North American Wild Fires 2021

[Riwaka]

Interview with John Saltenberger, North West Inter-agency Co-ordination Center. 

Two of the key observations are the reduced number of 'rain reset days' during fire season and the strong easterly winds 'moving north'.

What Oregonians can expect from the upcoming fire season - YouTube

[quilbilly]

I was just looking at snowpack and most if WA and northern oregon are ok. Southern oregon and Cal are lower than average though.

[DDW_OR]

fire map
National Fire Situational Awareness

[Riwaka]

Starting to spark off a bit. Heat Dome etc

Current Wildfire Activity - Province of British Columbia

Information on Wildfires | WA - DNR

[Riwaka]

Lava Fires near Mt Shasta, California - heat mapping

Lava Fire June 28 2021 - YouTube

[Riwaka]

Unfortunately plenty of 'spectacular flames' wild fires atm resulting in property loss etc.

Western Washington State fire season preparation and review of last year's fire.
Growth in western Washington wildfires a worrying trend amid stressed forests - YouTube

[quilbilly]

Unfortunately plenty of 'spectacular flames' wild fires atm resulting in property loss etc.

Western Washington State fire season preparation and review of last year's fire.
Growth in western Washington wildfires a worrying trend amid stressed forests - YouTube

It's dry but we did get a bit of mist today. That heat wave killed us for snow pack. We were doing well up until that. 

[charles mann]

We got called up a week early, ferried from so-cal to wenatchee, wa. then a few days later made our way to coeur d' alene, id for a day, and now working hard out of grangeville, id. 

We have been flying at least 1x a day, and on days, getting 3 cycles. 

[mike_belben]

Thanks for your service charles

[charles mann]

Thanks for your service charles

You are very welcome sir. Since im not able to continue serving the american people in the armed services, this still allows to do it and have a positive purpose in life. 

[Sauna freak]

What's going on in southern Ontario?  We've been getting consistent smoke/haze as far south as Southern MN, and they just closed a large block of the BWCA due to proximity of Canadian fires.  Several have popped up in Northern MN, but all have been contained so far.

The dryness goes as deep as I've ever seen it in Northern MN.  I have a hunting camp near Hibbing, and all spring/summer, we've been dragging punky old logs out of the swamp to burn in the campfire.  Usually one can wring water out of those like a sponge.  My firewood pile cut green in March/April is already cured enough to cook fish fry with.  So far, there's been enough spotty rains to keep the grasses and shrubs green, but it seems on the razor's edge of going critical.  The heavy fuel, duff and peats are primed to take and hold fire.  Water table in the bogs is down a foot or 2.  Not looking forward to August/September if we don't start getting real rain.  Could be a historic fall fire season in the North, especially if we get an early frost.

[SwampDonkey]

I think Ontario and Manitoba have some large fires going on. I know lots of FF'ers left here (NB and NS) this week to go out there.

Here's the situation.

Manitoba





Ontario

[Eberly Forestry]

It's record dry here in NW Ontario. Forestry is mostly shut down. Cash crops are maturing early without anything to show for. Farmers hay crops are ¼ of usual. Lots of fires from dry thunderstorms. 

[SwampDonkey]

And Ontario is almost twice the size of Texas.

[Thomasjw4]

The West Lolo Complex is mostly on my District.   It started as over 40 lightning caused fires,  and we have most of them controlled.   Already in EXTREME  fire danger with Stage 2 restrictions in place.   VERY early for NW Montana.  

[quilbilly]

My dad just got an invite to look at some 300 acres of private burn in Oregon. Not sure if we're gonna go. The fly fishing is supposed to be good though, hunting too. So maybe a fall trip is in order.

[ST Ranch]

Here I BC we are in the same situation as most of Canada and the PNW.  Unheard of drought conditions and not enough resources to deal with the current fires [300 + in BC alone]

A week old lightening strike smoldering at high elevation took a turn for the worse and now is 1000 ha and 6-7  km from homes and ranches.  60 homes on evacuation alert 

It is bbout 10 km north of my place, but I am packing up some valuables cuz a change in the winds could have it hear in a matter of hours.

Very frustrating that this fire  [ as are others] that are initially allowed to burn as part of the new concept of "natural fires are good". - I agree they may have their place but not in early July with extreme drought codes and fire ratings.  

Very likely this could have been avoided if the fire had been actioned by a heli repel crew when it first was discovered.  Huge cost to the taxpayer let alone those who are directly effected by it.

Some pictures of it from the other night.  


 

 
Bright areas near the lake in first picture are street lights.

[BAN]

Gonna be a long season.  I've been on two fires already. Have a falling module on colville reservation fire and dozer on Rice WA fire. 100 year drought in the Intermountain area. Red flag warnings from tonight through Wednesday morning.  Resources will be stretched thin fairly soon.

[sawguy21]

We have gone 5 weeks with record temperatures and no measurable rain. No relief in sight for at least two weeks. The bush is shut down and crops are pretty much wiped out. I have a bag packed and in the truck, if the call comes I just grab the dog and go.

[mike_belben]

Godspeed to you folks out there.

[sawguy21]

The way fires are popping up and moving I may need all the speed I can get.

[Ron Scott]

US, Northwest Pushing Limits of Firefighting Resources: 'Worst Possible Conditions'
The Oregonian, July 17, 2021
U.S. Forest Service leaders got a message from their top boss last Wednesday. Chief Vicki Christiansen, the agency's leader, announced that all Forest Service workers should immediately refocus their time and energy to address the country's worsening wildfire season. Fires were resisting control efforts, she said, and the West was bracing for more extreme weather in the coming months.

READ MORE

The E-Forester

[mike_belben]

Id be prayin for rain if i was out yalls way. 

[Andries]

From my BIL in Kamloops, BC

The entire trestle bridge is gone.

Fire is coming over the hill and heat-rise lightening.

[sawguy21]

Was that the CN trestle at Lytton? We are getting hammered and it's not over yet.

[Andries]

He didn't say the place name, but said it was North of Hope, so could be.
Keeping fingers crossed for you guys out there Sawguy.

[mike_belben]

 :embarassed:

[Riwaka]

2021 burn area larger than 2020's so far.

Firefighters Struggling To Contain Northern California’s Dixie Fire - YouTube

[sawguy21]

I am surprised there is anything left of northern California to burn! :( It is bad here this morning, can't see across town for the smoke People with respratory problems are having difficulty breathing and Covid masks make it worse. They are no longer mandatory in most places but many still wear them, may be for protection against the particulate which I can taste in the air.

[mudfarmer]

We have had air quality advisories and have had very hazy air for the past week here in northern NY - This page has an interesting map from NOAA that shows the smoke plumes and locations of fires New York issues air quality advisory as haze from wildfires reaches north country | State News | nny360.com

Stay safe out there, hoping for the best for those more directly impacted :-\

[quilbilly]

Got a friend who leads a crew out here. Been pretty tough and looking to get tougher. Hiring practices at the FS don't help either. 

[sawguy21]

I loaded the recycling to go to the depot this morning, the bags were covered with fly ash. One was partially welded shut from the heat! We are in for another hot spell later in the week so it won't get better anytime soon. People with allergies and resperatory problems have to be suffering.

[BAN]

Eastern Washington has shut the woods down starting tomorrow Aug 2 at midnight for fire danger.

Working on third fire of the season.  Never been on a fire in July before this year.

[donbj]

I loaded the recycling to go to the depot this morning, the bags were covered with fly ash. One was partially welded shut from the heat! We are in for another hot spell later in the week so it won't get better anytime soon. People with allergies and resperatory problems have to be suffering.

Did you get any rain out of this system passing through. I sure hope so. We had steady at times heavy rain all night last night and this morning. Thank the Lord no lightning with it.
It sure is holding the smoke down though. Heaviest yet, it can't go anywhere.

[sawguy21]

Just enough to knock the dust down although it was sure welcome! It didn't clear the smoke, the valley is socked in solid. Kelowna airport, a major hub, is shut down. A good friend is really suffering with asthma but nothing anyone can do to help her.

[quilbilly]

Eastern Washington has shut the woods down starting tomorrow Aug 2 at midnight for fire danger.

Working on third fire of the season.  Never been on a fire in July before this year.

We got a tiny baby fire out west here. 10 acres. I'm surprised they are even fighting it. Rain maybe friday. Humid enough here to keep working even though we've got an early shutdown. 

[donbj]

Just enough to knock the dust down although it was sure welcome! It didn't clear the smoke, the valley is socked in solid. Kelowna airport, a major hub, is shut down. A good friend is really suffering with asthma but nothing anyone can do to help her.

The weather is forecast to change for the better by the weekend in this regard. Lets hope. The fires have been so intense and smoke so thick the air support has been grounded a lot of times. This weather break is so welcome. Some evacuation alerts have been removed and fire attack has been improved.

[Andries]

Smoke Forecast - FireSmoke.ca 

This website is worth a look.
If you're seeing a lot of smoke in your area, this'll show you where it's coming from and whether a wind direction change will clear the air up.
BTW: normally I have to cut grass once a week. This year I've only cut four times since the snow melted. This drought is breaking 150 year weather records.
. :'(
Anyone got a phone number for a good rainmaker? 

[Riwaka]

"The art of felling timber" instagram has short clips of trees still burning being chain sawed down ahead of the fire crews putting water etc on hot spots.

You Tuber - 'Action of the Day' on the edge of the Dixie Fire before going into a post-burn Greenville, California August 2021.

Daytime Footage of Dixie Fire Before Entering Greenville - YouTube

[sawguy21]

We are actually getting some relief from the smoke, it is a pleasant day for a change. The alert for the town south of us has been lifted for the moment but everyone is still on edge.

[Riwaka]

Caldor Fire California August 2021
News crew being a bit risky in another video.

California Wildfires: Caldor Fire Tuesday morning update - YouTube

[RPF2509]

So I just finished a 3 week stint on the Antelope fire in Siskiyou county.  We though we had it wrapped several times but each time we had a blowout it was the wind and unmanaged forest service land that caused the most problems.  Portions of the property we manage are alternate sections with the Feds owning the other.  We mange ours for timber production, they mange theirs for late seral reserves - ie no management.  Every time fire got into one of their sections it was like an atomic bomb going off with the resultant spotting causing major losses in our sections.  Rugged unroaded terrain did not help.   I am not opposed to fire and acknowledge we need to do a lot more prescribed burning but letting things burn in August is not the way to go.  As it winds down we lost 10 sections - five of those to the 'backburns' which we tried to tighten up but were overruled.  The frustrating thing was the lack of resources and the Feds control over what little we had.  They listened to our recommendations because we know the ground but went ahead and did what they wanted anyway.  The initial strike team was from Arizona and it took them a week to figure out the ground and where to put lines.   I saw a lot of the basic firefighting norms ignored.  In the end (though it is not completely over) it was the weather cooling off and the winds diminishing that allowed us to gain the upper hand.
In July I took a forestry tour of the Placerville area and the King fire next to where the Caldor fire is now burning.  Though fuel treatment projects were present I was struck by the overall overstocking of the forests, the lack of roadside vegetation maintenance and the unpreparedness of homeowners.  If the fire gets to Pollock Pines, it will all be lost.  Many homes on steep ground with virtually no clearing or fuels management.  The oakland hills fire happened in the 90's when I first came to California and I thought it would be a wakeup call.  For the last five years we've had tens of thousands of homes lost each year but still people seem to think it won't happen to me.  From Placerville we went to Tahoe and at least there was more visible evidence of fuels management since my last visit several years ago.  Still a fire in the basin with the right wind will destroy billions in real estate.  In any case its going to take decades and a major change in attitudes to gain some semblance of control. 

[sawguy21]

So nothing has changed since we were on the Lassen and Shelter Bay fires with an S-61 in 1988!

[Ljohnsaw]

A fire started in a light industrial area of east Grass Valley Wednesday late afternoon.  CalFire has several choppers dumping water on it and as of this morning, 70% contained.  Only 59 acres burned.  No structures damaged but several vehicles were burned.  One guy had a log yard that burnt up but was thankful to CalFire that his business was undamaged.  Unknown cause at this point.

[Sauna freak]

Thank the Lord, we have finally gotten some timely rains in NE MN.  A couple of large incidents are still active in the peat and heavy fuels, but largely contained.  One took a couple of big runs in cabin country and destroyed some 50+ primary and 150+ total structures.  Total coverage now holding at 26000 acres and change.  Occasional rains and overall improved conditions are forecast, but organic soils and heavy fuels are still relatively dry, and most of the area experienced a killing freeze Saturday AM, so more drought conditions will elevate hazards quickly. For now hazard will shift to grass/brushlands and lighter fuels.  Hopefully the rains continue to arrive in sufficient interval and quantity to get us into freezeup without any more destructive and costly large fires in the Boreal zone.

[charles mann]

So I just finished a 3 week stint on the Antelope fire in Siskiyou county.  We though we had it wrapped several times but each time we had a blowout it was the wind and unmanaged forest service land that caused the most problems.  Portions of the property we manage are alternate sections with the Feds owning the other.  We mange ours for timber production, they mange theirs for late seral reserves - ie no management.  Every time fire got into one of their sections it was like an atomic bomb going off with the resultant spotting causing major losses in our sections.  Rugged unroaded terrain did not help.   I am not opposed to fire and acknowledge we need to do a lot more prescribed burning but letting things burn in August is not the way to go.  As it winds down we lost 10 sections - five of those to the 'backburns' which we tried to tighten up but were overruled.  The frustrating thing was the lack of resources and the Feds control over what little we had.  They listened to our recommendations because we know the ground but went ahead and did what they wanted anyway.  The initial strike team was from Arizona and it took them a week to figure out the ground and where to put lines.   I saw a lot of the basic firefighting norms ignored.  In the end (though it is not completely over) it was the weather cooling off and the winds diminishing that allowed us to gain the upper hand.
In July I took a forestry tour of the Placerville area and the King fire next to where the Caldor fire is now burning.  Though fuel treatment projects were present I was struck by the overall overstocking of the forests, the lack of roadside vegetation maintenance and the unpreparedness of homeowners.  If the fire gets to Pollock Pines, it will all be lost.  Many homes on steep ground with virtually no clearing or fuels management.  The oakland hills fire happened in the 90's when I first came to California and I thought it would be a wakeup call.  For the last five years we've had tens of thousands of homes lost each year but still people seem to think it won't happen to me.  From Placerville we went to Tahoe and at least there was more visible evidence of fuels management since my last visit several years ago.  Still a fire in the basin with the right wind will destroy billions in real estate.  In any case its going to take decades and a major change in attitudes to gain some semblance of control.

We were working the antelope fire, based out of the siskiyou county airport. Now we are on the creek fire, working out of scott valley airport. Not sure if you monitored air to ground comms, but we are 49cu.