Idaho fires burn through uranium mine areas

As if firefighters and local residents didn’t have enough to worry about in Idaho, now we are hearing about wildfires that have burned through, or may burn through, areas with uranium mines. At least one of the mines is in the footprint of the Mustang Complex Fire. In case you have not received your copy of Uranium Market News, here is an excerpt from that publication:

Friday September 21, 2012, 1:55pm PDT

Reuters reported an Idaho wildfire has burned through three former mining sites with traces of radioactive uranium and thorium and is currently burning through a fourth site.

As quoted in the market news:

As a precaution, state environmental authorities planned to take air samples in North Fork, a small community in the fire zone north of Salmon, to assess any radioactive hazards posed by fire damage to the sites.

One area of concern is a defunct uranium mine and milling operation 5 miles west of North Fork, where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted a cleanup several years ago of polluted soil, hazardous wastes and piles of raw uranium and thorium ore.

The Missoulian has more information about the radioactive uranium and thorium issue.

The northwest to receive more dry lightning Friday night and Saturday

Dry lightning and thunderstorms with minimum rain are in the forecast for parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, according to a fire weather forecast from the National Weather Service: (do you love their all-caps format as much as I do?)

HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN TO WEAKEN AS A COMPACT LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM BARRELS INTO NORTHERN OREGON. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED DRY THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS FEATURE EARLY SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY. GREATEST THREAT FOR SATURDAY MORNING AND SATURDAY AFTERNOON WILL BE ALONG THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS MAINLY SOUTH OF LAKE CHELAN. THE THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL SHIFT TO THE SOUTHEAST ACROSS SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON AND INTO THE CENTRAL IDAHO PANHANDLE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY. MOISTURE WILL BE INCREASING SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY.

With fire approaching, ski resort activates snow making equipment 

Usually snow making equipment at ski resorts gets the summer off, but at the Mission Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort near Wenatchee, Washington they are using it to wet down the ski slopes as the Table Mountain Fire advances toward the area. More information.