The Liberal Gun Club Forum

This is the new normal: There are 17 serious wildfires burning throughout California, including one of the deadliest and most destructive in the state’s history. Firefighters this month have been laboring under triple-digit temperatures and dry conditions to gain control over fires that have burned indiscriminately through residential neighborhoods, rolling hills and steep, forested terrain. The flames are stoked by dry brush and areas of dead trees, some of which haven’t burned in decades. As of Tuesday, more than 12,300 firefighters were on the lines battling infernos that have burned more than 280,000 acres across the state.

“It’s a horrendous battle,” said Scott McLean, a deputy chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection [CalFIRE]. Four men have died fighting the wildfires, and each of their deaths has highlighted the difficulties of fire containment. Two died in the Ferguson fire weeks apart, one when his bulldozer overturned and another when a falling tree struck him. In the Carr fire, an 81-year-old private bulldozer contractor and a fire prevention inspector both died in Redding after flames swept through parts of the city Thursday night. The flames and heat were so intense, they created their own weather system and tornado-like winds. Four civilians died in the same conditions.

The Carr fire in Shasta County [Redding, CA] had burned 112,888 acres by Tuesday evening and crews increased containment to 30%. It has destroyed at least 1,378 structures — more than last year’s Thomas fire in Southern California — making it the sixth most destructive and the 13th deadliest wildfire in California history, according to state figures. The majority of the damage was in west Redding and some surrounding areas. As damage assessments continue, McLean expects the fire’s ranking to climb even higher. About 22,000 Carr fire evacuees were allowed back into their homes by Tuesday night, but 15,000 remained displaced, McLean said. Crews continued to build containment lines Tuesday night, hampered somewhat by shifting winds and steep terrain. Most of the fire activity now is on the northwest corner of the fire, McLean said, and the rising containment is a positive sign.

Of the largest fires in the state, firefighters have the least containment over the two blazes in Mendocino County — the Ranch and River fires. Together they have burned more than 80,000 acres and are 10% and 12% contained, respectively. The two fires have destroyed 10 structures so far. Those fires both ignited Friday and are burning largely in rural areas that include some rolling hills as well as rugged slopes. Firefighters are battling “a little bit of everything,” including dry fuel, weather and terrain, McLean said. Firefighters faced wind gusts up to 17 mph Monday night and could see westerly gusts of up to 20 mph through Tuesday evening, National Weather Service meteorologist Cory Mueller said. On Monday night, firefighters worked to extinguish spot fires, according to a fire incident report.

Firefighters were also contending with two new wildfires that ignited Tuesday afternoon. The Eel fire charred 865acres in a sparsely populated area east of Covelo in Mendocino County, while the Butte fire scorched 800acres northwest of Yuba City in Sutter County. The Butte fire was 40% contained late Tuesday. The Ferguson fire, near Yosemite National Park, has burned through 58,074 acres. The fire has raged in rugged forest terrain, with pockets of dangerous dead brush, grass and trees that have not seen flames for close to a century. As of Tuesday, the fire was 33% contained. Although only one structure has been lost in the fire, two firefighters were killed and nineothers injured, according to authorities.

There will be a slight cooling of temperatures over the Carr and Mendocino fires on Wednesday and Thursday that will be barely noticeable to firefighters, but it could help them continue to gain control of the wildfires, authorities said. The rapid spread and high level of destruction of these recent fires is “a new normal,” McLean said. Of the state’s 20 most destructive wildfires, a quarter of them ignited in either October or December of last year. Topping the list is last year’s Tubbs fire, which killed 22 people and destroyed 5,636 structures when it sped through the city of Santa Rosa. Nationally, there are more than 60 uncontained large fires burning in the Western United States, according to federal authorities.

In Southern California, the Cranston fire near Hemet was 89% contained Tuesday evening after burning 13,139 acres and destroying five homes. A common thread in the California fires this year is extreme heat, the likes of which the state has never seen in the modern historical record. In the past, there has been some reluctance among scientists to cite climate change as a major factor in California’s worsening wildfires. Human-caused ignitions and homes being built ever closer to forests have played a large role. But the connection between rising temperatures in California and tinder-dry vegetation is becoming impossible to ignore, according to experts who study climate and wildfires.

And it’s not just the biggest wildfires statewide that are taking a toll on firefighters — they’re also dispatched to quickly extinguish smaller brush fires and prevent them from spreading, McLean said. “Last week alone, during the week, you had over 1,000 wildfire responses,” he said. “Commonly this time of year it’s maybe 250 to 300.” In the Railroad fire, a 10-acre brush fire in Santa Clarita that ignited Monday afternoon, three firefighters suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation. It was 95% contained by Tuesday evening, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. At least 13 units in two residential structures were damaged.

Concerned citizens across the state have asked how they can help, offering to bring water and food to base camps. But that’s not what firefighters need from the public, McLean said. “The best thing you can do for the firefighters is to be prepared — be prepared to leave, make sure your family’s educated on what to do,” he said. “And when it’s time, leave. Do not stay.”

CDFingers wrote: Wed Aug 01, 2018 10:22 am Yep: it's pretty dessicated out there. I live 70 miles south of Redding. Lots of dry brush.

CDFingers

harriss wrote: Wed Aug 01, 2018 1:43 pm It's a shame. We came to this continent 400 years ago, saw paradise, and then made a big stinking mess.

As fire crews struggled to gain containment on more than a dozen wildfires raging across California Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown told reporters that large, destructive fires would probably continue and cost the state billions of dollars over the next decade.

“The more serious predictions of warming and fires to occur later in the century, 2040 or 2050, they’re now occurring in real time,” Brown said at a news conference at the state’s emergency operations center outside Sacramento.

State officials said more than 13,000 firefighters are currently on duty, fighting 16 large fires that have burned a total of 320,000 acres and displaced more than 32,000 residents. Seventeen states have offered assistance to California during the last week, sending help from as far away as Maine and Florida. Though the state has the resources now to combat the large wildfires, fighting them and keeping people safe will become harder, Brown said.

“Things will get much tighter in the next five years as the business cycle turns negative and the fires continue,” Brown said.

featureless wrote: Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:13 pm Fires are natural to the west--it's a fire ecology. Human population patterns (expansion) are exacerbating wildfire threats. Poor past practices of wildfire suppression has also exacerbated the problem. Climate change, as usual, is a threat multiplier, pouring fuel on the fire through higher heat, climatic water deficit, higher/changing wind patterns, higher fuel load (drought stressed and dead trees followed by high rainfall years that spur under story growth). We're seeing the very early stages of hell on Earth. Good job, humans.

YankeeTarheel wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 8:52 am

featureless wrote: Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:13 pm Fires are natural to the west--it's a fire ecology. Human population patterns (expansion) are exacerbating wildfire threats. Poor past practices of wildfire suppression has also exacerbated the problem. Climate change, as usual, is a threat multiplier, pouring fuel on the fire through higher heat, climatic water deficit, higher/changing wind patterns, higher fuel load (drought stressed and dead trees followed by high rainfall years that spur under story growth). We're seeing the very early stages of hell on Earth. Good job, humans.

And Trump's "justification" for blaming Democrats for the wildfires have even Trumpublicans scratching their heads "Pouring their water into the Pacific Ocean"?????????
I'd say "Is he nuts? Is he delusional?" but that's been long established.

eelj wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 12:13 pm Where I live in Mn we have had our problems with climate change also. Heavy drenching down pours wiping out roads along with very high winds and damaging hail. Personally I'd rather have that than drought and wild fires but it is still very bad.

CDFingers wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:07 pm From where I live along the 40th parallel, everything is dry and ready to burn. An unfortunate set of circumstances.

CDFingers

TrueTexan wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:52 pm They also had a story about some off our local fire depts are sending personnel and equipment to help fight the fires in California

featureless wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:59 pm

TrueTexan wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:52 pm They also had a story about some off our local fire depts are sending personnel and equipment to help fight the fires in California

Yes, we are receiving much needed help from across the country. We even have a firefighters from Australia and New Zealand. More than 14,000 firefighters working on the CA fires and still not making much progress (not to disparage their efforts, at all).

Hasaf wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 2:40 pm This is the house my kids grew up in:

It was lost to the Klamathon Fire this summer. When my kids had grown I sold the house to my sister. When the evacuation order went into place she was out of town. As such, she was not able to go home and get anything. Her dog is somewhere in that picture.

The smoke creeping up from a steep hillside near this small community 27 miles south of Yosemite Valley [Yosemite National Park] was a sure sign a spot fire was burning, hidden beneath the tall pine trees. In years past, firefighters might have proceeded with just the limited information provided by a helicopter operator struggling to see through the haze. Instead, a California Air National Guard aircraft with infrared capability flying thousands of feet above the Ferguson fire was able to determine that firefighters were facing not one spot fire but seven, which were quickly growing together.

Amid weeks of conflagrations and heat waves that have shattered grim records across California, the Ferguson fire has made some good history: It marked the first time incident commanders battling a wildfire have been able to tell firefighters what was being reported from high above the fire in exact detail in near real time. “For firefighting, it’s a game changer, no doubt. And it’s only going to get better,” said Damian Guilliani, situation unit leader on California Interagency Incident Management Team 4, which helped battle the Ferguson fire. Firefighting technology in California took a big leap five years ago, when the Guard first used a large drone to fly over the Rim fire in San Diego County. It sent video footage back to an operations facility.

Since then, the Guard’s 163rd Reconnaissance Wing has helped fight more than 20 wildland fires.The California Air National Guard arrived at the Ferguson fire on July 18, initially employing drones as well as a manned aircraft. (The drones soon were diverted to the Carr and Mendocino Complex fires.) Command leaders fighting the blaze that has closed Yosemite Valley indefinitely have taken the Guard intel and gotten it to their troops on the ground — hotshot crews, incident mapmakers and air assault teams — within 15 minutes. In coming fire seasons, leaders anticipate that process will only become more efficient.

The Guard’s aircraft can fly at night and at high altitudes, above the smoke, recording video via infrared technology. It also can fly around the fire’s perimeter faster than a helicopter. “The technology … is absolutely amazing,” Guilliani said. “Not only can they see live video, but you can actually see at 25,000 feet when they shoot down on the fire line, you can actually see people walking around and see fire trucks through infrared.” Since it began July 13 in the Sierra National Forest, the Ferguson fire has burned more than 94,000 acres. On Tuesday, it was at 43% containment, with almost 2,400 firefighters and support personnel working to stop it.

The region’s unforgiving landscape — steep, rocky hillsides and deep canyons and cliffs — has made portions of the wildfire too perilous to reach. Nearly 50% of the Sierra National Forest is wilderness, making it one of the largest contiguous blocks of such land in the continental United States, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Instead of focusing on fighting the fire with a perilous frontal assault, crews have worked for several days to burn a boundary around the fire to keep it from reaching farther into Yosemite National Park and toward the small communities along Highway 41.

Along with 33 bulldozers, dozens of hotshot crew members have journeyed miles through the forest to carve out a fire line against the spread of flames. Usually a crew — often dropped off by helicopters into the forest — can construct a mile of line in a setting like the Sierra National Forest in one day. Because of the number of trees killed by drought and a bark beetle infestation that have fallen throughout the region, they’ve been lucky to construct one-third a mile of fire line, officials said. Between 2010 to 2017, an estimated 129 million trees have succumbed in California. That includes two areas where the Ferguson fire has burned: 31.8 million dead trees in the Sierra National Forest, and another 9 million in the Stanislaus National Forest.

“A fire of this magnitude means there are a lot of different challenges and a lot of different obstacles in firefighters’ way,” said Joe Amador, a public information officer. “It’s not just about taking a hose up the hill and putting it on the fire and then [the fire] goes away.” Hand crews have spent days working 16-hour shifts using chain saws, Pulaskis — part ax, part grub hoe — and other tools to clear miles of manzanita and other brush along roads and highways in preparation for back burning. The technique, which involves firefighters burning a line around a wildfire, is designed to slow or stop the blaze by depriving it of fuel. “[Clearing brush] makes the burning operation much more safe and effective as a whole,” said Jennifer Martin, a crew boss trainee with the Forest Service overseeing a hand crew of about 20 people last week.

“If we have full brush, it’s going to be throwing embers across,” making it hard to hold the fire line, she said. Robby Peterson, a Corona battalion chief, said his team was hearing and seeing dead trees, dubbed by firefighters as “snags,” fall every few minutes. To avoid the danger, he said, firefighters do their best to avoid them, trying to make sure they are uphill from the dead trees and being mindful to identify which ones they think might fall. “Imagine a sparkler that’s 150-feet tall that’s throwing sparks across our line,” Peterson said. “That’s the problem. That’s what makes it a challenge. It doesn’t take much wind to carry those [embers] because the trees are so high.” That’s part of the reason the California Air National Guard’s presence has been so crucial.

By knowing a wildfire’s exact behavior in real time, fire chiefs can place firefighters more strategically — and hopefully keep them safer. Since the Ferguson fire began, two firefighters have been killed. Cal Fire heavy equipment operator Braden Varney died on July 14 when his bulldozer fell down a steep canyon while he was working. Two weeks later, Capt. Brian Hughes of the Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots was killed by a falling tree. The information from Guard aircraft, officials said, will help ensure crews have a more precise idea of what they’re up against. “In 45 years of fighting fires, it’s never easy being on an incident where you have fatalities,” said Deputy Incident Commander Rocky Opliger. “This will help us reduce exposure, flat bottom line.”