Colorado Wildfires 2018 *Arrest*

[margarita25]

It seems it might be necessary to modify this thread title to Colorado Wildfires 2018, as we have several burning now across the state. Flagging a mod for the request.

 

[margarita25]

Is the Durango & Silverton Railroad to blame for the massive 416 fire?

"During a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, officials said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but some are pointing the finger of blame at one the area’s biggest tourist draws.

Residents say a spark from the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which has suspended service because of the 416 Fire, started the blaze. It's a sentiment shared by many in the area."

 

[margarita25]

Some media outlets are reporting the 416 Fire, outside of Durango, is the 5th largest in Colorado history. Not true. These are the top 20.
Author: Next with Kyle Clark
The 20 largest wildfires in Colorado history

Some media outlets have reported that the 416 Fire is the fifth largest in Colorado history.

That does not seem to be accurate, according to the data Next has from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control and the Colorado State Forest Service.

We listed the specifics. These are the top 20 largest wildfires in Colorado history, including grassland fires (of course, the ranking could change with the size of the 416 Fire grows).

Hayman – 138,114 acres, 2002
West Fork Complex (West Fork, Windy Pass and Papoose fires) – 109,632 acres, 2013
High Park Fire – 87,250 acres, 2012
Missionary Ridge – 71,739 acres, 2002
Last Chance Fire – 52,000 acres (grassland), 2012
Bridger Fire – 45,800 acres, 2008
Bear Springs/Callie Marie Fires – 44,662 acres, 2011
117 Fire – 42,795 acres (grassland/brush), 2018
Beaver Creek Fire – 38,380 acres, 2016
Badger Hole Fire – 33,609 acres in Colorado (grassland; 50,858 acres overall, with remainder in Kansas), 2018
Logan Fire, around Haxtun -- 32,564 acres in both Logan and Phillips counties (grassland), 2017
Burn Canyon Fire – 31,300 acres, 2002
Mount Zirkel Complex - 31,016 acres, 2002
416 Fire -- 27,420 acres (as of 6/13/18, 4:38 p.m.), 2018
Trinidad Complex (Spring, Fisher/James John fires) – 25,919 acres in Colorado (33,000 acres overall, with remainder in New Mexico), 2002
Mayberry Fire – 25,385 acres, 2002
Little Sand Fire – 24,900 acres, 2012
Heartstrong Fire – 24,000 acres (grassland), 2012
Bircher Fire – 23,607 acres, 2000
Waldo Canyon Fire – 18,247 acres, 2012

 

[margarita25]

Colorado wildfires: Why is one of the world's largest air tankers grounded in Colorado Springs?
Colorado Springs-based Global SuperTanker hopes to get a contract to fight fires on U.S. Forest Service land

"COLORADO SPRINGS — With the ability to drop nearly 20,000 gallons of water or retardant in a single pass, the Global SuperTanker could be an airborne, blaze-battling behemoth on the front lines of the 416 fire near Durango — or any of the other wildfires burning in Colorado this week.

But the converted Boeing 747-400, which started life 26 years ago as a Japan Airlines passenger jet, instead sat Wednesday on a runway at Colorado Springs Airport, its engines off and its cockpit empty. Lacking a contract to fight fire on federal land, the Global SuperTanker appeared to be little more than an oversized tarmac ornament.

“It’s very frustrating for us,” said Bob Soelberg, senior vice president of Global SuperTanker Services LLC, as he showed off the plane for a small group of reporters Wednesday. “We would like to be on (a fire).”"

 

[margarita25]

"Global SuperTanker, which carries nearly twice as much firefighting capacity as the next biggest aircraft that is used to fight fires — the DC-10 — hasn’t been completely idle over the past year. It dropped retardant on a wildfire in California last fall and has been used to fight blazes in Chile and Israel. The company, which launched its first firefighting operation less than two years ago, has “call when needed” contracts with Colorado Springs, along with Douglas and El Paso counties, and it is negotiating a deal with the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control to fight fire on state land."

Colorado wildfires: Why is one of the world's largest air tankers grounded in Colorado Springs?

 

[margarita25]

“"The Forest Service needs to figure out if they are going to use one big hammer or 20 small hammers,” he said in reference to the makeup of the firefighting fleet.

Global SuperTanker got a generally positive grade from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which hired the aircraft to fight fires in the state last year. It gave the plane an “above average” rating in a final report, praising its performance in heavy timber, “wider than normal drop patterns,” and “notable performance in reload times and speed to fire traffic areas.”

Company officials say Global Supertanker can reach any fire in the United States from its Colorado Springs base in 2 1/2 hours or less. And the four ejection nozzles on its belly, which can provide a combined 60,000 pounds of thrust in getting water and retardant onto a fire, make for a powerful attack on flames."

Colorado wildfires: Why is one of the world's largest air tankers grounded in Colorado Springs?

 

[margarita25]

Hickenlooper urges Colorado tourism continue despite 416 Fire: 'Durango is open for business'

 

[KaaBoom]

“"The Forest Service needs to figure out if they are going to use one big hammer or 20 small hammers,” he said in reference to the makeup of the firefighting fleet.

Better yet, why not have 20 big hammers. I don't understand why the Forest Service doesn't just buy a fleet of a couple hundred of these SuperTankers and keep them on standby all the time. Then as soon as a forest fire is reported, send the entire fleet to drop massive amounts of water on it, before it can get too out of control.

It would certainly be expensive, but forest fires are extremely destructive, cause a lot of property damage and are a major health issue. It seems like whatever the cost it would be well worth it.

 

[margarita25]

Badger Creek Fire Now Over 11,000 Acres [UPDATE]

"UPDATE(9 a.m.): The fire is currently 11,021 acres. The Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Black said that the fire grew significantly on Wednesday, with most of the growth on the east side of the fire as it was driven by winds into dense vegetation. The intense fire behavior and thick smoke made it unsafe for firefighters and aviation resources to carry out suppression efforts n the east side of the fire during much of the day.

The focus has been on structure protection. While there is no containment of the fire, crews have been successful in building fire lines on the west, south and north sides of the fire.

Today, crews will continue to build fireline on the north side of the fire. In the south, firefighters will construct both hand and dozer lines to limit fire spread."

 

[margarita25]

Wyo. Guard Blackhawk standing by to help in Badger Creek Fire operations

"Cheyenne, WY Gov. Matt Mead authorized a Wyoming Army National Guard
UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crew to provide medical evacuation, if needed, in support of the Badger Creek Fire, in Albany County."

 

[margarita25]

Big Laramie Fire Dept,Community Collecting Items for Firefighters

 

[margarita25]

Badger Creek Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System

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Badger Creek Fire Maps - InciWeb the Incident Information System

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Badger Creek Fire Threatens Alf's House [AUDIO]

 

[margarita25]

Badger Creek Fire evacuation evokes mixed emotions

"She said residents could go to www.cityoflaramie.org or www.co.albany.wy.us or call 721-5374 to sign up for the countywide alert system."

 

[margarita25]

Smoke Plume from Badger Creek Fire Can Be Seen in Space [PHOTO]
(Old photo from June 11th, BCF is now over 11,000 acres)

 

[margarita25]

A Red Flag Warning is in effect for the Badger Creek Fire area from 11:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly.

A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.

"A slight shift in the weather pattern is expected to result in stronger west-southwest winds in the fire area. Gusts are expected to be in excess of 30 mph on Thursday afternoon.

Conditions will remain hot, dry and windy, however a slight increase in moisture in
the afternoon should result in increased cloud cover."

Badger Creek Fire Doubled in Size Again to 11,021 Acres

 

[margarita25]

416 wildfire update: Colorado meteorologist gauges lightning strike danger near blaze
Weather specialist added to 416 wildfire crew as lightning, Tropic Storm Bud loomA meteorologist equipped with sophisticated atmospheric gear to gauge the potential danger of expected lightning strikes

"As the 416 fire grows more mammoth in the San Juan National Forest 13 miles north of Durango, firefighters brought in a meteorologist equipped with sophisticated atmospheric gear and a weather ..."

 

[margarita25]

http://www.fireengineering.com/ap-n...-wind-expected-to-drive-wyoming-wildfire.html

 

[margarita25]

DENVER – After a week that saw the outbreak of multiple large wildfires that forced thousands of Colorado residents out of their homes, firefighters are hopeful that the potential of rain this weekend will bring some much-needed relief.

"The largest fire in the state, the 416 Fire north of Durango, had grown to nearly 30,000 acres as of Thursday morning. The fire is holding steady at 15 percent containment.

The Buffalo Fire, which forced evacuations of some residents in Silverthorne, is holding steady at 91 acres and 20 percent containment. Evacuation orders remain in place."

Colorado wildfires: Slow progress as forecast shows rain on the way

 

[margarita25]

Below are the latest details on some of the largest active fires in the state:

416 Fire:
Size: 32,076 acres
Containment: 15 percent
Location: 13 miles north of Durango
Cause: Unknown

Badger Creek Fire:
Size: 11,021 acres
Containment: 0 percent
Location: Medicine Bow National Forest in Wyoming and Colorado
Cause: Unknown

Bocco Fire:
Size: 415 acres
Containment: 50 percent
Location: 3 miles NW of Wolcott
Cause: Unknown

Buffalo Fire:
Size: 91 acres
Containment: 20 percent
Location: Just west of Silverthorne
Cause: Unknown

Burro Fire:
Size: 2,829 acres
Containment: 0 percent
Location: 4 miles south of Rico, being handled as part of 416 Fire
Cause: Unknown

Fourmile Fire:
Size: 500 acres
Containment: 80 percent
Location: 23 miles north of Craig
Cause: Unknown

Colorado wildfires: Slow progress as forecast shows rain on the way

 

[Hatfield]

Better yet, why not have 20 big hammers. I don't understand why the Forest Service doesn't just buy a fleet of a couple hundred of these SuperTankers and keep them on standby all the time. Then as soon as a forest fire is reported, send the entire fleet to drop massive amounts of water on it, before it can get too out of control.

It would certainly be expensive, but forest fires are extremely destructive, cause a lot of property damage and are a major health issue. It seems like whatever the cost it would be well worth it.

JMO
This makes a lot of sense to me because the cost of day after day after day of fighting the fires is probably exceeding the cost of investing in some planes that would hold lots of water/retardant.

It seems like once the fires get large then it is much more difficult to knock them down. It seems the plan should be to immediately hit them hard and heavy as fast as they can and try to get them out before they get large.

And its not like they dont know where the fires are most likely to be each year. 2 main places to have plans close by and ready to go.

California/Washington area and the Rockies which go through Colorado and Utah.

If they have lets say 10 of these planes in West Coast staging and 10 in Midwest and 5 in East Coast they could immediately hit any beginning fire and call in the others to join to put the darn thing out as soon as possible and then go back to staging till the next one.

I am sure they would still need manpower on the ground but I think it would limit the manpower needed and would really help them if they had a better attack plan at the very beginning with some of these large water tankers.

I dont mind our tax money going for useful things like this and roads and bridges instead of some of the silly costly projects we hear about our tax money being waisted on.