An inadvertent release of retardant occurred along a five-mile long path near Lake City, Florida.
Continue readingWest Mims Fire burns in Florida and Georgia
(Originally published at 5:20 p.m. EDT April 10, 2017.)
Since the West Mims Fire started from a lightning strike on April 6 it has burned about 3,800 acres, growing substantially on Sunday and Monday.
The fire is 16 miles west of St. George, Georgia at the southern end of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and on private land just north of Florida Highway 2 on both sides of the Georgia/Florida state line.
Most fires in the Refuge, which is a Wilderness Area, are allowed to burn with little interference from humans, but with it on private land outside the Refuge firefighters are taking action to stop the spread.
Personnel with the Georgia Forestry Commission and Florida Forest Service are working the fire along with federal firefighters from the Refuge.
Below is an excerpt from an April 9 press release, but with the rapid growth of the fire on the 9th and 10th, it appears that fire managers have stepped up their suppression activity since the reported April 8 meeting:
…A meeting was held the morning of April 8 to discuss strategy. Representatives were present from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Georgia Forestry Commission, U.S. Forest Service, Florida Forest Service, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and Baker County Emergency Management. Monitoring of the West Mims Fire will continue over the next 48 hours. Personnel with the Florida Forest Service at John M. Bethea State Forest will refresh fire lines on the southeast corner off Perimeter Road.
There will be a follow-up meeting on Friday, April 14 of the primary responders to re-evaluate the status of the wildfire and to discuss future strategy of attack.
Five of the most active wildfires in the South
Above: Three fires were generating the smoke detected by a satellite on November 27: Rock Mountain, Camp Branch, and Pinnacle Mountain Fires.
The wildfire activity in the southern states has slowed a bit over the last few days. The day before Thanksgiving there were about 4,100 personnel assigned to fires in the area. By Saturday that number had decreased to 3,400.
The smoke generated by fires that has plagued residents for weeks has also diminished considerably. Today’s satellite photo, above, only shows three fires that are creating enough smoke to be seen from hundreds of miles overhead. These are the Rock Mountain (Georgia and North Carolina), Camp Branch (North Carolina), and Pinnacle Mountain Fires (South Carolina).
Just five fires in the Southern Geographic Area reported size increases on Saturday — a major change from recent weeks.
Rock Mountain Fire
The Rock Mountain Fire in Georgia and North Carolina grew by 2,578 acres in the last 48 hours and now has covered 20,647 acres, which is considered huge in this part of the country. It has spread to within 4 miles of Otto, NC and 4 miles of Dillard, GA. The fire was mapped Saturday by Colorado’s MultiMission Aircraft. Firefighters reported active surface spread in hardwood leaf litter in all directions, aspects and elevations on Saturday. Where it was not impacted by suppression it spread for half a mile. About 130 structures are threatened.
Camp Branch Fire
The 1,483-acre Camp Branch Fire is 9 miles west of Franklin, NC, an increase of 120 acres over the previous report. About 113 personnel are assigned to this fire which currently threatens 140 structures. On Saturday firefighters successfully conducted burnout operations on the northwest and southeast sides.
Pinnacle Mountain Fire
The Pinnacle Mountain Fire in Table Rock State Park added 217 acres Saturday to bring the total up to 9,147 acres. It is in northwest South Carolina 9 miles south of Brevard, North Carolina. The incident management team reports that 255 personnel are assigned and 1,133 structures are threatened. A burnout operation on Saturday brought the perimeter to the containment lines on the west and north sides of the fire.
OTHER FIRES
Clear Creek Fire
The Clear Creek Fire is 7 miles northwest of Marion, NC. I has burned 2,986 acres, an increase of 363 acres. About 352 structures are reported to be threatened. The fire is staffed by 489 personnel.
Mount Pleasant Fire
The Mount Pleasant Fire, 9 miles west of Buena Vista, Virginia has blackened 11,200 acres, an increase of 200. High humidity Friday night aided suppression efforts, but that was followed by strong winds on Saturday. Area road and trail closures, including part of the Appalachian Trail, are in effect. The fire has burned across the Appalachian Trail between Road 507 and Cow Camp Gap. The increase in acreage was the result of a large burnout operation on Saturday.
For the latest articles at Wildfire Today about how smoke from the wildfires is affecting various locations in the South, check out the articles tagged “smoke”.
Wildfire smoke decreases in Southeastern U.S. on Sunday, increases on Monday
Above: Satellite photo from Sunday afternoon, November 20, showing plumes of smoke.
The amount of smoke created by wildfires in the southeastern United States decreased on Sunday. In satellite photos from last week smoke could be seen that covered large portions of South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina. However as you can see in the photo below, the smoke increased on Monday.
The amount and location of the smoke varies depending on the wind direction and the fire activity. It is difficult to predict more than a day in advance the quantity and location of smoke.
Below are maps predicting air quality information and the location of smoke for today, November 21.
Progress made on some wildfires in the South, while others still grow
While several large fires in the southern states are still actively spreading, firefighters have made progress on dozens of others.
On Monday the Southern Geographic Area reported 52 large uncontained fires, for a total of 133,146 acres. There were 185 new fires of all sizes for 1,477 acres; most of those were suppressed while still small. That was considered “moderate” initial attack activity.
Firefighting resources assigned in the South:
- 78 aircraft
- 83 hand crews
- 1,011 pieces of equipment
- 4,476 personnel
On Sunday evening four fires reported 24-hour growth of more than 100 acres:
Rock Mountain Fire
The Rock Mountain Fire that started about 10 miles northwest of Clayton Georgia has spread north into North Carolina. At the last report it had burned 11,287 acres, an increase of 862 acres. On Sunday it was very active, moving through the hardwood leaf litter in all directions at a rate of about one mile each day. Evacuations are still in place for Dream Catcher Cove north of Tate City, Georgia.
On Saturday strong winds pushed the blaze across the Appalachian Trail on the north end of the fire. Winds blowing leaves still falling from trees are creating problems for firefighters, covering existing firelines and causing some areas to re-burn.
East Miller Cove
The East Miller Cove Fire is just east of Walland, Tennessee, 16 miles south of Knoxville. On Sunday evening the incident management team reported it had burned 1,492 acres, an increase of 1,292 acres, threatening 100 structures north of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Big Branch
The Big Branch Fire is in southeast Kentucky three miles south of Roxana and five miles northeast of Cumberland. It has burned 625 acres, an increase of 175 acres.
Oakwood 1 Fire
This fire is in Arkansas, listed at 468 acres, an increase of 278. No other information is available.
For the latest articles at Wildfire Today about how smoke from the wildfires is affecting various locations in the South, check out the articles tagged “smoke”.
North Carolina to receive the worst of the smoke on Friday
Above: Forecast for wildfire smoke at 6 p.m. ET November 18, 2016. Created at 1 a.m. ET November 18, 2016.
Most of the eastern one-third of the United States will be experiencing some degree of wildfire smoke on Friday. But by far the heaviest concentrations are being created by the wildfires in the South. The winds on Friday will cause the much of the smoke to pass through areas in western Tennessee, northern Georgia, and western North Carolina.
Wildfire smoke forecast for November 17, 2016
Above: In this satellite photo taken during the afternoon of November 16, smoke from wildfires is clearly visible in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Smoke from wildfires in the South continues to drift across Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
When the Air Quality Index (AQI) is between 101 and 150 due to smoke (the brown color in the AirNow map below) persons with heart and lung disease, older adults, and children are at greater risk. If the AQI is 151 to 200 (red in the map below) according to AirNow everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
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Many of our readers in the comments sections are asking about the smoke conditions in various locations. Keep in mind that the distribution of smoke is entirely dependant on the location of the fires and the wind direction. A large fire may affect areas in almost any direction if the wind blows it that way. For instance, it can be clear in Gatlinburg, TN one day and the next day it can be smoky.
It can be difficult to predict the impacts of smoke more than a day or two into the future. For one thing, exact wind direction and speed are hard to forecast accurately. And fire activity is even trickier to predict. New fires can break out, older ones can run out of fuel, and the effectiveness of firefighters can vary.
As you can see in the image above, at Atlanta the most common wind directions during November of 2012 were from the northwest and east, but other directions are also represented.
For the latest articles at Wildfire Today about how smoke from the wildfires is affecting various locations in the South, check out the articles tagged “smoke”.
Update on six wildfires in the South, November 16, 2016
Above: The map shows the locations of some of the larger wildfires currently burning in Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia.
Firefighters continue to battle dozens of fires in the southern United States while the residents in the area try to figure out how to live with the smoke.
Fire managers are hoping for a break in the weeks-long dry period, but through Friday at least they should expect more of the same. However there is a chance for rain on Saturday.
Here we will look at six of the larger fires in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Party Rock Fire
The Party Rock Fire has been burning just north of Lake Lure, North Carolina since November 5. It has blackened 4,480 acres, an increase of 736 acres, and forced evacuations at Bat Cave and residences on the east side of Hwy 9. In recent days it has been most active on the north and southwest sides.
Rock Mountain Fire
The Rock Mountain Fire has burned 6,747 acres in the northeast corner of Georgia, an increase of 1,263 acres over the previous 24 hours primarily on the northeast and west sides. The Type 1 Incident Management Team reports that 75 structures are threatened, but none have been destroyed.
Wildfire smoke forecast for Tuesday, November 15
Above: Smoke from wildfires in the southern United States as photographed by a NASA satellite Tuesday afternoon, November 15, 2016; updated late Tuesday afternoon.
We checked several resources for predictions of where smoke from the wildfires in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia will be distributed on Tuesday. It looks like much of Georgia and South Carolina will be heavily affected, with concentrations in some areas of South Carolina reaching the “Very Unhealthy” level according to the animated map below.
Some areas in the midwest appear to be affected by smoke that blew in from fires in Canada.
Arkansas, Louisiana, and eastern Texas are also heavily contributing to the smoky skies.
Check AirNow.gov for current air quality information. Click on their map to zoom in for a closer look.
An air quality index of 201 to 300 is “Very Unhealthy”.
#Smoke forecast for the next 24 hrs. #ncwx #scwx #cltwx #wildfire pic.twitter.com/WvYrbnvOSi
— Brad Panovich (@wxbrad) November 15, 2016
Wildfire smoke causes air quality to worsen in TN, SC, and NC
Above: Smoke from wildfires as photographed by a NASA satellite November 13, 2015.
The wildfires in the southeast continue to produce large quantities of smoke that in recent days has not been migrating out of the area very quickly. The AirNow.gov forecast for air quality predicts “Unhealthy” conditions Monday and Tuesday in Asheville, NC valleys and Hickory, NC.
The smoke forecast from NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory for 11 p.m. ET on Monday shows intensifying smoke in eastern Georgia and the western portions of North Carolina and South Carolina.
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For the latest articles at Wildfire Today about wildfire smoke check out the articles tagged “smoke”.