C-130 aircraft to parachute drop drinking water and other emergency supplies for Tonga residents
Continue readingVegetation buried by lava produces methane burning with blue flame
Above: Blue flames can be visible when vegetation buried by hot lava produces methane which vents and is then ignited. Screenshot from USGS video.
What’s happening on Hawaii’s big island as the eruption of the Kilauea volcano enters its fourth week seems like it is from another world — huge mounds of red-hot lava rumbling in slow motion over homes and forests as it makes it to the sea. Where it enters the cold water it produces what is called “laze,” hydrochloric acid steam that pours into the air along with fine particles of glass. Laze can cause lung, eye, and skin irritation and caused the deaths of two people in 2000.
Since it is the wet season in Hawaii brush fires caused by the eruption are not a big concern, but the lava finds a way to burn the vegetation regardless. The USGS explains:
When hot lava buries plants and shrubs, methane gas is produced as a byproduct of burning vegetation. Methane gas can seep into subsurface voids and explode when heated, or as shown in this video, emerge from cracks in the ground several feet away from the lava. When ignited, the methane produces a blue flame. Intermittent short bursts of methane are visible in the center area of the video. Lava fountaining is visible to the right and left sides of the video.
Lava causes brush fire in Hawaii
The eruption and lava flow from the volcano on Hawaii’s big island has ignited vegetation, causing a fire and forcing additional evacuations.
Below is an update from Hawaii County Civil Defense issued Saturday evening:
This is a Civil Defense Message for Saturday, May 19 at 9:00 in the evening.
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to monitor active flows. The flow originating from fissure 20 has again split into two lobes, both are currently heading in the general direction of the 13 mile marker on Highway 137. Flow front #1 is approximately 630 meters from Highway 137 and moving about a 100 meters per hour. Flow front #2 is approximately 750 meters from Highway 137 and moving about the same speed. At the current rate, the lava flow may cross the highway within the next five to seven hours.
Highway 137 is closed between Kamaili Road and Pohoiki Road. Kamaili Road is closed between Highway 130 and Highway 137 due to a brush fire. Residents in the area have been evacuated.
Just for a little bit of scale and a reality check… The two circled white specks are @USGSVolcanoes workers going down to collect lava samples earlier today.
Mother nature! #Kīlauea volcano eruption of lava & ground cracking in the area of #LeilaniEstates subdivision continues. #Hawaii. via @USGSVolcanoes, #KilaueaVolcano, #VolcanKilauea, #volcanoes, #USGS pic.twitter.com/H1PTKQrCOC
— Space Science ? (@InterstelSpace) May 20, 2018
A prescribed fire, burning operation on a wildfire, or volcano?
At first glance it looks like it could be any of the three
Continue readingTwo teams are managing the volcano incident in Hawaii
Two separate organizations are managing the issues surrounding the eruption of the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii.
The fissures we have been hearing about that are producing toxic gasses and lava flows are on private land on the big island, the Island of Hawaii.
The large, black convection column is at the Kilauea volcano in Volcanoes National Park 23 miles west of the fissures. After the level of the lava lake fell by several hundred feet, freshly exposed rocks on the sides of the crater began falling into the lava, creating the black smoke and ash clouds sometimes rising several thousand feet. Due to this and the possibility of a massive explosion if water is introduced into the volcano, creating steam, at the request of the NPS the FAA has issued a Temporary Flight Restriction that extends 20,000 feet AGL and a 12-nautical-mile radius around the summit.
In response to our inquires, Volcanoes National Park Fire Management Officer Greg Funderburk sent us this description of how the incidents are being managed:
“There are currently two separate incidents being managed on the Island of Hawaii. These incidents are both associated with the Kilauea Volcano.
“The Leilani Fissure Eruption is being managed by Hawaii County and the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency. FEMA and the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency are assisting with the overall management effort. This incident is located on private land in the rural Puna district of Hawaii County.
“There is currently no significant wildfire activity associated with the lava flow. The area has been receiving frequent rainfall and fuels are in the greenup stage. If the lava activity continues into the dry season wildfire potential may increase.
“On-scene Incident Management of the Leilani Fissure Eruption is currently being provided by a Type 3 Incident Management Team (IMT) from the Honolulu Fire Department (IC-Bowers) under a Delegation of Authority from the Hawaii County Fire Department.
“The National Park Service is managing an event within the boundaries of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The 2018 HAVO Increased Volcanic Activity Incident has been managed by a local Type 3 organization (IC-Broward), but transfer of command will take place to the NPS Western IMT (IC-Wissinger) at 0800 on May 16, 2018. The IMT is managing the risk associated with a possible large steam eruption that is predicted to occur at the summit of Kilauea.”
Mr. Funderburk explained that some of the objectives of the IMT include maintaining closures, damage assessments, disseminating information, and managing traffic.
Links to more information:
Images from the volcano eruption in Hawaii
The eruption of the volcano on the Big Island in Hawaii is certainly tragic for the owners of the 26 homes that have been destroyed and the 1,700 residents of Leilani Estates that have been forced to evacuate. We are not going to try to cover the incident like we would a large vegetation fire — primarily because it is very difficult to obtain the kind of information we would normally collect about a fire. We have made some inquiries with a couple of agencies but distributing information to the media could be pretty far down their list of priorities. They no doubt have their hands full.
But we have found a bit of information about what is going on there. Approximately 104 acres are directly affected by vents, fissures, or 2,000F-degree lava. The activity paused for a bit Monday, but Tuesday morning two additional fissures developed, bringing the total to 14 and requiring the total evacuation of Lanipuna.
Previous eruptions on the island have ignited vegetation fires, but while we have seen some trees and shrubs burning in videos, it seems to mostly be when they are directly contacted by the molten lava.
A friend of ours has been in Hawaii for at least a week and most of the numerous photos he has posted on Facebook have shown cloudy skies. The weather Monday and Tuesday at Hilo included rain with humidities in the 90’s, so until that changes there might not be much of a wildfire threat.
If any of our readers have confirmed information about resources assigned or an Incident Command System being used, let us know in the comments.
Here is a link to a live camera.
I don’t know what Hell looks like, but….. the video below of the lava in the crater is incredible.
Lava moves down Makamae Street in Leilani Estates Subdivision (lower East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano) at 9:32 a.m. on May 6, 2018. https://t.co/OYAuJClpucpic.twitter.com/yKXbGsbjtV
— USGS Volcanoes? (@USGSVolcanoes) May 7, 2018
Overflight in Leilani Estates: fissure 12 opens shortly after fissure 11 becomes inactive. Fissure 12 in the forest south of Malama Street. https://t.co/w5XLplnwVHpic.twitter.com/IdUmtORibY
— USGS Volcanoes? (@USGSVolcanoes) May 8, 2018
Wildfire briefing, March 11, 2015
Lava from Hawaii volcano continues to spread
Lava from the Kīlauea volcano above Pahoa in Hawaii continues to spread, occasionally igniting the vegetation. The latest breakout is about 0.7 miles upslope of Highway 130, officials from the Hawaii County Civil Defense said after a helicopter flight Tuesday morning. Over the last four days the lava has advanced about 240 yards.
Three additional deceased hotshots to qualify for benefits
Decisions by the City of Prescott, the courts, and the Prescott Public Safety Retirement Board have resulted in the families of three additional members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots being approved to receive public safety survivor benefits. In 2013, 19 members of the crew were killed on the Yarnell Hill Fire south of Prescott, Arizona. Initially only six of the men were classified as full-time, permanent employees and deemed eligible for full benefits. More information is at AZcentral.
Group opposes FEMA’s plan to reduce hazardous fuel near Oakland, California
The Hills Conservation Network has sued several organizations in an attempt to halt a project that would reduce the hazardous fuels over 2,059 acres in the East Bay area. Below is an excerpt from Courthouse News Service:
“(C)lear-cutting and chipping of eucalyptus will not achieve the most effective reduction of fire risks in the project areas and instead increases fire risks by disposing of wood chips in layers up to two-feet deep over extensive areas of the project sites,” the complaint states.
But FEMA’s environmental impact statement, which justifies depositing up to 24 inches of mulch from eucalyptus trees, “fails to acknowledge research that highlights the high potential for spontaneous combustion in deeper accumulations of mulch, the difficulty of fire suppression in such fuels, the severe long-term damage to soils by the intense heating in mulch and wood chip fires, and the documented spotting danger posed by mulch and other forms of masticated fuels,” the group says.
“The net effect is essentially trading one fire hazard for another.”
Eucalyptus trees actually help reduce fire hazard by breaking up strong winds and reducing hazard from flying embers, and the complete removal of the eucalyptus forest would constitute a “catastrophic site disturbance” that would open up the ecosystem to invasive species, according to the lawsuit.
Last year we wrote this about eucalyptus trees:
Wildland firefighters in Australia and in some areas of California are very familiar with eucalyptus trees. They are native and very common in Australia and are planted as ornamentals in the United States. The leaves produce a volatile highly combustible oil, and the ground beneath the trees is covered with large amounts of litter which is high in phenolics, preventing its breakdown by fungi. Wildfires burn rapidly under them and through the tree crowns. It has been estimated that other than the 3,000+ homes that burned in the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire in California, about 70 percent of the energy released was through the combustion of eucalyptus.
Florida wildland firefighters concerned about their pay
Below is an excerpt from NBC 2:
Firefighters with the Florida Forest Service are fired up over small wages. They’re making a plea to state leaders to correct what they describe as being “grossly underpaid.”
[…]
Experience – now one the areas of concern being pointed out by a local union representing some of the firefighters with the Florida Forest Service.
“We do see a fairly high rate of turnover because of that,” said Chris Schmiege, Lee County Forest Area Supervisor.
“That”- being low salaries- in a job wage survey conducted by the union- it states Wildland firefighters receive a starting wage of a little more than twenty-four thousand a year for full-time work.
An amount comparable to a cafeteria worker or plumbers assistant which is considerably less than the average for firefighters at the county and local level, amounts ranging from thirty-nine to sixty thousand a year.
Forest Service officials are now calling on help from state leaders.
“We can definitely use the help, but at the same time we’re doing what we’re doing,” said Schmiege.
Which according to Schmiege also includes going out West to work for other federal fire agencies to stay afloat financially. Right now officials say it’s really almost a labor of love.
Wildfire briefing, January 30, 2015
Fire near Lake Disston, Florida
Kenny Arnaldi took this photo Wednesday of a wildfire a mile south of Lake Disston, Florida.
Bushfire burns into Waroona in Western Australia
A large bushfire has burned into the city of Waroona in Western Australia about 100 kilometers south of Perth. (Map)
Below is an excerpt from an article at abc.net.au updated at about 4 p.m. MST, January 30, 2015:
An out-of-control bushfire is threatening lives and homes at Waroona in Western Australia, with up to three properties believed to be damaged so far. The blaze has entered the town, which is about 100 kilometres south of Perth, and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) has warned it is moving fast in a north-westerly direction. Embers are likely to be blown around homes, starting spot fires.
DFES duty assistant commissioner Chris Arnol said residents should take their location into consideration when planning how to respond.
“It depends on where they are. We’ve asked some residents to shelter in place which is the best option for them and others to evacuate to [an evacuation centre in the nearby town of Harvey],” he said. “People should have their fire plans ready and know what to do. We’ve got about 150 firefighters. We had 21 appliances on the fire and we’ve sent a further 24 from the metropolitan area.”
Oklahoma grass fires
Firefighters responding to a fire southwest of Tulsa observed a person setting one of eight grass fires that were burning in the area. More information is in the video below.
Update on the Kīlauea volcano lava flow
The image above released by US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on January 29 shows the lava flow front from the Kīlauea volcano a mere 550 yards away from Highway 130 at its closest point. The distal tips are stalled, however “breakouts persist upslope,” writes USGS, “and these areas of activity can be spotted in this photograph by small smoke plumes where the lava is burning vegetation on the flow margins.”
Mississippi wildfire threatens natural gas facilities
A wildfire in Simpson County Mississippi (map) burned over an underground natural gas pipeline and came close to an above ground gas substation.
Below are excerpts from an article at WSMV:
“If it blows up down here, won’t nobody be left in Simpson County,” said resident Gurston McDonald.
McDonald lives just down the road from where a fire ripped through several acres of grass and forest, stopping just a few feet shy of a natural gas substation.
“All these gas lines coming through is a great concern,” added McDonald.
Simpson County EOC Director Glen Jennings said at least three fires broke out Thursday afternoon. However, the one off the highway posed the biggest danger to neighboring residents. Containing it also remained a challenge, because forestry officials can’t dig a fire line when there’s a gas line underneath.
“We don’t push on these gas lines. We just let it go, try to control it by water or some other means,” said Ben Vanderford with the Mississippi Forestry Commission. “We never know how deep those lines are, when we’re out there plowing these fire lines. These lines may be five or six feet under the ground, they might be five or six inches under the ground.”
And as night fell, flames spread again toward the substation, this time from a patch of trees about 200 feet away, with no fire line to stop it.
Volcano in Hawaii continues to ignite fires
In addition to the 270 acres that burned earlier in the week, the Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii ignited fires in two more areas on Thursday that burned about 350 acres by the end of the day. The fires were west of Highway 130, 0.6 to 0.9 mile from the Ainaloa subdivision.
Two dozers were at the scene improving fire breaks along with two helicopters dropping water.
Hawaii County Assistant Fire Chief Gantry Andrade said the fires would likely be under control by Friday.
A web cam operated by the Hawaii Volcano Observatory at the Pāhoa Marketplace occasionally grabs images of smoke from the lava-ignited fires.
Wildfire briefing, January 14, 2015
Hawaii’s Kīlauea volcano lava ignites brush fire
A lava flow from the Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii ignited a brush fire on Tuesday that burned 270 acres. It was surrounded by fire breaks, but at 5:30 p.m. local time a dozer was working to clean up the existing break and construct a new line closer to the head of the fire. According to a Hawaii County Civil Defense update, the brush fire was west of Highway 130, about 1.5 miles from the Ainaloa subdivision. The agency said Tuesday afternoon that neither the brush fire nor the stalled lava flow pose an immediate threat to communities.
Granite Mountain Hotshots’ families treated to European boat trip
From the Daily Courier:
The families of Prescott’s fallen [Granite Mountain] Hotshots participated in a unique trip over the holidays. They were given an opportunity to see and visit the historic sites along Europe’s Danube River while finding solace amongst others who also have experienced the tragic loss of loved ones in recent U.S. tragedies.
Family members of the Hotshots were joined by family members of the victims of the 9/11 tragedy and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. The 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots died battling the Yarnell Hill wildfire on June 30, 2013 in the worst wildland firefighting tragedy in more than 80 years…
The paper said 19 family members participated in the trip.
News from Australia:
- Tough new rules on building in Western Australia bushfire prone areas could be costly, department warns.
- Country Fire Service inundated with would-be volunteers after Adelaide Hills bushfire.
- Bushfire media coverage causes ‘copycat’ fires, Western Australia firefighter says.