Firefighters make preparations for the eclipse

Above: The path of eclipse totality in Oregon and Idaho on August 21, showing the locations of large wildfires that were active August 18, 2017.

(Revised at 9:08 a.m. MDT August 19, 2017)

Most of the wildland firefighters that will be deployed on wildfires Monday August 21 will have never seen a solar eclipse, or especially a total eclipse that will be seen in parts of Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska and other states. We began to wonder what fire organizations will do when in the middle of the day they are plunged into nighttime conditions.

It will be dark for up to 2.5 minutes in the path of totality (POT) but outside that track and immediately before and after the total eclipse within the track there will be plenty of light. So the actual physical effect for ground-based firefighters will be minimal.

However, as Traci Weaver, Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region told us, the event will likely be a once in a lifetime event for most of the firefighters and will be extremely distracting, at least. Firefighters will be asked to take a break during the totality and cautioned against being near snags or slopes that could have rolling rocks.

solar eclipse in France in 1999
Total solar eclipse in France in 1999. Luc Viatour https://Lucnix.be

The USFS Pacific Northwest Region, known as Region 6, includes Oregon, and the 60-mile wide path of totally will pass all the way across the state. It will include or almost include at least four large active fires, Nena Springs (46,000 acres), Whitewater (6,791), Whychus (2030), and Milli (4,565).

Region 6 did not just start thinking about the eclipse this week. They have been planning for a year on how to handle it safely. Five Central Oregon counties held a tabletop exercise that involved not only firefighters but law enforcement, hospitals, the Department of Transportation, and other agencies.

The Whitewater Fire, Ms. Weaver said, has established an Eclipse Branch. Remote spike camps on fires will have enough supplies to be self-sufficient for at least four days.

The normal tourist season combined with a busy firefighting environment and eclipse watchers flocking in from distant locations could mean ground and air traffic and logistics on fires will be affected.

A briefing paper distributed by R-6 included this analysis: Continue reading “Firefighters make preparations for the eclipse”

Wildfires in Northwest California and Southern Oregon were very active Thursday

Above: satellite photo of fires in Northwest California and Southern Oregon, August 17, 2017.

(Originally published at 11:30 a.m. MDT August 18, 2017)

Wildfires in Northwest California and Southern Oregon were very active on Thursday. Three of the largest fires on the Klamath National Forest in California are the Salmon August Complex (4,418 acres), Eclipse Complex (17,501), and Clear Fire (6,701).

The Ruth and Orleans Complexes on the Six Rivers NF have burned 4,617 and 6,943 acres respectively.

Eclipse Complex firefighters
Eclipse Complex firefighters on Division D. Photo by B. Patton. InciWeb.

Oregon and Washington have a total of 24 large fires; 15 are being suppressed and 9 are being managed with less than full suppression strategies. Some of the more active fires in Southern Oregon on Thursday were: Chetco Bar (8,500 acres), Miller (4,668), Jones (2,703), Milli (4,565), Umpqua North (3,414), and High Cascades (10,460).

Milli Fire
Milli Fire at 4 a.m. PDT August 16, 2017. Inciweb.

Dozens of active wildfires in the Northwest U.S.

Above: Active wildfires in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Western Montana, and Northern California at 4:18 a.m. MDT August 16, 2017.

(Originally published at 10:21 a.m. MDT August 16, 2017)

Dozens of wildfires are active in the Northwest one-quarter of the United States. Many of them have been burning for several weeks under a limited suppression strategy. The states of Washington and Oregon have a total of 32 large uncontained fires that have spread over 810,171 acres.

Air Quality Index LegendAt times the area around Missoula has been heavily affected by smoke. Here are some PM 2.5 readings from Wednesday morning:

  • Seeley Lake: 180
  • Missoula: 33
  • Lolo: 54
  • Superior: 180
  • French Town: 19
  • Clinton: 26
wildfires near Missoula, Montana
Satellite photo showing smoke from wildfires near Missoula, Montana, August 15, 2017.
wildfires northwest california
Satellite photo showing smoke from wildfires in northwest California, August 15, 2017.
wildfires northwest united states
Active wildfires (without added name tags) in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Western Montana, and Northern California at 4:18 a.m. MDT August 16, 2017.

Wildfire smoke produces “unhealthy” conditions in some areas of the US Northwest and British Columbia

Above: The distribution of wildfire smoke, current as of 2:09 p.m. MDT August 3, 2017.

(Originally published at 2:50 p.m. MDT August 3, 2017)

Smoke from wildfires in the United States Northwest and southern British Columbia is accumulating in those areas causing, in some areas, significant degradations in air quality. In British Columbia many massive fires combined with light winds has resulted in the smoke not being transported out of the area.

air quality smoke united states
Air quality August 3, 2017 for western Canada and parts of Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

Some areas in BC, western Montana, and the western portions of Washington and Oregon have “unhealthy” air quality today, according to Air Now.

air quality smoke west canada

Continue reading “Wildfire smoke produces “unhealthy” conditions in some areas of the US Northwest and British Columbia”

Rainfall in western states slows wildfire season in many areas

Rainfall last 2 weeks washington oregon
Rainfall last 2 weeks, Washington and Oregon

Rainfall over the last two weeks has slowed or in some cases, ended the wildfire season in some areas.

On October 19 we ran the numbers for the accumulated precipitation for the last 14 days in the western states. These maps show amounts that exceeded 0.05 inches at some of the Interagency Remote Automatic Weather Stations (RAWS).

Washington, Oregon, and northern California have received a good soaking and I would imagine that local fire officials may be declaring an end to the fire season. Of course this is not unusual for these areas this time of the year, and some locations had already seen their season end. But what IS unusual, is the high amount of moisture that occurred in just two weeks.

You can click on the images to see larger versions.

Rainfall last 2 weeks, northern California
Rainfall last 2 weeks, northern California
Rainfall last 2 weeks central California
Rainfall last 2 weeks, central California

Continue to see maps for the other western states.
Continue reading “Rainfall in western states slows wildfire season in many areas”