2022 wildfire season: Red Flag Warnings in Southwest and Mid-Atlantic

 Most morning the first thing I do is to check my local National Weather Service Forecast Office (NWS Philadelphia/Mt Holly) to get the current weather forecast and to be aware of any current weather hazards. So the first thing I noticed is that New Jersey and adjoining areas in Pennsylvania are under a Red Flag Warning for the second day in a row. Along with chilly temperatures (brrr!). 

Obtained on April 29, 2022 from https://www.weather.gov/phi/

When I was listening to the news on the radio earlier this morning, the reporter mentioned that portions of the southwestern United States are under Red Flag Warnings, including States such as New Mexico seeing major wildfires such as the Cooks Peak Fire (55,931 acres) and the Hermits Peak Fire (65,824 acres). Acreage totals are acreage burned from Inciweb at the time I am posting this article. Anyway, it seemed only appropriate to write about today's Red Flag Warnings across the United States. Each NWS Weather Forecast Office (WFO) develops their own Red Flag Warning criteria in collaboration with their partners (including but not limited to State fire fighting agencies); this criteria will vary across WFOs.

screen shot obtained on April 29, 2022 from https://www.weather.gov/fire/

I want to thank all wildland firefighters who are out there today fighting wildfires so that we may be as safe as possible. especially those in areas seeing Red Flag Conditions. Stay safe out there.

2022 NJ wildfire season: Red Flag Warning (April 28)

 

obtained on April 28, 2022 from https://www.weather.gov/phi/ 

Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS): spring 2022

 

Many of you may already know that the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) are activated as needed when all contracted firefighting aerial resources are already committed. There are eight C-130’s in the MAFFS program:

• 146th Airlift Wing - California National Guard 146th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard
• 152 Airlift Wing - Nevada Air National Guard 152nd Airlift Wing, Nevada Air National Guard
• 153rd Airlift Wing- Wyoming Air National Guard 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard
• 302nd Airlift Wing Air Force Reserve, Paterson Air Force Base 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve, Peterson Air Force base

Each C-130 in the MAFFS program is fitted with a 3,000 retardant tank that is installed on each aircraft (see the video).

MAFFS are important because they provide a “surge” capability that can be used to boost wildfire suppression efforts when contracted airtankers are fully committed or not readily available. They can discharge their entire load of up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant in less than five seconds, covering an area one-quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide, or make variable drops. Once the load is discharged, it can be refilled in less than 12 minutes (Obtained on April 27, 2022 from https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/planes/maffs)

There is a nice article from Task and Purpose (April 24, 2022) focusing on the 302nd Airlift Wing Air Force Reserve speaking to how MAFFs are used to fight wildfires. It is a nice read and I hope you take a few moments read the article. The article provides some additional background on the MAFFs program and how the Air Force crews approach firefighting in their C-130s. Here is an excerpt providing a little more detail on the turn around time for reloading a MAFFS c-130 and flying the fire.

"The maintenance crews waiting at the flightline are trained like a NASCAR pit crew, the officer explained: the plane can land, take on a fresh supply of fire retardant and take off again in as little as 15 minutes. A hard day’s work might involve six to eight drops, but crews have performed as many as 15 in a single day. Remember, each of those drops involves an intense amount of concentration to pull off, but it also requires a significant amount of flexibility, Lt Col Richard Pantusa is the chief of aerial firefighting for the 302nd.

All it takes is the wind to shift 90 degrees and everything we’re working on can be called off,” Pantusa said. For example, if smoke blows over the drop zone, it might limit visibility, which makes it too dangerous for MAFFS crews to fly into. Luckily they do not fly alone: it’s standard procedure for C-130s and other firefighting aircraft to follow a smaller lead plane, often flown by federal or state pilots, which makes sure the conditions and wind speed are good and that the escape route is clear for the aircraft to climb back up.

“They show us where the retardant goes, we fly right behind him,” Pantusa said. “They help before you take a 150,000-pound aircraft through.”

As I write this I believe that annual training for MAFFS is underway, after which MAFFS will be ready to be deployed to wildfires if the call comes. Thank-you to the pilots and crews of the C-130 MAFFS for your service. Be safe.

 

2022 wildfire season: NWS Incident Meteorologist deployments (April 25)

As most of you know, the 2022 wildfire season is well under way across the United States, including my own state of New Jersey. Today my focus is outside of New Jersey, but if something develops in my own state, I will write another post. 

With wildfire season comes the deployments of NWS Incident Meteorologists (IMET).  Most deployments are for two weeks. I am listing the IMET deployments in the last week at the end of these paragraphs, thanks to the US National Weather Service IMET Program on Twitter. You may also find the NWS IMET Program on Facebook. This seemingly simple listing of IMET deployments takes a bit of time and comes with a lot of respect and love for the work that IMETs do to provide wildland firefighters the best possible weather forecasts so that they may be safe. IMETs save lives!

There are two sources you may go to in order to learn more about what IMETs, The first is  this great article from Weather Nation on The Role of Incident Meteorologists & Fire. Two a last year , I shared a 21 minute YouTube video called "Forecast Earth, Forecast the Inferno."

To the best of my knowledge there were no IMET deployments from April 14 to April 19. I am listing IMET deployments since April 20:NWS 

April 20

• IMET from NWS Midland, Texas deployed to 2022 Initial Attack near College Station, Texas.
• IMET from NWS Flagstaff, Arizona deployed to the Crooks Fire south of Prescott, Arizona.
• IMET from NWS El Paso, Texas deployed to the Cooks Peak Fire near Ocate, New Mexico.

April 21 and 22 no deployments but . . . the NWS IMET Office shared this extreme fire warning from the NWS in Albuquerque, New Mexico

We cannot overstate how dire & dangerous the weather situation is today!! Very strong winds, exceptionally low humidity, above normal temperatures & unstable conditions are a recipe for extreme fire weather.

Ongoing wildfires will spread & grow rapidly! #OneLessSpark #NMfire pic.twitter.com/WhfqQMwEgw

— NWS Albuquerque (@NWSAlbuquerque) April 22, 2022

April 23

• IMET from NWS Riverton, Wyoming deployed to the Tunnel Fire north of Flagstaff, Arizona.
• IMET from NWS Tucson, Arizona deployed to the Cooks Peak Fire near Ocate, New Mexico.
• IMET from NWS Tucson, Arizona deployed to the Hermits Peak Fire near Santa Fe, New Mexico.
• IMET from NWS Grand Junction, Colorado deployed to the Cerro Pelado Fire near Jemez Springs, New Mexico.
• IMET from NWS Rapid City, South Dakota deployed to Nebraska Spring 22 near North Platte, Nebraska.

April 24 and 25, no deployments at the time I write this post.

2022 NJ wildfire season: enhanced fire danger

I wrote on April 8 reflecting on then recent rainfall wondering if drought conditions in New Jersey would diminish. The answer is yes, most of New Jersey is no longer under drought conditions. Only southern New Jersey is abnormally dry. While I am happy that my area of New Jersey is no longer seeing drought conditions, I am aware that wild fire danger is always present.

Obtained on April 22, 2022 from https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?NJ

Dry conditions can exacerbate fire danger, but fire danger exists without a drought because other factors such as high winds and low relative humidity values play into wildfire danger. And fuels and soil can dry quickly after a rainfall. Today we in New Jersey are under enhanced fire weather warnings. I want to thank the New Jersey Forest Fire for all that they will do today to keep us in New Jersey as safe as we can be from wildfires. Be safe out there.

Special Weather Statement

National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ

405 AM EDT Fri Apr 22 2022

...Enhanced Threat for Fire Spread Today...

The combination of lower humidity values, breezy conditions, and drying fine fuels will lead to an enhanced threat for fire spread today across portions of eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and eastern Maryland. Relative humidity values are forecast to drop into the 20s to around 30 percent, while winds will gust out of the northwest around 20 to 25 mph at times.

Residents are urged to exercise caution handling any potential ignition source, including machinery, cigarettes, and matches. Be sure to properly discard all smoking materials. Any dry grasses and tree litter that ignites will have the potential to spread fire quickly.

For more information about wildfire danger, burn restrictions, and wildfire prevention and education, please visit your state forestry or environmental protection website.

2022 NJ wildfire season: a new wildfire in Ramapo Reservation (Mahwah, Bergen County)

 I wrote a couple of days about a wildfire in Ramapo Reservation in Bergen County, New Jersey (see my April 16th post). On Wednesday April 20th a new wildfire was reported in Ramapo Reservation. The wildfire is about 40 acres, no residences were threatened or destroyed. According to my friends from the NJ Forest Fire Service Section B10 two helicopters worked the wildfire.

historic wildfires: 1985 Middlesex County NJ

 On April 19, 1985, a wildfire burned at least 600 acres in Monroe Township in Middlesex County, NJ. Thanks to my friends at the NJFFS Section B10 who found some audio clips and photos from this fire and put together a six minute video on YouTube.

Direct link to video from the NJ Forest Fire Service Section B10 on YouTube

No recreational drones in fire zones

I have nothing against drones as long as they flown safely and legally. There are a number of good uses for zones including but not limited to reconnaissance by the National Weather Service in storm surveys, footage for real estate transactions, traffic surveys, agricultural operations and news operations. Flying unauthorized drones in or near a fire zone is not a valid and safe use because drones interfere with aerial operations over a wildfire. Most fire fighting agencies including the the New Jersey Forest Fire Service will shut down air operations over a wildfire if an unauthorized drone is spotted in or near the fire zone. Shutting down air operations means that the wildland firefighters on the ground lose the support of air tankers, helicopters and observation aircraft.

2022 NJ wildfire season: wildfire in Ramapo Reservation

April 17, 2022 update fire contained on April 16th

April 16, 2022 7 AM

This just in. NJ Forest Fire Service crews are working a wildfire in Ramapo Reservation in Bergen County in northern New Jersey. The County has closed the park. I do not know the size of the fire.

2022 NJ wildfire season: April 15th

The NWS at Mt. Holly issued a special weather statement for enhanced fire weather concerns for southern and central New Jersey along with portions of southeast Pennsylvania earlier today:

Fire Weather Planning Forecast

National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ 

1007 AM EDT Fri Apr 15 2022.

DISCUSSION...

A very dry air mass is forecast to build into our region for today. Relative humidity values are expected to fall to around 20 percent in the afternoon. A south to southwest wind is  anticipated to increase to 10 to 15 MPH with gusts around 20  MPH, resulting in some fire weather concerns. Rain amounts were light and spotty for portions of PA and NJ yesterday, so after coordination with PA and NJ state partners, we have issued aspecial weather statement for portions of SE PA (with theexception of Carbon and Monroe where the fire weather season has yet to begin), and central and southern NJ.

We are expecting an increase in relative humidity values along with scattered showers on Saturday, mainly in the afternoon and evening. However, breezy dry conditions will likely return for Sunday and we may again need to focus on fire weather concerns at that time.

Small wildfire in central New Jersey

Thanks to my friends at the NJFFS Section B10 website who reported on a wildfire in Pemberton Township, NJ. There was some spotting. Tanker 61 worked the fire and there was an observation helicopter in the air. I am not sure of the size, only that it was a multi-acre fire. If I hear of other wildfires in New Jersey I will make another post, however, there are likely to be small wildfires that I do not know about.

Friday Fun: some scenes from New Jersey on a holiday weekend

For many this is a holiday weekend coming up with both Easter and Passover coinciding. I want to wish all who are traveling this weekend safe travels. And for those who celebrate either Easter or Passover, I wish a happy holiday. I am also rethinking what I call Friday Fun. With this being mid-April with spring in its many personalities here, I wanted to share some of the beauty of New Jersey. With this in mind I am sharing two videos showing the beauty of a couple of favorite places of mine. The first is a flight in a Cessna 182 over the Delaware Water Gap and the second is of Island Beach State Park.

Delaware Water Gap

Direct link to video on YouTube from bassfreqdotcom

Island Beach State Park

Direct link to video on YouTube from NJ dot com

2022 NJ wildfire season: spring wildfire season has begun, fire safety and ember awareness

We are now in the spring wildfire season here in New Jersey with SEATs on contract through the second week of May: through May 10th in Southern New Jersey NJFFS Division C and through May 12th in Division B. As for northern New Jersey (Division A), last year they had a helicopter with bucket available during spring fire season and I assume but am not certain that the same holds for this year.

Just today I came across this video from the NJ Department of Environmental Protections and the NJ Forest Fire Service called "Ember Awareness" about the threat of ember attacks during a wildfire. The New Jersey State Forest Fire Service has a webpage with publications on what homeowners can do to prepare their homes and property for wildfires, this webpage may be found here. While some of this information may be specific to New Jersey, I think that it might be applicable elsewhere. When I went to this site just now I saw the following publications:

• Firewise USA
• Firewise landscaping in New Jersey
• How to prepare your home for wildfires
• Ready, Set, Go

Direct link to video on Youtube from Discover DEP-NJ Department of Environmental Protection

About fire weather: learn about mixing height

Thanks to my friends at the NWS Incident Meteorologists for sharing this very informative video from Dr. Darren Clabo, Fire Meteorologist for South Dakota, on a fire weather parameter known as the mixing height. I obtained this link from the NWS IMET office in an April 9th post on their Facebook page, unfortunately I am not able to post a direct link to that post. I do read fire weather forecasts and have run across this term and only had a very basic knowledge of what the mixing height referred to. Now, thanks to Dr. Clabo, I know some more. Allow just under 20 minutes to watch the video, it is well worth your time.

Direct link to video from South Dakota Fire Weather

Reflections on recent rainfall and spring wildfire season in New Jersey

When the US Drought Monitor released their weekly map of drought conditions in the United States on Thursday, April 7th (valid for April 5th), I was not surprised to see that southern New Jersey remains under a moderate drought and the rest of New Jersey continues as abnormally dry. While we had what may have been a normal amount of rain last week, it was not enough to change drought conditions in New Jersey. So if we only look at current drought conditions, it might seem that New Jersey remains dry and with spring wildfire season either currently under way or under way soon then these apparent dry conditions may not bode well for the spring wildfire season.

Obtained on April 8, 2022 from https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

According to the main page of the Drought Monitor website, "the data cutoff for Drought Monitor pas is each Tuesday at 8 a.m. EDT. The maps, which are based on analysis of the data, are released each Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

However, New Jersey has experienced two low pressure systems since Tuesday evening April 5th bringing a great deal of rain to much of New Jersey. Since the cutoff for data is 8 a.m. on Tuesdays, I feel safe in saying that the rainfall that we got in New Jersey occurred after the cutoff for the April 7, 2022 U.S. Drought Monitor Map. By the way, I checked with someone at my local NWS Weather Forecast Office in the in Mt. Holly NJ who told me that I was correct in saying that Tuesday's rainfall in New Jersey started Tuesday evening. 

I wonder if this rainfall may alleviate the drought in New Jersey? I am unable to provide a definitive answer to this question while we await for the U.S. Drought Monitor to come out with new maps next Thursday, April 14th, I turned to the NWS Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center because they monitor water supply and precipitation, among other things, across the river basins in their forecast area. 

The NWS Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center (NWS MARFC) has two types of precipitation data that might be helpful. The first are maps showing 24, 48 and 72 hour accumulated rainfall across the river basins included in their forecast area . The map that I am sharing here is the 72 hour estimated precipitation from the NWS MARFC for the 72 hours ending at 1 PM on Friday, April 8, 2022. Note the dark purples, reds and oranges in New Jersey, indicating rainfall in excess of 1.75 inches with some areas having estimated precipitation of 2.5 inches or more

Obtained on April 8, 2022 from https://www.weather.gov/images/marfc/mpe/past72.png

I had a conversation with the hydrologists at the NWS MARFC who reminded me of their precipitation departure maps. As the name implies, these maps show precipitation departures from normal across their forecast area. They produce these maps for varying time periods from 7 days up to the last 365 days. I choose the year to date map for New Jersey to share with you (January 1, 2022 through April 7, 2022). If we continue to have rainfall close to average in the immediate future, and we may not, there is cause for some optimism as many counties in New Jersey havre precipitation departures just above average or less than an inch below average. Only two counties have precipitation departure of minus one inch or more.

Obtained on April 8, 2022 from https://www.weather.gov/marfc/NJPrecipitationYTD

So I am cautiously optimistic that we may be close to turning the corner from abnormally dry or moderate drought conditions to a better situation in southern NJ and normal conditions (no drought or dry conditions) in central and northern NJ. Time will tell, I will be back next week with an up date on drought conditions in New Jersey. By the way, I am aware that we in New Jersey and elsewhere in the northeast are relatively lucky as there are extreme drought conditions in the western U.S. 

2021 wildfire season: Idaho City Hotshots 2021 crew video

As a non-firefighter who is interested in wildland firefighting,  I always enjoy watching wildfire crew videos. Enjoy this sixteen minute of the Idaho City Hotshots 2021 season.

Direct link to video uploaded by Krossed Saints

This just in: wildfire in Wharton State Forest NJ

April 5 7:20 PM

Thanks to my friends from the NJ Forest Fire Service Section B10 for telling me about a 62 acre wildfire burning near High Crossing, a ghost town located in Wharton State Forest in Burlington County, NJ (NJFFS Section B3). I know no other information at present. I will update this post when I know more information. 

April 6 8:42 AM

I have no further information about the 62 acre fire in Wharton State Forest. I do know that it rained across all or much of New Jersey last night. If there was rainfall over this fire then I expect that the rain aided the firefighters. 

Reflections on upcoming spring wildfire season in NJ

As we may be near the end of the spring prescribed burning season here in New Jersey and with the spring wildfire season soon upon us, my thoughts turn to paying even closer attention to current and forecasted weather than I do at other times of year. This week, the first full week in April may be a damp week in New Jersey and environs. If that weather forecast holds, then it may mean reduced risk of wildfires. I say maybe because after following and continue to learn about wildfires, I know that even when wildfire risk is minimal that there is still a chance, however minimal, that wildfires may still burn. 

We have been in an abnormally dry period in central and northern New Jersey for the last couple of weeks, with southern New Jersey in moderate drought conditions (see my March 28th post) According to the last update from the US Drought Monitor  (updates available each Thursday reflecting conditions two days before, archived data also available). We had some rain the middle of last week and this weekend but I am not sure if this was enough to to alleviate the dry and drought conditions in New Jersey. So even with forecast rain, I remain concerned about continuing dry conditions in New Jersey and the prospects for a worse spring wildfire season. Of course my concerns are just that concerns, as I am not a Meteorologist nor am I a wildland firefighter.

Obtained on April 5, 2022 from https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

My concerns about the severity of the spring wildfire may or may not materialize. Even so, there are things that I can do, such as monitoring weather forecasts from the NWS Weather Service as well as monitoring current fire danger. In New Jersey I can monitor current fire danger through the NJ Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) webpage where the NJFFS has an information page on conditions and restrictions. For those of you who live outside of New Jersey, you may want to monitor wildfire conditions through your states forest fire service or the equivalent. There are two NWS Weather Forecast Offices (NWS WFO) in New Jersey covering different parts of the state. The NWS WFO in Upton New York covers the five northeastern counties, The NWS WFO in Mt Holly NJ covers the rest of New Jersey.

There are some tips from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP.). The NJ Forest Fire Service is one of the divisions of the NJDEP.

Some of these tips are easy for me to follow as I have no children, I do not smoke, and I have not used my indoor fire place in a few years. I used to camp when I was younger and was taught by my Dad how to be sure that our campfire was fully doused when we left the campsite and an adult was always around when the campfire was lit. After having a lantern catch fire when I was a kid that scared the you know what out of us, we always brought a fire extinguisher along on our family camping trips. I try to be sure that my driveway is accessible if for no other reason than I need to be sure that the fuel delivery trucks can access the driveway. 

As for defensible space, I keep leaves out of my gutters because if I do not the gutters get clogged.  I admit the while most of the gardens adjoining my house are covered with stone, there is some leaf detritus around and I need to be better at keeping the leaves and the like away from my house.  Yes, I have various perennials and shrubs planted. If I were in an area with higher overall widfire danger, I would have to carefully consider what I plant. 

The closest I came to a small brush fire was when a utility transformer on a pole across the street caught fire. That was scary but my local Volunteer Fire Company was on the ball putting the fire out once the power county cut power to the utility transformer in question. This just goes to show that fires of any kind can crop up and it does pay to be fire aware.

About wildfires: some terminology

 As sometimes happens I got involved in a couple of appointments out of the house and then some important personal business, so I am unable to make the post that I intended to make today. I will try to make up for this tomorrow. In the meantime, here is a short video about some commonly used wildfire terminology.

Direct link to video from WBIR Channel 10 (Tennessee) on YouTube

Friday Fun: A look at the Beech 18

 I became acquainted recently with the Beech 18 aircraft through reading I'll Take the 18: The Story of Beech 18 Freight Flying by Scott H. Gloodt. I had a great time reading about flying freight in the Beech 18 and learned about the Beech 18 and her capabilities. It is available from many e-book vendors. Here is a video that Gloodt did about the book.

Direct link to video on Youtube from Lifted Up Productions

 Here is another video about flying the Beech 18 In the video below you will experience flying in a Beech 18.

Direct link to video on Youtube from Section Eleven Outdoors