Como Fire
Location: 17 miles east of Carson City, Lyon Co., NV
Specific location: near the junction of Como Mine Road and Dayton Valley Road in the Pinenut Mountains
Date of Origin: 05/08/2008 at 1455 hrs.
Cause: an excavator that knocked out a power pole.
Current Situation
Total Personnel: 225
Size: 367 acres
Containment: 20 %
Fuels Involved: Pinion and juniper, sagebrush
Summary: The Como fire is reported to have “lain down” overnight. A multi-agency communications site (Rawe Peak communications site) and sage grouse habitat remain threatened.
Colyear Fire
Location: 30 miles west of Red Bluff, Tehama Co., CA
Specific Location: Colyear Springs Rd. and Franklin Point
Date of Origin: May 6, 2008 8:45 pm
Current Situation 05/09/08
Total Personnel: 264+
Size: 1,331 acres
Percent Contained: 95%
CalFire outlook is for full containment today.
***************
Current Situation 05/08/08
Total Personnel: ~250
Size: 2,000 acres
Percent Contained: 55%
Summary: from the Red Bluff Daily News [here]
A controlled burn started Saturday to clear brush and provide range improvement 35 miles west of Red Bluff near Red Bank and just east of Colyear Springs roads escaped sometime between Saturday and Tuesday, burning 1,057 acres as of Wednesday afternoon, said CalFire Public Information Officer Mickie Jackez.
“(The owner) was unable to control the burn because of high winds and steep terrain,” Jackez said.
The winds Wednesday, estimated at 10-15 mph with higher gusts, were a concern for firefighters. The remote location and steep terrain with heavy brush also played into controlling the fire.
The owner brought in six bulldozers and two water tenders in an effort to regain control. The fire was reported to CalFire at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. The agency put 235 personnel and two helicopters dropping water and fire retardant on the fire, Jackez said. Tehama County Fire Department and California Department of Corrections assisted.
There have been no injuries or structures damaged as of Wednesday and CalFire notified all owners of homes and cabins in the area except for one, which is unoccupied, Jackez said.
From 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, the fire went from 5 to 60 percent contained, Jackez said. Firefighters built a line around the fire to contain it for the night and continue to reinforce that line today.
The Huckabee Fire
Location: Pecos Co., TX
Specific location: 30 miles SE of Fort Stockton off Hwy 285.
Date of Origin: 04/30/2008 at 1732 hrs
Cause: Downed power line
Situation as of 05/06/08
Total Personnel: Not available
Size: 98,200 acres
Percent Contained: 90%
Estimated Containment Date: 05/06/2008 at 1800 hrs
***************
Current Situation 05/03/08
Total Personnel: 62
Size: 96,700 acres
Percent Contained: 30%
Fuels Involved: 2.5 feet tall grass with a medium brush component. Heavy fuels in the drainages and north slopes.
Crews are working to put in a contingency line on the north side of the fire in order to protect the windmill farm. Air resources cooled the line and allowed the crews to make direct attack on the fire.
Oil wells, critical infrastructure, ranches, houses and outbuildings are all threatened by this fire.
To date in 2008 Texas has experienced about 150 fires, and close to 800,000 acres have burned. Most of the acreage has been grass. The Texas Forest Service has been the lead agency in fighting the Texas fires, although Federal IMT’s have participated in many cases. The larger fires (5-digit acreages) are listed below with acres and date of containment:
Cathedral Wildland Fire — 23,000 (still active)
Borden County Complex Wildland Fire — 15,000 — 4/15/2008
Ellison Fire Wildland Fire — 16,000 — 4/14/2008
Porter Wildland Fire — 51,400 — 4/5/2008
Highway 322 Wildland Fire — 67,500 — 4/5/2008
Eighty-two Wildland Fire — 33,037 — 4/5/2008
Glass Wildland Fire — 220,000 — 4/5/2008
Burns Ranch Wildland Fire — 25,600 — 3/23/2008
Dana Wildland Fire — 10,000 — 3/21/2008
Snyder Complex Wildland Fire — 28,625 — 3/18/2008
Silver Wildland Fire T — 20,200 — 3/18/2008
Archer County Wildland Fire — 13,548 — 3/2/2008
South Tularosa Fire
Location: 3 miles southeast of Mescalero, Otero Co., NM
Date of Origin: 05/01/08 11:15 AM
Situation as of 05/14/08
Total Personnel: 140
Size: 3,860 acres
Percent contained: 100 % 05/14/08
***************
Situation as of 05/09/08
Total Personnel: 321 (reported Thurs. by AP)
Size: 3,860 acres
Percent contained: 80 %
The Southwest Area Type 1 Incident Management Team will transition to a Type 3 organization with Dave Koch as Incident Commander. Approximately 140 firefighters will remain on the South Tularosa Fire. (reported Wed. by InciWeb)
Red Flag Weather Warning Fri and Sat for high winds S and SW 15 to 20 mph gusting to 40 mph
***************
Situation as of 05/07/08
Total Personnel: 461, transitioning to ~140
Size: 3,860 acres
Percent contained: 70 %
The Southwest Area Type 1 Incident Management Team will transition to a Type 3 organization with Dave Koch as Incident Commander. Approximately 140 firefighters will remain on the South Tularosa Fire.
New Mexico remains on Red Flag Warning for strong winds.
Current Wind Conditions 35 mph SW
Current Temperature 74 degrees
Current Humidity 10 %
***************
Situation as of 05/06/08
Total Personnel: 500
Size: 3,860 acres
Percent contained: 65 %
Red Flag Warning (from noon until 8:00 p.m.) for high winds and dry conditions.
***************
Situation as of 05/05/08
Total Personnel: 468
Size: 3,860 acres
Percent contained: 45 %
Looking down South Tularosa Canyon toward the village of Mescalero.
Credit: Arnie Friedt, InciWeb
***************
Situation as of 05/04/08
Total Personnel: 315
Size: 3,200 acres
Percent contained: 35 %
Update: The South Tularosa Wildland Fire is now listed on InciWeb. The Southwest Area Type I IMT (Vanbruggen) assumed management of the fire at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 2. The fire started in South Tularosa Canyon on Thursday, May 1 and grew quickly due to extremely dry fuel and Red Flag wind conditions. The fire is burning on Mescalero Tribal lands. Air resources available include three on-call air tankers located in Alamogordo and two air attack planes that will monitor the fire activity and one helicopter for incident support. Significant winds are expected to continue throughout this afternoon and may hamper control efforts. Mescalero Tribal lands are under Class 5 Fire Restrictions reflecting the severely dry conditions in the area. Residents and visitors are strongly urged to observe all of the fire restrictions including instructions to smoke only inside buildings and closed vehicles and to be particularly alert during other activities that may start fires. Residents who were asked to evacuate on the night of May 1 have been allowed to return to their homes and the temporary closure of State Highway 244 has been lifted.
Actions: Firefighters on Saturday worked to contain multiple spot fires around the perimeter of the fire on the south and east flanks. Air tankers assisted with one spot fire near State Highway 244 on the north side of the fire.
Fuels: Southwestern edge of the fire includes ganbel oak component. Canopy cover in the timber fuels (ponderosa pine mixed with Douglas-fir) ranges from 60 to 80% and is able to sustain active crown fire within timber fuel types.
Current Wind Conditions: 10-15 mph SE
Current Temperature: 55-60 degrees
Current Humidity: 12-18 %
***************
Situation as of 05/03/08
Total Personnel: ???
Size: 5,000 acres
Percent contained: ???
High winds have been hampering fire fighting efforts. No info or mention of this fire on InciWeb, although this is a Federal agency fire (BIA). No info available at the Southwest Coordination Center either.
Evacuation have been lifted for residents in South Tularosa Canyon and Mudd Canyon. The BIA reported no homes or buildings were lost as of Friday morning, and the fire had moved to an area where it wasn’t threatening any homes.
Highway 244 has been opened.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
***************
Situation as of 05/02/08
Total Personnel: ???
Size: 1000+ acres
Percent contained: ???
Summary: Fire is on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation. Firefighters report wind driven flames with crowning in timber. Road 244 east of the fire has been closed. Threats to approximately 40 structures and outbuildings.
