Incident: Little Venus Wildland fire use for resource benefit
Released: 2006-07-17 20:58:00
Cody, Wyo., July 17, 2006—What sees fire from on high, but doesn’t fly or hover? Answer: the webcam perched on Irish Rock in the Washakie Wilderness, 30 miles west of Meeteetse.
Fire managers have placed the self-contained webcam up on the mountain to keep an eye on the Little Venus Fire, which is burning in beetle-killed trees and in high-elevation grasslands and shrubs.
“It’s much cheaper than a helicopter,” said Mark Giacoletto, fire management officer for the Shoshone National Forest, “and we get a regularly scheduled view, not just a one-time flyover perspective.”
The webcam comes with a solar power pack and a satellite phone. The picture is typically transmitted hourly between 8 am – 8 pm to www.inciweb.org, where all updated fire information can be found.
The camera was developed by the USDA Forest Service’s Missoula Technology and Development Center in Missoula, Montana, as part of their SAFE Project (Situational Awareness Firefighting Equipment).
“Our goal is to provide better information anywhere, anytime,” said Bob Roth, project leader. “We’re designing technology that’s easier and lighter to use.”
The center develops new technology related to the Forest Service’s work in conservation, fire management, and other fields.
The camera had a first-hand hourly view of the smoke column that was generated yesterday as a result of higher temperatures, wind, and lower humidity.
“The fire is doing what we expected and what we want it to do. It continues to clean up the Grey Bull River basin of dead and dying trees,” said Becky Aus, forest supervisor of the Shoshone National Forest.
Smoke and haze have been visible lately from Meeteese and Cody, originating from the Montana fires and from Little Venus. To see if the smoke in the air throughout the summer is from the Little Venus Fire, go to the InciWeb website!
Incident: Pine Ridge Complex Wildland Fire
Released: 2006-07-17 14:45:00
To date on the Pine Ridge Fire, air tankers have dropped approximately 90,000 gallons of fire retardant. Helicopters have added approximately 70,000 gallons of water from their buckets.
Fire managers estimate that the fire is approximately 60% contained. Plans for today call for continued reinforcement of fire lines as well as suppression activites along I-94, where the fire continues to creep and smolder, burning grasses and shrubs and occasionally torching individual trees.
With temperatures approaching 90 degrees and humidities extremely low, firefighters anticipate continued active burning on the complex, especially in areas of dense timber.
Improved mapping on the Sarpy fire accounts for most of the increase in acreage reported today. Total acreage on the Pine Ridge Complex is 100,339 acres.
http://inciweb.org/incident/news/article/282/590/