Creek Fire Fresno and Madera Counties (Sept 2020) Three Years Later

I was inspired to write about the still ongoing recovery from the September 2020 Creek Fire after reading Mike Archer's Wildfire News of the Day Newsletter on September 5th. He shared a September 4th report from ABC30 Action News. According to CAL FIRE's incident report on the Creek Fire, the fire burned 379,895 acres, destroying 856 structures, damaging 71 structures with 26 confirmed injuries. Bill Gabbert wrote extensively about the Creek Fire in Wildfire Today, see for example his September 5th 2020 article. Bill's Creek Fire archives may be found here.

ABC30 Action News sat down with Shaver Lake Fire Chief Steve McQuillan, he started off by saying

"It's easy for me sometimes to forget the devastation because here in the immediate vicinity of Shaver, you look out our windows, and all you see is green. When we respond to a call at Huntington Lake, as soon as you get past Shaver Lake and start heading up into the high country, it's nothing but devastation. Any direction you look, trees gone, and really not much has grown back," explained McQuillan. "A lot of time has gone by since then. We have had to adjust our training a little bit in anticipation of what we might next experience. Of course, we are living on a knife's edge with the threat coming from the East. East of Shaver Lake, the fire did not get to, so we still have miles and miles and miles of green forest, which have still, unfortunately, a large number of dead trees as a result of bark beetle.

The Shaver Lake Volunteer Fire Department had eleven members at the time of the Creek Fire, only six were to respond to the fire. Three members lost their homes. I hope that you take a few moments to read the report from ABC30 Action News.

Communities impacted by large, destructive wildfires may take time to recover, the story of the ongoing recovery from the 2020 Creek Fire is but one story. There are many more stories I am not able to share here. My heart goes out to all who suffered the loss of their homes, businesses, and the loss of loved one.

Direct link to video on YouTube from ABC30 Action News

More on Discovery Channel's CAL Fire series

 I wrote last week about Discovery Channel's CAL Fire Series, see my January 6th post. I had not had a chance to watch the episode 1 "Sacrifice."Actually, I have watched the first episode twice, thanks to Discovery On Demand and recorded episode 2, "A Devil Comin' At You." Discovery is air the short lived CAL Fire series on Sunday nights at 10 PM. So far I know of three episodes. You should (I hope) be able to watch these episodes for free at the Discovery Channel CAL Fire watch now page. I have no idea how long Discovery will make these episodes available on their web site. Some of you may be interested in the review that Bill Gabbert, who was a wildland firefighter for 30 years, had to say about episode 1, his review may be found on this January 4th post on Wildfire Today.

I approached watching Discovery's CAL Fire series as a chance to watch and learn about how CAL Fire has fought some of the wildfires from the devastating 2020 wildfire season. As I understand it, Discovery imbedded some reporters with hi tech cameras for three months with CAL Fire companies as they fought wildfires. They also captured some off duty moments such as training, and preparing and cooking meals. But much of the focus is on the wildfires. Through these two episodes you hear firefighters talking fighting wildfires, the sacrifices they make and their love of the job. There is some discussion about the strategies they use to fight specific wildfires and the wildfires themselves. 

In episode 1, "Sacrifice", footage of engine companies fighting the Apple Fire (Riverside County) and the Ponderosa Fire (Shasta Fire). I won't get into details about these two fires as they are referred to in the episode. In episode 2, "A Devil Comin' At You" a different CAL Fire is showcased, fighting the River and the Carmel Fires in northern California, I believe but am not sure that both burned in Monterey County.  I am not sure, but I believe that I saw a NWS Incident Meteorologist give a weather briefing about a dry lightning forecast on the River and Carmel fires. Throughout each of these two episodes, I saw tankers and helicopters working the wildfires in support of the firefighters on the ground.

As I watched these two episodes, I reminded myself that I am looking at how CAL Fire fights wildfires with a focus on the 2020 wildfire season. While I believe that some of the basics of wildland firefighting may be the same, i.e. cutting line, felling trees, dozers, and aerial support (if available); what other state firefighting agencies and federal wildfire crews (US Forest Service, BLM, etc.) do will be different (size of wildfires, weather, topography, fuel types, etc.).

2020 widlfire season: Glass Fire (CA)

The Glass Fire burned 67,484 acres in September and October 2020 in Napa Valley California destroying 1,555 structures and damaging another 285.

Enjoy this footage (about 30 minutes) of the aerial attack on the Glass Fire, you will hear some radio communications in the backgroumd. If you don't have 30 minutes to spare, watch for a few minutes.

Among the tankers you will see are (not in order as shown on the video) DC-10 (10 Tanker), P-3 (Air Strike), S2-T (Cal Fire), MAFFs C-130, and Global Super Tanker 944 (747).

January 15, 2021: Opps, in reviewing my posts over the last couple of months I just realized that I shared this same video on December 7, 2020. Oh well. 

Direct link to video on Youtube

2020 wildfire season: initial attack on small brush fire in San Diego County CA

 Enjoy this video of two helicopters working a small brush fire in San Diego County California in support of wildland firefighters on the ground. Thanks to their efforts, this November 2020 brush fire was contained about about two acres. This is a fine example of initial attack successfully containing this brush fire at small acreage burned. Thanks to my friends at the NJFFS Section B10's video of the week page who shared this video from Onscene TV about three weeks ago.

Direct link to video from Onscene TV

2020 wildfire season: Glass Fire Tanker and Helo footage

 I don't know about you but sometimes I just like to look at footage of air tankers and helicopters working a wildfire in support of the wildland firefighters on the ground. I found this footage today in my wonderings on Youtube, it is about 30 minutes of tanker and helos working the Glass Fire in California in September/October of 2020. According to CAL FIRE, the Glass Fire burned 67,484 acres in Napa and Sonoma Counties California. At the time of this writing, the cause of the fire is under investigation. 1,555 structures were destroyed and another 282 were damaged.

Direct link to video on Youtube uploaded by Craig Philpott

2020 wildfire season: NWS Incident Meterologist deployed to Burn Fire (Orange County CA)

While areas burned earlier in the western U.S. may be beginning post fire rehabilitation and recovery, with the recent Santa Ana winds and Red Flag Warnings in California, I wondered if any wildfires would crop up. I heard about the Bond Fire in Orange County, CA yesterday, perhaps through the news feed on my devices or on social media. The fire started late the night of December 2nd from a house fire. I read Bill Gabbert's December 3rd coverage of the Bond Fire. Bill's coverage is in line with other reports I read this afternoon: 6,400 acres burned to date. Evacuation orders remain in place as I write this. According to a tweet earlier today from Orange County Fire Authority, there have been 11 aircraft working the fire in support of the wildland firefighters on the ground.

I do check the US National Weather Service IMET Facebook page most days to see about recent deployments and other news from the IMET (Incident Meteorologist) office. When I checked this morning, I was pleased to see that a US National Weather Service Incident Meteorologists from the NWS San Diego Weather Forecast Office was deployed to the Bond Fire the afternoon of December 3rd. 

With critical fire weather still forecast for the Los Angeles area through December 5th and again early next week, I am relieved that an IMET will be working this fire to provide location specific forecasts so that the wildland firefighters and the nearby residents will be safe. IMETS save lives. 

2020 wildfire season: California day after red flag warnings lifted

Direct link to October 28th update from CAL FIRE on Youtube (note the video title misidentifies the date. The video is not the October 27th update. While the video I embedded above is perhaps more meaningful to California residents or those familiar with California, I thought that some of you might want to see the video, it takes a little more than six minutes. Also it is a good way to honor and thank the hard working firefighters, on the ground and in the air along with their support teams who are fighting wildfires in California.

Like many of us, my thoughts have been with California the day after red flag warnings have been lifted. 

I wish that I could do more to acknowledge what is going in in California after an all ready devastating wildfire season then posting some videos, but it is what I can do and not overwhelm you with information. A daily update for October 28th with links for information about all wildfires currently or recently burning in California may be found here, thanks to Mike Archer at Wildfire News of the Day (WNOTD) who provided that link in todays WNOTD e-mail. I found some raw video from Loudlabs News of the two of wildfires, Silverado and Blue Ridge, both were first reported on Monday, October 26th while under red flag warnings. These two videos provide a minuscule glimpse of wildland firefighters fighting these fires. Both wildfires are in Orange County, and according to CAL FIRE, they are considered to be a part of the same complex. As I write this, according to CAL FIRE, the Silverado Fire has burned 13,354 acres and the Blue Ridge Fire has burned 14,434 acre. Evacuations were in place, two firefighters have been severely injured. For good reporting on these two fires as well as the injuries to the firefighters see Bill Gabbert's Wildfire Today article of October 28th on the Silverado and Blue Ridge Fires for more information. 

Direct link to video from Loudlabs News

Direct link to video from Loudlabs News

2020 wildfire season: red flag warnings through October 27

I first read about the current red flag warnings in this Washington Post article from the Capital Weather Gang (October 24th). These red flag warnings are in effect from October 25th through at least October 27th. I was not surprised because I knew from prior years that this is time of year when extreme fire danger can happen in California. Knowing of these red flag warnings, I went to Bill Gabbert's Wildfire Today site as a part of my daily routine of checking on current wildfire news. I saw that he had written a very nice article on Wildfire Today (October 24th) about these red flag warnings. He did his usual excellent job of reporting and I would urge you to check on his article. While I was checking Bill's site, I saw this October 26th article about the Silverado Fire which according to CAL Fire started today, evacuations are in place. Bill Gabbert has up to date information on wildfires that have started in the warned areas of California, you might want to check out his blog, Wildfire Today (on or about October 26-7) for current information.

Obtained on October 25, 2020 from https://www.weather.gov

I am not great on naming colors, but what I call the hot pink color refer to red flag warnings issued by the National Weather Service. I got a downloaded a couple of images from the Facebook page of the U.S. National Weather Service Office at Sacramento, California. The image about red flag warnings is probably an updated image of what Bill Gabbert shared on October 24th.

Obtained on October 26th from NWS Sacramento CA (Oct. 26)

Peak wind gusts posted by NWS Sacramento CA, October 26th 9AM PDT

2020 wildfire season: Bobcat Fire Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER)

 Now that the Bobcat Fire is at 96 percent containment at 115,796 acres, Burned Area Emergency Response (aka BAER) has begun. I have written about BAER on previous occasions, mostly about BAER on specific wildfires (go here for these posts). It has been awhile since I last wrote about BAER and knowing that the area burned by the Bobcat Fire will be undergoing BAER, I wanted to write about this today. First, here is a short video from the National Park Service Fire and Aviationwith a general description of BAER to give you a brief idea about what BAER is about.

Direct link to video from National Park Service Fire and Aviation

There are three phases of wildfire recovery (obtained from Inciweb Page on Bobcat Fire BAER information on October 14, 2020.

1. Fire Suppression Repair 


2. Emergency Stabilization-Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) 


3. Long-Term Recovery and Restoration 


Fire Suppression Repair is a series of immediate post-fire actions taken to repair damages and minimize potential soil erosion and impacts resulting from fire suppression activities and usually begins before the fire is contained, and before the demobilization of an Incident Management Team. This work repairs the hand and dozer fire lines, roads, trails, staging areas, safety zones, and drop points used during fire suppression efforts. 


Emergency Stabilization-Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) is a rapid assessment of burned watersheds by a BAER team to identify imminent post-wildfire threats to human life and safety, property, and critical natural or cultural resources on National Forest System lands and take immediate actions to implement emergency stabilization measures before the first post-fire damaging events. Fires result in loss of vegetation, exposure of soil to erosion, and increased water runoff that may lead to flooding, increased sediment, debris flows, and damage to critical natural and cultural resources. BAER actions such as: mulching, seeding, installation of erosion and water run-off control structures, temporary barriers to protect recovering areas, and installation of warning signs may be implemented. BAER work may also replace safety related facilities; remove safety hazards; prevent permanent loss of habitat for threatened and endangered species; prevent the spread of noxious weeds, and protect critical cultural resources. 


Long-Term Recovery and Restoration utilizes non-emergency actions to improve fire-damaged lands that are unlikely to recover naturally and to repair or replace facilities damaged by the fire that are not critical to life and safety. This phase may include restoring burned habitat, reforestation, other planting or seeding, monitoring fire effects, replacing burned fences, interpreting cultural sites, treating noxious weed infestations, and installing interpretive signs. 

The Inciweb page for the Bobcat Fire BAER has additional information, including a soil burn severity map, mapping damage to the soil from the fire and key elements of a BAER assessment. I will keep an eye on the Bobcat Fire BAER progress and make further posts.

2020 wildfire season: update from CAL FIRE for October 1st

I like CAL FIRE's daily situation updates because it provides me with one stop shopping, so to be speak, to get an overview of the situation in California. Here is the situation update for October 1st.

Direct link to video from CAL FIRE

2020 wildfire season: footage of El Dorado Fire (San Bernardino, CA)

 Like many of you, I have been following, as I can, the El Dorado Fire that has burned 22, 744 in the San Bernardino National Forest near San Bernardino, California. The El Dorado Fire was started by pyrotechnics at a gender reveal party, see Bill Gabbert's September 7th article on Wildfire Today. Sadly, a fire fighter, Charlie Morton, died while working the El Dorado Fire. 

I found a great video for you, but on the long side, of footage of the El Dorado Fire. Both are worth watching. I appreciated these videos because I was able to get a glimpse of what is like for the wildland firefighters on the ground supported by tankers and helos, working the El Dorado Fire.

The first video, El Dorado Fire: Up Close and Personal, is from the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Allow just over seventeen minutes to watch the footage, it is worth it! The footage takes you through fighting the fire to repopulating residences to final acknowledgements.  You will also learn more about Charlie Morton. RIP Charlie, prayers for your family, friends, colleagues, and all who love you as they mourn your loss.

Direct link to video from the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

The second video is much shorter

2020 wildfire season: thanks to NJFFS deployed in western USA

I am sure that many of you have joined me in thinking and offering our own personal prayers for all those affected by this devastating wildfire season in the western United States. As I have done so, I am every mindful of the men and women of the NJ Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) who are currently deployed on wildfires out west. So this post is in honor of all of the men and woman of the NJFFS who have served out west, are currently deployed out west, or are awaiting deployment. You are working hard on your assignments, I know that you are doing your best to be safe so that you can come home to your family and friends at the end of your deployment. I know that your service is appreciated by those who live or work near the fires you are working on. 

I found a nice article late last week, from the SandPaper (September 24th), New Jersey Forest Fire Service busier than ever this year with western wildfires. I want to share it with you and encourage you to take a few moments to read this great article offering a little insight into the work that NJFFS crews are doing out west. At the time the article was written, there had been 74 firefighters and 10 engines deployed out west. Most drove but at least one crew flew. One of the NJFFS firefighters who is deployed out west is Bill Donnelly from Mays Landing NJ, a 30 year veteran, who is serving as a task force leader. He shares a little about the work that his crews are doing:

‘A fire’s a fire’s a fire,” Donnelly said resolutely. “Some are bigger than others, but the work that goes into putting them out is the same.” That was not to downplay the gravity of the situation, as he described this particular season as “chaotic.’

‘It’s just like you see on the news,’ he said. ‘The fires are raging, burning down houses, killing people. There is something to be said about that.’

Donnelly’s team is in northern California, bordering Oregon, on a million-acre fire. ‘It’s a pretty big one,’ he said, comparing the size to about one-third of New Jersey. The work involved requires long hours and extensive hiking on very little rest. Just getting to the fire takes his team three to four hours. ‘We’re working in areas where homes have already burned down around us,’ he described. ‘We’re keeping it in check and keeping it from carrying on further.’

Donnelly outlined the multiple factors at work creating the prolonged disaster on the West Coast. First, there has simply been an overwhelming number of fires due to intense weather, high winds and low humidity: ‘All the ingredients necessary for fire are at play.’ With the longer season comes the need for more responders.

I wrote a couple of family and friends who live in southern California, telling them about all the crews and engines that the NJFFS has sent to California. They said to say "thank-you, we appreciate it." 

I don't want to leave out other states in the eastern region, please know how much your service means to me. 

I am honored by the service of all from New Jersey and elsewhere in the eastern region who have been or are currently deployed out west. You honor us with your service. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you

2020 wildfire season IMET deployments (Sept 11 to Sept 24)

As the western United States is experiencing a devastating wildfire season, National Weather Service Incident Meteorologists (IMET) continue to be deployed to a large number of wildfires to give firefighters on a given incident the best possible weather forecast so that they may be safe as the work to fight wildfires and as necessary do their best to provide structure protection. Recent readers may know that I have been following the Bobcat Fire (113,986 acres) that is still burning in the Angeles National Forest near Pasadena California. I watched a couple of virtual public meetings (a day later) held be officials providing updates about the fire. In the two virtual public meetings that I watched, I heard the IMET then deployed to the fire provide an incident specific weather forecast. I had not thought about this aspect of what an IMET does. I know that they work hard to determine current and future incident specific weather conditions as well as providing briefings to firefighters. I admit that I had not thought that they would be present at briefings to brief the public. The presence of the IMET at the virtual public meeting spoke volumes to me. IMETs save lives.

Before I get to recent IMET deployments, I had the opportunity to correspond via social media with NWS meteorologists about fire weather including a representative from the NWS IMET office. I asked how many IMETs were currently deployed to wildfires. This is what they said: "Currently (September 23rd) 30 IMETs are deployed to fires. This is a record for this date. Historically, no more than 20 IMETs have been deployed on a single day past September 19th."

Here is a list of IMET deployments over the last two weeks, obtained from the National Weather Service IMET Facebook Page. Links are to the specific post about the deployment where you may find links for more information about the fire. IMET deployments are usually for two weeks. If IMETs are required at an incident beyond the two week deployment period, another IMET will rotate in. Looking at the list of deployments below, it appears that there might be more than one IMET (not including an IMET trainee) on some fires, or perhaps the deployment was shorter than two weeks. Any errors are mine.

September 11th

• Archie Creek Fire near Gilde, OR

September 13th

• Brattain Fire near Paisley, OR
• Dolan Fire near Big Sur, CA
• North Complex near Quincy, CA
• August Complex near Elk Creek, CA
• El Dorado Fire near Yucaipa, CA

September 14th

• Red Salmon Complex near Denny, CA
• Castle Fire part of the SQF Complex near Porterville, CA

September 15th

• Slater Fire near Happy Camp, CA (IMET trainee)
• Thielsen Fire near Chemult, OR
• Beachie Creek Fire near Detroit, CA

September 16th

• Cameron Peak Fire near Redfeather Lakes, CO
• Badger Fire near Oakley, ID

September 17th

• August Complex near Elk Creek, CA
• North Complex near Quincy, CA (IMET trainee)
• SQF Complex near Porterville, CA
• Creek Fire near Shaver Lake, CA (IMET trainee)

September 18th

• East Fork Fire near Hannah, UT
• Creek Fire near Shaver Lake, CA (IMET trainee)

September 19th

• El Dorado Fire near Yucaipa, CA

September 20th

• August Complex near Elk Creek, CA

September 21st

• Castle Fire part of SQF Complex near Porterville, CA
• Dolan Fire near Big Sur, CA
• Bobcat Fire near Pasadena, CA

September 22nd

• Archie Creek Fire near Gilde, OR
• Lionshead Fire near Warm Springs, OR
• Creek Fire near Shaver Lake, CA

September 24th

• Williams Fork Fire

2020 wildfire season: Bobcat Fire (Angeles National Forest) update (Sept 21)

On September 16 I wrote about the Bobcat Fire, at the time it had burned 44,393 acres. Due, in part to high winds couple with low humidity, as I write this the Bobcat Fire has burned 105,345 acres in rugged terrain. Evacuation orders are in place and an unknown number of residences as well as a nature center have been destroyed. As winds allowed, airtankers and helicopters continue to work the fire to support the firefighters on the ground. I offer my heartfelt prayers for all the firefighters working this and other wildfires as well as living or working in communities affected by this and other wildfires out west.

Bill Gabbert wrote a nice article on September 18th with some nice photos along with the then current situation.

The Bobcat Fire is one of many wildfires burning in the western United States. For personal reasons, it is the Bobcat Fire that I am following. I suspect that many of you have followed the Bobcat Fire and other wildfires burning in the western United States through national or international news outlets as well as you local newspapers and media outlets. I knew over the weekend that I wanted to post on the Bobcat Fire today. I thought the best way for me to do so was to embed a few videos. So if you are information overload about these fires, then you know what to do. And if you are not, then take a little time to watch these videos.

The first video is from KCBS in Los Angeles, shot on September 18th, showing some of the destruction in Juniper Hills.

Direct link to video

The second video is also from KCBS in Los Angeles from this morning. The reporters provide an update on the then current status including evacuations. In addition, they discuss the firefighters, on the ground added by aerial assets a are working to save Mt. Wilson.

Direct link to video

I end with a video uploaded by WOW Media with thirteen minutes of footage of the Bobcat Fire uploaded on September 19.

Direct link to video

2020 wildfire season: Bobcat Fire in San Gabriel foothills and Mt. Wilson

A couple of days ago I began to follow the Bobcat fire in the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California. The fire is threatening nearby foothill communities. As I write this, the fire has burned 44,393 acres. While some mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted, allowing residents to return, other mandatory evacuation orders and evacuation warnings remain in place.  I began following the fire through the Bobcat Inciweb pages, the Angeles National Forest facebook page as well as some media outlets, see for example this KABC article (September 16th) or this KCBS report (September 14th) or this September 15th article from Pasadena Now. Yesterday I learned that the flames came within 500 feet of the observatory. Tankers and helicopters made strategic drops to help the firefighters on the ground fight the fire on Mt. Wilson and save the historic observatory as well as vital communications and electric infrastructure. I was very interested to see that a portable container was set up on Mt. Wilson to allow the LA Count Firehawk to dip and drop on Mt. Wilson.

See this September 15th twitter post from the LA County Fire Air Ops retweeted by the Mt. Wilson Observatory, you will have to click on the link to see the photo of the Firehawk dipping on Mt. Wilson

Today, @LACoFireAirOps set up a mobile water reload container in the Mount Wilson parking lot. With support from a @Cal_OES fire engine, one of our brand new S70i Firehawk helicopters helped protect @MtWilsonObs & other critical infrastructure from the advancing #BobcatFire. pic.twitter.com/sSufOOKqOI

— LACoFireAirOps (@LACoFireAirOps) September 16, 2020

Alternatively, the same photo is included in the following Facebook post from the LA County. The link to full post where you may read about the evacuation orders and see the 3-D photo (very cool) may be found here.

Firefighters continue to work to fight the fire on Mt. Wilson and to save the observatories, outbuildings, and transmission infrastructure. While progress has been made fires continue to burn, so they are not out of the woods yet. The firefighters have also worked hard to protect the foothill communities. Kudos to the firefighters.

Direct link to video from CBS Los Angeles

The two facebook posts below were posted on September 15th.

2020 wildfire season: NJ Forest Fire Service deployments Sept 14 update

I have a couple of friends who live in areas affected by the wildfires out west. Somehow to say to my friends that what they are going through is scary beyond words feels wholly inadequate. This continues to be a devastating wildfire season for many areas in California, Oregon, and Washington. What is close to my heart as I write this is that thousands and thousands of people are scared, they may be evacuated and are wondering what they will come home to. Others are living in areas under evacuation warnings, ready to leave at a moments notice, wondering if the fire will come to their neighborhood. Wildland firefighting resources are stretched to the max, those of us in States that are able, are sending engines and crews to help the wildland firefighters work the fires. We are there to help you.  

I am so proud of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, at Governor Murphy's request, a Russian transport cargo plane transported three additional engines, a support vehicle and ten wildland firefighters to California, they arrived in San Francisco on Saturday, September 12th. They join a few NJFFS engines and crews already working in California, Nevada and elsewhere in the western U.S. Most states in the Eastern Area Coordination Center have sent engines and crews to help out west   Here is a nice article from Josh Axelrod of NJ Advance Media about the deployment of NJFFS resources.

2020 wildfire season: update on NJFFS deployments (September 10th)

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) continues to provide crews and engines to the western United States to help fight wildfires. I am very proud of all the NJFFS crews and engines, you are doing good work under tough conditions. You are sacrificing time with your family and friends because what you do is fight fires and you help where you are needed. Here are two reports highlighting the NJFFS crews work out west. The first is by Josh Axelrod reporting for New Jersey Advance Media on September 4th, with a paywall. Unfortunately, you may not be able to read the article, but just in case try going here to see if you can view the article, apologies if you can not access the article. I felt it important to acknowledge good local reporting on the NJFFS deployment. Axelrod reports that "over the last six weeks 51 New Jersey Firefighters have been sent to western States, with nine currently in California." NJFFS Chief Greg Mclaughlin talks about the deployment with Axelrod of New Jersey Advance Media:

“Something’s changing,” McLaughlin said. “Why it’s changing, how it’s changing, is still uncertain or unclear. It’s the extremes that’s happening that are really causing an unpredictability.”

In response to another year of volatile forest fires, NJFFS has sent three modules, or 10-person crews, to Wyoming, four engines to California, an engine to Nevada, an engine and resource specialists to Colorado and two helicopter managers to Montana.

Two to three crew members man each engine that drive across the country to their assignment. When crews arrive, they typically camp out, though occasionally they stay in hotels.

“There’s great eagerness to go and help out,” McLaughlin said. “It’s what they’re trained to do and it’s what their career is. It can be stressful, and it’s a sacrifice, because in the summer, school’s off, your kids are home, and you’re agreeing to leave for two weeks, to leave your family and commit to this. So it’s a big sacrifice, but there’s an eagerness and a high level of commitment to wanting to do it.”

The second report, from 6ABC in Philadelphia is freely available. I am not sure how long the link will be active so if you are arriving here some time after the date of this article, and the links are broken, you will know why. The September 10th report from 6ABC with a video may be found here, and I am embedding the video at the end of this article.

Here is an excerpt from the 6ABC report:

Yesterday, the winds were probably 15 to 20 mph all day," said Larry Birch.

Birch is part of a team from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service who are aiding those in California.

A total of 60 fires continue to scorch three states Wednesday night, including California, Washington and Oregon.

Firefighters are attacking the flames from the ground and the air, 14,000 people are on the frontlines just in California.

"(It's) very hot, we were caught in 100 degree days," said Birch.

The winds have produced everything from mushroom cloud-like plumes of smoke to vortexes that can make it almost impossible for firefighters to contain.

"I mean it was just chasing spot fires after spot fires, we have to hold the line," said Birch.

2020 wildfire season: reflections on severe fire season in the western United States

 I have no adequate words to offer about the devastating wildfire season in parts of the western United States. I know that the wildland fire fighters on the ground and in the air are working very hard to protect you and your homes. They are stretched to the max. I am very thankful of their efforts, not just because I have some friends and family who live out west, but because I care. I care passionately. A couple of friends of mine have commented to me about the wildfires, I thank them for noticing and for their concern. and assure them that I am paying attention but there are too many for me to even to try to write about here. The tip of the iceburg is dramatized by: (1) a fire shelter deployment last Saturday (all ok) in Bozman Montana, (2) the rescue of over 200 campers by helicopters from a remote campground in the Sierra National Forest, CA, and (3) yet another fire shelter deployment, this one in Shaver Lake California where 14 firefighters deployed shelters on September 8, 1 is in critical condition and a second is in serious condition.

Those conversations got me thinking that I wanted to take time today to acknowledge these devastating wildfires and to offer my profound thanks to all of our wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air. Thank-you from the bottom of my heart. Stay safe. You are spending time away from your families and loved ones during a pandemic no less. Your sacrifice is appreciated. Know that I care.

One picture is worth a thousand words and to that end, I offer the photographic essay by the Capital Weather Gang of the Washington Post on September 9th.

I close with a couple of videos, the first one is raw footage of homes burning near Bear Creek California, while the video is of one fire it represents the situation in many towns across the west as wildfires threaten homes and businesses. The second video is about wildfires burning in Oregon and Washington. I offer these videos as an act of prayer for all those affected by this devastating wildfire season and the wildland firefighters in the air, on the ground, and their support teams. I will remember.

Direct link to video

Direct link to video

2020 wildfire season: IMET deployments (September 1 to September 7)

With the continued ramp up in the wildfire season in the western United States, the National Weather Service Incident Meteorologists have been busy. According to the NWS IMET Facebook Page, as of September 4th, a total of 51 IMETs have been deployed to 73 separate incidents. I am going to list IMET deployments for the last week, from September 1st to September 7th, follow the links to the NWS IMET Facebook Page for more information and more links about each fire:

September 1

• North Complex Fire near Crescent Mills, CA
• Hidden Fire near Gisela, AZ
• Slink Fire near Coleville, CA

September 2

• Beachie Creek Fire near Detroit, OR
• Lionshead Fire near Warm Springs, OR

September 3

• Butte Lightning Complex near Oroville, CA
• Red Salmon Complex near Denny, CA

September 4

• Lofer Fire near Whiteriver, AZ
• Pine Gulch Fire near Grand Junction, CO (an IMET trainee)

September 5

• El Dorado Fire near Oak Glen, CA

September 6

• Valley Fire near Clovis, CA
• Creek Fire near Shaver Lake, CA

September 7

• East Fork Fire near Hanna, UT
• August Complex near Elk Creek, CA (an IMET trainee)

I am very thank-full for the good work that IMETs do to provide the best possible weather forecasts to the incident they are assigned to. IMETs keep wildland firefighters safe. IMETs save lives!

Note: IMET Trainees work with an IMET who is already assigned to the fire.

2020 wildfire season: Thank-you Canada and U.S. Army for helping fight wildfires in California

Thanks to Bill Gabbert's fine reporting on August 28th, I did know about that the U.S. Army announced last week that they were sending 200 troops to fight wildfires in California. First there was a training period to learn about wildland firefighting for a few days ending on September 30th. See this September 3rd tweet from the U.S. Army North with a short video of members of the I-Corps completing their training, they are practicing working with hoses. A special thank-you to all the U.S. Army troops helping fight wildfires in California. Your service will not be forgotten. Stay safe.

Again, thanks to Bill Gabbert, I did know that the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) had asked Canada and Australia to send wildland firefighters to help fight wildfires in California, Bill writes on September 2nd that the Canadian Province of Quebec is sending six crews of twenty persons each while the request to Australia is still pending. As Bill wrote on September 3rd, the crews from Quebec arrived in the U.S. on September 2nd and received training in the use of fire shelters before being deployed to the North Complex in California. 

I was a little behind in my reading, so I only learned this morning about the wildland firefighters from Quebec, Canada coming to help fight wildfires in California. I used to spend a part of each summer in northern New England not far from the border with Quebec, so Quebec's deployment has a special meaning to me. Thank-you Quebec. Stay safe.

Note, after reading Bill Gabbert's reporting on the mobilization of U.S. Army Troops and the deployment of wildland firefighters from Canada to wildfires in California, I did find some reporting on these events on the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) Twitter Page, see for example their September 3rd post. Since Bill's reporting contained much the same information and I was unable to fully embed the NIFC tweets, I opted not to included the NIFC. But for those who are so inclined the NIFC twitter page is a good resource with lots of good information about current wildfires burning, wildland fire safety, deployments, etc. So I wanted to give @NIFC_Fire a shout out for their nice twitter page.