Reducing Wildfire Risk to Communities

Headwaters Economics just released a white paper outlining ways to address the rising costs and risks associated with fighting fires in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI).

Researchers at Headwaters Economics have proposed solutions that involve local, administrative, and legislative authorities in controlling the "pace, scale, and pattern of future home building in the not-yet developed portion of the WUI". HWMO will continue to work with our agency, community, and decision-maker partners on many of the solutions published by Headwaters Economics:

From the Source: 

"Solutions proposed by Headwaters Economics to address WUI issues -
 

• Improve integration of wildfire mitigation plans into county comprehensive land use plans
• Disclose fire risk to potential home buyers
• Create powerful incentives for improved local land use planning
• Shift more fire suppression responsibility to local governments
• Provide technical and financial assistance for land use planning to local governments
• Buy land or development rights on the most dangerous areas
• Improve firefighter safety through improved public education and active participation in county land use planning
• Map fire risk using national standards, with incentives for added detail by local governments

 
Visit the website, read the paper, and/or listen to the interview with Montana Public Radio."

IAFC Honors Kauai Fire Department for Overnight Rescue of 121 Hikers

Congratulations to Kaua'i Fire for receiving one of the highest honors firefighters can receive. Well deserved after an incredible, unprecedented rescue effort. Mahalo for your continual courage and selflessness.

From the Source: 

"The daring two-day rescue of 121 hikers stranded by a sudden flash flood along the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast of Kaua'i, Hawaii, ranks as one of the largest trail rescues in island history. Facing torrential rain, gusting winds and rising waters, Rescue 3 of the Kaua'i Fire Department repeatedly put their own lives at risk to return all 121 survivors to safety.

The heroic actions of Rescue 3 are being lauded with the 2014 presentation of the International Association of Fire Chiefs' (IAFC) and Motorola Solutions' prestigious Benjamin Franklin Fire Service Award for Valor. For 45 years, the award has recognized first responders around the world for their expert training, leadership, heroic actions and safe practices.

Medals will be given to Captain Gordon Tamura, Rescue Specialists Aaron Hawthorne and Adam Hussey, Rescue Operator Bryan Doo and pilot Clifton Cates at the general session of Fire-Rescue International on August 14 in Dallas."'

"As one survivor has said, praising their selfless acts of courage, 'I will never look at another firefighter the same way. I now intimately know the risks they take and the sacrifices they make to ensure the safety of others. That day, it was evident to all 121 of us, we were in excellent hands.'"

Above: Credit - Hawaii News Now

Fighting Wildfire with Satellites, Lasers and Drones

How technology is improving the ability to spot out wildfires - the challenge: getting that "information into the hands of the firefighters."

From the Source: 

"Fire lookout technology has changed a lot since Jack Kerouac’s Desolation Angels. The book was taken almost entirely from a diary Kerouac kept when he was fire lookout for 63 days on Desolation Peak in Washington. Now, satellite images, fuel analysis, and, soon, the use of drones, are among the high-tech methods for protecting wilderness and civilization from wildfires.

Some of the more important real-time fire data comes from MODIS, a sensor on two NASA satellites that view the entire Earth’s surface every one to two days. The sensors show heat sources (that’s how a fire was first spotted in Noatak, Alaska by a fire manager looking at the data in the early 2000s). It was the first time a fire had been detected by satellite before humans noticed it, says Sean Triplett, the group leader for geo-spatial and information management at the U.S. Forest Service.

'Alaska is huge,' Triplett says. 'It’s a long flight from one side of the state to the other. MODIS was really able to allow us to cover the whole state really quickly, since it sees a larger area.'

After a fire, the U.S. Geological Survey’s LANDSAT satellite can be used to determine the severity of the burn by comparing a pre-fire photo of an area to a post-fire one. The differences in brightness allow scientists to determine the normalized burn ratio, as well as to reflect the changes on the ground."

Above: Credit - David McNew/Getty

Burn, Baby, Burn - If We Say So

From the Source: 

"What strategy might evolve for the Western wildlands?

The old fire exclusion paradigm had clarity—a bogus simplicity, but one easily communicated and measured. What has emerged to replace it can seem muddled and tricky to explain. The reality is that fire suppression remains dominant nationally, though it has acquired a lighter hand in the backcountry and a heavier one near exurbs. The other reality is that every wildland fire put out is a fire put off. Fire agencies now face a phalanx of changes that are powering conflagrations—not only the legacy of stockpiled fuels but also climate change, invasive species, a fractal exurban sprawl, and political gridlock. With no single cause, there is no single solution. Fire officers look instead for pragmatic responses, adapted to particular circumstances."

"Critics dismiss the outcome as a muddle, but others put a positive spin on it, arguing that it’s more of a mashup. They point out that the country does not have a fire problem: It has many fire problems, all of which require different approaches. In the public lands of the West, the options are few. Fire officers will have to manage their lands with the fires they get, not the ones they would like. In many wildlands they will work with fires that start from any source and “box” them in according to natural or built features that allow easier control. They will then burn out from those perimeters and fire out the interiors. This approach, officially known as “confine and contain,” unofficially as “box and burn,” is likely to become the primary strategy for managing fires in the West. This video demonstrates how a hybrid approach, including “box and burn,” was applied to the recent Slide fire outside Sedona, Arizona."

"So expect plenty of fires this season. Expect burns that make 1977’s 178,000-acre Marble Cone fire seem unexceptional. Expect critics to harp on wishy-washy policies and a lack of airtankers. Hope that we don’t see communities blown away or crews burned over. Then get used to it. It’s what the future of fire in the West will look like."

Above: "A wildfire threatens homes in San Marcos, California, on May 15, 2014. The blazes come amid record temperatures in the state, where the annual wildfire season typically starts much later in the year." Credit: Jorge Cruz/AFP/Getty Images

Dad of Fallen Arizona Hotshot Hopes to Make Better Fire Shelters (AUDIO)

Fire shelter improvements unfortunately spurred by the death of the 19 Yarnell Hill firefighters:

From the Source: 

"Firefighter Travis Turbyfill was killed one year ago by a wildfire after he and fellow members of the elite Granite Mountain Hotshots deployed to a fire shelter in an Arizona box canyon. A fierce wind blew the Yarnell Hill Fire over the crew, killing 19.

Travis' father, David, doesn't want his son to have died in vain, and he's trying to help the U.S. Forest Service improve those shelters to withstand direct flames. All that remained of the Granite Mountain Hotshots' fire shelters — which are thin layers of foil and insulation designed to help protect firefighters as a fire burns over them — were twisted piles of crumbled aluminum and ash.

David has been conducting tests on new shelter material, and recently presented the results in a video. In it, a large metal pipe shoots fire for 30 seconds onto the current fire shelter material layered over a firefighter's yellow fire-retardant shirt. The shirt material winds up scorched and brittle.

Then he runs the same test, but for a minute longer, over a fireproof fabric Turbyfill found on the Internet. 'The firefighter's shirt is completely intact,' he says as he shows the camera the scorch-free yellow material.

For anyone who's seen a wildfire, the video gets your attention.

Turbyfill's metal fabricating shop is in Prescott, Ariz. There he talks statistics. In the past two decades, burn over and entrapment accounted for 25 percent of wildland firefighter deaths. In the case of the Yarnell Hill Fire, the wind pushed the blaze over the men and trapped them in a canyon.

'What I'm saying is that if you create a better fire shelter or survivable fire shelter product, that you could eliminate 20 to 25 percent of all fatalities. Eliminate. Not reduce, eliminate,' he says."

Above: "This aerial photo shows Yarnell, Ariz., days after a fire claimed the lives of 19 members of an elite firefighting crew." Credit: Tom Tingle / AP

A Year After Deadly Wildfire: 'Some Recovery, But...' (VIDEO)

Video on how a fence brought together a town after one of the worst firefighting tragedies in American history. Article digs into the long, difficult process of mourning after such an incident.

From the Source: 

"A year ago they arrived with heads bowed, hands held. The air was silent because no one knew what to say.

They parked their pickups, their SUVs, their sedans outside Mile High Middle School, and when every last space was occupied, they parked along narrow side streets and vacant lots.

Lights blazed from the auditorium, a beacon to those who wanted to be anywhere else.

A few hours earlier on a day that soon would appear on marquees, banners and T-shirts — June 30, 2013 — friends and loved ones of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew gathered to hear the worst news possible.

Nineteen had perished at the Yarnell Hill Fire, trapped by flames that moved so quickly several of them had not even deployed their fire shelters.

The grief began there, and spread through the city, to the vigil sites, to the public square where the hearses passed by, to the arena where thousands would gather to say goodbye.

Nearly a year later, the scenes that contained the drama of those days largely are devoid of reminders of those early days.

But the number 19 still has only one meaning in Prescott, and it reverberates as strongly today as it did then."

Above: "A makeshift memorial to the 19 fallen firefighters wraps around three sides of Fire Station 7 in Prescott in August, weeks after the tragedy." Credit: Lynn French / The Arizona Republic

Super Choppers Confront California's Weird Wildfire Season (VIDEO)

From the Source: 

"A whirling black and yellow mechanical beast swoops in to battle a deadly wildfire. For victims, it's like the cavalry coming to the rescue.
They call it the Firehawk. 

Los Angeles County Fire Department senior pilot Tom Short talks about this helicopter like it's a super chopper.

"Having been in all of the aircraft that are out there fighting fires, the Firehawk is the best firefighting machine I've ever seen -- simply because of what it does," Short told CNN on the phone this week. "It does everything: fire, rescue and air ambulance."

Basically it's a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter outfitted with a giant water tank. This thing is engineered to get hellishly close to the heat of a raging inferno. Its dual souped-up engines can lift 9,000 pounds -- about the same weight as a large recreational travel trailer.

In preparation to dump water over flames, the Firehawk's snorkel can suck 1,000 gallons of water into its storage tank in the span of one minute.

"We really work these machines very hard. During some fires, Short said, "I've made over 100 drops in one day."

A firefighting super-chopper is especially valuable now, as California braces for what may be one of the worst wildfire seasons on record.

How worrisome is it? The state's firefighting agency, Cal Fire, has responded to more than 2,500 wildfires in 2014 -- a huge increase in the average number of fires at this point in the year, the agency says. In May, several fires in San Diego County forced thousands of residents from their homes and charred more than 31 square miles. The season usually doesn't ramp up until summer or fall."

Above: "The Firehawk is basically a re-purposed version of the Army's Black Hawk combat helicopter."

San Juan Fire Explodes to 2,000 Acres in Northeast AZ (VIDEO)

From the Source: 

"Twelve structures are threatened by a fast-growing wildfire on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation west of Cerro Gordo.

The San Juan Fire was reported just before 12 p.m. Thursday and within a matter of hours, the fire grew from an initial 100 acres to 2,000 acres by 5 p.m., according to officials with Apache Sitgreaves National Forest.   

Areas on pre-evacuation notice are Whiting Homestead, Red Cabin Ranch and Greenspeak Hideaway.

'The San Juan Fire is heading northeasterly into an area where the White Mountain Stewardship Project has been thinning and that will definitely help slow down any fire activity,' Apache-Sitgreaves Nationals Forest Supervisor Jim Zornes said.

Forest Service Road 117 is closed for public access. The public is advised to look for fire personnel and vehicles entering off highways U.S. 60 and Arizona State 260.

According to the White Mountain Independent, between 200 to 300 Boy Scouts from Gilbert were in the White Mountains when the fire started.

Matthew Wright was with the group and an additional 100 adults and chaperones who were camping in the area. A group of them split off and headed for a ridge at about 9,000 feet and noticed the smoke. They then went back to base camp and told the others it was time to go."

Above: Credit - Eric Nietzel

World's Hottest May is Now May 2014: NOAA

The planet continues its warming trends - expect wildfires to ride along the upswing, as well.

From the Source: 

"Last month was the hottest May in more than 130 years of recorded weather history, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Monday in its monthly state of the climate report, as May 2014 surpassed the previous record high for the month set in 2010.
The world's combined land and ocean temperature for May was 1.33°F above the 20th century average of 58.6°F, NOAA reported, adding that four of the five warmest Mays have occurred in the past five years.

In the report, NOAA separates out temperature records for the world's land and ocean areas. On land last month, the world saw its fourth-hottest May on record with a global surface temperature 2.03°F above the 20th century average. The oceans saw their hottest May on record, with a temperature 1.06°F above the 20th century average.
 

• The United Kingdom had its third-warmest spring on record, with temperature 2.3°F above the 20th century average
• Norway saw its warmest spring since national records began in 1900, breaking its previous record set in 2002. The nation's average temperature for March to May 2014 was 4.1°F above the 1981-2010 average.
• South Korea saw its warmest May on record, with a temperature 2.2°F above the 1981-2010 average."

Above: Land & Ocean Temperature Departure from Average May 2014 Credit: NOAA

Navajo's Assayii Lake Fire: Heartbreaking Losses, and How to Help

Learn how you can help those who have lost an important piece of their livelihoods:

From the Source: 

"Firefighters are making headway against the Assayii Lake Fire, but not before it gobbled up acre upon acre of sacred land in the Chuska Mountains between Gallup and Shiprock.The Assayii fire on the Navajo Nation had been 20 percent contained by Thursday June 19, as the blaze reached 13,450 acres, and 867 personnel battled the flames, according toInciWeb. But the victory is destined to be bittersweet.

Though no one has died, the toll is still great. Members of two communities had been evacuated, and at least 13 summer sheep camps had been destroyed, according to the Navajo Times.

'We’re going to be losing everything and our memories will be gone,” Elvina Yazzie told theNavajo Times on June 16 after driving her family’s flock of 28 sheep down the mountain with the help of her nephew, Nelvin Yazzie. “It just hurts because our grandparents built that hogan.'

Donations are being accepted at several chapter houses, Navajo Nation Emergency Management Director Rose Whitehair told the Navajo Times. The Crystal Chapter House, Naschitti Chapter House, Shiprock Chapter House, Fort Defiance Field House (Home Base), Tohatchi High School Gymnasium and Newcomb School are looking for flour, potatoes, eggs, paperware (bowls, plates, utensils, cups) Zip-lock bags, disposable gloves, oil, salt, baking powder, dish towels, steel knives, pots, pans, napkins, coffee, Kool-Aid and ice tea mix, power bars, cold cuts, bread, soda, water, juice, pitchers for Kool-Aid, canned food and boxes for food storage, according to theNavajo Times. The American Red Cross is fielding financial donations and offering other aid.

'Officials are asking that those donating items refrain from too much sugar products and also to be aware of the expiration dates,' the Navajo Times stated."

Above: "A weary firefighter prays between bouts with the Assayii Lake Fire in the sacred Chuska Mountains on the Navajo Nation." Credit: Neil Damon

California's Drought Getting Even Worse, Experts Say (PHOTOS)

From the Source: 

"California's drought conditions have worsened over the past week with the percentage of the state suffering from the highest category increasing, the National Weather Service said Thursday.

'Exceptional' drought conditions have spread in Central California since a week ago, weather officials said. Areas in Northern California have also moved into this category since last week, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Almost 33% of the state faces exceptional conditions. About 25% of the state faced those conditions last week.

Every part of California remains in what is considered severe drought. 

A year ago, no part of the state was in exceptional drought conditions, the weather service said.

The drought has prompted water conservation efforts as well as rationing in some parts of the state. L.A. saw record dry conditions this winter, and snowfall in the Sierras has also been significantly down."

Above: "Looking toward the San Gabriel River from East Fork Road north of Azuza in February, the San Gabriel reservoir can be seen in the far distance where it has receded more than a mile." Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

Ballooning Arizona Wildfire Threatens Staples of Navajo Nation

When creating an evacuation plan with your family, make sure to include plans for your pets and livestock. Sending aloha to the Navajo ranchers whose livelihoods are at stake when large wildfires like this one push towards their community.

From the Source: 

"A fast-moving wildfire near the Arizona-New Mexico border grew Tuesday as it approached two communities and threatened traditional grazing lands on the Navajo Nation, where sheep are a staple of life, their wool is prized for its use in rugs, and mutton is on the menu of restaurants throughout the region.

The Assayii Lake Fire ballooned to more than 19 square miles in less than two days while making its way across winter and summer grazing lands in the Chuska Mountains.

The flames destroyed at least four structures and threatened about 50 homes near the rural communities of Naschitti and Sheep Springs, fire officials said.

Some homes in Naschitti were evacuated Monday afternoon, and authorities were urging desperate Navajo families to refrain from going into the mountains to search for their sheep and other livestock because of the fire's erratic behavior.

'They haven't contained any of it yet, and they're just letting it burn right now because the winds are so high, and that presents a problem," said Leo Watchman, head of the Navajo Nation's Department of Agriculture. "How far out do you evacuate homes and livestock pens? We're not out of the danger yet.'

The tribal agency has been busy rounding up trailers to move livestock from the area. But Watchman said it was too early to say what might have happened to the sheep and cattle that were on the mountain when the fire broke out.

Agriculture and livestock have been key in the evolution of Navajo society and economy. Tribal members have grazed sheep in the area for centuries, and livestock ownership is considered a symbol of resourcefulness and prosperity.

Fire managers said Tuesday they've closed roads in the area, but it has still been a challenge keeping people out given the value of livestock to the Navajos."

Above: "A plume of smoke in the Chuska Mountains near Naschitti, N.M. on June 15. Residents of a Navajo community near the New Mexico-Arizona border prepared for evacuations Monday as strong winds fanned the flames of a wildfire burning in the Chuska Mountains." Credit: Associated Press

California Wildfire Threatens Hundreds of Homes (VIDEO)

The California wildfire season continues to heat up after a long-period of drought.

From the Source: 

"Firefighters raced to control a wildfire that threatened more than 500 homes in central California before hotter, drier weather sets in later in the week.
By late Sunday, the fire had burned through 3.1 square miles of trees and brush in and around the Sequoia National Forest, coming within a mile of a community about 30 miles northeast of Bakersfield.

Authorities have called on residents of the threatened homes to evacuate.

While firefighters stopped the flames from reaching homes in Wofford Heights, officials anticipated that the fire will spread toward the community near Lake Isabella, a popular recreation spot.

'It's moving toward areas that have not been burned,' fire spokesman Jay Nichols said.

The Shirley Fire has destroyed at least two structures, Nichols said. It was 10 percent contained.

The blaze broke out Friday night in remote area northwest of the lake and exploded late Saturday as dry winds pushed the flames toward homes, prompting Kern County Sheriff's deputies to knock on doors into the night to urge residents to leave."

Above: "A wildfire is burning mostly out of control in and around the Sequoia National Forest in central California. Area residents are being urged to evacuate. " Credit for Video Screenshot: Associated Press 

Mitigating Against Wildfire is More Than Cutting Down Trees (VIDEO)

Hardening your home is just as important as creating defensible space around it. This article covers some good things to consider when you make changes to your home and landscape in an effort to mitigate wildfire risk. The devil is in the details.

From the Source: 

"When you think about mitigation to protect against wildfire, the first thing that might come to mind is cutting down trees.
But for those who live in areas prone to fire, how you landscape around your home can play an important role in keeping the structure safe.

'When we look at a home for mitigation, we also consider part of the structure of the home, meaning is it hardened against fire,' said Scott MacDonald, a lieutenant with the Black Forest Fire Department.

Hardening your home means checking everything from the chimney, which needs a well-made spark arrester, so you don’t start a fire, to the roof and siding. Textures like stucco can help protect against the flames.

We all love the look and smell of mulch, but something as simple as a flower bed could put your home at higher risk to fire.

Placing a 5-foot border of rock between the house and flowerbeds can offer an added layer of protection for keeping flames at bay.

When planting, consider things like the type of vegetation and its placement. Low-level, well-spaced plants provide less fuel for a fire.

Keeping flowerbeds away from windows will keep the heat away if a fire breaks out. The intense heat could actually cause the glass to shatter, allowing flames a quick and easy way inside."

Above: "The placement and materials used in a flowerbed can make a big difference in your home’s vulnerability to wildfire." Credit: CBS Denver

Smoke, Fire from Two Bulls Wildfire Near Bend Captured in Time-lapse Video (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

From the Source: 

"The Two Bulls wildfire burning 10 miles west of Bend has grown to more than 6,800 acres and continues to send plumes of smoke over the Bend area.

Michael Kellog of eyeonbend.com has a very cool time-lapse video shot Saturday showing the smoke and fire generated by the blaze as it grew from two separate fires into one large wildfire. Watch the time-lapse above. (Note: the date at the beginning of the time-lapse is incorrect. The images were captured on Saturday, June 7.)"

Above: "The Two Bulls Fire grew to 6,200 acres Sunday. Two helicopters were ferrying water from near Tumalo Reservoir to the fire about 1.5 miles away. Tankers flew over carrying retardant." Credit: Stephanie Yao Long/The Oregonian

Obama, Western Governors Make Plans for Fire Season

We fully support a strategy that does not involve dipping into fire prevention funds. We believe fire prevention and pre-suppression is key to reducing the threat of wildfire in Hawaii. Obama and the Western Governors agree:

From the Source: 

"A years-long drought parching Western states and threatening to ignite a record fire season is spurring the Obama administration to revise the federal government’s approach to combating wildfires that threaten hundreds of millions of acres of Western land.

Obama and senior administration officials on Monday met by video conference from the Situation Room with governors of eight states, gathered here for the annual meeting of the Western Governors Association. The White House reviewed national drought estimates and fire projections with governors and promised to work with them once fire season gets under way.

'Fire is a priority for this administration,' Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told governors on Monday."

"The Obama administration has said climate change is causing increasingly severe fire seasons, which average 60 to 80 days longer than in past decades because of hotter temperatures and less snowpack. Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (R) said Monday the fires are an environmental risk, too: In 2013, fires in Otter’s state added 6 million tons of carbon to the atmosphere and 34 million tons of particulates, he said."

"On Capitol Hill, the administration is also pushing Congress to adopt new budgetary rules that would remove forest-fire funding from the traditional budget process. Instead, major fires would be treated as disasters and funded the same way hurricanes, tornadoes and other calamities are treated.

Under current rules, when fire costs spiral out of control, the federal government has to dip into accounts set aside for long-term fire prevention, like fuel management, to pay for short-term containment and suppression costs.

'Because of the extent of fires that we’ve had in recent years, not only has the fire suppression been used up, but all the other money that’s been set aside for fuel mitigation has to be cannibalized to fight fire,' said South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R)."

Above: "Plumes of smoke from a wildfire rise from Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona, Ariz., as seen from I-89A near Sedona, Ariz.,on May 21, 2014." Credit: AP Photo/Vyto Starinskas

66-Million-Year-Old Wildfire Reveals the Climate During the Last Days of the Dinosaurs

From the Source: 

"Archaeologists are learning a bit more about forest fires that occurred 66 million years ago during the time of the dinosaurs. They've discovered the first fossil-record evidence of forest fire ecology in Canada, revealing a bit more about the ancient climate of our planet.


In this case, the researchers managed to discover what is essentially a snapshot of the ecology on Earth at a time when the dinosaurs were on the verge of their mass extinction. The fossil record also reveals a bit more about how forests recovered after a fire.

'Excavating plant fossils preserved in rocks deposited during the last days of the dinosaurs, we found some preserved with abundant fossilized charcoal and others without it,' said Hans Larsson, one of the researchers, in a news release. 'From this, we were able to reconstruct what the Cretaceous forests looked like with and without fire disturbance.'"

"In fact, the plant fossils allowed the researchers to estimate, for the first time, climate conditions for the closing period of the dinosaurs in southwestern Canada. This shows exactly what the ecology was like right before the dinosaurs went extinct." 

Above: "Researchers have discovered the first fossil-record evidence of forest fire ecology in Canada, revealing a bit more about the ancient climate of our planet.This image shows the Las Conchas wildfire in the New Mexico region." Credit: Jayson Coil

Wildfire Publicity Lights Fire Under California Homeowners

How an uptick in wildfires affects the insurance market:

From the Source: 

"The recent plague of wildfires in Southern California and in neighboring states seems to have more people checking on their homeowners policies – and more people concerned about the threat of wildfires may be taking some mitigation steps insurers have been harping on for so long.
The fires have garnered ample coverage by the media, and California Gov. Jerry Brown in May said the state is gearing up for its worst fire season ever.

Agents for Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. are reporting getting several calls a day that have been spurred by wildfires. Agents usually field a few calls a day regarding coverages, and none related to wildfire concerns, according to the Novato, Calif.-based carrier.

'Agents are getting a lot of calls from policyholders making sure they have the proper coverage,' said Kathleen Stalter, risk services manager at Fireman’s Fund. 'I think it’s human nature to sit back and say ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah,’ and then it happens. I think in a lot of ways it’s a wakeup call to say, ‘OK, it’s time to take this seriously.’'

...Many more homeowners and community leaders have also actively been seeking advice on how to prepare for wildfires, according to the Firewise Communities Program."

Above: California Fire Capt. Mark Miller lights a backfire as he and a crew try to knock down a brush fire near Oriole Court in Carlsbad, Calif., on May 14. Credit: AP Photo/U-T San Diego, Hayne Palmour IV

How to Read the Mind of a Forest Fire

Very interesting article summarizing the history of fire science in the U.S. and the cool tools today's fire scientists use to predict fire behavior.

From the Source: 

"In a stand of ponderosa pine trees high in the Santa Catalina Mountains overlooking Tucson, Arizona, forest-and-fire ecologist Don Falk squatted with me next to a 100-foot-tall tree born a decade or two before American independence. At the base of the trunk, the tree's thick cinnamon-colored bark gave way to a shallow opening a foot wide and two feet high that looked like a series of successively smaller triangles. Falk ran his hand along the charred edges of the opening and explained what we were looking at: a window into the forest's past, and fire's role in shaping it.

Falk studies fire-scarred trees to understand how frequent, severe, and widespread fires have been in an area, and how those patterns have shifted over the centuries--which is also a key to understanding why some fires are bigger, more unpredictable, and more destructive these days, 'How do you know anything on Earth has changed?' he asks. 'You have to be able to compare it to how things were in the past. This is how we know the history.'"

"'What's being released in a fire is the accumulated capital stored up through years of photosynthesis,' Falk says. 

You're not destroying the carbon, hydrogen, or oxygen molecules. They're just being liberated.' And on a tremendous scale: even a relatively small fire of a couple hundred acres can pump out energy equivalent to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and can push a mushroom cloud of hot air, ash, and soot miles into the sky."

"While Falk studies fires to better understand how they have changed over the years and altered the landscape, wildland firefighters study fire as soldiers might analyze enemy capabilities. They catalog mental snapshots of fire behavior they have encountered: how the flames ripped through a grassy canyon or hopped off the ground and leaped into the treetops; the strange calm before a sudden wind shift; the fire tornados that can spin flame in new directions. Early on, a rookie matches these images with what he's learned in training or heard from the veterans."

"'“We are living in a time that is unprecedented, with the extremes we're seeing in temperatures, precipitation, and winds, and with that, the effects are unpredictable,' Bahr says. 'If you don't have that in your slide tray, you aren't going to believe it.'"

"The presence of human structures means that forests and shrublands aren't allowed to burn the way they once did. It’s a problem that keeps getting worse. Because the federal government pays most of the tab for firefighting, local governments don't have as much incentive to regulate development in the most fire-prone areas. Some insurers charge higher premiums if homeowners don't mitigate fire dangers, and more communities are adopting building codes that require landscaping and construction materials that can better withstand wildfire and not carry flames through a neighborhood.

But most community-protection programs are voluntary, with progress outpaced by influx into the wildland-urban interface, and more homes at risk means more firefighters at risk."

Above: "Ecologist Don Falk points out a fire scar on a fallen tree stump." Credit: Brian L. Frank

Wolf Pups Rescued from Funny River Fire in Alaska's Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Another reason to commend our brave and dedicated firefighters!

From the Source: 

"A massive wildfire tearing through Alaska's Kenai National Wildlife Refuge has caused wildlife to flee the area, but not every creature managed to escape.

Earlier this week, firefighters found a den of wolf pups that had been left behind when the rest of their pack raced away from the advancing flames of the Funny River Fire.

The pups were dehydrated, injured and hungry -- but almost all of them were alive.

'On Tuesday, 5/27, we rescued 5 wolf pups from the fire line. Due to the disturbance the parents abandoned the den. The pups were not harmed by the fire although all had porcupine quills that were removed by the medics working on the fire line. The pups were all given water and glucose by the medics (see photo). Alaska Department of Fish and Game and refuge personnel removed the pups from the area and they were transported to Anchorage for holding prior to permanent placement elsewhere. Thanks goes to Gannett Glacier firefighters and Division X-ray medics for all their good work.'"

Above: The wolf pups. Credit: Kenai National Wildlife Refuge