Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Tag: North Dakota

Wildfire morning briefing, October 20, 2012

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , , , ,
Smoke from the Witch Creek fire
Smoke from the Witch Creek fire as seen from San Diego harbor, October 23, 2007. Photo by Kat Miner

Witch Creek fire, five years later

Five years after the Witch Creek fire burned 197,990 acres and 1,040 homes in San Diego County, most of the structures have been rebuilt and lessons have been learned about how to better manage similar incidents, before, during and after they occur.

Followup on fire in Bucyrus, North Dakota

An analysis after the fire has determined that four residences and 20 outbuildings were destroyed when a wildfire raged through the small town of Bucyrus, North Dakota October 17. It blackened 6,000 acres along a 10-mile long path. NBC News has some photos that were taken after the fire.

Fire in Nebraska jumps Interstate 80

A 10,000-acre fire destroyed three residences and jumped over Interstate 80 near Paxton, Nebraska on Friday.

Photos of effects of winds in South Dakota

The very strong winds that affected wildfires in South Dakota this week also left some other impacts. The Rapid City Journal has some excellent photos, including one that shows four tractor-trailer trucks that got blown over along a 1/4-mile stretch of Interstate 90.

John N. Maclean’s OP-ED

John N. Maclean had an opinion piece published on the New York Time’s web site October 18 in which he wrote about penalties that have been assessed against arsonists and others who have started wildfires. He also provided some thoughts about how to prevent fires through legislation, and wrote about fires started by shooters, exploding targets, and all-terrain vehicles. Mr. Maclean is the author of several books about wildland fires, including Fire on the Mountain, The Thirtymile Fire, and the forthcoming book The Esperanza Fire: Arson, Murder and the Agony of Engine 57, about a 2006 wildfire in California.

Waldo Fire volunteer faces sex assault charge

A man who was volunteering for the Red Cross during the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs earlier this year is facing charges of sexually assaulting another volunteer. The victim told police she believes 71-year old Allen Crabtree drugged her and then sexually assaulted her on July 7.

Thanks go out to Kelly and Dietra

NIFC wraps up the 2012 fire season

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , ,
Careless Match Sign at Myrtle fire
“A careless match destroys”. Sign in the Myrtle fire in South Dakota, July 23, 2012. Photo by Bill Gabbert

On a day that we published articles on Wildfire Today about numerous fires in South Dakota, several fires in Nebraska that burned a total of 58,000 acres Wednesday, and towns in North Dakota and Idaho that were virtually wiped out by fires this week, the National Interagency Fire Center posted an audio recording by Public Affairs Specialist Ken Frederick wrapping up the 2012 fire season. You can check it out HERE.

Most of Bucyrus, ND burns in wildfire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags
1st Ave W and 2nd Street, Bucyrus, ND
Bucyrus, ND, before the fire, at 1st Ave. W and 2nd Street. Photo from Google Street View

Most of the structures in Bucyrus, a very small town in North Dakota (map), burned to the ground Wednesday when a fast moving wildfire swept through the community.

“Bucyrus has been pretty much completely lost,” Adams County State’s Attorney Aaron Roseland said.

Scranton Fire Chief Ryan Schumacher said “I’ve never seen anything like this. Everything is burned here. The town is basically gone.”

In the 2000 census Bucyrus had 16 housing units and a population of 26 people.

A few structures were spared from the fire, including a grain elevator on the outskirts of town and a church.

Grain elevator, Bucyrus, ND
A grain elevator outside Bucyrus, ND before the fire. Photo from Google Street View

Red Flag Warnings for extreme fire danger were in effect for the area on Wednesday when the National Weather Service reported sustained wind speeds of 49 mph with gusts of 63 mph at the Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport near Dickinson, ND, about 50 miles north of Bucyrus. At the Sand Creek RAWS weather station 46 miles to the northwest, average wind speeds of 35 to 44 were recorded with gusts as high as 67 during the afternoon and evening.

The fire started at about 3 p.m. Wednesday about a mile west of Bucyrus. The residents evacuated at 5 p.m. and by 8 p.m. US Highway 12 that goes past the town was closed. It reopened early Thursday.

There were reports that the fire was nearly 10 miles long and burned into the night on Wednesday. As of 9 p.m. homes were seen burning or burned to the ground, sending residents fleeing. There were no reports of injuries. As of late Thursday morning the spread of the fire had been stopped.

Red flag warnings and record-breaking heat expected in California

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , , , ,

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.

Red Flag Warnings, October 1, 2012

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.

Red Flag Warning, Southern California, October 1, 2012

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.

Injured firefighters tell others about the lessons learned

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

An excerpt from the Bismark Tribune, North Dakota

“Apr 13, 2008
By JAMES MacPHERSON
Associated Press Writer

As if the scarred flesh over a third of his body weren’t enough, Mark Keller got a tattoo to mark the day he and two other volunteer firefighters were burned while battling a grass fire in central North Dakota.

“It’s just a reminder to myself that I made it out alive,” said Keller, who is marking the third anniversary of the blaze that also injured firefighters Geremy Olson and James Meyer near Wilton, north of Bismarck.

The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, spokeswoman Jennifer Smith says 111 firefighters have died battling wildfires between 2003 and 2006, the most recent numbers available. The group does not keep injury statistics.

Those who survived the blazes, like Keller, Olson and Meyer, use their scars to teach others.

Keller’s tattoo above his right ankle depicts a fire department logo capped with flames, along with his name and those of his burned buddies. The tattoo, like his surgeries, is unfinished.

“I’ll add smoke to it later,” said Keller, 36, who also is a Burleigh County deputy.

The 2005 grass fire that injured Keller blackened a 6-mile-long swath near Wilton. It was traced to a pile of trees that had been smoldering undetected for nearly a month.

Meyer had been hired to burn the tree piles on his neighbor’s farm. He said he torched the dozen or so massive tree piles when the ground was covered with snow in March. When the ground dried out a month later, embers from the still-burning woodpile ignited grass, and the fire spread, he said.

The firefighters were hurt after the wind-driven fire engulfed them and the heat from the blaze sucked oxygen out of the air, killing the engine in the fire truck in which they were riding.

“I tried starting it three or four times and it wouldn’t kick over,” Keller recalled. “From there, it just got hotter and hotter and hotter. My brain told me to flee.”

Fire officials estimated that heat from the blaze topped 2,000 degrees – near the melting point of steel.

Keller was on fire when other firefighters rescued him, dousing him with water. He was the only one of the three who was not wearing full bunker gear – and he was the most seriously injured, suffering second- and third-degree burns to about 30 percent of his body.”

Additional details

Facing very large medical bills, Mark Keller sued the owner of the land where the fire started from the brush piles. After investigations, consultations with a wildland fire expert in a neighboring state, and negotiations, the lawsuit was settled out of court on January 18, 2007.