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sidd

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #450 on: January 08, 2018, 02:27:10 AM »
This is something i had never heard of before: Raptors spreading wildfires ... intentionally (!)

Bonta et al.

doi: 10.2993/0278-0771-37.4.700

"While driving past a smoky roadside fire on the Cape York Peninsula, QLD, Dick Eussen saw Black Kites swooping on prey amidst smoke and sparks, while others hopped about on the road in front of the fire as it burned itself out (Table 1:Record 14). He saw one bird swoop to grab a smoking stick in its talons, dropping it onto the road. The ember was apparently too hot for the kite to hold. Another was more successful, dropping a stick on the other side of the road in the unburnt grass, which soon flared up."

"In all, he put out seven fires, all caused by the kites."

"Fire-spreading by raptors is found across a 2400 km E-W and 1000 km N-S swath of northern Australia. The behavior is likely known to most, if not all, Aboriginal groups within this region. Most accounts and traditions unequivocally indicate intentionality on the part of three raptor species and a handful provide evidence of cooperative fire-spreading by select individuals from within larger fire-foraging raptor assemblages."

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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #451 on: January 08, 2018, 04:44:18 PM »
Spreading grass fires to force their prey to flee.... 
Resulting in a short period of easy pickings –– then they abandon the ruined area, and move on. How human!  :-\
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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #452 on: January 08, 2018, 06:06:28 PM »
Here is why wildfires aren't always bad.

Spreading grass fires to force their prey to flee.... 
Resulting in a short period of easy pickings –– then they abandon the ruined area, and move on. How human!  :-\
Not necessarily ruined. E.g. the deep fertile black soil (Chernozem) of Ukraine's wheat basket contains an enormous amount of fire derived carbon. Natural terra preta soil accumulated over millenia from grass fires.

Rodionov et al (2010), Black carbon in grassland ecosystems of the world
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009GB003669/full

Wolf et al (2014), Black carbon: Fire fingerprints in Pleistocene loess–palaeosol archives in Germany
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0146638014000618
Quote
Maximum BC amount occurred at times of intensive pedogenesis [soil formation]

Tor Bejnar

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #453 on: January 09, 2018, 04:42:56 PM »
'Bet the Thomas fire is out now!
From weather.com news:
Quote
The heaviest rain California's L.A. Basin has seen since last February, has triggered mudslides, rockslides, and debris flows over areas recently charred by destructive wildfires.
 
Parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, near the Thomas fire burn area were particularly hard hit Tuesday morning. Up to waist-high mud flowed into parts of Montecito, California, according to Santa Barbara County fire spokesman Mike Eliason.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #454 on: January 09, 2018, 05:13:53 PM »
More on the post-wildfire floods in the Floods thread:

https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,1951.msg138347.html#msg138347
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #455 on: January 09, 2018, 05:17:52 PM »
Here is why wildfires aren't always bad.

Spreading grass fires to force their prey to flee.... 
Resulting in a short period of easy pickings –– then they abandon the ruined area, and move on. How human!  :-\
Not necessarily ruined. E.g. the deep fertile black soil (Chernozem) of Ukraine's wheat basket contains an enormous amount of fire derived carbon. Natural terra preta soil accumulated over millenia from grass fires.
...

And California’s giant Sequoia trees don’t spread their seeds until a wildfire opens up their cones.  I know, it’s not all bad.  ;)
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #456 on: January 09, 2018, 05:21:12 PM »
2017's Western #wildfire season cost at least $18 billion, tripling the previous record annual wildfire toll
https://mobile.twitter.com/climatenexus/status/950464716111077376

Weather and climate disasters cost the U.S. a record $306 billion in 2017
http://mashable.com/2018/01/08/2017-record-year-billion-dollar-disasters-third-warmest
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Martin Gisser

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #457 on: January 10, 2018, 02:37:08 PM »
I know, it’s not all bad.  ;)
Yup, sounds like trivializing Global Warming ;) Pleading guilty.

Anyhow, one of my more radical plans to save the carbon cycle involves managed forest fires. Of eucalypt no less. Coppiced eucalypt, however, not the huge firebombs that ravaged Australia and Portugal.

-------------
I've been telling for almost a decade now that what is happening in California looks like a highway to desertification: Burn and flush, burn and flush, ... until all soil is gone and forests can no longer regrow.

But I'm not so sure about this theory. Any observations?

gerontocrat

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #458 on: January 10, 2018, 04:43:10 PM »

I've been telling for almost a decade now that what is happening in California looks like a highway to desertification: Burn and flush, burn and flush, ... until all soil is gone and forests can no longer regrow.

But I'm not so sure about this theory. Any observations?

Observations suggest that SoCal especially is a place becoming less liveable and likely to degrade further.

Until recent years impacts of climate change in the so-called developed world have been transitory - large but short-term disruptions to normal life. Places like SoCal with massive and often badly planned urban development and a dodgy climate are therefore likely to be among the first to face more and more frequent disruptions from climate-driven events.

Life isn't fair in that California is in many ways a leader in combating climate change.
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Bruce Steele

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #459 on: January 10, 2018, 05:27:15 PM »
Chumash Indians burnt the chaparel for thousands of years before white man arrived. They burned in the spring after the rain season so the wet ground wouldn't burn. They were trying to improve grass and feed to support more game. Condors thrived on the increased game and open areas to land and take off. They also hunted sea otters to help improve shellfish stocks, or that was the result.
 I don't think California is " less livable " unless we turn off the power. This is LaLa land ( Disneyland ) and it is a manipulated environment. There is lots of building , growth and yes solar panels and Teslas but I would be careful about touting our environmental credentials . We are masters at deception and there is a profit in the dream.
 Here is a real estate site for Montecito.
https://www.christiesrealestate.com/eng/sales/montecito-ca-usa
So if you would like a couple Teslas in your three car garage and live the dream you better pony up .
It is just a dream and there isn't anyone in the U.S.that can better afford to rebuild. They will continue to avoid creating defendable space to fight fires, they will continue to avoid water conservation, they will import all their food , and pay the help to keep it all beautiful. So please don't worry about the weather , global warming , fires, floods or food, some people have enough money to avoid reality.
 If you'd like to get a better look at something closer to ground level and how thousands of Californians live plan your vacation for Fresno. Enjoy !

 

Tor Bejnar

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #460 on: January 11, 2018, 09:10:15 PM »
from InciWeb
Quote
01-11-2018 Daily Update Thomas Fire
Incident: Thomas Fire Wildfire
Released: 3 hrs. ago
Thomas Fire Update
Goleta, Calif., January 11th, 2018 — For Immediate Release.
Start Date: December 4, 2017 Cause: Under Investigation Size: 281,893 acres
Containment: 92% Personnel: 13 Structures Destroyed: 1,063 Structures Damaged: 280
Current Situation: Due to high wind, some over flights were cancelled yesterday. The flights will resume today to assess the Thomas Fire. The incident commander will be on these over flights for an evaluation of the containment percentage.
...

I'm surprised they haven't changed the containment percentage, but note they will discern this today.  I note personnel is down to a bakers dozen.

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jmshelton

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #461 on: January 12, 2018, 08:30:21 PM »
I know, it’s not all bad.  ;)
Yup, sounds like trivializing Global Warming ;) Pleading guilty.

Anyhow, one of my more radical plans to save the carbon cycle involves managed forest fires. Of eucalypt no less. Coppiced eucalypt, however, not the huge firebombs that ravaged Australia and Portugal.

-------------
I've been telling for almost a decade now that what is happening in California looks like a highway to desertification: Burn and flush, burn and flush, ... until all soil is gone and forests can no longer regrow.

But I'm not so sure about this theory. Any observations?

California has a very rich diversity of habitats.  In the Thomas fire area, much of that is chaparral that has burned on a pretty regular basis.  The soils are not usually very high in organic matter, except in the lower parts of the canyon where a more mesic micro-habitat can develop.  Big/hot catastrophic fires can change the landscape in this area, but over time, the chaparral has a pretty good chance of re-establishing.  The more mesic canyons, with some riparian vegetation, usually don't lose as much vegetation in the fires, nor lose all their organic content in the soils.  The fires don't usually burn down hill as hot as the do up-hill,  but this is a great simplification.  in any case, those canyons can also recover, even if there are some pretty good debris flow floods.  The debris flows are messy, and leave quite a bit of organic material along the channel, so the ability to recover is still there, albeit from the bottom up.

I spend a lot of time in the Sierras, and in the chaparral belt I expect over time, some of this to turn into blue oak-woodland due to climate change... But the big worry is that the yellow pine forest and black oak woodland (above the chaparral), with a decent organic content soils, will have much of its lower areas turn into chaparral, and lose its organic soils.  The community above is red fir, and those soils are low in organic material, so the ability of black oaks to move up maybe limited - low water retention and low nutrients.  If this is the scenario that climate change causes, then a loss of soil carbon in the Sierras would be positive feedback. 

Fire looks to be the tipping point, with a plant community hanging on until a fire comes through.  If we have a hot fire, the soils lose much of their organic matter, seed base, and seed donors. At that point, a new community type, if it is more in attuned to climate conditions, will be generated.  Established communities can hang on in adverse climate conditions, at least for a while.

My two cents - from a systems ecologist that is making a SWAG!

oren

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #462 on: January 12, 2018, 11:51:38 PM »
Welcome jmshelton and thanks for your interesting post.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #463 on: January 19, 2018, 08:45:21 PM »
Insurers take a hard look at California and see growing wildfire risk
Quote
• California suffered record-breaking wildfires last year and now insurers are taking a harder look at fire risk.
• Urban areas are increasingly getting considered as a fire hazard.
• Insurers refused to renew thousands of policies in fire areas after previous disasters.
• A proposed state bill would limit insurers' ability to cut coverage in areas after a wildfire disaster.
...
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/18/after-wildfires-it-gets-tougher-to-insure-a-home-in-california.html
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #464 on: February 13, 2018, 07:17:55 PM »
“Wildfires are not at all common in northern California during mid-winter, when vegetation is normally very moist. But recent record warmth and prolonged dry spell have dried fuels to near/below record low levels for Feb. #CAwx #CAfire ”
https://twitter.com/Weather_West/status/963288074959519744
Video at the link:  CALFIRE Butte County.
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Avalonian

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #465 on: March 04, 2018, 11:41:56 AM »
OK... this is not an area renowned for wildfires, at least in winter:

The Outer Hebrides
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-43277232

and West Highlands and Inner Hebrides of Scotland:
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/1426926/much-scotland-shivers-heavy-snow-three-wildfires-break-highlands-islands/

Yes, the rest of the country is covered by snow. There are some other recent (2013) records of March wildfires in the Northwest Highlands, but this is a little bit odd.


ghoti

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #467 on: April 07, 2018, 03:47:20 AM »
The suggestion is the fires in eastern Russia were started by people on purpose.

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=91969&src=twitter-nh



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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #470 on: April 16, 2018, 03:26:58 AM »
Oklahoma.  In addition to today’s midwest blizzard and southeast tornadoes, Oklahoma has Wildfires.
“#okfire Western OK has taken a major hit. Over 350k acres burned, fatalities, lost homes and property. And the fires and extreme fire conditions continue. ”
https://twitter.com/george_geissler/status/985607378551918592
Images at the link.


NWS:
“Sunday included a much-needed respite from widespread critical fire weather in the southern Plains where numerous wildfires that began last week continue. Unfortunately, critical-to-extremely critical fire weather will return with a vengeance on Monday and persist through much of the workweek. These conditions include strong winds, low humidity, and severe-to-exceptional drought. Any new or existing fires in the southern High Plains and Desert Southwest will be able to spread rapidly.”
https://www.facebook.com/NWS/posts/10156943067974041

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/fire_wx/overview.html
« Last Edit: April 16, 2018, 03:33:46 AM by Sigmetnow »
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NevB

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #471 on: April 16, 2018, 05:24:22 AM »
Sydney bushfire: Blaze remains out of control as authorities talk extra funding out of fire season

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-16/sydney-bushfire-conditions-ease-for-firefighters/9660818



Although fires like this are a new phenomenon in late Autumn in Eastern Australia, climate change rarely gets a mention. 

Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #472 on: April 16, 2018, 03:55:30 PM »
Upgraded to Extremely Critical:

“1:40am CDT #SPC Day2 #FireWX Extremely Critical: a large part of the southern rockies and adjacent southern/central high plains...”
https://twitter.com/NWSSPC/status/985769902995894272
Image below.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #473 on: April 21, 2018, 01:20:52 AM »
3 Dogs Are Rebuilding Chilean Forests Once Devastated By Fire
Quote
Last year, forest fires in central Chile wreaked havoc in the El Maule region with more than 100 different wildfires sweeping through the area and destroying over a million acres of forest land. It was the worst wildfire season in the country’s history, taking several lives and created an estimated $333 million of dollars worth of damages. The animals were forced to flee to safer areas.

The job to replant endless acres of forests seemed like a daunting endeavor. That is until three unusual workers took up the task. Six-year-old Das and her two daughters, Olivia and Summer are three Border Collies who have been trained to run through the damaged forests with special backpacks that release native plant seeds. Once they take root, these seeds will help regrow the destroyed area. ...
http://www.greenmatters.com/amp/living/2018/02/19/2m3wBf/border-collies-forest
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #474 on: April 21, 2018, 09:57:46 PM »
“Finished the day watching logged Greater Glider habitat burning, smoking and choking Melbourne and the Yarra Valley. #habitat ... #pollution #climate #wildlife ”
https://twitter.com/sarahrees/status/987675099061874691
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be cause

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #475 on: May 07, 2018, 02:00:11 PM »
there is a lot of smoke on worldview today rising from Siberia .. some fires have been burning for a while . The  number and scale is increasing rapidly . A look @ 54'N and 128'E will put you in the picture .. b.c.
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Forest Dweller

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #476 on: May 07, 2018, 03:47:47 PM »
Copernicus has a nice wildfire application, indeed showing plenty of them in southern west Siberia.
http://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/maps/fire-activity#1._fire_radiative_power_[w_m-2]_(provided_by_cams,_the_copernicus_atmosphere_monitoring_service)/5/11.997/-90.055

What i noticed most the past weeks is many fires in central America, places like Honduras and Nicaragua.
Rainforest area that is so could be slash and burn i guess....

Telihod

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #477 on: May 10, 2018, 08:17:25 AM »
Thick smoke on May 9 in Eastern Russia.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #478 on: May 16, 2018, 04:47:44 PM »
“High levels of carbon monoxide from #AmurOblast #Russia #wildfires reaching into the #Arctic in the latest #Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service forecast (link: https://bit.ly/2L5VHA8) bit.ly/2L5VHA8 @polarprediction @steverarnold @SanGasso @hjethva05 @Pierre_Markuse @blkahn @avoiland ”
https://twitter.com/m_parrington/status/996680664660480001
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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #479 on: May 16, 2018, 04:52:23 PM »
On a positive note, increased levels of CO has only an indirect impact on warming.

https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch2s2-10-3-2.html

Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #480 on: May 16, 2018, 04:56:35 PM »
On a positive note, increased levels of CO has only an indirect impact on warming.

https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch2s2-10-3-2.html

Good; but where there is CO from wildfires, there is likely also soot, which is not good for Arctic snow and ice.
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jai mitchell

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #481 on: May 20, 2018, 08:59:53 PM »
https://inhabitat.com/wildfires-in-siberia-are-emitting-enough-carbon-to-harm-the-entire-planet/

Siberian Fire Season has already started

This spring, dry, warm conditions in Siberia have readied the area for wildfires, according to Earther — and in May, the fires have picked up in a big way. Local farmers sometimes light fires in Siberia to replenish soil nutrients or clear land, but winds can cause the fires to blaze out of control.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #482 on: June 03, 2018, 08:05:18 PM »
California

Evacuations Remain as More Than 400 Firefighters Continue to Fight Aliso Fire
Quote
A brush fire in Laguna Beach and Aliso Viejo continued to burn into the morning hours on Sunday as flames scorched hundreds of acres.

The wind-driven Aliso Fire was 10 percent contained and at 150 acres as of around 9:25 a.m. Sunday, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

Mandatory evacuation orders were lifted for Aliso Viejo around 9 p.m. Saturday, but around 300 homes and 600 residents remained evacuated as of around 10:20 a.m. Sunday, including residents in the Top of the World neighborhood of Laguna Beach, the Laguna Beach Police Department said. ...
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Evacuations-as-Fire-Breaks-Out-in-Laguna-Beach-484392461.html
Article and video at the link.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #483 on: June 04, 2018, 12:34:27 AM »
U.S.:  New Mexico

“Pic: The #UteParkFire burns in the mountains east of Eagles Nest late Sat night. About 32,000 acres were burning as of this morning w/no containment. Rain is expected today, which may slow growth. But so is high wind & lightning, dangers. #nmfire #nmfireinfo #nmdrought #nmwx ”
https://twitter.com/robbrow/status/1003359970685906944
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #484 on: June 04, 2018, 06:17:11 PM »
Wildfires Erupt in the Southwest U.S.
https://weatheroptics.net/wildfires-erupt-in-the-southwest/


Los Angeles, California, June 3:  “As of noon, Acton has already soared to 98 degrees with RH of 8%. Elevated fire weather concerns across interior sections today due to hot and dry conditions coupled with gusty onshore winds. #LAWeather #cawx #LAheat #Socal”
https://mobile.twitter.com/NWSLosAngeles/status/1003351609584300032
   
      "The combination of deepening #drought and the carryover of fine fuels from 2017 is expected to lead to a continuance of Above Normal Significant Large Fire Potential across western portions of the Four Corners Region and Southern #California during June" (link: http://bit.ly/2mu6g6I )
https://twitter.com/EdJoyce/status/1003357194388045825
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #485 on: June 14, 2018, 01:14:56 AM »
Western U.S.

Hot, dry conditions help fuel fast-moving wildfires in the West
Quote
Hot and dry conditions are helping fuel fast-moving wildfires blazing throughout the West.

As of Wednesday afternoon there were 43 large fires burning in 12 states throughout the country: Alaska, Washington, California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Florida.

In Utah and Colorado, winds could reach 40 mph Wednesday afternoon and evening, and coupled with the dry fuel and low humidity, the danger for fire is heightened.

The dangerous fires have prompted some evacuations from southern California to Colorado.

In Colorado, massive wildfires displaced thousands of people and destroyed tens of thousands of acres, while in Beverly Hills some residents were forced to flee their homes Tuesday as flames erupted and threatened million dollar mansions. ...
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wildfires-explode-southwest-severe-weather-northeast/story?id=55856760
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #486 on: June 26, 2018, 06:54:27 PM »
June 26.
Drought-stricken West braces as wildfire season flares up
In California, officials said unusually hot weather, high winds and highly flammable vegetation turned brittle by drought helped fuel the fires that began over the weekend.
Quote
Thousands fled their homes as major wildfires encroached on a charred area of Northern California still recovering from severe blazes in recent years, sparking concern the state may be in for another destructive series of wildfires this summer.

Severe drought has already forced officials in several western states to close national parks as precautions against wildfires and issue warnings throughout the region to prepare for the worst.

In California, officials said unusually hot weather, high winds and highly flammable vegetation turned brittle by drought helped fuel the fires that began over the weekend, the same conditions that led to the state’s deadliest and most destructive fire year in 2017.

Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday declared a state of emergency in Lake County, where the biggest fire was raging about 120 miles (190 kilometers) north of San Francisco, a rural region particularly hard-hit by fires in recent years. The declaration will enable officials to receive more state resources to fight the fire and for recovery.

Jim Steele, an elected supervisor, said the county is impoverished and its fire-fighting equipment antiquated. He also said the county has just a few roads into and out of the region, which can hinder response time. Steele said the area has also been susceptible to fire for many decades because dense brush and trees in the sparsely populated area, but the severity of the latest blazes is unexpected.

“What’s happened with the more warming climate is we get low humidity and higher winds and then when we get a fire that’s worse than it’s been in those 50 years,” Steele said.

The fire that broke out Saturday evening has forced 3,000 residents from their homes and destroyed at least 22 buildings. It is the latest devastating blaze to rip through the isolated and impoverished county of just 65,000 people in the last few years.

In 2015, a series of fires destroyed 2,000 buildings and killed four people.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/26/drought-stricken-west-braces-as-wildfire-season-flares-up.html
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Tor Bejnar

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #487 on: June 26, 2018, 07:50:37 PM »
Wild fire in my neck of the woods destroyed 36 homes and damaged several more a couple days ago in the coastal fishing village of Eastpoint:  Fast-moving wildfire damages homes in North Florida
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Eastpoint is ... near the historic town of Apalachicola and the beach area at St. George Island. The fire broke around late Sunday afternoon …
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.  Two often mentioned possibilities are lightning and a prescribed/controlled burn.
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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #488 on: June 27, 2018, 02:45:04 PM »
No. This isn't Siberia or even California. This is Saddleworth Moor about six miles from the Eastern edge of Manchester in NW England and renowned for its rain.

We've had no significant rain for two months now and there's no change on the horizon - static highs and no jet stream to move things on. 28C here today about 15 miles from the fire.

Gray-Wolf

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #489 on: June 27, 2018, 06:27:25 PM »
I'm over in the Calder Valley and our Moors are just as dry as over the hill on Saddleworth Moor. I worry that there will be some folk that think it a good idea to copycat that fire over here...... but then one discarded fag end or bottle could do that all on its own!

The problem is now that the peat itself is burning so even when they think it's out it's still smouldering deep down. With the breeze we have here currently I do not see them regaining control any time soon?

On the Met Office visible sat. image you can see the plume from the centre of the UK out to the west coast south of the River Ribble.
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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #490 on: June 27, 2018, 06:28:25 PM »
I took a look at that earlier on nullschool

Tor Bejnar

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #491 on: June 27, 2018, 07:01:02 PM »
Further to the Limerock Fire (Eastpoint, FL):
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Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam this morning announced that Wildlands Service, Inc. was responsible for the fire. The company was conducting a [prescribed/controlled] burn at the time on land managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission [FWC].
...
The wildfire burned through a heavily wooded residential area on the edge of Tate's Hell State Park. Residents of Ridge Road, Wilderness Road and Buck Road managed to evacuate just minutes before the fire consumed their homes.

FWC said in a morning news release that a private vendor began the burn a week before the wildfire started in the Apalachicola River Wildlife and Environmental Area. The FWC said the site of the burn was separated from the Eastpoint neighborhood by 580 acres of private land.

“While the cause of the wildfire is still unknown and is being investigated by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the FWC Inspector General is also investigating that all protocols and operations at FWC’s prescribed fire program were followed and that the agency’s program provides the safest operation,” FWC said in a news release.
It is curious that we both know who was responsible for the fire and the cause is still unknown!
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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #492 on: July 02, 2018, 09:30:50 AM »
If the weather doesn't change this could be a really bad year for the siberian forests.

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #493 on: July 02, 2018, 08:15:17 PM »
If the weather doesn't change this could be a really bad year for the siberian forests.
I was about to post the same satellite image!

The fires are now beginning to truly rage. The visible comparison from yesterday to today shows the smaller breakouts now growing into conflagrations. The anomalies the past few weeks should continue so these are going to keep growing for the foreseeable future.

The only plus side should be nice sunsets for many...?

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #494 on: July 02, 2018, 09:36:15 PM »
The thawing of the permafrost , apart from allowing decay to start up again, allows any water to drain out leaving rich peat to dry. This is a huge mass of material that can burn.
If it burns the surface is left blackened so albedo plummets and more permafrost melts ( at the same temp) and water drains allowing more material to dry....

This ain't going away any time soon methinks?
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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #495 on: July 04, 2018, 02:53:43 PM »
Western US.

The West is burning, and it’s barely July
Quote
The heat is breaking temperature records coast-to-coast, drought covers half of the country, and — sure enough — wildfires are already enveloping the West. More than 30 large fires are burning in 12 states right now.

In Utah, dozens of homes have been destroyed and hundreds more are threatened from a largely out-of-control blaze in the eastern part of the state. In Colorado, some of the largest fires in state history have already drawn comparisons to the nightmare fire seasons of 1988 and 2002.

And then there’s California, where the “County fire” began on Saturday near Sacramento and quickly spread out of control, threatening hundreds of homes and growing at a rate of 1,000 football fields an hour. It’s the latest megafire in a state still recovering from the most damaging wildfire season in history.

Wildfires across California have burned more than twice the five-year average so far this year, as of July 1. The County fire alone has burned 70,000 acres — twice the size of San Francisco and more than every other fire in the state this year combined. Over the weekend, smoke and ash from the fire drifted over the Bay Area, reminding residents of last year’s horrific blazes and partially blocking out the sun. ...
https://grist.org/article/the-west-is-burning-and-its-barely-july/

Image: latest Drought Monitor
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #496 on: July 05, 2018, 09:35:21 PM »
“This is now the third largest wildfire in Colorado history. More than 250 homes have been lost so far.
#SpringCreekFire”
https://twitter.com/ericholthaus/status/1014916124352352257

“7/5 Thursday #SpringFire #SpringCreekFire Colorado 103,357 acres per overnight infrared analysis by fire staff.   Open online map: https://t.co/mkaM9Y8Iwt  Want map legend?  Need help?  Open the map then click "Map tips" upper left corner.  #GeoSpatial”

https://twitter.com/mappingsupport/status/1014848425022533632
Image below.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #497 on: July 06, 2018, 07:56:09 PM »
“It's not every day that you see a tornado skipping through a wild fire.   No, this isn't a firewhirl, it is a legit tornado produced by a thunderstorm that moved across the Weston Pass Fire near Fairplay.   Wow...#cowx #cofire Courtesy Leeland Odie”
https://twitter.com/brianbledsoe/status/1014968254941429760
Image below.
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Telihod

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #498 on: July 07, 2018, 09:11:41 AM »
Some of the smoke from the wildfires ends up in the CAB.

bbr2314

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Re: Wildfires
« Reply #499 on: July 09, 2018, 01:55:54 AM »
The Siberian smoke plume is now covering much of NW North America. If the GFS and other models are correct the first populated areas it will impact will be southern Canada and the US Northeast. By D3-4 the GFS shows the airmass centered over the Megalopolis.

Very curious to see how much smoke makes it through. It should also be noted that this will be coincidental with a cyclone turning up the frontside of the system delivering the smoke.