01 July 2013 (22:07 UTC-07 Tango 30 June 2013)/22 Sha’ban 1434/10 Tir 1391/24 Ji-Wie (5th month) 4711
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20 September 2012, Idaho leads the United States with eight major fires.
Smoked out sky over Cotant Park, Chubbuck, Idaho, about 08:45 hours 20 September 2012.
Even though the sun was high after 08:00 hours (8am for 12 hour clock users), the light was no brighter than dawn (don’t you love your itchy eyes?).
Boise County Sheriff’s Department has arrested an 18 year old firefighter accused of starting the Karney Fire, which burned at least one home, and is threatening another 100.
The firefighter was arrested while fighting the very fire he’s accused of starting. Sheriff’s officials think the motive was to get attention!
Weather forecasters are calling for another dry winter for Idaho. Idaho has been in a drought since 2000.
Regarding the Mustang Complex Fire, officials said the only thing that’ll put it out is hoped for autumn rain and winter snow. But, if this winter is going to be dryer than last year then we’re in for a really long fire season!
For 2013 the National Research Council predicts another record fire year!
Idaho now has 807,308 acres (326,705.9 hectares) of burned land.
Halstead (Salmon-Challis National Forest): 172,128 acres (69,657.7 hectares), area closures are in effect.
Karney (Southwest Area Office, Idaho Department of Lands): 350 acres (141.6 hectares), structures are threatened, evacuations are in effect.
McGuire Complex (Nez Perce National Forest): 59,141 acres (23,933.5 hectares), communities threatened, evacuations are in effect.
Mustang Complex (Salmon-Challis National Forest): 327,017 acres (132,339 hectares), area closures are in effect.
Powell SBW Complex (Clearwater National Forest): 49,925 acres (20,203.9 hectares).
Sheep (Nez Perce National Forest): 41,036 acres (16,606.6 hectares), structures are threatened.
Trinity Ridge (Boise National Forest): 146,832 acres (59,420.8 hectares), area closures are in effect.
Wesley (Payette National Forest): 10,879 acres (4,402.5 hectares), residences are threatened.
IDAHO WILDFIRE UPDATE, 17 SEPTEMBER 2012: PURPLE HAZE
17 September 2012, Idaho leads the U.S. with seven large fires. Montana, Washington and Wyoming have four each. California and Utah with one each.
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The weather is being blamed for an increase in smoke. Two counties in Idaho have been issued Purple Air Quality alerts, the second worst condition after Maroon (Hazardous). Purple means visibility is only one to one and a half miles (1.6 to 2.4 kilometers).
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued the alerts to Lemhi and Custer counties.
The smoke is hurting local business: “It has been smokey up here off and on for six weeks. It looks like everybody has fires in their yards because the smoke is hanging in between the trees. It burns your eyes and it smells like you are standing over a campfire. We’ve lost a tremendous amount of business.”-Sharon Osgood, Greyhouse Bed and Breakfast
Jan Flynn, Idaho Director of the American Lung Association, says she’s never seen it so bad in the Gem State: “I’ve never experienced smoke like that before.”
The problem is a low pressure system off the California coast, and a high pressure system near Washington/British Columbia. They are not moving, holding the building smoke in the Rocky Mountain area. Weather forecasters don’t think the pressure systems will move until after this coming weekend.
IDAHO WILDFIRES, POCATELLO TANKER BASE: 13 SEPTEMBER 2012, SIKORSKY & USMC IN TOWN
IDAHO WILDFIRE UPDATE, 12 SEPTEMBER 2012: MORE AIR TANKERS ARRIVE AT POCATELLO TANKER BASE. EVACUATIONS IN EFFECT!
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IDAHO WILDFIRE UPDATE, 12 SEPTEMBER 2012: ANOTHER SMOKEY DAY, MORE AIR TANKERS ARRIVE AT POCATELLO TANKER BASE. EVACUATIONS IN EFFECT!
11 September 2012, a large and new firefighting aircraft has been seen flying in and out of Pocatello airport (Pocatello Tanker Base) the past few days. It’s a British Aerospace (BAe) 146 flown by Neptune Aviation of Montana (leased from Tronos in Canada).
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The use of the BAe 146 has been delayed in the United States, due to complaints filed by U.S. aviation companies that do not want the competition from the 146. The disputes are being reviewed by the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO).
The latest update is that Neptune Aviation’s tanker 41 has been given a contract to help fight the fires, from 01 September to 09 November 2012.
IDAHO WILDFIRE UPDATE, 10 SEPTEMBER 2012:
….and tanker 40. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.
CANADA JOINS THE FIGHT AT POCATELLO TANKER BASE!
10 September 2012, the smoke just won’t go away, ’cause fires just keep poppin’ up! So far, the year to date fire retardant used by fire fighting aircraft out of Pocatello airport (aka Pocatello Tanker Base) is 261,797 gallons (991,009.4 liters).
Little “seeders” 802 Air Tractors are the backbone of airborne firefighting operations out of Pocatello airport, but Neptunes, MAFFS C-130s and now Convair CV580 operated by CONAIR of Canada, are making appearances at the tanker base.
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According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there are new fires in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Wyoming. There are currently 34 large wildfires burning through the United States.
Idaho has seven large fires, with 640,881 acres (259,355.3 hectares) burned! California has nine fires, but with fewer burned acres, at 151,988 (61,507.36 hectares).
The most recent fires here in eastern Idaho were the Flint Canyon Fire south of American Falls, West Menan Fire and the Pickering Fire near Rexburg.
Regarding the now notorious Mustang Complex Fire, recently officials said the fire was so hard to get to that it would probably burn until the first heavy snowfall of winter!
The Mustang Complex Fire, burning along the Idaho/Montana border, increased by 20,000 acres (8,093.7 hectares) on 09 September 2012. Mandatory evacuations were ordered. The fire is now the single largest in the United States, at 281,000+ acres (113,716.6 hectares)!
EAST IDAHO WILDFIRE UPDATE, 29 AUGUST 2012: BURN AREAS BECOME DUST FARMS.
More fires have popped up in eastern Idaho.
On 27 August, four smoke jumpers put out a small fire near Pocatello, called the Bell Marsh Fire. Also on 27 August, the Lava Tube Fire, near Craters of the Moon National Monument, south of Arco, started and is still active, having burned 800 acres (323.7 hectares) so far.
On 25 August, the Radar Hill Fire burned 1,800 acres (728.4 hectares) in Clark County, north east of Dubois.
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The National Interagency Fire Center reports that Idaho and Montana are tied for number of active wildfires, at eight each.
California leads the country with number of acres burned; 495,544 (200,539.5 hectares). Idaho is second with 410,783 acres (166,237.9 hectares).
Idaho media reporting that a new Smokey the Bear has been found. A bear cub was rescued from the Mustang Complex Fire west of Salmon, Idaho. It’s been named Boo Boo. Click here to see pics.
IDAHO WILDFIRES 16 AUGUST 2012: MAFFS C-130S RETURN TO POCATELLO AIRPORT, IDAHO NATIONAL GUARD JOINS BATTLE!
“We’re ready to go. We’ve gotten the clearance from the governor. We’ve got the state disaster emergency declaration done. Now, it’s just a matter of getting a mission assignment from the Bureau of Homeland Security.”-Colonel Tim Marsano, Idaho National Guard
Can you believe that? Even Homeland Security is calling the shots for firefighters!
16 August 2012, in eastern Idaho the new human caused Fox Hill Fire, close to Wyoming, has burned at least 250 acres (101 hectares). Fire officials say buildings are threatened, but they don’t expect to have any containment until 18:00 hours on 17 August.
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Click here to see pics of the last time MAFFS C-130s were at the Pocatello Airport.
On 15 August, the human caused Gun Range Fire, near Idaho Falls, burned about 588 acres (237.9 hectares) before being contained.
Fires are so numerous in Idaho that the Idaho National Guard is being called into battle. According to the Boise based National Interagency Fire Center, there are at least 12 fires in Idaho (NBC news says 9, but they’re wrong), and only one is contained (yesterday’s Gun Range Fire)!
The only other state with as many wildfires is California. Altogether, at least 60 wildfires are currently burning in the United States.
It looks like this year will beat last year’s number of wildfires, already the acreage burned this year is 1.5 million more than last year (currently 6.3 million acres or 2 million hectares have burned)!
I have been amazed by the number of people here in southeastern Idaho, who are just now noticing the smoke. Some don’t notice it until I point it out to them, like “Hey, didn’t you notice you can’t see the mountains anymore?”. The response was “Well now that you mention it…”
While coming out of the Fred Meyer yesterday I overheard two people commenting about how smokey the sky was. Hello! It’s been that way for more than a week now! Oh well, just reminded me of the days when I lived in southern California and was amazed how many people there couldn’t seem to tell the difference between a smoggy day and a clear day!
Besides Idaho and California, the other states dealing with wildfires are: Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
TWO NEW WILDFIRES IN EASTERN IDAHO
13 August 2012, while the Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center isn’t reporting any new fires, that doesn’t mean the rest of the state isn’t on fire.
On 12 August 2012, more than 11 wildfires across the state burned at least 500 square miles (804.6 kilometers).
Today, things are so bad in the Boise foothills that a DC-10 Very Large Tanker (VLT) has been called in. The Ourada Ranch Fire grew 70 acres (28.3 hectares) in less than one hour!
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In northern Idaho, a firefighter lost her life when a tree fell on her. Anne Veseth was fighting the Steep Corner Fire, near Orofino, on 12 August. Fire officials are investigating.
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is concerned about the amount of smoke in the air, all across the state. On 12 August health officials raised warnings, saying it could be days before the heavy smoke clears out.
The smoke is not just from wildfire in Idaho, but from huge fires in northern California and northern Nevada. Officials say weather and geography are playing a big part in smoking out Idahoans: “…when you get stagnant conditions, no wind, no real movement, everything just kind of sits on top of the whole area…”-Mike Toole, DEQ
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EAST IDAHO WILDFIRES 2012: MAINTENANCE DAY FOR SKYCRANE FIRE FIGHTER @ POCATELLO AIRPORT