Wildland Fire News and Updates, 3/16/06

NICC ^ | 3/16/05 | NIFC (and others)

[Knitting A Conundrum]

INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SITUATION REPORT

THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2006 – 0800 MST

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL 2

 

 

CURRENT SITUATION:

Initial attack activity was moderate nationally with 231 new fires reported. Six new large fires were reported, five in the Southern Area, and one in the Rocky Mountain Area. Two large fires were contained in the Southern Area. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, Kansas, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Illinois, Maryland, Arkansas, Florida, Arkansas and Virginia.

 

SOUTHERN AREA INCIDENTS/LARGE FIRES:

EAST AMARILLO COMPLEX, Texas Forest Service. This fire is near Jerico, TX in grass. This complex consists of the Borger and I-40 fires. The county of Lipscomb and portions of Ochiltree and Hemphill counties were evacuated. Shifting winds are hampering containment efforts.

WEST TEXAS IA, Texas Forest Service. A Texas State Type 2 Incident Management Team (Hannemann) is in place in Granbury, TX. The Team is assisting local jurisdictions with managing existing fires and initial attack within the 220,000 square mile West Zone fire management response area. A Type 2 Incident Management Team (Hinds) is in place in Childress, TX. Two new fires were reported. Large fires within the management area include the Templin, Road 16B, East Amarillo Complex, Buckle L 2 and Pleasant Valley fires. Acres, structure losses and costs have been adjusted to represent cumulative fire activity for the response area.

OKLAHOMA FIRE RESPONSE, Oklahoma State. An Oklahoma State Type 2 Incident Management Team (Roberts) is assigned in Shawnee, OK. The Team is assisting local, state, and federal jurisdictions with managing existing fires and initial attack in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma National Guard is assisting with four helicopters. Ten new fires were reported. Acres, structure losses and costs have been adjusted to represent cumulative ABC Miscellaneous fire activity statewide since January 1.

MOORE, Oklahoma Division of Forestry. This fire is five miles northeast of Moore, OK in grass and hardwood litter. Temporary evacuations in southeast Oklahoma City occurred. Interstate 240 was closed, and air operations at Tinker Air Force Base were curtailed due to fire activity.

NO MAN’S LAND, Ouachita National Forest. This fire is seven miles west of Black Springs, AR in hardwood litter and brush. Spotting, upslope runs and running ground fire were observed. Thick underbrush and steep, rocky terrain are impeding containment progress. A burn out operation is planned.

BUCKLE L 2, Texas Forest Service. This fire is 10 miles south of Childress, TX in brush. Minimal fire activity was observed.

CEDAR LAKE, Oklahoma Division of Forestry. This fire is 12 miles southwest of El Reno, OK in grass. Slow fire spread with occasional flare-ups was reported. Line construction in a river bottom is slowing containment progress.

FLEETWOOD, Oklahoma Division of Forestry. This fire is nine miles southeast of Ryan, OK. No further information was received.

SLICK, Oklahoma Division of Forestry. This fire is nine miles east of Mannford, OK. Rapid rates of spread were reported. No further information was received.

ADAMS, Oklahoma Division of Forestry. This fire is eight miles northeast of Hardesty, OK in grass. No further information was received.

TEMPLIN, Texas Forest Service. This fire is five miles west of Tennyson, TX in brush and slash. Active fire behavior with 30 to 40 foot flame lengths was observed. Rough and steep terrain is impeding containment efforts.

INCIDENT NAME	ST	UNIT	SIZE	% CTN	EST CTN	TOTL PERS	CRW	ENG	HELI	STRC LOST	$$$ CTD	ORIGIN OWN
EAST AMARILLO COMPLEX	TX	TXS	705,000	50	UNK	206	0	77	0	89	NR	ST
WEST TEXAS IA	TX	TXS	3,054	NR	UNK	441	0	102	7	0	NR	N/A
OKLAHOMA FIRE RESPONSE	OK	OKS	116,029	NR	UNK	169	0	22	4	0	8.2M	ST
MOORE	OK	OKS	2,500	40	3/19	0	0	0	0	1	NR	ST
NO MAN’S LAND	AR	OUF	300	0	UNK	54	2	2	2	0	NR	FS
BUCKLE L 2	TX	TXS	40,000	85	UNK	36	0	2	4	0	NR	ST
CEDAR LAKE	OK	OKS	2,950	85	3/17	0	0	0	0	6	NR	ST
FLEETWOOD	OK	OKS	600	90	3/18	0	0	0	0	0	NR	ST
SLICK	OK	OKS	413	40	3/19	0	0	0	0	0	NR	ST
ADAMS	OK	OKS	1,600	95	3/16	0	0	0	0	0	NR	ST
TEMPLIN	TX	TXS	750	NR	UNK	21	0	2	3	0	NR	ST
GOAT TRAIL	VA	VAS	400	100	---	0	0	0	0	0	NR	ST
ZEMEL	FL	FLS	312	100	---	5	0	0	1	0	2K	PRI

VAS - Virginia Department of Forestry FLS - Florida Division of Forestry

ROCKY MOUNTAIN AREA INCIDENTS/LARGE FIRES:

HANSTON EAST, Kansas Counties. This fire is three miles south of Hanston, KS in grass. This incident is comprised of two separate fires. A local disaster declaration has been issued. No further information was received.

INCIDENT NAME

ST

UNIT

SIZE

% CTN

EST CTN

TOTL PERS

CRW

ENG

HELI

STRC LOST

$$$ CTD

ORIGIN OWN

HANSTON EAST

KS

KSX

3,840

NR

UNK

0

0

0

0

2

NR

CNTY

 

 

 

 

 

OUTLOOK:

Red Flag Warnings: Widespread Warnings are in effect today across the Western half of OK for low humidities (only moderate winds today 10 to 15 mph). One last day of Red Flag lower humidity conditions over the northern half of Florida.

Weather Discussion: A low pressure system and associated cold front will progress eastward across the central and southern Plains today, and into the Ohio Valley, bringing showers and thunderstorms. Behind the system, winds will decrease somewhat over the southern Plains and southern Rockies; winds combined with continued dry conditions over this region will keep fire potential high. Dry conditions will continue today over much of the East Coast states extending down to Florida.

Geographic Area Weather	High Temperatures		Minimum Relative Humidity		Wind
Southern Area Texas Panhandle/Oklahoma: Mostly sunny to partly cloudy. Appalachian Mountains and Mid- Atlantic States: partly cloudy. Southeast Atlantic states and Florida: partly cloudy		60s to 70s.     Near 50 to near 60s.   60s to 70s.		Teens to 20%s.     20%s to 30%s.   20%s to low 30%s.		Northerly to about 15 mph.     West/Northwest 8 to 18 mph.   East to southeast to about 10 mph.
Southwest Area Mostly sunny to partly cloudy.		35 to 50 mountains. 57 to 78 lower elevations.		10 to 20%, except 10 to 20% higher mountain areas.		South to southwest 5 to 20 mph in Arizona. South to southwest winds 10 to 20 mph in much of New Mexico. South to southeast winds 10 to 20 mph west Texas and eastern plains of New Mexico.
Southern California Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers over Central California. The snow level will be around 5,000 feet.		40 to 55 mountains. 60 to 70 valleys. 55 to 65 upper deserts. 70 to 80 lower deserts.		50 to 70% Central California and 30 to 50% Southern California.		Southeast to southwest 5 to 15 mph.
Rocky Mountain Partly sunny with isolated rain or snow showers.		50s south portions, with mid 20 to mid 30s in the north.		10% to 20% in eastern Colorado and western Kansas, higher values elsewhere.		Northwest 15 to 30 mph in Kansas and Nebraska, otherwise variable 5 to 15 mph.
Eastern Area Partly to mostly cloudy over the Northeast and northern Mid-Atlantic states. Snow showers along the shores of the eastern Great Lakes and across Maine. A cool front will advance east through the southern Big Rivers. Partly cloudy skies are expected.		40 to 50 in Pennsylvania, New Jersey. 35 to 45 across the Northeast. 55 to 65 across the southern Big Rivers.		30 to 40% over Pennsylvania. 23 to 33% across New Jersey and the Northeast. 28 to 38% over the southern Big Rivers		Northwest 15 to 25 mph with occasional higher gusts over the Northeast, diminishing from southwest to northeast over this area later in the day. South to southwest 10 to 18 mph in the morning becoming northwest at 12 to 20 mph. across the southern Big Rivers.

 

 

 

http://www.nifc.gov/sixminutes/dsp_sixminutes.

FIRES AND ACRES YESTERDAY:

AREA		BIA	BLM	FWS	NPS	ST/OT	USFS	TOTAL
Alaska	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Northwest	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Northern California	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Southern California	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Northern Rockies	FIRES ACRES		1 100					1 100
Eastern Great Basin	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Western Great Basin	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Southwest	FIRES ACRES	2 0				1 1		3 1
Rocky Mountain	FIRES ACRES			1 175		2 3,944		3 4,119
Eastern Area	FIRES ACRES					6 16	2 8	8 24
Southern Area	FIRES ACRES			3 118	1 0	201 2,403	11 129	216 2,650
TOTAL	FIRES ACRES	2 0	1 100	4 293	1 0	210 6,364	13 137	231 6,894

 

 

FIRES AND ACRES YEAR-TO-DATE:

AREA		BIA	BLM	FWS	NPS	ST/OT	USFS	TOTAL
Alaska	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Northwest	FIRES ACRES					2 1		2 1
Northern California	FIRES ACRES					64 1,530	8 1,244	72 2,774
Southern California	FIRES ACRES		4 10				15 498	19 508
Northern Rockies	FIRES ACRES		1 100		1 223	1 0	1 10	4 333
Eastern Great Basin	FIRES ACRES	0 51	2 10			1 28		3 89
Western Great Basin	FIRES ACRES		7 9		1 1			8 10
Southwest	FIRES ACRES	107 667	25 1,331	1 431	24 3,490	145 180,255	114 11,926	416 198,100
Rocky Mountain	FIRES ACRES	6 231	6 0	7 1,247	2 0	90 51,883	20 7,315	131 60,676
Eastern Area	FIRES ACRES	1 1		1 5	3 52	1,090 27,099	107 1,747	1,202 28,904
Southern Area	FIRES ACRES	264 14,252		86 11,201	12 1,405	12,452 720,922	307 10,953	13,121 758,733
TOTAL	FIRES ACRES	378 15,202	45 1,460	95 12,884	43 5,171	13,845 981,718	572 33,693	14,978 1,050,128

 

Five Year Average Fires	10,184
Five Year Average Acres	148,575

 

*** Changes in some agency YTD acres reflect more accurate mapping or reporting adjustments. ***

 

PRESCRIBED FIRES AND ACRES YESTERDAY:

AREA		BIA	BLM	FWS	NPS	ST/OT	USFS	TOTAL
Alaska	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Northwest	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Northern California	FIRES ACRES		1 30					1 30
Southern California	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Northern Rockies	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Eastern Great Basin	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Western Great Basin	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Southwest	FIRES ACRES						5 19	5 19
Rocky Mountain	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Eastern Area	FIRES ACRES				1 360			1 360
Southern Area	FIRES ACRES			1 223			8 1,727	9 1,950
TOTAL	FIRES ACRES	0 0	1 30	1 223	1 360	0 0	13 1,746	16 2,359

 

PRESCRIBED FIRES AND ACRES YEAR-TO-DATE:

AREA		BIA	BLM	FWS	NPS	ST/OT	USFS	TOTAL
Alaska	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Northwest	FIRES ACRES		81 1,978	3 183			13 109	97 2,270
Northern California	FIRES ACRES	12 101	3 49	3 1,324	2 6		47 704	67 2,184
Southern California	FIRES ACRES		4 280	2 24			46 1,389	52 1,693
Northern Rockies	FIRES ACRES		1 463					1 463
Eastern Great Basin	FIRES ACRES	1 4	4 754				1 178	6 936
Western Great Basin	FIRES ACRES		1 10	1 10				2 20
Southwest	FIRES ACRES	7 318	2 35	2 320			39 5,962	50 6,635
Rocky Mountain	FIRES ACRES	2 160	4 110	22 5,072	4 52	12 324	54 5,416	98 11,134
Eastern Area	FIRES ACRES			16 1,074	4 1,512	171 18,224	52 15,476	243 36,286
Southern Area	FIRES ACRES			89 40,248	7 6,069	186 97,509	440 340,332	722 484,158
TOTAL	FIRES ACRES	22 583	100 3,679	138 48,255	17 7,639	369 116,057	692 369,566	1,338 545,779

*** Changes in some agency YTD acres reflect more accurate mapping or reporting adjustments. ***

 

WFU FIRES AND ACRES YEAR-TO-DATE:

AREA		BIA	BLM	FWS	NPS	ST/OT	USFS	TOTAL
Alaska	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Northwest	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Northern California	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Southern California	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Northern Rockies	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Eastern Great Basin	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Western Great Basin	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Southwest	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Rocky Mountain	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Eastern Area	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Southern Area	FIRES ACRES							0 0
TOTAL	FIRES ACRES	0 0	0 0	0 0	0 0	0 0	0 0	0 0

 

*** Changes in some agency YTD acres reflect more accurate mapping or reporting adjustments. ***

 

RESOURCES STATUS: COMMITTED RESOURCES

AREA	CREWS FED	CREWS ST/OT	ENGS FED	ENGS ST/OT	HELI FED	HELI ST/OT	AIRT FED	AIRT ST/OT	OVRHD FED	OVRHD ST/OT
Alaska
Northwest
Northern California			1
Southern California
Northern Rockies
Eastern Great Basin
Western Great Basin
Southwest
Rocky Mountain
Eastern Area									1
Southern Area	2		48	204	6	19	5		170	253
Total	2	0	49	204	6	19	5	0	171	253

 

*** NATIONAL INTERAGENCY COORDINATION CENTER ***

[Knitting A Conundrum]

This morning's NICC report.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Already over a million acres burned this year!

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Dry Polk Bursts Into Flame
Smoke from brush fires in Fort Meade and Winter Haven spurs health warning.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060316/NEWS/603160374/1039
By Bill Bair & Merissa Green
The Ledger

The weather pendulum is swinging.

After months of dealing with floods, officials are now facing the increased threat of wildfires in Central Florida.

"It's drying out," said Gary Zipprer, who heads the Lakeland-based district of the Florida Division of Forestry.

Wednesday was an example of how fast the situation has changed.

Crews from Polk County were dealing with a 900-acre brush fire on Mosaic Mine property near Fort Meade and a second, 250-acre fire on Lake Eloise Loop Road and Helena Road in Winter Haven.

While no houses were in danger as a result of the fire on phosphate mine property, a helicopter was called in to assist with the fire near Winter Haven because of the threat to homes in the area.

By 2:30 p.m., Chris Kintner, Division of Forestry spokeswoman, said the threat to homes had eased.

But the heavy smoke from the Wednesday morning fire polluted the air, prompting the Polk County Health Department to issue a health advisory warning.

The fire pushed the "local air quality into the unhealthy range" and could affect people with respiratory, lung and heart problems like emphysema and asthma, the advisory read.

The advisory was still in effect Wednesday night.

Kintner said the causes of the fires have not been determined.

"The potential is going to be there until we get some rains," Kintner said of the wildfire threat.

It hasn't rained in Polk County since Feb. 26, and there is little hope in the immediate forecast.

The next rain could come as a front moves through the area Tuesday, but the probability is only 30 percent, said Ryan Sharp of the National Weather Service.

However, he said humidity will slowly increase and winds will decline, easing the fire threat.

Wednesday was considered a "red flag day" for wildfires because of low humidity and high winds.

Zipprer said a frost three weeks ago "killed a lot of vegetation" and increased the fire danger.

He said the amount of debris still in the woods because of hurricanes adds to the threat.

Zipprer and other officials fear a repeat of the 1998-99 fire season, when conditions rapidly went from wet to extremely dry.

That year, fires charred a half-million acres in North Florida and along the East Coast, destroying about 300 homes.

Picture
Enlarge Image

The following year, 258 wildfires, including a massive fire in the Green Swamp, charred 27,000 acres in Polk County.

"We might be dry like '98," Zipprer said of the period before the normal start of the summer rainy season in June. "If that happens, it's going to be a long fire season."

Zipprer said the Division of Forestry has already reduced burn authorizations and is urging residents to use extra caution when doing any outdoor burning.

The Fort Meade fire started at County Road 630 by the Mosaic Plant, shortly after 9:30 a.m. It is slowly burning itself out, said Polk County Fire spokeswoman Heather Duckworth.

About 30 Polk County, Mulberry, Fort Meade, and Division of Forestry firefighters responded to the fire that destroyed about 640 acres, Duckworth said.

Homes about two miles from the fire were in danger, but firefighters sealed off the residential area from the fire, and no one was evacuated, Duckworth said.

Dead plants, grass and leaves contributed to starting the fire that was fueled by the 35 mph winds that blew the fire south and across CR 630, Duckworth said.

Firefighters are still monitoring the fire to make sure it dies down completely, Duckworth said.

In the Winter Haven blaze, Polk County firefighters worked late into the evening Wednesday to keep a 250-acre brush fire under control near Wastewater Treatment Plant 3 on Pollard Road.

Firefighters received the call about 10 a.m., said Katy Hitchcock, also a Fire Services spokeswoman.

Firefighters from Lake Wales, Dundee and a Division of Forestry helicopter from Ocala responded to the call, Hitchcock said.

The windy conditions made the fire difficult to fight, Hitchcock said. Preliminary reports show the fire was caused when a company came to the site where the fire started to repair a forklift on the property.

"In the middle of the repair, there was a spark and the wind carried that spark very fast," Hitchcock said.

The fire was initially a threat to homes in the Terranova subdivision but changed directions later in the day, Hitchcock said.

By 4:20 p.m., the fire was burning away from homes, Hitchcock said.

"The fire is still growing," she said.

The Division of Forestry will continue to investigate the blaze.

Picture
Enlarge Image
ERNST PETERS/THE LEDGER
The Polk County Fire Department said the fire near Fort Meade burned about 640 acres of land.

Wednesday's blaze was the closest that a large fire has come to the sewer plant in the 23 years that Ed Truman, maintenance superintendent at the sewer plant, has worked there.

"Everybody started watching it," he said. "We were concerned that it was going to jump the (railroad) tracks and head this way."

Truman said he wasn't too worried about the fire threatening the wastewater treatment plant because there is a sludge field between the fire and the plant that acted as a barrier.

The sludge field is kept mowed, and the low-cut grass wasn't enough fuel to bring the fire closer, he said.

The fire did eventually jump the tracks near the wastewater treatment plant, and as the fire was burning on both sides of the track, an Amtrak train and then a freight train went through the smoke, Truman said.

He was surprised that the track had not been shut down.

The brush fire did not have much effect on rail traffic, said Meg Scheu, a CSX spokesperson.

"We have slowed trains down through the area," Scheu said.

Ledger reporters Joy Cochran and Gabrielle Finley contributed to this report.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Wildfire scorches about 500 acres in west Mobile County
Thursday, March 16, 2006
By RON COLQUITT
Staff Reporter

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1142504356238060.xml&coll=3

A trash fire at a home in west Mobile County got out of control Tuesday afternoon, and 24 hours later, the blaze had scorched at least 500 acres off Airport Boulevard near the Mississippi line, authorities said.

Members of the Seven Hills Volunteer Fire Department, the Tanner Williams Volunteer Fire Department, the Semmes Volunteer Fire Department and the Alabama Forestry Commission battled the fire into Wednesday night.

Clinton Hamm, Tanner Williams assistant chief, said Wednesday afternoon at the scene that they had been fighting it since about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Hamm said about 35 firefighters and at least 12 trucks took part. The chief said no one was injured.

"We've been able to protect the homes," Hamm said. "It's probably come within 150 feet of some of the homes. The houses I've been to, there was nobody home."

Hamm said the Forestry Commission had cut several fire breaks with their bulldozers, but the wind was whipping the flames and causing the fire to "jump the breaks."

One of the Tanner Williams volunteers, Ron Broughton, was covered with sweat and ashes Wednesday afternoon as he fought the fire.

"I've been here since 10 Wednesday morning, and I'm tired, but I've got to go back in there," he said.

Broughton said the fire had been "pretty bad," but by about 3:30 p.m., they had beaten it down some.

"The fire is blowing through and catching all the other trees and debris on fire because it's pretty dry," Broughton said. "We've got fire breaks all over, but it keeps jumping them when the wind shifts."

James Wade, a Forestry Commission firefighter, said the fire had been worse earlier in the day, but by Wednesday afternoon firefighters had "pretty much gotten a handle on it."

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Multiple Wildfires Still Burning In Texas
March 16, 2006, 07:16 AM
Multiple Wildfires Still Burning In Texas

http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=4640377&nav=0s3d

Storms predicted for this weekend may bring some relief in a week that so far has offered little help to firefighters battling wildfires.

"The fire came up over the ridge right up yonder and we was at the corner, and we just turned around and we got out of here," Bob Sherrod, rancher, said.


Ten separate widlfires are still burning Thursday in Texas.

So far, 11 people have been killed and nine firefighters injured, and thousands of cattle and horses are feared dead.

"Right now, I've got 14 dead cows and 15 unaccounted for, and I'm just guessing about 25 or 30 calves," Les Darcey, rancher, said.

More than 350 firefighters are battling the fires, including a handful from Austin that left Tuesday. Dozens of aircraft are also dropping fire retardant.

The wildfires are fueled by high winds with some gusts reaching up to 52 miles an hour.

Towns on alert Thursday are Lipscomb, Higgins, Barton Coner, Booker, Darrouzettt and Follett.

Thursday, Gov. Rick Perry will take an aerial tour of wildfire-ravaged parts of the Panhandle, and then hold a press conference in Amarillo at 3 p.m.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Wildfire on mountain
By Jennifer Fulcher
03/16/2006

http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab3.cfm?newsid=16310834&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=506078&rfi=6

Smoke could still be seen Wednesday rising off of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah Retreat in Clarke County. A wildfire that started Tuesday around 2 p.m. was spread by 30 to 40 mph wind gusts and has ravaged around 200 acres, according to fire chief Jason Burns.

"The mountain is on fire," said Pam Hess, 911 director for Clarke County.

By noon on Wednesday the fire was contained while Fire and Rescue units from Clarke and Loudoun counties and the Department of Forestry remained at the scene to make sure the fire did not jump the fire line said Burns.

Burns said the fire is under control and later in the afternoon on Wednesday they expected to release many of the units and keep a small crew to watch the fire.

The cause of the wildfire is still under investigation by the Department of Forestry but was fed by the recent dry conditions said Burns.

No homes had to be evacuated but the fire burned the front yards of three homes at the end of Beechwood Land in Bluemont.

In conjunction with this fire, County Administrator David Ash issued a prohibition on outdoor burning in Clarke County effective March 15 until conditions allow for a repeal.

Prohibited outdoor burning under the ban includes “training fires, campfires, warming fires, brush piles, household trash, stumps, fields or any other material capable of spreading fire”. The only exception is the use of fires in grills or stoves.

Those people who have conducted outdoor burning in the last two weeks are asked to check the burn locations to verify that the fires are completely out because extremely low humidity and predicted high winds increase the potential for rekindling of previous fires.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Wildfire Danger
KAKE News
Rachel Phillips

http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/2470951.html

Wild winds are fueling fires all over Kansas. Fires broke out in both Reno and Butler County today. The largest fire broke out near Castleton in Reno County. Winds gusted up to 40 mph making it tough to put out the wildfire. It was finally contained, but not before it burned 300 acres.

Several homes were threatened by the fire. It came within feet of at least two. The blaze started a mile west of Arlington Rd. and Highway 17 and stopped just short of a new home still under construction. Neighbors ran to help both families whose homes were in jeopardy. Homeowners say it was a cigarette that started the fire. Officials are once again reminding everyone that now is not the time to become careless with cigarettes. Fire crews will stay on the scene near Castleton all night monitoring hot spots.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

[Knitting A Conundrum]

[nw_arizona_granny]

Excellent job of reporting on the fires now burning, thanks for all the extra work.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Here's an interesting statistic:

In 2000, which had a very active fire season, there were
347,095 burned in the south by this date.

This year, there have been 758,733 acres burned to date.

It will be interesting to see what happens as the West moves into warmer weather and loses its snow. They are not soaking wet in most parts. Southern Utah, for instance, has gotten about 59 per cent of its normal snow pack. Last year they were flooding.

A dry winter with a wet spring and lots of bug killed forest means lots of cheat grass and such to feed the fuels. 2000 had a wet spring out west, too.

[WestCoastGal]

Thanks for the ping granny.

Is there a ping list? If yes, please add me in.

Thanks

[Knitting A Conundrum]

You're on it. Glad to ping!

[WestCoastGal]

Thanks :)