Fire danger blows in with the wind

[pais alto]

I'm driving to Ogden from Boulder on Monday. I heard something about wildfire. Can I take I-80, or do I need to use I-70?

https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/sitreprt.pdf
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/state/6/#
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/state/46/#

^Updated regularly.

 

[nay]

So on tonight's evening news (I know, only old people watch that, right?) they announced that the current US fire situation was so bad that we'd be asking Canada for help.

Cometh the monsoon.

There is 52% humidity in my house and my weather station has a humidity level smiley face. That happens for about six weeks out of the year. The rest of the year is . The birds are so happy it sounds like a rain forest outside right now.

 

[Monique]

I can haz tacky dirt for riding, plz?

 

[Tricia]

There's a command center set up at the local high school, about 1/2 mile from our house, because the fires are like dominos around here this summer.

Only a couple of these fires started by acts of God, most have been ignited by acts of stupidity.

 

[Tricia]

Meanwhile at Brianhead Ski Resort UT

View attachment 25745

This was on the local news in SLC this morning
http://kutv.com/news/local/misdemeanor-charges-for-man-who-started-brian-head-fire

 

[pais alto]

Here's an interesting article calling for perspective when reporting or discussing wildfire:
https://psmag.com/environment/a-catastrophic-scare-tactic

None of this, of course, is meant to suggest that wildfires can't cause catastrophe. As Hanson readily admits, any loss of human life or property is always a catastrophe and fires can result in both. Stephen Pyne, a prominent fire historian and a professor at Arizona State University, adds that one might also call a catastrophe any fire that results in the eradication of endangered species populations or the spread of invasive species like cheatgrass, to offer a few examples.

But Pyne too believes that the term "catastrophic wildfire" is often used to promote particular political ends.

This country has many problems related to fire, including a fire deficit in many places, he says, and "lumping them all together under a label of catastrophic fire isn't helpful."

On the topic of wildfire, it's always worthwhile to see what Stephen Pyne has to say. He was the first person I heard that gave an articulate explanation of why we are going to have to learn to live with fire, because we can't, and probably shouldn't, prevent or suppress all of it.

 

[Tricia]

The fire near Brian Head is creating some buzz, after a 61 year old man was charged with starting the fire.
CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) — A defense attorney questioned misdemeanor charges against a man accused of accidentally sparking a massive Utah wildfire that destroyed 13 homes and cost some $40 million to fight.

Attorney Andrew Deiss said after a Tuesday court hearing that part of the case against Robert Ray Lyman, 61, could be dismissed for lack of evidence. He didn’t elaborate.

Prosecutor Scott Garrett said authorities have solid evidence for the charges that include reckless burning, The Spectrum newspaper in St. George reported (http://bit.ly/2wQ037f ).

Lyman is charged with two misdemeanor counts in the blaze that authorities said was started by weed burning that grew out of control near the southern Utah ski town of Brian Head.

The fire torched more than 100 square miles (258 square kilometers) and forced about 1,500 people to evacuate the area, which is a popular getaway for Las Vegas residents.

Lyman, a former high school and college basketball coach from the Salt Lake City suburb of Taylorsville, is distraught about the damage and grateful for the firefighters who worked to contain the fire, Deiss said.

“Mr. Lyman has lived his life as a coach and an educator with the highest degree of integrity,” Deiss said. “From the start of this investigation, he cooperated, came forward and helped in every way he could.”

Lyman declined to comment. He is due back in court for an evidence hearing on Oct. 11.

If convicted on a reckless burning charge, Lyman could face up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. A count of burning without a permit carries up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Felony charges were not warranted because there was no evidence the fire was set on purpose, the prosecutor said.

“In this case, we charged it as the reckless because we didn’t feel like it was his intent to burn 70,000 acres,” Garrett said.

 

[pais alto]

I love this video:

Makes ya think.

 

[Tricia]

Phil and I are very lucky to be close to the amenities of being close to town but only a block from a great trail system.
Saw a fire truck coming around the corner by our house this morning, sure enough smoke on the edge of our neighborhood.
Phil took a drive to see if it was a house fire but it wasn't.
It seems like a kid was playing with matches on the trail and started a fire scary close to homes!
Kid and mom were talking to the fire chief at the scene.
Fortunately the fire department got it quickly. I'm guessing that the kid had a "come to Jesus" moment.
Grateful for firefighters!
Edit: removed photo.

 

[SBrown]

 

[coskigirl]

Very scary. A few years ago when it was very dry and we had already had major fires in the area the fire department showed up at a condo complex a couple of blocks from mine suspecting a fire in walls or something as there weren't visible flames. It was extremely hot and windy that night so it wasn't just one fire department but departments from multiple nearby agencies. I think I counted 5 or 6 different agencies. If it had gone up into a full fledged fire the winds were burning toward my home and it wouldn't have taken long. I ended up getting my important papers into my car and my car out of my garage (in case of a power outage) so that I could grab the cat and go if necessary.

 

[Don in Morrison]

The sky in Denver has been kind of bluish-gray all week. Sometimes you can smell the smoke. Visibility is pretty lousy, too. Sunrises can be looked at directly, due to the thickness of the haze. Seems like half of the West is on fire somewhere.

 

[Tricia]

Our house overlooks Reno from the upper patio. Its been hazy from smoke more often than not during this wildfire season.

Its insane to see the water destruction in Texas and Florida while the west is on fire.
Its crazy to hear family in Michigan complain about the cold rainy weather they're dealing with, farmers having a tough time getting hay bailed because they can't get it dry enough. The storms we've been getting are not bringing as much precipitation as we'd like, but they're bringing lightning.

 

[Tricia]

This pic of the burn scar
I have no idea how it was contained so quickly, especially considering the dry growth
Mad props to quick action on behalf of the fire dept and whoever called it in

 

[Jilly]

I'm at a conference West of Calgary. Smokey here. But blue skies this morning. It's like living next to a campfire.

 

[Tricia]

Ziggy woke me up about 20 minutes ago for his snack.
(That's a new thing that's been happening since he was diagnosed with diabetes)
After he woke me up I noticed some lightening, which didn't have rain

Fingers crossed that it doesn't do anything ugly.
Come on Rain!

 

[Tricia]

You guys are probably getting tired of hearing me talk about fires.
So much of the west has been on fire this year. Maybe its not the worst, but its feeling like a long hard fire season.
Phil and I went to Truckee for lunch today and saw the start of a fire just past Verdi, on the opposite side of the highway from the big Verdi Fire that happened in July. This is the third fire in the Verdi, Nevada/California border this season.
On our way home from Truckee, that fire seemed to spread and there was a new fire west of Reno which is scary close to homes.
Here is a clip from Kolo 8 News Facebook Live.
Its hard to listen to because of the wind.....yup, the wind is not going to make this easy to extinguish.

 

[Dwight]

When to the Active Fire Maping, https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/index.php

It shows nothing now. Did the latest snow and rain really knock out all the fires? I'm guessing no, though.