News roundup, January 16, 2008

Cleveland National Forest Completes Hydromulch on Santiago Fire

The U.S. Forest Service completed their $5 million project to treat 1,241 acres with hydromulch in areas burned by the October fire in Orange County in southern California. The hydromulch is a wet mixture of 40% shredded wood and 60% paper with a gum-based tackifier, a sticky substance that helps the mulch material cling to terrain. Single engine air tankers and helicopters applied the green-dyed biodegradable material to help minimize erosion.

5th Fatality in Florida I-4 Smoke/Fog 50+ Vehicle Pileup

A 5th person has passed away as a result of the 50+ vehicle pileup that may have been caused by smoke from an escaped prescribed fire combining with fog on January 9. Smoke from the fire continues to cause lane closures on the Interstate. The Florida Division of Forestry is still mopping up the 380 acre fire which resulted from a prescribed fire conducted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. (see the posts on Jan. 9-10 for more information, here, here, and here)

Witch Creek Fire Was 2nd Costliest Disaster of 2007

The October Witch Creek fire which started near Santa Ysabel in San Diego County California was the second costliest incident in 2007 for insurance companies, causing $1.1 billion in damage. Started by downed power lines during a Santa Ana wind event, the fire burned 197,000 acres and destroyed 1,650 structures. The number one natural disaster for insurance companies was the four-day storm in mid-April that caused $1.3 billion in damages in 19 states.

Florida Prescribed Fire Had Unexpected Drop In RH

According to TampaBay.com, the prescribed fire in Florida that escaped and may have added smoke to existing fog, contributing to Wednesday’s 50+ vehicle pileup, experienced an unexpected 30% drop in relative humidity. A spokesman said the minimum RH was forecasted to be 60%, but it dropped to 30% in the morning an hour after they started the Rx burn.

 

“A weather forecast from the forestry staff showed that the humidity would not drop below 60 percent all day, a crucial factor in determining whether to proceed with a burn. If humidity dropped to 30 percent or below, the Division of Forestry would have denied the permit.

A form that Burger filled out to document the controlled burn showed that the humidity measured 63 percent at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, so he and a crew of five other employees started the burn at 10:15 a.m. They expected to be finished by noon.

“They do a lot of prescribed burning, and they do a good job at it,” said Department of Agriculture spokesman Terry McElroy. “But something apparently went awry.”

To the crew’s dismay, within an hour after they started the fire, the humidity abruptly dropped to 30 percent, Morse said. That wasn’t part of the forecast, he said.”

 

Smoke From Escaped Rx Fire and/or Fog Contribute to 3 Deaths & 50-Car Pileup


According to reports, smoke from an escaped prescribed fire combined with fog contributed to a 50-car pileup and three deaths on Interstate 4 in Florida between Orlando and Tampa. ABC Action News reported yesterday, January 8:

“POLK COUNTY– Crews are working to put out an oversized brush fire in Polk County.

Officials with the Division of Forestry say they issued a 50 acre prescribed burn today in the area of Old Grade Road and I-4.

They believe the wind may have led the fire to grow by an extra 200 acres.

They say no homes are being threatened at this time.

There are concerns that if the fire burns overnight, drivers may face smoky conditions by Wednesday morning.”

Then today ABC Action News further reports in a story about the incident:

“A mixture of fog and smoke from a controlled burn near Old Grade Road created extremely hazardous conditions early this morning.

The burn was supposed to cover only 50 acres, but got out of hand late yesterday and grew to more than 300 acres.“

More information from MyFox Tampa Bay:

“POLK CITY – Smoke and fog are causing a surreal scene in Polk County that’s forced the closure of a stretch of Interstate 4, and contributed to a massive pile-up.

All lanes of I-4 are closed between the Polk Parkway and U.S. 27. That’s roughly from Polk City to the Osceola County line.

The lingering smoke combined with the morning fog has brought visibility down to near zero, and deputies say at least 50 vehicles are involved in the massive wreck, and 20 of those are semi-trucks. Several vehicles caught fire, though most of the blazes seemed to be out by 8:30 a.m., judging by the diminishing amount of black smoke rising from the scene.

At least three people are dead, and several more motorists are trapped and waiting for emergency crews.

Those who are unhurt are being asked to stay in their cars for their own safely and the safety of rescue workers.

Yesterday’s brush fire began as a controlled burn, but it jumped a firebreak and eventually grew to 250 acres before being contained.”


According to TheLedger.com a Division of Forestry dozer was burned in the fire yesterday.