Wildfires and other fire incidents

[raklian]

What’s in Wildfire Smoke? A Toxicologist Explains the Health Risks

July 15, 2021

I wonder what the huge swath of this air pollution from the forest fires will do to our farms that span most of the Midwest and ultimately in the food we eat?

[caltrek]

^^^Good question. I haven't seen any real studies on that. I do know that air pollution is thought to reduce crop yields. Whether the pollutants make it into the actual food is a trickier question. Does the pollution bio-accumulate, or does the growth process filter out such poisons?


In regards to what I came here to post - remember when Russophiles were telling us that global warming would benefit Russia because it would make Siberia more habitable?

Siberia Faces 'Airpocalypse' as Unprecedented Wildfires Engulf Region in Toxic Smoke
by Jake Johnson
July 21, 2021

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) A monitoring service warned Wednesday that the Siberian city of Yakutsk is experiencing an "airpocalypse" as devastating wildfires engulf the typically frigid—but, thanks to the climate crisis, increasingly warm—region in toxic smoke.

Throughout late Wednesday afternoon and early evening local time, according to Plume Labs, air quality in Yakutsk ranged from "dire" to "extreme" to "airpocalypse," categories that indicate dangerous levels of pollutants in the atmosphere. Earlier this week, Yakutsk was forced to suspend flights at its airport due to poor visibility.

"High levels of particulate matter and possibly also chemicals including ozone, benzene, and hydrogen cyanide are thought likely to make this one of the world's worst ever air pollution events," The Guardian reported, referring to the fires that have scorched 3.7 million acres of land in northeastern Siberia in recent days.

Alexey Yaroshenko, head of the forest department at Greenpeace Russia, told the U.K.-based newspaper that "for many years, propaganda has made people think that the climate crisis is a fiction, and if not fiction, that it will only benefit Russia, since it will become warmer and more comfortable."

"Now the situation is starting to change," said Yaroshenko. "Little by little, people are beginning to understand that the climate is really changing, and the consequences are really catastrophic. But the majority of society and the majority of politicians are still very far from understanding the real scale of the problem."

Vocabulary word of the future: airpocalypse

[weatheriscool]

Couple Charged Over Gender Reveal Party That Allegedly Started California Wildfire
Source: Law & Crime

A couple has been charged with starting a California wildfire that killed a firefighter. Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr. and Angela Renee Jimenez were indicted Monday, according to San Bernardino District Attorney Jason Anderson in a press conference.

The conflagration, which authorities call the El Dorado Fire, started in the park of the same name on September 5, 2020, near Yucaipa, California, according to officials. It burned 22,680 acres, and killed Charlie Edward Morton, who worked with the San Bernardino National Forest for 14 years. Five homes and 15 structures were destroyed; four residences were damaged. The wildfire also resulted in 13 injuries. Two firefighters were hurt, Anderson said.

...

Refugio and Angela Jimenez are charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, three felony counts of recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury, four counts of recklessly causing a fire to inhabited structures, and 22 misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing fire to property of another, Anderson said. They pleaded not guilty to charges, he said. The prosecution requested a $50,000 bail, but the couple was released on their own recognizance

Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/crime/couple-ch ... ostpopular

[caltrek]

Just came across this article (see below) concerning the use of fire in sugar cane growing. I also remember that natives in California used fire. It is a little unclear to me whether California natives use of fire solely was for the purpose of forcing rabbits out of hiding where they could be captured, or if there was also some intentional land use management going on. Also, as I recall, in Brazil fires were set for the purpose of clearing land for cattle grazing.

The Smoke Comes Every Year.
Sugar Companies Say the Air Is Safe.
by Lulua Ramadan
July 8, 2021

https://projects.propublica.org/black-snow/

Introduction:

(ProPublica) In the fall of 2019, brothers Donovan and Jayceon Sonson spent eight weeks lying in hospital beds, struggling to breathe.

The young boys, then 5 and 6 years old, had developed upper respiratory infections on top of the severe asthma they’d had since they were toddlers.

Anytime they left their apartment, they took their “medicine box,” a plastic bin filled with red inhalers, prescribed steroids and a pink nebulizer shaped like a kitten. When the hospital released the boys just before Thanksgiving, doctors sent the family home with guidance on how to protect the boys from future episodes.

Among the instructions: “Keep your child away from secondhand smoke.”

Thelma Freeman, the boys’ grandmother, stared at the note. She didn’t smoke. Neither did anyone in her home. The problem was all around her, she thought, coming not from smokers but from an industry that provides thousands of jobs in her town: sugar.

[weatheriscool]

Western wildfires: Crews make progress on huge Oregon blaze
Source: AP

By NATHAN HOWARD

BLY, Ore. (AP) — The nation’s largest wildfire raged through southern Oregon on Friday but crews were scaling back some night operations as hard work and weaker winds helped reduce the spread of flames even as wildfires continued to threaten homes in neighboring California.

The Bootleg Fire, which has destroyed an area half the size of Rhode Island, was 40% surrounded after burning some 70 homes, mainly cabins, fire officials said.

At least 2,000 homes were ordered evacuated at some point during the fire and an additional 5,000 were threatened.

The upper eastern edge of the blaze continued to move toward Summer Lake, jumping fire lines on Thursday and prompting a local evacuation order for some portions of Lake County to be raised to “go now!,” fire officials said.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/fires-enviro ... 2d14d42528

[weatheriscool]

Wildfires blasting through West draw states to lend support
Source: AP

By NATHAN HOWARD

BLY, Ore. (AP) — Out-of-state crews headed to Montana Saturday to battle a blaze that injured five firefighters as the West struggled with a series of fires that have ravaged rural lands and destroyed homes.

Progress was being made on the nation’s largest blaze, the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, but less than half of it had been contained, fire officials said. The growth of the sprawling fire had slowed but thousands of homes remained threatened on its eastern side, authorities said.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday proclaimed a state of emergency for four northern counties because of wildfires that he said were causing “conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property.” The proclamation opens the way for more state support.

On Saturday, fire crews from California and Utah were coming to Montana, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced. Five firefighters were injured Thursday when swirling winds blew flames back on them as they worked on the Devil’s Creek fire burning in rough, steep terrain near the rural town of Jordan.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/fires-enviro ... 610acc1088

[caltrek]

Smoke across North America.
NASA
July 21, 2021

[weatheriscool]

California's largest fire torches homes as blazes lash West
Source: AP

INDIAN FALLS, Calif. (AP) — Flames racing through rugged terrain in Northern California destroyed multiple homes Saturday as the state’s largest wildfire intensified and numerous other blazes battered the U.S. West.

The Dixie fire, which started July 14, had already leveled over a dozen houses and other structures when it tore through the tiny community of Indian Falls after dark.

An updated damage estimate was not immediately available, though fire officials said the blaze has charred more than 181,000 acres (73,200 hectares) in Plumas and Butte counties and was 20% contained.

The fire was burning in a remote area with limited access, hampering firefighters’ efforts as it charged eastward, fire officials said. It has prompted evacuation orders in several small communities and along the west shore of Lake Almanor, a popular area getaway.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/fires-enviro ... 5ec95abffd

[weatheriscool]

California's largest wildfire is threatening thousands of structures
Source: CNN

By Dakin Andone,

(CNN)California's largest wildfire has destroyed multiple buildings and is threatening thousands more as the battle against the blaze stretched into its 12th day. Low moisture in vegetation and limited access in the remote area have hampered firefighters, officials said.

The Dixie Fire had grown to 190,625 acres and was 21% contained as of Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire, with more than 5,000 firefighters and personnel fighting the fire.

The fire, which began July 14, has destroyed 16 structures -- residential, commercial and otherwise -- Cal Fire officials said in an update Sunday. More than 10,700 structures in Butte and Plumas Counties are threatened.

The Dixie Fire remained active overnight, officials said. It "continues to burn in a remote area with limited access, and extended travel times with steep terrain are hampering control efforts."



Flames consume a home as the Dixie Fire tears through the Indian Falls community in Plumas County.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/25/weather/ ... index.html

[weatheriscool]

Western Wildfires May Take Weeks To Months To Contain
Source: NPR

By DUSTIN JONES

Pockets of the American West continued to burn over the weekend, as another nine large fires were reported on Saturday in California, Idaho, Montana and Oregon.

The 87 fires still active in 13 states have consumed more than 1.7 million acres. Just shy of 3 million acres have been scorched since the start of 2021, with months left in what experts predict will be a devastating fire season.

In southern Oregon, the Bootleg Fire has become the largest active blaze in the country. The 413,000-acre inferno was contained at 56%, as of Saturday night. A fire line has been constructed around the entire perimeter, ranging from 100 to 150-feet wide between the burn and unburned areas. However, that fire line may have to double, up to 300 feet, to prevent the fire from spreading.

The U.S. Forest Service is predicting critical fire weather over the weekend in the Bootleg Fire area. Drought conditions, combined with low humidity and strong winds, could increase fire activity, potentially carrying embers and creating nearby spot fires. Residents in neighboring Lake County have been advised to be prepared to evacuate should things take a turn for the worst. Officials don't anticipate the fire to be entirely contained until the beginning of October.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2021/08/01/10232740 ... ia-drought

[Yuli Ban]

'The animals are on fire,' say devastated farmers as wildfires sweep Turkey

In the small village of Kacarlar, on Turkey's southern coast, farmers are facing apocalyptic scenes as wildfires continue to sweep the country.

"The animals are on fire," 56-year-old resident, Muzeyyan Kacar, told CNN. "Everything is going to burn. Our land, our animals and our house. What else do we have anyway?"
Hundreds of miles west, in the tourist hotspot of Bodrum, more than 1,000 people were evacuated by boat on both Sunday and Saturday to escape the wildfires.
At least eight people have died in more than 100 blazes that broke out earlier this week, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. The flames have been fueled by scorching summer temperatures and conditions that experts say have been worsened by climate change.
Seven people were killed in the fires in Manavgat, Antalya Province, and the eighth victim died in Marmaris, Anadolu reported. The latest victims include a Turkish-German couple who were found in a house, it said.

A vehicle burned in the fire that broke out in Mugla's Marmaris district in Turkey on July 30.

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

Now There's an Outbreak of Wildfire Thunderclouds
by Matt Simon
July 27, 2021

https://www.wired.com/story/oh-good-now ... derclouds/

Introduction:

(Wired) LAST WEEK, THE US Naval Research Laboratory held a very 2021 press conference, in which scientists reported a very 2021 outbreak of “smoke thunderclouds.” Catastrophic wildfires, exacerbated by catastrophic climate change, had produced a rash of pyrocumulonimbus plumes over the western United States and Canada, known in the scientific vernacular as pyroCb.

“You can think of them as like giant chimneys, funneling smoke that's being released by the fire up into a thunderstorm,” said David Peterson, a meteorologist at the research laboratory, during the Zoom press conference. “You can imagine this extremely dirty thunderstorm, with all these smoke particles for water to condense on.”

Unlike a typical thunderstorm, though, the resulting water droplets don’t tend to get large enough to fall as rain. “But it is a cloud that can produce a lot of lightning,” Peterson added. These clouds can then advance across the landscape, sparking new wildfires as they go. So not only can the blaze propagate itself by flinging embers ahead of the main fire line (California’s wildfires are so deadly in part because of strong seasonal winds that push them at incredible speeds), it can also produce so much hot, rising smoke that it in essence recruits the atmosphere to light more fires for it. It’s a runaway self-proliferating machine.

The pyrocumulonimbus plumes will also energize the wildfire that spawned them. As the hot air rises away from the fire, air near the ground rushes in to fill the void, supercharging wind speeds at the surface. But because a pyroCb is a thundercloud, it also produces a downdraft along with that updraft, creating extremely irregular wind behavior near the surface. Basically, if you’re expecting a pyroCb-spawning wildfire to behave in rational ways, marching across the landscape with the prevailing winds, you’ve got another thing coming.

caltrek's comment: Future vocabulary word for the day - "pyrocumulonimbus."

[Yuli Ban]

^ Then you might be interested to learn that there are such things as pyrocumulonimbus tornados



There's a difference between pyro-tornadoes and fire whirls/fire devils

These are actual tornadoes with mesocyclonic convection caused by wildfire smoke and extreme heat. Fire whirls are rapidly rotating columns of fire that can reach thousands of degrees. I don't know which is scarier.

[weatheriscool]

Record wildfire burns amid drought on Hawaii's Big Island
Source: AP

By CALEB JONES

HONOLULU (AP) — Firefighters gained more control over a wildfire in Hawaii that forced thousands of people to evacuate over the weekend and destroyed at least two homes on the Big Island, but officials warned that strong winds will return on Tuesday, raising the danger again.

Authorities have lifted evacuation orders but warned they could be reinstated at any time and that people should be ready to go.

“It’s the biggest (fire) we’ve ever had on this island,” Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth said of the more than 62-square-mile (160-square-kilometer) blaze. “With the drought conditions that we’ve had, it is of concern. You see something like this where you’re putting thousands of homes in danger, it’s very concerning.”

Fires in Hawaii are unlike many of those burning in the U.S. West. They tend to break out in large grasslands on the dry sides of the islands and are generally much smaller than mainland fires.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/fires-enviro ... fce3be69a8

[weatheriscool]

Turkey saves power plant from 'unprecedented' wildfires
Source: AFP

Rescuers used helicopters and water cannon Wednesday to beat back fires encircling a Turkish power plant in the second week of deadly blazes testing the leadership of President Recept Tayyip Erdoga

More than 170 wildfires have scorched swathes of Turkey's southern coast and killed eight people since breaking out east of the Mediterranean vacation hotspot Antalya last Wednesday and then spreading we

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tu ... =Peregrine

[caltrek]

One of the obvious factors behind U.S. wildfires is global warming. Another factor may be even more important and is competently discussed in the article below.

"Chronic Lack of Fire": The Paradox Fueling Megafires in The U.S.
by Susan J. Pritchard
August 3, 2021

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-chronic- ... tists-warn

or

https://theconversation.com/how-years-o ... day-163165 (same article)

(The Conversation) After so many smoke-filled summers and record-setting burns, residents of Western North America are no strangers to wildfires. Still, many questions are circulating about why forest fires are becoming larger and more severe – and what can be done about it.

Is climate change fueling these fires? Does the long history of fighting every fire play a role? Should we leave more fires to burn? What can be done about Western forests’ vulnerability to wildfires and climate change?

We invited 40 fire and forest ecologists living across the Western U.S. and Canada to examine the latest research and answer these questions in a set of studies published Aug. 2, 2021. Collectively, we are deeply concerned about the future of Western forests and communities under climate change.

So, why are wildfires getting worse?
,,,
Ironically, a chronic lack of fire in Western landscapes also contributes to increased fire severity and vulnerability to wildfires. It allows dry brush and live and dead trees to build up, and with more people living in wildland areas to spark blazes, pressure to fight every forest fire has increased the risk of extreme fire.

caltrek's comment: This is a very big problem. Partly, this is because of public opposition over the years to prescribed burning. People get upset about the smoke, the dangers of such fires getting out of control, etc.

Then, when the really big fires that transform the ecology (usually for the worse) occur, such voices are nowhere to be heard, or are complaining that fire fighting agencies failed to do the impossible. Yet another example of how public ignorance of science can have some very negative consequences.

[Time_Traveller]

Greece fires: 150 houses destroyed by wildfires as monks refuse to leave stricken island

Thu 5 Aug 2021

At least 150 houses have been destroyed by a raging fire that surrounded a monastery and a dozen villages on the Greek island of Evia, one of over 100 blazes burning in the country.

Firefighters were also continuing to battle a blaze near Athens on Thursday morning, while the mayor of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, pleaded for help as flames threatened the site.

The blazes erupted as Greece is in the grip of a heatwave.

“We’re waging a battle of the titans!” deputy minister for civil protection Nikos Hardalias told journalists. “The hardest is still to come.”

Experts have warned that global heating is increasing both the frequency and intensity of such fires.

On Evia, the huge flames leaping up from the forest could be seen from the sea. Firefighters said it was a difficult blaze to control on an island of rolling hills with little visibility.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... ken-island

[weatheriscool]

Video shows the Dixie Fire tearing through historic California town
Source: NBC News

Dramatic video captured the Dixie Fire, the largest wildfire burning in California, tearing through the small community of Greenville on Wednesday.

The footage showed homes and vehicles engulfed in flames, commercial structures gutted and buildings collapsed in the mountain community of around 800. The fire destroyed much of the historic California town and left it completely unrecognizable.

Among the buildings lost were a former sheriff's office, stores, restaurants, saloons and gas stations.

https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/imag ... l-0742.jpg

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/vi ... n-n1276021

[weatheriscool]

Dryer, warmer night air is making some Western wildfires more active at night
https://phys.org/news/2021-08-dryer-war ... stern.html
by Hannah Hickey, University of Washington

Firefighters have reported that Western wildfires are starting earlier in the morning and dying down later at night, hampering their ability to recover and regroup before the next day's flareup.

A study by University of Washington and U.S. Forest Service scientists shows why: The drying power of nighttime air over much of the Western U.S. has increased dramatically in the past 40 years. The paper was published online in July in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

"Nighttime is an important time in fire management. When fires die down at night it gives firefighters a chance to rest, move equipment and strategize. The problem firefighters are reporting is an unexpected increase in nighttime fire activity," said lead author Andy Chiodi, a UW research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean & Ecosystem Studies, a joint center with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Our findings support that this has been going on over the last 40 years over much, but not all, of the Western U.S."

Earth's atmosphere is warming due to climate change, and warming in many places has been greater at night. Warmer night air had been suspected as the culprit altering the daily pattern of wildfire activity, with burns continuing later into the night.