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Wildfire Today

Tag: New Zealand

United States asking Australian firefighters for help

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

The Australian ABC News Service reports the US is asking for 188 specialist firefighters

(UPDATED at 12:36 p.m. MDT August 1, 2018)

On Wednesday, August 1 the National Interagency Fire Center issued a press released about the United States requesting firefighters from Australia and New Zealand to assist with suppressing wildfires in the Western United States. In addition to our report on July 31 (below) the NIFC release had this additional information:

The request is for fire personnel from both Australia and New Zealand.

The request is for Division Supervisors, Safety Officers, Task Force Leaders, Strike Team Leaders, Heavy Equipment Bosses, Helicopter Managers, Helicopter Crew Members, Structure Protection Specialists and Liaison Officers. These wildland fire management positions have been identified as “unable to fill” through the U.S. dispatch/coordination system on a daily basis in recent weeks.

In addition to the firefighters sent from “down under” in 2008 and 2015, they also assisted during the 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2006 fire seasons. U.S. firefighters traveled to Australia to assist with their fire seasons in 2010, 2009, 2007 and in 2003.

(End of update)

(Originally published at 2:41 p.m. MDT July 31, 2018)

The United States is seeking help from the other side of the world to help suppress some of the 140 large active wildfires that have burned a cumulative 1.2 million acres. We confirmed with Randy Eardley, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management, that the process of requesting help from Australia is underway but all of the details have not yet been worked out.

Much more information about the effort was published by the Australian ABC News Service which had an article about the request on Monday (US time). Here is an excerpt:

The National Multi-Agency Coordination Group (MAC) in the US formally requested assistance over the weekend, seeking 188 specialist firefighters from Australia and New Zealand.The firefighters would be deployed for up to 42 days in the California area.

Candidates from each Australian state will be placed in a national pool, with the most suitable candidates chosen this afternoon ahead of their deployment to the US on Friday.

South Australian Country Fire Service spokesman Brett Williamson said the most suitable firefighters to come forward in South Australia so far had experience fighting fires in areas with rough terrain and forests.

“We are finding it is more the state-based ones — in particular [those from] the South East and the Port Lincoln area … that are the ones who will probably have the beneficial skills that the United States [is] searching for,” Mr Williamson said.

The US has asked for paid staff rather than volunteers.

“At this stage, we are still calculating the numbers of who is available, who will be available from their employers to be released and then they will go into a national pool and that national pool will then basically be cherry-picked for the best people that are suitable for the job,” Mr Williamson said.

Australia also sent help in 2008 and 2015. The 2015 request was for 71 fire managers and specialists who came from Australia and New Zealand. They arrived in Boise August 23 for a one-day induction to learn about current fire behavior, fuels, and weather conditions. After the orientation, they were assigned to large fires. The 2015 contingent included 15 Division Supervisors; 15 Task Force/Strike Team Leaders; 15 Helicopter Managers; 10 Heavy Equipment Bosses; 10 Safety Officers; 4 Regional Liaison Officers; and two National Liaison Officers.  Fifteen of the total were from New Zealand.

There were 45 firefighters in the 2008 group.

NSWRFS firefighters British Columbia
File photo: On August 8, 2017, 40 firefighters from Australia’s New South Wales Rural Fire Service joined 60 others from across the continent as they began their travel to British Columbia to assist with wildfires in Canada. Screenshot from NSWRFS video.

Assistance from Australia and New Zealand is a good fit primarily because their fire organizations are very similar to the United States national fire organization in training requirements and structure.

In 2010 the United States and Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen emergency management cooperation between the two countries. One of the objectives was to streamline processes for emergency management authorities in both countries to facilitate the exchange of personnel in response to emergencies.

Wildfire in Chatham Islands burns thousands of acres

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

Anticipating a wind change, 19 household along the Waitangi Wharf – Owhenga Road have been evacuated

map Chatham Islands
Screen grab from a NZDF video of a wildfire on the Chatham Islands.

A wildfire on the Chatham Islands 700 miles east of New Zealand has burned about 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres).

Principal Rural Fire Officer Craig Cottrill says two teams of five specialist rural firefighters and four incident management team specialists will fly via charter aircraft at 3pm on Saturday 3 February with fuel, equipment and supplies for a two-week deployment. Two helicopters with monsoon bucket capacity are also set to arrive on the island.

Chatham Islands Fire
Chatham Islands Fire. NZDF photo.

They will join eight Fire and Emergency volunteers, four Department of Conservation staff, and three local contractors working to contain the fire. It has started to burn into conservation land, however the true extent of the fire will be determined once additional crews are on the ground.While the fire is currently burning towards the southern coast, a wind change to the north is in the forecast overnight. Accordingly, 19 households along the Waitangi Wharf – Owhenga Road have been evacuated to a welfare center operated by the Chatham Council Civil Defence as a precaution overnight.

Chatham Islands map new zealand
The Chatham Islands are about 700 miles east of New Zealand. Google Earth.
Chatham Islands map smoke
Smoke from a wildfire on the Chatham Islands can be seen blowing to the southeast February 1, 2018. NASA.

Wildfire threatens Christchurch, New Zealand

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags 1 Comment on Wildfire threatens Christchurch, New Zealand

Above: @Howesaman took this photo as she flew in to Christchurch from Wellington.

(UPDATED at 9:05 a.m. MST February 16, 2017)

The wildfire at Christchurch, New Zealand was slowed by light rain Thursday night and more precipitation is in the forecast for Friday.

Officials are reporting that 11 Christchurch homes and two outbuildings have been destroyed by the fire and 2,075 ha (5,127 acres) have burned.

Two fires burned together to become the large fire that spread to the suburbs of Christchurch. One was started by an electrical problem and the other originated at a car park. Officials are not speculating as to whether the causes are suspicious.

Approximately 400 homes have been evacuated affecting about 1,000 residents.

****

A large wildfire is burning in the suburbs of Christchurch, New Zealand in the Port Hills area. As of Wednesday morning U.S. time it had blackened 4,571 acres (1,850 Ha), destroyed an uncertain number of homes, and required the evacuation of approximately 1,000 residents.

On February 14 a helicopter pilot, David Steven Askin, was killed while working on the fire.

Below is an excerpt from an article at nzherald.co.nz:

Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel has told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking that she was “very worried” for Christchurch.

“We’ve been going through what’s happened overnight, obviously there’s been more evacuations so we’re looking at 450 properties approximately that have been officially evacuated, with police doorknocking and the army in support as well, so it is very serious.”

She said people have been reporting seeing the fire very close to their properties near Port Hills.

“It looks as if up to seven properties have been affected by the fire, it’s difficult to say until light arrives to get a full handle on how many properties that have been destroyed.”

Dalziel said the blaze was a “difficult fire”.

“We had two seperate fires, one that started in the Selwyn district, managed as a significant rural fire, then fire erupted on the city side, ultimately the worst fears were realised and the two fires came together yesterday.

“It is close to areas of population.”

Christchurch Fire map
The red dots on the map of the Christchurch area represent heat detected by a satellite February 15, 2017 U.S. time. Smoke can be seen blowing off toward the east. NASA.

The weather forecast for Christchurch on Thursday (Wednesday U.S. time) predicts cooler temperatures in the high 60s F, relative humidity in the high 40s, and winds out of the east-northeast at 3 to 6 mph in the morning increasing to 16 mph in the afternoon.

In 2011 an earthquake centered 6 miles southeast of Christchurch caused widespread damage in the city and killed 185 people.

“Experts” defend hunter accused of starting fire when bullet struck a rock

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 1 Comment on “Experts” defend hunter accused of starting fire when bullet struck a rock

A controversy is brewing in New Zealand about the ability of a bullet to start a fire when it strikes a rock. Below is an excerpt from an article at TVNZ.co.NZ:

Experts on fires and firearms are offering to help a Dunedin hunter fight the Otago Rural Fire Authority which is fining him over a bushfire. Tom Dodds has been accused of starting the fire, which he called in, and he’s been charged more than $60,000 by the fire authority for the cost of putting it out.

Seven Sharp reported earlier in the week that the fire investigator believes Mr Dodds’ bullet ricocheted off a rock, bounced 80 metres and hit another rock, which caused the fire 45  minutes later.

The programme reported last night it has received a lot of feedback on the case, including expert opinions from fire and firearms investigators.

One was straight to the point, calling the authority’s version of events impossible. Another, with 40 years experience, had never heard of a bullet causing a fire.

Causing a fire 45 minutes later is difficult to comprehend unless it was smoldering before it was detected.

It is a fact, however, that it is possible for a bullet striking an object to ignite a fire. We covered research on this topic in December, 2013:

…This research shows that fires can be ignited by hot fragments of the bullets due to the heat generated when the kinetic energy of the lead, copper, or steel is transformed to thermal energy by plastic deformation and fracturing from the high-strain rates during impact…

Coincidence or not, on Thursday the National Interagency Fire Center in the U.S. distributed this tweet:

In the New Zealand case, it’s probably not sparks from the rock that created a problem, but hot metal from the bullet itself that may have started the fire. It is possible that when the bullet hit the first rock, hot metal fragments were created which flew 80 meters and landed in flammable material. A second rock may not have played a significant part.

Wildfire News, March 7, 2016

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , , , , ,
Alaska April wildfire potential
April wildfire potential in Alaska, based on vegetation conditions and weather predictions.

—Fire officials say to ‘expect an early start’ to Alaska wildfire season.

—Shooter’s tracer rounds ignite 2-day forest fire at Missouri gun range

–A proposed Utah law would enable police to shoot drones, but people have been arrested for doing so.

–A massive bushfire cut off and isolated the South Island town of Hanmer Springs, New Zealand on Tuesday (local time).

–The Arizona Wildfire Academy is taking place in Prescott this week.

—Hubbardston, Massachusetts gets military surplus truck to help battle brush fires.

Hubbardston Mass mil surplus truck
Hubbardston, Mass. military surplus truck. Photo: Hubbardston Fire Department.

Firefighters from New Zealand and Australia to assist with wildfires in the U.S.

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 5 Comments on Firefighters from New Zealand and Australia to assist with wildfires in the U.S.

The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho is mobilizing firefighters from Australia and New Zealand to assist with wildfire suppression efforts in the western United States. The two countries have been key partners with the U.S. fire community for more than 50 years but were last mobilized in 2008 when heavy fire activity was similar to this year.

The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group requested 71 fire managers and specialists.  Although final details of the arrangement are still being worked out, the contingent from Australia and New Zealand is expected to arrive in Boise on August 23 for a one-day induction to learn about current fire behavior, fuels, and weather conditions. Upon completion of the orientation, they will be assigned to large fires.

The request includes 15 Division Supervisors; 15 Task Force/Strike Team Leaders; 15 Helicopter Managers; 10 Heavy Equipment Bosses; 10 Safety Officers; 4 Regional Liaison Officers; and two National Liaison Officers.  Fifteen of the total are from New Zealand. Assistance from Australia and New Zealand is a good fit primarily because their fire organizations are very similar to the United States national fire organization in training requirements and structure.