverado Fire Station proximity to the Bond Fire. 3-D image looking west. Fire Mapped Dec. 3, 2020. Satellite photo, May 2, 2019.Silverado Fire Station, satellite photo May 2, 2019
Today Fire Photo Girl posted some excellent video she shot during the early hours of the fire.
The blaze is north and east of October’s Silverado Fire
Updated December 4, 2020 | 12:57 p.m. PST
Map of Bond and Silverado Fires, December 3, 2020
The Bond Fire in Orange County, California is looking better today, Friday, December 4, but there is still much that needs to be done before it is contained.
More accurate mapping shows that 6,400 acres have burned. The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) reports that 11 aircraft are assigned to the fire. Air tankers and helicopters are working off Santiago Canyon Road between Modjeska Canyon and Silverado Canyon.
Some evacuation orders have been lifted. A map maintained by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has the details.
The two forestry technicians based on the Angeles National Forest who were injured Thursday were treated and released from the hospital that night. One sustained a leg injury and the other suffered minor bruising. The person with the leg injury had been flown in an OCFA helicopter to the hospital, while the other was transported in a ground ambulance.
All roads have reopened except for Santiago Canyon Road, according to the OCFA.
Bond Fire as seen from Pleasants Peak, looking southwest at 9:51 a.m. PST Dec. 4, 2020
Still seeing tanker and helicopter drops for the Bond Fire
This is Tanker 104, an MD-87 aircraft doing a drop at around 9:50AM
Tanker 104 operated by Erickson Aero tanker is a former Iberia and SAS passenger aircraft, converted into a tanker#BondFirepic.twitter.com/CB86rO9AY0
Bond Fire as seen from Pleasants Peak. Looking southwest at 2:05 pm. PST Dec. 3, 2020.Bond Fire map showing heat detected by satellites as late as 2:30 p.m. PST Dec. 3, 2020. The gaps between the heat icons could be due to light vegetation burning then cooling quickly before the next satellite overflight, the fire burning into the October Silverado Fire, or inaccuracy of the sensors.
The images taken of the Bond Fire from nearby mountain tops have shown decreased activity in the hours after noon on Thursday.
Updated December 3, 2020 | 1:48 p.m PST
The Orange County Fire Authority reports the Bond Fire has burned 7,200 acres. Most of the spread over the last few hours has been to the west and it has reached Highway 241. Firefighters are working on suppressing spot fires across the highway.
