Fires

[salmonchaser]

Three days ago there were maybe a dozen fires burning in Oregon. This morning I tried to count, best estimate is 70 to 80 fires started in the last 48 to 72 hours. Some are small, standard lightning strikes that will be monitored for the time being. Others have blown up have some potential to get quite large. Prior to 72 hours ago we had about 2000 wild land fire fighters working in the state trying to get containment on 4 or 5 big fires. Not sure where more aircraft and equipment are coming from.
There is a regional fire center near us in Lagrande, central location for firefighting planes and helicopters. They are busy this morning. There are no new fires close to us but the smoke is so thick I cant hardly see the ridge behind the house.
Our main creek on the property has gone dry, normally it has enough water for the steers and horses until late August or early September.
It could get a littler western around here if we get anymore lightning.
Little blue dot is where we are.

 

[Firebird24]

I’m a firefighter in Utah although I have more or less aged out of the wildland business. I sometimes go as medical support. Utah and Colorado have been competing for the biggest fires in the country since early summer. The summer monsoon season and the local droughts are intense this season.
Hope things improve for all of us soon, stay safe and good luck!
And God bless the guys and girls who are still in the fight, difficult to conceive even for a pilot to work in this environment nonetheless the boots on the ground.

 

[Vince]

Bring back logging and cattle grazing and these conflagrations would lessen in intensity.

Vince

 

[8mm Enthusiast]

Bring back logging and cattle grazing and these conflagrations would lessen in intensity.

Vince

I don't think cattle like to graze that landscape as it appears to be mostly conifers with very little undergrowth and the steep terrain would make it a complete impractical nightmare. Plus these agencies or the land managers they contract with are likely too understaffed to move the cattle around sufficiently before they overgraze and destroy habitat.

Logging is a great alternative but we must be wary as modern logging practices of planting monocrop fast growing conifers and then dousing the area with glyphosate to kill off all early successional species that small and big game love would do way more harm than a beneficial wildfire. Ecologically sound logging works but the method I described just creates more fire fuel.

 

[clearwater]

Our forest used to be called the “asbestos forest”

In the 50’s on state DNR forest land a big fire year burned 200 acres.

Increased temperatures, drought and dwindling snow pack has changed all that. Fires burn 100k acres sometimes

Grazing continues. The cows still make a muddy mess of the subalpine springs in the roadless area I hunt. They do provide some food for the wolves when the deer are hard to catch. They do jack to prevent fires.

We now log tiny logs with a special Finnish saw. The mills makes laminated timber, 40 ft long 2x4 finger boards and small metric size lumber for overseas. Pretty much everything that can be logged is. We are importing tiny logs from other states now.

Some of the most deadly fires here are wheat fields

 

[Slimfinn]

I was really worried with our mild winter, luckily we ended up with more snow in April and May then we did in Jan/Feb. nothing has popped yet but it is only a matter of time, No snow to speak of left in the mountains and a week of breezy 90+ days dries things out quickly

 

[3 Meter Para Bellum]

Stay safe, and prayers for those in the vacinity of those fires. I am fortunate that fires are not a problem I am aware of where I live.

 

[8mm Enthusiast]

There needs to be policy change. The current system clearly isn't working. We didn't have much snow this winter and the two previous winters before it. Rain has become common now in January and February. The ticks are out of control as well. Moose numbers are struggling and other effects are spreading.

 

[IdahoCTD]

I dont know why Trump hasnt tapped Elon, or anyone else for that matter, to build drone fleets with temp resistant components, ground radar and temp sensors to fight fires. They can have a manned crews filling tanks of retardant and replacing battery packs. I'd make them so they just fit in a semi, roughly 7.5'x7.5', with either 2 or 3 levels per semi trailer. They can be programmed to fly in a swarm based on how many they have, raise based on temp, ground contour, etc. With refillable canisters for retardant they can dump, fly back, get a new canister, and repeat. Way safer and cheaper in the long run with less staff, planes, and helicopters. All the western states could have decent size fleets plus several fleets for the eastern US. If Musk can protect a space ship from re-entry he should be able to protect drones from fires.