Fire as Medicine: Fire-Dependent Cultures and Re-Empowering American Indians Tribes
Across North America, many communities seek to live more safely with wildland fire; some call that working to become a fire adapted community. Many American Indian tribes were historically able to live within fire-prone ecosystems, but rather than just being fire adapted, they were and still are fire dependent cultures.
Fire, Smoke and Inversions Explained
Video recorded on the Hirz Fire, FUSEE Board Member, Mike Beasley, along with the Incident Meteorologist and Air Resource Advisor describe the nature and importance of inversions.
Firefighter Safety Begins at Home
After a long shift on the line, coming back to basecamp exhausted and needing to take care of one’s basic needs of food and hygiene before catching a few hours of precious sleep—who would even be thinking about potential threats to one’s personal safety inside firecamp!
Cat Scratch Fever
The Mendocino Complex has taken its place in the record books–but probably not for long–as the largest wildfire in California state history. While the River Fire is 100% contained at this time, it is possible that the Ranch Fire may eventually burn over a majority of entire Mendocino National Forest before it stops its advance.
One thing that leaps out with a casual glance at the current fire map is the extensive use of dozers in primary and contingency firelines. Several of these dozerlines a.k.a. “catlines” come right up to and possibly encroach into the Snow Mountain Wilderness. In fact, the California Regional Forester gave permission for dozers to enter the wilderness with the blessing of the Mendocino Forest Supervisor.
Other Than Full Suppression
This essay was written in response to a recent post at Wildfire Today: Wildfire News and Opinion, titled, “Are we experiencing a “new normal” of wildland fire behavior?”
FUSEE Releases New Instructional Guide for Citizens to Access Wildfire Information Online
Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE) released their new report, FireWatch: A Citizen's Guide to Wildfire Suppression Monitoring, that provides easy step-by-step instructions for accessing a number of different internet sites that track wildfires.
Ferguson Fire: Hoping for Yosemite's Road Less Trammeled
There are real concerns for the safety of the community of Yosemite West located just outside the Park, but that is where efforts to prepare structures for fire’s arrival should be focused. As to the ranger compound in Wawona, the Park’s fire staff have been preparing that community for a wildfire like the Ferguson Fire for many years, using a combination of prescribed burning and wildland fire use. The same goes for the giant Sequoias in the Mariposa Grove, trees that were in decline due to past fire exclusion but are now reviving with new generations of sequoias thanks to the Park Service reintroducing fire in the groves.
The IC’s decision to stop the Ferguson Fire along the Wawona Road is not about fear or hatred of fire–that is a media generated meme constructed for public consumption. Rather, it is about hubris, the need control Wild Nature, to show her who is the real (fire) boss.
Nation Moves to Wildfire Planning Level 5 while Cohen & Russiagate Dominate Headlines
The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) moved National Planning Level to 5 today, while the Nation’s capitol and the mainstream media continue focus on the Game of Thrones atmosphere surrounding the Trump administration.
Carr Fire Takes Aim at Redding
Climate chaos strikes, again, this time deep into the heart of Redding, California, the regional hub and commercial center for Northern California. The Carr Fire started near the cross of Hwy. 299 and the Carr Powerhouse Road on Monday, July 23rd.
Your guy-on-the-street, HunterX, is here with exclusive photos and sources from the firefight going on now in Shasta County. The fire was very active the first couple of days, but was restricted to the mountains west of Whiskeytown Lake.
Ferguson Fire: Yosemite's Proving Ground for Ecological Fire Use
The Ferguson Fire has been burning for nearly two weeks and has captured most of the attention of the national news media. Tragically, one firefighter was killed on the second day of the fire when the bulldozer he was operating rolled down a steep slope. Miraculously, no homes have been lost as of July 25th. The Ferguson is going to burn a large area over a long time.
History never repeats itself but it rhymes: Rim Fire redux
The year was 1961. President Robert F. Kennedy was President of the United States. The Central Valley Project had been built and the growing San Joaquin Valley agribusiness gave way to traditional ranchland in the oak savanna of the Sierra foothills southwest of Yosemite National Park. The Harlow Fire started on July 10th. The following day it exploded, burning over 20,000 acres in two hours, vaporizing the communities of Ahwahnee and Nipinnawasee, and killing an elderly couple. Supposedly, that run on the Harlow Fire was one of the fastest ever recorded. The communities would never recover.
A New Hotlist, A New Fire, and a Tragedy
Tragically, a CalFire dozer operator was killed this morning in a rollover accident on the new emergent Ferguson Fire on the Sierra National Forest. The Ferguson Fire started yesterday evening near the bottom of the Merced River Canyon near the junction with the South Fork of the Merced River, and is forcing evacuations throughout the river canyon.
Drop the Rhetoric, Work Together
Originally posted in the Curry Coastal Pilot, Richard Fairbanks presents a brief summary of published findings on wildfire management.
Managing Wildfire: What Works and What Doesn't
We now have solid science and decades of experience managing western wildfires. But in our hyper-partisan age, the issue of fire management is becoming as politicized as timber management was in the 80’s and 90’s. In an attempt to contribute to a fact based debate, I present a brief summary of respected, published findings on wildfire management.
Science Continues at the Continuum
Hunter X.Mason’s experience at the Fire Continuum Conference on the beautiful University of Montana campus in Missoula.
2018 California Incident Management Team (IMT) Workshop Notes
Notes from the 2018 California Incident Management Team (IMT) Workshop.