Montana Wildfires
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Beleaguered firefighters in Montana enjoyed something of a lull in their battle against dozens of wildfires, but a new blaze near Yellowstone National Park forced the evacuation of up to 150 homes.
And a firestorm in a remote Idaho forest destroyed most of the buildings at a guest ranch, and another guest ranch was ordered evacuated.
There were concerns the entire town of Red Lodge, a resort community near Yellowstone in south-central Montana, might have to be evacuated in the face of the blaze. Wind was expected to gust to 30 mph during the night.
``We're constantly reevaluating whether there will be a need to evacuate the town,'' population 1,875, a Forest Service official said Sunday.
Near the town, 100 to 150 homes were evacuated, fire officials said Monday. The blaze had covered 3,000 acres by Monday morning.
No other major flare-ups were reported Sunday in the state, where more than 10,000 firefighters worked to combat 23 wildfires that have consumed some 670,000 acres.
``Everything stayed about the same,'' said Dan...
Several fires spanned the county and created the devastation. The first fire dubbed the Harris Ranch Fire started 9:23 am October 21, 2007 in the South Eastern portion of the county. Was determined to have been started by an illegal campfire, and moved North West fanned by the winds. The fires continued to start in differing areas of the county over a 72 hour period, some sparked by downed power-lines, and suspicious circumst...
On July 10, 2001 four U.S Forest Service Firefighters died while battling the thirty mile fire. Six others injured including two hikers. The thirty mile fire was the second deadliest fire in Washington state history.
As people of the twenty-first century, we are all too familiar with the frequent occurrence of wildfires in our nation’s forests. Each year millions of acres of woodlands are destroyed in brutal scorches. It has been estimated that 190 million acres of rangelands in the United States are highly susceptible to catastrophic fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). About a third of these high-risk forests are located in California (www.sfgate.com). These uncontrollable blazes not only consume our beautiful forests but also the wildlife, our homes and often the lives of those who fight the wildfires. The frequency of these devastating fires has been increasing over the years. In fact, in the years 2000 and 2002, it has been reported that the United States has faced its worst two years in fifty years for mass destruction fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). The increased natural fuels buildup coupled with droughts have been a prevailing factor in contributing to our wildfires and unhealthy forests (www.blm.gov/nhp/news/releases/pages/2004/pr040303_forests.html). Due to the severity of these wildfires, several regulations and guidelines have been implemented to save our forests. In fact, the President himself has devised a plan in order to restore our forests and prevent further destruction of our woodlands.
The Mann Gulch wildfire was a tragic event that took the lives of 13 firefighters who had jumped into the area to battle the fast-moving fire. The tragedy was a severe hit to the Forest Service, which had not experienced a death during a decade of smoke jumping (Rothermel, 1993). Along with the horrific deaths, Rothermel (1993) states the Mann Gulch fire had serious consequences for the Forest Service and its research branch. The fire disaster changed the landscape of wildfire firefighting. Due to the tragedy, the Forest Service would establish new training techniques and improved safety measures for its firefighters and smokejumpers along with more emphasis on fire research and the science of fire behavior (Lehman, 2009). With the training and research, better firefighting techniques and equipment evolved (Lehman, 2009). The analysis will evaluate how the firefighters
Reinhardt, Timothy E. Smoke exposure among firefighters at prescribed burns in the Pacific Northwest. Portland: Forest Service, 2000.
Approximately three miles west of Colorado Springs in the Pike National Forest, the Waldo Canyon fire of 2012 was the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history burning 18, 247 acres, killing two people, destroying 347 homes and damaging many more (City of Colorado Springs, 2013). In addition to property damages and loss of life, there were other damages caused from this wildfire to include wildlife, plant life, watershed and soil. Economic damages caused by this wildfire include firefighting costs, insurance claims, home displacement costs and business closures during the duration of the fire.
Of this number, 12,700 home were a complete loss. For those who still have a home, considerable work may be needed to restore the home to its prior condition. Many homeowners in the area continue to reside in hotel rooms or housing provided by FEMA as they wait for this work to be done.
“This is the worst day in my firefighting career,” states Fire Chief Darby Allen. The wildfire in Fort McMurray has increased up to 10 000 hectares, and still could be increasing its area. It is out of control as of Tuesday and Wednesday. The Fort McMurray fire can be reported by its reasons, and the causes, the affected people, and areas, and thoughts from residents and officials.
Yellowstone’s landscapes have longed been shaped by fires. “The natural history of fire in the park includes large-scale conflagrations sweeping across the pa...
Most of the fires have some effect on inland waters. Inland waters are described as “permanent water bodies inland from the coastal zone and areas whose properties and use are dominated by the permanent, seasonal, or intermittent occurrence of flooded conditions” (GreenFacts Scientific Board, 2017). This includes any body of water that we may encounter except the ocean. This is the same water from which we treat for use in our homes for drinking, cooking, bathing and even cleaning. A wildfire burning next to a stream of which we collect water from couldn’t be expected not to have some type of effect from this
Historically, firefighters have been are our modern day first responders and are the most courageous and loyal people in today’s society. One issue buzzing around the media, however, is that fire departments are going over budget extinguishing wildfires. The definition of a wildfire is a large destructive fire that spreads quickly over woodland or brush. To put out any sort of fire, you need to take away any of the three components that fuel it, which include heat, oxygen, and fuel. What most civilians do not know is that most wildfires do have the potential to extinguish themselves, which saves money, health risks and resources. So why are firefighters still spending money to put wildfires out? Due to the overspending on limited natural resources and taxpayer’s money, the fire service should alter their approach on extinguishing naturally started fires, or wildfires.
A prescribed burn is usually less intense than a wildfire. Prescribed burns are put on when conditions are right, meaning that the area is not too dry or too large. Wildfires on the other hand can start at any time and burn vast areas and last for days out of control. One reason wildfires usually are more intense than prescribed burns is because of the fire suppression that lasted most of this century allowed large amounts of fuel to pile up waiting to be burned. Vegetation in these areas will grow back regardless, but it is the soils that have a harder time recovering from the intense heat. One other difference to consider when looking at the types of fires, is a forest fire verses a grassland fire. Forest fires usually last longer and h...
It is so sad to see the horror of forest fires and how they corrupt our beautiful land. So much damage comes out of what started so small. At least 603 square miles of land were burned in the early stages of the Arizona fire only a couple of years ago (BBC 2). In a Colorado fire 2.3 million acres had been burned (BBC 3). That land could have been saved if the use of prescribed burns had been in the area.
Policies regarding the handling of wildland fires continue to change and evolve as new information is learned each fire season. Attitudes have changed between complete wildland fire suppression to no suppression at all. We now seem to have reached a balance between the two schools of thought and fall somewhere in the middle.
Fire at any level can be devastating, yet the effects that wildfires have on every worldwide country really has left its mark on the land. As written by world renowned wild fire spokesperson Smokey the Bear, “Every year, wildfires sweeps through parts of the United States setting wilderness and homes ablaze. On average these raging infernos destroy about four to five million acres of land a year. But in 2012, wildfire burned more than 9.3 million acres, an area about the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined” (U.S. Wildfires). Destroying homes, crops, towns and of course forests. Yet the effects of these fires can be seen from a negative perspective as well as some positive. Plus there are natural causes as well as manmade that makes these destructive fires erupt and become almost unstoppable in seconds.