Photo by Bill G – Page 14

Wildfire news, September 11, 2012

Eleven years ago…..

Today, eleven years after the 9/11 attacks on the United States, we will pause for a minute to remember those firefighters and other citizens who lost their lives that day……………….

Next Generation legged robots

We first wrote about these “robot dogs” in 2009, and now DARPA has developed the next generation of these machines that are designed to “unburden dismounted [military] squad members by carrying their gear, autonomously following them through rugged terrain, and interpreting verbal and visual commands.”

I wonder how much water or fire hose these critters can carry?

Amazing air tanker photo

One of the best photos ever taken of an air tanker drop was taken by Kent Porter at the Scotts fire in northern California and can be found at the San Francisco Chronicle web site.

California fire protection fee

The San Francisco Chronicle also has an article that updates the situation in which California owners of habitable structures in areas where the state is responsible for fire prevention must pay a $150 fee. Lawsuits may be filed. Of course.

New map of all large fires this year

The Associated Press has an interesting map that supposedly shows all of the large fires that have occurred this year.

Atomic scientists weigh in on climate change and wildland fires

A publication titled Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has published an article written by Max Moritz, of the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management in the College of Natural Resources at University of California, Berkeley. (I wonder if all that fits on a business card?) Mr. Moritz writes about how climate change will affect wildland fires and the population. It does not exactly break new ground, with the recommendations being communities should be fire-resistant and we must learn to coexist again with wildfire.

Thanks go out to Kelly

Forest Service conducts another study on air tankers

Air tankers Rapid City — Air tankers at Rapid City, July 21, 2012. Photo by Bill Gabbert

The U.S. Forest Service has commissioned and paid for another study on the use of air tankers. This now becomes the eighth one conducted since 1996 that is either completed or in progress. You can see the entire list on our Documents page.

This one was completed by USFS employees assigned to the Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS). Their goal appeared to be to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of air tankers, although their exact objective could not be found in the document. It is titled Airtankers and wildfire management in the US Forest Service: examining data availability and exploring usage and cost trends, written by Matthew P. Thompson, David E. Calkin, Jason Herynk, Charles W. McHugh, and Karen C. Short.

The researchers found that the data collected as air tankers are being used is very limited, in spite of the fact that the U.S. General Accounting Office in 2007 recommended the Forest Service develop improved systems for ‘recording and analysing data about the cost and use of these assets at the time of the fire’.

It is generally accepted that the most logical use of air tankers is in initial attack. If aerial resources can arrive at the fire while it is only 5, 10 or 20 acres and slow it down, frequently firefighters on the ground can put it out, sometimes preventing it from becoming a megafire that can tie up resources for weeks costing the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. CAL FIRE understands this. We documented one example in which three of their air tankers dropped on a fire within 30 minutes of the first smoke report. Air tankers don’t put out fires, but with only 9 on federal exclusive use contracts like we have today, initial attack with aerial and ground resources is usually impossible.

The RMRS researchers, with the limited amount of data available, concluded that air tankers were used on initial attack for somewhere between 7 and 48 percent of all of their flights. The broad range is an indication of the quality of data being collected as these very expensive resources are being used. Averaged across the years 2007–2010, in cases where the use of air tankers could be linked to the fire size, initial attack fires (less than 300 acres according to the researchers) comprise only 10.8% of total flights (see the chart below, from their report).

Thanks go out to Matt

air tanker Photo by Bill G

Black Hills land managers proactively organizing to fight fires

Since the Myrtle fire burned over 10,000 acres and racked up $4,000,000 in suppression costs, land managers in the Black Hills of South Dakota have become more proactive and aggressive in organizing to fight wildfires. The agencies have been attacking new fires with enough resources to stop the spread within the first burning period. And it has not been easy in all cases. While dozens of lightning-caused fires have burned less than two acres, a few fires have burned several hundred acres but were stopped the same day.

In addition — they have beefed up the number of ground resources available for initial and extended attack of new fires; have increased the number of helicopters available at Custer; on most days there have been a couple of heavy air tankers available at Rapid City; and today they announced that fire managers from the Black Hills National Forest, the National Park Service, and the South Dakota Division of Wildland Fire Suppression entered into an agreement to order a Type 2 Incident Management Team to operate a Command and Mobilization Center. The Team will be assisting with initial attack of fires that grow beyond the capabilities of local resources; assisting the local units by tracking and handling the administrative processes of incoming personnel, crews and equipment; and ordering and resupplying the tools, equipment and other items to ensure that firefighters are ready to go to the next fire.

These are all welcome improvements, and the land managers should be commended for their success in dealing with the many new fires over the last eight days.

This was not necessarily the case when the Myrtle fire started at 1:30 p.m. MT on July 19. From the radio traffic I heard, the first large air tankers were requested at approximately 3:40 p.m. and I saw the first one arrive over the fire at 7:14 p.m. By that time, the Type 1 Incident Management Team, which is used for managing the largest and most complex fires, had already been ordered. I don’t know if a squadron of air tankers over the fire in the first 30 minutes would have made a big difference, but for whatever reason, the fixed wing aerial resources were not available to assist the firefighters on the ground.

As we frequently say, air tankers don’t put out fires, boots on the ground do. But air tankers and helicopters can greatly enhance their effectiveness. An investment in flight time and retardant within the first 30 minutes can, in some cases, save the taxpayers millions of dollars and reduce the loss of lives and property. Having only nine large air tankers available on long term contracts for the entire country makes this objective difficult to achieve. Ten years ago we had 53.

On June 26 we provided a solution for reducing the number of megafires. It began like this:

Dr. Gabbert’s prescription for keeping new fires from becoming megafires: Rapid initial attack with overwhelming force using both ground and air resources, arriving within the first 10 to 30 minutes when possible…

Myrtle Fire Photo by Bill G South Dakota

Firefighting, structure protection, and public relations

Myrtle ICP July 26, 2012 — What is left of the Myrtle Fire Incident Command Post at Custer High School, July 26, 2012. The fire is contained and has been turned over to a smaller Incident Management Team, a Type 3 team. Photo by Bill Gabbert (click to enlarge)

When the Myrtle fire, which is now contained, was threatening structures between Pringle and Hot Springs, South Dakota, many firefighters were assigned to structure protection. Most homeowners who evacuate have little understanding of what will happen around their house while they are hunkering down in a motel or school gym. Firefighters, when time permits, will do far more than spray water on the structure, as Lynn and Gardner Gray discovered when they visited their home near Pringle the day after they evacuated.

Jim Kent, a columnist for the Rapid City Journal wrote about the Gray’s experience in today’s edition. Here is an excerpt:

…During a return visit the following day, Lynn encountered four firefighters taking what she considered extraordinary steps to fully protect her property.

Once the Myrtle Fire moved out of range and the couple were back in their house, Lynn insisted I tour the property so she could point out the care and attention given by complete strangers.

From removing the propane tank on the Grays’ outdoor grill, to fully sealing their garage door and saturating 6 cords of wood stacked against the side of their home, the firefighters left no combustion hazard to chance.

They even took down a flammable decorative flag and repositioned a wood-handle rake before digging a protective trench around the property. In fact, the list of what the firefighters actually did is too long to include here.

And speaking of public relations, Craig Bobzien, the Forest Supervisor of the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota, met with a group of citizens from the Edgemont area who had concerns about how the White Draw fire was fought. Mr. Bobzien explained in a Rapid City Journal article attributed to him that he had heard about some complaints in the media and wanted to hear them first hand.

Those citizens from the Edgemont have been generating a lot of publicity about how some of them thought the firefighters could have stopped the 9,000-acre rapidly spreading timber fire in late June if only they had paid more attention to the locals. Previously, on July 6 South Dakota Senator John Thune traveled to Edgemont with reporters and photographers in tow to also meet with those citizens. This was the fire on which a military C-130 MAFFS air tanker crashed, killing four members of the crew and injuring two others.

John Thune Myrtle Fire Photo by Bill G South Dakota White Draw Fire

15+ new fires in the Black Hills

The 10,000-acre Myrtle Fire is nearing full containment, but firefighters in the Black Hills of South Dakota are not getting a break. With hundreds of lightning strikes almost every day, fires are breaking out by the dozens. Prompt, aggressive initial attack with both ground and air resources is keeping most of the new fires very small, but occasionally one escapes.

Below, from Great Plains Fire Information, is a list of 15 fires that were discovered on Tuesday, July 24, plus the Mossagate fire which was reported on July 21. There are approximately 7 others that started late in the day on Tuesday that didn’t make this version of the list.

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Date: July 24, 2012 / Time: 9:00 p.m.

Fire Crews Respond to New Lightning Ignited Fires in the Black Hills

Rapid City, SD – Thunderstorms rolled over the Black Hills again today and federal, state, and local VFD firefighters responded to another 15 new fires. Most of the new fires were small and were contained at less than ½ an acre. However, because of the hot, dry, and windy conditions, several of the new fires required numerous air tanker retardant drops and the use of helicopters to drop water; allowing firefighters to build fire line to contain the spread of the fires.

Fire resources on the Myrtle Fire, which is nearing containment, assisted with initial attack of several new fires in the southern Black Hills. Five Interagency Hotshot crews, responded to three nearby fires. Aviation resources, including helicopters and air tankers assisted with initial attack on eight new fires.

With fire activity remaining high throughout the region, fire resources are being reassigned to other incidents after they are released from their currently assigned fire.

Falls Fire
The Falls Fire started between Falls Canyon and Lindsley Canyon, six miles southwest of Hot Springs. The fire threatens powerlines to the northwest and is burning in steep and rugged terrain. No structures are threatened at this time. A Type III Incident Commander has ordered additional crews and engines.
Size: 150 acres
Cause: Lightning
Containment: Unknown

Placerville Fire
Location: Just north of the Pactola Work Center, in the Mystic Ranger District
Size: 0.1 acre
Cause: Lightning
Containment: 100%

Photo by Bill G

South Dakota: Myrtle fire 75% contained

Thanks to the great efforts by firefighters, and favorable weather, the incident management team is calling the Myrtle fire in the Black Hills of South Dakota 75 percent contained. The size has not changed in the last few days, and remains at 10,080 acres. Monday evening I visited the fire and saw no major fire activity, only scattered smokes.

Two weather stations near the fire measured 0.28″ and 0.30″ of rain between 9 and 11 p.m. on Monday, but it was a mixed blessing, in that it came with a great deal of lightning, as you can see in these photos.

Investigators determined that the likely cause of the fire was a U.S. Forest Service road grader that was performing road maintenance. The belief is that the metal blade fractured a rock on the road surface igniting the grassy fuels on the roadside.

All evacuations and road closures have been lifted, and electrical power as been restored to primary residences in the area. Wind Cave National Park plans to reopen today.

A map of the fire current as of Monday night can be found HERE. While it came very close, the fire still has not burned anything within Wind Cave National Park.

Myrtle Fire Photo by Bill G South Dakota

Photos of lightning in the Black Hills

We have had a boatload of lightning in the Black Hills of South Dakota in recent days. Almost every day we have been seeing numerous downstrikes which have started dozens of fires over the last week in the Black Hills and the prairies to the east.. Most of the fires have been caught at less than a couple of acres, but several have burned thousands.

I shot these photos Monday evening in Wind Cave National Park.

lightning Photo by Bill G

Report: air tanker makes emergency landing after engine fails

Air Tanker 43 (on the right) experienced a loss of power in an engine while taking off at Rapid City on July 20. Photo by Bill Gabbert

We have a report that air tanker 06, a 50+ year old P2V, experienced a failure in an engine on July 22. Thankfully, it was able to land safely at Fox Field a few minutes after 6 p.m. local time. We are attempting to confirm the report and will have more details as they emerge.

Two days ago Tanker 43, another P2V air tanker, experienced a loss of power in one of its 18-cylinder radial piston engines just after lifting off the runway at Rapid City. The crew had to jettison the 2,000 gallons of retardant on the runway but they turned around and landed safely.

engine failure Photo by Bill G

Photos from a burning operation at the Myrtle fire in South Dakota

Myrtle Fire burnout Song Dog Rd — A helicopter dropped off a couple of passengers at the intersection of Song Dog Road and Argyle Road.

Today I spent several hours on the south end of the Myrtle fire in the Black Hills of South Dakota where firefighters were successfully conducting an extensive burning operation in Cold Brook Canyon and Song Dog Road. They usually had the wind at their backs and the milder weather along with a little rain yesterday minimized any extreme fire behavior, but the fire still burned extremely well. It only took a few drops out of the drip torches to convince the fire to spread quickly from the firelines and roads into the timber. The temperature maxed out at about 90 while the relative humidity was in the high 20s.

Firefighters enjoy burning operations. It’s not as physically exhausting as constructing fireline, for example, and it can be very satisfying to conduct a well-planned and skillfully executed burnout. You can very quickly see the effects of your efforts, whether they are positive, or if you’re chasing spot fires across the fireline.

Two of the crews working on this operation today were the Sawtooth and the San Juan Hotshots. It is always a pleasure to see such highly trained and experienced crews work. This was not a simple burning operation, and it involved igniting some distance away from the firelines to draw in the heat that was later generated closer to the lines. These crews did it as if they do it every day, with very little verbal direction from the supervisors. They know their jobs. The only raised voice I heard was when someone running a drip torch completed her assignment, stopped to extinguish the torch with her back to what she had just lit, and didn’t realize that 3-foot flames were heading her direction and were about 6 feet away. Someone said “GET OUT OF THERE!”. And she did. Safely. No harm done.

(More photos are below.)

Myrtle Fire Photo by Bill G South Dakota

Using a flare pistol to ignite burnout operation

The video above is a slide show of a series of photographs shot in very quick succession while a member of the San Juan Hotshots used a flare pistol to ignite areas along Cold Creek Canyon during a burnout operation on the Myrtle Fire, July 22, 2012. The photos were taken by Bill Gabbert.

Myrtle Fire Photo by Bill G South Dakota

Tag: Photo by Bill G

Wildfire news, September 11, 2012

Forest Service conducts another study on air tankers

Black Hills land managers proactively organizing to fight fires

Firefighting, structure protection, and public relations

15+ new fires in the Black Hills

South Dakota: Myrtle fire 75% contained

Photos of lightning in the Black Hills

Report: air tanker makes emergency landing after engine fails

Photos from a burning operation at the Myrtle fire in South Dakota

Using a flare pistol to ignite burnout operation

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