Wildland Fire News and Updates

NICC ^ | 3/18/06 | NIFC and others

[Knitting A Conundrum]

INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SITUATION REPORT

SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 2006 – 0800 MST

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL 2

 

 

CURRENT SITUATION:

Initial attack activity was moderate nationally with 245 new fires reported. Five new large fires were reported, four in the Southern Area, and one in the Eastern Area. Six large fires were contained, five in the Southern Area, and one in the Eastern Area. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, Kansas, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Delaware, Missouri, Texas and Virginia.

 

SOUTHERN AREA INCIDENTS/LARGE FIRES:

EAST AMARILLO COMPLEX, Texas Forest Service. A Texas State Type 2 Incident Management Team (Rogers) is in place. This complex, comprised of the Borger and I-40 fires, is near Jerico, TX in grass. Both fires reported minimal activity. Lightning caused several new fires in the area. Acreage has been adjusted to reflect more accurate information.

WEST TEXAS IA, Texas Forest Service. A Texas State Type 2 Incident Management Team (Stanford) 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. Five new fires were reported. Fires within the management area include the Mendenhall, Well Pad and CR W 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 two helicopters. Seventeen new fires were reported. Acres, structure losses and costs have been adjusted to represent cumulative ABC Miscellaneous fire activity statewide since January 1.

BUCKLE L 2, Texas Forest Service. A Type 2 Incident Management Team (Hinds) is assigned. This fire is 10 miles south of Childress, TX in brush. Light rain was received on the fire.

SALLISAW CREEK, Oklahoma Division of Forestry. This fire started on private land 16 miles northwest of Sallisaw, OK in hardwood litter and logging slash. Upslope runs and flame lengths up to 16 feet were reported.

NO MAN’S LAND, Ouachita National Forest. This fire is seven miles west of Black Springs, AR in hardwood litter and brush. Increased relative humidity and lower temperatures moderated fire activity, however some spotting across the line was reported.

LADNER, Mississippi Forestry Commission. This fire is three miles west of Bay St. Louis, MS in logging slash and hurricane blow down. Burn out operations are ongoing.

MOORE, Oklahoma Division of Forestry. This fire is five miles northeast of Moore, OK in grass. No further information was received.

CEDAR LAKE, Oklahoma Division of Forestry. This fire is 12 miles southwest of El Reno, OK in grass. No further information was received.

TEMPLIN, Texas Forest Service. This fire is five miles west of Tennyson, TX in dormant brush and slash. Good progress was made toward containment.

ICE CREAM, Ouachita National Forest. This fire is 15 miles east of Big Cedar, OK in hardwood litter. Low to moderate fire activity was observed.

SLICK 2, Oklahoma Division of Forestry. This fire is nine miles east of Mannford, OK. No further information was received.

MOSAIC, Florida Division of Forestry. This fire started on private land 10 miles west of Fort Lauderdale, FL in grass. No new information was reported.

MAVERICK RANCH, Oklahoma Division of Forestry. This fire started on private land five miles south of Peggs, OK in timber and grass. No new information was reported.

INCIDENT NAME	ST	UNIT	SIZE	% CTN	EST CTN	TOTL PERS	CRW	ENG	HELI	STRC LOST	$$$ CTD	ORIGIN OWN
EAST AMARILLO COMPLEX	TX	TXS	907,245	95	UNK	206	0	77	3	89	NR	ST
WEST TEXAS IA	TX	TXS	3,326	NR	UNK	312	0	21	10	0	4.5M	N/A
OKLAHOMA FIRE RESPONSE	OK	OKS	117,007	NR	UNK	161	0	26	4	0	8.3M	ST
BUCKLE L 2	TX	TXS	40,000	95	UNK	51	0	6	0	0	NR	ST
SALLISAW CREEK	OK	OKS	110	75	3/20	5	0	2	0	0	NR	PRI
NO MAN’S LAND	AR	OUF	10,100	50	3/18	60	2	2	2	0	NR	FS
LADNER	MS	MSS	1,507	95	UNK	32	0	8	0	0	NR	ST
MOORE	OK	OKS	1,500	90	3/19	0	0	0	0	4	NR	ST
CEDAR LAKE	OK	OKS	2,950	95	3/19	0	0	0	0	6	NR	ST
TEMPLIN	TX	TXS	1,120	95	UNK	6	0	2	0	0	NR	ST
ICE CREAM	AR	OUF	535	85	3/18	62	2	5	0	0	NR	FS
SLICK 2	OK	OKS	413	90	3/19	0	0	0	0	0	NR	ST
MOSAIC	FL	FLS	425	90	UNK	21	0	2	0	0	1K	PRI
MAVERICK RANCH	OK	OKS	107	80	3/19	30	0	9	0	0	NR	PRI
COOPER LAKE	TX	TXS	1,200	100	---	10	0	4	0	0	NR	PRI
FLEETWOOD	OK	OKS	600	100	---	0	0	0	0	0	NR	ST
CLARKS FERRY	TX	TXS	302	100	---	9	0	0	0	0	NR	PRI
SHENANDOAH RETREAT	VA	VAS	103	100	---	8	0	2	0	2	NR	ST
CEMENT MOUNTAIN	TX	TXS	101	100	---		0	0	0	0	NR	ST

VAS - Virginia Department of Forestry

 

 

 

EASTERN AREA INCIDENTS/LARGE FIRES:

CUPOLA POND, Mark Twain National Forest. This fire is 15 miles northwest of Doniphan, MO in hardwood litter. No new information was reported.

HODO, Mark Twain National Forest. This fire is 12 miles northwest of Doniphan, MO in hardwood litter. No new information was reported.

INCIDENT NAME	ST	UNIT	SIZE	% CTN	EST CTN	TOTL PERS	CRW	ENG	HELI	STRC LOST	$$$ CTD	ORIGIN OWN
CUPOLA POND	MO	MTF	371	95	UNK	13	0	2	0	0	7K	FS
HODO	MO	MTF	310	95	UNK	12	0	2	0	0	7K	FS
CAMDEN	MO	MTF	110	100	---	14	0	0	0	0	NR	FS

 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN AREA INCIDENTS/LARGE FIRES:

JACOB CREEK, Fallon National Wildlife Refuge. This fire is near Ottumwa, KS in hardwood litter and grass. No new information was reported.

INCIDENT NAME

ST

UNIT

SIZE

% CTN

EST CTN

TOTL PERS

CRW

ENG

HELI

STRC LOST

$$$ CTD

ORIGIN OWN

JACOB CREEK

KS

FLR

175

95

UNK

4

0

1

0

0

NR

FWS

 

OUTLOOK:

Weather Discussion: A strong low pressure system will be moving into the Southwest. High pressure over the East will produce areas over low humidity over the Southeast along with dry and windy conditions over portions of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States.

Geographic Area Weather	High Temperatures	Minimum Relative Humidity	Wind
Rocky Mountain Area Kansas and southeast Colorado: Increasing clouds with scattered showers. Showers becoming widespread over Kansas in the afternoon.	55 to 65 in southeast Colorado, with 40s in Kansas.	30 to 40% in southeast Colorado, with 60 to 75% in Kansas.	Southeast 15 to 25 mph.
Southwest Area Increasing clouds much of Arizona with scattered rain/snow showers north and west by late afternoon and evening. Partly cloudy southeastern Arizona through much of New Mexico. Mostly cloudy far eastern New Mexico into west Texas with scattered rain and thunderstorms.	30 to 50 mountains. 55 to 75 lower elevations.	15 to 25% from southeastern Arizona into much of central New Mexico. Ten to 40% rest of region.	South to southwest 15 to 25 with higher gusts. Strongest winds likely from southeastern Arizona into central and east-central New Mexico. South to southeast winds 10 to 20 mph west Texas and the far eastern plains of New Mexico.
Southern California Mostly cloudy with showers. The snow level will be around 3,000 feet.	30 to 45 mountains. 50 to 60 valleys. 40 to 50 upper deserts. 55 to 65 lower deserts.	50 to 70%.	Southwest to northwest 10 to 20 mph with higher gusts.
Southern Area No information was reported.
Eastern Area No information was reported.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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							0 0
Eastern Great Basin	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Western Great Basin	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Southwest	FIRES ACRES		1 0			2 10		3 10
Rocky Mountain	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Eastern Area	FIRES ACRES					5 97	4 137	9 234
Southern Area	FIRES ACRES	1 3		1 1		218 3,615	13 314	233 3,933
TOTAL	FIRES ACRES	1 3	1 0	1 1	0 0	225 3,722	17 451	245 4,177

 

 

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				16 503	20 513
Northern Rockies	FIRES ACRES		1 100		1 223	4 28	1 10	7 361
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	26 1,331	1 431	24 3,490	149 196,488	120 11,932	427 214,339
Rocky Mountain	FIRES ACRES	7 307	6 0	7 333	2 0	95 82,644	20 7,319	137 90,603
Eastern Area	FIRES ACRES	1 1		1 5	3 52	1,795 30,449	115 2,479	1,915 32,986
Southern Area	FIRES ACRES	265 14,255		89 11,205	12 1,405	13,073 1,261,302	320 21,474	13,759 1,309,641
TOTAL	FIRES ACRES	380 15,281	46 1,460	98 11,974	43 5,171	15,183 1,572,470	600 44,961	16,350 1,651,317

 

Five Year Average Fires	8,346
Five Year Average Acres	102,236

 

*** 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		0 170					0 170
Southern California	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Northern Rockies	FIRES ACRES		1 85					1 85
Eastern Great Basin	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Western Great Basin	FIRES ACRES							0 0
Southwest	FIRES ACRES						1 174	1 174
Rocky Mountain	FIRES ACRES	1 0			1 22	0 37	1 34	3 93
Eastern Area	FIRES ACRES						1 0	1 0
Southern Area	FIRES ACRES						2 78	2 78
TOTAL	FIRES ACRES	1 0	1 255	0 0	1 22	0 37	5 286	8 600

 

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	5 298			14 111	100 2,387
Northern California	FIRES ACRES	12 101	3 219	3 1,324	2 6		47 704	67 2,354
Southern California	FIRES ACRES		4 284	2 24			47 1,400	53 1,708
Northern Rockies	FIRES ACRES		2 548					2 548
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			42 6,260	53 6,933
Rocky Mountain	FIRES ACRES	3 401	4 110	22 5,082	5 74	12 361	56 5,526	102 11,554
Eastern Area	FIRES ACRES			17 1,214	4 1,512	171 18,224	54 16,206	246 37,156
Southern Area	FIRES ACRES			90 40,733	7 6,069	186 97,509	493 378,060	776 522,371
TOTAL	FIRES ACRES	23 824	101 3,938	142 49,005	18 7,661	369 116,094	754 408,445	1,407 585,967

*** 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
Southern California
Northern Rockies
Eastern Great Basin
Western Great Basin
Southwest							1
Rocky Mountain			1
Eastern Area	1		4	9					35	53
Southern Area	13		33	174	4	16	4		173	287
Total	14	0	38	183	4	16	5	0	208	340

 

*** NATIONAL INTERAGENCY COORDINATION CENTER ***

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Today's NICC report

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[Knitting A Conundrum]

Thousands of Acres Burned in Ouachita Forest Fire

http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0306/311646.html

Norman, AR - A wildfire spread through a section of the Ouachita National Forest and officials say the fire had spread to nearly eight thousand acres.

As of Saturday morning, officials with the forestry department told Channel Seven that the eastern line of the wildfire was extended as far east as Norman.

Crews hope to have the blaze contained 100 percent by the end of the day as expected rainfall enters the area.

U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Debbie Ugbade says the fire was started by lightning last Sunday. It had burned about 800 acres by Thursday but then spread rapidly on Friday, perhaps reaching eight-thousand acres in a remote part of the forest in Montgomery County.

Ugbade says no evacuations were ordered and fewer than a dozen structures were threatened. The fire was in a remote part of the forest west of Black Springs in Montgomery County.

Fire crews used backburns and relied on roads to break the spread off the fire.

Helicopters were used to try to stall the spread, and crews from Oklahoma and Washington aided in effort.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Weather Gives Wildfire Crews A Break

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/2487246.html

(March 18, 2006)—More rain could soak the drought-stricken Texas Panhandle this weekend, as Mother Nature finally gives crews some help in the fight against monster wildfires that have scorched more than 800,000 acres, killing eleven people and as many as 10,000 horses and cows.

Rain and sleet fell over much of the area Friday helping crews put out hot spots from wildfires that have burned 840,000 acres.

However, the Forest Service says two new small fires Friday morning in Carson County may have been sparked by lightning.

A part of Interstate 40 near the town of Panhandle that was closed Friday is now open.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Forest Service Crews Get Fire Under Control

http://www.wwaytv3.com/Global/story.asp?S=4649260&nav=menu70_2

BLADEN COUNTY-- Crews from the North Carolina Forest Service are keeping watch on a wildfire that is burning in parts of Columbus and Bladen counties. Crews are doing most of their work about 10 miles off of Highway 74/76 just near the county lines.

Smoke that burns your eyes filled the skies over the two counties Friday afternoon. Gusty winds and dry conditions turned a controlled burn into a wildfire that charred at least 150 acres. Crews from the Forest Service had to fight it from the air and on the ground.

"It meandered around for a while," forester Shane Hardee said. "But it really took off about 2:00."

Another problem for crews, the make-up of the ground in the woods. On top it's a dry heavy brush, but underneath, it's wet. Making it impossible to dig a fire line.

Crews had only one choice to beat it back from one side by setting spot fires, setting spot fires.

"We've not experienced a whole lot of rain lately, even though we had a wet winter, things have dried out a lot in the past couple of weeks. And that certainly made fuel more available to burn," Hardee said. "With the wind we had today and the lower humidities, a fire in this type fuel really took off."

Forest crews are watching the fire throughout Friday night, into Saturday morning. They say it's under control now, but there could still be hotspots.

Officials say there will still be a lot of smoke in the area, and this is definitely not the time to burn anything.

The Forest Service responded to almost 100 fires across the state Thursday that burned more than 200 acres. So far this year the number of fires is up almost a thousand, compared to last year.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Wildland Fire News ping and update.

Looks like today may be a bit quieter for those areas that have been so hard hit.

If you'd like to be pinged when I post updates, please let me know.

[xarmydog]

Had some heavy rain and pea sized hail in West Texas last night.Thank goodness,we needed it.Even the cactus were dying.Sure helped to quell the threat of fire here.This morning,cloudy,damp,wet.Expecting more.Sure feels different.

[WestCoastGal]

Thanks for the ping

It's been grey, dreary and sprinkling here in this part of Texas today. Not much rain to speak of yet and we are still on burn ban. Even if it does rain it will dry out in days.

The state fire guys are still here at one of the hotels so I guess we're not out of the woods yet.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

If the forecasts for fire potential are right, Texas is in for a long hot spring....