Wildfire Today

Timeline of response to 2023 Lahaina wildfires

Kelly AnderssonApril 17, 2024April 18, 2024Wildfireemergency response, Lahaina, Maui2 Comments

First responders showed up within minutes of the first reports to dispatch, on the huge wildfire last summer that nearly destroyed Lahaina, the historic Hawaiian town on the island of Maui. The first emergency calls came in to dispatch at 2:55 p.m. on August 8, according to the new report by the State Attorney General. Firefighters spotted smoke at 2:57 p.m., arrived at the fire at 3:00 p.m., and were joined by law enforcement who said the first building caught fire at 3:05 p.m.

The new report indicated that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has a separate investigation underway into the origin and the cause of the fire.

MAUI fire progression map — Maui fire progression map

According to the REUTERS report, first responders battled a storm of embers sailing downslope ahead of unusually high winds. The fires destroyed most of Lahaina, the former capital of the Hawaiian kingdom, killing over 100 people.

The Associated Press compiled numerous 911 calls that dispatchers on the island received the next day, and the dispatchers’ answers were the same each time; police and fire responders couldn’t help find missing people because they were still trying to get people to safety, still working hotspots and responding to fires.

FSRI Fire Progression Data Map Animation

The New York Times reported that fatalities from the Maui fires surpassed that of even the 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, and made the Maui fires the deadliest since the Cloquet inferno in Minnesota killed hundreds back in 1918.

The island’s officials were pleading with tourists from the U.S. mainland and elsewhere to cancel vacation plans and spare locals and emergency responders the drain on scarce resources, and later encouraged tourists to come back to the island that depends heavily on visitors and tourism dollars. Hotels and other lodging options on Maui scrambled to shelter evacuees and the suddenly homeless; that struggle on the island is far from over.The state attorney general’s office has more maps online.

Forestry student receives Truman scholarship

Kelly AnderssonApril 16, 2024April 16, 2024Wildfireeducation, forestry, NPS, University of Montana forestryLeave a comment

University of Montana Forestry School

Grad students in the Truman program are selected for their leadership potential, commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector, and demonstrated academic excellence.

Growing up in the National Park Service encouraged a dedication to natural resources for Jaiden. She is currently studying forestry with a minor in fire sciences and management and has worked as a wildland firefighter for the National Park Service for the past two years. Her experience inspired her to focus on prescribed fire implementation and challenges. She intends to pursue an MS in natural resources stewardship with a concentration in forest sciences to expand her knowledge of the influence of policy in forest management. Jaiden is particularly interested in designing prescribed fire programs for the National Park Service to support natural disturbances on a landscape while mitigating fuel to protect property and life. She hopes to encourage collaborative efforts between National Parks and local tribes to perform burning in areas with cultural significance. In her free time, Jaiden can be found flyfishing the Blackfoot River and traveling to different National Parks.

The Truman Scholars receive $30,000 for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and internship opportunities in federal agencies. Stansberry said her experience at the University of Montana has been just what she’d hoped college would be. “It’s been a phenomenal time here, and I’m really glad this is the school I ended up going to,” she said.

She’ll work this summer as a firefighter at Glacier National Park, then head to Washington DC for her internship after her first year of grad school focused on wildland fire policy. We certainly congratulate Jaiden and wish her the best; you can the full story feature by Abigail Lauten-Scrivner of the *UM News Service* [HERE], and there’s more about the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation [HERE]. Brief bios of the 2024 Truman Scholars are posted [HERE] and it’s a mighty impressive read.

*~ Thanks and a tip of the hardhat to Steve for this.*

Jaiden Stansberry — University of Montana Forestry School

Grad students in the Truman program are selected for their leadership potential, commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector, and demonstrated academic excellence.

Growing up in the National Park Service encouraged a dedication to natural resources for Jaiden. She is currently studying forestry with a minor in fire sciences and management and has worked as a wildland firefighter for the National Park Service for the past two years. Her experience inspired her to focus on prescribed fire implementation and challenges. She intends to pursue an MS in natural resources stewardship with a concentration in forest sciences to expand her knowledge of the influence of policy in forest management. Jaiden is particularly interested in designing prescribed fire programs for the National Park Service to support natural disturbances on a landscape while mitigating fuel to protect property and life. She hopes to encourage collaborative efforts between National Parks and local tribes to perform burning in areas with cultural significance. In her free time, Jaiden can be found flyfishing the Blackfoot River and traveling to different National Parks.

The Truman Scholars receive $30,000 for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and internship opportunities in federal agencies. Stansberry said her experience at the University of Montana has been just what she’d hoped college would be. “It’s been a phenomenal time here, and I’m really glad this is the school I ended up going to,” she said.

She’ll work this summer as a firefighter at Glacier National Park, then head to Washington DC for her internship after her first year of grad school focused on wildland fire policy. We certainly congratulate Jaiden and wish her the best; you can the full story feature by Abigail Lauten-Scrivner of the *UM News Service* [HERE], and there’s more about the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation [HERE]. Brief bios of the 2024 Truman Scholars are posted [HERE] and it’s a mighty impressive read.

*~ Thanks and a tip of the hardhat to Steve for this.*

Humans are by far the main cause of wildfires

Hunter BasslerApril 14, 2024Prevention, Researchhuman-caused fire, risk reduction, USFS strategy8 Comments

Every year in the U.S., billions of dollars are spent on wildfire suppression and risk reduction. The five federal fire agencies — Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Fish & Wildlife Service — spent a combined $4.4 billion (2021) and $3.5 billion (2022) in wildfire suppression alone, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). The USFS announced in February that it would be investing nearly $500 million more in its “Confronting the Wildfire Crisis” 10-year strategy focusing on 21 priority landscapes across the West.

Despite the numerous projects and strategies billions in taxpayer monies have funded, one thing hasn’t changed over the past decade: Humans are still the main cause of wildfires — and numbers have worsened since 2014.

Air quality publication HouseFresh analyzed NIFC data from 2023 and ranked the causes of wildfires by number of occurrences. Of the recorded fires, 72.6 percent were directly caused by humans.

The bulk of last year’s wildfires were caused by debris burning and open burning, resulting in 1,302 wildfires. That is an increase from the 1,120 fires started by debris and open burning in 2022. Equipment and vehicle use, power generation/transmission/distribution, and arson were the next listed causes of wildfires in 2023 at 507, 390, and 364 respectively.

“The balance between human and natural fires has almost reversed since 2014, although the trend has not been smooth,” the HouseFresh report said. “The proportion of human-caused wildfires grew significantly in 2015, 2016 and 2020, peaking at 77.2 percent in 2020.”

How People Start Wildfires — This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License ::: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

To no one’s surprise, California leads the nation in number of acres burned by wildfires. The state totaled 344,878 acres burned, followed by Alaska at 295,105 acres and Arizona at 218,286 acres. Arizona led the nation, however, in the biggest increase in acres from 147,553 acres in 2022 to 218,286 acres in 2023. Southeast Fairbanks County in Alaska was the leading county in acres burned in 2023 at 141,399 acres.

“Alaska suffered the second-most land damage in 2023, despite the largest annual reduction in acres — down 2,818,744 acres from 3,113,849 in the previous, record-breaking year,” the report says. “Unfortunately, many places where fires burn are hard to reach; at the same time, permafrost and surface fuels make Alaska’s wildfires particularly pollutive.”

~ The full report’s posted on the HouseFresh website.

Calling all Alaska Hotshots!

Kelly AnderssonApril 13, 2024April 13, 2024Hotshot historyAlaska, hotshots, reunionLeave a comment

ALASKA FIRE SERVICE CREWS ARE HOSTING A REUNION

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF TYPE 1 STATUS!

May 10-11, 2024

We are celebrating the 40 years of Type 1 status, but we recognize that the Alaska crews existed long before then — and that the program was built up over time. It’s an important part of our shared history!

We’d love to see anyone who was on the crews before, during, and after we were around, and anybody associated with AFS in any capacity since the beginning of time.

Horvath Pond – Chena River Lakes Flood Plain
(RV and tent camping on site)
64.71756964969562, -147.25810594061997

How much?
Our priority is attendance — so there will be no cost to attend.
We will, however, sell t·shirts, hats, and other stuff to help cover costs.

► ► RSVP HERE ◀︎ ◀︎

*This is not an official BLM event, and the BLM is not endorsing or sanctioning the event.

Canadian conservationists push emission limits for wildfire reduction

Hunter BasslerApril 12, 2024April 12, 2024Research, UncategorizedCanada, carbon emissions, fuels industry9 Comments

Groundbreaking research last year found around 37 percent of burned land across North America can be traced directly back to carbon emissions from 88 major fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers. Now, environmentalists in Canada are using the research to push for change.

The study, published last May in the journal Environmental Research Letters, used climate, burned area, and global energy balance models to determine what contribution carbon emissions had on increases in vapor pressure deficit (VPD), which partially caused a rise in burned forest area in the United States and Canada. The research concluded, along with the fossil fuel link, that carbon producer emissions contributed to 48 percent of long-term VPD rise between 1901 and 2021.

canada smoke reaches Europe — Smoke from fires in Canada traversed the Atlantic Ocean and drifted over European countries including Portugal and Spain. ~ NASA image of the day for June 27, 2023

“As loss and damage from these hazards mounts, this research can inform public and legal dialogues regarding the responsibility carbon producers bear for addressing past, present, and future climate risks associated with fires and drought in the western U.S. and southwestern Canada,” researchers said. Nearly a year later, Climate Action Network Canada advocates are using that research to advocate a new push for nationwide carbon emission limits.

“To cap wildfires and other climate impacts, the government must cap oil and gas emissions,” said Climate Action Network Executive Director Caroline Brouillette. “Other sectors and everyday Canadians are reducing their emissions, while for decades the oil and gas sector has increased its pollution and pushed back against every form of accountability. Further delay benefits only oil and gas executives’ pocketbooks and climate-denying politicians.”

A survey of nearly 2,000 Canadians found that nearly two-thirds of residents support a greenhouse gas emissions cap for the oil and gas industry. The survey also found that support for an emissions cap is the highest among Canadians aged 60 or older at 71 percent and only 18 percent of Canadians said the industries shouldn’t be required to limit emissions.

Such a cap would prevent 4,800 premature Canadian deaths and yield $45 billion in economic benefits, according to research projections from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. The results were attributed to projected reductions in air pollution — specifically in nitrogen dioxide, fine particulate matter, and annual ozone — if oil and gas industry emissions are capped at 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2023, which is Canada’s national climate target.

~ Full statement from Climate Action Network Canada.

Fuels, Fire and Smoke: Evolving to meet our climate challenge

Kelly AnderssonApril 11, 2024Fire behaviorBoise, Canberra, fire behavior, fuels, IAWF conference, traleeLeave a comment

Wildfires present an increasing challenge to humans and to the ecosystems and atmosphere we depend on. Our response to larger and more destructive wildfires and ability to prepare for a changing climate is increasingly challenged. Understanding fire behavior and human response is ever more important.

The 7th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels Conference offers a forum at which fire management experience and lessons are documented, current work showcased, and emerging research is shared.

This conference on three continents showcases new fire management policies and frameworks to address fire risks and build resilience. The conference will unite policy makers, scientists, fire managers, and Indigenous land stewards for a shared purpose and a better future living with fire.

Held concurrently in Tralee, Ireland and Canberra, Australia and Boise, Idaho.

BOISE HIGHLIGHTS:

Monday: Workshops, Field Tours, Keynote Session by Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, Opening reception with sponsors and exhibitors.
Tuesday: Sessions, exhibitors, and Poster session/reception.
Wednesday: Field tours, workshops, career fair
Thursday: Sessions and exhibitors
Friday: Explore Boise or travel day.