The Wildfires Thread

[China]

Some Caldor Fire victims to resume paying water fees despite losing homes

 

Despite losing their homes to the Caldor Fire, some property owners in Grizzly Flats will have to start paying a monthly water fee again. 

 

Jared McVey has a common story in Grizzly Flats. He lost his home in the Caldor Fire last year. But after living there for about six years, he will not be returning. 

 

“We went back up there saw the devastation and decided we didn’t want to go through it every day,” McVey said. 

 

Though we won’t be going back, he will still have to pay the monthly water fee from the local water district. The fee isn’t about the usage of water. It’s about whether or not there is a water meter. 

 

“In my mind, it’s not morally right,” McVey said. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

One dead and thousands forced to flee as wildfires sweep across US

 

Wind-driven wildfires sweeping through parts of Nebraska contributed to the death of one person and injured at least three firefighters, authorities said Sunday.

 

The person who died was in Red Willow County, in the southwest corner of the state, Nebraska Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Jodie Fawl said. She said she did not have details about that person or where the firefighters were injured, though she said their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

 

The Nebraska national guard deployed three helicopters and several support trucks to help battle the blazes.

 

The death came as wind-driven wildfires destroyed hundreds of structures in northern New Mexico and forced thousands to flee mountain villages as blazes burned unusually early in the year in the parched US south-west.

 

Two wildfires merged north-west of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and raced through 15 miles (24km) of forest driven by winds over 75mph (121km/h), destroying more than 200 buildings, state authorities said.

 

To the north-east, a fire about 35 miles east of Taos doubled in size to become the largest burning in the United States, forcing the evacuation of a scout ranch and threatening several villages.

 

The wildfires are the most severe of nearly two dozen in the US south-west and raised concerns the region was in for a brutal fire year as a decades-long drought combined with abundant dry vegetation.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Map Shows Growing Number of Wildfires Sweeping Across US

 

 

Firefighters across the country are battling multiple wildfires as tinder-dry conditions and high winds whip up flames from Arizona to Florida.

 

Nearly a dozen new large fires were reported over the weekend — four in New Mexico, three in Colorado and one each in Florida, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas. On Monday, another four blazes — two in Colorado and one in Oklahoma and Virginia — added to the growing number of wildfires sweeping across the U.S.

 

An interactive map by NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System illustrates the scope of wildfire activity in America.

 

Click on the links for more

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

All that **** along the Oklahoma panhandle and New Mexico...not to mention the wildfire just next to me...

 

Sets fire alarms off here in Tulsa.

 

Here comes another storm system that will bring lightning to light more fires..then turn in to supercells that produce tornados.

 

Midwest weather sucks.

[China]

Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire: 138,000 acres burned, mandatory evacuations underway

 

The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire surpassed 138,000 acres Monday, making it one of the largest fires in state history and the largest fire right now in the U.S. 

 

Unfortunately, fire officials said it's going to get even bigger.

 

All of Mora was placed under mandatory evacuations Sunday. Officials notified residents they must take Highways 433, 442 or 518 north to Taos to leave. Those roads are open for evacuation only and no re-entry will be allowed.

 

 

On Monday, evacuation orders were issued for portions of Las Vegas. Details can be found below.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

The new normal:

 

New study shows catastrophic wildfires may be normal for California

 

2020 was a catastrophic year for wildfires in California.

 

More than 4.3 million acres burned, and some fires burned for months.

 

While that is above the five-year average of 1.6 million acres, it actually might be more normal than almost anyone realized.

 

A new study from UC Davis says that the number of acres burned may actually be normal for California.

 

Of the top 20 largest fires in California history, most have taken place since 2017. This research goes back much further.

 

Out-of-control wildfires killed 33 people and caused more than $19 billion dollars in damage in 2020.

 

"Every acre that we keep from burning now is just gonna burn later with even more intensity at some point, because in California the question isn't whether something's gonna burn, but rather when," said Hugh Safford with UC Davis Environmental Science and Policy.

Researchers at UC Davis estimate that three to four million acres burned across California each year before European settlement in the 1800s.

 

"When European Americans showed up, they weren't used to dealing with fire, they didn't view it as a positive force, they were scared of it," said Safford.

 

2020 was the first year that the number of acres burned approached levels seen before the 1800s.

 

Those fires were likely much different. The UC Davis research suggests the fires were less intense and much less destructive.

 

"Really the big change, in terms of the long view if you're talking about millennia, is not the area burned but rather the severity that fires are burning with and the sort of destructiveness that we're seeing on landscapes," said Safford.

 

The question really is what to do about fires now. Some are calling out the current state "a long-term disaster."

California wants to add more firefighters, do more controlled burning, and fuel thinning.

 

"For the last century, we've had a policy where fires were being extinguished and there wasn't as much of this being done," said Captain Robert Foxworthy with Cal Fire. "We're now trying to get ahead of it and start treating more acres."

 

UC Davis researchers say the focus should shift to fighting fire severity instead of measuring success by reducing the number of acres burned.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Wildfire burning in Moore County near old helium plant

 

Firefighters are battling a wildfire in Moore County.

 

The Texas A&M Forest Service said the Helium Fire, which started around 11 a.m., is 2,500 acres and 45% contained.

 

Based on satellite imagery, the initial hotspot appeared to be west of SH-287 in Masterson, near the old helium plant.

 

ABC 7 Photojournalist Steve Douglass said the fire jumped the highway and is burning on both sides.

 

The Texas A&M Forest Service said crews are attacking from both sides with heavy equipment and engines.

 

Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs) have been used to drop retardant on the left flank of the fire.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Coastal fire burns homes, forces evacuations in Laguna Niguel

 

A wind-driven wildfire that broke out Wednesday in brush near Laguna Niguel prompted the evacuation of some nearby homes and a luxury resort and golf course, fire officials said. TV news helicopter footage showed multiple homes burning as the blaze quickly grew to 183 acres.

 

The blaze was reported at 2:44 p.m. in Aliso Woods Canyon, near a water treatment facility, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Sean Doran said. That is in the area of The Ranch at Laguna Beach, a resort and golf course, which was evacuated as a precaution, city officials said in a bulletin at about 3:30 p.m.

 

About an hour later, people living in the area of Pacific Island Drive and Coronado Pointe were also ordered to evacuate by Orange County Sheriff’s officials. In addition, residents near Moulton Meadows and Balbo Nyes were advised to be prepared to flee at a moment’s notice.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/laguna-hills-brush-fire-prompts-evacuations/

 

 

[China]

Extreme fire threats prompt US suspension of planned burns

 

U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore cited extreme fire danger and unfavorable weather conditions Friday in announcing a suspension of all planned fire burning operations to clear brush and small trees on all national forest lands while his agency conducts a review of protocols and practices ahead of planned operations this fall.

 

His decision came as federal forecasters warned that expanding drought conditions coupled with hot and dry weather, extreme wind and unstable atmospheric conditions have led to explosive fire behavior in the southwestern U.S. The fires that are set on purpose are called prescribed burns or fires.

 

“Our primary goal in engaging prescribed fires and wildfires is to ensure the safety of the communities involved. Our employees who are engaging in prescribed fire operations are part of these communities across the nation,” Moore said in a statement.

 

He said they “deserve the very best tools and science supporting them as we continue to navigate toward reducing the risk of severe wildfires in the future.”

 

The U.S. Forest Service has faced heavy criticism for a prescribed fire in New Mexico that escaped its containment lines in April and joined with another blaze to form what is now the largest fire burning nationally.

 

Moore said that in 99.84% of cases, prescribed fires go as planned and are a valuable tool for reducing the threat of extreme fires by removing dead and down trees and other vegetation that serves as fuel in overgrown forests.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Federal firefighters are waiting for pay raises they hope will help fill their ranks

 

For over a decade, the U.S. Forest Service has faced retention and recruitment issues that have resulted in a depleted workforce while fire seasons worsen and the Biden administration is increasing pressure to reduce wildfire risks across the West.

 

Federal wildland firefighters have entered another fire summer of broken records. The two largest wildfires in New Mexico's history, the Calf Canyon-Hermits Peak Fire in the Santa Fe National Forest and the Black Fire in the Gila National Forest, are currently under way, prompting a visit on Saturday by President Biden. Fire seasons, warns the Agriculture Department, are becoming longer and harder to control leading to intense "fire years."

 

And firefighters are also tasked with carrying out the administration's 10-year plan for reducing the risk of wildfires, which would involve increasing work on 50 million additional acres of land.

 

But continued low wages, benefits and staffing have depleted morale among the ranks and despite congressional and Biden administration action, eyes are on the agencies and Congress to deliver solutions.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

 

[China]

Wildfires in US: 2 firefighting helicopter pilots die in Idaho; evacuations near Yosemite

 

Multiple wildfires raged in the U.S. on Saturday, causing deaths, evacuations and damage to structures.

 

A new wildfire that has burned at least 10 structures near Yosemite National Park prompted evacuations Friday. And authorities announced that two pilots of a firefighting helicopter had died after the aircraft crashed amid a blaze in Idaho.

 

Thomas Hayes, 41, of Post Falls, Idaho, and Jared Bird, 36, of Anchorage, Alaska, died after their helicopter crashed in the Salmon River at about 4:45 p.m. Thursday, Mary Cernicek, spokesperson with the Salmon-Challis National Forest, told USA TODAY.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

-------------------------

 

4 dead after New Mexico sheriff's helicopter crashes while helping battle wildfires

 

Four people were killed after a sheriff's helicopter crashed in New Mexico on Saturday night, authorities said.

 

The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office said their "Metro 2" helicopter crashed just outside of Las Vegas, New Mexico, around 7:20 p.m. local time. On board were three sheriff personnel – Undersheriff Larry Koren, Lt. Fred Beers and Deputy Michael Levison – and Matthew King, a rescue specialist with the Bernalillo County Fire Department. 

 

The helicopter and crew were used to help fire officials with the East Mesa Fire by "providing bucket drops and other air logistics needs to fire crews on the ground," according to the sheriff's department. 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Northern California wildfires: Where to find updates on air quality, evacuations, and official information

 

Firefighters reported their first containment on the dangerous Oak Fire burning in California's Central Valley foothills on Monday, following a weekend where the fire was at times described as "explosive."

 

"Fire activity was not as extreme as it has been in previous days," Cal Fire officials wrote in Monday morning's update. "Firefighters made good headway today."

 

The wildfire tempered its growth on Sunday, and is now 10% contained and has burned 16,791 acres as of Monday morning, up only 2,500 acres over the past 24 hours.

 

This modest increase came after the fire doubled in size from Saturday to Sunday morning. The fire is the largest in the state so far this year, prompting Governor Gavin Newsom to proclaim a state of emergency.

 

A Sierra National Forest spokesperson told the Associated Press that evacuation orders were put in effect Saturday for more than 6,000 people living in the sparsely populated, rural area. The wildfire started near Midpines, which is about 90 minutes east of Modesto. An evacuation map is available here.

 

Smoke from the Oak Fire could blanket Northern California, including the Sacramento Valley, on Monday morning.

 

Cal Fire has called the fire activity "extreme," and at least 10 structures have been destroyed, with photos from the area showing multiple homes caught in the blaze. Around 2,693 structures were listed as threatened as of Monday morning, and Cal Fire says damage inspection teams will begin their assessment Monday.

 

The wildfire has shut down Highway 140, which leads into Yosemite Valley. This is the second fire burning in the area. Mandatory evacuations are in place for several high-elevation communities east of Mariposa, including the Lushmeadows subdivision, which has about 1,700 residents.

 

Firefighters maintained progress on the Washburn Fire burning at the park, which was 87% contained as of Monday morning.

 

Yosemite National Park officials say visitors will be prohibited from having campfires in some areas of the park to reduce the threat of sparking new wildfires as firefighters have been battling a blaze since last week.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Grass fire spread into Balch Springs neighborhood

 

A grass fire spread into a neighborhood Monday evening, catching several homes on fire in Balch Springs.

 

A total of 26 structures were damaged and nine were a total loss. 

 

By late Monday night, Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis said that the fire was 100% contained.

 

Davis said they believe a lawn crew sparked the fire, then it spread rapidly. The area was evacuated and there are no reports of injuries. 

 

Click on the link for the full article and video

[China]

Wildfire near Yosemite National Park balloons to California's largest this year

 

A rapidly expanding wildfire near Yosemite National Park, California’s largest of the season, at 17,000 acres, prompted thousands of evacuations Monday and sent smoke to the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento.

 

The Oak Fire, which erupted Friday, was 10% contained Monday as firefighters traversed steep terrain in sweltering temperatures and low humidity. 

 

Ten structures were destroyed, seven were damaged and more than 3,200 were threatened as firefighters worked to prevent the blaze from encroaching on the national park.

 

Click on the link for the full article and video

[China]

Man suspected of starting fires in remote Oregon woods detained by 3 residents who tied him to a tree

 

A man suspected of starting two fires in remote southwest Oregon was arrested, after reportedly being tied to a tree by three people until police arrived, Curry County Sheriff John Ward said in statement posted on Facebook.

 

The sheriff's office thanked those who assisted with controlling the fire and detaining the suspect.

"The quick actions on getting the fires out most certainly averted a catastrophe and saved lives. The total area burnt is less than one acre," the sheriff said in the release. "If the fires had not been contained and if they got out of control, they could have blocked all the residents and visitors from having an escape route."

On Monday, the sheriff's office received a call from the US Forest Service about fires burning in the far northeast portion of Curry County, according to the statement. The area can only be accessed by Bureau of Land Management and forest service roads and via the river. A BLM employee who was in the area of the blazes saw a man walking along a gravel road and starting fires, Ward said.

Dispatchers alerted local, state and federal authorities, asking for assistance with the fires and finding the man.

Ground crews -- including area residents -- got the fires controlled quickly, according to the release.

Three residents found the 30-year-old suspect, Trennon Smith, walking near the fires and detained him until police arrived, according to Ward's statement.

"It was reported that the suspect became very combative with the three residents and had to be tied to a tree to subdue him," Ward said in the release.

Smith was arrested and taken to a hospital as he was injured while falling down, police said. He was released from medical care and taken to jail, where he remained Wednesday.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

 

[China]

 

[China]

After starting New Mexico fire, U.S. asks victims to pay

 

After the U.S. government started the largest wildfire in New Mexico's recorded history in April, it is asking victims to share recovery costs on private land, jeopardizing relief efforts, according to residents and state officials.

 

The blaze was sparked by U.S. Forest Service (USFS) prescribed fires to reduce wildfire risk. The burns went out of control after a series of missteps, torching 432 residences and over 530 square miles (1373 square km) of mostly privately owned forests and meadows, much of it held by members of centuries-old Indo-Hispano ranching communities.

 

"Today I'm announcing the federal government's covering 100% of the cost," President Joe Biden said during a visit to New Mexico in June. Biden was announcing a disaster declaration that covered debris removal and emergency protective measures.

 

But federal cost-sharing statutes on other federal relief programs are limiting Biden's authority and exposing holes in the government safety net meant to help survivors and restore landscapes.

 

It is a system more Americans will turn to as extreme fires and flooding become the climate change norm.

 

"I DIDN'T CAUSE THIS DAMN FIRE"

 

Biden's measure was meant to bridge FEMA relief and a congressional bill that may pass in the fall to provide 100% federal compensation for losses from the so-called Hermit's Peak Calf Canyon fire.

 

Daniel Encinias was among survivors who met Biden and was told by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials he would get timely support at little or no cost.

 

He, his wife Lori, three teenage children, four dogs and eight cats are living in a camping trailer next to the ashes of their home in Tierra Monte, 35 miles northeast of Santa Fe.

 

"Why the hell am I going to pay anything when I didn't cause this damn fire?" said Encinias, 55, as he fed his cattle hay he was forced to buy after his baler was torched.

 

An official for the NRCS' local office in Las Vegas, New Mexico, where Encinias applied for support directed questions to the national office. Officials there did not respond to requests for comment.

 

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[TheGreatBuzz]

4 hours ago, China said:

"Why the hell am I going to pay anything when I didn't cause this damn fire?" said Encinias, 55, as he fed his cattle hay he was forced to buy after his baler was torched.

 

One could argue that every one of us caused this fire.

[China]

2 people injured as Mill Fire near Weed expands, at least 50 homes destroyed

 

Several people were injured and dozens of homes were destroyed in a fast-moving wildfire burning in the Northern California town of Weed in Siskiyou County ahead of Labor Day weekend, authorities said. Simultaneously, fire crews are having to battle a second wildfire that has also burned thousands of acres in the area.

 

The first blaze to erupt on Friday, the Mill Fire, has destroyed at least 50 homes and forced several thousand people to be under mandatory evacuations, Cal Fire, the state's fire agency, said on Saturday.

 

The Mill Fire has burned 3,921 acres and was 20% contained, as of Saturday at 7:25 a.m., Cal Fire said. The term containment refers to a barrier, whether it be natural or manmade, that prevents a wildfire from spreading. Extreme wildfire behavior in recent years has shown that fires are capable of spreading past containment lines.

 

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency in Siskiyou County due to the "rapidly-spreading fire." A Fire Management Assistance Grant has also been secured from FEMA. Both are set to help funding to help contain the fire and those impacted by it.

 

The fire started around 12:50 p.m. near Woodridge Court and Woodridge Way, just off Highway 97 on Friday, according to Cal Fire.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[PCS]

^^^^

Shortly after that one started, the Mountain fire started 15 mile straight due West of the Weed fire. It blew up for several days, though now it looks like that have that one on the ropes. 

Been some smaller ones they've jumped on pretty quick since then but then the Radford fire started near Bear Lake and the Fairview fire started South of that near Hemet California. That one is tied to 2 deaths in the first day and the loss of some homes. Radford fire would appear to be on the ropes after threatening the upper ski resort areas. They had the snow making equipment going 24/7 for a few days and they may have helped a lot. Fairview fire however, blew right the hell up and is still moving fast. Now Hurricane Kay is moving up the Western coast of Mexico and looks like it is going to impact Southern California with lots of rain starting sometime tomorrow. Could help with those fires but could cause some nasty slides in those freshly burned areas. Insult to injury thing. 

Now the Mosquito fire West of Tahoe is really blowing up. Stated a couple of days ago. This beast is rough. Few screen captures from it earlier today. Far away, close, and closer. 

 

https://beta.alertwildfire.org/region/tahoe/?camera=Axis-ForestHill1

 

 

 

[China]

Calif. Gold Rush towns in peril as huge flames erupt from Mosquito Fire

 

Mosquito Fire media representatives confirmed that thousands of residents have fled Placer County following the blaze, which was still zero percent  contained as of Friday evening. PIO Chris Vestal said that 5,700 Placer County residents evacuated, along with “at least several hundred more in El Dorado County.”

 

The Washoe County Air Quality Management Division issued a Stage 2 Emergency Episode on Friday for the Reno-Sparks area due to smoke impacts from California's Mosquito Fire. This means that air quality in the region is expected to get progressively worse over the weekend, potentially reaching levels considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups” to “unhealthy” on the Air Quality Index, according to the air quality management division. Smoke at this AQI can impact all populations, not just sensitive groups. There's a chance air quality in the Reno-Sparks area could hit the "very unhealthy" range through Sunday, according to the air quality management division. 

 

Winds pushed smoke from the Mosquito Fire hundreds of miles both east and west. A thin layer of smoke from the fire blanketed the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday morning, prompting the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to issue an air quality advisory for Friday and Saturday.

 

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Scientists are looking at the 40,000-foot-tall clouds pumped out by the Mosquito Fire

 

 

Like a scene out of an apocalyptic movie, a raging California wildfire pumped out a monster cloud towering 40,000 feet into the atmosphere on Thursday. As the Mosquito Fire tore across Tahoe National Forest, making a 5,000-acre run across the American River and pushing into the El Dorado County town of Volcanoville, the cloud grew and grew.

 

At one point on Thursday afternoon, the Mosquito Fire belched out a second cloud, and twin plumes rose above the blaze.

 

From miles and miles away, people on the ground caught sight of the monster clouds, with many posting astonishing images on social media. Alan Brewer, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, got a much closer look from a plane with a team of scientists who were flying along the side of the massive wall of sooty air to better understand fire behavior and its impacts. 

 

“It really hit everybody in the plane pretty hard just how massive and destructive the fire was,” Brewer told SFGATE on the phone. “It was like flying right alongside the wall of the Grand Canyon.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

[China]

Part of Nebraska National Forest on fire again

 

A wildfire at the Nebraska National Forest forced the evacuation of campgrounds and the village of Halsey on Sunday.

 

The blaze at the Bessey Ranger District, about 80 miles northeast of North Platte, was likely “human-caused,” according to a Facebook post by Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands.

By 5:30 p.m., multiple air tankers had been dispatched to fight the fire, the post said.

 

The Forest Service said the fire “is moving very quickly.”

 

In May, a fire burned 4,000 acres in the same area of the forest.

 

 

Click on the link for the full article