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TerryM

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #100 on: May 18, 2016, 06:12:06 PM »
A friend's daughter lives/lived in Ft. Mac. She is still displaced primarily due to the air pollution levels mentioned in your linked article, and has no idea of when they will be able to return. Her husband works for a paving company who has laid off everyone.  ($0 paychecks)
I asked whether the oil companies were at least paying their employees, but she had no idea. Many workers have returned to their out of province homes while the rest are still filling the hotels of BC, Alberta & Saskatchewan.
Another article mentioned the figure of ~$9B to rebuild & I'd wondered if the money might be better spent building renewable energy systems, E-vehicles, or possibly seed money for a massive hydro electric dam. At some time the tar sands needs to be shut down. It's unlikely that another opportunity, where insurance money would help defray closeup/cleanup costs, will ever come along.
Terry

Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #101 on: May 18, 2016, 09:38:27 PM »
CNN:  Alberta wildfire out of control: 1,370 square miles torched, and counting
Quote
The mammoth inferno devastating northern Alberta has now destroyed more than 877,000 acres -- more than four times the size of New York City.

Well over 1,700 firefighters are trying to get a grip on the blaze, which started May 1 near Fort McMurray.  But as of Wednesday, the fire is still 0% contained, the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry department said.  Even worse: The blaze is marching east toward Saskatchewan and will likely reach the province Wednesday, Alberta wildfire official Chad Morrison said.

Also near the path: major oil sands used to process bitumen, CNN partner CBC reported.  The inferno could actually burn through the winter and into next year, University of Alberta wildfire professor MIke Flannigan said.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/18/americas/alberta-wildfire-canada-fort-mcmurray/index.html
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Tor Bejnar

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #102 on: May 18, 2016, 10:09:42 PM »
Quote
The Fort McMurray Fire (Horse River Fire) has enlarged its footprint over the last two days to 422,898 hectares (1,045,022 acres, 1,632 square miles). On May 16 it was mapped at 284,000 hectares (702,000 acres, 1,097 square miles). The east side of the fire is approximately 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the Saskatchewan border.
Fort McMurray Fire expands to 1 million acres (UPDATE at 8:50 a.m. MDT, May 18, 2016)


Quote
Map of the Fort McMurray Fire (Horse River Fire). The red line was the approximate perimeter the morning of May 16, 2016. The white line was from May 17. The dots represent heat detected by a satellite within the last 24 hours, with red being the most recent, as late as 3.32 a.m. MDT May 18, 2016. Click on the map to see a larger version.

Quote
On Tuesday the fire reached the Black Sands Camp and burned the Executive Lodge with its 665 units in spite of the building’s sprinkler system. It next spread to the Noralta Camp that houses 3,000 people, but at the last report firefighters held the fire at bay with no damage to the structures.

Two houses recently exploded in Fort McMurray, damaging ten other nearby homes. The causes are unknown.
...
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Tor Bejnar

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #103 on: May 19, 2016, 01:30:31 AM »
Wildfires rage in Siberia and Russian Far East



Quote
...
The scale was less than in Canada's dramatic fires, but is a reminder of the grave threat annually facing many Russian regions. Head of the Federal Forestry Agency Ivan Valentik blames people for much of the carnage.

'99% of all fires in the Amur region, the Trans-Baikal region and Buryatia are caused by people who set fire to grass,' he said. He warned that the tradition of burning dried grass ahead of the sowing season - popular since Soviet times - is now against the law.
...

It appears the Siberian fires are mostly in southern Siberia.  Some of the smoke, however, has been going into the Arctic.  Interesting that the article says Canada's fires are on a larger scale.
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #104 on: May 19, 2016, 10:17:13 PM »
Per the linked article, it is time to learn to adapt to megafires:

http://gizmodo.com/its-time-to-adapt-to-megafires-1775565260

Extract: "Earlier this month, a devastating wildfire swept through the Canadian city of Fort McMurray, prompting more than 88,000 residents to evacuate. As the out-of-control blaze continues to swell in size, a bigger picture is starting to emerge: major fires like this are the future, and we’d better get used to it.
Since 1979, the duration of the fire season has increased by 20 percent worldwide. The global land area affected has doubled, meaning regions that were once too wet to burn are going up in smoke. Worst of all, “megafires” that cover hundreds of thousands of acres, move at hypersonic speeds, and swallow entire cities whole are now cropping up with alarming regularity. These raging infernos weren’t even on our radar until the late 1980s, but by the end of the 21st century, scientists say they could become the norm."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #105 on: May 20, 2016, 05:46:45 PM »
Scribbler has another excellent article on the Fort McMurray wildfire, indicating that it continues to grow, is zero percent contained and likely will continue through the boreal summer (and may continue into the boreal winter):

https://robertscribbler.com/2016/05/19/fort-mcmurray-fire-zero-percent-contained-1-2-million-acres-in-size-and-crossing-border-into-saskatchewan/

Extract: "By mid-afternoon Thursday, reports were coming in that the Fort McMurray Fire had again grown larger. Jumping to 1.2 million acres in size, or about 2,000 square miles, the blaze leapt the border into Saskachewan even as it ran through forested lands surrounding crippled tar sand facilities. It’s a fire now approaching twice the size of Rhode Island. A single inferno that, by itself, has now consumed more land than every fire that burned throughout the whole of Alberta during 2015.
….
With cooler weather and a 60 percent chance of rain today, fire conditions may abate somewhat. Rain predicted on Saturday could also aid in firefighting efforts. However, it is likely that this massive fire will continue to burn over Alberta and Saskatchewan throughout a good part of the summer.

Fort McMurray itself now sits firmly under a northbound flow of airs invading the polar region. Such powerful meridional flows feature much warmer than normal air temperatures and heightened risk for drought and wildfires. These zones have formed over recent years due to a weakening of the Jet Stream — which has been set off by sea ice loss and an assymetric warming of the High Arctic. Such polar amplification has also set off permafrost thaw, aided in pine beetle expansion northward toward and into the Arctic zone, and generated temperatures hotter than the range in which boreal forests typically survive and grow. Permafrost thaw combines with tree death to produce added fuels for fires even as warming provides more lightning strike ignition sources. This combination of global warming related factors has resulted in large wildfires occurring in the Arctic at 10 times their mid 20th Century ignition rate and is aiding in a greatly increased risk of fire throughout the boreal forest zone."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #106 on: May 23, 2016, 04:11:17 PM »
Quote
U.S. Forest Service:  Longer fire seasons; more frequent, bigger, more severe, and more costly #wildfires
https://twitter.com/forestservice/status/734738408669650945
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #107 on: May 31, 2016, 12:55:35 PM »
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Anne

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #108 on: June 01, 2016, 05:54:40 PM »
Siberian forest fires may be left to burn, according to The Siberian Times.
On 26 May, some about 129,000 hectares of forests, mainly in the Republic of Buryatia, and TransBaikal and Amur regions were on fire. Up to 219 million hectares fall into the category of 'distant and hard-to-reach territories' which could be left to burn if they caught fire.

Quote
29 May 2016
A quarter of all Russian forests, 89% of stocks in Sakha Republic, could be left to burn, even though they are essential to fight global warming.
These vast tracts of forest have been labelled 'distant and hard-to-reach territories', and as such it is officially permitted not to extinguish forest fires if they do not constitute a threat to settlements or if a fire fighting operation is extremely expensive.
At the same time, there is official recognition that some regions in Siberia are underreporting the extent of forest fires for 'political reasons', an accusation long made by environmental campaigners.
Some 86% of forest in Sakha - also known as Yakutia, and the largest constituent of the Russian Federation - is deemed to fall into the category of 'distant and hard-to-reach territories', according to reports.
Some 219 million hectares - or 2.19 million square kilometres, a larger area than either Saudi Arabia or Greenland - is covered by the definition. This amounts to quarter of all forests in Russia, where trees - especially in Siberia - are seen as an essential brake on climate change.
A new decree in Sakha Republic says the emergency services may stop extinguishing fires in such territories if there is no threat to residential areas, or if costs are disproportionate. The move comes as the forest fire season is once more biting across Siberia.
On 26 May, some about 129,000 hectares of forests, mainly in the Republic of Buryatia, and TransBaikal and Amur regions were on fire. Greenpeace Russia believes that officials and regional authorities intentionally announce figures underestimate the scale of forest fires. According to the environmental activists, open satellite sources indicated fires covering up to 3 million hectares of forests as of 23 May.
Rosleskhoz - the Federal Agency for Forestry, a federal executive body responsible for oversight of forestry issues - admitted that official figures from regions may be at odds with the actual area of raging fires. Among other reasons this could be 'because of political factors'.
The agency promised to provide correct data about damage at the end of the [fire] season.
Nikolai Krotov, deputy head of Rosleskhoz, said: 'We have concerns about differences in Amur region, Buryatia, Chelyabinsk and Irkutsk regions. We don't rule out that there can be political factors, subjective factors, when information is submitted in a different way.'
Greenpeace has argued for information in real time, not at the end of the season, so fire-fighting resources can be switched between regions to be deployed in most needed areas.
Rosleskhoz told Kommersant newspaper that the move by the authorities in Yakutsk is 'not a refusal to extinguish forest fires'.
'It shouldn't be ruled out that the local forestry service will extinguish all the fires because significant part of the republic's population leads a nomadic lifestyle and is always moving around,' said a source.
Mikhail Kreindlin, an expert on specially protected areas at Greenpeace Russia, said other countries sometimes have a rule 'not to extinguish fire of natural origin' but this practice is not always successful because there is always a risk that the heart of the blaze may grow bigger.
He pointed to massive forest fires in Canada which resulted in the evacuation of up to 80,000 people in recent weeks. Greenpeace Russia also warned that failing to tackle forest fires can destroy rare animals.
The Siberian Times.

Juan C. García

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #109 on: June 01, 2016, 06:40:14 PM »
Siberian forest fires may be left to burn, according to The Siberian Times.
On 26 May, some about 129,000 hectares of forests, mainly in the Republic of Buryatia, and TransBaikal and Amur regions were on fire. Up to 219 million hectares fall into the category of 'distant and hard-to-reach territories' which could be left to burn if they caught fire.

Now that we have problems receiving Arctic sea ice data from NSIDC and JAXA, it is a good time to focus on land. Unfortunately, doesn't look good. These images are the Climate Reanalyzer forescast for June 3rd to June 5th. I focus on the heat hour on Asia and I wonder the way this heat will promote permafrost melt and forest fires on the end of spring and summer.

Edit: Consequences that will become causes of global warming.
« Last Edit: June 01, 2016, 06:51:17 PM by Juan C. García »
Which is the best answer to Sep-2012 ASI lost (compared to 1979-2000)?
50% [NSIDC Extent] or
73% [PIOMAS Volume]

Volume is harder to measure than extent, but 3-dimensional space is real, 2D's hide ~50% thickness gone.
-> IPCC/NSIDC trends [based on extent] underestimate the real speed of ASI lost.

Juan C. García

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #110 on: June 01, 2016, 07:33:40 PM »
Some chances of rain this week at limited regions in Asia, but in general, dry conditions.

We cannot make a conclusion with a few images, but they are part of a possible tendency. With permafrost melting and forest fires in Nothern Asia and Canada, humanity should be concerned that anthropogenic global warming could become the beginning of natural global warming.

Climate Reanalyzer

Which is the best answer to Sep-2012 ASI lost (compared to 1979-2000)?
50% [NSIDC Extent] or
73% [PIOMAS Volume]

Volume is harder to measure than extent, but 3-dimensional space is real, 2D's hide ~50% thickness gone.
-> IPCC/NSIDC trends [based on extent] underestimate the real speed of ASI lost.

LRC1962

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #111 on: June 01, 2016, 08:10:39 PM »
http://wildfiretoday.com/2016/05/30/environmental-activists-estimate-7-million-acres-have-burned-in-siberia/
Granted Greenpeace for their own reasons sometimes do exaggerate things, but remember in Siberia you have the problem that a lot of these are peat fires and some of these may not be new fires, but fires that are now resurfacing again not did not die out from last year.
In Canada, you do not have as much peat, because of the scraping down to rock from the last ice age.
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Anne

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #113 on: June 01, 2016, 10:36:18 PM »
Ah, that's the story I linked to earlier at #108. The Siberian Times headline's a bit misleading: the 219 million hectares aren't actually burning, they are just in an area designated as 'distant and hard-to-reach territories' which could be left to burn if they caught fire.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #114 on: June 02, 2016, 01:43:58 PM »
Spike in Alaska wildfires is worsening global warming, US says
Quote
The devastating rise in Alaska’s wildfires is making global warming even worse than scientists expected, US government researchers said on Wednesday.

The sharp spike in Alaska’s wildfires, where more than 5 million acres burned last year, are destroying a main buffer against climate change: the carbon-rich boreal forests, tundra and permafrost that have served as an enormous carbon sink.

Northern wildfires must now be recognised as a significant driver of climate change – and not just a side-effect, according to the report from the US Geological Survey.

“This is one of the surprises that we haven’t talked about much,” said Virginia Burkett, chief climate scientist at the USGS. “It has tremendous implications for the carbon that is locked up in Alaska soils and vegetation.”

A record wildfire year – such as 2015 which was the worst in Alaska for a decade – had a measurable effect on the release of carbon dioxide and methane, which are the main drivers of climate change.

“Our scientists found that the balance of carbon storage versus release in Alaska was strongly linked with wildfires,” Burkett said. “In years where there was high wildfire activity the net carbon balance declined dramatically, and then it would rebuild in the absence of fire.”
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/01/alaska-wildfires-climate-change
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LRC1962

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #115 on: June 02, 2016, 05:16:05 PM »
This shows the complexity of understanding and predicting future events.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/09/arctic-carbon-bomb-may-never-happen-say-scientists shows that physics of leaks prove a slow release. Problem is that it will happen if no other events come into play. Wildfires on the other hand introduce an entirely different unpredictable element into play. It is unpredictable in that you can not tell when or how much it will happen. One thing you can be sure of is that it will happen. Question will be how much of the stored carbon it will release when it passes by.
In other words you may still end up having a bomb go off, just not as a direct result of melt.
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Adam Ash

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #116 on: June 03, 2016, 10:54:12 AM »
http://grist.org/climate-energy/the-zombie-wildfires-have-awakened-in-alaska/

'The Soda Creek Fire raged through 16,500 acres in the same area last summer, according to Alaska Dispatch News. It smoldered underground, survived the winter, and finally reignited on Sunday, spreading to an acre within an hour.'

'Fire can burrow deep into the roots of old-growth trees, where it burns slowly, insulated by a thick, moisture-absorbing blanket of decomposing moss, leaves, and twigs on the forest floor. And once the ground freezes, the embers are sealed in, sometimes under feet of snow. Come spring, the ground warms up, the surrounding brush and trees dry out, and the fire can spring back to life.'


That will be having a nice impact on decomposition of calthrates in permafrost!

GeoffBeacon

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #117 on: June 03, 2016, 12:52:32 PM »
New USGS Report Calculates Alaska’s Greenhouse Gas Potential

Quote
The scientists found that Alaska’s ecosystems currently capture as much carbon as they lose to the atmosphere. However, they said, rising temperatures, more wildfires and thawing permafrost still could tip the balance and make Alaska a net carbon source. That would further increase the concentration of gases that trap the sun’s energy and warm the Earth’s atmosphere.
Increases in wildfires are not accounted for in the CMIP5 models - the UK department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has confirmed.

Quote
the models used vary in what they include, and some feedbacks are absent as the understanding and modelling of these is not yet advanced enough to include. From those you raise, this applies to melting permafrost emissions, forest fires and wetlands decomposition.
DECC avoid saying how this affects the remaining carbon budget

Quote
DECC doesn’t estimate the remaining global carbon budget, however others such as the Global Carbon Project have estimated updates to the IPCC’s budget, based on emissions since 2010.
Anyone know how much the budgets should be decreased?

My rather rough calculations of the remaining budgets per person in the world - without reduction for missing feedbacks give
Quote
The remaining carbon budget for a 66% chance of avoiding 1.5˚C becomes

21 tonnes CO2 per person: 4 years to 1.5˚C

The remaining carbon budget for a 66% chance of avoiding 2.0˚C becomes…

85 tonnes CO2 per person: 16 years to 2.0˚C
These are for world average per person emissions. The populations of rich countries average much higher emissions.

P.S. I must admit some confusion between CO2 and CO2e in the calculations.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #118 on: June 04, 2016, 07:04:03 PM »
Good read on the people, the tar sands, and the Fort McMurray fire.

Canada’s $6.9 Billion Wildfire Is the Size of Delaware—and Still Out of Control
The story of one Alberta family’s amazing escape from “The Beast.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-wildfire-fort-mcmurray/
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #119 on: June 04, 2016, 07:41:38 PM »
New USGS Report Calculates Alaska’s Greenhouse Gas Potential

Quote
The scientists found that Alaska’s ecosystems currently capture as much carbon as they lose to the atmosphere. However, they said, rising temperatures, more wildfires and thawing permafrost still could tip the balance and make Alaska a net carbon source. That would further increase the concentration of gases that trap the sun’s energy and warm the Earth’s atmosphere.
Increases in wildfires are not accounted for in the CMIP5 models - the UK department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has confirmed.

Quote
the models used vary in what they include, and some feedbacks are absent as the understanding and modelling of these is not yet advanced enough to include. From those you raise, this applies to melting permafrost emissions, forest fires and wetlands decomposition.
DECC avoid saying how this affects the remaining carbon budget

Quote
DECC doesn’t estimate the remaining global carbon budget, however others such as the Global Carbon Project have estimated updates to the IPCC’s budget, based on emissions since 2010.
Anyone know how much the budgets should be decreased?

My rather rough calculations of the remaining budgets per person in the world - without reduction for missing feedbacks give
Quote
The remaining carbon budget for a 66% chance of avoiding 1.5˚C becomes

21 tonnes CO2 per person: 4 years to 1.5˚C

The remaining carbon budget for a 66% chance of avoiding 2.0˚C becomes…

85 tonnes CO2 per person: 16 years to 2.0˚C
These are for world average per person emissions. The populations of rich countries average much higher emissions.

P.S. I must admit some confusion between CO2 and CO2e in the calculations.

Geoff,

First, per the first & seconded attached plots (based on Jan-March, and Jan-April, respectively) and issued recently by Gavin Schmidt there is a real chance that we could exceed 1.5C by the end of 2016.

Second, the USGS report that you cited not only understates the possible implications of wildfires, it clearly understates the implications of methane emissions from Alaskan lakes as indicated by the following extract from:

Edited by Zhiliang Zhu and A. David McGuire, "Baseline and Projected Future Carbon Storage and Greenhouse-Gas Fluxes in Ecosystems of Alaska", USGS Professional Paper 1826, ISSN 1044-9612 (print), ISSN 2330-7102 (online)

http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1826/pp1826.pdf

Extract of the last paragraph in the main body of the report: "The results of our synthesis have implications for carbon management strategies that might be implemented as part of national policies aimed at controlling the rate and overall magnitude of climate change. These results suggest that Alaska could be a sink for greenhouse gases under some climate scenarios, but under others it could be a source, depending on the response of CH4 emissions of lakes. However, it is important to recognize that CH4 emissions from lakes have not been considered in this assessment, and it is likely that Alaska would be a source of greenhouse gases under all climate simulations if these emissions were considered in the assessment. Models have recently been developed for simulating CH4 emissions of arctic lakes (Tan and others, 2015), and these models may be useful for estimating regional CH4 emissions of lakes in Alaska in future assessments to more fully inform policy decisions concerning the mitigation of greenhouse-gas emissions in the United States."

Best,
ASLR
« Last Edit: June 04, 2016, 09:58:16 PM by AbruptSLR »
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #120 on: June 17, 2016, 01:40:25 PM »
21 large fires currently burning in the U.S.  Most are in the southwest, which is just beginning what looks to be a 10+ day major heatwave.

Map and info:
http://wxshift.com/climate-change/climate-indicators/us-wildfires
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #121 on: June 17, 2016, 04:52:49 PM »
The Santa Barbara County fire doubled in size overnight:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sherpa-fire-20160617-snap-story.html
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #122 on: June 18, 2016, 09:24:54 AM »
The Sherpa fire in Santa Barbara County has increased from 4,000 yesterday to 6,000 acres (and is still increasing in size):

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sherpa-fire-20160617-snap-story.html
« Last Edit: June 18, 2016, 07:24:17 PM by AbruptSLR »
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #123 on: June 18, 2016, 01:41:55 PM »
Russia significantly under-reporting wildfires, figures show
Greenpeace analysis of satellite data reveals 3.5m hectares have burned this year, while government statistics claim only 669,000 hectares
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/16/russia-significantly-under-reporting-wildfires-figures-show
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #124 on: June 18, 2016, 07:03:36 PM »
Map and info at the link.

Quote
CAL FIRE PIO Berlant : Latest on the #SherpaFire west of Goleta (Santa Barbara County) - 7,063 acres, 24% contained & over 1,200 personnel.
https://twitter.com/calfire_pio/status/744182746793140224
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #125 on: June 20, 2016, 03:31:18 AM »
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #126 on: June 24, 2016, 06:03:10 PM »
The linked Climate Central article is entitled: "Climate Change is Tipping Scales Toward More Wildfires"

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/western-wildfires-climate-change-20475

Extract: "Climate change is producing conditions ripe for wildfires, tipping the scales in favor of the dramatic increases in large wildfires we have seen across the West since the 1970s. Snowpack is melting earlier as winter and spring temperatures rise, and in most states an increasing percentage of winter precipitation is falling as rain, meaning there is often less snowpack to begin with. Summer temperatures are rising, particularly in Southwestern states, where the number of extremely hot days is steadily increasing, creating more days where forests and grasslands are dried out and ready to burn."
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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #127 on: June 24, 2016, 08:08:01 PM »
California:

ERSKINE FIRE IN KERN COUNTY SCORCHES 19,034 ACRES
Quote
A fast-moving wildfire has exploded to 19,034 acres after destroying 100 structures and forcing hundreds of evacuations in rural communities near Lake Isabella in Kern County.

So far, there is no containment estimate. Approximately 80 of the 100 structures are homes, officials said.

The blaze, dubbed the Erskine Fire, exploded in size quickly after breaking out in the area around 4 p.m. Thursday. By evening, it had burned through 5,000 acres due to low humidity conditions and high heat. Early Friday morning, it was around 8,000 acres before more than doubling in size by 10 a.m.
http://abc7.com/news/erskine-fire-in-kern-county-explodes-to-19034-acres/1399705/


That's quite a detour:
CalTrans: US 395 closed near Lee Vining due to wildfire
http://foxreno.com/news/local/caltrans-us-395-closed-near-lee-vining-due-to-wildfire
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #128 on: June 25, 2016, 05:13:39 PM »
Erskine Fire has burned through the communities of Squirrel Valley and South Lake, California, near Lake Isabella.
Included video shows "some of the conditions the firefighters were dealing with as the Erskine Fire at Lake Isabella burned homes."

California: scores of homes burn in Erskine Fire
http://wildfiretoday.com/2016/06/23/california-scores-of-homes-burn-in-erskine-fire/
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #129 on: June 25, 2016, 11:03:44 PM »
The linked article discusses the topic: "'Catastrophic' California Wildfires Could Erupt in ‘Unprecedented’ 66 Million Dead Trees":

https://weather.com/safety/wildfires/news/unprecedented-millions-dead-trees-california-could-fuel-catastrophic-wildfires
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Tor Bejnar

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #130 on: June 26, 2016, 01:14:38 AM »
http://ktla.com/2016/06/25/erskine-fire-1500-structures-threatened-by-46-square-mile-wildfire-in-kern-county-containment-at-5/
Erskine Fire: 150 Structures Destroyed, 1,500 More Threatened by 55-Square-Mile Wildfire in Kern County

'growing potential on south and east sides' from InciWeb.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #131 on: June 26, 2016, 12:25:00 PM »
150 homes destroyed, 75 damaged.  Short video:
Quote
CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Mike Mohler at scene in Kern County with the latest on the over 35,000 acre #ErskineFire
https://twitter.com/cal_fire/status/746833773438730240

Quote
#ErskineFire in Kern County is now 36,810 acres & 10% contained. 1,712 personnel assigned. Photo by @EPN564
https://twitter.com/calfire_pio/status/746924355339247617
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GeoffBeacon

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #132 on: June 26, 2016, 03:11:16 PM »
AbruptSLR

Just noticed your post of Jun4th.

Thanks.

It makes this Brexit fuss seem trivial, especially after those images Sigmentnow has just posted.

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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #133 on: June 28, 2016, 10:35:32 PM »
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

AbruptSLR

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #134 on: July 01, 2016, 04:45:01 PM »
With ENSO conditions currently being neutral (meaning no La Nina rains for the Amazon in the near future), the linked article indicates that the El Nino dried Amazon is primed for wildfires in the coming months:

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2016/0630/This-El-Nino-season-could-spark-intense-wildfires-in-Amazon

Extract: "Following the recent El Niño event, conditions in the Amazon are drier than the start of any dry season since 2002."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #135 on: July 01, 2016, 05:26:00 PM »
The linked Scribbler article indicates that large portions of Siberia are currently experiencing wildfires and record high temperatures:

https://robertscribbler.com/2016/07/01/wildfires-in-the-land-of-frozen-ground-1000-mile-long-pall-of-smoke-covers-burning-siberia/

Extract: "Wildfires in the Land of Frozen Ground — 1,000 Mile Long Pall of Smoke Blankets Burning Siberia"
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #136 on: July 03, 2016, 05:25:32 PM »
It seems that the California wildfire season is continuing:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-wildfires-idUSKCN0ZI0YY

Extract: "A new wildfire burning through bone-dry grass, shrub and timber has forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in a mountain community in central California and more houses could be in the inferno's path, fire officials said on Saturday."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #137 on: July 03, 2016, 06:53:59 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "As peatlands dry out from climate change, wildfire risk increases", and it highlights the increasing risk (with continued global warming) of boreal peatland wildfires from Canada, to Siberia to Alaska:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/drying-peatland-wildfire-risk-1.3655059?cmp=rss

Extract: "Peatlands are one of the staples of the boreal forest that sweeps across Canada. The 185 billion tonnes of mossy wetlands across the country can act as firebreaks, literally dampening the flames as they move across the landscape.

But when dried, the peatlands are a tinderbox — and a new study says the latter is becoming more and more common as the climate warms."
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Tor Bejnar

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #138 on: July 04, 2016, 01:05:33 AM »
Singapore to pursue firms over forest fires, despite Indonesian ire

Quote
JAKARTA — Singapore is refusing to back down in its pursuit of those responsible for haze-belching forest fires in Southeast Asia last year, despite struggling to bring the perpetrators before the courts and drawing a sharp rebuke from neighbouring Indonesia.

Forest fires are part of an annual dry-season problem in Indonesia, started illegally to quickly and cheaply clear land for cultivation — particularly for palm oil and pulpwood.

But last year’s haze outbreak was among the worst in memory, shrouding Malaysia, Singapore, and parts of Thailand in acrid smoke and forcing school closures as pollution reached hazardous levels and thousands fell sick across the region.

Singapore has served notice to six Indonesian companies it believes may have cleared land by burning but could target others as investigations continue, according to Singapore’s ambassador to Indonesia Anil Kumar Nayar.
...
What the "almighty dollar" (or rupiah) drives people to.
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Tor Bejnar

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #139 on: July 04, 2016, 01:29:11 AM »
Some north Canada headlines from CBC News

    Alberta forest fire prompts Fort Smith, N.W.T., residents to prepare for evacuation
    Lightning starts 7 new fires in N.W.T. over the weekend
    1st N.W.T. wildfire of 2016 breaks out 25 km northeast of Yellowknife
    Burn ban in effect in Yellowknife, fire danger high in southern N.W.T.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #140 on: July 06, 2016, 08:08:53 PM »
Eric Holthaus:
Quote
Most forested areas of California will have above normal risk for wildfire during July.
http://www.predictiveservices.nifc.gov/outlooks/monthly_seasonal_outlook.pdf
https://twitter.com/ericholthaus/status/750750879242809344
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Apocalypse4Real

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #141 on: July 08, 2016, 10:05:34 PM »
El Nino has increased Amazon basin drought. The fire season will be extreme. There are already more fires than 2015.

See: http://www.megiddo666.apocalypse4real-globalmethanetracking.com/2016/07/el-nino-creates-amazon-drought-and.html


Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #142 on: July 12, 2016, 01:10:54 AM »
Quote
CAL FIRE: Even with cooler temperatures last week, there were over 360 new wildfires. 3,112 since Jan 1 burning 120,444 acres.
https://twitter.com/calfire_pio/status/752600465032900608
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #143 on: July 12, 2016, 01:47:41 AM »
Calif. facing most volatile fire season in over 100 years, fire chief says
Quote
"Even though some of the fuels appear to be green there is five years of dead growth underneath those fuels and there is a potential for a catastrophic fire," he said.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-facing-most-volatile-fire-season-in-over-100-years-fire-chief/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #144 on: July 20, 2016, 08:25:55 PM »
California's Costly Wildfire Season Might Never End
L.A.-based photographer Stuart Palley has been chasing deadly wildfires for years now, watching the fire season get longer and longer as global warming creates a hotter, drier environment. Here, he gives us an up-close-and-personal look at the wildfires that might soon rage year-round.
Quote
"The Joshua tree is an endangered species; they evolved to survive fires, but these fires burn so hot it's beyond what they're adapted for. They're being decimated. It takes a long time for them to grow, and these fires are happening so quickly that they're not growing back."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/photo-essays/2016-07-20/california-s-costly-wildfire-season-might-never-end
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #145 on: July 20, 2016, 09:15:46 PM »
Widespread Russian Wildfire Smoke Stretches Nearly 2,000 Miles
Quote
Wildfires burning in central and eastern Russia this week have contributed to an eye-popping amount of smoke that is trapped under a dome of high pressure.

You can see the smoke – the milky white area – extending for nearly 2,000 miles from west to east across Russia in the NASA satellite image above from Wednesday. Each red dot on the map is a fire and thermal anomaly detected by satellite, illustrating where some of the active fires were occurring at that time.
https://weather.com/news/weather/news/russia-wildfire-smoke-widespread-july-2016


Images:
Smoke across Russia on satellite July 18, 2016. Each red dot shows fire/thermal anomalies detected by satellite.(NASA)

Weather pattern in Asia July 20, 2016 with high pressure centered over central Russia leading to stagnant conditions.

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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #146 on: July 24, 2016, 01:16:59 PM »
Extreme fire conditions near Los Angeles this weekend.  Multiple fires being fought.

Sand Fire:
Santa Clarita Brush Fire Scorches 20,000 Acres; 10 Percent Contained
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/07/22/growing-20-acre-brush-fire-reported-in-santa-clarita/

Shelters Open To Help Animals Caught Up In Sand Fire
Quote
It was a massive team effort as volunteers lined up with trailers to evacuate more than 400 animals from the Wildlife Waystation.

“We’re moving them to multiple locations right now, but it’s a tall order,” Jerry Brown from Wildlife Waystation said.

There are horses, billy goats, and exotic animals like lions, tigers, and even bears.

“It’s painstakingly slow, because although anyone can drive, only a few vets and trainers can handle tigers, which need to be caged and sedated before being moved to nearby warehouses,” Brown said.
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2016/07/23/shelters-open-to-help-animals-caught-up-in-sand-fire/


Soberanes Fire:
Quote
CAL FIRE:  Evacuation Warning issued for the Carmel Highlands area due to the 6,500 acre #SoberanesFire in Monterey County.
https://twitter.com/calfire_pio/status/757023689363763201
Quote
CAL FIRE:  Latest facts on the #SoberanesFire south of Carmel (Monterey County) - 6,500 acres, 5% contained & 780 personnel.
https://twitter.com/calfire_pio/status/757046133222801408
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #147 on: July 25, 2016, 02:02:20 PM »
“We are in July,” he said. “We’ve never had four major fires within six weeks in June and July.”

California:  Out-of-control wildfire grows to more than 33,000 acres in Santa Clarita Valley
Quote
“Five years ago, if we had a similar fire, we would have probably caught [it] at the ridge,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Daryl L. Osby said at the news conference.
...
“We’ve never seen a fire come into Sand Canyon like that,” Tripp said. “All the experience we’ve had with fires is out the window.”
...
The Sand fire, which is named for Sand Canyon, is the latest blaze to ravage L.A. County this year.

Earlier this season, Tripp said, blazes in Calabasas, Duarte and Stevenson Ranch, which would have likely claimed 20 to 50 acres in a normal year, have spread exponentially, burning thousands of acres. Tripp said he can’t help but worry about what the remainder of the season will bring.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-clarita-fire-day-three-20160724-snap-story.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #148 on: July 25, 2016, 02:05:52 PM »
The Sand Fire in Santa Clarita Offers Omens of a Fiery Future
Quote
Wildfires are a normal part of life in Southern California. But what’s burning right now is not a normal fire.

As of midday Sunday, the Sand Fire had grown to 22,000 acres (34 square miles) — roughly the same size as the island of Manhattan — and was just 10 percent contained. In nearby Los Angeles, the fire prompted frequent references to the Apocalypse this weekend, as the large smoke plume dropped ash and blotted out the sun.

The fire, which started as a small brush fire along the side of Highway 14 near Santa Clarita, California, on Friday, quickly spread out of control under weather conditions that were nearly ideal for explosive growth. The fire doubled in size overnight on Friday, and then doubled again during the day on Saturday.
https://psmag.com/the-sand-fire-in-santa-clarita-offers-omens-of-a-fiery-future-e142811ed90e
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RoxTheGeologist

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #149 on: July 25, 2016, 08:25:34 PM »

Soberanes fire from my house two nights ago: