Above: Wildfires in Montana and Idaho September 3, 2017. The map shows heat detected by a satellite during the 24-hour period ending at 10 p.m. MDT September 3, 2017.
(Originally published at 5:47 a.m. MDT September 4, 2017.)
Residents in eastern Montana and northern Idaho have been living with wildfires that are nearby for a couple of months and the situation continues today. Dozens of large fires are still eating up the acreage and creating heavy smoke and sometimes “unhealthy” air quality according to the monitoring services of the EPA and other organizations.
Above: A 3-D map of the Rice Ridge Fire, looking northeast. The red line was the perimeter at 10:30 p.m. MDT August 28, 2017. The white line was the perimeter two days earlier
(Originally published at 9:37 a.m. MDT August 29, 2017)
The Rice Ridge Fire made an unexpected southerly surge Monday evening toward the community of Seeley Lake after the wind direction shifted from the south and southwest to come out of the north and northwest. At about 7 p.m. Monday fire officials issued a mandatory evacuation order and three hours later expanded the area to include much of the community.
Screen grab from a portion of the incident management team map of the Rice Ridge Fire dated August 29, 2017. The red dashed line is labeled “evacuation” while the yellow dashed line is “warning”. The solid red area was the fire at 10:30 p.m. MDT August 28. For the most current evacuation information go to Inciweb.
When the fire was mapped by a fixed wing aircraft at 10:30 p.m. Monday the Rice Ridge Fire had approached to within 1.5 miles of the Seeley Lake Community after a large finger of fire spread from the western flank. Sunday evening the incident management team had written in their evening update:
Containment is up to 22% as crews completed fire line along the west flank of the fire. Firefighters successfully completed small firing operations along the west and southwest edge of the fire that will aid in securing fire line.
The term “contain” or containment percentage means a fire line has been established along a portion of the perimeter. It does not mean the fire is “controlled” or “out”. A 2-foot wide or 100-foot wide fireline is not guaranteed to stop the fire at that point. Strong winds have been known to blow burning embers and start new spot fires more than a mile away. The incident management team appears to be computing the containment percentage the way it should be done — showing the percentage of the fire perimeter where a fireline is completed and the spread is at least temporarily halted. The fire could continue to spread across the fireline, but it is not thought likely. The unexpected wind shift may have been the unlikely occurrence in this case. The definition of these and hundreds of other fire management terms are in the National Wildfire Coordinating Group Glossary.
Map of the Rice Ridge Fire. The red line was the perimeter at 10:30 p.m. MDT August 28, 2017. The white line was the perimeter two days earlier
An incursion into the air space over the fire by a drone shut down all firefighting aircraft Sunday evening.
Seeley Lake is closed so that firefighting aircraft can safely access the lake to refill their water buckets or tanks.
The incident management team is not releasing a great deal of information about the fire. It has been almost two weeks since photos were posted on their Inciweb page.
Above: Satellite photo from August 27, 2017 showing smoke created by fires in the Northwestern United States, including Chetco Bar, Liberty, Rice Ridge, and Jolly Mountain Fires. The red dots on the map represent heat detected by the satellite on August 28.
(Originally published at 9:55 a.m. MDT August 28, 2017)
The Chetco Bar Fire in Southwest Oregon has not been growing as quickly in recent days as it did earlier when it quadrupled in size over four days and crossed the 100,000-acre threshold. The most recent mapping puts it at almost 108,000 acres. The area is under a Red Flag Warning on through Tuesday for gusty southwest winds and low humidities which could result in increased burning intensity and rapid fire growth.
The 4,400-acre Jolly Mountain Fire in Central Washington is near a Red Flag Warning area. Fire officials’ expectations for Monday:
Southern and western flanks of the fire will become active with uphill crown runs both on the east and west sides of West Fork drainage. SE flank will continue to back downslope. Fire will become increasingly active as it spreads to the south, where it loses its downslope effect and in more exposed to general winds. Fire likely to cross Sasse Ridge to the west.
A dozer passes through an area where firefighters are working on the Liberty Fire. Undated & uncredited Inciweb photo.
The 12,800-acre Liberty Fire has been burning northeast of Missoula, Montana since July 15 while the Rice Ridge Fire, not far away, has spread over 27,800 acres since it started two weeks later. Hot, dry weather on Monday could cause both blazes to become more active.
Firefighters with the Black Eagle Fire Department working on a fire that burned 40 acres in northern Montana didn’t know what started the fire until Kyra Vanisko discovered a dead hawk at the point of origin. Still in the bird’s talons was a snake, also very dead. The carcases were below a poweline, so the working theory is that the hawk, carrying the snake, intended to land on the line but on final approach the snake dangling below contacted one line while the hawk touched another. The completed circuit electrocuted both animals.
A hawk carrying a snake started a fire in northern Montana last week. Photo by firefighter Kyra Vanisko of the Black Eagle Fire Department. Used with permission.A hawk carrying a snake started a fire in northern Montana last week. Photo by firefighter Kyra Vanisko of the Black Eagle Fire Department. Used with permission.
Above: Satellite photo of smoke from fires in Western Montana and Northern Idaho, August 22, 2017. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite.
(Originally published at 3:03 p.m. MDT August 22, 2017)
It has been many days since we were able to find a satellite photo free of clouds enough to see smoke from the wildfires in Western Montana and Northern Idaho, but today there were few clouds in the area. This photo from Tuesday afternoon shows less heat (the red dots) than what we were seeing one to two weeks ago.
