2020 wildfire season: a news report about an NWS IMET talking about an Oregon wildfire

 Thanks to my friends at the NWS Incident Meteorologist Facebook page who shared a great news report about one of their IMETs, Tom Wright. At the time this report on KEZI in Eugene Oregon aired on or about November 24th, Tom was working as an IMET on a wildfire in Oregon. Tom is a NWS Meteorologist in the NWS Medford OR Weather Forecast Office. You will be taken through a normal day in the life of an IMET. I learned a lot from this video, learning a little more about soundings and about the kestrel instrument that he uses. I am never quite sure how long a broadcast news station will keep the video and the report up on their website, but I think that this will be up for awhile. On June 23, 2021, I noticed that the video that I had embedded is no longer available, but the November 24th KEZI news report and may be found here.

Friday Fun: Fort Lauderdale FL 2020 airshow

I heard annual air show in Fort Lauderdale was postponed from earlier this year due to COVID, it took place this past weekend (November 21-22). Here is a clip of the airshow that appears to be shot from a balcony near the beach. Enjoy.

 

Direct link to video on Youtube

Remembering all who are working this Thanksgiving to protect us

 

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: First All Female Wildand Fire Crew

The first New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) Wildland Fire Crew conducted a prescribed burn in Camp Jefferson, Morris County New Jersey last Friday, November 20th (see my November 23rd article for a listing of prescribed burns conducted by the NJFFS. I am very proud of these eight female NJFFS Wildland Firefighters. Way to go ladies! 

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: Prescribed burning (Nov 20-22)

 If my arithmetic is correct, this is the 85th year that the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS)  has conducted prescribed burns, sometimes abbreviated as Rx Burns. (see this 2019 news release from the NJ Dept of Environmental Protection (DEP) for more information on prescribed burns). 

Prescribed burns help reduce forest fire risk before prime wildfire season, which ramps up in April and continues through May. During this time of year fallen leaves, branches and twigs are abundant, day length increases, humidity can be low, and it is often warm and windy. Those weather conditions coupled with lack of new leaf growth makes forest debris more susceptible to the drying effects of wind and sun. During prescribed burns, Forest Fire Service personnel use handheld torches to set smaller fires to burn away fallen leaves, pine needles, fallen branches and other debris on the forest floor. (Source: April 24 2019 news release from the NJDEP). 

The NJFFS conducts prescribed burns, mostly during the spring but sometimes at other times of year when conditions are favorable. I know that the NJFFS conducted prescribed burns in the late winter and spring of 2020 (see my February 3rd, February 28th,  and March 2nd articles from early 2020). In addition, private landowners may get a permit from the NJFFS to conduct prescribed burns on their property, see this FAQ for more information.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service has a webpage devoted to prescribed burns, it is chock full of good information.

The conditions for conducting favorable prescribed burns in northern and central New Jersey seemed to align this past weekend as there were prescribed burns on November 20th,  21st and 22nd (NJFFS Facebook page posts):

Friday, November 20th (Division A, northern New Jersey)

• Sussex County, Wantage -- Luscroft Farm (Highpoint State Park and New Jersey Veterans Memorial)
• Morris County: Jefferson -- Camp Jefferson

Saturday November 21st: Sussex County -- Stokes State Forest (Division A, northern New Jersey)

Sunday, November 22nd: Ocean County -- Lacey -- Rogers Rd and Tuckerton RR Bed

Nice job NJFFS crews. I am very proud of you. You honor New Jersey and reduce wildfire risk by conducting prescribed burns. You have a long legacy of doing prescribed burns, setting a fine example of what can be done to reduce wildfire risk through annual prescribed burns. 

2020 wildfire season: in review through mid-November

Before you watch a short video from The National Interagency Fire Center, I want to share a few reflections on the 2020 wildfire season in the United States.

I have written several times about this devastating wildfire season in the United States, especially in the west. 8.7 million acres have burned. Twelve firefighters lost their lives. I wish I knew the number of civilians, non-firefighters, who lost their lives, but I do not. My heartfelt prayers to the families, friends, and all who loved those that lost their lives -- firefighters and civilians. Let us always remember.

Thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed. Those who have lost a home and/or a business are left to rebuild once the clean-up is finished. Perhaps some won't go back. For many, their lives won't be the same for a long time. Then there are the emotional scars. Depending on the ecosystem and how badly the soil was burned, the burned landscape may take generations to recover. 

The firefighters on the ground and in the air have worked very hard. My thoughts, prayers, and profound thanks are with all of you. Kudos to you. Your sacrifice won't be forgotten.

Direct link to video from The National Interagency Fire Center

Reflections: Rebuilding Paradise CA after the Camp Fire

It was been over two year since the Camp Fire destroyed much of Paradise California. 

Direct link to video from National Geographic

I had an opportunity to watch Ron Howard's Rebuilding Paradise last weekend. The film is available on various platforms, I am fortunate to have the National Geographic on my cable so I was able to watch it for free. If you are so inclined and have access through one of the platforms, especially free access, I would recommend watching the film. The film touched me because the focus was on the first year after the Camp Fire and the challenges of the residents in Paradise to rebuild their homes and their town. I was reminded in a way that only a film like this can, that a wildfire such as the Camp Fire or the many wildfires that have decimated California towns this year have severe and sometimes lasting effects on the residents who lost their homes as well those who did not lose their homes but are nonetheless affected by the destruction around them. 

I can say that I care, which is why I write this blog. The film I reminded me that after the wildland fire crews leave, the residents of the affected towns are left with emotional trauma and the visual reminder of seeing the burned areas in their towns as they work to rebuild their homes and their lives, bury their dead, and rebuild their town. The film left me with the uncomfortable awareness that I may have written about the wildland firefighters and the crews who work to clean up the town after the wildfire at the expense of the affected residents. 

As I consider this devastating 2020 wildfire season, which is not over yet in the western United States, I want to pause and say a prayer for all those who have died, those who have lost loved ones, those who lost their homes, and those whose home is still standing but live with the reminder of the wildfire around them. My heart goes out to you. I am sincere in this. I can not say that I know that what you are going through because I do not. But I can say that I care. 

wildland firefighting: type 2IA hand crews

 There are a few different types of handcrews that fight wildland fires: Type 1 Interagency Hotshot Crews (IC), Type 1, Type 2 Initial Attack (IA), a very brief description of these crews may be found in Chapter 30 of the Interagency Mobilization Guide. There is a Type 3, I do not mention them here because I am not quite sure what they do and have not been able (so far) to find a good reference

A good chart explaining what each of these crews do may found in the Wildland Fire Incident Management on page 129. According to the aforementioned chart a Type 2 IA crew is usually a crew of 20 with a crew boss, broken into three squads. There are three Sawyers, probably one to each squad. They are a national resource. The crew does fireline construction and can perform burnout operations.

Enjoy this video, under eight minutes shot from a helmet camera giving us a small peak of what it is like to be on a Type 2 IA handcrew.

Direct link to video uploaded by Matthew McKirdy

2020 wildfire season: wildfire in Delaware State Forest, Monroe County PA

Direct link to video from PAHomepage

Thanks to a friend from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service who alerted me to the video I shared above about a wildfire that was first reported on Saturday, November 7th near Paradise Township in the Delaware State Forest in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The fire, which burned on the order of 800 acres in the Devils Hole area of the Delaware State Forest, burned for three days before being brought under control on Tuesday, November 10th. Arson is suspected. Thanks to all the wildland firefighters who worked to fight this wildfire and kept residences and businesses safe. Kudos to all.

I am not exactly intimately familiar with this area of Pennsylvania but in years past, but many years ago I used to drive through this area a couple of times a year on the way to visit family. And a couple of my pilot friends have taken me on scenic airplane rides over the nearby Poconos in Pennsylvania. I have never been to Delaware State Forest, but perhaps I will take a trip there next spring. 

Remembering all Veterans on Veterans Day

 

direct link to video on Youtube

2020 wildfire season: busy season for US NWS Incident Meterologists

I want to take a moment to review what US National Weather Service Incident Meteorologists (IMETs) do:

An Incident Meteorologist (IMET) is a National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist specially trained to provide onsite weather support at wildfires and other all-hazard incidents. Weather briefings and forecasts provided by NWS IMETs ensure the safety of operational personnel and assist incident management teams and responders with critical decision support activities. The NWS IMET cadre has been serving the nation’s incident responders for nearly a century (obtained from US National Weather Service IMET Facebook Page (About) on November 11, 2020)

I follow the IMETs on their Facebook page noted above and knew that this was a busy year for IMETs. I want to acknowledge all the hard work that IMETs do when deployed to wildfires for up to two weeks. You are away from your families and home NWS Forecast Office for up to two weeks providing weather forecasts for the fire you are working, during a pandemic.  Occasionally, I have seen your briefings for the fire you were working on that fire's page on inciweb or elsewhere, nice job. Thank-you from the bottom of my heart for your good work and your sacrifices. 

IMETs save lives. 

Here is a post that the US National Weather Service IMET shared on their Facebook page on November 9th. 

direct link to post from US NWS IMET

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: fighting a small and a moderate sized wildfire (November 7th to 8th)

I rarely, if ever, see such a small wildfire reported on by media outlets. I do not think it really matters that I do not specifics on these very small wildfires in New Jersey. The important thing is that NJFFS crews are quick to respond to all wildfires and are able to bring many fires under control at one acre or less. The point is that large or small the New Jersey Forest Service as well as crews in your State and national crews work hard to bring wildfires under control, stopping that a small amount of acreage burned.

Consider wildfires under one acre. Sometimes  these under one-acre wildfires may be near residences. Case in point is a one-quarter acre fire that burned on November 8th (see this Facebook post from NJFFS Section B10 ) in Marlboro New Jersey behind some residences. Good efforts by NJFFS Section B-10 aided by little if any wind meant that the wildfire was stopped at one-quarter acre. I happen to know about this very small wildfire because I regularly visit the NJFFS Section B10 Facebook page during my regular routine to check out wildfire news. Jersey Forest Fire Service crews. please know that I am always thinking of you and know that at any given time you may be out there fighting a wildfire, sometimes quite small to keep us in New Jersey safe.

Moving to slightly larger wildfires, I heard from a friend about a wildfire (the Gas-line Fire) of approximately 30 acres that burned in West Milford, Passaic County NJ (NJFFS Division A, Section A2) over the weekend. I understand that a NJFFS helicopter worked the fire to support the wildland firefighters on the ground. This is another example of what is probably one of many wildfires of this size that are not covered by media outlets. They may have gone unnoticed by me if it weren’t for my friend and a November 7th from another NJFFS Section B10 social media post reporting on the fire on November 7th. I don’t know any more information. What I will say is that hopefully by now, this 30-acre wildfire is well on the way to being contained by NJFFS Section A2 crews.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service crews, whether or not conventional media (newspapers, broadcast media) does not report on what you are doing does not matter. I know you are there. Same holds for social media accounts, I know you are there. You are dedicated to keeping us safe from wildfires because that is what you do. You often do so without fanfare and accolades. Well, take this post as my fanfare and accolades to you for a job well done.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: a look back to 2014

The post that I intended to make today will have to put off until next week because at the least minute I wanted to try to find out some additional information. I thought about what to post today. It is Friday, so perhaps this will be Flashback Friday. The video that I am sharing is probably a rerun, I do that sometimes. This video is from the spring of 2014 about wildfires in Beachwood and Berkeley NJ, fought by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. I like this video, and I hope that you do to as it provides an idea of what the New Jersey Forest Fire Service does so well when they fight a wildfire. Allow nine and a half minutes to watch the video.

Direct link to video uploaded by Dustin Gabriel

2020 wildfire season: smaller wildfires under 15 acres

 In what is a devastating wildfire season in the western United States, with several very large wildfires or complexes burning. But for all of these very large fires there are a large number of very small wildfires (sometimes referred to as brush fires), under 10 or 15 acres and often smaller. These may often go unnoticed if it weren't for local media that may write about the brush fire. Thanks to Mike Archer's efforts on his five-day a week Wildfire News of the Day e-mail news letter, I get to find out about some of these smaller brush fires. 

Wildland firefighters, on the ground and at times aided by helicopters with buckets and perhaps a small air tanker, work these smaller brush fires in hopes that they be contained quickly before they can get larger. Their efforts are greatly appreciated, and I decided that I wanted to spend a little time writing about some small brush fires to honor the work of these wildland firefighters. They work to contain these smaller brush fires to keep you safe while at the same time keeping themselves safe. Sometimes it will be small crew working the fire.

Thanks to Mike Archer's Wildfire News of the Day (WNOTD), I found three small brush fires that I will highlight here. Three small brush fires to exemplify the very large number of smaller brush fires that burn in the United States and globally each year. Mike includes link to media accounts in his newsletter so I can provide you with a media report on the fire. I will include the date that Mike reported on each fire in his WNOTD newsletter.

• October 30th WNOTD, Idaho: Twenty wildland firefighters were assisted by two helicopters in working a seven-acre fire in the Salmon-Challis National Forest on Thursday, October 29th. See this article from the Idaho Mountain Express (October 30th) for more information.
• November 2nd WNOTD, Colorado: Eight wildland firefighters worked a one-quarter acre fire near Engineer Mountain in the San Juan National Forest, the fire was reported as being fully controlled on Sunday morning, November 1st with containment expected later that same day. The Durango Herald (November 2nd) reported on this fire.
• November 4th WNOTD, Idaho: every fire department in Banncock County Idaho responded to small wildfire of a several acres of grassland (acreage not determined) near a ski area on Tuesday, November 3rd. For more information see this November 3rd article from the Idaho State Journal.

Keeping wildfires (or brush fires depending on local usage) small is important and hopefully minimizes any damage to nearby structures. 

A behind the scenes look at helibase operations

 I have posted extensively over the years about the variety of things that helicopters do aid wildland firefighters during and after wildfires. The helicopters may be based at a permanent or a temporary helibase. I was quite interested when I came upon this video offering me a behind the scenes look at one helibase operation. I knew that some of you would be interested as well. 

Watch and listen to Helibase Manager Trainee Jerek Bickford of Montrose Helitack offer a behind the scenes look at helibase operations for the Cameron Peak Fire. As I write this, the Cameron Peak Fire has burned 208.913 acres in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee Grassland. The fire has been burning for over two months. To read more about this fire, check out this link of tagged files from Bill Gabbert's Wildfire Today website.

Matt this if for you, you would love this. RIP and I know that you flying with the helos in favorable tail winds.

Direct link to video from the Cameron Peak Fire Channel