A brief look at how recent wildfires in OK, KS, & TX affected ranchers

Those of you who have looked at my March 29th blog post have met Molly Green, Office Manager of the Laverne OK office of Tyree Ag.

Specifically, I shared a video from the Oklahoma Forestry Services where Molly was discussing the relief efforts that are still underway for the ranchers affected by the devastating Northwest Oklahoma Complex that burned over 779,000 acres.

I was interested in what Molly had to say on the video, and it did not take me long to find the webpage for Tyree Ag, so I called her. We had a nice conversation, I appreciated the time she took to talk with me. We talked some more about the hay drop off for ranchers. I learned from her that many ranchers lost miles of fencing and that fencing is very expensive to replace. More importantly, she told me how much the ranchers loved their animals. I can relate to that.

We then spoke of the loss of so many head of cattle. I told her that I had seen some pictures from newspaper articles. By this time, I had told her about my blog, that I had posted  a few articles about the wildfires that affected Northwest Oklahoma. We talked some more, and she told me about a nine-minute video that I am sharing with you below. She thought that this video, by Arable Media and Agri-Pulse Communications  would be a good way to share with you about how the wildfires have affected the ranching community in OK, KS, and TX. The video has some graphic images of dead cattle that some might find hard to watch. We talked about the graphic images in the video, she told me that dead cattle (and other livestock) is their reality. It was hard for me to watch portions of the video. But I am glad that I watched the video without forwarding through graphic images. I needed to see that. 

I'd like to finish off with saying that in watching the video, I am struck by the residency of the ranching community and how they take care of each other. My thoughts and prayers are with all those who had losses because of these wildfires.

Direct Link to video on Facebook

I thought it important to share this video with you today. I hope to finish my three part series with updates of the Northwest Oklahoma Complex on Monday, April 3rd.

NW Oklahoma Complex Update 2 of 3 - March 29th (videos from the fire)

Continuing with the post that I wrote on March 27th, with an update on the Northwest Oklahoma Complex that burned 779,292 acres and is now at 100 percent containment, I want to share some videos that were posted on the Oklahoma Forestry Services Facebook page seven to ten days ago. Specifically, they posted a series of videos that they called #FacesoftheFire. I am sharing three of these #FacesoftheFire videos from the Oklahoma Forestry Services Facebook page. Enjoy.

Molly Green, Office Manager for Tyree Ag (posted on March 15th)


John Morgan, Safety Director with Laverne (OK), Fire Department (posted on March 19th)


John Brown, SEAT Pilot with Henry's Aerial Service out of Brinkley, Arkansas (posted March 20th)



Finally, Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today shared two stories from firefighters who fought the NW OK Complex on March 15th that you will want to look at.

I hope to wrap this series of updates about the NW OK Complex on April 3rd. Stay Tuned.

NW Oklahoma Complex Update (March 27th) 1 of 3

I last wrote about the NW Oklahoma Complex Wildfires on March 17th, at that time the complex was at 85 percent containment. As some of you may already know, the complex that burned a total of 779,292 acres is at 100 percent containment according to the Northwest Oklahoma Complex page on Inciweb (last updated on March 26, 2017). I'm not quite sure when the fire was contained, but I think that it was contained on or about March 22, 2017. The last update on the NW OK Complex that I found is dated March 21st and may be found on this Inciweb page, where they report in part about the Complex wildfires:

The four large wildfires make up the Northwest Oklahoma Complex, which includes the Starbuck (Kansas and Oklahoma), 283, Selman, and Beaver fires. There have been two confirmed civilian fatalities to date, one in Oklahoma and one in Kansas. Local, county and state firefighters joined forces to stop the fires. Vast acreage of rangeland was destroyed, killing thousands of livestock, and destroying at least eight Oklahoma homes. Kansas officials confirmed the loss of 34 homes. In Clark County, Kansas, six additional homes were damaged, 108 outbuildings were lost with an additional 13 damaged.

Acreage burned for the four large fires that make up the Northwest Oklahoma Complex according to the March 21st update on the Northwest Complex:

• Starbuck Fire (Kansas and Oklahoma) - 662,700 acres with about 71 percent or about 472,000 acres of this wildfire being in Kansas.
• Beaver Fire - 2.962 acres
• Selman Fire - 44,234 acres
• 283 Fire - 69,396 acres

Here is the latest map, courtesy of Inciweb, that I found on this Inciweb page dated March 21st.

Obtained on March 27, 2017 from https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/map/5138/0/61978/

On March 21st the Southern Area Red Team turned management of the Northwest Oklahoma Complex of Wildfires to the Oklahoma Forestry Services. See the Facebook that I embedded below (that may be found here)

I will continue with part two of this update on the NW OK Complex either on March 29th. I finish with part three of this update on April 3rd.

On March 31st, I took a short break from this series to share a related video from Arable Media and Agri-Pulse Communication on how ranchers in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas have been impacted by the devastating wildfires (the NW OK Complex and other wildfires). 

Prescribed burns resume in portions of New Jersey

We still have remnants of last week's snow fall on the ground here in northern New Jersey, at least in my corner of northwestern New Jersey. Perhaps more north of me. While I don't know for sure, I think that the the ground may still be too wet for prescribed burns.

Not so in central and southern New Jersey, where prescribed burns resumed earlier this week. I believe that prescribed burning season in New Jersey normally ends sometime in the middle of March. According to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page, prescribed burning season has been extended to April 1st in New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) Division B. I don't know for sure about NJ FFS Divisions A and C, but I wonder if prescribed burning season is extended to in those Divisions as well. A map and a listing of the counties in each of the three NJFFS Divisions may be found here (scroll down to the middle of the page.

Back to the prescribed burns conducted this week, these are the prescribed burns that I know about and is not necessarily an all inclusive list. I suspect that there are or were other prescribed burns that I do not know about.

According to the  prescribed burns are being conducted today (March 24th) in the following counties (Ocean, Atlantic, Monmouth), the New Jersey Forest Fire Service posts about where prescribed are happening on their Facebook page The NJFFS posted about today's prescribed burns in theirMarch 24th Facebook post which I have embedded below:

According to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Face Book Page (March 21st, March 23rd) prescribed burns were conducted in Burlington County earlier this week.

Parliament Fire in Cypress Preserve (FL) update

March 23rd, 8 AM. According to an update from the Big Cypress NPS posted on their Facebook page about 11 PM on March 22nd (embedded below), The Parliament Fire has burned 15,389 acres and is at 20 percent containment.

March 22nd, 8:30 PM. Thanks to my good friend from Florida who tipped me off that the Parliament Fire saw a significant increase in acreage burned today. Specifically, the Parliament fire has burned 11,009 acres and is at 15 percent containment. Reports that this fire was a prescribed fire that broke containment seem to be false (see Facebook Post from the Big Cypress NPS embedded below. The cause is under investigation. Aviation resources are being used to support the wildland firefighters on the ground.

A 61 mile section of the Tamiami Trail (US 41) was closed today from Everglades City to Miami at the request of officials in charge of fighting the wildfire.

For more information on the Parliament Fire see:

Miami Herald, March 22nd
News29 report, update March 22nd with video
Bill Gabbert from Wildfire Today, March 22nd

Florida Wildfires - March 22nd update

I wrote about the Lee Williams Road Fire on March 9th, according to today's (March 22, 2017) Morning Report from the Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC), the Lee Williams Road Fire is at 95 percent containment. Note the morning report is updated daily during wildfire season so what you see will likely be different. If my understanding of the SACC Morning Reports is correct, the current days Morning Report, in this case March 22nd, contains updated fire information for no later than the day before, in this case March 21st.

While I was on the SACC page this morning I noticed a Fuels and Fire Weather Advisory for South Florida released on March 10th. Drought conditions are leading to extreme fire concerns. See also this article from the Miami Herald, wildfire season could be hot and damaging, that a friend of mine sent me around the same time that also references wildfires that were then burning.

Obtained on March 22, 2017 from http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article137818613.html

I was wondering about the current wildfire situation in Florida, and found some information on today's (March 22nd) Morning Report from the SACC (Fire size information for March 21st). I begin with three wildfires because these three fires (and the Lee Williams Road Fire are mapped on some screen shots from today's GeoMac Wildland Fire Support Map Viewer (see below)

• Red Fox Fire, started on March 18th, burned 2,530 acres, 15 percent containment
• Parliament Fire, started on March 18th, burned 6,027 acres, no containment 15,389 acres with 20 percent containment. I wrote a later post with current acreage burned here. The latest update on the Parliament from the Big Cypress NPS (posted on the Big Cypress NPS Facebook Page about 10 PM on March 22nd has acreage burned of 15,389 acres with 20 percent containment
• Sonny's Fire, started on March 19th, burned 500 acres, 20 percent containment.

There were two other Florida Wildfires of 500 acres or more that I saw on this mornings Morning Report from the SACC (neither were mapped on Geomac but were mapped on the SACC map: 

• SR100 County Line Fire (Putnam County, west of Palm Coast), started on March 18th, burned 993, 75 percent containment
• Afternoon Fire (Miami Dade County, south of Homestead, near the border of the Everglades National Park), started on March 20th, burned 610 acres, 100 percent containment

I got two screen shots from Geomac for you, one for North Florida and the other for South Florida.

Obtained on March 22, 2017 from https://www.geomac.gov/viewer/viewer.shtml

Obtained on March 22, 2017 from https://www.geomac.gov/viewer/viewer.shtml

Fuel reduction (Prescribed) burn in Tyler Texas

Here is a nice 4 minute video of a fuel reduction burn that was done in Tyler Texas earlier this month. Thanks to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page for pointing me to this video. I enjoyed this video because I learned a little something about the forests in and around Tyler Texas,


Direct link to video

Wildfire Update - NW Oklahoma Complex - March 17th

The NW Oklahoma Complex of wildfires is at 85 percent containment according to the march 17, 2017 daily Oklahoma Wildfire Situation Report issued from the Oklahoma Forestry Services:

Northwest Oklahoma Complex – This Complex is being managed under Unified Command with the Southern Region Red Team (Type 1 IMT with Mike Dueitt, Incident Commander) and Woodward, Buffalo, Laverne, Slapout, Moorland, Rosston and Beaver Fire Departments. The Complex is currently at 85% containment. Numerous OFS overhead, heavy equipment, Type 6 Engines and aircraft are assigned to the complex to assist local fire departments with the control efforts. Other state forestry resources from Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee have arrived and are committed to the firefighting effort. An Incident Command Post is established at the Woodward County Fairgrounds to facilitate briefings, resource assignments and ordering. Fire danger conditions over the fire area are forecast as “Elevated” today and predicted to become “Near Critical” on Sunday. Resources will continue working existing control lines and mopping-up hot spots to strengthen the fires’ perimeter. Utility companies have started to replace power poles and lines damaged by the fire. There were no changes in fire perimeters during the previous burning period.

Starbuck (Beaver and Harper County) – 662,687 acres total (464,308 acres in Kansas and 198,379 acres in Oklahoma). Near the Oklahoma communities of Buffalo, Knowles, Gate, Rosston and Laverne. Numerous residences, secondary structures, livestock and other infrastructure lost. Damage assessments are on-going.

Selman (Harper and Woodward County) – 47,289 acres, located approximately 10 miles north of Woodward. No estimate on residences or secondary structures lost. Damage assessments are on- going.

283 Fire (Harper County) – 69,395 acres, located near the communities of Rosston, Laverne and May. Damage assessments are on-going.

Beaver Fire (Beaver County) – 2,962 acres, located between Beaver and Elmwood along highway 273. Damage assessments on-going.

Here are some some videos showing footage of recent wildfire activity NW Oklahoma and Kansas (also affected by wildfires):


Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link to video

Small brush fire in Lakewood NJ on March 9

Thanks to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page for tipping me off to the NJFFS Helicopter (Delta 7) that worked a small brush fire in Lakewood, (Ocean County) NJ on March 9, 2017. I was busy doing other things last Thursday so did not notice until after the fact that Red Flag Warnings were up for portions of New Jersey on March 9th because of gusty winds. The fire burned an area of about one-quarter of a mile along with two cars. The fire started in or near a truck company's lot. My friend pointed me to nice video of Delta 7 working the fire. The videographer, FireEMS Films, has disabled embedding. This is a nice video and it only takes a little over a minute to watch the video.

Video NJFFS Helo (Delta 7) doing bucket work

Asbury Park Press article on the Lakewood Brushfire (March 9, 2017)
Asbury Park Press photos on the Lakewood Brushfire (March 9, 2017)

Edited on March 16, 2017 at 10:10 AM. I was just informed by a friend in the know, that there was no Red Flag Warning on March 9th. He told me that there were high winds and a low Relative Humidity. Apparently, the brush fire that started in a Trucking company parking lot jumped nearby railroad tracks into an adjacent wooded area. There was a swampy area and more parking lots near this wooded area which helped the firefighters stop this 13-acre brush fire.

USAF Hurricane Hunter flies winter storm (March 12)

In the course of learning and then writing about Hurricane Hunters last year, see for example this post, I learned that the Hurricane Hunter aircraft will sometimes fly reconnaissance missions into winter storms to gather information that can go into the weather models. Last Friday I saw a couple of references that such a Hurricane Hunter Recon flight was planned for this past weekend.
I know that I saw a couple of other references to this Hurricane Hunter recon flight. Unfortunately, I failed to bookmark these references.

Some of you may recall that there is a nice website that tracks reconnaissance flights into the Atlantic by NOAA's and the USAF's Hurricane Hunters, Aerial Reconnaissance in the North Atlantic. Wanting to find out a little more that I could share with you, I went to Aerial Reconnaissance in the North Atlantic and then to their Recon Archives, and looked under non-tasked missions in 2017. I found what I was looking for:

Mar.12th, 00.38Z, Track66, flown by AF304 (US Air Force 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron).

If you look at the list of flights under non-tasked missions in 2017, you will see that you have the option to either look at a map in Google Earth or in Cesium (that you can access with most but not all browsers). I used Cesium to get some screen shots for you.

Here is a partial list of archived flights for you:

obtained on March 13, 2017, 2:45 PM EDT from http://tropicalatlantic.com/recon/recon.cgi?basin=al&non_tasked=2017

Here are a couple of shots from Cesium (represented by the icon on the far right in the last column:

The flight of AF304 is represented in orange. Obtained on 3/13/17from http://tropicalatlantic.com/recon/recon.cgi?basin=al&year=2017&identifier=Track66&mission=02&agency=AF&aircraft=304&month=03&day=12&mapping=cesium

And here is a close up view where you can see icons that represent dropsondes and the hourglass icons represent observations:

Finally I selected a dropsonde observation for you. I could only get a small portion of the data for you in this screen shot.

Obtained on 3/13/17from http://tropicalatlantic.com/recon/recon.cgi?basin=al&year=2017&identifier=Track66&mission=02&agency=AF&aircraft=304&month=03&day=12&mapping=cesium

As a resident of New Jersey, one of the many states that will be impacted by this major winter storm tonight into tomorrow, I want to thank AF304 and her crew from the USAF 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron for flying this storm and getting data on the storm that can only be obtained from the air. I know that this data went into the weather models used by the National Weather Service. Your flight on our behalf matters! Thank-you again and stay safe!

Update (March 10th) - Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas wildfire outbreak

For those of you who are arriving here, I have written two articles on the current wildfire outbreak in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas on March 7th and March 8th

Kansas and Oklahoma:

From the Oklahoma Forestry Services (Daily) Fire Situation Report for March 10, 2017:

Northwest Oklahoma Complex – The Southern Region Red Team (Type 1 IMT with Mike Dueitt, Incident Commander) assumed command of the Complex at 0700 today’s date. This Complex will be managed under Unified Command with Woodward, Buffalo, Laverne, Slapout, Moorland, Rosston and Beaver Fire Departments. Numerous OFS overhead, heavy equipment, Type 6 Engines, and aircraft are assigned to the complex to assist local fire departments with the control efforts. Other state forestry resources from Arkansas, Louisiana, and Kentucky have arrived and are committed to the firefighting effort. An Incident Command Post is established at the Woodward County Fairgrounds to facilitate resource assignments and ordering. Fire behavior was minimal during the previous burning period and expected to remain low today. A few flare-ups occurred on the fire, but mop-up and control line reinforcement continues. Aerial mapping is an ongoing process to provide updated acreages for each incident. Acreage figures may actually decrease due to more accurate mapping. 

Starbuck (Beaver and Harper County) – 662,687 acres total (464,308 acres in Kansas and 198,379 acres in Oklahoma), 10% containment. Near the Oklahoma communities of Buffalo, Knowles, Gate, Rosston, and Laverne. Numerous residences, secondary structures, livestock and other infrastructure lost. Damage assessments are on-going. Numerous communities remain on alert. 

Selman (Harper and Woodward County) – 44,338 acres, 25% containment, located approximately 10 miles north of Woodward. No estimate on residences or secondary structures lost. Damage assessments are on-going. Numerous residences remain threatened. 

283 Fire (Harper County) – 69,395 acres, 10% containment, located near the communities of Rosston, Laverne, and May. Damage assessments are on-going. Numerous communities remain on alert.

Texas:

From the Texas A&M Forest Service, Wildfire and Disasters, Fire Danger, Current Situation webpage , updated on March 10th at 8 AM local time (accessed on March 10, 2017, information updated frequently)

Perryton Fire in Ochiltree, Hemphill, Robers and Lipscomb Counties. 318,156 acres. Two homes destroyed. The Perryton Fire has a page on Inciweb. Containment is at 85 percent.

Dumas Complex Fire. Potter County near Amarillo. 28,800 acres (estimated). Fire is 100 containment.

Lefors East Fire. Gray and Wheeler Counties. 136,000 acres (estimated). Fire is 100 percent contained.

More information (kudos to Mike Archer at Wildfire News of the Day) for pointing me to these articles:

Cattlenetwork on losses to livestock
KFOR on Oklahoma Forestry Services asking for help
Kansas City Star - update on wildfires in Kansas

Wildfires in Florida - Lee Williams Road Fire (Collier County)

March 10th 5:10 PM update: The Lee Williams Road Fire that I wrote about yesterday, see below, remains at about 7,500 acres burned and is at 65 percent containment.



March 9th

Winter is wildfire season in Florida, as of March 9th, there were 59 wildland fires burning in Florida for a total of 16,511 acres, with eight being over 100 acres. See the map below that I obtained from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Wildland Fire Division.

Obtained on March 9, 2017 from

http://www.freshfromflorida.com/content/download/74707/2127803/wildfires2017_map_ActiveWildfires.pdf 

I have been thinking about the wildfires burning in Florida this winter, but had not yet written about Florida this winter. In the course of reading and following the awful wildfire outbreak in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, I learned about a wildfire that is currently burning outside Naples Florida, in and near the Picayune Strand Forest in Collier County, FL. So, I knew that I had to spend a little time learning about what is going in Florida and to focus on the fire burning outside Naples known as the Lee Williams Rd Fire. That fire, started on Sunday, March 5th, the cause of the fire is under investigation, according to today's update from Collier County (see this March 9th report from Collier County, link live at the time I posted this article).

As of Thursday afternoon, March 9th, the fire had burned 7,500 acres and is at 50 percent containment. At least three residences and several outbuildings have been destroyed. Evacuations were in place earlier this week and were lifted Tuesday night or Wednesday. Portions of I-75 was closed at least twice. 

I found the following video, shot on Tuesday evening March 6th, on the Immokalee Fire Control District’s Facebook Page

And some photos shot and uploaded by Joey Weiner, a local photographer.

I understand that at least one air tanker and some helicopters have worked this wildfire and other wildfires in Florida. Video below from Joey Weiner

Here is a map of the Lee Williams Road Fire in the Picayune Strand Forest that I obtained from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Wildland Fire Division.

Map obtained on March 9th from

http://www.freshfromflorida.com/content/download/74708/2127808/wildfires2017_map_Lee_Williams_Rd.pdf

I'd like to close on a more personal note. As some of you may know, I have had a special affinity for the Everglades and environs in south Florida for quite sometime. About fifteen years ago I spent a week south of Orlando and during that week, I took a couple of days to drive to the Naples, where I stayed in a hotel near a gulf course and spent a wonderful day driving along the Tamiami Trail (south of I-75), and took a couple of tours of the Everglades, one on a boat that left from Everglades City. While I understand the importance of fire the Everglades ecosystem, I am saddened that some have lost their houses to the Lee Williams Rd Fire. I'd like to thank all the firefighters, on the ground and in the air for working this fire.

More information on wildfire in Picayune Strand Fores:

report with video and photos from NBC-2 

Fox4Now (March 9th)

Wildfires elsewhere in Florida:

ClickOrlando on wildfires in Orange County

Palm Beach Post on 85-acre wildfire in Palm Beach (March 7th)

WSVN report and video (March 6th) - 1,065 acre wildfire near Miami at 75% containment

Wildfires in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas (March 8th)

I wrote about the wildfires currently burning in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas yesterday, writing about two hours of footage by News 9's (Oklahoma) Storm Tracker as he reported late in the afternoon of March 6th from southern Harper County and northern Woodward County in northwest Oklahoma. Here is some incredible footage from the Washington Post, summing up in one minute the destruction and power of wildfires along with the dedication of the wildland firefighters.  Footage from Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

As of late last night (March 7th) over 833,000 acreage has burned in three fires in northwest Oklahoma and adjoining areas of Kansas. From the March 8, 2017 Oklahoma Forestry Services Fire Situation Report (also see Bill Gabbert's March 8th articles on the northwest Oklahoma wildfires where he talks about the acreage burns with a map he obtained from the Oklahoma Forestry Services.

Northwest Oklahoma Complex – Oklahoma Forestry Services Type 3 IMT is in Unified Command with Woodward, Buffalo, Laverne, Slapout and Mooreland. A Type 1 Incident Management Team has been ordered. Significant growth occurred on all fires in the complex. Numerous OFS overhead, heavy equipment, Type 6 Engines, and aircraft are assigned to the complex to assist local fire departments with the control efforts. An Area Coordination Center and Staging Area has been established at the Woodward County Fairgrounds to facilitate resource assignments and ordering. All fires in the complex were aerially mapped yesterday evening.

Starbuck (Beaver and Harper County) - 715,484 acres total in Oklahoma and Kansas, 0% containment. Near the Oklahoma communities of Buffalo, Knowles, Gate, Rosston, and Laverne. Numerous residences, secondary structures, livestock and other infrastructure lost, 0 % containment. Numerous communities remain threatened. Fire growth continued yesterday and through the nighttime hours. 

Selman (Harper and Woodward County) – 47,289 acres, 0% containment located approximately 10 miles north of Woodward. No estimate on residences or secondary structures lost. Damage assessments are on-going.. Numerous residences remain threatened. Fire growth continued yesterday and through the nighttime hours. 

283 Fire (Harper County) – 71,168 acres, 0% containment Near the communities of Rosston, Laverne, and May.no estimate on residences or secondary structures lost, damage assessments are on-going. 0 % containment. Numerous communities remain threatened. Fire growth continued yesterday and through the nighttime hours.

The acreage burned is incredible. A friend in Oklahoma referred to these wildfires as "horrible," his words are echoing in my brain as I write this. At least six people in Oklahoma and Texas have died in these wildfires.  (see this report from News 9 Oklahoma). Cattle have died, hayfields have been lost, an unknown number of structures and residences have been lost. As with many wildfires, many have lost everything. I have read about cases where the wildfires spared a home. I wonder about the homes I saw in the March 6th footage close to the path of the wildfire in southern Harper and northern Woodward Counties. Where they saved. What about the cattle I saw in the same and other footage?

I have been watching some live stream from News 9 Oklahoma as I write this. Yes, a little hard to do when I am writing at the same time and trying to find various articles. When I first tuned into the stream, I saw a grader working on a fire line followed by a view of a small structure burning. As the camera zooms out I see various fire vehicles. Right now the news helo is over a smokey area, he just zoomed in a tree that is surrounded by fire. A few minutes ago I saw some very impressive flames.

I am still processing what I have seen in these streams and other videos of wildfire footage.

There are a lot of wildland fire crews on the ground, joined by crews in the air working these wildfires. Evacuation centers have been set up. The National Weather Service Weather Forecast Offices in the regions affected by these wildfires (Norman and Tulsa Oklahoma, Amarillo Texas, Dodge City Kansas and I am probably leaving some out) are working hard to get fire weather forecasts out there, doing what they do to try to take care of their people.

For the firefighters, stay safe and thanks for all you are doing. My condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of those who have died.

A few sources of information:

photo gallery from NewsOK
KFOR on threats to livestock
Summary of wildfires (March 7th) from News12 WBNG
Aerial photos of wildfires near Hutchinson Kansas
New York Times (March 8th) in the Plains
Wildfire Today on Texas wildfires
Wildfire Today on Colorado wildfires
Wildfire Today - five fatalities from wildfires (written March 7th)

Wildfires burn in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas

I have had some interest in following the spring wildfire season in Oklahoma because of some acquaintances I have made there. The last several days, I have made a habit of going to the Oklahoma Forestry Services webpage to download the daily Oklahoma Wildfire Situation Report. Knowing that yesterday was a day when all or most of Oklahoma and portions of adjoining states were under Red Flag Warnings, I suspected the worst and hoped for the best. Red Flag Warnings continued today in portions of Northwest Oklahoma and adjoining areas of Kansas.

I learned of four large fires that were reported in this morning's Oklahoma Wildfire Situation Report (March 7th). All are in northwest Oklahoma:

• Starbuck Fire (Beaver County), an estimated 185,000 acres have burned near Knowles and Gate. Numerous structures including residences were lost. No containment.
• Selman (Harper County, near Selman)), no estimate of size, and no estimate of structures lost. No containment.
• 283 fire (Woodward County): Near Woodward. No estimate of size, and no estimate of structures lost. Numerous communities remain threatened. No containment.
• Territory (Stephens County, north of Empire). 1,200 acres burned near the Territory Gulf Course. No report on containment information.

Here is a statewide summary from the March 7th Oklahoma Wildfire Situation Report:

Widespread fire occurrence was experienced near and west of Interstate 35. Estimates on acreage burned are sketchy due to smoke obscuring the majority of NW Oklahoma. Flight operations (aerial suppression and mapping) will resume as conditions allow. Current estimates show between 200,000 and 300,000 acres burned in Beaver, Harper, and Woodward counties. Multiple federal, state, and local resources will remain committed to the incidents for the next several days. 

While I am focusing here on Northwest Oklahoma, wildfires are or have occurred in other areas of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has two reports on these fires, one is on the outbreak in Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma and the other is about a tornado in Kansas that forced wildland firefighters to evacuate.

I did a quick web search earlier this afternoon to see what other information I could find about this wildfire outbreak. I spent an incredible two hours watching a video on Facebook reported by Storm Tracker Marty Logan of News 9 in Oklahoma late in the afternoon of March 6th. He was in northwest Oklahoma near the Harper/Woodward County line late yesterday afternoon (5 PM  to about 7 PM local time) reporting on the wildfire. Incredible and scary footage. A cold front approached about an hour into the video (that was streamed live on Facebook). When the cold front and the associated change in the direction the winds were coming from he noted that winds were at 30 mph, gusting to 51 mph. After the winds changed, visibility dropped to about 200 yards or less because of the heavy smoke from the approaching wildfire. Very moving footage of the efforts of firefighters to try to save two homes. I wonder if they were successful? Or were these two homes among the residences lost. I am still processing what I saw, and am struck by the power these wildfires and the dedication of all the firefighters in Oklahoma and environs fighting large wildfires where resources were stretched thin. Logan moved at least four times in the video to get out of harms way as the wildfire moved towards him. At various points during the video, Logan (who is or was a 25-year firefighter) panned around the area where his truck was stopped showing with the smoke from the other wildfires burning in Oklahoma and Texas.


Direct link to AP Video

Here are a couple of reports from News 9 OK that you may want to read for more information.

Wildfires Burn NW OK into Kansas (with video) updated March 6th at 11:39 PM
Two civilian deaths in OK from wildfires (March 7th at 2:38 PM)

Finally, here is a video report from the News 9 OK Facebook page that was posted about 3 PM, March 7th local time. You will here an update from an official from Oklahoma Forestry Services report on the wildfires in Oklahoma.

Red Flag Warnings in Plains, Prescribed burns in NJ

As I write this there are Red Flag warnings (in pink on the map below) for Monday, March 6th in portions of the Plains in the United States. That is portions of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska are under Red Flag warnings. Also included in the Red Flag warning are a small portion of Iowa and South Dakota as well as a small corner of Missouri. The areas colored in yellow on the map are under a Fire Weather Watch (portions of Missouri).

Map obtained from NWS Fire Weather -- http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ridge2/fire/ on March 6, 2017 at 11:50 AM

Meanwhile, here in New Jersey, we had some dry and windy conditions around the State this past weekend. These conditions probably limited where the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) could conduct prescribed burns. As always, when the NJFFS announces their daily or weekend plans for prescribed burns as they did on the NJFFS Facebook account this past weekend, the prescribed burns are weather dependent. Perhaps it was the weather that lead the NJFFS said in their Facebook post of March 5th to cancel prescribed burns in the northern and central portions of New Jersey (Divisions A & B). Given the winds that I myself experienced over the weekend, I can understand why prescribed burns were cancelled in my part of New Jersey. Prescribed  burns did continue as planned in the southern portion of New Jersey (Division C).

The NJFFS has planned prescribed burns for today, Monday March 6th, as noted in the following Facebook post (click on "see more" for a complete list)



Stay safe everyone!

More on prescribed burns - New Jersey and New Hampshire

New Jersey Advanced Media did a nice video report last week about New Jersey's prescribed burning season.  I knew about the video report but only learned today that it was posted on Youtube. Thanks to my friends from the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page for sharing this video. You will learn about how prescribed burns are done in New Jersey and how some of the trees in the New Jersey Pine Barrens need the heat from fire to reproduce.


direct link to video from NJ.com

In the following 3 minute video you will learn about a prescribed burn done in New Hampshire last year to improve the habit that the endangered New Hampshire Karner Blue Butterfly needs in order to recover and reproduce.


direct link to video from NH Fish and Game

New Jersey: prescribed burns (2/28)

Today's weather has been unsettled with showers and thunderstorms as well as being in the 70s. So I don't think there were any prescribed burns today (March 1st) in New Jersey. There is a wind advisory out for tomorrow covering northern New Jersey and adjoining areas in New York and Pennsylvania. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) did conduct prescribed burns yesterday (February 28th):

Burlington County:
Pemberton Township, Brendon T Byrne State Forest

Ocean County:
Berkeley Township, Double Trouble State Park



Speaking of prescribed burns, watch Jeff Foxworthy explain the benefits of prescribed or controlled burns done, in a three year rotation, on his property.

New Jersey: prescribed burns and weekend brush fire (2/27)

As I was out and about around mid-day Saturday (February 25th), I was listening to the radio and happened to hear a traffic report saying that Route 35 in the Keyport area of Monmouth County was closed due to a brush fire. The report was all of about 30 seconds, but got my attention because of the brush fire. Later that afternoon, I was again listening to the radio and heard a report that Route 35 was open. Now I don't exactly know where the brush fire was, but I am sharing an image from Google Earth of the Keyport area, zooming out to show the Garden State Parkway.

According to a report I saw on the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page, the 13-acre brush fire was in a marshy area of Keyport in Monmouth County (NJFFS Section B10) adjoining Route 35 was contained about 5 PM. Structures were threatened at one point, and to the best of my knowledge there was no damage to structures. I found this brief report from the Asbury Park Press.

I just checked the The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) Facebook Page and see that the NJFFS is conducting prescribed burns today (February 27th) in the following locations:

Burlington County
Rancocas State Park, Westampton Twp;
Brendon Byrne State Park, Woodland Twp.
Camden County

Wharton State Forest, Waterford Twp.
Monmouth County

Monmouth County Park, Upper Freehold Twp.

Pleasant Run WMA, Upper Freehold Twp.
Ocean County
Stafford Forge WMA, Little Egg Harbor

Manchester WMA, Manchester Twp 

Greenwood WMA Lacey Twp 
Manchester WMA, Manchester Twp

Crossley Preserve, Manchester Twp.

New Jersey spring wildfire season is coming and warmer then normal temperatures

I wrote on February 24th () about a 500+ acre wildfire that burned last Sunday into Monday in a remote section of the Greenwood Wildlife Management Area, in Manchester Township, Ocean County NJ. I also posted some information about prescribed burns that were conducted earlier this week by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

I knew that the New Jersey Forest Fire Service conducted more prescribed burns on February 22nd in Ocean, Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties. I checked the New Jersey Forest Fire Service’s Facebook page yesterday and earlier this morning, wondering if there were more prescribed burns scheduled. I saw that none were scheduled.

When I came upon this February 20th video report from NBC10 in Philadelphia, I got my answer to why there were no prescribed burns scheduled for the 23rd and 24th. If you could hold off on viewing the NBC10 report for a moment, allowing me to digress. I did know that both yesterday and today we have a shot of warmer then normal temperatures. Temperatures yesterday were in the upper 60s and low 70s, and temperatures today will be about the same. See for example these observations for New Jersey and adjoining areas of Delaware and Pennsylvania reported by the National Weather Service at Mt. Holly NJ

ASUS41 KPHI 241511
RWRPHI

REGIONAL WEATHER ROUNDUP
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1000 AM EST FRI FEB 24 2017

NOTE:  "FAIR" INDICATES FEW OR NO CLOUDS BELOW 12,000 FEET WITH NO
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER AND/OR OBSTRUCTIONS TO VISIBILITY.

 * = STATION DOES NOT REPORT PRECIPITATION (E.G. RAIN, SNOW, ETC.)
        OR FOG.

NJZ015>026-241600-
SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY

CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
POMONA         MOSUNNY   68  53  58 S12       29.98R
WILDWOOD*      MOSUNNY   64  54  69 S13       29.99R
MILLVILLE      SUNNY     65  56  72 S8G17     29.97S
WRIGHTSTOWN    SUNNY     66  56  68 SW13      29.94R
MOUNT HOLLY    SUNNY     67  55  65 SW9       29.96R
TRENTON        SUNNY     65  55  70 SW10      29.95R

$$
NJZ001>014-241600-
NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
SUSSEX         SUNNY     63  54  72 SW6       29.93S
ANDOVER*         N/A     64  52  64 SW10      29.93S
MORRISTOWN     MOSUNNY   64  54  68 W5        29.95S
NEWARK         PTSUNNY   66  55  67 SW7       29.95S
TETERBORO      SUNNY     65  54  67 SW12      29.94F
CALDWELL       MOSUNNY   63  53  70 VRB5      29.95S
SOMERVILLE     SUNNY     64  53  67 VRB3      29.93F
ALLAIRE*       SUNNY     67  55  65 S13       29.98R
TOMS RIVER*    SUNNY     68  55  63 SW14G20   29.98R

$$
PAZ043-044-047-054-055-060>062-066>071-241600-
EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA

CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
PHILADELPHIA   MOSUNNY   65  54  67 SW12      29.95S
NORTH PHILA    SUNNY     66  56  70 SW12      29.96S
BLUE BELL*     SUNNY     63  54  72 S7        29.94S
DOYLESTOWN     SUNNY     63  55  75 VRB7      29.93F
QUAKERTOWN*    SUNNY     64  55  72 SW9       29.94F
PERKASIE*      FAIR      63  54  72 SW6       29.95S
POTTSTOWN      SUNNY     62  53  72 SE6       29.95S
LANCASTER      SUNNY     65  56  72 S7        29.92S
COATESVILLE    SUNNY     63  55  77 VRB6      29.95S
READING        SUNNY     66  55  67 SW8       29.91F
ALLENTOWN      SUNNY     65  53  65 VRB6      29.92F
MOUNT POCONO   SUNNY     60  53  77 SW7       29.92F
HAZLETON       PTSUNNY   63  52  67 S8        29.93S
LEHIGHTON      FAIR      61  50  67 CALM      29.92F
WILKES BARRE   PTSUNNY   63  53  70 W9        29.88F

$$
DEZALL-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-241600-
DELAWARE AND EASTERN MARYLAND

CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
WILMINGTON     SUNNY     63  54  72 SE7       29.95S
DOVER          SUNNY     67  65  92 S12       29.95S
GEORGETOWN     PTSUNNY   70  56  61 S8        29.98R
EASTON         SUNNY     66  55  68 S10       30.00R
ABERDEEN       SUNNY     64  55  72 S7        29.95S
PATUXENT       MOSUNNY   66  58  75 S8        29.96S
OCEAN CITY     SUNNY     64  57  78 SW9       29.98F
WALLOPS ISLAND MOSUNNY   64  58  80 S12       29.98F
CAMBRIDGE      SUNNY     66  57  72 SE6       29.97S
SALISBURY      PTSUNNY   68  57  68 S9        29.97S

$$
PAZ001-021-NYZ056-072-MDZ011-DCZ001-241600-
OTHER NEARBY LOCATIONS

CITY           SKY/WX    TMP DP  RH WIND       PRES   REMARKS
HARRISBURG     MOSUNNY   63  53  70 SE8       29.89F
STATE COLLEGE  CLOUDY    61  52  72 CALM      29.86S
WILLIAMSPORT   PTSUNNY   63  52  67 E8        29.86S
BINGHAMTON     CLOUDY    59  52  77 S8        29.84S
NEW YORK CITY  SUNNY     63  53  70 VRB6      29.98R
BALTIMORE      MOSUNNY   68  56  65 SW5       29.92F
WASHINGTON DC  MOSUNNY   64  56  75 S10       29.93F

$$

---

Ok, so the temperatures yesterday and today are more like temperatures we experience in mid-May. What do these warmer then normal temperatures mean for us in New Jersey as the normal start of the spring wildfire season is less then a month away? Back to the February 20th video from NMC10 in Philadelphia. The NBC10 reporter interviewed Shawn Judy of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. Mr. Judy pointed first to warmer then normal temperatures over this past weekend which means an earlier start to the spring wildfire season. He cited the example of the 540 acre wildfire that burned in Manchester Township (Greenwood Wildlife Management Area) last Sunday (February 19th). I learned something new when Mr. Judy was discussing the importance of prescribed burns in That is, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service does not conduct prescribed burns when the temperatures are above 60F because prescribed burns are too risky at those those temperatures.

I share this February 20th video report from NBC10 in Philadelphia with you, and hope that you spend a couple of minutes to watch the video. The embed code did not work here, which may a good thing because sometimes the embed code is only good for a limited time. Knowing this, I tried to summarize the salient aspects of the report above.

These May temperatures will end over night tonight. But light rain is expected over the weekend with showers early next week, perhaps limiting prescribed burns? I'll be checking the New Jersey Forest Fire Service’s Facebook page for updates about any planned prescribed burns in the coming days.

Signs of the advent of spring in NJ: prescribed burns and wildfire activity

Depending on weather conditions wildfires can happen at any time of year in New Jersey and elsewhere, but with spring being just around the corner that means that spring fire season in New Jersey in coming. So while February in New Jersey may not be the spring wildfire season there was, nonetheless, a wildfire in the New Jersey Pine Barrens this past Sunday (February 19th).

About 10 AM on Sunday, February 19th, a wildfire of undetermined cause, was reported in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area in Manchester New Jersey (Ocean County). When I travel through the New Jersey Pine Barrens I frequently take a route that takes me through the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area (link to map) which is near county route 539 in Ocean County so I have a general idea of where the wildfire was located. Two helicopters worked the fire, one for observation and the other using a bucket to drop water on the wildfire, and no property was damaged. (see this February 19th article from NJ Advance Media along with this February 19th report from NBC news in New York).

The wildfire burned just under 570 acres before being contained on February 20, 2017, see the following Facebook Post from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service for more information:



Meanwhile, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service has resumed prescribed burns, at least in central and southern New Jersey. On February 19th and 20th the following prescribed burns were scheduled by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service:

Franklin Parker Preserve. Chatsworth (Burlington County)
Warren Grove Range, Stafford (Ocean County)
Brendan Byrne State Forest (Burlington County)
Joint Base McGuire-Dox (Ocean, Burlington Counties)
Allaire State Park, Wall (Monmouth County)
Lake Shenandoah, Lakewood (Ocean County)

Historic Airtankers - CAL FIRE S2A Airtankers (1973)

Enjoying a little downtime today, Presidents Day in America. Enjoy this video from 1973 about the Grumman S2-A tankers that began to serve what was then the California Division of Forestry (CDF) in 1973. It is entirely possible that I have embedded this video at some point. And if so, it is worth sharing again. In the later half of this footage you will see some footage of TBM single engine tankers that flew for the CDF before the CDF acquired the Grumman S3A tankers and some Lynch B26 tankers.

I wrote about the Grumman S2-A (and the S2-T's), the last of which flew in 2005 here, they were replaced by the S2-T tankers which are still flying. I have several posts on the TBM Avenger that I you may read here, with the latest post at the top (sorry).

Direct link to video

GOES-16 video imagery (February 13th)

Thanks to the folk at the NOAA Satellites Office for sharing some great videos from GOES-16. I thought that some of you might be interested in see these wonderful images from GOES-16. All the videos were shared on the NOAA - Satellite Information Service GOES-16 webpage on February 13th.




Direct link to video from NOAA Satellites on Youtube (GOES-16 Feb 13th strengthening winter storm)


Direct link to video from NOAA Satellites on Youtube (GOES-16 water vapor imagery)

More on bushfires in New South Wales Au - Feb 11-12

I was writing the other day about the catastrophic bushfires that burned in New South Wales, Australia this past weekend. First, I want to share a youtube video of a news report on February 12, 2017.


Direct link to video

Here is an updated assessment from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, as of this update (dated 15 February 2017) 41 homes have been destroyed.



And a map (dated 15 February 2017) showing the location of 55 bush and grass fires, with 13 not being controlled at the time of the posting. All were at the advice level.



Bush fires fall into three categories according to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service

• Advice (blue icons on map): A fire has started. There is no immediate danger. Stay up to date in cast the situation changes.
• Watch and Act (mapped with yellow icons): There is a heightened level of threat. Conditions are changing and you need to start taking action now to protect you and your family.
• Emergency Warning (mapped with red icons): An Emergency Warning is the highest level of Bush Fire Alert. You may be in danger and need to take action immediately. Any delay now puts your life at risk.

Catastrophic bushfire conditions in New South Wales Australia

I got wind of an extreme and catastrophic bushfire situation in New South Wales, Australia from a friend of mine. It is high summer in New South Wales and I understand that it has been very hot. I spent a little time to check things out for you and this is what I learned.

According to a media release (dated February 12, 2017) from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS):

NSW has experienced its most dangerous day of bush fire conditions ever. 

Catastrophic fire danger conditions have been recorded on Sunday 12 February 2017 in a number of locations across the Hunter, Central Ranges and Upper Central West Plains.

Late on February 13th (remember they are a day ahead of us here in America) the NSW RFS issued a media release with an intitial damage assessment of a few bush fires that resulted in property damage. That is according to this initial assessment, 30 homes were destroyed and five were damaged. For more see this February 13th media release from NSW RFS.

Skynews Australia reported late in the evening on February 13th that:

More than 2500 firefighters fought more than 200 bush and grass fires over the weekend with areas in the central west the worst hit. 

More than 70 fires were still burning on Monday afternoon including 26 uncontained blazes.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has an excellent website with updated bush fire information that may be found here as well as pages on facebook and twitter.

Additional information from media outlets:
ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) updated February 14th with video
BBC News - Australia (February 12th)
The Guardian - Australia (February 12th)

A look at wildfires in Pennsylvania (2016 wildfire season)

On a quiet day after what was for me a moderate wet snow fall yesterday (not so for areas of eastern Long Island and Connecticut, I am a little tired. Interesting because I did have some good help cleaning up after the snow fall. An interesting snow fall it was because temperatures were into the 60s on Wednesday before the cold front and the snow arrived. So no more prescribed burning in my neck of the woods until the snow melts. Southern New Jersey got less snow while areas of  Northern New Jersey got almost a foot.

I came across a nice video courtesy of my friends of the videos of the week page from my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire page. I enjoyed this video shot by fire photographer Bill Barr. Bill has some nice footage of SEATs and a few shots of a helo doing bucket work. Enjoy!


Direct link to video by Bill Barr

Time for some helos fighting wildfires

Time for some more footage of helos working wildfires in support of the firefighters on the ground.

From New South Wales, Australia (uploaded Jan 26,2017)


Direct link to video

From South Africa, I think (uploaded January 6, 2017)


Direct link to video

From Kentucky (from November 2016)


Direct link to video

Prescribed burning has begun in New Jersey

I thought that with the slightly warmer temperatures coupled with the fact that the so far small amount of snow that we have received here in New Jersey means that there is at least a window of opportunity for the New Jersey Forest Service to being prescribed burning. Early indications are that there may be a snow fall on Wednesday into Thursday of at least a few inches, and there is still the rest of February and early March left, so winter is by no means over in New Jersey. So perhaps this prescribed burning window will be short lived??



According to the Facebook post from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service that I embedded above prescribed burns for February 6th are taking place in the following areas:

• Six Mile Run State Park, Franklin Twp.
• Wharton State Forest, Shamong Twp., Washington Twp., Tabernacle Twp., 
• Greenwood Wildlife Management Area, Lacey Twp.
• Brendan T. Byrne SF, Pemberton, Woodland Twp., Burlington County, Manchester Twp.
• Buckshutem Wildlife Management Area, Fairfield Twp.
• Millville Wildlife Management Area, Commercial Twp.
• Peaslee Wildlife Management Area, Maurice River Twp.
• Vineland City municipal property

Thanks to the crews of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service who are conducting these prescribed burns!

Satellite imagery of smoke from Chilean wildfires (Jan 27th)

The other day, I wrote about the wildfires currently burning in Chile, in particular referencing the great extensive coverage of Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today (see posts tagged Chile on Wildfire Today) and Fire Aviation (see posts tagged Chile on Fire Aviation). As I write this, I believe that Bill is still embedded with the crew Global Supertanker's 747, T-944.

Some of you may know that for the last couple of months I have been reading and learning about NOAA/NASA's satellites, mostly about the new GOES-16 (formerly GOES-R) that was launched on November 19, 2016. Recall that GOES-16 and the other geostationary operational environmental satellite orbit at an altitude of approximately 22,300 miles above the Earth, in a geostationary orbit.

NOAA/NASA has other satellites orbiting the Earth in addition to the GOES series, you may go to NOAA Satellites and Information Services "Currently Flying Page" for a brief introduction (and a great image) of these satellites. Today I am interested in one of the polar orbiting satellites, the Suomi NPP (Near Polar-Orbiting Partnership) satellite which I will get to in a minute. Unlike the satellites in the GOES series and other geostationary operational environmental satellites from other countries, the polar orbit satellites, orbit the Earth in a polar orbit at about 800 kilometers (or 500 miles above the Earth).

The Suomi NPP Satellite is a joint effort of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and an organization known as the NPOESS Integrated Program Office. It orbits the earth at an altitude of 833 km in a (near?) polar orbit (see the Suomi NPP status page for more information.  It is a part of the Joint Polar Satellite System, and has five instruments: VIIRS,  CrIS, ATMS, OMPS, and CERES FM5. For more information about these instruments, please go here (the information is complete but perhaps a little technical. For our purposes, I am interested in VIIRS or the Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).

Among the capabilities of VIIRS is its "multichannel imaging capabilities to support the acquisition of high resolution atmospheric imagery and generation of a variety of applied products including: visible and infrared imaging of hurricanes and detection of fires, smoke, and atmospheric aerosols" (obtained on February 3, 2017 from https://www.nsof.class.noaa.gov/data_available/npp/index.htm).

And it is the ability of VIIRS on the Suomi NPP to detect fires and smoke that leads me today's post. The image below was taking by the Suomi NPP over the west coast of Chile on January 27, 2017. You will the large smoke plume for that fire. Pretty cool, huh?

Obtained on February 3, 2017 from https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/imagery-and-data, their image of day for 2/1/17

And you will want to read this information from the Suomi NPP Facebook Page posted on February 1st



The links on this page were current on the date I wrote this article.

Tanker History - B-25 Mitchell Tankers in Canada (1980s)

I was in the mood for a little air tanker history today. Some of you may recall that I wrote a series on the B-25 in late June and early July 2010, covering her service in World War II and her service as an air tanker in Canada. My articles with the B-25 label may be found here (most recent article on top).

At least one of these videos is a rerun, but as I have said before, reruns are fun. Enjoy.


Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link to video