Wildfire Today

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Wildfire Today

Tag: prescribed fire

Prescribed Fire Demonstration for Invited Journalists

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

The Datona Beach News Journal in Florida has an article about conducting a prescribed fire as a demonstration for a horde of invited journalists. Here is an excerpt:

“TOMOKA STATE FOREST — Mike Stigler watched as smoke and burning embers billowed into the woods. The smoke was supposed to lift into the sky, not curl through the pine trees and palmettos.

The burn boss looked around at his cadre of firefighters and the horde of media standing around in the middle of Tiger Bay State Forest on Tuesday to watch a demonstration on prescribed burning. He wasn’t entirely happy. The woods were too dry, and his firefighters didn’t have enough combined experience to make him comfortable, not that any burn boss ever rests easily once the flames begin.

But Stigler and the other folks charged with balancing wild Florida’s need to burn with its 17 million people get used to conundrums. It’s tough to find a time when it’s not too dry, not too wet and wind conditions are perfect so the smoke won’t close roads and sweep into day care centers and nursing homes.

Stigler, who serves as the senior ranger at the state forest, was asked to burn nearly 23 acres to demonstrate to a group of local journalists how and why government officials and private landowners set prescribed fires. His fire was set to culminate a morning of lectures, but only if the weather cooperated. Otherwise, he’d shut it down.”

Senator John Kyl: Forest Service or Fire Service?

Author BillPosted on Categories Prescribed FireTags ,

Senator John Kyl, a Republican from Arizona, in an article on his web site criticizes the President’s proposed budget for 2009 which reduces the funds allocated for fuel treatments.

“With almost 48 percent of the proposed budget going toward fire fighting, the Forest Service might be more appropriately called the “Fire Service.”

I believe funding for fighting fires must be complemented by adequate funding for preventing them. Proactive management of our forests not only is the best tool in combating wildfires, it is critical to restoring forest health and improving habitats for diverse species.

Typically, there are two complimentary methods of treatment: mechanical thinning of brush and smaller diameter trees, and prescribed burning. These treatments open up forests so they are less susceptible to “hot” crown fires. More importantly, reducing competition for soil nutrients, water, and sunlight immediately enhances the health of the trees, allowing them to grow bigger and fend off diseases and deadly insects like bark beetles.”

Investigators report on the Florida I-4 fog/smoke incident

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

fog-smokeInvestigators have released a report on the Florida January 8 incident that we reported on in which smoke from an escaped prescribed fire may have mixed with fog causing poor visibility on Interstate 4 resulting in five fatalities in vehicle crashes. The report issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says:

“…an unpredictable change in weather caused the prescribed burn to burn erratically which resulted in spot fires.”

Tampa Bay Online has more details:

“TALLAHASSEE – A state investigation has cleared wildlife officials who last month lost control of a prescribed burn that may have contributed to a 70-vehicle pileup on Interstate 4 in Polk County.

The investigation by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services concluded changing weather conditions Jan. 8 caused the 10-acre planned burn to jump firelines and spread to 400 acres. The National Weather Service said smoke from the fire could have combined with fog the next morning to cut visibility on the highway to nearly zero.

Five people died in the predawn pileup and resulting fires, prompting questions about how the fire got out of control and whether the state should have held a controlled burn in the dry season less than a mile from the interstate.

The Florida Highway Patrol is conducting a homicide investigation that also will look at whether smoke from the wildfire played a part in the wrecks.

The report by the Agriculture Department’s law enforcement division states those in charge of the fire followed correct procedures but that an “unpredictable change in weather caused the prescribed burn to burn erratically which resulted in spot fires.”

“There does not appear to be any evidence of criminal violations or gross negligence” by those involved in the burn, investigators concluded in their report.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission employees conducting the burn reported that the humidity had dropped sharply about an hour after the fire was set at 10 a.m. and winds picked up, spreading the fire outside the protective earthen barriers.

The National Weather Service confirms there was a drop in humidity at the fire site, but meteorologists said that could have been caused by the fire. As warm air from a fire rises, it forces drier air downward. Drier air aids the spread of fire, especially when rainfall has been sparse for a long period.

Daniel Noah, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the agency has no way of knowing whether wind speeds around the fire picked up or wind directions changed. However, Noah did not rule out that possibility.”

A preliminary report issued by the Florida Highway Patrol does not even mention the prescribed fire.

News roundup, January 16, 2008

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , ,

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

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

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.”