FIRE CIRCUS!
A Helena Hotshot Crew Member
A Helena Hotshot Crew Member
dismantles a blazing stump August 15th,
2015 on the Parker Ridge Fire in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. Photo is from
the Bonner County “Daily Bee” website, courtesy of
Nicholas Schreiner
The 2015 Fire Season
has turned out to be a big one! The
drought in the West has made life miserable for many. In the Pacific Northwest,
things started fairly normal, then escalated to a drought status. By the time
middle of August rolled around, numerous showers left traces of rain instead of
larger amounts, so it was almost for naught. The thunderstorms that arrived
were often accompanied by lightning but without rain. So, both careless people coupled
with lightning strikes that ignited fires soon overburdened the ability of fire-fighting crews to
cope with the number of fires that popped up. All it took was a big blast of
wind, and a fire would grow from a few hundred acres to thousands literally overnight.
What always bothers me is the stupidity of the people that “manage” fires. They want to play “incident commanders” instead of being fire-fighters. They spend too much time in meetings and get nothing done. Meantime the fires grow. One example of total asininity is represented by the Parker Ridge Fire in Northern Idaho’s Panhandle. It started as a lightning strike on July 27th 2015 in an area that can be described as "wilderness.” The “powers that be” decided not to fight it as it was burning uphill. It was a stupid decision. The winds came up and the nothing fire became a 6,500 acre or so fire on August 14th, 2015 that burned downhill, crossed a road, jumped the Kootenai River and threatened to burn clear across the panhandle. That came almost two weeks after this fire was known to be a problem in a very tricky fire season.
What always bothers me is the stupidity of the people that “manage” fires. They want to play “incident commanders” instead of being fire-fighters. They spend too much time in meetings and get nothing done. Meantime the fires grow. One example of total asininity is represented by the Parker Ridge Fire in Northern Idaho’s Panhandle. It started as a lightning strike on July 27th 2015 in an area that can be described as "wilderness.” The “powers that be” decided not to fight it as it was burning uphill. It was a stupid decision. The winds came up and the nothing fire became a 6,500 acre or so fire on August 14th, 2015 that burned downhill, crossed a road, jumped the Kootenai River and threatened to burn clear across the panhandle. That came almost two weeks after this fire was known to be a problem in a very tricky fire season.
Now we had a possible major human
disaster in the making. It was a three ring circus with mandatory
“evacuations” and shelters were set up at a local high school and fairgrounds.
The result was traffic tie-ups and people competing with fire units to get out.
The town of Bonners Ferry looked like an evacuation zone. The winds eventually died
down and so the area was spared any further mishap. Luckily no houses were
lost. To hear the news reports, private, county, state and federal agencies
worked seamlessly together through the night and were credited with stopping
the fire. But that is not what locals told me!
Here is what KHQ TV local news in Spokane, Washington reported:
Parker Ridge fire grows to 6,500 acres; no homes lost
Posted: Aug 15, 2015
4:21 AM UTC Updated: Aug 15, 2015 7:15 PM UTC
by Matt Pusatory, KHQ
Local News Web Producer
BONNERS FERRY, Idaho -
UPDATE: The Parker Ridge fire has grown to approximately 6,539 acres
Saturday with zero percent containment.
Extreme weather conditions and high winds caused the fire to
make strong runs to the north and east Friday night. It overran the Westside
Road and moved northeast where it jumped the Kootenai River. Crews worked
through the night and into the early morning hours and stopped the fire's
advance at Farm to Market Road to the east and Long Canyon Creek to the
northwest.
Fire crews report that although homes were threatened, only one
outbuilding was lost. All residents in the area were evacuated safely and no
homes were lost.
Combined resources from private, county, state, and federal
agencies are working closely together in coordinated efforts to minimize the
fire’s effect.
There are currently 96 firefighters on the scene of the fire.
During the height of the
confusion, there was a big squabble between federal and local officials
on who was to handle the fire! A listen to the scanner told the story. One farm
couple who live near the fire but were not affected by it stated that the feds
and the locals had a big disagreement on the radio when the feds told the
locals to clear out! They also tried to commandeer the local farmers who used
their own equipment, trying to save their places. Then to complicate things a
panicked local threatened to light a backfire which really got the juices
flowing. It amazes me the degree to which these morons will go. First they
elect to not to fight a fire, and then when it grows out of sight out of
mind, they want to control it! When I asked the farmer for his opinion on why
they were like this he had only one thing to say: “They are stupid!” He is
an old logger who has dealt with the “Forest Circus” for years and he has very
little respect for some of those people. The suppression costs for this boondoggle will easily exceed one million dollars! It must be nice to have money to throw away like that!
Control Burn on Kootenai National Forest that got away from the crew that set it (Author's Photo taken August 2015).
There is a lot of
stupidity to go around. If this
was an isolated incident, that would be one thing. But it is the norm. A couple
years ago the USFS (we snidely refer to them as the “Forest Circus!”) had a
fire crew light a prescribed burn area on a nearby peak near the end of a fire season. They
lit it before the rains arrived, and so when the winds picked up, the fire
moved both down to a local road and all the way up to the crest of the
mountain!. If any of us unwashed multitudes did that we would be in jail for
arson. But nothing happened to these bimbos. In another area some fifty miles
to the east in Montana, an area that had been logged was brush piled so that piles
could be burned as part of a rehabilitation of the logging area and a reduction
in burnable fuels. A family member was the brush piler so that is how the story
is known. When the fire crew went to light the 200 or so piles, they picked
a poor day; the piles burned together and the resulting fire damaged USFS and
private timberland due to their carelessness. And these people remind the rest
of us to be careful with fire! It is a huge laugh that is unfortunately
not funny.
Here is another example of
problems: A fire fighting official in Stevens County, Washington reported this
week he had just 15 or so people to fight a 4,000 acre wildfire. And
all of them were volunteers! There is nothing like great planning. Because of
the scope of the fires, no more equipment was available and requests for aid
from as far away as back east were being made! I suppose it is fair to state
that if you live in fire country it is best to depend on your own resources:
PLAN AHEAD!
When I lived in Fresno California in
the early 1960’s, A big fire erupted just outside the boundaries of the Sierra
National Forest. The USFS fire boss and the California Division of Forestry
fire boss openly feuded about who was to run the show. By the time the fire was
encircled it had burned thousands of acres both in and out of the forest. Much of
the blame was laid on the fire bosses who caused much delay and confusion in
attacking the serious burn. As a result, people lost their homes in the tiny
villages of Ahwanee, Nipinnawasee and Oakhurst, California. It was one big
mess. I never forgot the lesson.
Ahwanee Fire destruction in California 55 Years ago
(Image from Author's Ektachrome Slide).
Update August 23, 2015.
There are over a hundred fires now burning in Montana, dozens in Idaho, Washington and other western states. Recently it became known that 3,000 volunteers with dozers and excavators are willing to work on the fires in Washington State. Instead of putting them to work immediately to save lives and property, the idiots in government want to "verify" that these volunteers are qualified before putting them to work! And they have come up with the novel idea of importing Australian and New Zealand Firefighters to help out! Is there any end to the idiocy that goes on? Nope! Lets all cross the river to get water! No sense in drinking on this side! Apparently the old adage that the "scum floats to the top" still applies!
Update September 21, 2015
Believe it or not, the Parker Ridge Fire has been burning for more than six weeks from the time it was discovered as a lightning strike on top of Parker Ridge. It was originally ignored by the Forest Service. Strong winds turned it into a blowtorch that headed down the steep ridge to the farmlands of the Kootenai Valley. The local farmers got a hold of any and all equipment that moved dirt and went to work to stop the firestorm. They were successful.
Today the blogger inspected the fire from the paved road that follows the valley and took photographs of the results which are only impressive by their starkness. There were several upscale farm homes the fire approached but due to effort made, they were spared from the advancing flames. The sad part about this whole incident is that it was unnecessary and with some intelligent forethought, the whole incident could have been avoided. Nothing like intelligent government to "help" the people.......
The Burned Ridge and the Kootenai Valley Farmlands
The Burned Ridge from the Westside Road
Minimal Damage along West Side Road
Scorched Earth and unburned trees showing "blowtorch effect"
Ground Burned to a Crisp
Green Grass Growing along the road after rains!
Varied Tree Damage
Dead Sentinels Standing
There will be floods here after heavy rains!
If there have not been enough screw-ups here is an encore! First we don't fight the fire, then after it becomes a disaster we make sure those who burn wood for heating can't cut the damaged and dead trees! Isn't government absolutely BRILLIANT?!
Photographs in this Update by the Blogger
(Image from Author's Ektachrome Slide).
Update August 23, 2015.
There are over a hundred fires now burning in Montana, dozens in Idaho, Washington and other western states. Recently it became known that 3,000 volunteers with dozers and excavators are willing to work on the fires in Washington State. Instead of putting them to work immediately to save lives and property, the idiots in government want to "verify" that these volunteers are qualified before putting them to work! And they have come up with the novel idea of importing Australian and New Zealand Firefighters to help out! Is there any end to the idiocy that goes on? Nope! Lets all cross the river to get water! No sense in drinking on this side! Apparently the old adage that the "scum floats to the top" still applies!
Update September 21, 2015
Believe it or not, the Parker Ridge Fire has been burning for more than six weeks from the time it was discovered as a lightning strike on top of Parker Ridge. It was originally ignored by the Forest Service. Strong winds turned it into a blowtorch that headed down the steep ridge to the farmlands of the Kootenai Valley. The local farmers got a hold of any and all equipment that moved dirt and went to work to stop the firestorm. They were successful.
Today the blogger inspected the fire from the paved road that follows the valley and took photographs of the results which are only impressive by their starkness. There were several upscale farm homes the fire approached but due to effort made, they were spared from the advancing flames. The sad part about this whole incident is that it was unnecessary and with some intelligent forethought, the whole incident could have been avoided. Nothing like intelligent government to "help" the people.......
The Burned Ridge and the Kootenai Valley Farmlands
The Burned Ridge from the Westside Road
Farmlands Disked, forming a huge break in event the fire made another run at the farms.
Minimal Damage along West Side Road
Scorched Earth and unburned trees showing "blowtorch effect"
Ground Burned to a Crisp
Green Grass Growing along the road after rains!
Varied Tree Damage
Dead Sentinels Standing
There will be floods here after heavy rains!
If there have not been enough screw-ups here is an encore! First we don't fight the fire, then after it becomes a disaster we make sure those who burn wood for heating can't cut the damaged and dead trees! Isn't government absolutely BRILLIANT?!
Photographs in this Update by the Blogger
Harald Hesstvedt Scharnhorst
Posted 2015
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