Fire Season

[wdtik]

  Was working at the farm today---97 in the shade with a stiff 35mph breeze this afternoon and I happened to look up
and see a puff of smoke in the hills.. 30 minutes later I took this
photo.  Awfully early in the summer for this to start...My daughter and her family lives at the
base of that hill, they got out ok and their house has been spared so far, but some
homes were lost...

 


CBD--praying for some rain

[customsawyer]

I think it is going to be a tough year through out most of the west. Hope all make it out okay.

[Magicman]

Thankfully you and your family have been spared.  Keep us posted.   

[Brucer]

I think it is going to be a tough year through out most of the west. ...

Until you move north of the 49th parallel.

Normally we'd be keeping an eye on the fire hazard ratings about now, trying to get a feel for what the summer would be like. This morning the rain gauge stood at 8" for the month of June. Right now it's at 9" plus. Since I started recording local rainfall in 1998, the highest total for June was 5" and the average was 3".

[wdtik]

Just a little new on the fire situation.  The kids home somehow made it through
a very intense fire storm this afternoon.  30-40mph winds gusting to 50, I was
sure the house burned watching the smoke pour out of there but I just heard that
everything is ok except for their bees. 

All afternoon I watched 7 helicopters racetrack water into
a wall of smoke against a ridgeline in high winds..nothing short of heroic
flying.   Not to mention several runs of slurry going down,  her place got painted
on all sides...there are fire units from all over the state coming to assist.  As
crazy as the world can be sometimes the worst of times brings out the best in people..

And finally, last winter they hired a local logger to do a hazard fuel reduction project
on their place...thats what really made the difference IMO

Brucer can send all the rain down here and we won't complain a bit..

[DouginUtah]

It seems that you don't hear much about the fires in Utah. For the record we have had over 400 fires this year and the fire season has barely started. Tens of thousands of acres have been burned. Dozens of homes have been destroyed.
No rain for several weeks and humidity in the single digits.

[Migal]

Nobody likes to see that!    Hope all goes well  Now rethinking how I would have loved to have a breeze tonight remind's me Watch what you wish for . or be more pacific Hope you are okay and everyone else too.

[Brucer]

It's pretty bad in Colorado right now as well. Montana, Utah, and Colorado are all in the news in Canada.

[Magicman]

That Waldo Canyon fire is bad for sure:  LINK

[wdtik]

Good chance that this will be an epic fire season.   

 
This is a shot of the firestorm yesterday, the engine crews that were in there went into
retreat, too risky, they also thought the structures were already gone, visability was
nearly zero.



Went up for a look today, bleak but no structure losses--devine intervention-without a doubt.


 
The house in the center (circled) survived without any defense, no overhead no engine crew it was left to
burn, it was in the center of the first pic, which became much more intense as the wind picked up.
...firesafe construction and firewise landscaping..I'll get in when the evac is lifted and get
some better pics.  This is usefull info for doing salvage work....

Had a convoy of fire crews pass me on the highway tonight, mobile air control tower and
FS trucks headed east, 60 homes lost today in the Bull Mtns, the Lame Deer fire is at 110K
acres. 

Congress is going to get a wakeup call regarding forest management.

[Tree Feller]

Congress is going to get a wakeup call regarding forest management.

Wishful thinking. The greenies don't even want to see logging in burned out forests. It's not about Spotted Owls or some blind salamander no one has eaver heard about or would ever miss if it were gone. It's about the environmentalists wanting to stop logging...all logging. They are loud, persistent, well-funded and have a sympathetic ear in Washington.

It's been known for years that the policy of inaction regarding forest management has helped create the current tinderbox that our forests have become.

Responsible management of our forests, both private and national would greatly reduce the fire hazard that currently exists.

And after all, trees ARE a renewable resource.