The Wildfires Thread

[China]

California wildfires have buildings wrapped like 'a big baked potato' as over 4 million acres burn

 

Over 8,454 structures have been destroyed at 31 people have been killed in the state
 

As wildfire season in California surpasses over four million acres burn, officials are using unique ways to keep some structures safe from the flames.

 

Cal Fire said Sunday that more than 16,500 firefighters continue to work towards containing the 23 major wildfires currently burning across the state.

 

"Since the beginning of the year, there have been over 8,200 wildfires that have burned well over 4 million acres in California," the agency said in its daily update.

 

Red flag conditions that brought fears of gusty winds fanning the flames have subsided, but lingering warm temperatures and low humidity are still a "challenge" to fire crews, according to officials.

 

One of the current blazes, the Glass Fire, has been burning in Napa and Sonoma Counties for the past week.

 

Three fires, driven by strong winds and high temperatures, merged into one tearing into vineyards and forested mountain areas, including part of the city of Santa Rosa. Thousands of people were under evacuation orders, including the entire population of Calistoga, a town of 5,000.

 

The blaze came very close to Calistoga's city limits on Saturday, taking out some structures and seriously threatening the historically significant and economically important tourist hot springs and dining mecca.

 

"We have fire on the east of us. We have fire on the west of us creeping along. Cal Fire and all the resources doing the best they can," Calistoga Mayor Chris Canning told KTVU.

 

As of Sunday, the fire has scorched 63,885 acres and is 17% contained.

 

 

Click on the link for more

[China]

 

[China]

Southern California Edison says its equipment may have caused Orange County fire

 

LOS ANGELES — Southern California Edison said its equipment may have sparked a fast-moving wildfire that forced evacuation orders for some 100,000 people and seriously injured two firefighters on Monday as powerful winds across the state prompted power to be cut to hundreds of thousands to prevent just such a possibility.

 

A smoky fire exploded in size to over 11 square miles (29 square kilometers) after breaking out around dawn in Orange County, south of Los Angeles. Gusts pushed flames along brushy ridges in Silverado Canyon and near houses in the sprawling city of Irvine, home to about 280,000 residents. There was no containment.

 

Two firefighters, one 26 and the other 31 years old, were critically injured while battling the blaze, according to the county's Fire Authority, which didn't provide details on how the injuries occurred. They each suffered second- and third-degree burns over large portions of their bodies and were intubated at a hospital, officials said.

 

In a report to the state Public Utilities Commission, Southern California Edison said it was investigating whether its electrical equipment caused the blaze. The brief report said it appeared that a “lashing wire” that tied a telecommunications line to a support cable may have struck a 12,000-volt conducting line above it, and an investigation was under way.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Federal wildland firefighters say they're burned out after years of low pay, little job stability

 

What started as a single tree fire in the mountains of Idaho in 2012 quickly escalated into a smoke-filled inferno that surrounded United States Forest Service helicopter rappeller Jonathon Golden and his small team.

 

Golden was a temporary seasonal forestry technician at the time and never received treatment for what he thinks could be post-traumatic stress. He took just one day off to order a new bank card and was back at work the next day. When he tried to talk to his supervisor about the experience, he was told to move on: “You might as well forget about it.”

 

Golden is just one of thousands of federal wildland firefighters who work six months out of the year and whose part-time status doesn’t come with the typical benefits or job security given to state and city firefighters.

 

NBC News spoke with 27 current and former USFS firefighters with similar stories. Nearly all of them said they are grossly underpaid to perform life-threatening work. Many don’t have access to health care and other benefits, particularly during the off-season. They are not even considered to be firefighters, instead falling into a bureaucratic quagmire that designates them as forestry technicians. Some grimly joke that only in death does the agency recognize them as bona fide firefighters.

 

“It takes us dying to get their attention,” said Riva Duncan, a forest management officer.

 

Despite the low pay and benefits, many wildland firefighters said they can’t imagine a life outside fire. For some, the adrenaline rush becomes a kind of compulsion. For others, sleeping under the stars and protecting federal land is a higher calling.

 

“For those of us who stick it out, our love for what we do outweighs everything,” said Duncan, who has been with the USFS for 37 years. “The sacrifices we have made — it’s because we believe in the mission.”

 

Amid escalating fire threats fueled by climate change and forest mismanagement, these workers are now organizing and lobbying Congress in new ways. They are finding bipartisan support among some Western lawmakers, but many worry the federal agency that employs them is ill-equipped to provide adequate pay and benefits despite the dangerous nature of their jobs.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

 

[China]

It's not even summer yet:

 

A bad omen for 2021? There were 297 wildfires in California in January, nearly tripling five-year average.

 

It's not supposed to be wildfire season in California. Yet, a month into 2021, the Golden State has more than doubled the number of wildfires from 2020 – a record-setting year with more than 9,600 blazes that blackened more than 4 million acres.

 

And the number of acres burned on nonfederal land last month was more than 20 times the state’s five-year average for January.

 

While the rain and snow of the past week may make last year’s fire season seem like a distant memory, those numbers are a reminder that wildfires have become a year-round concern in the nation's most populous state.

 

In January, there were 297 fires that burned 1,171 acres statewide on nonfederal lands, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

 

During the same period last year, there were 97 wildfires that burned 22 acres. The five-year average for January is 108 fires, with 58 acres burned, according to Cal Fire.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

The megadrought parching 77 percent of the Western US, explained

 

Rising temperatures and lack of rain threaten to decrease water supplies and bring more wildfires this summer and in the years to come.

 

The Western US is in the midst of yet another dangerous dry spell. The drought has been building over the past year, and since November, a greater stretch of the West has been in the most severe category of drought than at any time in the 20 years that the National Drought Mitigation Center has been keeping records.

 

Western states are already facing water shortages, and with the National Weather Service projecting that the dry stretch will continue, the problems that accompany droughts are likely to pile up heading into this summer.

 

Ryan Jensen saw the impacts of California’s last major drought firsthand while working for the Community Water Center in the San Joaquin Valley. When residential wells ran dry, students had to shower in their school locker rooms. To keep toilets running, some rural households relied on hoses slung over fences from their neighbors.

 

With groundwater depleted by that drought, which only ended in 2017, and ongoing overuse of water on farms, families have had to dig deeper wells, which can be prohibitively expensive.

“For some folks, the last drought never really ended. There are still homes in the San Joaquin Valley that have been on a water tank since the last drought,” said Jensen, who works in the center’s Visalia office.

 

That last drought also led to other fallouts: billions of dollars in economic losses as farmers were forced to let fields lie fallow and a 50 percent drop in electricity production from dams. It also contributed to the death of over 100 million trees, which fuels bigger wildfires, like the ones that ripped through the West last summer. If the current drought continues, similarly stark consequences lie ahead.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Destino]

I did a quick google search and didn’t get many answers, but does anyone know if anything is being done to prevent or reduce the size of these entirely predictable fires.  Americans seem to heavily favor paying far more after a disaster, than coughing up the cash to prevent one, so I’m guessing the answer is very little has be done.

[The Evil Genius]

15 hours ago, Destino said:

I did a quick google search and didn’t get many answers, but does anyone know if anything is being done to prevent or reduce the size of these entirely predictable fires.  Americans seem to heavily favor paying far more after a disaster, than coughing up the cash to prevent one, so I’m guessing the answer is very little has be done.

 

Considering it's largely been the fault of the electricity providers not maintaining their lines...I'm guessing no. 

[mammajamma]

16 hours ago, Destino said:

I did a quick google search and didn’t get many answers, but does anyone know if anything is being done to prevent or reduce the size of these entirely predictable fires.  Americans seem to heavily favor paying far more after a disaster, than coughing up the cash to prevent one, so I’m guessing the answer is very little has be done.

in 2019, PG&E and other utility companies got exposed for not maintaining their lines and pretty much went under until CA bailed them out. they put millions and millions into new funds that are SUPPOSED to help update infrastructure, clear trees, replace decades-old parts. but it could take a decade or more for all of that maintenance. plus, well.. we're in america and they are private companies, so they'll still try to cut corners to save $ as much as possible

 

2020 was supposed to be the first year they actually had a plan, but then an EXTREMELY rare/freak lightening storm during the driest part of the year caused a bunch of the fires from last year. no way to stop those except for major climate work and improving drought conditions...

 

so this year all we can really do is just hope we dont get more of those storms, and that pg&e has actually been working this whole time. im fully expecting another bad fire season though. ive already worked "smoke season" into my expectations for the year now

Edited March 15, 2021 by mammajamma

[China]

NOAA warns of water use cutbacks, fires and low levels in reservoirs amid significant drought

 

Dry weather is likely to persist in the U.S. in the coming months, with the possibility of water use cutbacks in California and the Southwest as more than half of the country experiences moderate to severe drought conditions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Thursday. 

 

NOAA’s Spring Outlook report stated that the U.S. could face the most significant spring drought since 2013, with the potential to impact roughly 74 million people across the country.

The federal weather agency said that the drought conditions stretching from the Pacific Coast to the Great Plains and upper Midwest have largely been spurred by the drier weather in the Southwest and a failed 2020 summer monsoon season. 

 

NOAA predicts that warmer-than-average temperatures this spring and low soil moisture will cause drought conditions to further expand into the southern and central Great Plains and southern Florida. 

 

Mary Erickson, deputy director of NOAA’s National Weather Service, said in a statement along with Thursday’s report that the Southwest, “which is already experiencing widespread severe to exceptional drought, will remain the hardest hit region in the U.S., and water supply will continue to be a concern this spring in these drought-affected areas.” 

 

"This is a major change from recent years where millions were impacted by severe flooding,” she added.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[China]

 

[China]

 

[PCS]

****ing scary that fire behavior. 

 

The Sugar Fire,(part of the Beckwourth Complex),burning North West of Reno. This is how fast these things can get going. At the time of this time lapse,it was about 47% contained and resources were being pulled elsewhere. Temps rose,wind picked up and then.  

 

 

This is the beast yesterday I believe. 

 

 

 

[China]

Erratic Oregon wildfire destroys dozens of homes, expands

 

Firefighters scrambled Friday to control a raging inferno in southeastern Oregon that’s spreading miles a day in windy conditions, one of numerous wildfires across the U.S. West that are straining resources.

 

Crews had to flee the fire lines late Thursday after a dangerous “fire cloud” started to collapse, threatening them with strong downdrafts and flying embers. An initial review Friday showed the Bootleg Fire destroyed 67 homes and 117 outbuildings overnight in one county. Authorities were still counting the losses in a second county where the flames are surging up to 4 miles (6 kilometers) a day.

 

The blaze has forced 2,000 people to evacuate and is threatening 5,000 buildings that include homes and smaller structures in a rural area just north of the California border, fire spokeswoman Holly Krake said. Active flames are surging along 200 miles (322 kilometers) of the fire’s perimeter, she said, and it’s expected to merge with a smaller, but equally explosive fire by nightfall.

 

The Bootleg Fire is now 377 square miles (976 square kilometers) — larger than the area of New York City — and mostly uncontained.

 

“We’re likely going to continue to see fire growth over miles and miles of active fire line,” Krake said. “We are continuing to add thousands of acres a day, and it has the potential each day, looking forward into the weekend, to continue those 3- to 4-mile runs.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[PCS]

Went out of the building at work briefly and saw smoke to the East. It kept going as I started to look South. Left work at 7p.m. and went out back. This is the Tamarack fire in Alpine County Ca.  At the time it was about 30 South West from where I live and 6 miles South West of a charming little wide spot in the road called Markleeville. Early this a.m. around 1:30 it was a half mile from Markleeville. They evacuated the town yesterday,(some nice homes and country back there),and the surrounding area. Modis Hotspots show it reached town.   Took these yesterday.  First pan is from work. 

 

 

 

 

 

Fire was sitting at a few acres just days ago then it just blew up yesterday afternoon with some shifting high winds. It spotted several times as I watched it. Sitting at an estimated 2000 acres plus this a.m. and about 18 miles from town. Dense smoke in the valley this a.m. needless to say. My garage smells like a camp fire right now. 

 

[PCS]

This is an angry,evil beast of a fire. Not as big and nasty as the #dixiefire , but still mother ****er. Smoke from the fire is dense and for the most part,has kept the vlats away. Choppers and boots on the ground have done most of the work with some occasional help from SEATs. Beast was running wild. Still no containment and we do have friends who may end up being evacuated if this things keeps moving. We should be fine,but I'm keeping an eye on it. That and taking a few hundred pics of it. Took the first one yesterday afternoon before work and 2nd one from my driveway.  Fire is between 12 and 15 miles away. For now. 

 

[PCS]

Meanwhile 12 miles South and West from here. Frightening stuff. The Tamarack fire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[skinsmarydu]

Local news said we're going to start seeing the smoke here in GA (like NY) either tomorrow or Saturday. 

Stay safe, @PCS. 

[PCS]

Thanks.  Sorry about the smoke. It's been downright nasty here the past 6 days. 

 

 

 

[China]

Looking at The Map, it looks like a lot of Idaho and eastern Washington is on fire.

[TheGoodBits]

@PCS I’ve been keeping an eye on Tamarack too, as my brother lives in South Lake Tahoe. Got to within I think 10-15 miles of their house, but the northward movement seems to have stalled out and it’s headed east into Nevada the past two days. 

[PCS]

It's in Nevada now and then some. Jumped 395 and is running. 2500 acres East of 395.  Homes very much threatened. They're throwing the works at it now before it gets dark. This beast doesn't sleep. Can be very active. Lights up fire camera everywhere. North side of fire slowed down some. Pretty rough terrain there. I've spent a lot of time in the area where it's burning over the years. Keep it from crossing 88 and they should be good.