Posted on 09/05/2017 10:11:15 AM PDT by goodnesswins
The Western US is facing cataclysmic forest fires, at least one started by idiot boys throwing fireworks in Eagle Creek area, near Multnomah Lodge, in the COLUMBIA GORGE - a greenie paradise. I-84 is closed near Multnomah Files to Exit 62, just west of Hood River.
MONTANA www.ktvq.com
NW Fires www.arcgis.com
OREGON List of fires www.inciweb.nwcg.gov>
IDAHO List of fires www.inciweb.nwcg.gov>
CALIFORNIA List of fires www.inciweb.nwcg.gov>
WASHINGTON List of fires www.inciweb.nwcg.gov>
NBCNews.com
HELENA, Mont. - 4:10 p.m.
Authorities say a 15-year-old boy is the suspect in a large blaze burning east of Portland, Oregon, that was likely caused by fireworks.
The Oregon State Police said in a statement Tuesday that the teen from Vancouver, Washington, and others may have been using fireworks on a popular trail in the Columbia River Gorge area.
The blaze that has closed an interstate highway and forced hundreds to flee began Saturday. Authorities say the boy was interviewed in the parking lot of the trailhead.
State police say the investigation is continuing. No arrests or formal charges have been made.
2:40 p.m.
Fire officials say an Oregon wildfire in the scenic Columbia River Gorge has grown to nearly 16 square miles and is threatening homes.
Resident of about 400 homes have been forced to evacuate, while others have been warned to get ready.
A fire official told reporters Tuesday that no homes have been lost so far but crews were still assessing the damage. Portland Fire & Rescue Lt. Damon Simmons says the blaze spread overnight but was calming down as crews scrambled to get a handle on it.
Firefighters also are attacking the fire by air when smoky conditions allow.
More than 30 miles of Interstate 84 running east of Portland, Oregon, was closed. A state official says it’s unclear when it will reopen.
Multnomah County has declared a state of emergency over the fire that started Saturday.
___
12:30 p.m.
Authorities say a fast-moving wildfire in Utah has destroyed at least five homes and forced more than 1,000 people to evacuate.
Parts of two highways were also closed Tuesday morning as black smoke rolled over the roads.
High winds fed the blaze near a neighborhood of well-appointed homes nestled in the foothills about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City.
Two elementary schools near the fire were evacuated as a precaution.
Authorities say the fire has consumed about 500 acres.
12:00 p.m.
The U.S. Department of Defense has agreed to assign 200 active-duty soldiers to help fight a wildfire in Washington state.
Civilian firefighting commanders said Tuesday the soldiers from Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington, will undergo four days of training.
Then they will be sent to a complex of 14 wildfires in the Umpqua National Forest that have burned 47 square miles.
The soldiers will join about 1,000 firefighters already at the site.
The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, a federal agency that coordinates wildfire-fighting, says 80 large fires are burning on 2,200 square miles in nine Western U.S. states.
The military has already dispatched three C-130s to drop fire-retardant slurry and two RC-26 surveillance aircraft to help fight Western fires.
___
11:30 a.m.
Firefighters have increased containment of a big Los Angeles wildfire from 30 percent to 70 percent.
The fire in the Verdugo Mountains burned around 11 square miles (28 square kilometers) since it erupted Friday and was spread by shifting winds. Crews working the blaze Tuesday are focusing on smoldering hotspots and extending containment lines.
Los Angeles fire spokesman Erik Scott says the number of destroyed single-family residences has increased to a total of five.
11:15 a.m.
A growing wildfire near Portland has shut down a lengthy stretch of highway through the scenic Columbia River Gorge and rained ash down on the Oregon city.
Smoke from blazes choked the U.S. West on Tuesday from Seattle to Denver, leading to health warnings and road closures. Many school districts canceled sports practices and recess because of poor air quality.
The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, a federal agency that coordinates wildfire-fighting, says 80 large fires are burning on 2,200 square miles in nine Western states.
The 7-square-mile fire east of Portland forced hundreds of evacuations and sent embers jumping over the Columbia River, sparking blazes in Washington state.
The wildfire grew rapidly late Monday and overnight, forcing authorities to scramble to get people out of communities in just minutes on the Oregon side of the Columbia River.
___
12:51 a.m.
Wind-driven flames, hot temperatures and dry conditions are hampering firefighters across the West even after Labor Day, the unofficial end to a summer of devastating wildfires.
The dozens of fires burning across the West and Canada have blanketed the air with choking smoke from Oregon, where ash fell on the town of Cascade Locks, to Colorado, where health officials issued an air quality advisory alert.
The Sprague Fire is burning 13,343 acres in Montana’s Glacier National Park and has emptied the park’s busiest tourist spot as wind gusts drove the blaze toward the doorstep of a century-old lodge.
Outside California’s Yosemite National Park, a wind-fueled fire made its way deeper into a grove of 2,700-year-old giant sequoia trees. Officials said the fire had gone through about half the grove, and had not killed any trees.
Thanks for those updates.
Do you have some evidence for that? What is to stop fires from spreading into privately owned forestland? What agency is purposely allowing huge fires? Forest Service? BLM? Other?
From everything I’ve seen, these fires are the fault of environazis.
Arsonists should be dropped by helicopter into the fires they started.
Large amount of smoke in Golden, Colorado area yesterday
I’m not one to see Biblical themes in every disaster.
But the US is taking a beating right now and no let up in sight.
I’m in Texas in Corpus. I’m sorry the fires are not getting the attention they deserve.
Yes...I have been thinking similar thoughts...
“...[the]lack of preventive fire practices in forests, caused by environmentalists is why we have these HUGE fires.”
HELP! President Trump!
Roll back the phony Eco-Nazi policy which prevents managed burns.
End irresponsible Federal Ownership of the Western Forests!!
how do you add filters?...I have a window unit and am afraid to turn it on...
Sunday, here in western South Dakota the smoke was very heavy. I kept checking our woods to make sure we were not on fire.
Gasping for air here in Western Washington State. Fires in the west are quite extensive and also quite synchronous. I do wonder about arsonists. Illegals on their way to Canada perhaps?
Inciweb has all fires listed, and on the page for each one, lists the cause, whether lightning or human caused. Sometimes they have details about what kind of human cause.
After my exposure I made all of my probationaries take a look at poison oak plants so that they would avoid it.
My entire body looked like this... actually worse, because I was older. My skin felt like a leather boot to others who tried touching it. Only I had a lot of puss coming out in spots as well. It was very bad.
After my exposure I made all of my probationaries take a look at poison oak plants so that they would avoid it.
My entire body looked like this... actually worse, because I was older. My skin felt like a leather boot to others who tried touching it. Only I had a lot of puss coming out in spots as well. It was very bad.
Sorry about the double post... Oh and this is slightly relevant to the thread because this is one of the hazards you face when fighting wild fires.
There was a book a I read recently where forest fires were set by terrorist cells all across the American west.
A beautiful area!
Going to see the aspens turning in two weeks.
Bear Lake is my favorite place there
.
I had my back looking like that once when I tipped my mowing tractor backwards into a thicket of poison oak.
.
That’s not a bad case considering what I’ve seen my DH go through. I see no oozing or scabbing! Plus I bet his eyes are still open. :-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.