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Wildfires need an intensity index like Hurricanes and earthquakes, maybe kilotons of energy released per hour.
One look at photos of Santa Rosa and the term kiloton is very apt.
That Tubbs Fire ran 12 miles in three hours, leapt a six lane freeway and started munching on structures.
I am in pure awe.
 
I'm utterly in shock many of the places i visited early summer are now gone. I'm scheduled to be back but my heart goes out to the victims of these fires and I thank God I was not in the motel I stayed in at Santa Rosa during this event as I heard its gone.
 
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0700 @ Oakmont this morning with a big wind


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Oakmont used to be ''out in the sticks''.
My grandparents lived in El Verano, just west of the town of Sonoma, I know that area well.
I did the fire thing in country like that, Lake, Colusa, Yolo, Mendo and Sonoma counties, it was always a joy.
Give me a timber fire anytime.
 
Oakmont used to be ''out in the sticks''.
My grandparents lived in El Verano, just west of the town of Sonoma, I know that area well.
I did the fire thing in country like that, Lake, Colusa, Yolo, Mendo and Sonoma counties, it was always a joy.
Give me a timber fire anytime.

Lovell Valley took a big hit today.


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Interesting interactive structure loss map of recent NorCal fire eventshttp://calfireforestry.maps.arcgis.com/apps/PublicInformation/index.html?appid=5bbcbed430ad45e5a38e6be155ef5fec


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Well, back to home unit after 11 day stint in NorCal fires. We were originally dispatched to the fires in Napa in a Task Force configuration of a Tactical Water Tender ( Me ) 2 Type 1 and 2 Type 3 engines about an 1 hr away. We encountered fire along the way and spent 4 hours on a 400 acre blaze threatening structures and Hwy 37. We departed and were diverted to tla new start in Sonoma County that would become the Nunns Fire. Like almost all crews sent that night we went nearly 96 hours straight bumping from one place to another, neighborhoods to vineyards to winery’s to planned communities. Some we were able to make a stand and defend what we could, others were to far gone to make a difference. Some we left standing only to return hours later and see them ablaze. Water was a scarcity as there was no power to run pumps or property tanks had melted and drained or they ran low and went dry. Searching for ponds and swimming pools with google maps was invaluable.
We fired out huge fields and from around houses hoping the wind would cooperate and provide needed buffers, we dropped Trees to stop the ember cast and quickly cleared debris and patio furniture from around houses.
The magnitude and random destruction of these multiple fires is unbelievable and everyone has a story, some good some bad. We worked along with responders that had lost their own homes and kept on trying to help and save others. A special thanks to the Kenwood and Bennett Valley fire houses for being a haven for 20 min naps and a place to regroup and focus on the next task. They kept snacks and coffee going 24/7, which kept us going.
In all 40-50 local responders lost their homes, 7 from my area from Chiefs to Firefighters.
It was an incredible wild ride and we’re home safely and I’m thankful for that.
With that prepare your homes, have a plan and a back-up plan because it can happen to anyone, anywhere and any time. Nature can be beautiful but unforgiving.......
Cheers to all
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WT-15 nicknamed “Fury” on the fire [emoji91]



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Below is a link to a movie I made by filming roughly 1500 still photos (stepped through very quickly) produced by a game camera at the Archer Taylor Preserve from shortly before the fire came through to 10/21/2017. Ignore the background sound or mute it. The large fire that develops at the left side of the screen is a pile of fir logs from trees that fell last winter. We were planning to move them to a less intrusive spot. The fire took care of that task for us. I guess every cloud has a silver lining.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lfg7v0pci4ox0ya/GM fire video - 1.MP4?dl=0
 
Are these "fire guy" markings? If so, what do the signify? We are finally getting access to the Preserve on the Napa-Sonoma border and see these marks, wonder what they denote.

Haven’t seen the paint markings before, but Trees are painted for thinning.
The orange “tape” is Hazard tree flagging commonly used on fires, then evaluated by a felling Boss for validity.

@2dogs mite have more insight being a Hazard tree dropper :)))

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Are these "fire guy" markings? If so, what do the signify? We are finally getting access to the Preserve on the Napa-Sonoma border and see these marks, wonder what they denote.

Those marks don't like like anything I've seen on any thinning -- usually we mark only trees to be cut, at breast height and dots on the stump. Sometimes it's the opposite -- all trees except the marked ones are to be taken. Given the "Killer Tree" tape and the rankings, I'm gonna guess that those are all hazards, the killer trees are especially hazardous, the numbers signify priority, and the one with the circle and X is not to be cut.
 

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