Tuesday, July 22, 2003 The Associated Press
Catastrophic fire danger in Southern California, experts warn
by DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer

The danger of a catastrophic wildfire in 400,000 acres of beetle- and
drought-killed trees in mountain communities east of Los Angeles is so
severe firefighters are comparing the potential to the worst
firestorms in the nation's history.
One briefing paper circulating among Southern California fire
agencies, and obtained by The Associated Press, says fuel levels near
Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino National Forest are approaching
those of the Peshtigo firestorm that swept across Wisconsin on Oct. 8,
1871, killing more than 1,500 people.
"The last time historically that the forests were in this condition
was 1910. Students of fire history will remember that great fires
swept over 3 million acres of the West during two August days that
year," warns a second briefing paper.
Nationally, the 2003 fire season has been mild so far. Less than 1.5
million acres have burned this year, compared to more than 2 million
acres on average to this date. However, fire managers have cautioned
that much of the Interior West, Northwest, Northern Rockies and parts
of California would face tough fires before the season ends.
In California, conditions are aggravated by four years of drought,
including the driest winter on record a year ago; a beetle infestation
in San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties; and a wet spring
that produced a bumper crop of now-dead and dried grass.
"Homeowners are living in a sea of dead standing trees," Andrea
Tuttle, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection, said Tuesday. "They are in a potential fire trap."
The combination has firefighters fearing for their own safety as well
as the safety of the tens of thousands of area residents who live
mostly in wooden homes along narrow, winding mountain roads.
Decades of fire suppression mean a region that could sustain about 40
trees an acre is crowded with as many as 568 trees per acre, according
to a fire safety briefing prepared by the San Bernardino National
Forest and the interagency Southern California Coordination Center in
Riverside. The Peshtigo fire region had about 640 trees per acre.
It and a second memo for the Orange County Fire Authority say
conditions are right for a wildfire so severe it could create a fire
"plume" rising 20,000 to 40,000 feet, raining firebrands as far as 10
miles away and spinning off whirlwinds along its edges.
"This saturation fire bombing leads to many simultaneous spot fires in
these new areas and rapid area-wide ignition," the Orange County
briefing warns.
Adds the federal memo: "These conditions are explosive and are
extremely dangerous conditions for firefighters. ... A rapidly
spreading wildfire coupled with highly ignitable homes can cause many
homes to burn simultaneously. Structure protection may not be
possible."
Officials say federal, state and local agencies are doing everything
they can to prepare. In California's most risky forests, evacuation
plans are in place, fires are banned even in established campgrounds,
and firefighters and utilities are trimming trees along 111 miles of
priority evacuation routes.
The Forest Service alone has 17 fire prevention officers advising
residents on safety precautions. It has brought in 19 extra 20-person
firefighting crews, three elite 20-person Hotshot crews and two
helicopters from outside California, plus shifted two more Hotshot
crews and a team of smokejumpers from within the state.
But Tuttle said more than $3 million in federal funds are tied up by
the state's budget stalemate, even as the state tries to tap into
millions more in federal money.
"We have federal money that is staring us in the face, and we cannot
spend it until we have a budget," Tuttle said. "It's truly dangerous
and nonsensical."


Wednesday, July 23, 2003 Seattle Post Intelligencer
Catastrophic wildfires possible, officials warn
A wealth of fuel in Western Washington's dry forests brings pleas for
caution
By BRYNN GRIMLEY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Forest officials warned yesterday that Washington's thousands of acres
of beetle- and drought-killed trees are in danger of being engulfed in
the Pacific Northwest's most catastrophic fire season in years.
At a news conference yesterday, officials issued a plea to state
residents to be cautious throughout the summer to limit future fires.
"Moisture levels are so low that there is a better than 50 percent
chance of seeing a catastrophic fire on the west side of the
mountains," said Doug Sutherland, the state's commissioner of public
lands.
"In Western Washington, the message is simple: Watch what you're
doing," he said. "Don't burn garbage, watch your barbecues, don't
throw your cigarette out the window of your car. Just be alert and
watch what you do."
Sutherland and other forest officials addressed fire conditions in the
state, saying it is as dry now as it usually is at the end of August.
Pointing to the Farewell Creek Fire in the North Cascades as an
example, Sutherland said, "We are more vulnerable now than we have
been in a long time."
The 54,891-acre Farewell Creek Fire was about five miles from the
Canadian border yesterday. If it crosses into Canada, as expected,
U.S. firefighters will join forces with Canadian firefighters to
battle it. The fire was started by lightning June 29 in the upper
Methow Valley north of Winthrop.
Elsewhere in the state, the McGinnis Flats Fire on the Colville Indian
Reservation was 50 percent contained and had burned 2,173 acres,
according to fire officials. Fire crews had to deal with near-100
degree temperatures in fighting the blaze, which threatened 10 homes.
Two outbuildings have burned. The cause of the fire, which started
Friday, is under investigation, but it is believed to be
human-related.
And the 1,060-acre Watt Road Fire southwest of Cheney was 40 percent
contained yesterday morning. Its cause was under investigation.
Allen Gibbs, the U.S. Forest Service's Puget Sound region coordinator,
said Western Washington sees fire conditions this extreme only every
300 to 500 years.
He said the last major fire was in 1701. That fire stretched from the
Nooksack River Valley near the current Canadian border all the way
down to Mount Rainier and west to Hood Canal.
Gibbs said that while moisture levels are well below normal in Eastern
Washington this year, Western Washington also is in real danger of a
serious blaze.
"The big difference between the east and the west is we have more fuel
over here," he said. "We have big trees, we have accumulated layers of
needles and leaves, at some points up to 30 feet deep, so it is much
more difficult to fight fires on the west side."
Sutherland added that there are predictions of "no significant
rainfall over the next 30 days, which means there are significant
issues to be aware of on the west side of the mountains."
Those include the increased flammability of dry grass and homes' cedar
rooftops. To reduce the risk of fires, he said, residents can water
areas close to buildings.
He also warned that woodpiles should not be situated anywhere near
garages or any flammable materials.
Sutherland noted that "85 percent of fires started in Washington are
caused by humans, not lightning," and with the already-dry conditions
it will only continue "to be very, very dry, so we need to be alert
and aware (of) these climatic conditions."
Paul Hart Jr., a spokesman for the Okanogan and Wenatchee national
forests, said conditions have not been this severe in Eastern
Washington since 1994.
"We know that we'll see more lightning this year," he said, "which is
why we are trying to contain the human-started fires."
Sutherland said yesterday that forest officials are concerned about
the Farewell Creek Fire possibly jumping into the Loomis State Forest
in Okanogan County.
"A big worry is the Loomis forest," Sutherland said. "Not only is it
dry, but there's overstocking (crowded tree conditions) so the trees
are easily attacked by bugs, which kills the tree and the bark doesn't
keep the moisture."
Linda Goodman, a regional forester with the Forest Service, said $17
million has been spent to contain the Farewell Creek Fire, and in the
end, an estimated $70 million will be spent in the attempt to prevent
the fire from spreading to 65,000 to 70,000 acres of beetle-killed
trees in the Loomis State Forest.
Hart said the spread of the fire to the Loomis is even more worrisome
because the logs have moisture content of 7 percent, which is
extremely dry.
He said that the moisture content of a log leaving a mill after it has
been dried is around 14 percent, so the increased dryness of the
downed logs and debris, on top of the standing trees, could mean a
long fight.
WILDFIRES AROUND THE WEST
Oregon: The Clark Fire is the largest wildfire in the state, growing
to 2,500 acres. It was 15 percent contained by yesterday morning.
About 1,100 people are working on the fire, about 20 miles southeast
of Eugene.
Idaho: A transient's campfire started a new 4,700-acre blaze in
southeastern Idaho near McCammon on Monday, burning down one home,
along with several outbuildings and vehicles. There were no injuries,
and it was not clear whether the home was occupied. The Harkness Fire
was burning through mostly sage and juniper shrub country, and
firefighters hoped to have it fully contained by last night.
Near-record high temperatures have added to extreme fire danger.
Montana: A cluster of four fires totaling 105,000 acres in eastern
Montana was the biggest of several major fires around the state
yesterday. Several ranches have been evacuated, but no buildings have
burned. More than 400 firefighters are on it, but they faced forecasts
of rising winds and 100-degree temperatures.

Comment by poster: This is your forest on bugs (and drought), any
questions? I see that many fires are falling under the title of
"Wildland Use Fire", a let-burn policy new to the USFS this year. Not
everyone is happy to see their wilderness areas burning with the
blessing of the USFS. However, it is the right approach to identify
and target wildfires that can reduce fuels and not endanger resources,
improvements or people.

Take a look at the National Interagency Fire Center's website to see
all the fires burning. www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html
It's updated everyday and it really opens your eyes to the serious
business of fire suppression in the West

My new assignment is to help salvage timber from the McNally fire in
the Sequoia National Forest. Finally, I get to work in my area of
expertise: Timber Sale Administration

Larry

(Larry Harrell) writes:
Tuesday, July 22, 2003 The Associated Press
Catastrophic fire danger in Southern California, experts warn
by DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer

The danger of a catastrophic wildfire in 400,000 acres of beetle- and
drought-killed trees in mountain communities east of Los Angeles is so
severe firefighters are comparing the potential to the worst
firestorms in the nation's history.
One briefing paper circulating among Southern California fire
agencies, and obtained by The Associated Press, says fuel levels near
Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino National Forest are approaching
those of the Peshtigo firestorm that swept across Wisconsin on Oct. 8,
1871, killing more than 1,500 people.

Yep, all they need is a Santa Anna and a spark. They are lucky that
backyard swimming pools are so popular in SoCal. It will give people
someplace to sit while the world burns around them.

[...]

Comment by poster: This is your forest on bugs



My new assignment is to help salvage timber from the McNally fire in
the Sequoia National Forest. Finally, I get to work in my area of
expertise: Timber Sale Administration

I'm astonished. They are actually going to let you salvage? I'm not
sure I believe it. Let me know when they haul the first load out.

--
http://home.teleport.com/~larryc