Fire
- Thread starter Gologit
- Start date
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I left via Providence Creek Road and Trimmer Springs Road the first Saturday. I had the benefit of being directly with the Forest Service OHV Manager and his crew that day, and I knew they weren’t even letting F.S. come up. Anyone that left couldn’t come back. Random campers were in disbelief when I told them, people couldn’t believe it was that bad. One couple was waiting for their friend to come back and get his second trailer, even though I told them no one was being allowed up the 4 lane.
My heart goes out to all the people affected by these fires, the emergency crews, police and medics do one hell of a job.
It is the uncertanty of where the fires will move next.
Take care.
Timothy Love
ArboristSite Lurker
Unpredictable winds, fire clouds that spawn lightning, and flames that leap over firebreaks are confounding efforts to fight the blaze
Apparently it is far from chilly in Chile - they're getting hammered with some huge fires. The flame front in the false-color image is truly scary.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150945/fires-blaze-through-south-central-chile
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150945/fires-blaze-through-south-central-chile
They've actually spotted people on security cameras setting these fires.
We got an opportunity to see the new Cal Fire "Firehawk" based on the Blackhawk helicopter. It can cruise 50% faster, hold 3 times the water, and about 4 times the people the old Huey could. I honestly never thought I'd get to stand ~40 feet from one of these when it took off and landed. The jet wash from one of the turbines damn near knocked me over.
We have an air ambulance co. called Cal Star, they have used a flat clearing on our 2 1/2 acres to land and evacuate accident victims for transport on a few occasions. It's impressive to watch these professionals at work close up!
Most years we train with Cal Star as well. Since we went to the Alma Helitack base this year, we only trained with Cal Fire.
I worked with Alma many times in the past. Every year we had euc fires in the top of the trees where bucket drops were the only way to put out the fire. I remember the last new copter they got, I was on the first training. It was a Huey and the pilot was a former Army pilot in Vietnam. He flew that ship like it was an entension of his body. Must have been late 80s or early 90s.
Someone in Sacramento tried to steal a chopper from the Sac Executive Airport, it didn't go well for them. I'll try and find a link.
An interesting view of controlled burn fires in the Southeast. I view it with some envy...
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151124/thriving-with-fires
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151124/thriving-with-fires
Apparently The Usual Idiots are causing problems right on time in the valley. They are unable to read or listen to weather forecasts. Today we had very gusty winds, which were predicted to be that way, and idiots went ahead with burning, and the wildfire season has started. It's usually the folks burning orchard pruning debris that cause the problems this time of year.
Prescribed burns (mostly) in Western Australia:
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151251/smoky-skies-in-western-australia
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151251/smoky-skies-in-western-australia
Getting that way around here with people loosing their burn piles, most of the time it's easily avoidable if people would cut their weeds or if they actually had pressurized water on hand.
Fire season returns...
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151313/fires-scorch-western-canada
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151313/fires-scorch-western-canada
"Raging fires filled the skies of southern Canada and the northern United States with smoke in mid-May 2023. The fires had scorched 478,000 hectares (1,800 square miles) in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, as of May 16, which is 10-times the average area burned for this time of year."
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151346/smoke-fills-north-american-skies
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151346/smoke-fills-north-american-skies
Only tangentially a fire post, but I couldn't resist. As we approach the 43d anniversary of the Mt. St. Helens eruption, this article is interesting. If you view the time lapse pictures, keep an eye on Spirit Lake. The moving gray area is a raft of dead logs. If you look at Spirit Lake in Google Maps, you can see the individual logs.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/StHelens
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/StHelens
I remember the eruption well. It was on my brother's 17th birthday. Yes, he turns 60 tomorrow!
Fires in Quebec, not something I expect to see in May.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151430/fires-burn-across-quebec
Nova Scotia as well.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151407/raging-fires-in-nova-scotia
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151430/fires-burn-across-quebec
Nova Scotia as well.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151407/raging-fires-in-nova-scotia
