2020 and 2019 wildfire season: Midewin Hotshots crew videos

The Midewin Interagency Hotshot Crew, based in the Midewin Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington, Illinois is the only hotshot crew in the eastern region. As a resident of the eastern region, I am honored by their work fighting wildfires. They are a national resource. The Midewin Hotshots have a nice Facebook page that may be found here. 

I seemed to have missed posting their 2019 crew video, Included among the states where they fought wildfires in 2019 are Virginia, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Mexico, Alaska, and Michigan.

Direct link to 2019 Midewin Hotshot crew video on Youtube

In 2020 they worked wildfires in Missouri, Midewin Tallgrass Praire (Illinois), Michigan, Arizona, New Mexican, Washington, and Oregon. A listing of their 2020 crew is listed at the end of the video. 

Direct link to 2020 Midewin Hotshot crew video on Youtube

Nice fire photography including shots of tankers and helicopters in both videos. Thanks for your service where you honor the eastern region.

2019 wildfire season: Engine 606 crew video

Enjoy this video summarizing the 2019 season of the US Forest Service engine 606 crew. Engine 606 is out of Minturn, Colorado.

Direct link to video on Youtube

2019 wildfire season: Wyoming Hotshots

Enjoy this 2019 season highlight video from the Wyoming Hotshots.


Direct link to video on Youtube

2019 NJ wildfire season: civil charges filed for Spring Hill Fire

A little over a year ago, the Spring Hill fire burned 11,638 acres in the New Jersey Pine Barrens (aka as the Pinelands), for more information on this fire see my two articles (with links) from April 1, 2019 here and here, and my April 8, 2019 articles with some aerial photos of the fire. I am especially fond of the section of the Pine Barrens near where the Spring Hill fire burned, known as Penn State Forest. I have traversed a portion on sand roads in my old all-wheel drive Subaru and when my knees were better, I walked along another sand road. If memory serves, deeper in Penn State Forest are some small pines that I call Pygmy Pines. They grow no higher than about 3 feet and for reasons that are hard to explain, I am drawn to the Pygmy Pines are special to me. I have seen Pygmy Pines elsewhere in the Pine Barrens but have never seen the Pygmy Pines in Penn State Forest. I do not know the area well enough to know what has and has not come back in the year since since the Spring Hill Fire burned. Nor do I know if the Pygmy Pine Plains in Penn State Forest burned. I do know and have seen with my own that the pines in the Pine Barren can come back after a fire, see my April 2019 article for more information.

I found out late last week, that civil charges have been filed against five individuals with actions that lead to the Spring Hill fire (see this April 16th press release from the NJ DEP for more information):

The filing of civil charges comes one year after the fire burned 11,638 acres of land in Bass River and Penn State forests. A complaint signed Friday, March 20, charges five individuals with setting a fire without written permission, and failure to extinguish the fire and notify authorities. The court filing seeks approximately $50,000 in restitution. 

“The Forest Fire Service’s pursuit of those responsible for this devastating wildfire was necessary because they recklessly put lives and property at risk,” Commissioner McCabe said. “The Spring Hill fire burned for a month, closed roads and required extensive resources to keep the public safe. Thankfully, there were no injuries or personal property damage during the fire, but thousands of acres of the public’s natural resources were needlessly destroyed. 

The press release goes on to explain that the Pinelands ecosystem is especially vulnerable to fire:

The Pinelands ecosystem, which covers a large swath of southern New Jersey – including the area of the Spring Hill wildfire -- is especially vulnerable to wildfires because its predominant tree and shrub species are particularly flammable. In addition, this region tends to dry out quickly after rainfall because of its porous and sandy soils. 

That was the case with the Spring Hill wildfire on March 30, 2019, which resulted when embers from an illegal bonfire on private property escaped and set a nearby forest ablaze. Weather conditions fueled the spread. 

Please pay attention to any regulations involving camp or bon fires. Please do fully extinguish any fires with water where it is cool to the touch before leaving the area.

On a personal note and 2019 wildfire season: Middlefork Ranger District (OR) Crew 501 crew video

On a personal note, yours truly the author of this blog had cataract surgery on one eye a week ago, and the second cataract surgery is scheduled for next week. The surgery is being done in outpatient surgery center devoted only to eyes, so hopefully that will bode will during restrictions from Covid-19. Even with only one eye done, corrected for distance and mid-range, my vision is better. The eye surgeon cleared me to drive, which is great. Yes, I am staying close to home and practicing social distancing. And with my eye drops, I don't need to tell you how many times a day I am washing my hands.

I had planned last week's articles prior to my cataract surgery but had not prepared ahead for this week.

Working on the computer is a bit of a challenge until I get my second cataract surgery. I am getting used to where I have to see to see the computer. But it is a bit of a strain, so I try not to overdue.

I had something else planned for today's blog article, but I was feeling somewhat tired and decided to chill out this afternoon. So, this post is coming late in the day. Better late then never.

With that being said, I leave you with this 2019 crew video from Crew 501 from the Middlefork Ranger District in the Williamette National Forest in Oregon. 

Update on August 14, 2020: The video I shared when I first posted has since been deleted. 

2019 wildfire season: Apple Valley 2019 Fire Season

It is time for another 2019 highlight video, this one from a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) crew based in Apple Valley, CA.  What impressed me about this video is catching a glimpse of what a typical wildland fire crew does to stay in shape during fire season.

Thanks Apple Valley crew for all you did in 2019 fighting wildfires to keep us safe. Stay safe.


Direct link to video on Youtube

2019 wildfire season crew videos: Mill Creek Hotshots

I am back from a short holiday. It is the time of year when I like to post crew videos from this past season. Here is a nice video from the Mill Creek Hotshots with images and videos from their 2019 season. They are based in the San Bernardino National Forest in California. Enjoy.


Direct link to video

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: Upper Yukon Alaska wildfires

I have been writing about the wildfires in Alaska of late, see for example my July 26th post about the New Jersey Forest Fire crew, NJS#1 that was deployed to Alaska and my August 2nd post about crews from the continental United States deployed to Alaska. I wanted to do something a little different today, I will get to that in a moment. First, I went to the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center to look at the latest Situation Report from the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (August 8, 2019), the latest situation report may be found here so the numbers I am presenting here (taken from the August 8th Situation Report) may be different from the latest Situation Report. As of Thursday August 8th, there have been 615 wildfires in Alaska this year that have burned 2,434,032.3 acres where lightning caused wildfires account for 2,391,207 acres, new and or staffed wildfires account for 511,541.8 acres with the difference in acreage representing wildfires in monitoring status.

Always looking for something a little different, as I was today, I checked out Mike Archer's Wildfire News of the Day (go here for subscription information). In his August 5th edition of his Wildfire News of the Day e-mail, I found a nice story from Must Read Alaska showcasing drone footage of the 500,000 acre Chalkitsik Complex (upper Yukon). The Chalkitsik Complex has a page on inciweb. The drone aka (UAS) footage is from the AKIMT/BLM AFS Alaska Fire Service/DNR Alaska Division of Forestry. The video below was embedded in the Must Read Alaska article, uploaded by the 2019 AKUYD Chalkyitisk Complex.


Direct link to video from the 2019 AKUYD Chalkyitisk Complex

I then went to Alaska Fire Info to see if I could find any interesting photographs and I was in luck. I found a nice photo essay from a wildland firefighter from the Tanana Chiefs Initial Attack Crew, the photo essay is dated August 8th and an August 7th photo essay of the Chalkyitisk  Complex. The Chalkyitisk Complex is, if I am not mistaken, located in the Upper Yukon in Alaska, Alaska Fire Info posted an update about the status of the wildfires burning in the Upper Yukon, with a map here.

2019 wildfire season: IMET deployments (July 22-26)

As wildfire season has ramped up in the western region of the lower 48 in the United States as well as in Alaska, there is an increase in deployments of National Weather Service Incident Meteorologists (METs) to wildfires over the last month. You may go and check on IMET deployments for yourself at the US National Weather Service IMET Facebook page, they also post educational materials such as this 55 minute video, Fire on the 5s on remote sensing and wildland fires. I have watched this video and learned a lot, I will probably watch it again soon.

By my unofficial count, IMETs have been deployed to at least nine different fires since July 10th: Alaska (3), Nevada (1), Arizona (2), Idaho (1), Oregon (1) and Washington (1). Sometimes more than one IMET will be deployed to a fire. Included in these figures are the following IMET deployments since July 22nd up to and including July 26th:

• July 22nd, NWS Flagstaff Arizona IMET deployed to Museum Fire near Flagstaff Arizona: 1,961 acres burned at 61percent containment.
• July 22nd, NWS Boise Idaho IMET deployed to Vader Fire near Stanley Idaho: 443 acres burned at 95 percent containment.
• July 26, NWS Medford OR IMET deployed to Milepost97 Fire near Canyonville Oregon: 11,668 acres burned at 10 percent containment.
• July 26, NWS Spokane WA IMET deployed to Left Hand Fire near Naches Washington: 2,500 acres at 8 percent containment.

Typically, IMETs serve a two-week deployment on a wildfire providing important weather forecasts for the area where the wildfire is burning, go read this NWS article about what IMETs do to learn more about what IMETs do. Remember IMETs save lives.

2019 wildfire season:NJ Forest Fire Service Crew nears end of two week deployment in Alaska

The NJS #1 crew from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service is near the end of their two week deployment in Alaska. NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association has been doing a great job under difficult circumstances (no direct communications with crew due to remote location) providing updates on NJS #1 crew. Here is their July 24th update on the Grouse Creek Fire where the NJ# #1 crew has been assigned. The Grouse Creek Fire is located about six miles north of Rampart, Alaska.

The size is now estimated at 30,276.1 acres. Personnel assigned remains at 107. There is still no direct cell phone communications with NJFFS crew, due to the remote location. Report from the AICC SitRep - Numerous residences commercial facilities and infrastructure as well as many structures and out buildings are under threat from this fire. Protection efforts are needed as well as continued assessment of best strategy to work on this fire. Crews will continue notification and survey of community along with preparing structures as needed. Continue needs assessment and complete evacuation plan for Rampart Village.

Also on July 24th, NJFFS A2 shared a short video shot by wildland firefighters assigned to the Grouse Creek Fire. The fire was burning in Black Spruce along and near the Yukon River.

Finally, the NJFFS A2 just provided an update about an hour ago (July 26th), saying in part:

All indications are that the New Jersey crew will complete today's assignments and then begin the demob process. Information from the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center this morning is vague, at best. "Prior to the morning hours on Thursday, the fire pushed in a northeast direction toward Troublesome Creek. Ongoing point protection work will continue with structures and allotments both up and downriver from Rampart. Hose lays and sprinklers will be tested. Mop up will continue." 

To the NJS #1 Crew, I am so very of you. You honor us here in New Jersey with your service helping out in Alaska. I am so very proud of you. Stay safe and safe travel home.

Updated on July 31 2019: the links to the Facebook posts from the NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association are no longer active. Other sources of information are the daily situation reports from the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (AICC), and Alaska Fire Info (daily updates during fire season). Updates about when the NJS #1 crew was released was also obtained from the Eastern Area Coordination Center's  Interagency Resource Representative Report (IARR), updated daily while Eastern Area crews are deployed.

2019 wildfire season: Sheep Fire at Idaho National Labs, late evening update

July 26, 2019 3:15 PM

Normal operations resumed at INL on Thursday, July 25. It is anticipated the Sheep Fire will be at 100 percent containment this evening. No INL structures were damaged, there were no injuries, and there were no radiation releases. At the time I am writing this, the INL Emergency Operations Page still has information on the Sheep Fire.


July 24, 2019 10:15 PM
I am writing to provide a late day update on the Sheep Fire that is burning on lands owned by the Idaho National Labs (INL), please see the article on the Sheep Fire that I wrote earlier this morning. I was out and about today enjoying a nice summer day in New Jersey. Even so, I found myself checking out the INL Emergency Operations Page as well as Bill Gabbert's Wildfire Today. I was waiting for INL to post their July 24th afternoon press conference about the Sheep Fire and looking for any updates by Bill Gabbert. Bill did not disappoint as he updated his reporting on the Sheep Fire at 6:37 MDT. He has a good report and I hope that you take the time to review his updated article with links to photos and videos of the fire as well as some information about weather conditions impacting fire operations this afternoon. Finally, He shared the video of INL's afternoon press conference, I will get to that in a minute. Briefly, important take-aways from Bill's latest update confirmed by INL Emergency Operations are:

• INL continues to monitor radiation and air quality. There are no radiation releases. 
• Commercial power at INL is not affected by the Sheep Fire. Repairs are underway to electrical infrastructure damaged in the fire without affecting power to INL.
• Normal operations at INL are expected to resume on Thursday, July 25th.

As I was preparing to write this article I first went back to the  INL Emergency Operations Page and saw their latest update today at 7:17 MDT (on July 24th) with some updates to the information reported in their earlier press conference. That is, the fire has burned 113,000 an increase of 3,000 acres from the figure reported earlier, containment is estimated at 60 percent, and the fire is no longer a threat to INL research facilities.

So, keeping in mind that there is later information not referred to in INL's July 24th press conference, I am sharing the video for your convenience. Those of you who have already seen Bill's article may have already watched this video on his site. Careful listening reveals that they were hoping for 50 to 60 percent containment and that they were in the process of doing some mapping of the fire to ascertain acreage burned. The video is over 24 minutes long. In the first 7 minutes of the video you will hear from various INL personnel and contractors about their operations. The report from the INL fire chief about wildfire operations starts at about 7 minutes followed by a Q&A period.

2019 wildfire season: Sheep Fire burns near Idaho National Labs

I was perusing Bill Gabbert's Wildfre Today site earlier this morning where I came upon his very good article (with a map) on July 23rd reporting on the Sheep Fire that has burned 90,000 acres near Idaho National Labs (about 24 miles north of Idaho Falls). Idaho National Labs (INL) engages in nuclear energy research and development. The Sheep Fire started from a lightning strike about 6:30 PM local time on Monday, July 22nd. INL's emergency operations center was activated a short time later on the 22nd.  As Bill has reported and confirmed by INL's Emergency Operations press releases:

• non-essential employees have been evacuated from several INL facilities, 
• INL is anticipating a loss of commercial electrical power and have back-up plans,
• INL continues to do radiation monitoring and levels are within normal parameters.

I understand from the INL Emergency Operations press release that firefighters from INL and the Bureau of Land Management responded to the wildfire. To follow the latest from the Sheep Fire, go to the INL Emergency Operations page where at the time I write this, they have a series of press releases, at the time I am writing this post, no injuries have been reported, winds continue to be a challenge, and air quality testing is ongoing. As always, if you are arriving here later, the information at the link I provided might be different. 

Idaho National Labs had a press conference on the afternoon of July 23rd, a summary of this press conference was posted to their Youtube Channel, and I am embedding it below. I did have some trouble with some of the audio, I could not hear some of the Q&As. But they did provide information on fighting the wildfire in the first few minutes of the video. For example, there has been airsupport including 1 very large airtanker, 3 large airtankers and a few SEATs. I believe that wildland firefighters through mutual aid from fire companies in and perhaps outside of Idaho have been helping local wildland firefighters fight the fire.

Direct link to July 23rd video from Idaho National Labs

Please see my late evening July 24th for an update on this fire.

2019 wildfire season: out of state crews working in Alaska

I had heard that were many United States based crews located outside Alaska that are working in Alaska. I got curious and went looking and am sharing this information with you. The information below is only U.S. based crews and does not reflect crews from Canada that may be helping in Alaska. The information below on U.S. Crews working wildfires in Alaska is from the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center obtained from the  Situation Report for July 22, 2019 (updated daily). Out of State crews in red. Crews are usually 20 persons.

Part of Cornucopia Complex
1. Chandalar River, 1,000 acres
Type 1 IHC: American River (CA), Union (OR)

2. East Fork 143 acres
Type 2: AK

3. Frozen Calf 6,528 acres
Type 2 IA: AK

4. Hadweenzk River 54,953 acres
Type 1 IHC: Chena (AK), Eldorado (CA), Mad River (CA), Tallac (CA)
Type 2: AK
Type 2 IA: CA
Type 1 Modules : SD, CO 

5. Tony Slough, 4,937 acres
Type 2 IA: MT

Grouse Creek 13,498 acres
Type 1 Module, MT
Type 1 IHC: Prineville, OR
Type 2 IA: NJ, OH

Hess Creek 173,467 acres
Type 2 modules: AK, 3

Klutina River 126 acres
Type 1 IHC: Bitterroot, MT

Kobe 896 acres
Type 1 IHC: Midewin, IL
Type 2: AK, WA
Type 2 IA: MO (2), AK

Little Creek 135 acres
Type 1 IHC: Midnight Sun, AK

McCall Creek 3,384.5 acres
Type 1 IHC: Pioneer Peak, AK

Rainbow 2 15,000 acres
Type 1 Module: UT, ID
Type 2 IA: MT, WA

Shovel Creek 21,309 acres
Type 2: AK, 2
Type 2 IA: CA, WA, AK

Swan Lake 107,027 acres
Type 1 IHC: Flathead, MT
Type 2 IA: AK, 4
Type 1 Module: ID, CA
Type 2 Module: OR

2019 wildfire season: NJ Forest Fire Service Crew in Alaska (July 20th)

The crew from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, NJS Crew #1 continues their work near Rampart Alaska on the Grouse Creek and Twin Ponds Fires. I believe that they are at the end of their first week of a two week deployment. The last information I was able to find is that posted by the NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association on July 19th, who wrote that the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center website is offline. I myself tried to access this site just now, and I was unable to. To the best of my knowledge what the A2 Firefighters Association posted on July 19th, information for July 18th, is the last available information. For those interested, I wrote about NJS Crew #1 on July 16th and 17th.

From A2 Firefighters Association Facebook Page on July 19th:

Friday, July 19, 2019 - NJS Crew 1 - Grouse Creek (#485) and Twin Ponds (#486) – 8,500 acres, 95 firefighters 

The Grouse Creek and Twin Pond fires are burning about 6 miles northeast of Rampart. Growing to roughly 14,000 acres, the fire has pushed through the tundra driven by 5-10 mph winds. Crews continue to assess and protect structures and allotments at fish camp and Alfred’s cabin. A perimeter flight is planned for today around Grouse Creek. 

The Garnet Creek Fire, 12 miles southwest of Rampart, has burned 2,000 acres and is being monitored by the incident management team stationed at Rampart. Increased fire activity, driven by the wind, moved the fire east on Thursday toward a sparser fuel component. Smoke will be visible throughout the Rampart area and likely settle in low lying drainages and along the Yukon River. 

Updated on July 31 2019: the links to the Facebook posts from the NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association are no longer active. Other sources of information are the daily situation reports from the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (AICC), and Alaska Fire Info (daily updates during fire season).

2019 wildfire season: NJ Forest Fire Service Crew in Alaska (July 17th)

I continue to follow NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association's coverage of NJS Crew #1 in Alaska on the Grouse Creek Fire, see my earlier post of July 16th. Here is an excerpt from the NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association July 17th update of about 10:30 AM EDT, they are referring to a late night (July 16th) report from Alaska:

Ninety-five people are assigned to the Grouse Creek and Twin Pond fires, which are burning about 6 miles northeast of Rampart. The two fires have burned together and are estimated at 7,750 acres combined. … Structure assessment and protection around the village of Rampart is complete and is continuing on the north edge of the fire and at the nearby mine. The Incident Management Team is finalizing an evacuation plan, should an evacuation become necessary, and the structure protection plan.

NJFFS A2 has accessed and incorporates daily intelligence situation reports and other information about the Grouse Creek Fire from the Alaska Interagency Fire Center in their reporting. This takes a bit of time to go and fetch it and I appreciate their efforts.

The NJ Forest Fire Service posted a report and photo of NJS Crew #1 in Alaska on July 16th; they wrote that this was the first time a NJFFS crew has been deployed to Alaska.

NJFFS Section B10 is also covering the fire on their Facebook page.

The only local reporting from the New Jersey region of the NJS Crew #1 that I know of to date is from NJ Advance Media (aka NJ.com) who published an article on July 17th.

My thoughts are with the NJS Crew #1 as they work the Grouse Point and Twin Pond Fires in Alaska. Thank-you for honoring New Jersey with your service. Stay safe.

Updated on July 17th at 7PM

The NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association posted two more articles today. In the first article (about 2PM) they shared that the Grouse Creek Fire is now at 8,500 acres. In another article, that they just posted, they share a picture of NJS 1 Crew (courtesy of Donna Storch) unloaded an airplane at the Rampart Airport. The photo and another short update on the Grouse Creek Fire is found in a longer article (dated July 17th) on the Alaska Wildland Fire Info Website about fires burning in the Tanana district of Alaska, where the Grouse Creek Fire is currently burning, you will have scroll down to read the piece about the Grouse Creek Fire with Ms. Storch's photo. Note, I am not sure how long this link with the article will be valid.

Updated on July 31 2019: the links to the Facebook posts from the NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association are no longer active. Other sources of information are the daily situation reports from the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (AICC), and Alaska Fire Info (daily updates during fire season).

2019 wildfire season: New Jersey Forest Fire Service Crew deployed to Alaska

I am late in posting that the New Jersey Forest Fire Service deployed NJS crew #1 to Alaska on Friday, July 12th. See the NJFFS Section B10 July 13th Facebook post for a statement on the deployment, they say in part:

Friday’s mobilization of a 20-person interagency handcrew of New Jersey firefighters to Alaska marks a first for the state. Experiencing record-breaking high temperatures and unseasonable dryness, Alaska has reported over 160 active large fires burning almost 1.5 million total acres. With local resources strapped by the demands of active incidents, Alaska’s area Preparedness Level has been declared a 5, the highest on the scale.

The crew traveled to Fairbanks Alaska then to Fort Wainwright for staging.

The NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association has been posting updates on NJS Crew #1 deployment in Alaska. According to their July 14th post the crew is assigned to the Grouse Creek Fire, perhaps caused by lightning, six miles from Rampart Alaska near the Yukon River.  In their July 15th Facebook post, the NJFFS A2 Firefighter Association says in part:

NJS #1 is assigned to. Undergoing extreme fire behavior. Fire growth in several directions but predominantly moving northeast. 3 separate columns were observed. Expecting acreage to double in the next 24hrs and to possibly double again within 48 hrs. Threatened in addition to Rampart are allotments and structures from NE to SW of the fire along and near the Yukon River. … Working on MAPs. Will continue needs assessment and draft evacuation plan. 

I may have been late in this first post about NJS Crew #1, but be assured that I have been thinking about them the last few days. I am very proud of the crew. You honor New Jersey. Stay safe.

Updated on July 31 2019: the links to the Facebook posts from the NJFFS A2 Firefighters Association are no longer active. Other sources of information are the daily situation reports from the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (AICC), and Alaska Fire Info (daily updates during fire season).

2019 wildfire season: Alaska (July 9)

The State of Alaska has had a very active wildfire season so far this year. According to Bill Gabbert's July 8th article, the National Interagency Fire Center has Alaska at it's highest level of prepardness, level 5. He goes on to report on the deployment of additional hotshot crews to Alaska and some of the larger wildfires. There are National Weather Service Incident Meteorologists (IMETs) currently deployed to Alaska, see this July 5th Facebook Post from the US National Weather Service IMETs. IMETs save lives!

Inciweb has information on five Alaska wildfires, I suspect that this is just a partial listing of the active wildfires in Alaska as inciweb only lists wildfires on federal lands:

Swan Lake Fire: 96,889 acres at 14 percent containment
Montana Creek Fire: 356 acres at 30 percent containment
Nugget Creek Fire: 6,937 acres, no containment information
Shovel Creek Fire: 12,053 acres at 15 percent containment
Hess Creek Fire: 146,321 acres, no containment information

Here are some recent videos about the wildfires in Alaska, thanks to my friends at NJFFS Section B10 for sharing these videos this week.

From the National Interagency Fire Center, uploaded on July 3rd


Direct link to video

Alaska National Guard at Montana Creek Fire


Direct link to video

Fire footage


Direct link to video

2019 wildfire season: reflections on being safe

As we enter the summer wildfire season here in the United States, I have been thinking that many say that wildfire season is not just limited to one or two prime wildfire seasons but is indeed year round in many areas. Even if you don't live in an area that is now prone to wildfires year round, it is always a good idea for us to think of how we can be safe. Just as we on the east coast should have an evacuation kit ready to go in the event of a hurricane or tropical storm, those in areas prone to wildfires year round or a part of the year should have an evacuation kit and a place where you will meet up with your family if evacuations are necessary and you are not able to evacuate together. One thing I have learned in the ten plus years I have been writing this blog on aerial wildland firefighting is that one never knows when a wildfire might crop up in your area. So it is good to always be prepared and to be as safe as we can be. I have been thinking about how we can be safe from wildfires recently, and I have some thoughts and reflections I will share. Please be safe.

How about the area around your house? Are fire hazards removed? If not and especially if you live in a wildfire prone area of your state, visit your state wildfire agency and they should have resources to help you. One national program to promote residential wildfire safety is called Firewise USA, and they have a website chock full of information. Another good resource for homeowners is the prevention and education page from The National Interagency Fire Center. Finally, don 't forget to checkout Smokey the Bear's website with a lot of good information for all ages, including a wildfire prevention how-to page.

I live in an area of New Jersey that is at lower risk for wildfires than other areas, so I admit that the area around my house is not completely fire safe. At some point I may pay the price for this, I hope not. But if I lived in the Pine Barrens in central and southern New Jersey or along and near the Kittatiny Ridge as well as areas of the New Jersey Highlands in northern New Jersey, I hope that I would take more care in keeping combustibles away from my home.

Don't throw a cigarette out the window of your car. If it is very dry and you are driving there are a couple of things you can do to prevent wildfires, be cognizant on if a tail pipe under your car might be dragging and if you get a flat, don't drive on the rim

Follow any burn and campfire restrictions, and if it is legal for you to purchase and use fireworks or sparklers please do not do so when it is very dry.. If you are camping and you are allowed to build a campfire, only use a designated fire pit and be sure to fully extinguish the fire, cool to the touch, before you leave.

We all need to heed voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders, whether they be for a wildfire, weather related, or a hazardous spill. I live a couple miles from a freight rail line, you never know. If you want a heads up about coming fire danger, follow your local National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, go here for a national map, and click as close as you can to the area where you live to be taken to your local NWS Weather Forecast Office. The NWS has a nice wildfire safety page with all the information you will need to be prepared, take some time to go to this page and read it. If you read nothing else, read this page on Fire Weather Watches and Red Flag Warnings.

Residents and business owners can help the firefighters by being safe, and following evacuation orders. Clearing combustibles from around your house and using, as required, construction materials that resist flames helps.

Regarding air tankers and helicopters that fly fires, remember that tankers and helicopters can not fly if it is too windy. The exact criteria for winds that will shut down an aircraft depends on the type of aircraft. Further, they may not be able to fly if visibility is too low. Any lightning storm will shut down air operations. The pilots want to help the firefighters on the ground but they also want to be safe. Likewise, wildland firefighters are trained to be safe, I'll write about that in a few days.

2019 wildfire season: first IMET deployment

The first National Weather Service Incident Meteorologist (IMET) was deployed on June 9th. An IMET from the NWS Tucson Arizona Weather Forecast Office was deployed to the Elk Fire that is currently burning in the Gila National Forest. According to a comment from the IMET office on this NWS IMET Facebook post on June 9th, this is their second latest start in 35 years. IMETs save lives by providing incident specific weather forecasts so that the wildland firefighters have up to date weather information specific to the incident. Personally, I am not reading anything into the late deployment of the first IMET. I have a creepy feeling that this is going to be a very busy fire season.

At the time that I am writing this post, the Elk Fire started on June 6th and has burned about 500 acres. From the incident overview that I accessed on the Elk Fire Inciweb page just now:

The Elk Fire, approximately 500 acres, is burning on National Forest System lands on the Quemado Ranger District, Gila National Forest. The strategy for this incident is to suppress the fire to the smallest fire footprint. Lack of access and resistance to control, the ability of firefighters to suppress this fire will be extremely difficult and limited. (accessed from Elk Fire Inciweb page on June 10, 2019)

I wrote a post in August 2018 about what IMETs do, including a video and links to other articles I wrote about IMETs.

IMETS save lives!