The West is blanketed with angry hard to control wildfires. Here's a few photos from a recent fire assignment, and another fire close to home. CRAZY 
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I hope these fires are getting emissions tested and having catalytic converters retrofitted. Global warming…or cooling…or some such nonsense
Some REALLY bad fires in B.C. right now....
Wildlands fires I've worked only 3.
Missionary Ridge.Durango CO
Coal Seam Glenwood Springs CO.
High Meadow CO.
They tend to make their own weather too.
Missionary Ridge ,they swore the fire wouldn't get across a deep wide gully.
Saw my first frightening ,fire tornado.
Collapsed right across that gully.
Truly devastating.
Also during my time in the USMC,,the Fallbrook fire,,CA
Missionary Ridge.Durango CO
Coal Seam Glenwood Springs CO.
High Meadow CO.
They tend to make their own weather too.
Missionary Ridge ,they swore the fire wouldn't get across a deep wide gully.
Saw my first frightening ,fire tornado.
Collapsed right across that gully.
Truly devastating.
Also during my time in the USMC,,the Fallbrook fire,,CA
Now had those forests been managed… not left to become tinder boxes for 100 years…
But it’s probably better to let them burn than manage them and actually cut a tree. Btw, where all this Earth First and FOE types who chained themselves to trees now?
Oh yeah…. Sitting in their DC condos blaming this on political enemies who should not be allowed to live outside monitored urban areas…. And demanding billions for tree reparations.
Well the forest will be healthier soon. Like in 50 years.
But it’s probably better to let them burn than manage them and actually cut a tree. Btw, where all this Earth First and FOE types who chained themselves to trees now?
Oh yeah…. Sitting in their DC condos blaming this on political enemies who should not be allowed to live outside monitored urban areas…. And demanding billions for tree reparations.
Well the forest will be healthier soon. Like in 50 years.
I was just wondering the other day about sewing the governments of several states due to poor air quality caused by mismanagement of forests.
There is enough beetle kill wood in CO to either fuel a significant logging boom, or fill the skies with smoke every summer, for the foreseeable future, on either one.
There is enough beetle kill wood in CO to either fuel a significant logging boom, or fill the skies with smoke every summer, for the foreseeable future, on either one.
Added a couple photos... windy today...low RH
Not good for firefighting!
Not good for firefighting!
Not my photo... of the fireboss
but was working on fires I was on/ in the area. Awesome machines and can do a lot if you have a larger water body close. Have also been using a larger less manuverable version. CL-415 scoopers
Into Into the Fury...sadly we lost a number of structures in this area
but was working on fires I was on/ in the area. Awesome machines and can do a lot if you have a larger water body close. Have also been using a larger less manuverable version. CL-415 scoopers
@DIBBS...Be carful brother and if you happen to come across anyone intentionally setting one...SCEWBOS (Small caliber entry wound base of skull).
50 years or more of determined and purposeful neglect and intentional mismanagement of our forests. Every single logging sale is contested in court, tying up logging projects for years. Even logging burned forests, where speed is imperative, each are contested by a lawsuit (usually over paperwork). The intent is to allow the forests to become so littered with deadfall, and bug infestations that the forest is a tinderbox. Then the left blames in on "global warming", another carefully planned pile of doctrinal bullshit. Even management of the fires themselves, uses "backburning", and "burnouts". Today's report of the northern portion of the Patton Meadow fire in Lakeview OR, showed almost complete containment of a critical portion of the perimeter, yet the Incident Manager gestured to a completely uninvolved area to the north, that was to be burned out, when it has no chance of catching fire from the current area. The new area to be burned is about half the size of the entire fire already burned. These FS guys are better at BURNING the forests than they are at putting them out.
These fires accomplish one thing: an entire population of people who consistently vote conservatively, are driven out of their part of the country. Homes, forests and the entire economic base is/are destroyed. No way to make a living, no way to subsist, and no place to live.
These fires accomplish one thing: an entire population of people who consistently vote conservatively, are driven out of their part of the country. Homes, forests and the entire economic base is/are destroyed. No way to make a living, no way to subsist, and no place to live.
View from my house 2 weeks ago. The River fire.
Fortunately, the wind was going in opposite direction from me.
Fortunately, the wind was going in opposite direction from me.
There are 737's, DC-10s, MD-87's C-130's,P2V neptune and others, but I haven't seen a 747 airtanker.
All help, the DC-10s can carry up to 12000 ? gallons, whereas the others are generally in the 2-4000 gallon range.
They don't put the fire out, and the mix... dries out in 12-24 hours and the fire can burn through it. You HAVE to follow up with manpower and equipment, except in rare circumstances.
VLAT = Very large air tanker
LAT = Large air tanker
Some good videos of same on Youtube. As far as acronyms....
www.fs.usda.gov
All help, the DC-10s can carry up to 12000 ? gallons, whereas the others are generally in the 2-4000 gallon range.
They don't put the fire out, and the mix... dries out in 12-24 hours and the fire can burn through it. You HAVE to follow up with manpower and equipment, except in rare circumstances.
VLAT = Very large air tanker
LAT = Large air tanker
Some good videos of same on Youtube. As far as acronyms....
Planes | US Forest Service
The Forest Service uses planes of many types and sizes to manage wildland fires. Some are owned by the Forest Service, many are leased or contracted and during times of high fire activity, military aircraft may be activated.
Tamarack fire (Markelville), USFS told a helicopter with water bucket ready to put out a single lodgepole tree to stand down. Fire took off next day, USFS says too dangerous for a Hot Shot crew but they do not mention the water bucket that was ready to dump on the single tree. They seem intent to burn our lands with no consequents for the incompetence. Let’s not log it, we will wait for Mother Nature to deal with it, she has no mercy for the weak. There is more tax payers money fighting fires vs logging and returning money to the communities. An Alpine Deputy was still furious 10 days later, he was a witness to the stand down order...
Monument fire....Northern Comifornia
Forest circus lit more off today. "Wasn't black enough"
Forest circus lit more off today. "Wasn't black enough"
Yeah, that top picture....that's a 747. Evergreen was the company, but they folded. Glad to see one of these bad boys in action. Maybe we could get a C5 out of the boneyard.
I retired from Fremont Co. Fire Protection Dist. in Wyoming after 30 years of service. During those 30 years, I spent around 20 summers on wildland fires going clear back to the days of engine strike forces. After I retired, I spent another half dozen fire seasons on campaign fires as a single resource, most often deployed as an engine ninja, training, or my favorite gig, Safety Officer (fire line safety, and/or team).
I had some great pictures of some of the most devastating fires to hit Idaho, western Washington, and Colorado in decades. I deleted most of those pictures when the cheese finally slide off of my cracker (PTSD) and the pics got too hard to look at. I had some really good pics of the South Canyon fire when every thing went gunny sack on July 6, 1994. Most folks have never heard of the South Canyon Fire. It was on storm King Mountain where 14 firefighters perished. Anyhow, I am rambling. The following are some photos from NFIC photographer Kari Greer's archives.
Pic of my mentor, George Marcott, on the Trinity Ridge Fire in Idaho in 2012
Another pic from Trinity Ridge. The vehicle to the very extreme far right is the front end of my ride. I am in the group under the bright lights.
Pic of the 911 VLAT. It's a cool air plane for sure. I have watched millions of dollars of taxpayer money spew out that baby.
Generic pic of a fire storm circa 2012. I have seen a lot of these. I ain't gonna lie they are pretty cool. Some of them sound exactly like a freight train rolling down a canyon.
I could ramble on for hours. I'll leave you folks with this thought. There was time when I would go on a ride as safety with a structure protection specialist to triage houses. We would drive through the wildland urban interface and pull up right in the drive way. If the owner had taken steps as recommended by fire wise, the house would generally be "defensible". OTOH, if no steps were taken at all, with wooden shakes, ladder fuels right up to the door, and so forth, the structure would be "indefensible" and just another piece of fuel, no different than a blade of grass.
I had some great pictures of some of the most devastating fires to hit Idaho, western Washington, and Colorado in decades. I deleted most of those pictures when the cheese finally slide off of my cracker (PTSD) and the pics got too hard to look at. I had some really good pics of the South Canyon fire when every thing went gunny sack on July 6, 1994. Most folks have never heard of the South Canyon Fire. It was on storm King Mountain where 14 firefighters perished. Anyhow, I am rambling. The following are some photos from NFIC photographer Kari Greer's archives.
Pic of my mentor, George Marcott, on the Trinity Ridge Fire in Idaho in 2012
Another pic from Trinity Ridge. The vehicle to the very extreme far right is the front end of my ride. I am in the group under the bright lights.
Pic of the 911 VLAT. It's a cool air plane for sure. I have watched millions of dollars of taxpayer money spew out that baby.
Generic pic of a fire storm circa 2012. I have seen a lot of these. I ain't gonna lie they are pretty cool. Some of them sound exactly like a freight train rolling down a canyon.
I could ramble on for hours. I'll leave you folks with this thought. There was time when I would go on a ride as safety with a structure protection specialist to triage houses. We would drive through the wildland urban interface and pull up right in the drive way. If the owner had taken steps as recommended by fire wise, the house would generally be "defensible". OTOH, if no steps were taken at all, with wooden shakes, ladder fuels right up to the door, and so forth, the structure would be "indefensible" and just another piece of fuel, no different than a blade of grass.
In the fires near me they have 2 DC-10’s and a 747-400 for the major fires. They retired and displayed the evergreen 747-200 that was the previous heavy payload fireplane.
In order to bring it back, it needs to burn.
Ever think the USFS is using the already burning fires to try and get rid of some of the problem areas? Like maybe they know it's only a matter of time, may as well let it go now before it's another year or 10 of fuel?
If you live in the forest, you need a clear cut yard, fire suppression, and a plan. There's no way around 100 years of mismanagement until it burns and it's reset.
It always burns. And its not just the West. Texas and Oklahoma are setting up for an epic firestorm.
I drove through the hill country last weekend. Junipers were large and there were vast stands. The 281 corridor will burn really bad in 20-30 years. When they cant stop it and it makes it into the Austin metro area, it will make the Oakland Fire of 1991 look like a campfire.
Everyone likes to blame the spark but ignores the years of mismanagement leading up to it. The Bastrop Pines fire is a preview of the firestorm to come.
Devastating Bastrop Complex Fire sparks lawsuit
The plaintiffs allege Asplundh Tree Expert Company did not adequately clear the way alongside power lines, despite being aware of the danger presented.
www.kxan.com After the excitement...log processing on sawlogs, stuffed across road from fire, brush piling, wildlife, and mother nature starting the healing process. And the author on meds 
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