2019 wildfire season: extreme fire danger in southern California (October 30th)

Yesterday I wrote about the dangerous fire weather that will occur in portions of California through tonight (Wednesday, October 30th or tomorrow (Thursday, October 31st). The timing on the end of the dangerous fire weather (Red Flag and High Wind Warnings) varies by Weather Forecast Office.

I am holding all in southern California who are currently experiencing these dangerous fire weather conditions in my meditations: firefighters on the ground and in the air battling these blazes, other first responders and emergency relief workers, all who have lost their homes or businesses, those who are evacuated, livestock and other animals, meteorologists in NWS Weather Forecast Offices, and anyone else that I am not naming here.

I feel wholly inadequate in writing this blog article today. I opted not to try to write about the wildfires that are cropping up in California today, nor am I going to report on wildfires that I have written about the last couple of days.

I was not quite sure what to write about today. I decided to focus on the current weather in southern California that are contributing to the high fire danger, winds and humidity. At the very least, I want to offer this post so that all affected who might read this at some point know that I was paying attention. I knew about the National Weather Service Weather & Hazards Data Viewer (takes you to viewer for the Los Angeles California area) from my wonderings on various National Weather Service (NWS) websites. I went to the viewer and loadedL Red Flag Warnings, wind speed and direction. wind gusts, and humidity. I copied a screen image for you at about 3:25 PM EDT this afternoon. You will see a graphical notation for wind speed and direction that may be referred to as a wind barb, some of you will be familiar with wind barbs but if you want a refresher (I did), a friend from the NWS Mt. Holly Weather Forecast Office sent me some good information about wind barbs including a nice graphic and a definition that may be helpful, it may be found here.

The screen image is below.  The numbers in green are the humidity, note how low they are with little water vapor in the air in some places. The numbers in red are wind gusts, with the wind barbs indicating wind speed and direction. Humidity readings are represented by the green numbers, note how low (little water vapor in the air) many of the readings are. The areas colored in red are Red Flag Warnings, go here for more information on Red Flag Warnings. Red Flag Warnings indicate low humidity, high winds and dry fuels with exact criteria varying by Weather Forecast Office. You should be able to click on the image to get a bigger picture. I bookmarked the link I used to get the map for you. Caution is advised in looking at the link because I believe that what you see at this link will change over time, so what you see may be different.

Screen Shot taken at 3:25 PM EDT on October 30, 2019

You may want to see some wind speed information in tabular format, thanks to the folk at the Iowa State University Iowa Environmental Mesonet for their great archives of current and past text products from NWS Weather Forecast Office, I can give you good permanent links to the latest high wind speed data from NWS Los Angeles and NWS San Diego. Note that there are several observations from both Weather Forecast Offices of 55 mph and above. These data may be preliminary.

Extreme Fire Danger Continues in California

I have been writing about the extreme and dangerous fire weather in California on October 25th  and October 28th. Extreme fire dangers continues in portions of California today. Before I get to that, according to the latest update, the Kincaid Fire has burned 75,415 acres with 15 percent containment. One hundred twenty-four structures have been destroyed, 23 structures have been damaged and there are two injuries. At the time I am writing this,  the Getty Fire has burned 656 acres with 5 percent containment. Thousands of people remain under mandatory evacuation orders for both fires. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has been doing a great job covering these fires, including the Kinkaid, Getty, and the Glen Cove and other fires in northern California. Bill has also written about the dangerous fire weather in California here and here.

As you can see from the map below, Red Flag Warnings are in place over portions of California and portions of Arizona. I believe that the Red Flag Warnings in northeastern Arizona are in place from 12 noon through 6PM MDT today. Red Flag Warnings with extreme fire danger conditions including high winds (offshore) are in place in California from today (October 29th)  through Thursday (October 31st), the exact timing varies by National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office.

Obtained on October 29, 2019 from https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/fire2/?wfo=mfr

Graphics illustrating the extreme fire danger (aka Weather Story), where available, from individual NWS Weather Forecast Offices are shared below. Not included below is that the NWS Medford OR Weather Forecast Office has Red Flag Warnings for their forecast area (northern California) through Wednesday, October 30th.

Obtained on October 29, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/sto/

Obtained on October 29, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/mtr/

Obtained on October 29, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/hnx/

Obtained on October 29, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/lox/

Obtained on October 29, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/sgx/

Obtained on October 29, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/psr/ (includes SE CA)

2019 wildfire season: California Wildfires Oct 28th update

Last Friday, October 25th, I wrote about the Red Flag Warnings and High Wind Warnings that many areas in California were experiencing that day and continued into this morning in northern California.

For all wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air, I thank-you and I am thinking of you, stay safe. For all the meteorologists in National Weather Service Weather Forecasts Offices that saw Red Flag and High Wind Warnings this weekend and will see these dangerous fire weather conditions later this week, I know that you have been working hard to provide those in your forecast area the best possible forecasts because you want them to be as safe as possible.

Northern California will see a short reprieve from offshore high winds today into tomorrow before high winds and red flag conditions return tomorrow. I'll got to those warnings in a minute.

But first, I want to follow-up on two wildfires I wrote about on October 25th as well as two  new fires in California. The Tick Fire has burned 4,615 acres in Los Angeles County and is currently at 70 percent containment, 22 structures were destroyed and another 27 were damaged.

The Kincaid Fire has more than doubled in size since Friday because of the high winds experienced in the fire area over the weekend and into this morning. As I write this, 66,213 acres have burned and the fire is only at 5 percent containment, 96 structures have been destroyed and 16 structures have been damaged. Thousands of people are under mandatory evacuation orders.  In the video below you will hear about mandatory evacuation orders affecting Windsor California.  Other towns are under mandatory evacuation orders, see the October 28th incident update from CAL Fire more information. US National Weather Service San Francisco Area/Monterey Bay California IMET has been deployed to the Kincaid Fire. IMETs save lives!


Direct link to video

I learned about two new fires that started in California on Sunday, October 27th.

The Getty Fire is burning in Los Angeles. As I write this 618 acres have burned and evacuation orders are in place. US National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard IMET has been deployed to the Getty Fire. IMETs save lives!


Direct link to video

The Glencove Fire is burning in Vallejo (Salano County, in the San Francisco Bay Area). I-80 was shut down for awhile.


Direct link to video

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has been doing a great job covering these fires, including the Kinkaid, Getty, and the Glen Cove and other fires in northern California.

Red Flag and High Wind Warnings return for portions of California Tuesday October 29th into Thursday October 31st.

Obtained on October 28, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/sto/

Obtained on October 28, 2019 from http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/sgx/

Obtained on October 28, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/lox/

Obtained on October 28, 2019 from http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/psr/

2019 wildfire season: Kincaid and Tick Fires in California

Earlier this week I did know that much of California was forecast to see Red Flag conditions along with high winds from the north east. I first learned of the Kincaid and Tick Fires from the Apple News Feed on my iPhone and iPad. I suspect that I get news of wildfires because I spend some time on Apple News reading news articles about wildfires, so my news feed is configured to feed me these stories. However, as is often the case, news of wildfires such as the Kincaid and Tick fires will make national news, a friend of  mine who relies on over the air broadcast news asked me this morning if I knew about the Tick Fire.

As I write this, the Kincaid Fire (started on Wednesday, October 23rd) has burned 21,900 acres near Geyserville in Sonoma County. The fire is at 5 percent containment. Forty-nine structures have been destroyed and evacuations remain in place including but not limited to the Town of Geyserville.

The Tick Fire was first reported on Thursday afternoon, October 24th in near Santa Clarita in northern Los Angeles County. It has burned 4,300 acres and is at 5 percent containment.

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today us reporting on the Tick and the Kincaid Fires. I want to note that I am only mentioning these two larger wildfires, there have also been some smaller wildfires in California over the last couple of days, see the CAL Fire incident page for current information about wildfires burning in California, including an interactive map.

As I write this, I am thinking of all the wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air as well as their support teams. I am also thinking of the Meteorologists in the following Weather Forecast Offices in California as the do what they do to keep their residents safe:

• NWS San Diego Weather Forecast Office
• NWS Los Angeles Weather Forecast Office
• NWS Sacramento CA Weather Forecast Office
• NWS San Francisco Weather Forecast Office

Obtained on October 25, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/lox/

Obtained on October 25, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/sto/

Obtained on October 25, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/sgx/

Obtained on October 25, 2019 from https://www.weather.gov/mtr/

Blue Angels: Lemoore Airshow 2019

Following up on the post I made yesterday about the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, here is a 22 minute video of the Blue Angels performing at the 2019 Lemoore Airshow. I believe but am not certain that this event took place near Fresno California. Enjoy.



Direct Link to video uploaded by Air Boyd

Blue Angels in Seattle August 2019

It has been awhile since I shared some videos of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. Enjoy these two videos.


Direct link to video


Direct link to video

2018 wildfire season: Baker River IHC 2018 crew video

As promised, I have one more 2018 crew video to share with you, albeit in the last months of 2019. Enjoy this look at the Baker River Hotshots based in the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy this six minute crew video. I always learn a little more about the crew when I watch a video. You will see some fottage scattered throughout the video of helicopters and tankers working the wildfire in support of the Baker River Hotshots and other crews on the ground.



Direct link to video uploaded by Johnny Brady

2018 wildfire season: Breckenridge Hotshots 2018 crew video

I was going through my bookmarked files today and found a couple of 2018 crew videos that I did post earlier this year. You will see a couple of shots of airtankers and a helicopter with a bucket making drops. Remember that the tankers and helos fly wildfires to help the crews on the ground fight wildfires. And in this case the crews the tankers and helos you see are helping the Breckenridge Hotshots. I like the crew videos because I get to know the crews, not only as they work fires but training and having fun. What stands out to me in this video are the shots of butterflies and smaller critters towards the end of the video as well as the cowboys on horseback in Wyoming.

I will be looking forward to their 2019 crew video when it comes out.

The videographer discloses on Youtube that the video is not officially endorsed by the US Forest Service, the US department of Agriculture of Sequoia National Forest.



Direct link to video from James Lazaro

Geronimo Hotshots: from the 2014 season

Many of you know that I follow the Geronimo Hotshots, an Apache crew. I have exchanged messages with one of the crew in years past, he was very nice and complimentary. They are good at what they do and know how to keep safe. Wherever they are working during the season they do this to keep you safe.

To the Geronimo Hotshots, stay safe.

Enjoy this video courtesy of The Atlantic.


Direct link to video from The Atlantic

2019 wildfire season: wildfire activity in southern CA as red flag warnings continue

Red flag warnings and gusty Santa Ana winds continue in southern California today. As I write this red flag warnings are still in place. See the graphic from the NWS Los Angeles-Oxnard Weather Forecast Office for more information. To the south of Los Angeles, red flag warnings will continue in the San Diego area through 6 PM PDT, see the Red Flag Warning issued by the NWS San Diego Weather Forecast Office.

obtained from https://www.weather.gov/lox/ on October 11, 2019

National Weather Service San Diego CA
752 AM PDT Fri Oct 11 2019

 CAZ248-250-255>258-265-554-120100-
/O.CON.KSGX.FW.W.0001.000000T0000Z-191012T0100Z/
San Bernardino and Riverside County Valleys - The Inland Empire-
San Diego County Inland Valleys-San Bernardino County Mountains- Including The Mountain Top And Front Country Ranger Districts Of The San Bernardino National Forest-Riverside County Mountains- Including The San Jacinto Ranger District Of The San Bernardino National Forest-Santa Ana Mountains- Including The Trabuco Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest-San Diego County Mountains- Including The Palomar And Descanso Ranger Districts of the Cleveland National Forest-San Gorgonio Pass Near Banning- Orange County Inland Areas-
752 AM PDT Fri Oct 11 2019

 ...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...

 * Wind...Northeast to east winds 20 to 35 mph with gusts 50 to 60 mph. Isolated gusts to 70 in the northern Santa Ana Mountains and below the Cajon Pass this morning. * Humidity...Lowest daytime of 3 to 6 percent with poor overnight recovery tonight.

 * Timing...Strongest this morning. Weakening this afternoon.

 * Impacts...Current fires and any new fires may spread rapidly and exhibit extreme fire behavior. Active burning through the night due to gusty winds and extremely dry conditions. Outdoor burning is not recommended. The strong winds could blow around unsecured objects and make driving high profile vehicles more difficult. Areas of blowing sand and dust will be possible, which could lead to sudden visibility restrictions.

 * Outlook...Very low relative humidity will continue into Saturday, but with with weaker and less widespread winds near the coastal slopes of the mountains on Saturday morning.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... 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 can contribute to extreme fire behavior.


In an effort to know about wildfires that are going on today in southern California, I have been watching live stream of CBS2 in Los Angeles. I already knew about the Saddle Ridge Fire (started October 10th at 9 PM PDT) burning in northern Los Angeles County from an article Bill Gabbert posted on Wildfire Today today. Bill wrote that as of 9:30 AM PDT 4,700 acres have burned with zero containment. At least 25 houses have been destroyed and evacuations are in place. The Los Angeles Fire Department has a web page set up with information about road closures, mandatory evacuations and evacuation centers along with other information about the Saddle Ridge Fire that may be found here. In watching the live stream, I have seen that aircraft included one of the Erickson tankers and a large helicopter have been working the fire. One person has died.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, as of about 5:30 PM PDT on October 11, 2019, the Saddle Ridge Fire has burned 7,542 acres and is at 13 percent containment

In watching the live stream on CBS Los Angeles as well as checking out San Diego media I learned of the Sandlewood Fire (started on October 10th) near Calimesa that has destroyed 76 mobile hones and 1 person has died in that fire (see this LA Times article for more information). I learned about a wildfire in El Sereno that started around mid-day today, no other information is available about this fire. At the time that I was watching the live stream the fire was small, under five acres.

2019 wildfire season: Red Flag Warnings and Santa Ana Winds

There are others such as Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today and Fire Aviation as well as Mike Archer's Wildfire News of the Day who do a great job on reporting current news about wildfires and related concerns. Today, I offer this post on today's red flag warnings in California and the Southwest as well as forecasted high winds in California, not so much to report but to let all wildland firefighters, aerial wildland firefighters, emergency management officials, and the personnel in the affected National Weather Forecast Office that I am thinking of you. All of you want your residents to be safe. For those on the ground or in the air and your support people, stay safe.

Today, October 9, 2019 there are red flag warnings in portions of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado.

Red Flag Warnings for October 9, 2019
obtained from https://www.weather.gov/fire/ on October 9, 2019

To complicate matters in California, high wind warnings, some of which may be santa ana winds are expected in California from today through Friday depending on location. This will result in critical fire weather conditions. I have taken graphics from four National Weather Service Forecast Offices in affected areas of California to illustrate the high to extreme fire danger through Friday. I will share those at the end of this post.

In a somewhat controversial move, utilities in some areas of California under red flag and high wind warnings have cut power to hundreds of thousands of customers in a move to minimize wildfires, see this LA Times article (paywall) and Bill Gabbert's Oct 9th article on Wildfire Today for more information.

All I can say at this point is that time will tell what happens.

Here are the promised graphics from National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office who have issued red flag and high wind warnings. Each Weather Forecast Office has Facebook and Twitter accounts which you should be able to find by following the link for each NWS Weather Forecast Office.

NWS San Diego

obtained from https://www.weather.gov/sgx/ on October 9, 2019

NWS Los Angeles

Add cobtained from https://www.weather.gov/lox/ on October 9, 2019

NWS Sacramento

obtained from https://www.weather.gov/sto/ on October 9. 2019

obtained from https://www.weather.gov/sto/ on October 9. 2019

NWS Bay Area

Obtained from https://www.weather.gov/mtr/ on October 9, 2019

Collings B-17, 909, gone but not forgotten

On the morning of Wednesday, October 2nd, the Collings Foundation B-17, "909" crashed at Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Connecticut while on a stop on the 2019 Wings of Freedom Tour. Seven died, seven injured including one on the ground.


Direct link to video on Youtube from Savannah66

909, I first met you in August 2010 when you came to the Monmouth Executive Airport with the  Collings Foundation Wings of Freedom Tour. I was awestruck to see you and your friends, the B-24 "Witchcraft" and the dual cockpit P-51 "Betty Jane". You represented living history. I know that you did not fly in World War II but you were restored to World War II configuration to honor all B-17's and their crew who served in World War II. Some of men who served on the B-17 made it home and some did not. After doing service in rescue operations, military transport and nuclear testing, you were purchased by Aircraft Specialty Company in 1965. You were then modified for service as an air tanker, flying wildfires until sometime in the 1980s. You saved a lot of lives on the ground as you flew fires in support of the wildland firefighters on the ground.

The Collings Foundation purchased you in 1986 and restored you to a configuration similar to that of B17 bombers that flew during World War II.

As you toured the United States over the years, you were and still are loved by many including but not limited to all who came to see you and perhaps take a ride in you. You were living history. Seeing you had a profound effect on me. I love you as well as the B-24 and the P-5 that I saw on tour. I knew that I had to write about B-17s on my blog. I spent several months reading about the B-17. I got to know many other B-17s and their crews through my research and I have met a couple of other B-17s but you were and still are special. I saw you for a second time a year or so later in New Jersey. I regret not going to see you again, that is my loss. You were at Monmouth Executive Airport this past August, if I had known . . .

I mourn the loss of all who died when 909 crashed in Windsor Locks on October 2, 2019.  My prayers are with their families, friends, and all who loved them. My prayers are with all at the Collings Foundation. I pray for all who were injured in that crash.

I offer this wholly inadequate post to honor you and all who died on October 2nd. Nine-o-Nine, I am not sure that my words are adequate to express what you meant to me. Nor are my words adequate to express my sadness for those who died on October 3rd. I know that you and your pilots and those who lost their lives are flying in favorable tail winds.

The pilot of the Collings B-25 who was also on tour at Windsor Locks gave a moving tribute before he took off from Windsor Locks this past weekend. Please see this short article and audio clip from Fox61.

For those who have not seen this, the Collings Foundation issued this statement on October 2nd. They are suspending the rest of their 2019 Wings of Freedom Tour.

2019 wildfire season: small fire in northern NJ (Division A) on October 2nd

Wednesday afternoon, a friend of mine gave me a heads up about a small wildfire that was burning near the Appalachian Trail(AT) in northern New Jersey (Division A). I am not quite sure of exactly where this fire was located so I won't post a map. In years past when I had a better pair of knees, I had done various day hikes on the AT from where the trail crosses Interstate 80 near the Delaware River to about 16 miles north of Interstate 80. This was about 20 years, a few day hikes over a couple of years. I do occasionally take much shorter hikes on the approach trails to the AT, as my knees allow. much of the AT in this part of New Jersey is fairly rugged. Approaching the AT, you either climb part of the way in your car to a trail junction or you park near the River and climb to the ridge either along the AT or on one of a few side trails in either Worthington State Forest or the Delaware River National Recreation Area.

I am not a wildland firefighter, but I can imagine that fighting a wildfire in this area is hard work. And depending on where the wildfire is, access may be difficult.  If the wildfire is on a ridge, then the terrain can be an issue.

I don't know many specifics about this wildfire. I am pretty certain that the fire is contained. I say that because we got some rain in northern New Jersey and I suspect that the rain helped the firefighters. Nonetheless, I offer my kudos and thanks to the wildland firefighters for your work in fighting the wildfire. Given how dry it had been up until early Wednesday evening, the fire could have been a whole lot worse than it was.

Thank-you National Park Service and New Jersey Forest Fire Service wildland firefighters! You rock!

For more information on this fire, read this short article from the North Jersey Herald.

All female wildland firefighting crews

I am always on the lookout for footage of all female wildland firefighting crews. I am in luck because within the last 7 to 10 days I came across two short videos of all female wildland fire crews deployed to wildfires. I then dug through my archive of saved bookmarks where I found two more videos. Women have been a part of mixed gender crews for years and they have already proven that they have what it takes.

Enjoy these four short videos

Thank-you for all you do to keep us safe. Stay safe.

Women in wildland firefighting

direct link to video

BLM Wyoming all women's crew

direct link to video

Deployed to Alaska earlier this year.

direct link to video

Colorado's first all female crew

direct link to video