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


direct link to video


direct link to video

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.