Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Tag: Washington

Video of of the Carlton Complex of fires in Washington

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

Carlton Complex, Methow Fires. from BROTHERDOUG on Vimeo.

Doug Irvine describes this beautifully shot video:

I was recently in the Methow Valley on a personal project, documenting the Carlton Complex Fire. The Valley is my home and where the towns of Twisp, Winthrop, Carlton, and the like, are located. The night I drove in to begin filming the night skies of the Carlton Complex, the Rising Eagle Fire had just broken out. This particular fire was close to home, you might say. That’s the road my family named back in the 80’s. Rising Eagle Road is where I grew up;its my old back yard. That hill was my brother’s and my playground, a place of wonderment, motorbiking, guns, army, snowmobiles, camping, you name it… valley life. I crossed into the blackness, smoldering fires and ash about 4am to walk my old trails and see what had become of my old friend, the hill. I hope my documentation of the Carlton Complex and surrounding Methow fires inspires and moves you in some way. -Doug Irvine

Three men arrested for starting unauthorized backfire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

Three men in Washington have been arrested and charged with arson for setting unauthorized backfires last month.

The Spokesman-Review reported that firefighters told two of the men not to light the fire. They did anyway and the fire damaged private and federal property.

In another similar incident, a third man lit a fire in July that “went the wrong way” and nearly trapped firefighters in a canyon, who called law enforcement after escaping the near-entrapment.

A fourth person is being investigated for arson-related charges.

Impressive photo of a fire in Washington

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 7 Comments on Impressive photo of a fire in Washington

This photo of a fire in Washington, taken recently by Michael Stanford, reminds us of the famous photo of the elk in a stream next to a fire, shot by John McColgan a number of years ago.

Click here to see a larger version of the photo.

 

Wildfire briefing, July 29, 2014

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 2 Comments on Wildfire briefing, July 29, 2014

Congress fails to act on wildfire funding

Dollar SignCongress still has not taken action on the President’s request for $615 million to be put into a fund to pay for wildfires. Having this money up front could prevent the federal land management agencies from being forced to rob money from unrelated accounts in order to pay firefighting bills. And with their 5-week vacation beginning on July 31, it is unlikely our elected representatives will do anything before the second week in September at the earliest.

Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said, “The [land management] agencies have a big pile of money already. I don’t think there’s an urgency on the money part.”

Cost of Washington wildfires

Officials in Washington estimate that the cost of suppressing wildfires in their state so far this year as been $50 million. About half of that went to the Carlton Complex fire, at a cost of over $23 million. These figures do not include loss of property or damage to infrastructure. The Carlton Complex burned about 300 homes and heavily damaged the power grid in the Methow Valley.

Public service announcements featuring Disney’s movie, Planes: Fire & Rescue

Planes and Smokey

Disney is joining the Ad Council, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Association of State Foresters  to launch a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) featuring scenes and characters from Disneytoon Studios’ animated film Planes: Fire & Rescue. The PSAs are an extension of the Wildfire Prevention PSA campaign, featuring the iconic Smokey Bear, who celebrates his 70th birthday this summer. For more information on Smokey Bear and the Wildfire Prevention campaign visit: www.SmokeyBear.com.

UPDATE: Carlton Complex fire mostly contained, hundreds of homes lost

Author BillPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

UPDATE 3 p.m. MDT: The Okanogan County Sheriff is now estimating that at least 300 homes were destroyed by the Carlton Complex fire, according to Inciweb. That number is double the initial estimate of 150.

——-

The massive Carlton Complex fire in north-central Washington was declared 55 percent contained this week as cooler temperatures and rain gave fire crews a reprieve from two weeks of hot, dry conditions..

The fire has burned 250,489 acres — that’s nearly 400 square miles — and is believed to have destroyed hundreds of homes. At least 7,000 residents in Okanogan County are still without power after the fire; efforts to restore power have been stymied by rain, The Seattle Times reported. Power was expected to be restored in some areas by Friday. 

Take a look at aerial photos of the fire’s destruction

Nearly 3,000 personnel have been assigned to the complex, which is made up of four lightning-started fires that ignited on July 14. The fire has become the largest in state history — surpassing the Yacolt Burn of 1902, which killed 38 people and burned more than 230,000 acres. The Carlton Complex has triggered a federal disaster declaration, which will allow the state to access aid funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

There are reports that at least one firefighter has been injured — he suffered second degree burns on his leg after he stepped in a hole filled with hot ash. At least one person, 67-year-old Rob Koczewski, died of a heart attack while digging line around his home to protect it from the fire. 

Carlton Complex fire perimeter.
Carlton Complex fire perimeter.

The Chiwaukum Complex, just to the southwest of the Carlton, ignited on July 15 and is made up of three fires that have collectively burned around 12,255 acres. It is 25 percent contained.

Although that fire has not been as destructive as the Carlton Complex, it got a lot of attention when it first ignited two weeks ago, and sent up a massive smoke plume that could be seen from Seattle.