Fire update

[DemoTex]

The Rooster Rock fire did not get as big as I predicted, but it is up
to 5500 acres now with high growth potential. It currently has 20 mph
of wind on it. The fire has blown up into a huge pyrocumulus every
afternoon since Monday. It may have blown up again today, but I can't
see much of anything for the drift smoke in my sector.

From Inciweb.org (an excellent sorce of wildland fire info):
"Uncontrolled line. Prolific short range spotting. Numerous spot fires are burning together.
Direct attack with hand tools is proving ineffective. Aircraft operations are limited by
smoke. Contained line - Smoldering, creeping. Heavy fuels continue to
burn out."
http://www.inciweb.org/
(click on Rooster Rock for map and info)

Wednesday's afternoon blowup resulted in another awesome pyrocumulus.
I took this photo from my fire lookout tower about 45 miles away.


Fire area with origin at the small green square (from Inciweb's lat/lon)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear DemoTex!

Now, there's one awesome pic!

Too bad it means something terrible is happening...

I'm loving the colors and the detailed edge of the cloud!

Hang in there, sweetie!

:hug:

[DemoTex]

3. I'm getting tired of this drift smoke.

My visibility is nil in almost all directions. I couldn't spot a fire beyond about three miles in my area if one were to pop up. My eyes burn. My throat stings. But you are from Cali, you know the drill!

:hi:

[Submariner]

2. Let em burn

I remember when Uncle Ronnie taught us good about them stinkin' trees.

"Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do." -- Ronald Reagan, 1981

"A tree is a tree. How many more do you have to look at?" -- Ronald Reagan, 1966, opposing expansion of Redwood National Park as governor of California.

[EFerrari]

8. Oh, god.

That horrible man. I wish I didn't like Ron so much because it's not too late to put up a site to bash Raygun day and night just to cleanse the national soul.

[Riftaxe]

4. Ahhh heck....

not really related but reminds me that the annual California fires are coming up, stock footage and all :( Anyone remember the days when news services were not so lazy?

[DemoTex]

5. I think the Cali fires are already here

Bull Fire in the Sequoia NF (LA Times photo)

[Riftaxe]

6. ugly picture there :(

I am an east coaster tho, in a small state. if terrain was that flat we could see it across the state at least :P

Anyways, i have enjoyed your posts, and your pictures :)

[Born_A_Truman]

7. Wildlandfire - Hotlist thread about your fire ...

http://www.wildlandfire.com/hotlist/showthread.php?t=15096

[DemoTex]

10. Good stuff. Thanks.

The thunderstorms did not happen (as far as I can tell) - except far to the east near Burns, OR. The skies actually cleared of drift smoke here near sunset. I'll post some pics shortly.

mac

[cilla4progress]

9. Thanks, DT

I'm a couple hundred miles due north of you in eastern Washington. We dodged several bullets over the past week - 3 or more thunderstorms, all accompanied by rain (hallelujah!).

Did have a 2.3 earthquake tonight though!

All is well on turtle island.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. You stay safe and

for the crews, stay safe too.

[DemoTex]

14. Roger that, Nadin!

:hi:

[Suich]

12. I always thought those were called thunder-heads or

thunder-clouds. I saw some in the Cascades tonight due east of Seattle, but I didn't think we had any big fires burning.

What am I missing?

:shrug:

[DemoTex]

13. A pyrocumulus looks mighty like a cumulonimbus.

But the pryocumulus (pyro = fire) is fire and smoke spawned. The energy for the pyrocumulus is the wildfire. It can have other forms of convection working, too. A pyrocumulus can also generate lightning - lots of lightning.

A cumulonimbus (rain cloud => thunderstorm) derives it's energy from the atmosphere (solar warming).

Pyrocumulus formations are rare, and usually associated with blowouts of western wild-land fires. Notable pyrocumulus events include the Mann Gulch fire, Montana (61 years ago today), the South Canyon fire (Storm King Mountain Colorado). and the Thirty Mile fire in Washington. All of these fires resulted in the deaths of firefighters.

The Big Blowup (Big Burn) was 100 years ago this month. That must have been some granddaddy pyrocumulus.

[Suich]

15. Thanks for the info...I had no idea about pyrocumuli.

The Big Blowup must have been a nightmare. 3 million acres??? I thought the Tillamook burn was the worst I'd ever heard of but it was "only" 350,000 acres.

My Dad was a consulting forester and I hate forest fires! I still remember the smell when he came home after a fire.





:hi:

[DemoTex]

16. The "Biscuit Fire" in SW Oregon was 500,000 acres

2002 - Siskiyou National Forest

The Biscuit Fire was lightning spawned. It was later determined that the source strike was in the field of vision of four fire lookout towers, all closed and not staffed.

Sad. Half million acres gone. A simple "smoke report" could have, would have, should have stopped it at 1/10 acre - single lightning-struck pine.