The jury did not convict the defendant of starting the 3,300-acre Maple Fire in the Olympic National Forest
Continue readingTimber thieves foiled by bees ignite 3,300-acre fire
Maple trees are so valuable and prized by woodworkers, especially those who manufacture musical instruments, that it is a violation of the law in Washington to transport the wood without a state-issued specialized forest products permit. Armed with a permit that authorized the harvesting of maples from private land, Justin Andrew Wilke and Shawn Edward (Thor) Williams and others camped for several days in the Olympic National Forest scouting for big leaf maple trees with the highly desired figured wood pattern. They identified trees containing figuring by “checking” the trees, that is, using an axe to peel back the bark to expose the pattern of the wood, sometimes doing it at night to avoid detection.
When they found a tree they liked they would fell it with a chain saw, buck it up, and transport the wood to a mill in Tumwater, Washington, presenting the permit and saying it had been harvested with permission from private property. According to the federal grand jury indictment, Wilke and/or Williams made more than 20 trips to the mill between April and August of 2018, collecting more than $13,000 by selling illegally harvested National Forest timber.
The theft was going fine for the two men until they ran into a problem on August 3, 2018 near the Elk Lake Lower Trailhead. Their latest target contained a bee’s nest that made it difficult or impossible to fell the tree. Spraying wasp killer was not effective, so they agreed that Mr. Wilke’s plan to burn them out with gasoline was the next step.
The indictment does not specify if the fire got rid of the bees, but the men were not able to put it out with water bottles. The fire, named “Maple”, ultimately burned 3,300 acres.
When a U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer questioned Mr. Wilke on August 4 about the fire and his timber-poaching activity, he told the officer that he had not been cutting timber, did not have a chain saw, and knew nothing about the fire. It turned out that he had concealed his saw to hide it from investigators.
Mr. Wilke and Mr. Williams were charged with multiple felonies related to timber theft and starting the fire. Mr. Williams had previously been in trouble with authorities in Florida for firearms violations.
From the Washington Post, October 1, 2019:
A spokesperson with the U.S. attorney’s office told The Washington Post that Wilke pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Monday and remains detained. His trial will begin in December. Williams is in state custody in California and will be transported to Washington state to be arraigned, the spokesperson said.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Tom. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
Progression maps for 5 currently active fires
At least five very large fires are currently active in the United States:
- Gap in northern California,
- Pioneer in central Idaho,
- Maple in Yellowstone National Park,
- Soberanes on the central coast of California, and,
- Beaver Creek in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming.
Below we have progression maps of these fires (in that order).
We recently found out about a new website that has developed a very impressive mapping service for wildfires. It was the source of these maps. The site not only shows the locations, but in some cases for large fires it displays the perimeters — which can be animated to see the growth or progression of the fire over time. They have this information going back to 2003. It is on the EcoWest website and was created by a collaboration of the Sea to Snow company and the Bill Lance Center for the American West at Stanford University.
The perimeter data is dependent on what is made available by the agencies managing the fire, so there is not always a perimeter for every day.
You can minimize the Description box by clicking the down arrow at the top-right of the box.
(Update Sept. 22, 2020: the data from EcoWest previously posted below is no longer available.)
Yellowstone’s Maple Fire slowed by rain and cool weather
Above: Rainbow over the Maple Fire at 9:50 Monday morning, September 5, 2016, as seen from West Yellowstone, MT. Photo by Ray Mines.
Rain on Sunday and Monday accompanied by cool weather has slowed the spread of the Maple Fire that has come within three miles of West Yellowstone, Montana. Since it started on August 8 it has burned 40,443 acres just north of the west entrance road, Highway 20/191.
The small amount of rain on Sunday was followed by about 0.15″ Monday, as recorded at the weather station east of the fire at Madison Junction.
Ray Mines, who took the photo above from the Incident Command Post at West Yellowstone, said it was 34 degrees Monday morning with a wind chill of 28.
Satellites have not been able to find any large heat sources over the fires in the park for the last couple of days. There are no doubt many small ones that the sensors 200 miles overhead can’t detect. But drier weather later in the week will bring the potential for the fire to become more active.
About 200 lightning strikes occurred in the eastern part of Yellowstone Sunday, resulting in at least two new fire starts. The Petrified Fire was near the Petrified Tree west of Tower Junction in a fire suppression zone. Firefighters extinguished the single-tree fire with the help of helicopter water drops. Firefighters are monitoring the one-tenth acre Jasper Fire east of Tower Junction near Specimen Ridge.
South entrance to Yellowstone opens after being closed by the Berry Fire
The Maple Fire in Yellowstone spreads closer to West Yellowstone and Hwy. 191
Continue readingSouth entrance to Yellowstone still closed by Berry Fire
The Berry Fire in Grand Teton National Park continues to spread to the east and south.
Continue readingBerry Fire closes south entrance to Yellowstone National Park
Above: Berry Fire. Undated NPS photo.
(More recent article on the Berry Fire published August 27, 2016.)
(UPDATED at 11:10 a.m. MDT August 24, 2016)
The south entrance into Yellowstone National Park is still closed by the Berry Fire which is being monitored, rather than suppressed, in order to benefit the ecosystem.
On Tuesday the fire spread farther into the Bridger-Teton National Forest after burning out of Grand Teton National Park. The northeast and south sides were the most active where it moved about half a mile beyond the previous perimeter.
A Type 2 incident management team led by Incident Commander Tim Rodie is now in place. He is assisted by 115 personnel, which is an increase of 77 over the previous day. There are 4 hand crews, 5 engines, and 3 helicopters assigned to the fire.
The incident management team is calling the fire 6,819 acres.
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(UPDATED at 5 p.m. MDT August 23, 2016)
The Berry Fire continued to spread Tuesday into the Bridger-Teton National Forest and the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway.
US Highway 89/191/287 in Grand Teton National Park is closed at Leeks Marina on the south, and at the South Gate of Yellowstone National Park on the north.
The weather recorded at the Coyote Meadows weather station 12 miles west of the fire has been fairly moderate for the last 24 hours, showing 2 to 6 mph winds out of the southwest and west and 70 degrees Tuesday afternoon. The exception to the “moderate” weather has been the relative humidity which got up to only 35 percent overnight, and at 5 p.m. Tuesday was 12 percent. That will change Tuesday night when the RH increases to 71 percent, but it will fall to 19 percent Wednesday afternoon. The wind Tuesday night and Wednesday will be out of the northeast and north at 5 to 13 mph. This could influence the fire to move to the south over the next 24 hours.
There are still no plans to put out the fire. Grand Teton National Park explained on Tuesday in a statement:
Fire management goals for the Berry Fire include providing for public and firefighter safety; suppressing fire to protect structures and campgrounds; and monitoring fire growth as it burns in wilderness and contributes to long-term forest health.
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(Originally published at 10:14 a.m. MDT August 23, 2016)
The Berry Fire in Grand Teton National Park more than doubled in size Monday, closing Highway 89 which leads to the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The highway is closed at Leeks Marina road (south) and the Flagg Ranch (north) and will remain closed indefinitely, a park spokesperson announced Tuesday morning.
Pushed by a 5 to 8 mph southwest wind gusting up to 22 mph, the fire ran out of the park to the northeast crossing the northern tip of Jackson Lake, the Snake River, and Highway 89. It then spread into the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway and the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Lizard Creek Campground has been evacuated.
The rapid fire spread on Monday added about 3,800 acres, bringing the size of the Berry Fire up to approximately 6,900 acres as of 4:31 a.m. on Tuesday.
Motorists expecting to enter Yellowstone from the popular south entrance will be forced to take long detours stretching for hundreds of miles. They may not be pleased to learn that National Park Service officials decided on July 25 when the Berry Fire started to allow the fire to “enhance the area’s natural resources”, rather than suppress it.
The moderately strong winds that caused the fire to leave Grand Teton National Park were accompanied Monday by 7 percent relative humidity and 80 degree temperatures.
Highway 89 south of Yellowstone’s south entrance remains closed due to fire. At this time, there is no estimated time of opening.
— YellowstoneNPS (@YellowstoneNPS) August 23, 2016
Grand Teton National Park brought in a Type 3 incident management team for the fire on August 21 when Red Flag Warnings for extreme wildfire danger appeared in the weather forecast. At that time there were 25 personnel assigned. As of August 22 that had increased to 39. Eight fires listed on the August 23 National Situation Report have more than 500 personnel assigned. Five have more than 1,300. However, those fires are larger and are threatening more structures.
Now that the fire has closed Highway 89 and burned outside the park they have ordered a higher level team, a Type 2 team to manage the fire, with Incident Commander Tim Roide. The next level up would be a Type 1 team.
There are three active fires in Yellowstone National Park, the Maple, Fawn, and Buffalo fires. We covered these earlier. They all continued to spread on Monday. The Maple fire east of West Yellowstone, Montana marched another mile to the north, but was active on most of the perimeter. The park says all roads and businesses remain open, including the east and west entrances and the highway that goes right by the Maple Fire, Highway 20.
Five wildfires burning in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
The five fires have burned over 28,000 acres
Continue readingFire activity increases in Wyoming
Above: Fawn Fire in Yellowstone National Park, August 6, 2016. NPS photo.
Originally published at 5:23 p.m. MDT August 11, 2016.
There are five wildfires currently active in northwest Wyoming.
The Babaganoush Fire has been renamed the Twin Lakes Fire, we assume because no one could pronounce or spell the name. It was reported on August 8 but has been very active over the last 24 hours growing to about 1,400 acres 35 miles southwest of Meeteetse. A Type 2 incident management team has been ordered.
The Hunter Peak Fire was reported on August 9 about 16 miles southeast of the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park, three miles south of the intersection of US Highway 212 and the Chief Joseph Highway. It has burned about 1,700 acres and required some evacuations; 95 structures are threatened. Todd Pechota’s Type 1 Incident Management Team assumed command of the fire at 6 a.m. Thursday.
The Whit Fire 13 miles west of Cody been burning for nine days and did not increase in size on Wednesday. It has blackened over 12,000 acres and still has quite a bit of heat in the southwest portion. (Our previous article about the Whit Fire.)
There are two fires in Yellowstone National Park. The Fawn Fire is in the backcountry in the northwest section of the park 10 miles west of Mammoth and the north entrance. This 930-acre fire is being monitored from the air and was quite active Wednesday.
The other fire in the park is the Maple Fire which has burned about 100 acres 8 miles northeast of the community of West Yellowstone. It also was active Wednesday evening in a large expanse of the scar left by the 1988 North Fork Fire. It will be managed under a monitoring and point-protection strategy providing fire managers a unique opportunity to study current fire behavior in the 1988 fire scar.