Fire danger blows in with the wind

[Tricia]

We had an incredible snow year, which has left some neighborhoods still flooded, and rivers flowing to a point of being warned to use caution if you want to raft, or stay out if you're inexperienced.
But the wind, wow the wind. There have been a few fires since the winds have picked up. According to investigations, several of these have been sparked by people shooting in the high desert where tall grasses have become kindle.
From my own perspective, I've been doing some yard work and am doing my best to get rid of the dead grass in the high desert part of our landscape to prevent fire danger surrounding our home.

Its amazing to look out and see so much snow-covered and green mountain side, yet feel the dry grass and danger of fire season upon us.
See news video here.
http://www.ktvn.com/category/170899/video-landing-page?clipId=13398109&autostart=true

 

[Core2]

Even in wet years this is still prime time of fire season. Lightning caused fire is burning one of my favorite hiking spots near Flagstaff right now. Hurry up Monsoon.

 

[pais alto]

Is that cheatgrass on the hill? Needs to be eradicated and replaced with perennials. Look it up, it's the scourge of Nevada, and a lot of other xeric places. I f'n hate cheatgrass, it's killed friends there in NV.

In wet years, the grasslands/deserts burn, in dry years it's timber. Brush always burns. But rain saves all...until the next year.

 

[Carl Kuck]

Welcome to California...

This one came within 1/4 mile of our house (we were living in Poway at the time) before it hit a "firebreak" where a number of houses being built had all the brush scraped down to the dirt in preparation for landscaping: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Fire_(2003)

Then there was this one, we were living in Del Mar (where we are now) and the lifeguards were driving up and down the neighborhoods advising everybody to evacuate. Cheryl elected to stay at the house, I had to go to Escondido and get my mother out of her house and go to my sister's near downtown San Diego...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_Fire

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

Welcome to California...

This one came within 1/4 mile of our house (we were living in Poway at the time) before it hit a "firebreak" where a number of houses being built had all the brush scraped down to the dirt in preparation for landscaping: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Fire_(2003)

Then there was this one, we were living in Del Mar (where we are now) and the lifeguards were driving up and down the neighborhoods advising everybody to evacuate. Cheryl elected to stay at the house, I had to go to Escondido and get my mother out of her house and go to my sister's near downtown San Diego...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_Fire

That was a bad year! We are in Oceanside and sat on our deck all night watching 2 approaching fires - one in Camp Pendleton and one in Fallbrook. Neither hit us, but the mess from the ash was crazy.

@Tricia
And yeah ...the winds along the 395 today were nuts! We drive from Mammoth to Shasta in an RV and it was dicey! I'm glad Bob was driving and not me!

 

[Tricia]

Is that cheatgrass on the hill? Needs to be eradicated and replaced with perennials. Look it up, it's the scourge of Nevada, and a lot of other xeric places. I f'n hate cheatgrass, it's killed friends there in NV.

In wet years, the grasslands/deserts burn, in dry years it's timber. Brush always burns. But rain saves all...until the next year.

Yes and yes. We're eradicating the cheatgrass. Funny, I looked it up and see why it got the name. At the moment, we've sprayed with ground clear. We will get Preen if necessary, and we're pulling it all up, sending it off to cheatgrass hell.
For fire mitigation we're also pulling all of the sage. It could be good for erosion control but I'm terribly allergic and I really like to breathe.

Meanwhile, a fire that has reached 125 + acres just a few miles from us. It is said to have been started by shooters at a a shooting pit that had been closed and posted for no shooting. It was evidently overgrown with cheatgrass.
http://www.kolotv.com/content/misc/Crews-responding-to-brushfire-near-Boomtown-429263053.html
The shooters reported the fire, stayed on the scene and are cooperating.

This is about 6 miles from our house.
At this time 20% contained.

 

[pais alto]

Cheatgrass sucks so bad. You made me happy that you're taking it out.

Last Thursday I hiked a couple miles in to a fave fishing spot. Around 3 pm I saw this coming up over the hill:

Not a cloud, it was the Cajete Fire. Time to go. By the time I hiked out and got to my vehicle and drove out forest roads to the hiway, it was closed due to the fire, so I had to drive 60 miles out of my way to get home. Life in the west.

 

[Fishbowl]

Meanwhile at Brianhead Ski Resort UT

 

[Tricia]

@pais alto did they get the fire out?
@Fishbowl holy shit!(I can say shit, can't I?)

Even in wet years this is still prime time of fire season. Lightning caused fire is burning one of my favorite hiking spots near Flagstaff right now. Hurry up Monsoon.

I think the bigger problem with wet years in these areas, is that there is a misconception that fire danger is low. If my back yard sparked with the cheatgrass we're mitigating, we'd be done!!

 

[pais alto]

@pais alto did they get the fire out?

They're working on it. It made on fair-sized run and spread some after that, but I think they'll get completely around it by morning.

@Fishbowl holy shit!(I can say shit, can't I?)

You should ask one of the moderators....wait...

 

[James]

Then there's Portugal. People dying in cars trying to get away. Must have been a fast forest fire.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/portugal-forest-fires-39-dead-pm-calls-disaster-tragedy-n773736

 

[Tricia]

Then there's Portugal. People dying in cars trying to get away. Must have been a fast forest fire.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/portugal-forest-fires-39-dead-pm-calls-disaster-tragedy-n773736

That is crazy bad

 

[Jerez]

@pais alto glad you got out of there. seems like that part of the jemez has burned every year for quite a few now. infuriating that most all the fires in our area must be human caused as we haven't had any lightning since they started.

 

[pais alto]

@pais alto glad you got out of there. seems like that part of the jemez has burned every year for quite a few now. infuriating that most all the fires in our area must be human caused as we haven't had any lightning since they started.

Thanks. I could have ridden out a bad run in that meadow but it was okay to drive out through the Jemez pueblo, I hadn't been there in a while I stopped in Bernalillo to have a little fountain treat, which was nice.

An interesting note about fires in the Jemez mountains - a gentleman by the name of Thomas Swetnam did a famous (to fire people) tree-ring study that showed that back in pre-European times, a million or so acres burned annually in the Jemez. Lightning fires burned lightly, clearing the understory in the Ponderosa forests, leaving the open stands of large trees. Industrial grazing, logging, habitations, and fire suppression put an end to that, leading to the choked dog-hair forests of today that burn catastrophically these days, pretty much nuking the landscape.

I believe the Bonita Fire, up in the Tusas on the Rio Vallecito (right at another favorite fishin' spot ) was lightning caused as were most(?) of the fires down on the Gila, but yeah, wait'll the pre-monsoon lightning season starts in a few weeks. But I guess they're finding a lot of abandoned campfires there in the Jemez near the Cajete Fire. @ssh0les!

 

[mikel]

It is so hot and dry in AZ, CA and NV that even some airline routes covered by RJ's have been canceled for the next day or two.

 

[Mothertucker]

Holcomb Fire NE of Big Bear, CA today.

 

[Jerez]

I actually got to meet Tom Swetnam about 15 years ago. An amazing scientist and speaker.
We sapiens are idiots.

 

[pais alto]

I actually got to meet Tom Swetnam about 15 years ago. An amazing scientist and speaker.
We sapiens are idiots.

Heh. Very cool. Small world.

 

[Tricia]

Meanwhile at Brianhead Ski Resort UT

View attachment 25745

I keep watching the news on the Brian Head fire.
It doesn't look like there's an end in sight.
http://fox13now.com/2017/06/25/photos-brian-head-fire-burns-on-thousands-of-acres-in-southern-utah/

 

[Jilly]

Both of these fires remind me of last years Fort Mac fire....You can have our rain anytime....we've enough water for now.