2012 Wildfire season

[waltky]

Gonna be a l-o-n-g, hot summer...

Firefighters Struggle Against Major Blazes In Two States
Sun Jun 24, 2012 - Firefighters in Utah and Colorado struggled on Saturday to contain raging wildfires stoked by high winds, which have forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people in Utah and burned some 200 dwellings in Colorado.

Fanned by winds, the so-called Dump Fire about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah grew to 5,600 acres on Saturday from 4,000 late Friday, and was only about 30 percent contained, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Cami Lee said. In neighboring Colorado, firefighters grappling with the High Park Fire, a 75,537-acre blaze burning in steep mountain canyons west of Fort Collins, braced for another round of hot temperatures, low humidity and erratic winds on Saturday. "Fire activity is expected to increase in the afternoon," according to the federal fire incident command center. Late Friday afternoon, wind-stoked flames jumped containment lines and roared through a subdivision, destroying an estimated nine homes, Larimer County Sheriff's Office spokesman John Schulz said.

The additional property losses bring to 200 the number of dwellings lost in the two weeks since the lightning-sparked blaze was first spotted in Colorado. The Utah fire is burning primarily south and west of Saratoga Springs, where wind gusts of up to 35 miles per hour were expected to confound firefighting efforts, Lee said. Officials say target shooters triggered the blaze near a city landfill on Thursday. It is the 20th fire in Utah started by target shooting this year, they said. But on Saturday they revised down substantially the number of people evacuated in Saratoga Springs and nearby Eagle Mountain. Some 588 homes were evacuated in the two towns on Friday affecting up to 2,500 residents, according to Jason Curry of Utah's office of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.

On Friday, officials had said up to 8,000 people were evacuated. The substantial change followed a more accurate count, Curry said. Utah officials will decide later in the day if any residents will be allowed to return home, Lee said. "We're waiting to see what the winds do," she said. "We have a lot of unburned areas between the fire area and the homes and with the high winds, things can always change quickly." Some 450 firefighters were on the ground Saturday in Utah, with support from two air tankers and several helicopters, Lee said. One firefighter had suffered minor burns, but no other injuries had been reported. The Colorado fire is blamed for the death of a 62-year-old grandmother who perished in her mountain cabin. The High Park Fire is already the state's most destructive and the second-largest on record in Colorado.

Incident commander Bill Hahnenberg said crews deployed in the narrow Colorado canyons had to retreat on Friday when the fire blew up and they could no longer protect homes. "We had a very difficult time," Hahnenberg said. The fire is burning on private land and on sections of the Roosevelt National Forest. As of Friday, there were 15 large, uncontained wildfires being fought across the country, most in six Western states - Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona - the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, reported. Although federal authorities say the fire season got off to an early start this summer in parts of the Northern Rockies, the acreage burned nationwide is about on par with the 10-year average for this time of year, according to fire agency records. The biggest by far is the Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire in New Mexico, that state's largest on record, which has charred almost 300,000 acres. That blaze is nearly 90 percent contained.

Firefighters struggle against major blazes in two Western states | Reuters

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Utah wildfire evacuees allowed to return to homes
23 June`12 - About 2,300 Utah wildfire evacuees were allowed to return to their homes Saturday evening after officials determined the blaze no longer posed a threat to them.

The decision came after the fire had burned Friday within a quarter mile of some homes in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Teresa Rigby said. No homes have burned, she said, and fire officials were comfortable with the decision to lift the evacuation order after seeing how the 9-square-mile blaze behaved Saturday afternoon during high winds and high temperatures. "The fire itself is still active but it no longer is a direct threat to homes," Rigby told The Associated Press. "Most of the fire is up on the mountain at this time and not near the subdivisions."

The evacuation order, imposed Friday, affected nearly 600 homes and roughly 2,300 residents, according to an updated count released Saturday by fire officials. Winds pushed some of the fire back on itself Saturday afternoon, Rigby said, and crews managed to put out "hot spots" closest to homes. The fire that officials believe was started Thursday by target shooters was 30 percent contained Saturday evening, with full containment expected Tuesday.

Crews also were battling a 16,500-acre brush fire on high desert near the town of Delta in central Utah. The human-caused fire was 60 percent contained Saturday evening, BLM spokesman Don Carpenter said, and had burned no homes after breaking out Friday. While the fire was burning roughly eight miles from the communities of Lynndyl and Leamington, it posed no threat to them at this time, he said.

Elsewhere:

 

[IanC]

interference by humans has changed the mechanics of forest fires in many areas. we put out the little fires that used to clean up the debris and sickly trees close to ground level. now that crap gets built up to the point where small fires burn hot enough to light the crowns of healthy trees rather than just char the trunks and whole forests burn up.

 

[waltky]

Ian wrote: interference by humans has changed the mechanics of forest fires in many areas. we put out the little fires that used to clean up the debris and sickly trees close to ground level. now that crap gets built up to the point where small fires burn hot enough to light the crowns of healthy trees rather than just char the trunks and whole forests burn up.

Granny says, "Dat's right...

... its dem fire, an' flames an' vapors of smoke...

... like it says it gonna be inna end times inna Bible...

... we all gonna die."

 

[IanC]

do you have to be a true believer for an angel to swoop you up when the Rapture comes? I mean Jesus still loved Doubting Thomas, didnt he?

lol

 

[waltky]

Smoke startin' to filter east of the Mississippi River...

Raging US wildfires force evacuations
Thu, Jun 28, 2012 - ‘EPIC PROPORTIONS’: Twenty-nine large wildfires were being fought across the US on Tuesday, with the Waldo Canyon fire reaching the outskirts of Colorado Springs

A wildfire raging near some of Colorado’s most popular tourist sites grew suddenly more ferocious on Tuesday, forcing 32,000 people from their homes, prompting evacuations from the US Air Force Academy and swallowing numerous houses at the edge of Colorado Springs. From the vantage point of a command post about 16km from the path of advancing flames, the entire community of Mountain Shadows, a northwest subdivision, appeared to be enveloped in an orange glow after dark. “This is a fire of epic proportions,” Colorado Springs Fire Chief Rich Brown said as ash drifted down on the city, sirens wailed and the thick smell of smoke permeated the air.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper flew into the city on Tuesday night by helicopter to meet with fire commanders and tour the fire zone first-hand. He said that the blaze was one of at least a dozen burning throughout the state. Four people have died in Colorado wildfires so far this year. “This is the worst fire season in the history of Colorado,” he said during an impromptu news conference, adding that from the air he saw many homes destroyed in a glowing landscape that looked “surreal.”

The Waldo Canyon fire, which has roared through at least 25km2 of dry timber since Saturday, has grabbed attention for days because of its proximity to landmarks like the famed mountaintop of Pikes Peak and the Air Force Academy. The blaze claimed its first property losses on Tuesday as wind-driven flames swept over containment lines into Colorado’s second-most populous city, consuming an unknown number of homes on the town’s outskirts as authorities hurried to evacuate residents. El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said 32,000 people had been evacuated, and an Air Force Academy spokesman said the evacuation zone included two communities of single-family homes on academy grounds housing civilian and military personnel and their families.

A mushroom cloud of gray, black and brown smoke, topped by billowing, white cumulus clouds, rose nearly 6,100m into the sky and hung over the area as residents scrambled to heed evacuation orders. Asked how quickly the fire was spreading after the latest flare-up on Tuesday afternoon, incident commander Rich Harvey said: “If I gave acreage right now, it would be wrong in five minutes. It’s growing.” Still, the Waldo Canyon fire, burning primarily within the Pike National Forest on the western fringe of Colorado City, was dwarfed in size by wildfires elsewhere across the state, and by a fatal blaze that flared with renewed intensity in Utah.

More Raging US wildfires force evacuations - Taipei Times

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Wildfire evacuee settles in at a Colorado shelter
Wednesday, June 27: The Waldo Canyon wildfire forced thousands of people away from their homes and into Red Cross shelters when ferocious winds drove the blaze into the western suburbs of Colorado Springs on Tuesday night.

Among those who scrambled for safety was Simone Covey, a 26-year-old single mother of three. Homeless, Covey had been looking after her sister's apartment near the spectacular Garden of the Gods park when she was told to leave Tuesday evening. "The sky was red, the wind was blowing really fast, and there were embers falling from the sky," Covey said at a Red Cross shelter inside the basketball gymnasium of Cheyenne Mountain High School. "I didn't really have time to think about it. I was just trying to keep my kids calm."

Family in tow, Covey arrived at the shelter and pushed several military-style cots together to keep her children close. They ate cheeseburgers Tuesday night; Wednesday's lunch consisted of gyros served in Styrofoam containers. Donated children's books, teddy bears and other stuffed toys were scattered across blankets that bore the Red Cross emblem. Covey's children, ages 3, 5 and 6, splashed around in kiddie pools set up outside the shelter to beat the scorching heat. Inside, a bank of fans did little to keep the gym cool.

And with nowhere to go, Covey planned on spending another night. "It's definitely different. It's loud, but other than that, it's not that bad," Covey said. She said she hoped to get a motel room soon — but confided that "finances are kind of tight right now." Red Cross spokeswoman Catherine Barde said 159 people stayed at the Cheyenne Mountain High School shelter Tuesday night, and 148 people were at three other shelters.

EDITOR'S NOTE _ A daily update on a family displaced by the Colorado Springs wildfire.

Wildfire evacuee settles in at a Colorado shelter - Yahoo! News

 

[skookerasbil]

Clearly, lightning is a new phenomenon in the weather of the United States. Too......forests never got dry before the age of global warming.

Dont forget.........the k00k environmentalists get hysterical over ANY acute weather anomoly.

 

[waltky]

Most destructive wildfire in Colorado history...

Colorado wildfire: 346 homes lost, 1 dead in Waldo Canyon fire
6/29/2012 - The roaring Waldo Canyon fire that exploded into west-side neighborhoods of Colorado Springs destroyed 346 homes — making it the most destructive wildfire in state history. It also has claimed at least one life.

Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey announced late Thursday that human remains had been found in a burned home in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood. A second person is missing, he said. He said the body was found in the rubble at 2910 Rossmere St. No further details were released. Residents of three dozen streets in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood were summoned to a meeting Thursday night at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

There, they learned with certainty which of their homes had survived and which had fallen in the unprecedented firestorm Tuesday afternoon and evening. "This is going to be a tough evening, but we're going to get through it," Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach said before the meeting. "This community is going to mount an unprecedented response to this. ... This community will surround them with love and encouragement, and we will move forward as a city."

At the meeting, people were gathered by street to receive the news. "People finding out for the first time were in tears," Byron Largent said, but it was good to "see the way the street came together and supported each other." Byron and his wife Rebekah, who lived on Majestic Drive, said they already knew their news was bad, because they had seen an aerial photo in The Denver Post. The Largents lost their home on the daughter Emma's first birthday. "We got us out, our daughter out and our cat out," he said. "What else matters?"

Even as bad news was being spread, firefighters were ending a good day on the fire lines as cooler temperatures and even a squall of rain fell over the 16,750-acre fire. Effective at 8 p.m., mandatory evacuation orders were lifted for some neighborhoods, but remained in effect for Cedar Heights, Mountain Shadows, Peregrine and areas north of Rockrimmon. By evening, officials said, crews had 15 percent containment on the Waldo Canyon fire, which has been burning west of the city since Saturday.

MORE

 

[Old Rocks]

No large fires in western Montana, but risk is rising

Western Montana seems to have misplaced its ticket to the bonfire season that’s torching the eastern half of the state, but fire officials remain braced for trouble over the Fourth of July week.

“We certainly came out of the chute pretty quick this year,” said Paula Short at the state Department of Natural Resources on Friday. “At least we’ve got all our large fires staffed with incident management teams now. With this early start, we’re expecting above-average temperatures and below-average humidity in the southeast and all along the bottom of the state.”

The northern Rocky Mountain region of Montana, northern Idaho and Yellowstone National Park typically burns about 160,000 acres a year. As of Friday, the region had 266,000 blackened acres. And that doesn’t count any of the major forest fires burning in Wyoming or Colorado.

 

[Old Rocks]

https://sites.google.com/a/wyo.gov/wsfd-fire-information/

Wyoming Fire Situation Report

Last Updated: 06/29/2012

Rocky Mountain Area Morning Update June 29, 2012

Preparedness Level
•National 4


•Rocky Mountain Area 5

New fires: 32

New large fires: 2

Uncontained large fires: 13

 

[Old Rocks]

Utah fires continue to burn across state - ABC4.com - Salt Lake City, Utah News

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Six major wildfires continued to burn from one end of Utah to the other.

So far, the active fires have burned more than 95,000 acres and destroyed more than 50 structures. Many of those structures were homes caught up in the Wood Hollow Fire in Sanpete and Utah Counties

 

[Old Rocks]

With all the records already broken, the fires continue in New Mexico

NM Fire Info | New Mexico Fire Information

 

[Old Rocks]

Arizona is not seeing much action.

Wildfires caused by lightning battled across Arizona - News from The Arizona Republic

Nearly 5,000 acres are burning in eastern Arizona as a result of a rash of lightning strikes earlier this week.

Heidi Schewel, a spokeswoman for the Coronado National Forest, said the Grapevine Fire has scorched about 4,800 acres south of Arizona 266, between Safford and Fort Grant, in the Coronado National Forest.

The low-elevation fire started Thursday by lightning is 10 percent contained, burning grass and brush.

Schewel said a ranch is in the area, but no structures have been threatened.

She said firefighters are battling high temperatures and low humidity, with winds up to 25 mph.

“Wind has a major influence with grass and brush fires,” she said.

Nearly 140 crew members, seven fire engines, one aircraft and three helicopters have been deployed to fight the fire.

Three other smaller fires are visible from Safford.

Storms in the Safford area caused about 2,500 lightning strikes reported Wednesday.

 

[Old Rocks]

All in all, a bad season so far. And the summer is not yet two weeks old.

 

[skookerasbil]

Lets all keep this in mind.................

The environmental radicals always use the word "records" in many of their posts. People have been manipulating the presentation of statistics on many things for many, many years. Why? Because it creates a perception that something is happening for the first time but moreover, it paints a picture that a unique anomoly is happening. It is part of the warming alarmist playbook.

Me and Old Rocks are far past our prime in terms of the old sack performance. But indeed, there were days that records were broken ( they are remembered fondly).........spending time with some babe when you are 20 and blowing 5 or 6 nuts in a 3 hour stay hotel. Records set!!! But what about the times records were not set. 3 or 4 nuts was still pretty fucking great!!! Im fairly confident the 3 hour stays never resulted in zero nuts blown!!

Every time some record is broken, the alarmists want to convey the perception that some epic happenings are evidence of the world ending...........in this case, forest fires. Mega- forest fires have been happening forever............how the hell do you think forests regenerate themselves over centuries? Every summer we see videos on the boob of this stuff happening but the radicals present it like its a first time occurrence on a magnitude never seen before.


C'mon s0ns.........it does nothing for your cause.



Some perspective on the recent history of forest fires................ http://www.thefurtrapper.com/forest_fires.htm

 

[bobgnote]

Looks like one of the Waldos caught fire and ran off.

 

[bobgnote]

More fires are expected, but not as many tankers will be available, is the way the upcoming season is doped out. California just had a fire, now contained:

Calif. fire forces evacuations, 5 homes saved

REDDING, Calif. — Authorities say a 1,200-acre wildfire near Redding in Northern California is now 40 percent contained after destroying two outbuildings and damaging five homes.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant on Friday says about 1,000 firefighters are battling the blaze as five homes were damaged, yet spared from being destroyed.

Berlant says 80 homes are still under evacuation Friday while progress is being made on the fire front. The evacuations are for neighborhoods in southwest Redding and the Happy Valley area.

Some roads in the area remain closed.

The fire was first reported at 2 p.m. Thursday.

Berlant says the fire moved swiftly due to dry weather conditions.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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CAL FIRE NEWS - * CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS *

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California Wild Fires

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Gary Hart: The West Is Burning

 

[bobgnote]

More fires are expected, but not as many tankers will be available, is the way the upcoming season is doped out. California just had a fire, now contained:

Calif. fire forces evacuations, 5 homes saved

REDDING, Calif. — Authorities say a 1,200-acre wildfire near Redding in Northern California is now 40 percent contained after destroying two outbuildings and damaging five homes.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant on Friday says about 1,000 firefighters are battling the blaze as five homes were damaged, yet spared from being destroyed.

Berlant says 80 homes are still under evacuation Friday while progress is being made on the fire front. The evacuations are for neighborhoods in southwest Redding and the Happy Valley area.

Some roads in the area remain closed.

The fire was first reported at 2 p.m. Thursday.

Berlant says the fire moved swiftly due to dry weather conditions.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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CAL FIRE NEWS - * CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS *

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California Wild Fires

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Gary Hart: The West Is Burning

 

[waltky]

Wildfire homes looted...

Colorado Waldo Canyon Fire homes robbed
Wednesday, July 11, 2012 -- Thirty-seven homes that were evacuated during Colorado's Waldo Canyon Fire were burglarized, law enforcement officials said, and authorities are offering up to $50,000 for information on the culprits.

Colorado Springs police spokeswoman Barbara Miller said Wednesday that 28 vehicles, many packed with evacuees' belongings, also were broken into after residents fled the fire that was reported on June 23.

An anonymous donor provided the reward money. Officials this week announced that the 29-square-mile Waldo Canyon Fire completely encircled. Officials say smoke may still be visible as areas inside the perimeter of the fire continue to burn.

The fire killed two people and destroyed nearly 350 houses when it burned into northwestern Colorado Springs. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

Colorado Waldo Canyon Fire homes robbed - SFGate

 

[waltky]

WWII vet and wife lost in California wildfire...

100-yr-old WWII Vet, 98-yr-old Wife Killed in California Wildfire
11 Oct 2017 | Charles and Sara Rippey met in grade school and had been married for 75 years.

Mike Rippey stood among pieces of metal, porcelain and other remnants of the California home where his 100-year-old father and 98-year-old mother had died in the raging wine country wildfires. Rippey said Tuesday his brother had discovered their bodies after driving to the home and managing to get past security. He said his father Charles appeared to be heading to the room of his mother, Sara, when he was overcome by the smoke and flames. "My father certainly wouldn't have left her," Mike Rippey said. The couple had met in grade school in Wisconsin and been together ever since, celebrating their 75th anniversary last year. Rippey, 71, said he and his siblings couldn't imagine how either parent would have navigated life if just one had survived the flames. "We knew there's no way they would ever be happy, whoever was the last one. So they went together, and that's the way it worked," he said stoically.

Charles and Sara Rippey. Charles, 100, and Sara, 98, were unable to leave their Napa, Calif., home, and died when the Tubbs fire swept through.​

In the charred remains of the home, only metal and porcelain survived to testify to the couple's long life together. There were coffee cups along a low sill; two metal chairs, side-by-side by a patio table; and a porcelain tea set of white and soft washes of blue, some pieces still intact. Charles Rippey — nicknamed "Peach" as a toddler for his chubby cheeks — and his wife were among the 17 victims who have died in the fierce, fast-moving fires that started on Sunday and raged through neighborhoods. None of the other victims had been identified. Authorities are expecting other older people to be among the dead, who like the Rippeys might not have been able to move fast enough to beat the flames. Mike Rippey said his mother had previously suffered a stroke. Seventeen wildfires raging across parts of seven counties have destroyed more than 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures.

Chuck Rippey looks over a cup found in the burned out remains of his parent's home at the Silverado Resort, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, in Napa, Calif. Charles Rippey, 100 and his wife Sara, 98, died when wind whipped flames swept their home.​

The wildfires rank among the five deadliest in California history, and officials expect the death toll to rise as the scope of destruction becomes clear. At least 185 people were injured, and nearly 200 have been reported missing in Sonoma County alone, though many may be safe but unable to use damaged communication systems. Mike Rippey was in London and boarding a flight to California when his brother called and told him their parents had died. The couple attended the University of Wisconsin and married in 1942 before Charles Rippey served as a U.S. Army engineer in World War II. He became an executive with the Firestone tire company. Rippey said he had no plans to rebuild the home. "Without them, it doesn't mean a thing," he said. "It's gone. They're gone."

100-yr-old WWII Vet, 98-yr-old Wife Killed in California Wildfire | Military.com

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Group Seeks to Name Navy Ship for Iwo Jima Photographer
9 Oct 2017 | Veterans have launched a longshot petition to the U.S. Navy asking that a warship be named for AP photographer Joe Rosenthal.

The iconic image of six Marines raising an American flag over Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945, is recognized around the world, credited with boosting morale at a critical moment of World War II, and generating record fundraising for war relief at home. It's also the first photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize in the same year it was taken. After 72 years, though, some worry that the man who made it, Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, may fade from American memory. A group of veterans and photographers want to avoid that with their longshot petition to the U.S. Navy asking that a warship be named for him. Rosenthal had requested the dangerous wartime assignment after he was rejected for service because of poor eyesight.

After photographing the fighting on Guam, Peleliu and Angaur, he nearly drowned en route to Iwo Jima as he transferred from the command ship El Dorado to an amphibious landing craft the day he took the photograph. All accounts paint Rosenthal as a hands-on practitioner of his craft, not content to sit on a ship and take photos from afar. "He was a 33-year-old man basically volunteering for combat and not carrying a weapon, but carrying his camera," said Tom Graves, chapter historian of the USMC Combat Correspondents Association in the San Francisco Bay Area. "He was exposed to great danger and in fact, was nearly killed several times."

FILE - In this Feb 23, 1945 file photo, U.S. Marines of the 28th Regiment, 5th Division, raise the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, Japan.​

After coming ashore in Iwo Jima, Rosenthal and others learned an American flag had made it to Mount Suribachi, a volcanic cone at the southwestern tip of the island and a key objective of the Marines. Unfortunately, another photographer had already captured that image. "I wanted a flag going up on Iwo, and I want it badly," Rosenthal later recalled. When he learned that a second, much larger flag was on its way to the site, he began mentally composing what would become his iconic photo: Where would the men be? Where would the flag be? How tall would it be?

He built a platform of stones and sandbags to stand on, adjusted his shutter timing and tuned his aperture. It was about noon, with the sun directly overhead and a strong wind. "I see what had to be gone through before those Marines, with that flag, or with any flag, got up to the top of that mountain and secured the highest point, the most important point, perhaps, in the entire battle, the most important ground to be taken by those Marines," Rosenthal said in a 1997 interview. AP photo editor Jack Bodkin was the first to see Rosenthal's picture of six Marines raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi. "Here's one for all time," he declared as he sent the image by Navy radio to San Francisco. The image moved on Feb. 24 and appeared in newspapers on Sunday morning, 17½ hours after it was taken. The accolades poured in.

MORE

 

[Old Rocks]

Well now, 40 known dead, still a hundred or more missing, at least 5700 structures burned. And they are just beginning to get a handle on some of the fires. If they do not get another windstorm. And that is just California, just for the past week. 56" of rain in Houston. A hurricane that set many records mid-ocean where they do not normally reach a Cat 5 because of the cooler waters mid-ocean. 3.5 million Americans in dire straights as a Cat 4 hurricane devastates the whole of Puerto Rico. Soybean crops in coastal Texas ruined because of water. Wheat crops in the Dakota's and Montana losing a percentage of the wheat crop because of lack of water. Citrus crop in Florida at risk because of Irma. But nothing unusual is happening. LOL