42,000-foot plumes of ash. 143-mph firenadoes. 1,500-degree heat. These wildfires are a new kind of hell on earth, and scientists are racing to learn its rules...
By the time California’s 2018 fire season was over, it had burned more than 1.6 million acres to become the most destructive on record—a title it maintained for slightly less than 20 months, when it was overtaken not by the 2020 fire season but by a mere four weeks in late summer 2020, during which an estimated 3 million acres burned. But that’s not the truly worrisome part. In making sense of Western wildfires, total acres burned are far less important than the increasingly capricious violence of our most extreme blazes. It is as if we’ve crossed some threshold of climate and fire fuel into an era of uncontrollable conflagrations.
“Not only is the size and severity increasing, but the nature of fire is changing,” says David Saah, director of Pyregence, a group of fire-science labs and researchers collaborating on the problem. Still more concerning, given the trend toward fires dramatically more catastrophic than anything we’ve yet seen: The physics of large-scale wildfires remain so poorly understood that fire-modeling software is often effectively powerless to predict where they will next occur, much less how they will unfold once they do. If there is any good news, it is that, as Saah puts it, “the science for a lot of this stuff is under way.”
If you’re interested in how a large portion of this nation is being destroyed in a war between nature and nature management that hasn’t kept up with reality…better read this article. If you live out here in the West – as I do – you should read it for a better chance at survival.
Being a Prison Firefighter Taught Me to Save Lives http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2020/10/being-prison-firefighter-taught-me-to.html#more
Pending legislation related to wildland fire https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/10/20/pending-legislation-related-to-wildland-fire/
“Wildfire Today strongly endorses S.1682 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1682 and H.R.8170 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8170 and the establishment of the wildland firefighter occupational series with a significant boost in their pay. These jobs are one of the most hazardous, and require a level of knowledge and skill that can take a decade or more to acquire and develop. Wildland firefighters are tactical athletes, special forces, some of whom work well over 100 hours a week with only a few days off each month, traveling around the country separated from their families missing birthdays, anniversaries, and soccer games. Recognizing them and paying what they deserve, could improve retention which could enhance the overall quality of the workforce.”
Epic scale of Western wildfires grows as a single fire surpasses 1M acres : Gov. Gavin Newsom said the amount of land scorched by the August Complex is larger than all of the recorded fires in California between 1932 and 1999. (10/5/20) https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/05/california-wildfires-grow-426523
California wildfires burn more than 4 million acres (10/5/20)
California fire is now a ‘gigafire,’ a rare designation for a blaze that burns at least a million acres (Oct 6, 2020) https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/06/us/gigafire-california-august-complex-trnd/index.html The August Complex is now the largest fire in California’s history, according to Cal Fire.
Blazes across the state have burned four million acres so far, more than double the previous record set in 2018, the state’s fire agency said Sunday. This fire season has also produced five of the six largest wildfires in California’s history.
Scientists and California authorities have blamed the climate crisis for the intensity of this year’s fire season. https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/west-coast-wildfires-09-14-2020/h_4724e3953bd20420c64a5c63c468ff19
“Where did the term “gigafire” originate?” https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/10/07/where-did-the-term-gigafire-originate/
Private firefighters allegedly set illegal backfires during the Glass Fire, which has burned over 67,000 acres and 643 residences https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/10/08/private-firefighters-allegedly-set-illegal-backfires-during-the-glass-fire/
For the last 15 years we have been aware of insurance companies sending fire engines to protect high-valued homes that were covered by their policies when a wildfire approaches. Companies such as Chubb and Wildfire Defense figure keeping a multi-million dollar home from burning is less expensive than paying to rebuild it, so they contract with private companies to send firefighters to their customers properties when smoke is in the air.
Video shows private firefighters being detained for setting possibly illegal backfires : CAL Fire confirms an investigation is underway that could result in charges and arrests. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR0eUU3KPX0&feature=emb_logo
California Wildfires Could Cause At Least $10 Billion in Damage, Economists Believe (includes video) https://www.newsweek.com/california-wildfires-could-cause-least-10-billion-damage-economists-believe-1538097 A New York Times report published in mid-September echoed the Stanford economists’ estimations, finding that in three of the past four years, including 2020, fires in California are on track to cause damages in excess of $10 billion.
(NYT 9/16/20): “How Much Will the Wildfires Cost? Measuring the damage is critical for making better policy choices in the future, one expert says.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/us/california-fires-cost.html
(Oct 11, 2020): “State investigators attempt to determine if PG&E equipment sparked fatal wildfire : confiscate PG&E gear amid probe into Shasta County wildfire ” https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/10/10/pge-equipment-ignited-recent-fatal-zogg-fire-shasta-electric-wildfire/ Beginning in 2015 PG&E’s equipment has caused a string of lethal wildfires in Northern California. Last June PG&E pleaded guilty and was convicted of 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for its role in the Camp Fire and this investigation comes just months after the company emerged from a $51.69 billion bankruptcy case spawned by PG&E’s debts and wildfire-linked liabilities.
“California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) office said the Trump administration rejected the state’s request for a disaster declaration following six wildfires that tore through the state earlier this year, including the largest single blaze in the state’s history.
“The request for a Major Presidential Disaster Declaration for early September fires has been denied by the federal administration,” Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, told CNN.
The Hill has reached out to the White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for comment.” https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/521348-trump-administration-rejects-california-request-for-wildfire
(8/20/20): “President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed California for its raging wildfires and threatened to withhold federal money, reprising his attacks from previous rounds of catastrophic blazes.
“I see again the forest fires are starting,” he said at a rally in swing-state Pennsylvania. “They’re starting again in California. I said, you gotta clean your floors, you gotta clean your forests — there are many, many years of leaves and broken trees and they’re like, like, so flammable, you touch them and it goes up.”
“Maybe we’re just going to have to make them pay for it because they don’t listen to us,” he added.”
Note that “In California state, the federal government owns nearly 58% of the 33 million acres of forest, according to the state governor’s office. The state itself owns just three per cent, with the rest owned by private individuals or companies or Native American groups.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46183690
“President Donald J. Trump Amends California Disaster Declaration” (White House Press release dated October 14, 2020) https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-amends-california-disaster-declaration-101420/
(10/16/2020 02:59 PM EDT): “Rep. Tom McClintock said Friday that President Donald Trump has agreed to reverse his administration’s decision to deny federal cleanup funding for six wildfires, including the largest single fire in state history located in the Republican-heavy Central Valley.” https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/10/16/mcclintock-trump-will-reverse-fema-denial-of-emergency-aid-for-california-fires-1326169
(October 16, 2020 5:11 p.m. EDT): “Trump reverses course and grants California’s wildfire disaster declaration request https://www.wral.com/trump-reverses-course-and-grants-californias-wildfire-disaster-declaration-request/19340464/
Fireball-dropping drones and the new technology helping fight fires : Technology old and new is being pulled into the battle against California’s fires. (National Geographic 10/19/20) https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science-and-technology/2020/10/fireball-dropping-drones-and-the-new-technology-helping-fight-fires
More than 8.3 million acres have burned across the country this year, according to the National Fire Interagency Center (10/16/20) https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm
“This is what fuels the West’s infernos : Scorching heat, a thirsty atmosphere and relentless winds: How the North Complex Fire spread so far, so fast.” (interactive) https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/climate-environment/north-complex-fire-california-climate-change/ (scroll)
“…Extreme fires like the North Complex are almost impossible to fight safely, experts say, and they are becoming more common. Five of California’s six biggest recorded wildfires, including the North Complex, happened in 2020. The August Complex, at more than 1 million acres, is the state’s first “gigafire” to occur since at least 1932.
Research shows that human-caused climate change bears much of the blame.
The land west of the Rockies is hotter than it’s been in centuries. Average temperatures in California are now 1 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit higher than in the preindustrial era.”
See “Large contribution from anthropogenic warming to an emerging North American megadrought” https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6488/314
“Two largest wildfires in Colorado history are burning at the same time, 10 miles apart” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/10/23/colorados-largest-wildfires-state-history-include-two-currently-burning/3743269001/
“Tough Fire Season Takes Toll on Firefighters’ Mental Health” (Pew Charitable Trust 10/22/20) https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/10/22/tough-fire-season-takes-toll-on-firefighters-mental-health
“Two Colorado Wildfires Turn Deadly As Thousands Evacuate” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdBFst9rOEQ
“Wildland firefighters are scarce this time of the year : About one-third of the Hotshot Crews that started the season are still working” https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/10/24/wildland-firefighters-are-scarce-this-time-of-the-year/
(Oct. 26, 2020 at 7:54 p.m. MDT) California is enduring its day of highest wildfire risk in a year that has featured unrelenting assaults from Mother Nature, with a fire season that has set records for the total amount of acres burned (more than 4.1 million) and for the size and destructiveness of the blazes.
The Weather Service forecast office in Los Angeles said the Santa Ana winds there are the strongest the region has seen this year and have the potential to contribute to a conflagration through Tuesday. So far, winds have gusted as high as 96 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains, the Weather Service reported.
The Weather Service has expressed concern about upcoming conditions in the East Bay hills [east of San Francisco and Oakland CA] referencing the 1923 fire in Berkeley https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/spring-2019/september-17-1923-day-berkeley-burned and the 1991 Tunnel Fire in the Oakland Hills. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofV7YCYlVGI
Upper air wind speeds show the jet stream diving southward, carving out a dip, or trough, over the Great Basin, which is leading Monday to the strong offshore wind event in California.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/X2CS7BO3VFDIFKMIO6TQDZKWME.png&w=530
“California wildfires prompt 90,000 to evacuate in Los Angeles area amid powerful Santa Ana winds : Fast-moving blazes in Orange County threaten thousands of homes(Washington Post 10/26/20) https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/10/26/california-wildfire-risk-santa-ana/