The fire burned 38,008 acres in California and Oregon
Map of the Klamathon Fire, July 7, 2018.
From KTVL:
The man accused of starting the fatal Klamathon Fire in July of 2018 pleaded guilty to all counts Thursday morning in a Siskiyou County courtroom.
John Colin Eagle Skoda, 32, was arrested on August 20, 2018, after a joint investigation between CAL FIRE and the Siskiyou County District Attorney’s Office.
According to Siskiyou County District Attorney Kirk Andrus Skoda was camping when the fire began.
“He lit a fire in a fire ring and the wind took it. He tried to stomp it out and when that didn’t work he called authorities,” Andrus said.
The Klamathon Fire started July 5, 2018, and burned on both sides of Interstate 5 in Northern California and spread across the border into Oregon eventually blackening 38,008 acres . One man was killed, Hornbrook resident John Bermel, 72, who died in his home as the fire swept over the structure.
Firefighter Brandon Feller suffered severe burns when his engine was burned over.
Three of the four reintroduction sites for the largest native frog in the western U.S. were wiped out by debris flows after the wildfire
The LA Times has an interesting story about how an endangered frog, the largest native frog in the western US, barely survived the 2018 Woolsey Fire in Southern California after being painstakingly reintroduced by wildlife biologists. https://t.co/eoZ3gwfiXU
Below is an updated forecast for the distribution of smoke from the Milepost 97 Fire in Southwest Oregon. One difference from the previous version further down in this article is that not only is it proceeding further south approaching the San Francisco Bay Area, but some of the smoke will be spreading into southern Idaho. The forecast is for 6 p.m. PDT July 27, 2019.
The forecast for the distribution of wildfire smoke at 6 p.m. PDT July 27, 2019. Click to enlarge.
(Originally published at 7:15 a.m. PDT July 27, 2019)
Map from Purple Air showing air quality at locations in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Cities and states identified in black by Wildfire Today.
Smoke from the 8,878-acre Milepost 97 fire near Canyonville, Oregon is affecting the air quality in Southern Oregon and Northern California.
Some of the cities in Oregon affected are Grants Pass, Medford, and Ashland. And in California, Yreka, Weed, Mt. Shasta, and Redding.
California and Southern Oregon air quality at 6 a.m. PDT July 27, 2019, by AirNow.Forecast for the distribution of smoke from wildfires at 10 a.m. PDT July 27, 2019.
For Throwback Thursday, here is what we published on May 20, 2014 about firefighters being caught in a fire whirl:
Still image from the video below of firefighters being overrun by a large fire whirl in California in 1989.
You may have seen the footage in the video below, of firefighters being overrun in 1989 by a very large fire whirl or fire tornado (or firenado) in California. It is very impressive, and can be another reason why firefighters need to be on their toes and very situationally aware.
A documentary is being produced for a multi-fatality wildfire that occurred in the 1970s.
On December 20, 1977, three people were entrapped and killed on the Honda Canyon fire on Vandenberg Air Force Base in southern California, including the Base Commander Colonel Joseph Turner, Fire Chief Billy Bell, and Assistant Fire Chief Eugene Cooper. Heavy Equipment Operator Clarence McCauley suffered severe burns and later died from the complications. A book about the fire, “Beyond Tranquillon Ridge”, was written by Joseph N. Valencia.
Mr. Valencia, one of the first firefighters on the fire, is serving as a technical consultant on the documentary, titled “Firestorm”, which is adapted from the book.
Here is how Mr. Valencia described the fire to us in an email:
A combination of hurricane-force winds and the snapping of an electrical pole starts the Honda Canyon Fire on Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, early in the morning of December 20, 1977. Over a thousand people consisting of professional firemen and military personnel fight the fire. Outlier winds would increase to over a hundred miles per hour, making the firefight almost impossible. Four fatalities and sixty-five injuries resulted. Ten-thousand acres burn, resulting in significant damage to the military installation infrastructure. Ironically and fortuitously, the fire will be out, a little more than 30 hours later, due to a rain storm-front coming in.
Others working on the film include producer Dennis R. Ford, and
Christopher Hite, Director of Photography and Cinematographer.
Many interviews have been filmed with people that were on the incident. One of the many reasons for making the documentary is to collect information about the catastrophe that occurred 42 years ago while the witnesses and participants are still available. You can view some of the interviews at the film’s Facebook page.
Vegetation fire in Bakersfield, CA destroys or damages 86 cars. Screenshot from 23 ABC News.
A vegetation fire that started along the 99 freeway in Bakersfield, California Monday spread into a car lot and damaged or destroyed 86 cars.
A preliminary investigation is centered on a truck that was dragging a chain, creating sparks that ignited grass adjacent to the highway in spots scattered along a four-mile stretch.
The cars were in the CarMax lot at 6801 Colony Street. An information officer from the Bakersfield Fire Department said 26 cars were totaled and another 60 were damaged. The estimated monetary loss is $2.1 million.
CAL FIRE frequently reminds the public about the danger of dragging chains.
