Beaver Creek Fire in Idaho

Credit: Great Basin Incident Mgmt Team

 It started back on August 7th.  It is now raging into its 12th day.

The Beaver Creek Fire in Idaho has burned over 100,000 acres (nearly 160 square miles).

Over 2,000 home have been evacuated.

More than 1,100 firefighters are battling this blaze.

Local tourist towns are currently threatened, including Sun Valley and Ketchum.

But the fire is only 10% contained.

Beth Lund is Incident Commander with the US Forest Service, and she has nonetheless expressed some optimism that the crew may begin to make meaningful progress in fighting this fire.

It reminds us that we are well into Wildfire Season.  Wasn't long ago we were reporting on the Black Forest Fire in Colorado and the Powerhouse Fire in California.

Currently, the NIFC says 47 active (and large) fires have burned over 800,000 acres.

Year-to-date, more than 31,000 fires have burned over 3.3 million acres.

To those on the front-lines, your work is greatly appreciated.  Be safe as you fight on!!

Credit: KIVITV

Credit: Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman

Credit: Ashley Smith/Times-News

Wildfire Conditions : HIGH ALERT

Credit: Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters

The Black Forest Fire in Colorado, the Powerhouse Fire in California and many other wildfires this year, have combined to put Fire Officials in the Western US on HIGH ALERT Wildfire Season.

So they are letting the public know!

Fire Chiefs in Southern California announced they expect this Wildfire Season could be the worst in 100 years!  They blame this extreme warning on rising temperatures, dry winds and drought conditions.  In fact, they're preparing for 2,600 fires across 51,000 acres.

And perhaps the public is taking notice.

Yahoo! says in the 7 days ending 6/24/13 they saw the following:

• Searches for "Southern California Wildfires" were up +2,844%
• Searches for "Wildfires in Colorado" were up +380%

What the future holds, we don't know.

We hope for the best.  But Firefighters are wisely planning for the worst.

Credit: Unknown

Firefighter AND Olympian - Jimmy Watkins

The 2012 London Olympics are here!  Go Team USA!!

One amazing aspect of the Olympics is that these athletes have the patience to train for 4 long years before competing on this famous international stage.  And because the Games occur every 4 years, most Olympians will only compete in them a couple times.  Maybe this is extraordinary to me because I'm (personally) impatient.  But the enduring stories of Olympic athletes are truly inspiring!

So here's a great Olympic story.  Jimmy Watkins competes for the USA Cycling team as a sprinter.  Most Olympians dedicate their full-time attention to training.  But not Jimmy.  He's a husband, a father, a firefighter... and then an athlete.

Jimmy is a firefighter in Bakersfield, CA (Kern County, Station 55).  His experience is primarily as a hotshot (wildland firefighter), so he'll be missed during this active wildfire season.  And incidentally, he went to Colorado Springs last month to train with his team in the altitude.  But due to smoke from the very wildfires he would normally be fighting his cycling team had to relocate to Los Angeles.

Jimmy starting cycling when he was 21 years old to train for his firefighting job, but he quickly realized there might be more.  And his competitive drive now has competing in the 2012 London Olympics!!

Go Team USA!

Click here for a great video clip...  Jimmy Watkins on Bakersfield News17

Images from the Colorado Wildfires

This year was predicted to be an active wildfire season.  It is delivering early and often.  New Mexico saw its largest wildfire in state history.  Now the state of Colorado is under significant siege by wildfires of "epic proportions."  And much of the states of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Utah are under red flag warnings.

The numbers are stunning... 100s of thousands of acres burned... 10s of thousands of residents evacuated... 1000s of wildland firefighters deployed... 100s of structures destroyed.

But the images are staggering....

  

UPDATE: Southwest Wildfires

In our continuing look at this increasingly active wildfire season, we bring you up-to-date on the many wildfires burning across the Southwest.

Large incident wildfires are currently burning in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and California.  The high heat and tremendous winds are contributing to a rapid spread of these fires.

Hundreds of structures have been destroyed.  Thousands of residents and visitors have been evacuated. And hundreds of wildland firefighters are battling these blazes.

The 2011 wildfire season burned 8.7 million acres - making it the 3rd most destructive wildfire season in the last 50 years.  We all hope 2012 will not be a record-breaker.  But instead of waiting to find out, prepare now by stocking up on essential wildland fire gear!

Current Wildfire Info - There's an App For That

Want the most up-to-date info about a current wildfire?  There's an iPhone/iPad app for that, called Wildfire Pro.

It provides detailed information about a wildfire, including:

• Incident data from FireWhat.com
• Active fire perimeter mapping
• Fire calculators with Weather and FDFM/PIG
• Quick reference guides for Safety, Weather, Operations and Size Up reports
• Fire maps with Custom overlays, Severe weather warnings and NEXRAD radar

Until now most of this data was not available until you arrived on scene.  But this app gives you vital information prior to arriving on scene.  That way you have more time to think through firefighting strategies and consider what wildland fire gear you'll need.

It has been (and is likely be) an active wildfire season.  Prepare now!

This app costs $4.99.

For Free, you can check out Wildfire Info

For $1.99, you can check out Wildfire Home.

All three pull data from FireWhat.com.

Fireworks Generate Temps in Excess of 1200 F

July 4th is almost here.  NOW is the time to educate people about the risks of private fireworks!!

According to the NFPA, private fireworks generate temps in excess of 1200 degrees F.  So the risk of starting a fire is real, on top of this year's being an already active wildfire season.

In a typical year (in the US):

• July 4th is the day on which the greatest number of fires are reported
• 40% of fires reported on July 4th are caused by fireworks

In 2010 (in the US):

• fireworks caused 15,500 reported fires, resulting in...
• 1,100 structure fires
• 300 vehicle fires
• 8 reported deaths
• $36 million in direct property damage

But fireworks also cause EMS calls, a lot of them!  EMTs are busy already, fireworks just add to the load.

In 2010 (in the US):

• 8,800 people went to the ER for fireworks-related injuries
• 52% were burns
• 21% were contusions and lacerations
• 40% of people injured were less than 15 yrs old
• Sparklers, fountains and novelties accounted for 43% of the injuries

Prepare now by (1) educating the public (2) equipping your department with the right firefighting gear (3) and stocking up on enough first aid supplies

Have a safe 4th of July!!

Significant Wildland Fire Potential

As we and many others have said, expect this wildfire season to be active!

For current evidence, see the Active Fire Map provided by the USDA Forest Service.   As of today (6/12/12) there are 23 large incidents listed.  The most significant of these:

• the Whitewater-Baldy fire
• in New Mexico
• has burnt nearly 280,000 acres
• is less than 40% contained

And further evidence can be found in the June 2012 National Wildland Significant Fire Potential Outlook report from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).  This report points primarily to the Southwest quarter of the US as being highly vulnerable to wildfire due to its "severe to extreme drought" conditions.

Read up and prepare adequately, you might be working some Overtime this summer!!

Get the right wildland firefighting gear early, including turnout gear, boots, helmets, gloves and more!