Rolling Western U.S. Is On Fire / Wildfires Thread

scary stuff in northern california right now. we're approaching the peak of it but wildfire season gets longer every year.

still two months or so to go before the rains hit Oregon. yeah, scary shit

this wildfire smoke map / forecast is wild:

https://airquality.weather.gov/sectors/conus.php

that interface is wonky but the "vertical smoke integration" forecast seems to show smoke drifting all the way to the lower mississippi valley.

miraculously, we have not gotten serious smoke in Eugene yet. last year was much worse, but I think it's just pure chance (and weather patterns) that we aren't totally inundated at this point.

The #CarrFire that is burning through Redding, CA has now destroyed nearly 1,000 homes.

It's still just 20% contained and has burned an area *three times the size of San Francisco*.

Six of the 20 most destructive fires in California history have happened in the past 10 months. https://t.co/BcK4gNmnPX

— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) July 30, 2018

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DjZpEKYUYAII-qS.jpg:large

Was in Ashland, OR last week, which is about two hours north, and the smoke was so bad is was classified as "hazardous." Lots of people wearing masks, or at least staying indoors. Related, we were in Santa Rosa, too, which was hit super hard last year, but aside form a few "thank you" monuments to firefighters I never would have guessed.

from a friend, and I totally buy this theory"

[Now these developers are starting arson fires in Cali to force people to flee north where these prices are “normal”!

Sixteen thousand rental units in Portland are sitting empty

http://www.registerguard.com/news/20180820/wildfire-smoke-to-degrade-lane-countys-air-quality-to-unhealthy-levels

Seattle:

https://cdn.geekwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/NASA-Vancouver-Fire-thumbnail-620x467.jpg

Missouri man flies to California, sets 13 wildfires, then tries to fly home, cops say

https://www.kansascity.com/latest-news/s6tqdm/picture235504772/alternates/FREE_768/Screen%20Shot%202019-09-26%20at%2011.44.07%20A_fitted.jpeg

After he was arrested, Graham told investigators he and his wife had planned to drive along Calaveras Road near the reservoir together before her death in 2018, according to the news outlet. A report by investigators states: “Because she passed away and could not be with him, it made him emotional, starting the fires.”

The blackouts, which were projected to begin early Wednesday just after midnight, were likely to affect parts of San Jose, Oakland and Berkeley but not San Francisco or Sacramento, PG&E said. https://t.co/myow89C8eu

— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) October 8, 2019

"Can't blame us for fires if we shut off the power grid"
Roll-Safe-tapping-finger-to-head.jpg

PGE recently spent $79 million on lobbying, got $1 billion in tax rebates, made a profit of $4.8 billion and hiked executive pay 94% https://t.co/ELHZLLlKn2

— reclaim UC (@reclaimuc) October 9, 2019

Saddleridge fire being investigated as caused by sparking SCE electrical tower despite residential outages.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-13/saddleridge-fire-electrical-tower-investigated-possible-ignition-point

This is normal right?

Black smoke and fire from Nustar Energy refinery pic.twitter.com/nuuCOuiVS9

— KTVU (@KTVU) October 15, 2019

I guess this isn't technically a wildfire but still (wait for it...):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u4BeyqyP8o

I have to say, between the fires and now smoke from a burning refinery, this ad is in pretty poor taste for Californians. #smokeandmirrors#banSUVs https://t.co/RrLBRrM9Ow

— Dr Kristina Hill 🏳️‍🌈 (@kzhill) October 15, 2019

There are approximately 42 fire units at Nu Star incident from agencies around the Bay including- Contra Costa County Fire, Crockett Fire, Rodeo-Hercules Fire, Pinole Fire, Richmond Fire, CAL FIRE and the East Bay Regional Park District and overhead from the East Bay IMT.

— Con Fire PIO (@ContraCostaFire) October 16, 2019

Interstate-80 is the major conduit from the SF Bay Area to Sacramento & beyond...

https://i.imgur.com/jNYX0hs.png

...and is forecasted to be closed for another 6+ hours.

More PG&E power outages coming over the next few days, some could last as long as 48 hours.

Outages already reported in Northern Sonoma County.

The wind woke me up early. Reminded me of how it was the night of the Tubbs fire. First thing I did when I woke up was check to see if there was a fire and wasn’t too surprised.

possibly no bueno with the Getty Fire in L.A., w/the strongest Santa Anas of the year supposedly arriving tonight. the air quality seems to be okay around the city, i assume the winds are blowing the smoke out to the ocean.

there are a dozen or so people on my FB marking themselves "safe" from this fire despite most living in idk Highland Park or Silver Lake or East Hollywood.

haha i assume it's to ward off calls or messages from family who live out of the area?

I heard some terrifying dystopian references (2nd-hand w/o source) about people trapped in their "smart" homes as flames approached, because the power outage meant the "smart" locks couldn't be opened, and the internet was down so they couldn't reach anyone for help?

any source or link for that wld be appreciated

I would think any door would have to have a failsafe way to open from the inside, for a house fire, etc.

I would think any door would have to have a failsafe way to open from the inside, for a house fire, etc.

that's a pretty non-contestable requirement of CA Fire Code for buildings

and we all know how much rich techbro assholes feel about public safety regulations

Cue Silicon Valley Jared and the driverless car scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UBdrMTxsvs

if you die in a fire because of your "smarthome" maybe you... aren't that smart

"Open the pod doors HAL"

SF is on fire and TIME is on it (view quickly before it is deleted):

As fires continue to ravage different parts of California, watch as firefighters face massive flames in San Francisco pic.twitter.com/lFjNOQiBqV

— TIME (@TIME) October 29, 2019

lol

The Zack House by Craig Elwood burned by the Getty fire in Los Angeles.

https://www.facebook.com/KCMODERN/photos/pcb.2525595454199945/2525593230866834/?type=3&theater

xp RIP Time tweet

the reagan library is now threatened by the blazes

bump

CalFire admits in presser this morning that they have NO resources to fight this. Like, NONE. Guess why? Bc the prison populations, who have for decades been California’s primary firefighter hand-crews on wildfires, are too sick with Covid to go. https://t.co/ZZKIpsN5lc

— RH Herron/Rachael Herron (@RachaelHerron) August 19, 2020

well, not exactly NONE. but yeah, that is bleak. $2 to $5 a fucking day for the work, too, which probably makes it the highest paid position available for them

it would be disgusting even if they weren't exposing themselves to immediate and long term danger for that wage. absolutely unconscionable.

https://earther.gizmodo.com/the-climate-danger-of-kamala-harris-prison-labor-legac-1844712734 this suggests it's $5/hour? not that it makes a difference. (n.b. in spite of myself i don't place much of the blame for this on kamala herself, article doesn't do a great job of explaining how the AG's office got to the point of filing that. however, it's not justifiable.)

Anyone know the likelihood of Santa Cruz city having to evacuate? My sister lives there, and this is cranking up her nervousness...

(caveat that i'm just some guy, not a firefighter) It's not too close yet but I'd be concerned about the cluster that just broke out south of Henry Cowell State Park (https://www.esri.com/en-us/disaster-response/disasters/wildfires) . CalFire's general policy is to greatly favor protecting residential areas over parks so I wouldn't be surprised if they're already doing controlled burns around UC Santa Cruz.

xp: She should be fine if she's in town. If she's up the coast or in the hills off Hwy 9 she's probably already evac'd.

I don’t really want to reveal where I live (not Santa Cruz) but um I have a bag packed. 😬

DJI: this account has all the latest information

https://twitter.com/CALFIRECZU/

x-post

I believe that the rain and wind flow is expected to help but the rain itself should also be avoided:

Rounds of showers are forecast Saturday and could produce "dirty rain," a phenomenon in which rain washes smoke particles from the air, leaving soot, dust or other residue on vehicles and outdoor surfaces.

https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/weather/2020/07/04/new-york-city-all-boroughs-daily-forecast

xp i should finally read craig childs. he had a reading at the bookstore i worked at in moab while i worked there (i didn't attend). my coworker really liked his stuff so i heard a little. at the time i was weirdly antipathetic to a lot of that kind of writing - i was getting into octavia butler instead - but i'm sure i'd find much to enjoy now. i've heard he's a big improvement over edward abbey at least and is a very nice guy to boot. i follow him on facebook and he posted about evacuating his mother from their house near monticello during the babylon fire. i don't believe anyone was hurt thankfully, not sure if the house

is gone or not. lol typing on a half broken laptop keyboard on a plane.

anyway not to get too trenchant but... no one escapes an earth out of balance.

I wouldn't even compare him to Edward Abbey. Maybe to Aldo Leopold. But either way, enjoy your future Craig Childs explorations! Very readable iirc.

ope and i looked out the plane window right as we crossed into wisconsin -- all grey below.

xp i take your recommendation highly and will keep him in mind for a new read soon.

xxp nope, there's nowhere to hide. I'm on a tropical island and there's no smoke, but the rising sea levels are threatening to wash into the fresh water reservoir of the island which would be bad to say the least

noaa gsl has a smoke forecast in an "experimental" system that's pretty good (long link warning)

https://sites.gsl.noaa.gov/desi/?x4dLocations=%5B%22City%22%5D&chart=x4d&lat=40&lon=-105&theme=dark&timeZone=local&hourFormat=12&x4dviewState=%7B%22latitude%22%3A39.957%2C%22longitude%22%3A-85.526%2C%22bearing%22%3A0%2C%22pitch%22%3A20%2C%22zoom%22%3A4.91%7D&dset=HRRR_CO-CONUS&clusHghlgt=true&x4dMapStyle=2D&x4dMaps=%7B%22basemap%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3A%22Mapbox%22%7D%2C%22mapboxBasemap%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3A%22Satellite%22%2C%22parentValue%22%3A%22mapboxBasemap%22%7D%2C%22Airports%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22ARTCC%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Cities%22%3A%7B%22checked%22%3Atrue%7D%2C%22Coastlines%22%3A%7B%22checked%22%3Atrue%7D%2C%22County+lines%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Countries%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Country+lines%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Countries+NonUS%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Country+NonUS+lines%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22CWAs%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Graticules%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22HUC+6+%28CONUS+%26+OCONUS%29%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22HUC+8+%28CONUS%29%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22PSAs%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22RFCs%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Roads%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22State+lines%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Tribal+Lands%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Vulnerability%22%3A%7B%22value%22%3A%22Social+Vulnerability+Index%22%2C%22parentKey%22%3A%22Vulnerability%22%2C%22parentValue%22%3A%22Vulnerability%22%7D%2C%22Watches%2FWarnings%2FAdvisories%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Zones+%28public%29%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Zones+%28fire+wx%29%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Zones+%28coastal+marine%29%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22Zones+%28offshore+marine%29%22%3A%7B%7D%7D&preferredFontSize=14&x4dCityPadding=1&x4dDset=%7B%22name%22%3A%22%24dynamic%22%2C%22plotargs%22%3A%5B%7B%22fields%22%3A%5B%22aqi%22%5D%2C%22fieldOptions%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22trackingID%22%3A%22tracking_6f0c3a82-c9d3-481b-9cdd-cd6a3adf4969%22%2C%22layerorder%22%3A1784232571698%7D%5D%7D&x1dGroup=Default&x1dSection=overview&x1dSingleField=t2&x1dGraphStyle=plume&x2dGraphStyle=mean&x1dMapType=dark&summaryTableAreaSelection=geoRegion%3ACONUS&fbclid=IwY2xjawTGA-RleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFzMzNBbk9kcFZjM0hURmxPc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHj9ZQTQL_BJMDCoi7GKb0KlLGtG0F2lp8_sllSnE25C7JTZPeKCaF_Z-hDf2_aem_1rxYpZQxFtfkXo9ebZWbAw

Very smokey in southwestern Ontario...I played nine holes of golf this afternoon, didn't give it much thought. I was planning on tennis tonight, but another member posted a long informational thing about particulates that get into your lungs and I was duly scared straight. No tennis.

We're Sorry But the Apocalypse Has Canceled the Tennis

That reminds me of this, which we published by our outdoors columnist after Hurricane Helene. He lives in Asheville. He had a surreal drive into town toward a theoretical tennis match after the storm.

https://compassknox.com/2024/10/07/after-the-flood-2/

Very smokey in southwestern Ontario

was just texting with my GF who's visiting the fam in Alberta, north of Edmonton - she reports no smoke at all and was surprised to hear about it, I don't think she follows the news very much while she's up there

Seems like the prevailing winds are taking it all east

oh interesting - I was curious if this was affecting Banff/Jasper/Yoho etc... there's a TON of dead trees due to beetle infestations, or at least was the case when I last visited a few years ago.

well, those dead trees could be next

They had lightning last week, I'm sure there will be more

oh interesting - I was curious if this was affecting Banff/Jasper/Yoho etc... there's a TON of dead trees due to beetle infestations, or at least was the case when I last visited a few years ago.

are these bark beetles?

The AQI is getting worse here in NYC, surpassing the already "very unhealthy" prediction of 200 and climbing. Summerstage just cancelled the free Mavis Staples show, which I was going to attend. Thank god, I was told to definitely wear a K-95 mask, and I was like "WHAT ABOUT MAVIS??? She can't sing in this!"

My sister in MN says her area is clearing up: she is in Prior Lake.

flying to chicago on saturday :x

I was outside a lot in 500 aqi today in WI and I feel like I used to when you could smoke at shows. Including my eyes stinging. Hardly anybody wore masks. An 80 year old family member with a bad heart was looking at people who were wearing them and jokingly asking if it was because of a COVID outbreak.

Heard Chicago is nuts right now. I'm in Philly and it looks like a dense foggy night, which is crazy, because it's not fog.

NYT says the AQI in Chicago is 743, which I can't even make sense of. My Weather.com widget says 439, which is bad enough. I haven't left the house all day.

AQI in NYC almost hit 300, but it's inching back down. (Currently at about 270.) Nowhere near Chicago's levels, but still very bad. Rain's coming on Saturday so that may clear things out in various places.

My best friend and his family are in Chicago for last night's Rush show; they wore masks yesterday morning before retreating to their hotel.

Code Purple day today in greater DC

Yeah, I'm glad I'm working from home today. I had to step outside briefly and wore an N95.

AQI now 408, down from 496 yesterday (Southeast MI).

Neighbor who works at a Ford plant said that many co-workers were hospitalized yesterday.

Exiting and entering the house only through the garage, a kind of air lock.

254 here in my DC inner ring suburb. I can’t even imagine what 400-something is like

Finally dropped to 99 here in NYC, which is the edge of "moderate," but local weatherman say it may shoot up around 7 or 8 pm. I was thinking of going to see De La Soul and Pete Rock's free show out in Corona Park, but now I'm debating whether I should just stay home.

AQI is 99 that is.

gf in Alberta now reports that the smoke has arrived, blown in from the north... they're just north of Edmonton

Oregon very bad right now as well

I was going to take my mom to Chicago the first week of August to see her brother, but the news about the smoke has freaked her out so we've canceled the trip. I tried to tell her it could be better by then, but otoh who knows maybe it'll be worse.

I wouldn't worry -- Trump's tariffs will have taken care of the smoke by then.

Last Friday we hit like 634 AQI at one point, it was insane. I just wish I was further north so I could see the smoke bounce off those floating tariffs.

I was going to take my mom to Chicago the first week of August to see her brother, but the news about the smoke has freaked her out so we've canceled the trip. I tried to tell her it could be better by then, but otoh who knows maybe it'll be worse.

That's too bad, these things change so rapidly. Maybe it's just a break, but it's fine here in WI again (AQI 50).

good in philly too

-_-

In what authorities have described as the largest natural disaster in the history of Spokane County, Wash., wildfires have destroyed hundreds of structures and forced the evacuation of thousands of people as firefighters continued their efforts to knock back and control several blazes in the area. -NY Times

Washington state is blue, but I think some of Spokane area is red, but no emergency declaration yet from Trump despite request from the governor

Last Friday we hit like 634 AQI at one point

On Wednesday, July 29 I passed through Elgin, a very small town in NE Oregon on my escape from a smoky camping trip where I estimate the AQI had varied from about 80 to 120 over 9 days, but where the smoke forecast for later on the day I left was about AQI 200. The smoke in Elgin that afternoon seemed extremely bad. When I got home and looked it up Airnow.gov told me it had been 220 when I stopped there for gas. It also told me that a while later, around 2 AM, it registered 760!! Turns out 220 was the best reading of the previous 24 hours.

curmudgeon, Spokane is deep red, fwiw— 87% white, with an influx of whites moving to the area over the years given the city's approximation to Coeur d'Alene, which is one of the centers of white supremacist groups in the US.

my partner (mixed race) lived there with the white part of his family until he was 14, when he was beaten into a coma by some neo-Nazis. he then moved to Hawai'i to be with his non-white side, and despite a brief few years of reconciliation and occasional visits, has never really gone back to Spokane for any length of time. his family there are openly racist Catholic nutjobs. hasn't spoken to his mother in five years.

what's happening there is a tragedy, made more tragic that many of the people there probably don't believe in anthropogenic climate change.

i get the same feeling of awe i feel when looking out over great distances from an overview as i do seeing video footage of fire lapping at the lawns of mcmansions. in a refreshing turn of events, the real estate market has really underestimated the explosive growth of wildfires. dreaded city living is safer in that respect.

How the Portland folks fairing? supposed to have some of the worst air quality or any major city in the world right now, sounds awful

It just smells like a campfire here, and the light has an intensity that reminds me of eclipse days. I'm not super-sensitive, so I've been out a bit, but mostly staying in, with a/c and an air purifier. Sounds like it'll be bad for another 36 hours or so, until Friday morn.

There's a major fire near Mt. Hood (Grasshopper Fire) that is getting closer to Timberline Lodge, but not enough to be a direct threat.

yeah, was just reading about that... looks pretty bad

Just flew into Seattle for a layover, the air is horrific.

fire lapping at the lawns of mcmansions. in a refreshing turn of events, the real estate market has really underestimated the explosive growth of wildfires. dreaded city living is safer in that respect.

Even within cities … the part of mine that is at risk is the rich people in the hills.

yeah definitely

our latest bad one is called widemouth 2. 90,000 acres in like 4 days.

nothing compared to oregon and washington right now though. we get somewhat more diffuse puffs of smoke drifting down through slc in 24-hour cycles. the fires are much more active during the day.

https://i.imgur.com/klQOYF5.jpeg

was just reading about the Big Sur fire and it sounds almost... healthy? Mostly burning underbrush and ground cover. Still doing a bunch of evacuations and road closures