North American Fires 2020

[Riwaka]

Looks bad. Is there still much locked up forest land?

Oregon Fire (KGW news) with Kate Brown (sounds really bad)


Butte County, California (ABC10) 


Washington King5 - very sad
Western Washington wildfire coverage on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. - YouTube

[Firewoodjoe]

I don’t want to get all political and I’m across the nation from it so I don’t know the situation but by the sounds of it it’s lack of management of logging controlled burns and power lines. 🤷🏼‍♂️ Either way it’s a bad deal. Lots of loss. 

[Riwaka]

Detroit, Oregon - housing, church, rv park etc leveled 



Makes you think what would you take apart from the id, insurance certs, photos, pets, etc? If you had to get out in a hurry. 

[mike_belben]

Sad for all. Hope you folks are all safe out there. 

[quilbilly]

I live about 15 miles from a small fire. You would have a hard time understanding the mismanagement. Basically the Sierra club controls the forest service. I believe @Skeans1  is really close to a big fire. The one near me is small.

I have a friend who runs an engine working on the chickamin fire, we just drove from glacier NP and visibility is terrible. We can see from our house right now about a half mile. Normally we can see up to 15 or so. 

[Skeans1]

@quilbilly 
We aren’t close to any last I saw the county I live in and one other to the west are the only two that don’t have any fires going right now. My in-laws live not too far off 205 north of Oregon City and they have a level one evacuation notice right.

This was shot Tuesday morning at home at 7am

 Well this was shot on Thursday at 630 pm looking towards Clackamas Town Center visibility was a mile at best.

[Skeans1]

I don’t want to get all political and I’m across the nation from it so I don’t know the situation but by the sounds of it it’s lack of management of logging controlled burns and power lines. 🤷🏼‍♂️ Either way it’s a bad deal. Lots of loss.

Most of this is decades in the making from Spotted Owl that shut down a lot of the land out here that’s what’s burning is Federal/State ground. As to the cause of the fires a lot of these have been burning since August from a lightning storm we had. To the controlled burns that’s pretty much a no no because of the big city around us and Doug Fir doesn’t survive fire like pine do.

[BAN]

I have 2 modules falling danger trees now on the Cold Springs fire in NE Wa(200,000 acres) We went from a mild fire season to historically bad with one 60mph wind storm Monday.  Its devastating.  The road we are working on has 20 burned homes and 600 burned power poles. The back end of road people are told they will have power by February. Fortunately only 1 death so far. No rain in site and no resources if there is one. My 4 guys are the only fallers on the whole fire. Could be here until snow.

[quilbilly]

On the way back from Montana we drove highway 20 most of the way. Right next to some of the big fires in Washington. I reckon pretty close to you. 

They aren't fighting the mt Lena fire near us and to be honest I hope they don't. It's the only way they'll ever log the ONF is with a salvage sale. There isn't anyone near the fire anyway. Let it burn till it rains in October. 

We are shutdown out here for falling timber. Do you still have to take classes to fight fire as a contractor or will they just let you do it now, when there is so much need 

[BAN]

Hwy 20 is very close to here. You do have to be red card trained but in 2015 they put classes on as soon as fires started bad and equipment guys got out fast. They've changed specs on calling guys and equipment out but not for the better. There is no overhead to run these fires right now though. If you don't have someone to manage the fire more equipment doesn't help. Its really a catastrophe and could get worse if we get more starts. Theres 250 firefighters on this fire and would normally be 700-900. 

[Riwaka]

Fireline - 1 minute film




Crazy/ies allegedly harming power poles near vegetation - Wa 08/2020 (need some rural microphones like the gunshot microphones?)

[Ron Scott]

Very sad!

[BAN]

The fire we are on was arson but most fires up here were a result of 60mph winds at beginning of driest time of year. Its so different fighting fires now than even ten years ago. So many people are building in high fire areas. More people equals more fires. The Colville national forest has upped its cut to 100 million feet a year so minds are changing quickly about managing forests but we are 20 years from being in a safer place.

[Riwaka]

John Spenser - strategy update - Beachie Creek Fire, Oregon, September 2020. 

[quilbilly]

The fire we are on was arson but most fires up here were a result of 60mph winds at beginning of driest time of year. Its so different fighting fires now than even ten years ago. So many people are building in high fire areas. More people equals more fires. The Colville national forest has upped its cut to 100 million feet a year so minds are changing quickly about managing forests but we are 20 years from being in a safer place.

I'd like to see ONF just get to ten. Where is all that wood gonna go? Only three to four mills within a couple hours right? Vaagen, boise and doesn't Idaho forest group have one? Either way it's a good start. Be safe out there.

[BAN]

The fire we are on was arson but most fires up here were a result of 60mph winds at beginning of driest time of year. Its so different fighting fires now than even ten years ago. So many people are building in high fire areas. More people equals more fires. The Colville national forest has upped its cut to 100 million feet a year so minds are changing quickly about managing forests but we are 20 years from being in a safer place.

I'd like to see ONF just get to ten. Where is all that wood gonna go? Only three to four mills within a couple hours right? Vaagen, boise and doesn't Idaho forest group have one? Either way it's a good start. Be safe out there.

Vaagens has two(colville and usk). Boise has two in Kettle Falls and one in Arden. Theres also a small cedar mill north of Kettle Falls and several mills in North Idaho. Canadians have been buying peelers up in Northport last two years also. About 4-5 years ago all the Colville national forest cut was around 15-20 million a year but switching to these new stewardship sales has really changed the game. State of Idaho is try to take over the management of there national forests but haven't heard where that is going. Safety is always first on a fire

[mike_belben]

glad you and the family are safe skeans, be careful.

[Nebraska]

I hope they catch the (appropriate terms not germane to forum use here  so... insert your own) people who are cutting power poles with chainsaws.  What kind of person does that, blows my mind.....

[mike_belben]

Well, in the 1990s it was called monkey wrenching and itd be your eco-warriors doing it.  Same people who sat in trees for weeks and drove spikes in the prevent logging.

I dont know anything about this specific pole cutter but they are out there.  "EarthFirst and "The ReWilding institute" comes to mind.  Probably the same dozen kooks under their tenth new name by now.  Basically the radicalized underground moonbat wing of sierra club type groups.


I can never watch this without laughing. 

[Nathan Harp]

It is not the lack of forest management that is causing this.  There were more trees 200 years ago weren't there.  

I agree that fire suppression has led to too much fuel, making the fires more devastating, where old growth could handle it.  
If there is mismanagement of the land to blame, it is not the wooded land that was mismanaged in the last 50 years, more like the last 50-150; and building homes and towns deeper into the forests brings more attention for sure.   

It is climate change, plain and simple.  Don't let your politics get in the way of reason and facts.  
The cases of arson are unfortunate, but you can't scapegoat this to a few bad acts.

Science denial and politically pointing the blame definitely wont help anything.  
Our education systems have failed us.  

We all know that logging is appropriate, and it is best done along with a scientific planning for the immediate and long term future of the land.  
I seriously doubt that an increase in cutting in the last 20 years would have had any deterrent to what we are seeing now.