Revisiting why I am writing about wildfires

I have been thinking about why I have been posting about wildfires on this blog as I continue to read books about wildland fires, read incident reports of certain wildfires (e.g. certain fires that had tragic outcomes), look at web pages from various federal and state forest fire agencies, and other prowl the internet researching wildfires and the people who fight wildfires.

The answer that I came up is, at least for now, that I am using this blog to write about some of what I have been learning about wildfires and the people who fight wildfires. In a way, I am taking you along on my journey into the world of learning about wildfires and the people who fight wildfires.

Sometimes I do no more than post links with some added sentences to make the post coherent. Other times, I have posted links where others have been writing about current wildfires such as the recent Santa-Ana wind driven wildfires in southern California. Or I have posted what I hope are accurate references to sites explaining terminology used by wildfire fighters and the agencies that employ them. I hope that I am getting "it" right. I may not be. And when I later recognize that I may have gotten something wrong, then I might edit the post in question and/or write a follow-up post.

There is much that I still have to learn, and where I am uncertain about my facts or if I recognize that I still have more to learn before I can write about a particular aspect of the world of wildfires, I do not post. There has been one occasion, as happened earlier today where I posted a reference only to delete the post later when I realized that I still had more to learn about issues that I was attempting to raise. So, I decided that the simplest thing was to delete the post.

When I first started writing about the Basin Complex Fire in CA in early July, I knew very little about wildfires. I have learned a great deal since that time, and have recently become aware that I have only scratched the surface of what there is to know.

What does containing a fire mean?

The LA Fire Department's news and information blog has a link to a good, short article about what it means when it is reported that a fire is 50% contained.

photos from So CA fires

Check out these photos from photographers at boston.com. I found the link to these photos from this thread at wildland fire.

In Memoriam: El Cariso Hotshots

I saw a reference to this post on the LA fire department news and information blog. This post tells a story behind the Sayre Fire story. That the command post for the command post is in El Cariso Park. El Cariso Park memorializes 12 members of the El Cariso Hotshots (wildfire fighters) who died in the 1996 Loop fire in LA.

Three So CA wildfires contained but . . .

Just checked the CAL Fire webpage. All three fires -- Tea Fire, Freeway Complex, and the Sayre Fire are contained. A total of 52,829 acres burned.

But the danger may not be over yet . . .

More red flag warnings for Southern California. At least through late Friday night. Found these warnings on the NOAA website for the Los Angeles, CA area:

RED FLAG WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA
240 PM PST THU NOV 20 2008

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST FRIDAY FOR THE SANTA
YNEZ RANGE AND SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SOUTH COAST DUE TO GUSTY NORTH
TO NORTHEAST WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES...

.HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN TO BUILD INTO NORTHERN AND CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA TONIGHT IN THE WAKE OF A WEAK WEATHER SYSTEM PASSING
THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THIS WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF
GUSTY NORTHERLY SUNDOWNER WINDS TO THE SANTA YNEZ RANGE AND
COASTAL AREAS OF SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING.
MEANWHILE...HUMIDITY VALUES ARE EXPECTED TO LOWER INTO THE TEENS
ACROSS WIND FAVORED LOCATIONS. THE COMBINATION OF GUSTY WINDS...LOWERING
HUMIDITIES...AND CRITICALLY DRY FUELS HAS PROMPTED THIS RED FLAG WARNING.

CAZ239-211800-
/O.UPG.KLOX.FW.A.0008.081121T0200Z-081121T1800Z/
/O.EXB.KLOX.FW.W.0033.081121T0000Z-081121T1800Z/
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SOUTH COAST-
240 PM PST THU NOV 20 2008

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST FRIDAY DUE TO GUSTY
NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOS ANGELES/OXNARD HAS ISSUED A RED
FLAG WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST FRIDAY. THE FIRE
WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

AREAS OF NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WITH LOCAL GUSTS
TO 40 MPH WILL DEVELOP BELOW PASSES AND CANYONS. THE GUSTY WINDS
ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT AREAS AROUND THE TEA FIRE IN MONTECITO.
AT THE SAME TIME... RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL BE NEAR OR FALL
TO CRITICAL LEVELS WITH MINIMUM VALUES IN THE TEENS.

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL
CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL. PLEASE ADVISE THE
APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS OR FIRE CREWS IN THE FIELD OF THIS RED FLAG
WARNING.

$$

RED FLAG WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA
240 PM PST THU NOV 20 2008

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST FRIDAY FOR THE SANTA
YNEZ RANGE AND SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SOUTH COAST DUE TO GUSTY NORTH
TO NORTHEAST WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES...

.HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN TO BUILD INTO NORTHERN AND CENTRAL
CALIFORNIA TONIGHT IN THE WAKE OF A WEAK WEATHER SYSTEM PASSING
THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THIS WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF
GUSTY NORTHERLY SUNDOWNER WINDS TO THE SANTA YNEZ RANGE AND
COASTAL AREAS OF SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING.
MEANWHILE...HUMIDITY VALUES ARE EXPECTED TO LOWER INTO THE TEENS
ACROSS WIND FAVORED LOCATIONS. THE COMBINATION OF GUSTY WINDS...LOWERING
HUMIDITIES...AND CRITICALLY DRY FUELS HAS PROMPTED THIS RED FLAG WARNING.

CAZ252-211800-
/O.EXT.KLOX.FW.W.0033.081121T0000Z-081121T1800Z/
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY MOUNTAINS / LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST-
240 PM PST THU NOV 20 2008

...RED FLAG WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST FRIDAY DUE TO GUSTY
NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES...

THE RED FLAG WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST FRIDAY.

AREAS OF NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WITH LOCAL GUSTS TO
45 MPH WILL DEVELOP THROUGH PASSES AND CANYONS IN THE SANTA YNEZ
RANGE. THIS INCLUDES THE FOOTHILLS AREAS ABOVE MONTECITO. AT THE
SAME TIME... RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL BE NEAR OR FALL TO
CRITICAL LEVELS WITH MINIMUM VALUES IN THE TEENS.

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG
WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE
EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL. PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE
OFFICIALS OR FIRE CREWS IN THE FIELD OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING.

$$

GOMBERG

Tallies of So Cal fires as of Nov. 18

Cap't Mike of Firefighter blog posted these tallies today. Some of these figures are updates from the figures I found yesterday on Cal Fire, but he also included totals to day as well as some figures I did not have such as the numbers of fire fighters injured in each fire.

photos of So CA wildfires

The CBS affiliate in Los Angeles has a webpage where you can view slide shows of the fires.

images of So CA fires from space

This is a photo of the So CA fires taken from space courtesy of NASA. Check the link out for a close up with labels showing the three fires.

Southern CA wildfires, Nov. 17

Cal Fire is reporting the following (I checked these sites at 10:20 PM EST):

1. Tea / Montecito Fire is 100% contained, 1,940 acres burned, 210 residences destroyed and 9 residences damaged.

2. Sayre Fire is 64% contained, 11,207 acres burned, approximately 615 residences damaged or destroyed, civilian injuries reported

3. Freeway complex Fire is 60% contained, 28,889 acres burned, 155 residences destroyed, 104 residences damaged, and 1,000 residences still threatened.

Wildlandfire cites a report that four firefighters had minor injuries fighting the freeway fires.

CA wildfires redux

There is nothing that I can say about the current fire emergency in Southern California. Prayers for those affected by the fires and the firefighters.

For those who are interested, here are some places that you can go to read more:

1. CBS TV in Southern California has some good maps from google earth along with other news items about the fires.

2. California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection has an incident page with basic statistics about the fires.

3. Capt. Mike of the Firefighter Blog is blogging about the fires with some interesting accounts, and maps.

4. The wildlandfire website has some interesting threads on the fires including links to maps and, individual forum threads about the Tea / Montecito fires, Sayre fires, Freeway Complex fires. All of these threads are in their major incidents thread in their hotlist forums. As I may have mentioned in earlier posts, there are many wildland firefighters, their friends and families who use this site, forming a sort of community of wildland firefighters. I go and mostly lurk, learn, and say prayers.

Montecito CA wildfire

I was reading about the Santa Ana winds and a red flag warning on wildland fire forums the other day. So, I figured that sooner or later there would be something on the national news about wildfires in CA. As some of you may have guessed, I have been involved with other things the last couple of days so have not been following wildfires in CA as closely as I might.

At least 100 homes have been burned in these fires near Santa Barbara and the Governor has declared a State of Emergency.

Here are some places you can go to read about these fires:

1. LA Times

2. Firefighter blog

3. Wildland Fire website

Fire Safety Plan adopted in two communities in NJ Pine Barrens

In my wonderings recently on the NJ Pinelands Commission website, I found this draft version, Fire Safety Initiative: Stafford and Barnagat Townships (NJ). I skimmed it several days and was especially interested in plans to build fire breaks along residential areas in the two townships that are especially vulnerable to wildfires. I made a mental note to add spending some quality time with this plan to read up on what they are planning to do.

Just this morning, I was reading the posts in the general discussion forum on wildland fire when I came across a post in a thread on news from the NJ forest fire service community with a link to this Nov. 8th article from the Asbury Park Press reporting that Stafford and Barnagat Townships have officially adopted this plan.

One of the policy issues relating to wildfires that I am interested in relate to issues facing communities such as Stafford and Barnagat Townships in NJ who are on the wildland/urban interface. These two communities are in the NJ Pine Barrens near the Warren Grove military base. In May 2007, a fire, known as the Warren Grove fire, burned 10,000+ acres including portions of both townships. If I am not mistaken, the Warren Grove fire was started by a flare dropped from a military plan from Warren Grove on a training run. I believe that this fire safety plan was adopted, in part, in response to this fire.

Sunrise Wildfires (1995) Long Island Pine Barrens

Some of you, especially those of you in the NY and NJ areas, may recall that 1995 was especially dry, creating prime conditions for wildfires in this region. I have been reading about the wildfires that burned the Long Island Central Pine Barrens for 13 days in late August and early September of that year. Approximately 6,800 acres were burned.

The Westhampton Volunteer Fire Department has a webpage on this fire with a couple of photos. Some picture of the fire, from the Riverhead Fire Department may be found here.

For those of you who are interested in such things, a copy of the (Long Island) Central Pine Barrens Fire Management Plan, dated August 1999 may be found here.

Wildland fire fighting safety: LCES

Before leaving the subject of fire fighting safety, I would be remiss to not mention the acronym LCES that every wildland firefighter is familiar with:

lookouts
communications
escape routes
safety zones

More information on LCES may be found here.

________________________________

Note: on October 14, 2014 I checked the link above and it worked.

Wildland fire fighting safety: 10 orders and 18 watchout situations

One of the things that has jumped out at me in the reading that I have done to date on wildland fires is the emphasis on wildland firefighter safety. The safety of the wildland fire fighter is paramount. I quickly learned that there are guidelines in place to protect the safety of wildland firefighters.

The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) is an operational group designed to coordinate programs of the participating wildfire management agencies publishes a document. They also publish a document, The Fireline Handbook, that I consider a manual of wildland firefighting. This handbook is but one of a long list of publications that one may download from the NWCG website. I downloaded a copy and do refer to it from time to time.

When I skimmed the Fireline Handbook (437 pages!), I quickly noticed the emphasis on firefighter safety. John Maclean talks about the evolution of the 10 standard fire orders in Fire and Ashes in referencing the task force referred to below. I suspect that it is no accident that the 10 orders were put in place after investigations into both the 1949 Mann Gulch and the 1953 Rattlesnake Fires. I am not sure whether the 18 watchout situations came to be as a result of the 1957 task force or if they came about at a later time. I include them here. (Revised on October 14, 2014 from http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/safety/10_18/10_18.html)

The original ten Standard Firefighting Orders were developed in 1957 by a task force commissioned by the USDA-Forest Service Chief Richard E. McArdle. The task force reviewed the records of 16 tragedy fires that occurred from 1937 to 1956. The Standard Firefighting Orders were based in part on the successful "General Orders" used by the United States Armed Forces. The Standard Firefighting Orders are organized in a deliberate and sequential way to be implemented systematically and applied to all fire situations.

Shortly after the Standard Firefighting Orders were incorporated into firefighter training, the 18 Situations That Shout Watch Out were developed. These 18 situations are more specific and cautionary than the Standard Fire Orders and described situations that expand the 10 points of the Fire Orders. If firefighters follow the Standard Firefighting Orders and are alerted to the 18 Watch Out Situations, much of the risk of firefighting can be reduced.

The 10 Standard Fire Orders
1. Keep informed on fire weather conditions and forecasts.
2. Know what your fire is doing at all times.
3. Base all actions on current and expected behavior of the fire.
4. Identify escape routes and safety zones and make them known.
5. Post lookouts when there is possible danger.
6. Be alert. Keep calm. Think clearly. Act decisively.
7. Maintain prompt communications with your forces, your supervisor, and adjoining forces.
8. Give clear instructions and insure they are understood.
9. Maintain control of your forces at all times.
10. Fight fire aggressively, having provided for safety first.


The 18 Watch Out Situations
1. Fire not scouted and sized up.
2. In country not seen in daylight.
3. Safety zones and escape routes not identified.
4. Unfamiliar with weather and local factors influencing fire behavior.
5. Uninformed on strategy, tactics, and hazards.
6. Instructions and assignments not clear.
7. No communication link with crewmembers/supervisors.
8. Constructing line without safe anchor point.
9. Building fireline downhill with fire below.
10. Attempting frontal assault on fire.
11. Unburned fuel between you and the fire.
12. Cannot see main fire, not in contact with anyone who can.
13. On a hillside where rolling material can ignite fuel below.
14. Weather is getting hotter and drier.
15. Wind increases and/or changes direction.
16. Getting frequent spot fires across line.
17. Terrain and fuels make escape to safety zones difficult.
18. Taking a nap near the fire line.

source: http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/safety/10_18/10_18.html, accessed on October 14, 2014. Updated 10 and 18 above to reflect minor changes in wording made since November 2008.