2021 wildfire season: Marshall Fire (Boulder CO)

I was intending to write a different sort of post on this New Years Eve. My plans changed when I woke up and saw the news of the wind-driven fire burning near Boulder Colorado that may have already destroyed hundreds of homes. Evacuations are in place and power outages have been reported. See for example this CNN report (with video), I saw CNN's reporting first. I then checked out the Washington Post which I subscribe to, finding this article (paywall). 

Those of you interested in current local media coverage might want check out CBS 4 News in Denver, here is their latest update and 9 News in Denver, who reported on the fire here. I am never sure how long local media maintains links to their articles, all links worked at the time I wrote this post. On April 6, I noted that embedded video no longer works, but the direct link to the video still works.

Direct link to video from 9News on YouTube

Knowing that Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today would be covering this fire, I want to his site and just saw his December 31st article on the fire with his usual great maps of the fire. Bill also reported on the fire on December 30th. Bill also refers to local media in his coverage. Bill wrote about today's weather forecast as affects the fire in his December 31st post:

The weather has changed for the better, as least from a firefighting viewpoint. The 50 to 100 mph winds with low humidities are being replaced Friday morning with temperatures around freezing and a 40 percent chance of snow. By 11 a.m. that chance will increase to 76 percent, then 96 percent by sunset. Snow accumulations are predicted to be 0.6 inch during the day on Friday, with another 5 inches overnight and into Saturday morning. The wind Friday will be out of the north switching to the east at 7 to 9 mph gusting in the afternoon to 16 mph. We don’t often include wind chill in our articles about ongoing wildfires, but that will be a factor today — 25 degrees dropping to 17 degrees by 5 p.m.

Bill will be updating his article on the fire as appropriate; he always does a great job covering wildfires. 

I offer my prayers for all affected by the Marshall Fire. Profound thanks to all the wildland firefighters working this fire during a holiday week.

I will resume my posts in the series on Michigan Fires of the late 19th and early 20th centuries on Monday, January 3rd.

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: 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.