Post-Wildfire Recovery from CAL FIRE

The work is not done when a wildfire is contained and under control. Indeed for many wildfires, the all important post-fire recovery phase may have already begun before the wildfire is declared contained. Elsewhere I have written about post-fire recovery and will continue to do so as I can. See for example these posts on the 2015 Soda Fire Post-Fire Recovery and these posts on the Rim Fire (the later post focus on post-fire recovery). I am in the process of doing some background work in anticipation of resuming posting on the 2015 Soda Fire Post-Fire Recovery efforts soon. I have a little more work to do on the Rim Fire Post-Fire Recovery, so those posts will take a little longer to appear.

In the meantime, thanks to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page (videos change weekly), I found a nice video on CAL FIRE's post-wildfire recovery.


Direct link to video from CAL FIRE

NASA -- Day of Remembrance

Today, January 28th 2016 is the 30th anniversary of the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger. On this Day of Remembrance NASA commemorates the loss of the crews of Apollo 1 (1967), Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003). I know you are flying in favorable tail winds.


Direct link to video

NASA's remembrances

Blizzard of January 2016 - coastal flooding and beach erosion

No, I am not here to write about snow from the Blizzard of January 2016 that impacted much of the Mid-Atlantic in the USA. The Blizzard, which hit during a full moon, brought very high tides during three tide cycles. This resulted in coastal flooding and beach erosion.

Please take the time to read the article from the Washington Post (with photos and videos) of January 24th (from the Capital Weather Gang) which provides a nice overview of what went on in the Mid-Atlantic in addition to the Washington D.C. area.

Photo Galleries of January 23-22, 2016 Blizzard:

• From NJ.com focusing on beach erosion in Monmouth and Ocean Counties NJ
• Coastal flooding in the Wildwoods (Cape May County, NJ) from The Press of Atlantic City
• Flooding along the Bayshores in Cumberland County NJ from The Daily Journal

California wildfires - 2009

Like many others in the east coast USA, I got almost 2 feet of Snow Friday night January 22nd into Saturday January 23rd. My snowfall was 23 inches. Other areas saw from 24 inches to 30+ inches of snow. Thanks to some great help, I am dug out. But I did my share of shoveling before turning it over to a friend who offered to help. So, I think that you can understand that I was a little tired yesterday with the requisite sore muscles. So, I did not get online to post.

Like many, the blizzard put me behind schedule, I expect to resume work on a one project today.

I was looking around for an interesting video to share with you this morning and came across a nice video from Alan Simmons, a 9 minutes of highlights from his 2009 California Firestorm Video. Enjoy. Stay safe.


Direct link to video

Weather Balloons

I am sure that many of you in the United States know that the much of the east coast is experiencing a snow storm. If you are interested in knowing what is going on in a particular area of the east coast, just go to the National Weather Service.

I woke up this morning to no heat, fortunately the technician came almost first thing in the morning and it was up and running by 11:30 AM. Wish us luck. I am not quite sure what this storm will bring us. I am about 60 miles inland. Nonetheless, we are under a blizzard warning until early Sunday morning. I am hoping to set a couple of blog entries to post automatically into next week, just in case. Murphy's law and all that. [Comment added on December 14, 2016: for those who might be arriving at this post in late 2016 or after, I measured 23 inches of snow during the January 22-23rd snow storm. A lot of snow and we had good help with snow removal. We remained powered during and after the storm.]

Anyway, I got the idea for today's post (January 22, 2016) because a nearby National Weather Service Office (NWS), New York, NY launched extra weather balloons last night and today because of the upcoming storm. Let me backtrack a bit. Several National Weather Service offices around the country launch weather balloons twice a day with a radiosonde. The radiosonde measures and transmits air pressure, temperature, relative humidity, wind direction and wind speed. The NWS New York, NY is one of the NWS offices that launches balloons. Not every NWS office launches a balloon, mine in Mt. Holly does not. But Mt. Holly will get the balloon data from NWS offices that launch balloons. Among other things, the data from the balloons are used in the weather prediction models used by the NWS. For more information on weather balloons go to this NWS page. 

You may read about the extra balloon launches by the NWS New York, NY here and here.

Here are a couple of videos from the NWS New York, NY on their balloon launches.

Direct link to video

Direct link to video

I could be wrong, but I believe that the National Hurricane Center's Hurricane Hunter Aircraft may have flown into the low pressure system that is now bringing snow to the eastern seaboard. 

Ag Plane working a cotton field

I have a couple of irons in the fire, including reading up on post-fire recovery for the 2013 Rim Fire (California) and the 2015 Soda Fire (Idaho/Oregon). In addition, I had some house chores to do in anticipation of a snow storm this coming weekend, including buying groceries. Yes, I really was out of food and wanted to beat the milk-bread rush. Actually, I only bought one loaf of bread.

So I leave you with a nice 9 minute video of an ag planing working a cotton field. You will see the pilot doing some nifty flying to avoid some utility lines. Power lines are among the obstacles that pose hazards to ag pilots.


Direct link to video

Remembering Winter Floods of January 1996 (Pennsylvania)

Some of you know that I have gotten interested in weather because of my interest in aviation and wildland firefighting. While this is not a weather blog, I do like to post articles from time to time on weather events. I don’t believe that I have posted an article on an historical weather event, but I feel compelled to do so today. Before I get to the point of this article, I will briefly set the stage by offering some memories of some snow and rain storms in January 1996. 

Being that I have been living in New Jersey for quite awhile, there are certain weather events that stand out to me. One of those was a Blizzard on January 6-7, 1996. I was not in New Jersey at the time, rather I was driving to northern New England that day to visit some relatives, literally playing tag with the northern edge of the Blizzard until I got north of Springfield, MA. I spent about 4 days in northern New England where this snow storm dumped only a couple of inches. However, like many, I followed the Blizzard on TV. I knew that the Blizzard dumped 2 feet plus of snow in the greater New York City metro area, shutting almost everything done for two to four days depending on your location. When I got back to New Jersey sometime the following the weekend (on or about January 13th), there was still a significant amount of snow left along with some very impressive snow drifts. I had no driveway so usually parked on the street in front of my apartment. But no street parking was to be had. Fortunately, a nearby neighbor had room in their driveway and let me park there. 

A few days later, probably on January 18-19, 2016, it warmed up and the snow melted, and it rained. If memory serves, the town and the residents were pretty good at removing the snow from the storm drains so the snow melt had a place to go. At least the water had a place to go where the storm drains were uncovered. I recall being inconvenienced by the urban street flooding. But it was not a big deal.

Not so in other areas in the Mid-Atlantic. I do recall hearing about major flooding in Pennsylvania and upstate New York, among other places in the Mid-Atlantic. I remember thinking that I was pretty darn lucky. Those floods are now known as the Winter Floods of January 1996. The NWS Mid-Atlantic River Forecast Center (NWSMARFC) provides river and hydrologic forecasts many of the areas flooded that January. See the map on the NWSMARFC home page for a map. 

In remembrance of the 20th anniversary of the Winter Floods of January 1996, the NWSMARFC and the NWS State College, Pennsylvania has put together a nice webpage about the Winter Floods of January 1996, you may want to check out their additional links for more information. I am focusing here on Pennsylvania. New York, Virginia and to a lesser extent New Jersey were among the areas affected by these floods. The stage for these floods was set by some 30 to 40 inches of snow in areas of Pennsylvania during the Blizzard of January 6th and 7th. On January 19th temperatures warmed up to the low 60s and it rained, a lot of rain with winds gusting up to 38 mph. The snowpack was already melting because of the high temperatures and when you add 3+ inches of rain to that, problems ensued. The Rivers rose to and beyond flood levels. Add to that ice jams on the Rivers and the stage was set. Twenty lives were lost in Pennsylvania and damage from these floods was in the a billion dollars in Pennsylvania alone. Many bridges were damaged. (For more information see a USGS report on the January 1996 floods in Pennsylvania and this report from the Susquehanna River Commission).

I know a little about different types of ice jams on rivers from being an ice observer for my local NWS office, see for example this webpage on different types of ice jams from the NWS office in Great Falls Montana. Ice jams can be very dangerous and can cause damage to bridges and other infrastructure in or adjoining a river. I know enough to stay off a frozen river, including a river with ice jams. 

When I saw a video of the partial collapse of the historical Walnut Street Bridge over the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg during the Winter Floods of January 1996, I knew that I had to write this article and share this video with you (embedded at the end of this article). I am not a hydrologist nor am I expert in ice jams, and I am not an engineer. However in watching the video it seems to me that the ice jam on the Susquehanna probably lead to a partial collapse of the bridge that was already weakened by Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972. If you want to read more learn the Walnut Street Bridge go here (Bridgehunter.com) to see a nice photo gallery of the Bridge before and after the 1996 floods, some history of the Bridge, and an embedded google map. You might also want to check out this blog article on the Bridge written by a blogger who visited Harrisburg and took some photos of the Bridge in January 2015.

To the best of my knowledge, the damaged sections of the Walnut Street Bridge have not been repaired to date. 

Please stay safe this winter, stay off of ice-covered rivers and stay well away from a river with an ice jam. 

Direct link to video

Canadair's CL-415 in action

Here are three videos of Canadair's CL-415's. Most of the tankers that you will see are scooping. I don't know about you, but I find watching videos such as these very soothing. Perhaps one day, I'll get to see one in person, close-up.


Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link to video

Long way to go before drought over in California

With the rain and snow fall that occurred in California last week (January 4 - 8, 2016), I was wondering how these events impacted California's water supply.

I did not have to long to wait for an answer. Among the National Weather Service websites that I monitor is the California-Nevada River Forecast Center (NWSCNRFC). The NWSCNRFC has a facebook and a twitter page.  I was away from my computer for about 24 hours. Just last night I saw that the NWSCNRFC had posted a two-part video reporting on the impact of the recent rain and snow on California's water supply. I will share these videos at the end of this article (uploaded on January 10, 2015).

Before you watch the videos, I want to point out to you that these video reports from the NWSCNRFC are only good for the period from January 10 - 15, 2016. Specifically, you will see at the beginning of each video that the NWSCNRFC says that the videos should not be used after January 15, 2016.

I share these videos with you because of what I learned from these videos. That is, I expect that many of you, especially those of you who are living in the United States, are aware of the prolonged drought that has affected California and environs. While inconveniencing many, I am sure that many Californians welcomed last weeks rain and snowfall. As welcome as these precipitation events may have been, even if the whole State sees above normal rainfall this year, California has a long way to go before the drought can be declared over.

As you will see when you watch the videos (they are short), you will hear Alan Haynes of the NWSCNRFC say that northern California needs two years of above average precipitation and souther California needs three years of above average precipitation before the drought could be declared over.


Direct link to video from NWSCNRFC (part 1)


Direct link to video from NWSCNRFC (part 2)

An intro to El Nino

Some of you may recall that I wrote about snow in California on January 6th where I referenced El Nino. It was not until after I made that January 6th post that I found a very nice video updaing El Niño for the winter 2016 (December 18, 2015) from the NWS San Diego who has a nice Youtube Channel. If things had been different, I would have shared that video on El Niño before I wrote about the snowfalls in California on January 6th.

I like this video because Alex Tardy of the NWS NWS San Diego does a very nice job explaining what El Niño in simple language and good graphics. Of course, being from San Diego, he is focusing on El Niño's effects on the San Diego area. However, he does discuss what El Niño might mean for other areas in the U.S.

I understand that the forecasts mentioned in this video are still current for the week of January 11th. If you are arriving here later then the forecast portion of the video will likely be different but the science of El Niño should still be timely.

If you are interested in how El Niño might be affecting your region in the United States, go to the U.S. National Weather Service and look for your local forecast office.


Direct link to video

Geronimo Hotshots (2015)

I hope you enjoy this crew motivation video from the Geronimo Hotshots (2015). Thank-you Geronimo Hotshots. I enjoyed hearing from you as you shared about why you wanted to be a wildland firefighter. Thank-you for all you do for us to keep us safe.



Direct link to video

snow in California (January 6th)

I have been interested in the ongoing drought in California and elsewhere out west in part because of the impacts on wildland fires. However, I am interested in weather and I have good friends and family in California.

I expect that most i not all of you reading this blog have heard or read stories on the current El Ninõ event and the potential for a wet winter in California. A day or so ago, I saw that California was going to a see two or three precipitation events this week. I know that California depends on a good snow pack in the mountains for their water needs. I was wondering what today's snowfall forecast (January 6th) is. I decided to focus on the San Joaquin Valley/Hanford California region because I believe that is where Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park are located (see my posts on the Rim Fire). I went to the website of the US National Weather Service San Joaquin/Hanford California, and seeing that they have a twitter site that is easy to work with and link to, I found the following snowfall forecast dated January 6, 2015 at 5:32 AM:

obtained on January 6, 2016 from 

https://twitter.com/NWSHanford/status/684760610383380480

So it seems that the mountains are forecast to get a good dose of snowfall today. Ok, I was wondering what the current snow depth is in San Joaquin mountains. I went to the US National Weather Service California Nevada River Forecast Center, where you will see a nice interactive mapping package on their home page. I am interested in the current snow depth and took a couple of screen shots of the snow depth in the San Joaquin Mountains and surrounding areas. The data is known as point data (depth in inches) and may be a little hard to read. But you will get an idea of the current snow depth (as of January 6, 2016 at 7:45 AM PST). The mapping layers available to you are updated frequently so what you will see will be different from what I am sharing below. I was happy to see some very decent snow depth totals (as of January 6, 2016, 7:45 AM PST). For the second image, I zoomed in to focus on Stanistlaus and Yosemite.

Snow Depth on January 6, 2016, 7:45 AM PST
obtained on January 6, 2016 from http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/

Snow Depth on January 6, 2016, 7:45 AM PST
obtained on January 6, 2016 from http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/

Finally, I wondered how the current snow depth data in the California mountains compares with a year ago, and for that I again used the mapping package from the US National Weather Service California Nevada River Forecast Center, this time looking at National Gridded Data, NOHRSC Snow Depth. I downloaded the snow depth for January 6, 2016 and for January 6, 2015. The colors are similar and you must note the scale on the side of each map. The scale for January 6, 2015 runs up to 79 inches, and it doesn't look like any of the mapped data reaches 79 inches. Moving on to the second map for January 6, 2016 note the scale runs up to 787 inches. Quite a difference, don't you agree? I am glad to see that the California mountains have seen a significant increase in the depth of the snowpack so far this winter. Let's pray this continues.

Snow Depth from NOHRSC on January 6, 2015
obtained on January 6, 2016 from http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/

Snow Depth from NOHRSC on January 6, 2016
obtained on January 6, 2016 from http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/

Now the maps are nice. I wanted a little more information to share, perhaps something quantitative. And I was not disappointed as I found this December 25th tweet from the NWS CNRFC where they say that the Sierra snowpack on December 25, 2015 was 110 percent of average while one year prior (December 25, 2014), the Sierra snowpack was 55 percent of average.

Difference in #Sierra snowpack now (~110% avg) vs 1 yr ago (55% avg)! Thanks cold Dec storms. #drought #cawx #nvwx pic.twitter.com/trHgWWqwxg

— NWS CNRFC (@NWSCNRFC) December 25, 2015

I certainly hope that the prospects for a snowy and rainy California winter from the El Ninõ  continue as forecast. However, I also understand that California will need more than one wet winter to come out of the drought. 

Stay safe. Heed advisories from your National Weather Service office. Turn around, don't drown.

Reflections for the start of another new year

As we begin a new year, I find myself reflecting on the up coming seventh anniversary of devoting this blog to aerial wildland firefighting and related issues. In late 2004, I made a decision to devote my full-time efforts to writing. I spent the next four years engaging in what I now call a period of exploring my writing interests. I started this blog in mid-2006 as one means of exploration. Starting in late 2006, I spent much of the next 15 months writing about a trip to Malawi, Africa. When that writing project ended in early 2008, I was not quite sure what to do next. That summer I got interested in wildland firefighting and starting using the blog to write about what I was learning. Someone who is now a good friend was instrumental in encouraging me to start writing about aerial wildland firefighting. He helped me learn the ropes, so to speak, over the next year. He was involved in the business of aerial wildland firefighting and I later met others who were or are involved in the business who have helped me at various times as I continue to write this blog. Without their support and encouragement this blog would not be possible. You know who you are, thank-you.

Eleven years ago I never would have imagined that I would be doing what I am doing now, writing about and continuing to learn about aerial wildland firefighting. This has become a part of my life, a part of who I am. 

As regular readers know, I am not a wildland firefighter. I do have a passion for aviation, and have come to terms with not being able to be a licensed pilot. I do believe that aviation is in my blood, so to speak, and am thankful for some pilot friends who take me on scenic flights from time to time. My passion for aviation is one of the things that fuels my writing.

Every so often I delve into issues relating to wildland firefighting, aviation, and sometimes weather. But it is my love for aerial wildland firefighting that drives me. I strive to honor those of you who are or have fought wildland fires from the air or on the ground. 

I am not going anywhere, and I will continue writing about aerial wildland firefighting and related concerns. 

Who knows what the 2016 U.S. wildfire season will bring. And in parts of the United States, e.g. California, is wildfire season ever really over? And it is summer in the southern hemisphere where Australia and Southern Africa among other countries are well into their summer wildfire season.

Stay safe everyone!

Belated Happy New Year

As some of you may have figured out I took a couple of days off for the New Years Holiday. I normally set something up ahead of time to post automatically. Various things got in the way and I did not do that this time. But I do want to wish all a belated and safe Happy New Year. I plan to be back later today with my regular Monday post.