Ag Plane working a cotton field

I have a couple of irons in the fire, including reading up on post-fire recovery for the 2013 Rim Fire (California) and the 2015 Soda Fire (Idaho/Oregon). In addition, I had some house chores to do in anticipation of a snow storm this coming weekend, including buying groceries. Yes, I really was out of food and wanted to beat the milk-bread rush. Actually, I only bought one loaf of bread.

So I leave you with a nice 9 minute video of an ag planing working a cotton field. You will see the pilot doing some nifty flying to avoid some utility lines. Power lines are among the obstacles that pose hazards to ag pilots.


Direct link to video

Remembering Winter Floods of January 1996 (Pennsylvania)

Some of you know that I have gotten interested in weather because of my interest in aviation and wildland firefighting. While this is not a weather blog, I do like to post articles from time to time on weather events. I don’t believe that I have posted an article on an historical weather event, but I feel compelled to do so today. Before I get to the point of this article, I will briefly set the stage by offering some memories of some snow and rain storms in January 1996. 

Being that I have been living in New Jersey for quite awhile, there are certain weather events that stand out to me. One of those was a Blizzard on January 6-7, 1996. I was not in New Jersey at the time, rather I was driving to northern New England that day to visit some relatives, literally playing tag with the northern edge of the Blizzard until I got north of Springfield, MA. I spent about 4 days in northern New England where this snow storm dumped only a couple of inches. However, like many, I followed the Blizzard on TV. I knew that the Blizzard dumped 2 feet plus of snow in the greater New York City metro area, shutting almost everything done for two to four days depending on your location. When I got back to New Jersey sometime the following the weekend (on or about January 13th), there was still a significant amount of snow left along with some very impressive snow drifts. I had no driveway so usually parked on the street in front of my apartment. But no street parking was to be had. Fortunately, a nearby neighbor had room in their driveway and let me park there. 

A few days later, probably on January 18-19, 2016, it warmed up and the snow melted, and it rained. If memory serves, the town and the residents were pretty good at removing the snow from the storm drains so the snow melt had a place to go. At least the water had a place to go where the storm drains were uncovered. I recall being inconvenienced by the urban street flooding. But it was not a big deal.

Not so in other areas in the Mid-Atlantic. I do recall hearing about major flooding in Pennsylvania and upstate New York, among other places in the Mid-Atlantic. I remember thinking that I was pretty darn lucky. Those floods are now known as the Winter Floods of January 1996. The NWS Mid-Atlantic River Forecast Center (NWSMARFC) provides river and hydrologic forecasts many of the areas flooded that January. See the map on the NWSMARFC home page for a map. 

In remembrance of the 20th anniversary of the Winter Floods of January 1996, the NWSMARFC and the NWS State College, Pennsylvania has put together a nice webpage about the Winter Floods of January 1996, you may want to check out their additional links for more information. I am focusing here on Pennsylvania. New York, Virginia and to a lesser extent New Jersey were among the areas affected by these floods. The stage for these floods was set by some 30 to 40 inches of snow in areas of Pennsylvania during the Blizzard of January 6th and 7th. On January 19th temperatures warmed up to the low 60s and it rained, a lot of rain with winds gusting up to 38 mph. The snowpack was already melting because of the high temperatures and when you add 3+ inches of rain to that, problems ensued. The Rivers rose to and beyond flood levels. Add to that ice jams on the Rivers and the stage was set. Twenty lives were lost in Pennsylvania and damage from these floods was in the a billion dollars in Pennsylvania alone. Many bridges were damaged. (For more information see a USGS report on the January 1996 floods in Pennsylvania and this report from the Susquehanna River Commission).

I know a little about different types of ice jams on rivers from being an ice observer for my local NWS office, see for example this webpage on different types of ice jams from the NWS office in Great Falls Montana. Ice jams can be very dangerous and can cause damage to bridges and other infrastructure in or adjoining a river. I know enough to stay off a frozen river, including a river with ice jams. 

When I saw a video of the partial collapse of the historical Walnut Street Bridge over the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg during the Winter Floods of January 1996, I knew that I had to write this article and share this video with you (embedded at the end of this article). I am not a hydrologist nor am I expert in ice jams, and I am not an engineer. However in watching the video it seems to me that the ice jam on the Susquehanna probably lead to a partial collapse of the bridge that was already weakened by Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972. If you want to read more learn the Walnut Street Bridge go here (Bridgehunter.com) to see a nice photo gallery of the Bridge before and after the 1996 floods, some history of the Bridge, and an embedded google map. You might also want to check out this blog article on the Bridge written by a blogger who visited Harrisburg and took some photos of the Bridge in January 2015.

To the best of my knowledge, the damaged sections of the Walnut Street Bridge have not been repaired to date. 

Please stay safe this winter, stay off of ice-covered rivers and stay well away from a river with an ice jam. 

Direct link to video

Canadair's CL-415 in action

Here are three videos of Canadair's CL-415's. Most of the tankers that you will see are scooping. I don't know about you, but I find watching videos such as these very soothing. Perhaps one day, I'll get to see one in person, close-up.


Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link to video

Long way to go before drought over in California

With the rain and snow fall that occurred in California last week (January 4 - 8, 2016), I was wondering how these events impacted California's water supply.

I did not have to long to wait for an answer. Among the National Weather Service websites that I monitor is the California-Nevada River Forecast Center (NWSCNRFC). The NWSCNRFC has a facebook and a twitter page.  I was away from my computer for about 24 hours. Just last night I saw that the NWSCNRFC had posted a two-part video reporting on the impact of the recent rain and snow on California's water supply. I will share these videos at the end of this article (uploaded on January 10, 2015).

Before you watch the videos, I want to point out to you that these video reports from the NWSCNRFC are only good for the period from January 10 - 15, 2016. Specifically, you will see at the beginning of each video that the NWSCNRFC says that the videos should not be used after January 15, 2016.

I share these videos with you because of what I learned from these videos. That is, I expect that many of you, especially those of you who are living in the United States, are aware of the prolonged drought that has affected California and environs. While inconveniencing many, I am sure that many Californians welcomed last weeks rain and snowfall. As welcome as these precipitation events may have been, even if the whole State sees above normal rainfall this year, California has a long way to go before the drought can be declared over.

As you will see when you watch the videos (they are short), you will hear Alan Haynes of the NWSCNRFC say that northern California needs two years of above average precipitation and souther California needs three years of above average precipitation before the drought could be declared over.


Direct link to video from NWSCNRFC (part 1)


Direct link to video from NWSCNRFC (part 2)

An intro to El Nino

Some of you may recall that I wrote about snow in California on January 6th where I referenced El Nino. It was not until after I made that January 6th post that I found a very nice video updaing El Niño for the winter 2016 (December 18, 2015) from the NWS San Diego who has a nice Youtube Channel. If things had been different, I would have shared that video on El Niño before I wrote about the snowfalls in California on January 6th.

I like this video because Alex Tardy of the NWS NWS San Diego does a very nice job explaining what El Niño in simple language and good graphics. Of course, being from San Diego, he is focusing on El Niño's effects on the San Diego area. However, he does discuss what El Niño might mean for other areas in the U.S.

I understand that the forecasts mentioned in this video are still current for the week of January 11th. If you are arriving here later then the forecast portion of the video will likely be different but the science of El Niño should still be timely.

If you are interested in how El Niño might be affecting your region in the United States, go to the U.S. National Weather Service and look for your local forecast office.


Direct link to video

Geronimo Hotshots (2015)

I hope you enjoy this crew motivation video from the Geronimo Hotshots (2015). Thank-you Geronimo Hotshots. I enjoyed hearing from you as you shared about why you wanted to be a wildland firefighter. Thank-you for all you do for us to keep us safe.



Direct link to video

snow in California (January 6th)

I have been interested in the ongoing drought in California and elsewhere out west in part because of the impacts on wildland fires. However, I am interested in weather and I have good friends and family in California.

I expect that most i not all of you reading this blog have heard or read stories on the current El Ninõ event and the potential for a wet winter in California. A day or so ago, I saw that California was going to a see two or three precipitation events this week. I know that California depends on a good snow pack in the mountains for their water needs. I was wondering what today's snowfall forecast (January 6th) is. I decided to focus on the San Joaquin Valley/Hanford California region because I believe that is where Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park are located (see my posts on the Rim Fire). I went to the website of the US National Weather Service San Joaquin/Hanford California, and seeing that they have a twitter site that is easy to work with and link to, I found the following snowfall forecast dated January 6, 2015 at 5:32 AM:

obtained on January 6, 2016 from 

https://twitter.com/NWSHanford/status/684760610383380480

So it seems that the mountains are forecast to get a good dose of snowfall today. Ok, I was wondering what the current snow depth is in San Joaquin mountains. I went to the US National Weather Service California Nevada River Forecast Center, where you will see a nice interactive mapping package on their home page. I am interested in the current snow depth and took a couple of screen shots of the snow depth in the San Joaquin Mountains and surrounding areas. The data is known as point data (depth in inches) and may be a little hard to read. But you will get an idea of the current snow depth (as of January 6, 2016 at 7:45 AM PST). The mapping layers available to you are updated frequently so what you will see will be different from what I am sharing below. I was happy to see some very decent snow depth totals (as of January 6, 2016, 7:45 AM PST). For the second image, I zoomed in to focus on Stanistlaus and Yosemite.

Snow Depth on January 6, 2016, 7:45 AM PST
obtained on January 6, 2016 from http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/

Snow Depth on January 6, 2016, 7:45 AM PST
obtained on January 6, 2016 from http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/

Finally, I wondered how the current snow depth data in the California mountains compares with a year ago, and for that I again used the mapping package from the US National Weather Service California Nevada River Forecast Center, this time looking at National Gridded Data, NOHRSC Snow Depth. I downloaded the snow depth for January 6, 2016 and for January 6, 2015. The colors are similar and you must note the scale on the side of each map. The scale for January 6, 2015 runs up to 79 inches, and it doesn't look like any of the mapped data reaches 79 inches. Moving on to the second map for January 6, 2016 note the scale runs up to 787 inches. Quite a difference, don't you agree? I am glad to see that the California mountains have seen a significant increase in the depth of the snowpack so far this winter. Let's pray this continues.

Snow Depth from NOHRSC on January 6, 2015
obtained on January 6, 2016 from http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/

Snow Depth from NOHRSC on January 6, 2016
obtained on January 6, 2016 from http://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/

Now the maps are nice. I wanted a little more information to share, perhaps something quantitative. And I was not disappointed as I found this December 25th tweet from the NWS CNRFC where they say that the Sierra snowpack on December 25, 2015 was 110 percent of average while one year prior (December 25, 2014), the Sierra snowpack was 55 percent of average.

Difference in #Sierra snowpack now (~110% avg) vs 1 yr ago (55% avg)! Thanks cold Dec storms. #drought #cawx #nvwx pic.twitter.com/trHgWWqwxg

— NWS CNRFC (@NWSCNRFC) December 25, 2015

I certainly hope that the prospects for a snowy and rainy California winter from the El Ninõ  continue as forecast. However, I also understand that California will need more than one wet winter to come out of the drought. 

Stay safe. Heed advisories from your National Weather Service office. Turn around, don't drown.

Reflections for the start of another new year

As we begin a new year, I find myself reflecting on the up coming seventh anniversary of devoting this blog to aerial wildland firefighting and related issues. In late 2004, I made a decision to devote my full-time efforts to writing. I spent the next four years engaging in what I now call a period of exploring my writing interests. I started this blog in mid-2006 as one means of exploration. Starting in late 2006, I spent much of the next 15 months writing about a trip to Malawi, Africa. When that writing project ended in early 2008, I was not quite sure what to do next. That summer I got interested in wildland firefighting and starting using the blog to write about what I was learning. Someone who is now a good friend was instrumental in encouraging me to start writing about aerial wildland firefighting. He helped me learn the ropes, so to speak, over the next year. He was involved in the business of aerial wildland firefighting and I later met others who were or are involved in the business who have helped me at various times as I continue to write this blog. Without their support and encouragement this blog would not be possible. You know who you are, thank-you.

Eleven years ago I never would have imagined that I would be doing what I am doing now, writing about and continuing to learn about aerial wildland firefighting. This has become a part of my life, a part of who I am. 

As regular readers know, I am not a wildland firefighter. I do have a passion for aviation, and have come to terms with not being able to be a licensed pilot. I do believe that aviation is in my blood, so to speak, and am thankful for some pilot friends who take me on scenic flights from time to time. My passion for aviation is one of the things that fuels my writing.

Every so often I delve into issues relating to wildland firefighting, aviation, and sometimes weather. But it is my love for aerial wildland firefighting that drives me. I strive to honor those of you who are or have fought wildland fires from the air or on the ground. 

I am not going anywhere, and I will continue writing about aerial wildland firefighting and related concerns. 

Who knows what the 2016 U.S. wildfire season will bring. And in parts of the United States, e.g. California, is wildfire season ever really over? And it is summer in the southern hemisphere where Australia and Southern Africa among other countries are well into their summer wildfire season.

Stay safe everyone!

Belated Happy New Year

As some of you may have figured out I took a couple of days off for the New Years Holiday. I normally set something up ahead of time to post automatically. Various things got in the way and I did not do that this time. But I do want to wish all a belated and safe Happy New Year. I plan to be back later today with my regular Monday post.

For all the Blue Angels Fans

Yes, I am a Blue Angels fan and one of these days I'll get to see them in person. Anyway, enjoy this eight minute video of a Blue Angels flight shot from the cockpit. You will hear the commander of the Blue Angels (at the time the video was made and uploaded) share about what they do. Thanks to USA Today for making this video available on Youtube.


direct link to video

Air Tractor 602 doing Ag spraying in South Africa

direct link to video

Some of you may have heard about a wildfire in Ventura County, California last Saturday as well as a brush fire in Victoria, Australia that burned 116 homes. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today writes about:

The brush fire in Victoria, Australia on December 27th
The wildfire in Ventura County, CA in two posts on December 26th - about the wildfire and a family records fire as they drive by the fire

Happy and safe holidays

My holiday tradition is to share Frederick Forsyth''s The Shepard with you as read by Alan Maitland. I'd like to thank a friend of mine who first told me about The Shepard six years abo.



direct link to video

SEATs - Conair AT-802 Fireboss (amphibious)

Enjoy this 13 minute video of four Conair AT-802 FireBoss (amphibious) tankers in action fighting the Sitkum Creek / Duhamel Creek Forest Fire near Nelson, British Columbia. Video was uploaded on July 12, 2015.


Direct link to video

SEATs - Spain (2012)

For your viewing pleasure, I will be sharing (embedding) some videos on various SEAT operations as well as some  videos showing Ag Aviation operations over the next several days. You may recall that some types of aircraft (Air Tractor is one example) are used in Ag Aviation operations and aerial firefighting.

Todays video is from Spain and you will see AT-802F's and the AT-802F Fireboss (amphibious) in action.


Direct link to video

Australia - Maddens Plains Bush Fire, NSW (Dec 11, 2015)

Thanks to my friends at B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page who shared a wonderful video of fire footage last on their videos of the week page (videos change every Friday). I wanted to find some information to share with you about the video that you see below. I was pretty sure that this bush fire was in New South Wales (NSW), Australia so I looked at some of bookmarks. I found some information from the NSW Rural Fire Service that they shared on their Facebook page on December 12th, go here for photos and information.  The fire was south of Sydney Australia in an areaknown as Maddens Plains (near Bulli). I don't know how large he fire was, but it was contained on or before December 12th. Tankers Thor (Conair's T-132, a L-382G, civilian version of a C-130) and Southern Belle (DC-10) worked the fire.


Direct link to video

Australia - Pinery Fire (11/25/15) - South Australia

Late last month a friend of mine, who is currently living near Adelaide in South Australia told me about the Pinery Fire which started on or about November 25th and burned approximately 82,000 hectres (or 202,625 acres). The last advice message from the South Australian Country Fire Service was issued on December 2nd saying that the threat from the Pinery Fire is reduced. I could not find any containment information. Two people died in the fire.

I was interested in this fire and found a few short videos to share with you. You will see SEATs dropping in one of the videos.  The last video shows some of the damage from the Pinery Fire. One of the videos may contain some colorful language.



Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link to video

Tankers from U.S. working fires in Australia

I am continuing my ongoing project of researching and reading about the Rim Fire post-fire recovery. One way or the other, I plan on having something to share with you sometime after the first of the year. Please be patient, and I promise to get back to you. In the meantime, this blog goes on. Today I thought I'd share with you a few videos that I came across in my wonderings on the internet showing airtankers from the United States working fires in Australia. Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation wrote an excellent article in early September about North American air tankers under contract in New South Wales, Australia this summer (our winter): a DC-10 tanker (dubbed "Southern Belle", and Conair's T-132 (a L382-G, civilian version of a C-130 dubbed "Thor").

In the first video you will see Thor dropping on a fire in New South Wales, Bill Gabbert shared this video in Fire Aviation on December 14th. I'd also like to thank a friend who alerted me to this video.


direct link to video

And three videos showing "Southern Belle" doing what she does best.


direct link to video


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Rim Fire - Yosemite - On the role of fire management

Yesterday I was visiting the Yosemite National Park website and I went to one of their multimedia pages called Yosemite Presents where I saw their video on the Rim Fire, also available on Youtube under Yosemite Presents. It turned out that I had bookmarked the video and I think that I first learned about the video from Wildfire Today (January 12, 2015).

I watched the video again yesterday, in fact I watched the video a couple of times and since I am in the process of researching the Rim Fire Post-Fire Recovery, I thought I'd share the video with you today. What I like about this video is that they talk about the role that controlled burns (including prescribed burns) can play to reduce the damage done by wildfires. I like the  explanation that accompanies Yosemite's Rim Fire Video:

As these unnaturally large fires become more commonplace due to previous fire suppression and climate change, Yosemite National Park is seeing the benefits of carefully allowing smaller, controlled fires on the landscape.

You will hear Deputy Fire Chief Taro Pusina talk about the firing operations his crew did during the Rim Fire with the aim of stopping the fire before it reached the Merced River drainage and two giant sequoia groves. They also talk about the role of prescribed burns in helping wildfires such as the Rim Fire from not burning quite as hot as it could, slowing down and cooling fires such as the Rim Fire.

A peek into wildland firefighting in Alberta, Canada

It is my intention to write about the Rim Fire Post-Fire Recovery. Some of you might recall that I wrote about the long-term effects of the Rim Fire in an article that I posted on December 7th. I have a lot of documents related to the Rim Fire Post-Fire Recovery from Stanislaus National Forest to go through and have just made contact with someone from Stanislaus. It is going to take some time to do my reading and to talk with Stansilaus. I expect that this process will take until after the first of the year. However, if I find some pertinent information about the Rim Fire or the Rim Fire Post-Fire Recovery in my wonderings on the internet, I'll post it here.

Updated on September 16, 2016: as sometimes happens, it turns out that I spoke to soon when I first wrote this article on December 9, 2015. I do remain interested in the Rim Fire Post-Fire Recovery, but make no promises on what I will be able to do in the future.

In the meantime, I thought that you might enjoy these two videos that I am embedding where you will get a peek into wildland firefighting in Alberta, Canada. Both videos are under two minutes long.


Direct link to video on Youtube


Direct link to video on Youtube

Rim Fire - Long Term Effects

I spent much of this afternoon going through many documents relating to the Rim Fire - Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER)  and Long Term Recovery. Recall that the Rim Fire started in August 2013. Before it was contained two months later, it grew to be the third largest in California history burning 257,314 acres in the Stanislaus National Forest (154,530 acres), Yosemite National Park (78.895 acres), Bureau of Land Management (129 acres), and private lands (23,760 acres) [Rim Fire Reforestation Draft Environmental Impact Statement, U.S. Forest Service, Stanislaus National Forest, R5-MB-279, November 2015, p. 1-2, obtained on December 7, 2015 from http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=45612).

Obtained on December 7, 2015 from http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/photos/CASTF/2013-08-17-1950-Rim/picts/2013_09_17-09.40.14.506-CDT.jpeg where you may get high resolution version

You may recall that I wrote about the Rim Fire - BAER on November 6 and  November 11 2013, with another article on August 21, 2014.

In my wonderings this afternoon I came upon  The Sierra Nevada Conservancy's webpage devoted to the Rim Fire (with links). I learned about two videos that I want to share with you. The first video is a before and after (Rim Fire) video of the area burned by the Rim Fire posted on the Sierra Nevada Conservancy's Facebook page. Unfortunately, I could not get the embed code to work, that happens sometimes. Please go here to watch the 2 minute video, it is very striking.

Finally, here is a nice video from California State Association of Counties (CSAC) looking at some of the long-term effects of the Rim Fire on the region, both environmentally and economically. Michael Sweet wrote this blog article of his visit to the Rim Fire burn area.


Direct link to video on youtube

Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response: more maps & reflections

I have been writing about the Soda Fire Burned Area Emergency Response of late. I know that there are stabilization treatments ongoing at the Soda Fire burn area that I have not written about. Should you so desire, these treatments along with a time schedule are described in the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization And Rehabilitation (ES&R) Plan. I'll post some other links a little later where you might find updates. I am hoping that this post is not my last post on the subject, but this may be my last post for awhile. With winter coming on, if it hasn’t already arrived at the Soda Fire burn area, I’m not sure how much more active emergency stabilization and rehabilitation treatments that they can do this winter. But what do I know? Perhaps there are things that they can do in the winter. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I will keep reading some of the documents that I talked about last week as well as doing my best to keep my eyes out for media reports and report back here.

I don’t know about you, but I have learned a lot about the lands that were burned in the Soda Fire as well as the all important Burned Area Emergency Response. I have grown to appreciate the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem. And of course, there is that magnificent bird, the sage grouse. Through the documents that are available (see the link above), the various photos and videos, and media reports, this little corner of a sagebrush-steppe ecosystem has come alive. I know that the ecosystem is hurting after the fire and I am very glad to know something about the Soda Fire Burned Area Emergency Response Plan that will be ongoing for the next five years. 

I am delighted that there have been a lot of media attention on the Soda Fire Burned Area Emergency Response as well as good information available through the Bureau of Land Management. As I write this the Facebook page is updated at least every few days with photos and links to local media reports.

• BLM Idaho Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation
• Soda Fire 2015 -- Facebook
• Soda Fire November 10th Drill Seeding photos & Videos on Flickr

I have been promising to focus a little on some of the Soda Fire ES&R maps available to the public that may be found here. Each map is about 18 MB and is in a pdf file. I love maps and is this case it gives me an idea of what areas are being treated. I was especially interested in two maps which I downloaded and converted to smaller graphic files (jpeg) that I am sharing here. These are the map showing all vegetation treatments and 2015 drill seeding that I referred to on November 30th and December 2nd. The images below are not high resolution, if you want higher resolution files you will want to go the links in the preceding sentence and download them.

Obtained on December 2, 2015 from BLM Idaho -- https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/mapset_view.do?projectId=52963&currentPageId=68942&documentId=64055

Obtained on December 2, 2015 from BLM Idaho -- https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/eplanning/mapset_view.do?projectId=52963&currentPageId=68942&documentId=64060

Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response: Drill Seeding

On November 30th I wrote about the challenges that invasive weeds pose after the loss of so much natural vegetation such as sagebrush that burned in the recent Soda Fire. If my understanding is correct, there may already be some established invasive weeds such as medusahead and cheatgrass. The concern here is how to prevent invasive weeds such as cheatgrass and medusahead from spreading to the sagebrush-steepe ecosystem that was burned in the Soda Fire. 

The BLM has recently begun to the crucial phase of emergency stabilization. The Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ES&R) Plan encompasses treatments for many threats, one of which is the threat posed by invasive weeds.  The treatment that I will discuss here involves seeding perennial grasses to prevent invasive weeds from taking over. Seeding will be done on the ground by drill seeding as well as aerial seeding from aircraft. Timing is crucial, the hope is that the perennial grass seeding that is being done this fall and early winter will germinate in the spring and thus prevent the invasive weeds from taking over. Perennial Grasses also make for good sage grouse habitat. Follow along as I share a few sources with you on the drill seeding treatment component of the Soda Fire ES&R. I don’t want to leave out aerial seeding operations which I understand are also going on, but I have no videos at the moment about the aerial seeding operations. If my understanding is correct, drill and aerial seeding will be going on for a total of five years including this year.

In the video from BLM Idaho that I am embedding below you will be introduced to the use of what are known as rangeland drills to begin to stabilize the burned areas to both stabilize the soil and prevent invasive weeds. As I understand it, the rangeland drills that the BLM is using are standard rangeland drills used in farming that are modified for use in this habitat. Rangeland drills prepare the land for seeding as well as spreading seed at appropriate depth.

Direct link to video from BLM Idaho on Youtube

BLM Idaho has a nice Flickr page with photos and a few short videos showing rangeland drills working on November 10th in the Soda Fire burn area.

On November 10th, at least two Idaho broadcast media outlets ran stories on reseeding areas burned in the Soda Fire, 7-KTVB and KIVI-TV6. I am never certain how long these links will be available, so if you are arriving at this post sometime later and these links are dead you will know why.  In the story from kivi-tv6 story and video from Kivi on drill seeding (video embedded below) Robert Bennett, a range technician for the BLM says:

When an area becomes dominated by invasive annuals, it does tend to burn more often. They are very fire prone.

And Cindy Fritz, a natural resource specialist for the BLM speaks about the Fall 2015 the drill seeding operations which are laying out perennial grasses in the burned area:

We’re putting them out this late in the year which is ideal. We want them to go through the winter and when they wake up and germinate in the spring, they are in perfect conditions.

Fritz goes on to speak to the fact that it will take 15 to 20 years to get back to the conditions that existed before the Soda Fire.

Here us a nice story with video from KIVI-TV6 about the BLM's emergency stabilization post Soda Fire.

In a report (with video) on drill seeding from 7KTVB,  Robert Bennet spaces about the threats to the sage grouse and how these threats are being addressed by the ES&R:

The two biggest threats for sage grouse are increase fire return and invasive annual grasses, which play into your fire return interval. So putting desirable plants out here to compete with invasive annuals will send this on a trajectory toward improved sage grouse habitat, or recovering the safe grouse habitat.

In addition to the sources that I have linked to above, you might also enjoy BLM Idaho's page devoted to the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation and the 2015 Soda Fire Facebook Page (with pictures and comments about the Soda Fire ES&R efforts this fall.

I do hope to write more about the Soda Fire Burned Area Emergency Response this coming Friday, December 4th. Stay tuned. 

Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response: challenges ahead & invasive weeds

The Soda Fire burned tens of thousands of acres of sagebrush. Sagebrush is the habitat for the Sage Grouse, see my November 27th article to learn more about the Sage Grouse and U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell's secretarial order 3336 -- Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management and Restoration. Invasive plants (or weeds) pose a very real challenge to the post-fire recovery. With the loss of so much sagebrush from the Soda Fire, if nothing is done, the loss of so much sagebrush could give invasive weeds a foothold before the sagebrush and other natural vegetation have a chance to grow back. The Sage Grouse, a magnificent bird, needs sagebrush. Among the treatments under the Soda Fire ESR Plan are treatments aimed at preventing invasive weeds such as cheatgrass and medusahead from taking over.

In the video below, you will learn a little about more about the challenges facing the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation. This will be the first test of secretarial order 3336.


Direct link to video from Idaho Statesmen on Youtube

The second video is also from the Idaho Statesmen and you will listen to learn a little about the strategy for protecting and restoring the sagebrush steepe environment from invasive weeds, go here to watch the video.

Here are a few more articles on the Soda Fire ES&R from last August and the visit of BLM Director Neil Kornze:

• Idaho Statesmen, August 17th, rehab starting before fire contained
• Idaho Statesmen, Letters from the West, Neil Kornze visit, August 27, 2015
• KBOI news 2, August 26th, Neil Kornze visit
• Idaho Statesmen, September 22nd, Sage Grouse decision, Fish & Wildlife Service decision that Sage Grouse can survive without endangered species status.

The BLM has a nice webpage on the 2015 Soda Fire Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation that may be found here, with links to more documents and maps (See the article that I wrote on November 25th for a short discussion on some of these documents. I'll be referring to some of the maps in later articles.

Here is a map that I obtained from the  Soda Post-Fire Rehabilitation Inciweb maps page on November 19, 2015. According to the description on the Soda Post-Fire Rehabilitation Inciweb maps page, this is a"Fire map showing Sage Grouse habitat posted on August 22, 2015 at 7:44 PM."

"2015_08_22-19.44.49.188-CDT" obtained on November 19, 2015 from http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/maps/4546/

I am still working on the remaining articles in this series, so stay tuned. I'll be posting the next article in this series on December 2nd. 

Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response - Intro (3 of 3)

My final post in my three-part introduction to the Soda Fire (2015) Burned Area Emergency Response concerns Secretarial Order 3336. A friend told me about Secretarial Order 3336 that applies to the ES&R treatments. Not knowing much other than it applies to the ES&R at the Soda Fire, I did a quick internet search. Fortunately, the first link that I came was a news release on the main NIFC page. I don’t know how to link to this, fortunately, the summary on the implementation of Secretarial Order 3336 — Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management and Restoration should still be on the main page. This is what NIFC has to say about Secretarial Order 3336:

This Implementation Plan (“Plan”) is the roadmap to accomplish the objectives of Secretarial Order 336 — Rangeland Fire Prevention, Management, and Restoration (“Order’) signed by Secretary Jewell on January 5, 2015. The plan provides a short background describing the importance of the sagebrush-steppe ecosystem and why the Order was issued.

Go here  for more information where you will see a discussion of the importance of the sage-steppe rangeland ecosystem as a breeding habit for the sage-grouse. One of the habitats for the sage-grouse is the area that was burned in the 2015 Soda Fire. As I understand it, one of the objectives of the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization & Rehabilitation (ES&R) treatments referred to in the Soda Fire ES&R planning document is to restore the grasses and vegetation that the sage-grouse depends on.

I found more information for you on conserving the Sage-Grouse Habitat that may be found on this webpage from the BLM. Finally, I have never seen a Sage-Grouse, I enjoyed the two videos that I am embedding below and I hope that you do as well.

Direct link to video by Bob Wick, BLM

Direct link to video from BLM National

Next week I will continue with writing about the Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response by writing about some of the ES&R treatments.

Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response - Intro (2 of 3)

My introduction to the Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response has morphed into three parts. (Part 1 may be found here) Next week I will write more about some of the treatments and activities that are included in the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (Soda Fire ES&R). But first, I am going to spend a little time in this article giving a brief description of the Soda Fire ES&R planning document and a couple of documents tied into Federal and State regulations (discussed below). I will be referring to these documents in later articles so it is appropriate to provide this brief introduction. I will be posting my final introductory article (part 3) on November 27th on Secretarial Order 3336.

Before I go any further, for those of you who might want to bypass my brief description of the documents I discuss below and get right to learning more about the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation, please go to the Idaho BLM page on the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation and/or the Soda Fire (2015) Facebook Page (should be available to public without a Facebook account).

One of the many pieces of Federal and State Legislation and Regulations that those who prepared the Soda Fire ESR Plan (released on September 30, 2015) had to consider and be in compliance with is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). See the Soda Fire ESR Final Decision (p. 4-5) for a full listing of Federal and State legislation and regulations as well as Land Use Plans that the Soda Fire ESR Plan conforms with.

NEPA and the various types of documents that NEPA requires are somewhat complicated. In searching for a simple explanation of NEPA, I came upon a nice webpage from the Colorado Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that briefly describes how the BLM uses NEPA. They refer to the Colorado BLM but I believe that their description applies to the Idaho and Oregon BLM:

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assures that the BLM (and other federal agencies) will consider the impact of an action on the human environment before decisions are made and the action is taken. It requires that NEPA documents concentrate on issues that are significant to the action in question. The NEPA process is intended to help public officials make better decisions based on an understanding of environmental consequences, and take actions that protect, restore, and enhance the human environment.

When an activity or action is proposed on BLM administered public lands in Colorado, we conduct an interdisciplinary review of the environmental effects of the proposal so that the relevant environmental information is available to citizens and public officials. (obtained on November 24, 2015 from the Colorado Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

In regards to NEPA and the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation, I believe that the other activity or action referred to above is the the Soda Fire ES&R planning document.

The first step in preparing the ES&R planning document is that an Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ES&R) team (aka the Soda Fire Interdisciplinary Team) started field work on or about August 20th. Recall that the Soda Fire was contained on August 23rd. The ES&R team did five days of field work, finishing on or about August 25, 2015. See these two news releases for more information:

• Soda Fire ES&R field work begins 
• Soda Fire ES&R field work ends

Public participation is an important part of this process. According to the news releases on the Inciweb Soda Fire Post Rehab news release page the ES&R team met with various members of the public including but not limited to Ranchers and other private landowners, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, and representatives of nearby State and Local agencies. The Soda Fire ESR Plan was released on September 30, 2015 (see below).

Note, the Inciweb Soda Fire Post Rehab page is still available as I write this, but is no longer being updated.

If you go to the document page for the Soda Fire ESR/BAER Plan there are three documents listed as of November 25, 2015. I will be referring to some or all of these documents in later documents.

• Soda Fire ESR Plan (released September 30, 2015) The ESR plan outlines costs and treatments under the Soda Fire ES&R Plan for Oregon and Idaho.
• Soda Fire ESR Plan Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA) (released October 19, 2015) "documents that previously prepared NEPA documents adequately describe the environmental consequences of a newly proposed action" (obtained on November 24, 2015 from http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Information/nepa/definitions.html#documentation_of_nepa_adequacy. In our case, I believe that the newly proposed action is the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Plan.
• Soda Fire ESR Final Decision (released October 19, 2015). This is a notice of the BLM Manager’s Final Decision regarding the Soda Fire Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation Plan. That is, the Boise ID BLM District  and the Vale OR District determined that the an Environmental Impact Statement is not required (see this NEPA definition page from the Colorado BLM for a very brief defintion of an Environmental Impact Statement). Both Managers say: "With completion of DOI-BLM-ID-B030-2015-0016-DNA, I have determined that implementing proposed Soda Fire ESR treatments identified in this decision would have similar or the same effects as described in the NEPA documents identified above and does not constitute as a major Federal action that will not adversely impact the human environment.  Therefore the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement is not required" (Soda Fire ESR Final Decision, p. 6 and p 21).

tanker pilots playing some tunes

Well, I was hoping to make my next post in my series on the Soda Fire Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation today, recall that I my first post last Wednesday, November 18th. Now I really to have a draft of this article, but at this point in my day I would be posting a half-baked article, and I don't want to do that. Rather, I am going to take a little more time to do the necessary tweaks and the like. Hopefully I will be able post this tomorrow.  I will be posting this on November 25.

In the meantime have some fun watching a couple of tanker pilots play some tunes.


Direct link to video

Civilian meteorologists receive purple heart 73 years later

I am taking a time out from writing about the Burned Area Emergency Response for the 2015 Soda Fire to honor four civilian meteorologists who gave their lives in service to their country during World War II. Four meteorologists were serving as volunteers on the Muskeget, a U.S. Coast Guard ship that was patrolling the Atlantic during the Battle of the Atlantic in September 1942. The meteorologists were collecting and transmitting weather observations to aid American ships in the North Atlantic. The Muskeget was on its way to southern Greenland when a German U-Boat struck and sank the Muskeget. There were 121 men on board the Muskeget including the four meteorologists. While those in the military who were on board the Muskeget received Purple Heart, the civilian meteorologists did not. There were provisions to award Purple Hearts to civilians but this slipped through the cracks. It was through the efforts of a Purple Heart historian, Robert Pendleton to bring the oversight to light making the award of these four Purple Hearts possible.

Lester S. Fodor (27), weather observer from Cleveland, Ohio
Luthor H. Brady (27), assistant weather observer from Atlanta, Georgia
George F. Kubach (24), assistant weather observer from Sandusky, Ohio
Edward Weber (24), junior weather observer from Brooklyn, New York

May you rest in peace.

Here is a direct link transcript of the report (with audio version) from NPR

I first read about the four meteorologists in a November 18th Washington Post article.

Soda Fire (2015): Burned Area Emergency Response - Intro (1 of 3)

The Soda Fire, probably caused by lightning on or about August 10th of this year, burned 279,144 acres before it was controlled on August 25th. The fire was declared "out" on September 9th. See the Inciweb page for the Soda Fire and the Soda Fire 2015 Facebook Page for more information. If you are arriving on this page some time after I first posted this article, I am not quite sure how long either the Inciweb page for the 2015 Soda Fire or the Soda Fire 2015 Facebook page, probably for several months.

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today did a great job reporting on the Soda Fire in this post (scroll to bottom for earliest information) and he shared a video of a fire whirl shot by Graig Fluer on August 17th.

Here is some footage of the Soda Fire shot on August 20th


Direct link to video

And a 48 hour time lapse of the fire (August 12th to August 14th)


Direct link to video

Shortly after the fire was contained planning begain for the burned area emergency response. I'll be writing a couple of articles on the plans for the emergency stabilization and rehabilitation of the burned area starting on November 20th. In the meantime, if you want to see my earlier posts on Burned Area Emergency Response, go to this link (posts tagged BAER).

Before leaving, here is some aerial footage of the burned area shot on August 18th.


Direct link to video

Fall 2015 wildfire season continues

The fall 2015 wildfire season continues. Here are some, but not all, smaller wildfires that I have heard about.

Hawaii - 220 acres (Friday November 13, 2015)
KHON2 220 acre brush fire in pasture land burned on Friday November 13th. A helicopter assisted the firefighters on the ground with bucket drops.

Melbourne, Florida (Monday November 16, 2015)
Florida Today A small brush fire was brought under control by the Melbourne and Brevard County Fire Departments today (Monday November 16th).

Carthadge, Missouri (reported on Monday November 16, 2015)
The Carthadge Press Last Wednesday, November 11, 2015) a wind-driven grass fire burned near a hospital in Carthadge, Missouri. There were some power failures. Fortunately the firefighters stopped the progress of the fire before it reached the hospital.

Fairview, North Carolina (reported on Saturday November 14, 2015)
Citizen Times A brush fire was first reported about 2 PM on Friday, November 13th in Fairview, North Carolina burned 30 acres before being contained just before midnight.

Staten Island, New York City, New York (November 13, 2015)
New York Magazine - Daily Intelligencer amd SILiveA brush fire was reported on Staten Island last Friday, November 13th. At least 200 firefighters fought the fire.

Tanker history - Conair DC-6 T-48 circa 1990

In my wonderings on Youtube just now I was reminded of this video. from 1990, of Conair DC-6 T-48 getting a load of retardant and then working a fire the Thunder Fire near La Ronge, Saskatchewan in June 1990. This may be a rerun from about four years ago. I enjoyed seeing this video again, and I hope that you do as well. Enjoy.


Direct link to video on Youtube

Wildfire season not over yet - November 12

Wildfire season is not over yet. Today I am focusing on a sampling of wild fires, brush fires, and grass fires that I have read about yesterday and today. Many of the smaller fires in the Eastern United States that I report on here are related to dry conditions in the east. A reminder that the fall fire season is still very much with a factor in much of the east.

Peabody, Massachusetts

Thirteen acres burned near an apple orchard on Tuesday, Nov. 10th. This brush fire came after some smaller nearby brush fires on Sunday and Monday. The Massachusetts State Forestry Department and local firefighters worked the fire. Massachusetts like other East-coast States has seen dry conditions this fall, contributing to the brush fire danger.

Peabody MA Patch

Itemlive

Cape Ann, Massachusetts

A brush fire of unknown size in Manchester, MA damaged an electric transformer on Tuesday, November 10th leading to outages. 

Gloucester Times

New Hampshire

Dry conditions across New Hampshire contributed to several brush fires across New Hampshire this past weekend (November 7th and 8th).

Union Leader

Lebanon, Pennsylvania

A brush fire of unknown size in Lebanon, PA on Sunday, November 8th.

ldnews- Nov 9th police log (scroll down for story)

Mentor Township, Ohio

On Tuesday, November 10th, A five acre fire burned in a marsh in Mentor Township, Ohio 

Fireengineering

Pembroke Pines, Florida

On Monday, November 9th there was a small brush fire (size unknown). 

NBC Miami

And wildfire season is still going in other areas of the United States, for example . . .

Oklahoma and Kansas

Strong winds are fueling grass fires across the Oklahoma Plains. A large grass fire near Woodward, OK is under control.

Newson6

OkcFox

Wind driven wildfires continued in Oklahoma on November 11th

News.Mic - Woodward County OK

Stillwater News Press

A wind-driven grass fire on the Butler-Cowley county line in Kansas burned on November 11th. Red flag warnings are in place for much of the Kansas City area in Kansas on Thursday, November 12th.

Kansas City Star

KAKE (video and photos)

California

Is there ever not a fire season in Southern California? Southern California, which is bone dry after four years of drought, is again facing an elevated risk of wildfires due to Santa Ana winds and rising temperatures.

LA Times

______________________________________

A note about the media sources: I accessed all these sites today. Some sites offer only a limted number of free articles per month if you are not a subscriber or the articles may only be freely available for 7 to 10 days. Over the air media usually keep their stories up longer, but eventually the link to the story may be removed.

Happy Veterans Day - thanks for your service

I want to take a time out today to remember all of our veterans who served my country, the United States of America, and those veterans from outside the U.S. who have served your country. As I have grown older, I have my respect and admiration for your service in the military (past or present) has also grown. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all veterans from around the world.

There are some of you who are able to spend time in service to your country at military units in your own country and perhaps close to your home, if you are lucky. In today's day and age, you often have deployments to military bases overseas, away from your home, family, and friends. While the internet may make keeping in touch with your loved ones easier than it was 40 years ago, it is not the same as being there.

I am not a veteran and have never been in the miltary. My Dad served stateside after the Koren War ended. No, I don't have a clue what it is like to serve in areas where there is a conflict. Please know that your service and your sacrifice mattered.

Over the years that I have been writing this blog, I know that there are some wildland firefighters both in the air and on the ground who have spent some time in the military. And here you are serving your country once again as wildland firefighters.

Brush fire - Mt. Tom - Holyoke MA and B-17 crew remembered

I have a few websites that I monitor just about every day to get an idea of current news relating to wildfires. As I was reading the news late this morning I came across a newsclip about a brush fire on Mt. Tom in Holyoke MA. I'll get to the eighteen acre brush fire in a moment.

The reason the article on the brush fire on Mt. Tom caught my eye is because Mt. Tom is one of those natural landmarks that stood out to me on many trips up I-91 in Massachusetts on my way to northern New England. It is a ski and recreation area, so there were a couple of bill boards advertising Mt. Tom.  Not only that, but she was a mountain that I always noticed. I regret that I have not yet stopped to visit her. Hopefully there is time for that on a later trip, I'll have to make time.

As I was reading the Wikipedia article on Mt. Tom, I noted that the mention of a crash of converted B-17 bomber in 1946 on Mt. Tom in 1946 killing all 25 on board. Small pieces of the wreckage are still on the mountain and a momument was erected at the site in 1946. For those who are interested, here is a copy of the July 10, 1946 Fitchberg Sentinal article reporting on the crash. They were returning from overseas, going home. They never quite made it. I know that all who died in that crash are flying in favorable tail winds. May you continue to rest in peace.

Back to the wildfire. According to news reports, the brush fire began at about 7 PM on Sunday night, November 8th. Darkness meant that firefighters pulled out to resume fighting the brush fire this morning. The fire, which burned approximately 18 acres is now contained. Speaking of I-91, smoke was visible from I-91 during the morning commute. I am reminded that it is fall here in the east with a lot of leaf litter on the ground with more to come, and it was breezy yesterday. Hopefully all the hotspots are or will soon be out so that fallen leaves will not be a problem. Firefighters from the Massachusetts Forest Fire Control and near by Holyoke worked the fire

News reports on the brush fire on Mt. Tom

• mass live, 10:44 AM on Nov 9th - with some must see photos of wildland firefighters working the fire
• 22News WWLP (with a couple of photos and a video report)
• boston dot com, 9 AM on Nov 9th - a couple of short videos 

Wildfires in Indonesia - update

The Indonesian wildfires that I first reported on October 12, 2015 continue to burn. I am going to share a few links about these wildfires. Respitory problems continue. Schools and businesses are closed. Residents are evacuated from their homes.

Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today writes on November 4, 2015 that the United States sent “more than 21 metric tons of wildland firefighting equipment arrived in Indonesia from the United States to assist firefighters who are dealing with what has been described as ‘almost certainly the greatest environmental disaster of the 21st century.' He also provides a good summary of some of the other effects of these wildfires in Indonesia, including the detrimental effects of smoke.

Most of the Indonesian wildfires may be attributed to plantation companies clear land by burning in order to plant timber trees and palm trees. A Huffington Post Australia (11/2/15) article goes into more detail about how this works and elaborating on what was done differently this year:

The companies have cut canals and dried out the peat, the decaying vegetation matter on or under the forest floor, turning a valuable part of the ecosystem into a veritable tinderbox for fire. Coupled with El Nino climate factors, the fires met with the dried peat to spark a firestorm the likes of which have not been seen in Indonesia for some 20 years. The fires have also gone underground, burning and smouldering in the subterranean peat; these fires are all but impossible to extinguish and will burn almost endlessly, unable to be reached by rains or monsoon.

 The Huffington Post Australia article also includes some good photographs, a couple of videos, a map, and some recent satellite images of the wildfires that continue to burn in Indonesia.

More articles:

VoxyNZ (11/5/2015) Wellington Zoo in New Zealand donating $2000 from their conservation fund to help Indonesia fight the wildfires. The article also speaks to all the wildlife that is affected by these wildfires.

UPI (11/5/15) A good article and video from UPI on the closure of Mt. Merapi National Park because of smoke, school and businesses being forced to close and thousands of evacuations, ecological costs.

CAL FIRE crews in action

Updated on November 13, 2015

The video that I had originally embedded here on CAL FIRE's inmate wildland firefighting crews has been taken down. Keeping to the overall theme of CAL FIRE crews, I am offering another video (from 2009) for your viewing pleasure.


Direct link to video

Brazil: wildland fire in Amazon threatens "uncontacted" tribe

Recently I have been working on finding additional sources of news affecting the wildland firefighting both in the United States and Internationally. I don’t know about you but while change does not always come easily, it can be a good thing. A good things because I find myself paying closer attention to things that I may have only giving a cursory glance, if that, a short time ago. Such is the case with a news item I saw just this morning about a forest fire that has been burning for over two months in the Amazon in the State of Maranhao in Brazil.

I don’t know much about Brazil, so I am going to take you along as I learn more about this wildfire and how the wildfire could affect the people who inhabit the region burned by the wildfire. Before I get to the wildfire itself, I’d like to ask you to read this short 2013 article and watch the accompanying seven-minute video about fighting wildland fires in Brazil: Brazil's fight against forest fires (from dw.com).

What drew my attention to this particular wildfire is that the burned area is home to an isolated Brazilian tribe, known as the Awá, that has had no contact with “outsiders.” The fire has burned over 730 square miles of a region known as the Arariboia Indigenous Territory. According to Toby Nicholas who reports for Survival International:

“This designated territory is home to Awá people who have no contact with the outside world. Like all uncontacted peoples, they are extremely vulnerable to exposure to violence or disease inflicted by outsiders,” writes Nicholas (obtained on November 2, 2015 from http://ens-newswire.com/2015/11/01/raging-amazon-forest-fire-menaces-uncontacted-tribe/)

I’d like to draw your attention to two news sources where you can learn more about this wildfire and how the Awá people could be affected. I learned something from reading these articles and I hope that you do as well.

• Environment News Service: Raging Forest Fire Menaces Uncontacted Tribe
• The Guardian (US Edition): Vast Amazon Wildfire Destroys Forest in Brazil and Threatens Uuncontacted Tribe (with a short video).