Friday, October 29, 2021

Thank-you Wildland firefighters on the Ground and in the Air

It has been a rough 2021 wildfire season, so as we finish out October I want to pause and say thank-you to all of you who are wildland firefighters whether you be on the ground, in the air, or various support personnel. Thank-you for fighting wildfires so that we may as safe as possible. Doing so involves the sacrifice of time away from your family and/or friends. On top of that this is the second wildfire season during the COVID pandemic, some of you have gotten sick, and sadly some have died. As in any wildfire season, there are those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in dying in the line of duty. For those of you who are injured, heal well.

The first video was done a couple of months ago as a tribute to wildland firefighters in California. I offer this video as a tribute to wildland firefighters everywhere.

Direct link to video on YouTube


The second video is a tribute from 2015.

Direct link to video on YouTube

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

About Firestorms

As regular readers know, I am always interested in learning more about weather as affects wildland firefighting and as affects the development of a wildfire. I would like to thank my friends at the NJFFS Section B10 website who a great video several days ago on firestorms. The video is part of a series called Weather Classroom by KREM 2 News, out of Spokane Washington, Meteorologist Thomas Patrick. The video that I am sharing with you is about Firestorms, based on Fire storms that burned near Spokane in October, 1991. While the wildfires he is speaking about burned in Washington and Orego, I think that his discussion is good science that can apply in areas outside of those States. Enjoy. Allow about 10 minutes to watch the video,

Direct link to video on YouTube from KREM 2 News

Monday, October 25, 2021

In Remembrance: Final Thoughts (for now) of the1871 Peshtigo Fire

In considering how I wanted to approach this third and for now final article on the 1871 Peshtigo Fire, I have two points I want to make. First, I am glad I some time learning a little more about the general history of the Lake States, a part of the United States that I am not that familiar with. I do think that learning from our history is important. Then of course, there was learning more about the 1871 Peshtigo Fire itself. While the worst fire in terms of loss of life, there were many other wildfires in the Lake States from 1870 to 1930 (Pyne, 1997, 200). Over the time that I have devoted this blog to aerial wildland firefighting and related issues, I have done enough reading to know that lessons are learned from historical fires and as possible changes in fighting and managing the impacts of wildland fires are made. I suspect that some of the current wildland fire policy on both the State and Federal level have came to be because of historic wildfires such as the 1871 Peshtigo Fire. For example, Pyne (1997, 213) talks about State-level efforts in the late 19th century aimed at reducing fire hazard in the Lake States, these efforts waxed and wane over time but it was a start. Hultquist (2013) talks about the improvement in the support of the National Weather Service in wildland firefighting including but not limited to the role of onsite NWS Incident Meteorologists. 

Second, Around the time I wrote my October 13th article on rebuilding after the 1871 Peshtigo Fire I found a reference to an article by Hutch Brown in the Fall 2004 edition of Fire Management Today, (pp. 20-30):  “The Air Was Fire: Fire Behavior at Peshtigo in 1871”. I would suggest that any of you interested in knowing more get this issue of Fire Management Today, at the time I write this it is freely available on the internet from this US Forest Service site. Brown writes about what happened during the days leading up to the Peshtigo Fire that increased the fire danger and what happened the night the fire burned in Peshtigo with a focus on land use and weather conditions. Brown then finishes up with a section on lessons learned where he discusses what happened during the 1871 Peshtigo Fire and the lessons that for modern wildland firefighting including but not limited to the unpredictability of wildfires, and the importance of escape routes. Brown has an impressive reference list at the end of his article while 18 years old, it includes useful references.

On a more personal note, reading about the 1871 Peshtigo Fires has touched me and I hope that the lessons from these and other wildfires in the Lake States during the late 19th and early 20th century won’t be forgotten. I noted that the Peshtigo has not forgotten this fire with a museum devoted to the fire open seasonally as well as a memorial and a cemetery markers, see the Peshtigo Fire Museum website ( http://www.peshtigofiremuseum.com ) for more information. I will always remember those known and unknown who died during the fire as well as the stories of those who survived the fire. May they rest in peace.

Other articles in this series:

In Remembrance: Peshtigo Wisconsin Fire, October 8-9 1871

In Remembrance: Rebuilding After the Peshtigo Fire of Oct. 8-9, 1871

References

Brown, Hutch. 2004. The Air Was Fire: Fire Behavior at Peshtigo in 1871. Fire Management Today (Fall, V64,4). Obtained on October 12, 2021 from  https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev2_019070.pdf

Hultquist, Thomas, Science and Operations Officer, U.S. National Weather Service Twin Falls Minnesota, The Great Midwest Wildfires of 1871, Obtained on October 7 from https://www.weather.gov/grb/peshtigofire2

Pyne, Stephen J, 1997, Fire in America, University of Washington Press (Seattle and London)

Friday, October 22, 2021

2021 wildfire season: aerial support of Bridge Fire in California

 I am making good progress on my final article on the 1871 Peshtigo Fire (see my October 8th and 15th posts for more information). At the last minute I ended up getting my COVID booster shot this afternoon so decided to hold off on posting this final (for now) article on the Peshtigo Fire until Monday.

In the meantime, enjoy this eleven minute video of air tankers and helicopters working the 450 acre Bridge Fire in Auburn, California in early to mid September.


Direct link to video on YouTube uploaded by Alexander Nunez

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

2021 wildfire season crew videos: Midewin Hotshots

I think that all wildland fire and engine crews are special, and I always try to honor what all of you as you work to keep us safe from wildfires, sacrificing time away from your family and loved ones. That being said, I do my best to pay special attention to the Midewin Interagency Hotshot Crew, based out of the Midewin Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington, Illinois, located in the area served by the Eastern Area Coordination Center. I live in New Jersey, one of the States served by the EACC.

Around this time of year, wildland fire crews are releasing their videos summarizing their 2021 wildfire season. I like these videos because I get a small insight into what each crew does during their fire season. I know that some of you share my interest in these crew videos, and I am not the only one who shares these videos. I recently came across the 2021 crew video from the Midewin Interagency Hotshots, and I think it appropriate that theirs is the first 2021 crew video that I am sharing with you. Allow just under eight minutes for the video. Thanks Midewin Hotshots for your service, enjoy your time off with your loved ones. 



Monday, October 18, 2021

Challenges faced by female wildland firefighters from ABC News

I wrote last week that I wanted to give more time to women who are on wildland firefighting crews. Here is a video report from ABC News reporting on why some women want to be wildland firefighters and some of the challenges that female wildland firefighters face. 


Direct link to YouTube video from ABC News

Friday, October 15, 2021

In Remembrance: Rebuidling After the Peshtigo Fire of Oct 8-9 1871

There was a great deal of damage from the Peshtigo Fire of October 1871  (see my October 8th post in remembrance of the Peshtigo Fire), including damage to telegraph lines  in the immediate vicinity of Peshtigo. Word reached Governor Lucius Fairchild’s office on October 10th. Considering the times, a 24 hour delay in the word getting out about the massive destruction and loss of life was impressive. Apparently, the Governor and his aides were in Chicago with train loads of supplies and food for those affected by the Chicago Fires. Until the Governor and his aides returned, his wife lead the efforts to gather supplies and food to help the victims of the Peshtigo Fire. After the word of the fire got out to the rest of the country, cash donations and supplies poured into Wisconsin. Health care and lodging were provided. It is not clear when reconstruction of Peshtigo and other affected towns began, I would imagine that reconstruction began in the spring of 1872, if not sooner if the weather allowed. Nor is it clear on how long this reconstruction took, but it seems that a great deal of Peshtigo had been reconstructed by 1881 (Epilogue to Pernin, 1971, pp. 271-2).

In reading brief accounts of the aftermath of the Peshtigo Fire (Epilogue to Pernin, 1971, pp 271-22, and Schafer, 1927), I noted and am moved by how quickly the word got out and supplies began flowing into Peshtigo. It was not only the people of Wisconsin who responded but supplies and cash donations came from other parts of the country (Schafer, 1927). 

I noted one comment that Schafer made: “Naturally, a large part of the succor came from the people of Wisconsin. But distant communities were permitted to help. One of the early contributions came from the state of Maine whose people understood the forest fire peril and were peculiarly response to the situation in Wisconsin and Michigan (Schafer, 1927, p.105)". I got curious about the reference to Maine so I did a little reading. From what I understand forest fires as they were known then were not uncommon in northern Maine. I know only a little information about forest fires that burned in Maine prior to 1871. However, I did learn a little about the Miramichi Fire that burned about 3,000,000 acres in northern Maine and neighboring New Brunswick, Canada in 1825. People from Miramichi New Brunswick sought refuge in the Miramichi River much like the people of Peshtigo sought refuge in the Peshtigo River (See The Ten Worst fires in U.S. History). 

It did not take me long to learn of the fire that burned in Portland, Maine on July 4, 1866, burning one-third of the city, and leaving about 10,000 people homeless (see The Portland Press Herald Special Edition Report on the  150th anniversary of July 4, 1866 Fire). When Shepard writes of support from the State of Maine for the people of Wisconsin and Michigan, I can not help but think of how people from outside of Maine responded to the 1866 Portland Fire. Perhaps returning the "favor" because they know what it felt like to see and live through the destruction that fires can bring.

Still to come, I have one more article to write about the Peshtigo Fires. I hope to be finished with my research by the end of next week.

Other articles in this series:

In Remembrance: Peshtigo Wisconsin Fire, October 8-9 1871

In Remembrance: Final Thoughts (for now) of the 1871 Peshtigo Fire


References

10 of the Worst Wildfires in U.S. History, obtained on October 13, 2021 from https://www.treehugger.com/worst-wildfires-in-us-history-4864091

Pernin, Peter (Rev) 1874, Great Peshtigo Fire: An Eyewitness Account, reprinted in Wisconsin Magazine of History 54,4 (Summer 1971) pp. 246-272. obtained on October 5, 2021 from https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wmh/id/46361

Portland Press Herald, 2016, The Night Portland Burned (Special Project), obtained  October 13, 2021 from 

Schafer, Joseph, 1927, Editorial Comment: Great Fires of Seventy-One, Wisconsin Magazine of History 11,1 (September 1927) pp. 96-106. Obtained on October 5, 2021 from https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wmh/id/6167

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

NWS Incident Meteorologists: 2021 Stats (Oct 13th)

I interrupt writing the one or two additional posts that I will be making on the 1871 Peshtigo Fire. Perhaps not a bad thing. This is a work in progress and after some interruptions due some now resolved technological issues, I have an idea for one article and some more reading to do for what may be a second article. So Stay tuned.

When I went on Facebook this morning to check out news on deployments of NWS Incident Meteorologists (IMETs) and other news affecting IMETs, I noted that  those behind the US National Weather Service IMET Facebook page had posted some statistics earlier this morning (October 13, 2021). I am not sure when their cutoff is for these numbers, probably a day or so ago. That does not matter. I had wondered about the number of IMET deployments this year as it seemed to me that IMETs were having a busy year. And I was right, this year has set a record for IMET missions of 209 missions breaking the record of 208 missions in 2006. 

Thanks to all IMETs for your service during a difficult wildfire year out west. IMETs save lives. 


Monday, October 11, 2021

About female wildland firefighters in North Carolina

I wrote last Friday a post in remembrance of the Peshtigo Fire  promising more articles this week. This is a work in progress, as I got into reading about this fire last week, I realized that while this fire may not get the attention it deserves, there more information out there than I originally realized. I got off to a slow start today and I did spend some time researching more information about the Peshtigo Fire. I hope to get back writing about the 1871 Peshtigo Fire later this week or early next week, I promise. 

In the meantime, I do enjoy reading and I read a variety of books including but not limited to either books written by wildland firefighters or novels about wildland firefighting. I would love to find a book written by a female wildland firefigter. So far, I have not found such a book, which does not mean that one does not exist. It just means that I have not found one. I have written some, and perhaps not enough articles on women in wildland firefighting, mostly relying on videos, these posts may be found here. I know that Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today writes about women in wildland firefighting, you may his articles tagged women here. I know that the New Jersey Forest Fire Service has some women on their wildland firefighting crews.

Thanks to the NJFFS Section B10, I found a short video from Fox8 WGHP out of North Carolina about a couple of North Carolina women, Dakota Paris  and Katie Stovall, who are wildland firefighters in North Carolina. As soon as I saw this video, I knew that I wanted to share it with you. 

Direct Link to video on Youtube from WGHP

Friday, October 08, 2021

In Remembrance: Peshtigo Wisconsin Fire, October 8-9, 1871

 I don’t quite recall when I first heard of the 1871 Peshtigo Fire that burned some 1.2 to 1.5 million acres in and around Peshtigo Wisconsin on October 8 to 9, 1871, leaving over 1,200 people dead and destroying the town of Peshtigo. I write this today in remembrance of the 1871 Peshtigo Fire. A map of the fire may be found on this page from the Wisconsin Historical Society.

I want to start out by sharing a video report on the fire.


Direct link to YouTube video from KRQE

The Peshtigo Fire was one of at least three fires that burned on October 8, 1871, two others were the Chicago fire and the wildfires that burned in Michigan, however the most destructive of these wildfires in terms of loss of life is the Peshtigo Fire (see Hultquist’s article on the Great Midwest Wildfires of 1871).

Stephen Pyne has a chapter on the fire history of the Great Lakes in his book, Fire in America: A Cultural History of Wildland and Rural Fire (1997, pp. 199-218), if you are so inclined and have access to his book (perhaps from your local library) it is worth a read. He writes about the period from 1870 to 1930. He says: 

Fires of unprecedented size and intensity rampaged over small villages and towns of moderate size and thereby earned names as historic events. … The fires were the product of a particular set of conditions: wholesale logging which made the Lake States from 1880 to 1900 the chief source of timber and an unrivaled tinderbox of abandoned slash; farmers looking for cheap, easily cleared land and not adverse to use land for land clearing; and railroads, whose transportation potential made both logging and farming economical feasible and whose brakes and smokestacks were a frequent source of ignition (Pyne, 1997, p. 199)

The Rev. Peter Pernin, a Catholic Priest who served in Peshtigo in 1871 and survived to write about his experiences in an essay writes of how fire was used in 1871 (note1): "The year 1871 was, however, distinguished by its unusual dryness, Farmers had profited … to enlarge their clearings, cutting down and burning the wood that stood in their way. Hundreds of laborers employed in the construction of a railroad acted in like manner, (Pernin 1971 pp. 247-8)” Fr. Pernin goes on to say that hunters would stop at night and set small fires for cooking and warmth, 

An exacerbating condition was present in 1871, extreme drought, see Schafer, 1927, p. 98 who writes of tinder dry vegetation, wells drying up, and streams and rivers running low. The Wisconsin Historical Society has a short essay on the night Peshtigo was destroyed by fire, here is an excerpt describing the prolonged drought:

It had been dry in 1871, terribly dry, the summer drought extended well into fall. Grass, weeds, and trees became like tinder. Streams ceased to run and wells gave out. Swamps that ordinarily held two or three feet of water crackled under foot like twigs.

The drought covered much of the United States. Fires raged from the Alleghenies to the Rockies and beyond. In Wisconsin, fires sprang up in many parts of the pine forests. In the northeastern part of the state, they burned from west of the Wolf River to Lake Michigan. This is an area 70 miles wide and 100 miles deep. Little Suamico, Pensaukee, Sturgeon Bay, and Oconto were saved from destruction only because everyone who was able helped to fight the flames.

October came, but it brought no rain. (Wisconsin Historical Society, Historic Essay: The Night Peshtigo Wisconsin, Was Destroyed by Fire).

Several smaller fires had burned in and around Peshtigo in the days leading up to October 8. (see Pernin pp.248-9), and with the extreme drought and high winds on the night of the eighth. On Sunday, October 8, some in Peshtigo had been in Church services:

The place, a flourishing village of from 1500 to 2000 souls, lay seven mils inland from the port of the same name, being, being built on high sandy ground on both sides of the Peshtigo River. On  Sunday night (October 8), just as the people of the village were returning to their homes after church, a startling, ominous noise was heard in a southwest direction. Some described it as like the rumbling noise of a great storm. Others spoke of its resemblance to the sound of a threshing machine. Others said it was like the moving of many freight trains. … a great light appeared overhead and suddenly, almost instantaneously, fire from heaven as it seemed to the doomed inhabitants, fell upon every part of the town which burst into flame almost like a magazine of powder. The river failed to impede the onrush of the conflagration (Schafer, 1927, p. 101).

Survivors reported such as Fr. Pernin reported high winds during the Peshtigo Fire. While detailed meteorological observations from that period are somewhat limited, there may have been cold front accompanied by high winds that moved in on the night of the Peshtigo fire that may have led to the horrific fire conditions that night (Hultquist, 2013).

In the aftermath of the fire in the morning of October 9, many in Peshtigo and outlying areas were dead. The exact numbers of those who perished, the figure of 1,200 dead may well be conservative, the number dead may have been as high as about 2,400 (see Hultquist's article on the 1871 Midwest Fires). I read two accounts of survivors of the Peshtigo fire, one by Fr. Pernin (cited previously) spent hours in the Peshigo River during the fire storm helping others, and the Abraham and Elizabeth Family who built a fireline around their house, see this Historical Essay from the Wisconsin Historical Society. I found both accounts be very poignant, the horror of that night came through.

The fire burned between 1.2 million and 1.5 million acres, burning 17 towns including Peshitgo. The damage in Peshtigo was be far the worst of the 17 towns. Of the 1,200 to 2,400 deaths about  800 perished in Peshtigo (see Estep reprinted by the US NWS Greenbay Wisconsin).

I should note the Peshtigo, WI has a Peshtigo Fire Museum where you may read stories and learn more about the fire. I should note that I was not able to their article on the fire because of security issues, but I had no problem with the stories page and their home page. In addition, there is Peshtigo Fire Museum Page on Facebook which seems to be available to those without a Facebook account.

All I can say at this juncture is that I remember the Peshtigo Fire, the Chicago and Michigan Fires that burned on October 8, 1871.  The Michigan Fires that night may have resulted in 500 deaths and 300 people likely died in the Chicago Fire (see Hultquist's article on the 1871 Midwest Fires). 

I will write more on the Peshtigo Fire next week, so stay tuned. 

Note: Edited on October 16, 2021 for clarity, readability, and other minor corrections.

Notes
1. Fr. Pernin's account of the Peshigo Fire that I reference in this article was reproduced by the Wisconsin Historical Society in The Wisconsin Magazine of History in 1971, V54, #4. There is a later reproduction of Fr. Pernin's account, The Great Peshtigo Fire, the most recent being in 2014 published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press: 2nd edition with a forward by Stephen J. Pyne. I have not read the 2014 edition.

Other articles in this series:

Reference List

Estep, Kim, Green Bay Press-Gazette reprinted by the U.S. National Weather Service Greenbay Wisconsin, Peshtigo Fire. Obtained on October 1, 2021 from https://www.weather.gov/grb/peshtigofire

Hultquist, Thomas, Science and Operations Officer, U.S. National Weather Service Twin Falls Minnesota, The Great Midwest Wildfires of 1871. Obtained on October 7 from https://www.weather.gov/grb/peshtigofire2

Hultquist, Thomas, 2013, The Great Peshtigo Fire of 8 October 2013, presentation at the Omaha AMS Chapter Meeting on 13 January, 2013

Mass, Jeff, 1999, Peshtigo Fire Map. Obtained on October 6, 2031 from https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM101577

Pernin, Peter (Rev) 1874, Great Peshtigo Fire: An Eyewitness Account, reprinted in Wisconsin Magazine of History V54 #4 (Summer 1971) pp. 246-272. obtained on October 5, 2021 from https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wmh/id/46361

Pyne, Stephen J, 1997, Fire in America, University of Washington Press (Seattle and London)

Schafer, Joseph, 1927, Editorial Comment: Great Fires of Seventy-One, Wisconsin Magazine of History V11 #1 (September 1927) pp. 96-106. Obtained on October 5, 2021 from https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/wmh/id/6167

Wisconsin Historical Society, Historical Essay: Peshtigo Fire. Obtained on October 6, 2021 from https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS1750

Wisconsin Historical Society, Historical Essay: Place Abraham and Place, Elizabeth, Survivors of Peshtigo Fire. Obtained on October 7, 2021 from https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS15931

Wisconsin Historical Society, Historical Essay: October 8, 1871: The Night Peshtigo Wisconsin, Was Destroyed by Fire. Obtained on October 6, 2021 from https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS2911

Wednesday, October 06, 2021

Neptune Aviation's BAe-146 Tanker: a cockpit tour

I am always interested in tanker and helo videos that take me up close and personal into their operations on a wildfire. I found a nice YouTube by Blancolirio video courtesy of Neptune Aviation's Facebook Page (they have great photos). From time to time I have seen some of Blancolirios videos and Youtube and have enjoyed them. So when I saw that Neptune Aviation had shared his video of a cockpit tour of their BAe-146, I knew that I had to check it out and share it with you. Allow a little less than eight minutes to watch the video.

Direct link to video on YouTube by Blancolirio

Monday, October 04, 2021

NWS Incident Meteorologists: What they do and what is required

I saw this nice graphic from my friends at the NWS Incident Meteorologists on their social media platforms. As I write this, Facebook is down but Twitter is up, so I am sharing their Tweet. To the best of my knowledge the NWS Incident Meteorologists office posted the same content to both platforms. The post below originated from the NWS Bay Area Weather Forecast Office on September 21st, I suspect that their two IMETs that were deployed on that date to different wildfires may be at or near the end of their deployment. 

Here is a nice short video that I found online, perhaps from the NWS Incident Meteorologists FB page, from the NWS Reno where their IMETs share their experiences working wildfires.




I respect the training that IMETs go through both to become IMETs as well as any recurrent training. I am also interested when I see that IMET trainees are deployed to wildfires. 250 hours of training is impressive and I am glad that they get survival training. It seems from the above graphic that the IMET trainees have to be knowledgeable in 150 tasks with any appropriate sign offs before they become full fledged qualified IMETs. Here are some recent deployments of IMET trainees. If I am correct in my understanding of how this works, IMET trainees are assigned to wildfire where a fully qualified IMET is working where they qualified IMET supervises the trainee. 


Friday, October 01, 2021

Coulson Aviation: C130 Tanker and Helitanker

Enjoy these two short videos from Coulson. The first video shows their C-130 tanker in action. In the second video you will learn a little about their helitanker.