Montana Archives - Page 27 of 32

John Mayer concert to benefit firefighters of Pine Creek fire in Montana

Bill GabbertDecember 12, 2012August 25, 2019UncategorizedMontana

UPDATE: the concert raised $100,000 for the firefighters.

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John Mayer owns a home in Pine Creek, a small community about seven miles south of Livingston, Montana. The town was heavily impacted by the Pine Creek fire which on August 29, 2012 burned through the community and then into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness on the Gallatin National Forest, eventually blackening 8,500 acres. Firefighters saved many homes, including Mr. Mayer’s, but five were lost in the fire.

In an effort to recognize and pay back the firefighters, he is organizing a concert to raise money for the local fire departments who fought the fire.

It is heartwarming to see rich people use their money, influence, or time to help a local community like Mr. Mayer is doing here. Another example is Michael Goguen the venture capitalist who is providing funding for a rescue helicopter in the Flathead Valley of Montana. Is there something about Montana that inspires this kind of generosity?

Kelly Anderson covered the Pine Creek Fire for Wildfire Today while I was working in Portugal.

The benefit concert will take place on Wednesday, January 16th at the Emerson Theater in downtown Bozeman, MT. Mr. Mayer will be joined onstage by Zac Brown and Clay Cook of Zac Brown Band. Also performing will be David Ryan Harris, Sean Hurley and Aaron Sterling among other special guests. Zac Brown and Clay Cook, along with long time band mate David Ryan Harris, will step in to add vocals.

In Mr. Mayer’s own words, “Without the tireless effort and dedication of the firefighters of the Pine Creek Fire, many more homes and memories would have been destroyed, mine among them. I wasn’t in town when the fire broke out and I’ve always wished I could do my part to help, the way so many in the community did. Putting on a concert to raise some money for the departments is the least I can do for a town and a community that has welcomed me with open arms.”

Tickets for The Livingston Town Proper, will go on sale December 15th at 10 a.m. MT. A limited number of premium seats will be available through Tickets-for-Charity at $1,000 per ticket package, including a donation directly benefiting the Park County Community Foundation (PCCF) to support local wildfire relief. These tickets include a meet and greet with John and Zac Brown as well as an autographed poster. For more information on Tickets-for-Charity’s Charitable Sale™ program, go here. The rest of the tickets will range in price from $100 to $250 and can be purchased at www.ticketriver.com.

Wildfire news, October 9, 2012

Bill GabbertOctober 9, 2012Uncategorizedescaped prescribed fire, Minnesota, Montana, prescribed fire

Another claim against the USFS for escaped prescribed fire in Montana

Another land owner has filed a claim against the U.S. Forest Service for the 2010 Davis prescribed fire that escaped on the Helena National Forest and burned approximately 450 acres of private land belonging to multiple owners. In June Wildfire Today told you about three land owners who are suing the government seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial.

The latest claim is from Andy Skinner, who is asking for $137,770 for damage to his property. He is also asking for $50,000 for the time it has taken for him to research the damage and file the claim.

The Davis prescribed fire northwest of Helena, Montana escaped on August 26, 2010 and burned over 2,000 acres of private and U.S. Forest Service land.

Wildfire Today covered the Davis Fire extensively in 2010, and summarized some of the coverage on November 22, 2010 after the U.S. Forest Service released their report on the incident. We highlighted some of the issues that led to the escaped prescribed fire.

Minnie fire may burn for weeks

The Minnie fire in northwest Minnesota near Fourtown, between Upper Red Lake and Lake of the Woods, has moved into areas containing peat, and is now burning deep underground in the organic soil, making it extremely difficult to suppress. Unless the area receives a great deal of rain soon, it will most likely burn for weeks, or longer.

Extraordinary photo of vehicle fire

A motorist that had to stop when a vehicle fire in Missoula closed a road, took some photos of the burning car. One of them captured the moment a vessel inside the car exploded, demonstrating why firefighters need to employ proper tactics on these fires, and why adequate personal protective equipment should be worn.

Red flag warnings and record-breaking heat expected in California

Bill GabbertOctober 1, 2012October 1, 2012UncategorizedCalifornia, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, weather, Wyoming

A weather forecast for record-breaking triple-digit heat and single digit humidities has brought out a red flag warning for some areas in southern California for Monday and Tuesday. The temperatures are expected to be about 20 degrees hotter than normal, between 95 and 105 at the lower elevations in the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties on Monday, then a few degrees cooler on Tuesday. Downtown Los Angeles is expected to hit 100 degrees on Monday, with it reaching 105 degrees in Burbank and Pasadena.

Northeast winds at 10 to 20 mph with 30 mph gusts are expected on Monday, with Tuesday afternoon bringing 25 mph onshore winds.

The map below shows the area in southern California covered by the red flag warning, which is in effect from 6 a.m. Monday until 6 p.m. PDT Tuesday.

There is also a red flag warning for some areas in northwest Montana for gusty winds and low humidities from 11 a.m. through midnight MDT on Monday. The winds are expected to be southwest at 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50, with the humidities as low as 16 percent.

The passage of a cold front has resulted in a red flag warning for western Minnesota from 2 p.m. until 7 p.m. CDT on Monday. Winds should be northwest at 20 with gusts up to 30 mph along with humidities as low as 20 percent.

A fire weather watch is in effect for areas in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Incident Management Team using iPads on Sawtooth Fire

Bill GabbertSeptember 27, 2012August 25, 2019UncategorizedMontana4 Comments

Greg Poncin’s Type 1 Incident Management Team is using iPads as they manage the Sawtooth Fire near Hamilton, Montana. A member of the team developed an app that can assist in collecting and distributing information on a near real time basis wirelessly using a 3G cell phone system. The team is using them to share maps, documents, photos, and videos.

An article at KAJ18 about the system does not say, but I imagine they are putting the Incident Action Plan on the devices as well. iPads may not be very practical to carry on the fireline, but if it is compatible with an iPhone, firefighters in a spike camp may in the future be submitting their time to the finance section on a hand-held wireless device.

If the team does not have a wireless hot spot at the Incident Command Post, the system would be dependent on 3G cell phone service, which is not always easy to find at the scene of a large wildland fire.

A video at KAJ18 features Incident Commander Poncin describing the innovation.

The Sawtooth fire, according to the information on InciWeb, has burned 5,882 acres and is 45 percent contained.

UPDATE at 10:40 a.m. MT, September 28, 2012:

Kelly reports to us that a helicopter pilot friend told her that on the Sawtooth fire the Helicopter Managers were getting the Incident Action Plans (IAP) wirelessly. On the Halstead fire the pilot obtained copies of maps by using a smart phone or iPad to scan a QR code (similar to a bar code) on the front of the IAP.

The possibilities for this kind of technology are endless.

What new technologies have you seen recently on wildfires? Or, what new technologies have the potential to be implemented on fires which could enhance efficiency, reduce costs, or help to provide a safer working environment for firefighters?

Time lapse video of Dugan Fire in Montana

Bill GabbertSeptember 26, 2012December 18, 2018UncategorizedMontana2 Comments

I like time lapse videos of wildfires. This one of the Dugan Fire near Ekalaka in southeast Montana (map) not only shows the fire itself, but also includes some dozers working at what appears to be 500 miles an hour. It begins with some still images — the time lapse starts at 0:37.

(video no longer available)

The Dugan Fire burned 10,675 acres and is contained, according to InciWeb. Below is another photo of the fire.

Montana is grateful for borrowed Canadian aircraft

Bill GabbertSeptember 6, 2012July 3, 2013Uncategorizedair tanker, CV-580, helicopter, Montana6 Comments

In August retardant dropped by air tankers helped slow the spread of the Highway 87 Fire in Montana. Montana DNRC photo.

Several firefighting aircraft from Canada have been in Montana this summer, on loan thanks to an international agreement. The provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta sent three CV-580 air tankers, two lead planes, and one Bell 212 helicopter under the provisions of an arrangement between five U.S. states and five Canadian provinces titled the “Northwest Wildland Fire Protection Agreement”, which allows ground and air firefighting resources to be exchanged between the two countries. The aircraft have been stationed at Helena and Billings since June.

Here is an excerpt from an article in the Billings Gazette about the agreement and the aircraft:

With the Canadian tankers and helicopter available, fire crews can throw more resources — and do it faster — than usual at new starts in an effort to nip them before they can blow up. For example, the Hibbard fire sparked on Sunday north of Pompeys Pillar and, within hours, three heavy tankers and a helicopter were helping local crews, dousing the fire after it burned 326 acres.

“We want to get in there and dogpile the fires as soon as we hear about them,” [Matt] Wolcott [the Montana DNRC Southern Land Office’s area manager] said.

And its not just the Billings area benefiting from the Northwest Compact. They’ve helped out everywhere from Yellowstone National Park to the Hi-line, from the Crow Indian Reservation to the Missouri Breaks.

Last year, Montana also sent crews to help fight fires in Alaska and an overhead crew, engines and other resources to British Columbia during the 2010 fire season.

While the U.S. has sent ground-based firefighters to Canada on several occasions, I can’t recall any long-term deployment of government-owned air tankers from the U.S. to Canada. Oh, right… that’s because we don’t have have any.

Thanks go out to Dick and Kelly.

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