Friday, June 17, 2016

Wildfires in AZ & NM and where to go for wildfire information


Among the wildfires that are currently burning in the U.S. are these two wildfires: The Cedar Fire in Arizona and the Dog Head Fire in New Mexico.

As I write this, the Dog Head Fire started on June 14th has burned about 16,000 acres with evacuations are in place. Twenty-four residences and 21 minor structures have been destroyed.  Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has been doing his usual great job covering this fire, his post (with updates) may be found here.

The Cedar Fire started late at night on June 15th. I believe that this fire has burned about 9,652 acres. Bill Gabbert has been covering this fire in this article (with updates).

Finally, Bill Gabbert wrote a nice summary of wildfires in Arizona and New Mexico on June 15th and he shared a satellite photo of smoke from three wildfires in Arizona and New Mexico in another June 15th post.

If I hear about a wildfire from conventional media or perhaps elsewhere on the internet, one of the first first places I go to is  Bill Gabbert’s Wildfire Today. I also check out inciweb which lists most wildfires involving federal lands. The National Weather Service’s Fire Weather page has a mapping interface with a layer for large fires. Alternatively, you can go to USFS Active Fire Mapping Program whose large fire map is updated on Fridays or as conditions warrant; they have links to other mapping information.. For more localized information you can go to the Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACC) and find the region of the US that you are interested in. The GACC has links to a variety of other useful information.

Finally, if you want news articles on wildfire concerns, Mike Archer’s Wildfire News of the Day is worth subscribing to. Mike sends out an e-mail five days a week. Subscription information may be find here. There are other places that you can go for wildfire information, these places are the ones that I use most often and will get you started.

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