Several media sources in Australia are reporting that an air tanker crashed west of Ulladulla in New South Wales and the pilot, the only person on board, has been confirmed dead. The Australian network ABC reported that a wing snapped off the aircraft before it went down.
The aircraft was fighting a fire in very rugged and steep terrain near Wirritin Mountain about 15 nautical miles west of Ulladulla when it went down at about 10:10 a.m. AEDT on Thursday.
The crash started another bushfire which, along with high winds, was hampering efforts to reach the pilot. Other firefighting aircraft were called to the area and were attempting to slow the spread of the fire.
Our sincere condolences go out to the family and coworkers of the pilot.
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UPDATE AT 12:51 p.m. MDT, October 24, 2013: A second aircraft has crashed in Australia. In this case it was a light plane supporting the firefighting effort. More information is at Fire Aviation.
A Boise Bureau of Land Management smokejumper died Friday afternoon in a training accident near Prairie, Idaho.
Originally published at 8:46 p.m. MDT, September 27; updated at 8:30 a.m. MDT, September 28.
A Boise Bureau of Land Management smokejumper died Friday afternoon, September 27, in a parachuting accident. Mark T. Urban, 40, was killed after his canopy failed to properly deploy. The accident occurred about 45 miles east of Boise, near Smith’s Prairie at about 12:30 p.m. MDT.
Preliminary information from the BLM indicated that he was conducting a research and development jump using a new device to designed to assist in deploying the canopy.
He had been a jumper for 10 years.
Our sincere condolences go out to Mr. Urban’s family and co-workers.
The 72-hour Preliminary Information Report for the fatality of Engine Captain Token Adams has been released. If you followed the search for Mr. Adams, who was missing for a week before his body was found on September 6, there is not much new in the report except for the mechanism of injury.
Preliminary analysis indicates Captain Adams was thrown from his ATV as he negotiated over a slight rise and then the ATV flipped onto Captain Adams resulting in fatal injuries.
When the search began, he was last seen on an all terrain vehicle attempting to find a reported fire.
The report below was issued by the Washington office of the U.S. Forest Service.
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“Date: September 13, 2013
Subject: 72 Hour Preliminary Information Report, Schoolhouse Mesa Fire Accident
Number and Type of Injuries: One fatality Name: Token Adams
On the afternoon of August 30th, 41 year old US Forest Service Engine Captain Token Adams was killed in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident while searching for a lightning caused fire. A Learning Review Team has been assigned to the incident and the review is underway.
Narrative:
Late in the afternoon of August 29th a crew member aboard a military aircraft reported a possible wildland fire. The location of the reported fire was estimated to be in Cebolitta Canyon on the Jemez Ranger district, Santa Fe National Forest, in the vicinity of an older fire that crews had believed to be no longer active.
At approximately 0900 on August 30th, three firefighters (Token Adams among them) responded to the general location of the reported smoke. Each of the firefighters brought an ATV. After a briefing concerning the search strategy they each separately began scouting the area. Their first mission was to confirm that the older fire was no longer active and a possible source of the smoke report. This mission was completed and the three met back at their trucks around 1030. Their second mission was to broaden their search area to locate the new fire. They discussed the broader search area and each left separately on their ATVs. Each communicated with each other periodically by two way radio to coordinate the search. Communications were also made with a lookout who was working on a nearby lookout tower and the Santa Fe Interagency Dispatch office.
At 1344, Captain Adams communicated by radio with other firefighters concerning the status of the search. After this time, calls to Captain Adams went unanswered. At about 1500 the new fire was located by one of the firefighters and he called, via radio, to Captain Adams and the third firefighter to respond to the new fire. With no response from Captain Adams, suppression on the new fire was halted and all efforts were then directed towards contacting and locating Captain Adams. Within three hours a formal Search and Rescue operation was ordered which involved numerous, volunteers, state, federal and local government personnel. His body and the ATV were found on September 6th.
Preliminary analysis indicates Captain Adams was thrown from his ATV as he negotiated over a slight rise and then the ATV flipped onto Captain Adams resulting in fatal injuries. Captain Adams was known to be a skilled ATV rider, he was properly trained and certified as an ATV operator, and he was wearing all appropriate personal protective equipment.
There has not been much change on the Clover fire southwest of Redding, California. The satellite has not detected any large areas of heat for a couple of days, but the reported size, at 7,993 acres Wednesday night, increased by about 900 acres. This may be a result of firefighters burning out vegetation to construct control lines. The Incident Commander claims 50 65 percent containment.
Fire and law enforcement officials have developed a repopulation plan, with expectations of allowing residents back into the area between September 12 and 14.
This will be our last update of the Clover Fire unless there is a major change in the status of the incident.
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(UPDATE at 4:43 PDT, September 11, 2013)
On September 10, 2013 during the late evening hours, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office located a deceased person inside the Clover Fire perimeter on Coal Pit Road in the community of Igo, California while conducting a welfare check. Next of kin was notified and the person has been identified as Brian Stanley Henry, 56. We send out our sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Henry.
Firefighters continued to work throughout Tuesday night and into Wednesday strengthening controls lines and mopping up hot spots around the fire perimeter. A Damage Inspection Team will continue to assess the properties today in the affected communities. Evacuations are still in effect.
CAL FIRE reports that the fire has burned 7,012 acres, is being fought by 1,346 personnel, and is 40 percent contained. The fire destroyed 30 residences and 50 outbuildings, and damaged an additional 30 residences.
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(UPDATED at 8:02 a.m. PDT, September 10, 2013)
CAL FIRE reports that the Clover fire 6 miles southwest of the outskirts of Redding, California has destroyed 80 structures and damaged an additional 30. It continues to move toward the southwest. In less than 24 hours it has blackened 7,400 acres and has required the evacuation of the Happy Valley, Igo, and Cottonwood areas. The incident commander is calling it 40 percent contained.
A map of the fire is below shows heat detected by a satellite. If the fire is burning in light vegetation in some areas, such as grass, the fire may cool in those areas before the next pass of the satellite, resulting in no large areas of heat being detected at that time. This may account for the gaps shown in the heat map. Or, the firefighters may be burning out vegetation ahead of the fire.
Map of the Clover Fire. The red squares indicate heat detected by a satellite at 3:55 a.m. PDT September 10, 2013. The yellow squares were from 2:14 p.m. September 9. (click to enlarge)
CAL FIRE’s Team 5, a Type 1 Incident Management Team, is scheduled to assume command of the fire at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Resources assigned to the fire include 1,129 personnel, 107 engines, 36 hand crews, 6 air tankers, and 18 water tenders.
Weather
Overnight the wind slowed considerably and the relative humidity increased, allowing firefighters to make some progress. The forecast for the fire area for Tuesday calls for 101 degrees, a relative humidity of 13 percent, clear skies, and north winds of 6 mph changing to come out of the south after noon at about the same speed.
EVACUATIONS
Residents have been advised to evacuate from the following areas:
Clear Creek Road and Cloverdale Road
Everything southwest to Gas Point Road and Small Farms and Marsha Way
Gas Point Road and Happy Valley Road
Small Farms track south to Black Pine Road
Cloverdale from Clear Creek to Oak
Oak to Palm
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Map of Clover Fire. The red squares represent heat detected by a satellite at 2:14 p.m. PDT, September 9, 2013 (click to enlarge)
The fire placed a large order for additional resources, including over a dozen strike teams of engines (five engines per strike team) and five strike teams of hand crews (two crews per strike team).
(Originally published at 4 p.m. PDT, September 9, 2013)
A fire that has only been burning for about three hours has already blackened approximately 1,500 2,200 acres in northern California and is causing evacuations. The Clover Fire was reported at 12:32 p.m. PDT today, Monday, and has spread to about 2 miles south of Igo, 6 miles southwest of the outskirts of Redding, and 10 miles west of Anderson (see the above map).
The fire started south of Clear Creek Road and east of Gas Point Road, but by 3:30 p.m. Monday had crossed Gas Point Road.
Evacuations are occurring in the following areas: Small Farms Rd., Clear Creek Rd., Cloverdale Rd. southwest to Gas Point Rd., Cloverdale Rd. from Clear Creek Rd. to Oak, Oak to Palm, Small Farm Track south to Black Pine Rd.
The two DC-10 Very Large Air Tankers had been ordered for the Morgan Fire east of San Francisco, but shortly after they arrived at that fire they were diverted to this new Clover Fire.
Weather
Strong winds and low relative humidities are challenging firefighters. The weather station at the Redding Airport 11 miles east of the fire Monday afternoon recorded 17 mph north and northwest winds gusting at 27 to 30 mph along with a relative humidity of 7 percent. The temperature at the airport reached 15 degrees. The forecast for the fire area for the next two days is slightly more favorable, calling for temperatures in the mid to high 90s, winds at 3 to 6 mph (north on Tuesday and south on Wednesday), humidities of 14 to 22 percent, virtually no chance of rain, and little if any cloud cover.
The memorial service for Captain Token Adams will be Thursday September 12th, 2013 at 10:00 am at:
Calvary of Albuquerque
4001 Osuna Rd. NE
Albuquerque NM 87109
To get further information about the service please go to www.danielsfuneral.com.
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Token Adams, USFS photo
The body of U.S. Forest Service Engine Captain Token Adams was found today. Missing since Friday, August 30, he was last seen when he boarded an ATV to attempt to locate a smoke that had been reported on the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico. His crew of three split up when they arrived at the general location of a smoke report but he did not return to the agreed upon meeting place. For the last eight days hundreds of people have been searching for him over dozens of square miles of the National Forest.
At 11:45 a.m. today searchers discovered his remains about one-quarter mile from the nearest road. In a video about this development at KRQE, the reporter said there was an apparent crash of the ATV and that Captain Adams had been wearing full protective gear, but the exact cause of death has not been determined.
Below is an announcement issued Friday afternoon by the Incident Management Team managing the search organization:
Friday September 6 2013 – 4:45 pm
We are sad to announce that the body of Jemez Ranger District Engine Captain Token Adams has been located. Token was dispatched to locate a smoke reported on Friday August 30 2013. Search efforts began late Friday afternoon and continued through this morning when his body was discovered.
Token was an Engine Captain working in Jemez Springs NM. He was 41 years old and had been an Engine Captain on the Jemez Ranger District for 1 ½ years. He was a wildland firefighter for 10 years including previous experience as a hotshot. Before coming to the Forest Service Token served in the U.S. Navy. Token grew up in the community of Coarsegold California and was a 1990 graduate of Yosemite High School in Oakhurst California.
Token is survived by his wife Heidi a 3 year old son Tristan his mother a brother and sister. Token’s wife Heidi is expecting their second child.
All public and media are asked to please respect the privacy of the firefighter’s family during this time of mourning. We will release all details of this tragedy when more information becomes available.
Scientists expect fire risk in the U.S. to escalate by the end of the century
Hot and dry conditions lead to more fires. Those were the findings presented in 2012 by a team of researchers that used NASA satellite data and climate models to predict fire activity in the United States. Now, a new animation shows how dry conditions will cause different parts of the U.S., Canada and Mexico to experience an increased risk of fire by the end of the century. By mapping projected values for a measure of dryness known as the potential evaporation—a calculation that’s based on temperature, rainfall and wind speed estimates—scientists are able to interpret how fire activity will be influenced by future climates. Changes in dryness relative to 1980 levels are shown in the animation using colors, where reds represent an increase in dryness and blues represent a decrease. Watch the video to see how dry conditions are expected to spread across North America by the year 2100.
Five military Modular Airborne FireFighting System C-130 air tankers were released from fire suppression duty yesterday. Since the year’s initial activation June 11, MAFFS crews have flown 572 missions and made 535 drops using 1,375,981 gallons of fire retardant. That works out to 2,406 gallons per mission.
Granite Mountain Hotshots memorial items to be removed
Soon after 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed on the Yarnell Hill Fire on June 30, mourners began placing memorial items on the fence surrounding their compound at the Prescott Fire Department. Now over two months later the city decided they have to do something with the hundreds of objects which include T-shirts, photos, posters, and other items. The City announced Thursday that the Fire Department and area volunteers would begin to remove them on Sept. 10.
Below is an excerpt from an article in the Daily Courier:
Now, officials say, it is time to begin packing away the items for preservation, and possible inclusion in a more permanent memorial in the future.
“Items that are able to be preserved will be temporarily stored until plans are finalized for the future permanent memorial,” the city’s new release stated.
City officials have noted that the outdoor elements have taken a toll on many of the items. Flowers, cardboard signs, and other perishable items were earlier removed. Many of the T-shirts from fire departments around the country have faded from dark-blue to gray.
