General Wildfire Discussion

Information about wildfires, prescribed burns, and other fire related info for the 2021 season.
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by pasayten »

North Cascades National Park Service Complex

News Release: Bear Creek Fire
A large fire is active in the Chilliwack area in North Cascades National Park. The Bear Creek Fire was detected Friday morning and is about 100 acres and growing.
Firefighters are assessing the fire for opportunities to safely engage. The fire is in a remote area of the Stephen Mather Wilderness with steep terrain and a heavy, low-moisture fuel load as the result of an abnormally dry, hot summer.
Park officials have closed portions of the Copper Ridge and Chilliwack trails due to the fire’s proximity. The Copper Ridge Trail is closed from Copper Lookout to the junction with the Chilliwack Trail. The Chilliwack Trail is closed from the junction of Brush Creek Trail to terminus. Copper Lake, Bear Creek, Indian Creek, and Little Chilliwack camps are also closed.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
If you see smoke or flames dial 911 or report to a park visitor or information center. Contact the Wilderness Information Center for trail information at, 360-854-7245.
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by mister_coffee »

Rightside up:
properly oriented image from previous post
properly oriented image from previous post
chris.png (133.88 KiB) Viewed 19564 times
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by Fun CH »

Edit; thanks David for rotating that picture to its correct orientation. I tried it a few times and it didn't work.
Last edited by Fun CH on Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by mister_coffee »

This looks like the Boulder Creek Road:

Image

Image from https://wildfiretoday.com/2021/07/29/bi ... ed-report/.
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Re: Cedar Creek/Delancy/Cub Creek Fires

Post by TraciHa »

Sharing comfort of song to friends, neighbors and the heros all
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Er2dORjdKhA
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by Fun CH »

It would be interesting if someone were to over lay the current fire perimeter maps with hot spot information over that 20 year fire map. ( I don't have that computer skill)
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by pasayten »

NFIC Fire Perimeter KML file for Google Earth/Google Maps

1. Each night, after a scheduled aircraft flight, an infrared perimeter file may be created for the Cedar Creek, Delancy, and Cub Creek 2 fires.

2. If the flight is successful, the perimeter file is available on the NFIC site at about 6am PDT.

3. If the flight is unsuccessful, the previous infrared file will be “updated” instead with the latest satellite sensors (MODIS/VIIRS) and a revised perimeter file created.

4. During the day, the 6am infrared file may also be updated by the above method in 3… Usually in the afternoon.

5. I periodically download the most current perimeter file from the NFIC site using filters for only our fires to make a small KML file as there are over 3200 fires in the NFIC database for 2021. (Note… I previously zip compressed this file… with filters I do not need that step anymore!)

6. To use this file, download attachment from the BB. Double click the KML file and Google Earth will start and load the fire perimeters. Note that I modify Google Earth properties for the fire perimeter data layer to set perimeter outlines to red and 3.0 lines size. I set poly fill to red and 25% opacity. You may use whatever you wish.

I have created a separate topic for future downloads of the perineter files...
https://pasayten.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=77
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by TraciHa »

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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by Fun CH »

I'm struck by all the small tents set up at the firecamps. So a young firefighter is exposed to smoke all day working and at night they return to sleep in heat and smoke that has settled into the valley.

Is that a choice or are we to cheap to provide tax dollars for temporary shelters at fire camps that offer hepa air filtration, air conditioning and a comfortable bed?

Shouldn't firefighter safety include mitigating any long-term damage that they may be doing to their lungs?
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

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:arrow: David Bonn :idea:
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by pasayten »

We use the VIIRS satellite maps to indicate fire location and progression... Here is some more good info on what VIIRS actually is...

https://www.jpss.noaa.gov/assets/pdfs/f ... tsheet.pdf
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by pasayten »

Since we post the VIIRS map all the time, here is some infi about it...

Questions about VIIRS active fire data

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is an instrument aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) and NOAA-20 weather satellites. VIIRS was launched on Suomi NPP on October 28, 2011 and again on NOAA-20 (formally known as Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1)) on November 18, 2017. The VIIRS instrument will be launched on JPSS-2 in 2022 and join NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP in the same orbit.

If you wish to view the VIIRS reflectance imagery that corresponds to the active fire detections, you can display this in FIRMS Fire Map or Worldview.

What is the VIIRS 375 m Active Fire Product?

The VIIRS 375 m (VNP14IMGTDL_NRT) active fire product is the latest product to be added to FIRMS. It provides data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor aboard the joint NASA/NOAA Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP) and NOAA-20 satellites. The 375 m data complements MODIS fire detections; they both show good agreement in hotspot detection but the improved spatial resolution of the 375 m data provides a greater response over fires of relatively small areas and provides improved mapping of large fire perimeters. The 375 m data also has improved nighttime performance. Consequently, these data are well suited for use in support of fire management (e.g., near real-time alert systems), as well as other science applications requiring improved fire mapping fidelity.

What is the temporal frequency of the VIIRS 375 m fire data?

The VIIRS instrument aboard the Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20 satellites acquire data continuously. The 3,040 km VIIRS swath enables ≈15% image overlap between consecutive orbits at the equator, thereby providing full global coverage every 12 hours. Suomi-NPP has a nominal (equator-crossing) observation times at 1:30pm and 1:30am. NOAA-20 operates about 50 minutes ahead of Suomi NPP. Thanks to its polar orbit, mid-latitudes will experience 3-4 looks a day.

What is the spatial resolution of the data?

The 375 m data describe the nominal resolution after native data are spatially aggregated (See figure below).

Spatial resolution of VIIRS imagery data as a function of scan angle. The three distinct regions represent unique data aggregation zones extending from nadir to the edge of swath.
Spatial resolution of VIIRS imagery data as a function of scan angle. The three distinct regions represent unique data aggregation zones extending from nadir to the edge of swath.
The aggregation scheme changes across three distinct image regions. In the first region (nadir to 31.59° scan angle), three native pixels are aggregated in the along scan (cross-track) direction to form one data sample in the Level 1 image. In the second region (31.59° to 44.68° scan angle), two native pixels are aggregated to form one data sample. Finally in the third and last region (44.68° to 56.06° - edge of swath) one native pixel will result in one data sample. All five 375 m channels are aggregated onboard the spacecraft before the data are transmitted to the ground stations, whereas a subset of the VIIRS 750 m data (dual-gain channels only) are aggregated on the ground.

What is the main difference between the VIIRS 375 m and 750 m active fire data?

The two data products use similar methodologies to detect active fire pixels although differences in the spectral characteristics of the VIIRS channels used in each case led to unique algorithms. Because of its improved spatial resolution, the 375 m algorithm will tend to detect more fire pixels compared to the 750 m data set. That difference is particularly pronounced during the nighttime part of the orbit when the occurrence of smaller/cooler fires will favor the 375 m product.

Will the VIIRS 375 m fire detection algorithm always outperform the 750 m one?

Generally speaking, the higher resolution product will achieve higher probability of fire detection in both day and nighttime scenes. However, areas subject to strong solar reflectance associated with sun glint could see a few 750 m fire pixels without a corresponding 375 m fire detection. This is attributed to the relatively shorter wavelength of the 375 m mid-infrared channel used in the fire algorithm, which will experience greater influence of the solar component. In order to minimize the associated consequences, namely the occurrence of false alarms over bright/reflective surfaces (e.g., metallic factory rooftops), the 375 m algorithm uses slightly more conservative tests to avoid the effects of sun glint over those areas.

Are those few isolated fire pixels in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean real?

Those occurrences are typically associated with spurious fire detections due to the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly. The 375 m active fire algorithm contains a specific filter to flag those occurrences as low confidence detections. However, in some cases (average 2-3 pixels every night) the spurious signal generated in the input Level 1 data is confused for a regular fire pixel and therefore assigned a nominal confidence flag. Note that verified true positives can also be found over South Atlantic Ocean waters along the southeast coast of Brazil and the west coast of Africa where oil rigs normally operate.

Are the VIIRS 375 m (and 750 m) active fire data science-ready?

The VIIRS active fire data have been extensively tested since routine production of the mission’s data record started in 19 January 2012. Numerous bad scan episodes (i.e., pixel clusters containing spurious radiances extending across the swath) were found in the Level 1 input data during the initial 18-24 months of the time series [Csiszar et al., 2014]. Those anomalies were gradually addressed by the VIIRS science team and their occurrence have dropped to virtually zero with the implementation of revised Level 1 data processing packages in 2015. Initial assessment of both VIIRS 375 m and 750 m was implemented over a few experimental sites indicating consistent fire detection and characterization performance. Additional data comparison analyses were implemented using near coincident Aqua/MODIS and TET-1 (German Aerospace Center) active fire data, which again showed consistent performance of the VIIRS active fire products across different observation conditions. Consequently, we consider the current data of good enough quality for use in fire management applications and scientific studies. However, users must be aware of the data quality limitations involving the archived data. NASA will be spearheading future data reprocessing efforts in order to generate a consistent time series for the VIIRS Level 1 and 2 data.

Is the VIIRS 375 m product still being refined?

Absolutely. The current suite represents the second release of the VNP14IMG and VNP14 active fire algorithms; data imperfections can – and likely will – occur. As with other satellite data products, the VIIRS active fire algorithm development undergoes routine quality control during which data issues such as omission errors, false alarms and other anomalies are investigated and addressed. New versions of the products will be released once algorithm revisions are implemented and tested. Users are encouraged to report back to the science team when encountering potential data discrepancies.

Where do I go for more information?

Schroeder, W., Oliva, P., Giglio, L., & Csiszar, I. a. (2014). The New VIIRS 375m active fire detection data product: Algorithm description and initial assessment. Remote Sensing of Environment, 143, 85–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2013.12.008

https://earthdata.nasa.gov/earth-observ ... -fire-data
http://viirsfire.geog.umd.edu/

https://earthdata.nasa.gov/earth-observ ... -vnp14imgt
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Re: Cedar Creek/Delancy/Cub Creek Fires

Post by Fun CH »

alfrandell wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 2:03 am
it looks like the decision was to risk the wolf creek homes rather than the lodge.
Alf could you please clarify this statement. To me it reads like fire officials are purposely favoring the lodge over other personal homes in your area.

The lodge does seem to have defensible space where many homes do not. Is that what you mean?
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

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fire154.jpg
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by Fun CH »

The Washington State Legislature did recently pass a 125 million-dollar bill for increased firefighting resources. DNR also has a program to provide matching funds up to I believe $1,000 an acre for private property owners.

In Pine Forest many folks have taken advantage of that program. I had an heavily treed and overgrown 2 acre lot in PF where I did around $9,000 worth of fire mitigation work, not counting the money that the HOA spent along the road easement in front of that lot.

DNR provided $1,700, supposedly matching funds. It costs alot more for fire mitigation then DNR realizes.

DNR paid back around what I paid in 4 years of taxes on that lot. If I had done only $3400 worth of fire mitigation to get those matching funds of $1700 it would have been totally inadequate.
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by PAL »

Good discussion. Here is what I am noticing. There are areas in housing developments around the Valley where residents have said they have prepped and thinned out trees and think it's good. What I see is that, people love their trees, but every little tree, in dog hair thicket has to be let go.
People have to be ruthless. They can still have trees, but space them out alot more. Our trees were thinned out to about 30-50' spacing. We did this in 2003. Also, underbrush was cut back. In 2015, when the fire came through, when it got to our property, the fire laid down and crept on the ground.
This is what has to be done. And when I see many trees together, despite being "thinned" I have a little shudder.
I love trees too, but trees will grow back, unless the soil is burnt badly. There should be no crown fires in our trees now. The only thing where we could improve is to thin out our ravine next to us. But it's near a waterway and regulations don't permit it. But it did burn in 2015 and the firefighters called it the ravine from hell. You would never know it burned now. Ideally we need a controlled burn in there, but it's a big job. After the burn, the trees were thinned out alot more.
Take care and I like your ideas, Chris and David.
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by mister_coffee »

I'd also be much happier if the good folks who are heroically fighting these fires were here doing preparation, fuel reduction, and fire wising homes before the fires came. They'd be much safer (and we'd all be much safer) and I suspect that we wouldn't need multiple $3000/hr helicopters buzzing around.

Not that I'm not happy to have the helicopters, we just need to remember those guys are risking their lives flying in dodgy conditions in 40+-year-old aircraft to help us out. And again I'd rather that nobody has to risk their lives on our behalf if it is preventable.
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by Tawpie »

Driveway cam near the end of the straightaway on Wolf Creek Road, looking west toward Virginian Ridge. Fire is backing down the hill.
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by Fun CH »

mister_coffee wrote: Sun Jul 25, 2021 6:00 pm After 2014 and 2015 I had the expectation that we, as a community, would have a fundamental rethink of what it means to live here and how we do so.
After the Carlton Complex fire burned around my property, burned quite a few of my bee hives and took out two my neighbors homes, I purchased a mower for my tractor and now there is no fuel buildup anywhere near my home. But it took almost losing my home to learn that lesson.

I was fortunate enough to have enough of a defensible space and I was able to dig a fire break down to dirt so firefighters were able to defend my home during that fire.

That crew was a volunteer crew from Vancouver Washington headed by George Linden. I was able to meet them and thank them in person. George was very humble and credited me with my choice of building materials for saving my home. The home is constructed with metal siding, metal roof, closed soffits and plastic decking, so I did have fire resistance in mind when I built the home With a Little Help from My Friends.

But I had become complacent after several years of cool summers and left a cord of firewood stacked near my home which they moved. When fire had started to burn that relocated pile of fire wood it was obvious that they had to put out that fire.

I credit those fireman and the air tanker crews with saving my home.

The lesson you learn from their courage is that it doesn't matter what beliefs we hold, only that we are from the same family of human kind and we are here to help each other if we can.
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by Fun CH »

0725211952a_HDR-1.jpg
View of Cedar Creek fire moments ago from just east of Pipestone canyon.
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by mister_coffee »

After 2014 and 2015 I had the expectation that we, as a community, would have a fundamental rethink of what it means to live here and how we do so.

The fact is that because of land management history, climate change, increased population, and government neglect we are left to attempt survival in an environment that is challenging at best. And apocalyptic at worst.

I agree that a lot of fire mitigation prep work has been neglected. And that applies at all levels, starting with individual homeowners and going through local governments, state government, all the way up to the federal government. Only one federal agency has substantially increased prescribed fire use in the last twenty-odd years.

In 2014 we didn't have any kind of county-wide warning system. In 2021 we did have one, it just didn't work worth a damn: I received the level 3 evacuation notice for the Cub creek fire almost an hour after it was called in (according to the 911 dispatch logs). If I wouldn't have had decent situational awareness to actually see the smoke it is unlikely the warning would have helped me at all. If the idiots who started that fire did so near Lost River or Edelweiss I suspect people would have died.

We are going to have to do a lot better if we expect people to survive and thrive here.
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by Fun CH »

In times of emergency I wonder why the a lot of the fire mitigation prep work does not often occur before the fire emergency such as creating a fire break along hwy20?

Imo, We need to start thinking about logging strategic fire break clear-cuts.

I definitely do not like to see firefighters placed In Harm's Way doing this work in the unhealthy smoke conditions. That smoke increases their chances of cancer as does foaming agents.

“In all, researchers found that more than two-thirds of firefighters–68 percent–develop cancer, compared to about 22 percent for the general population…” “Firefighters…have a 68% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer than the general population.”

https://firefightercancersupport.org/resources/faq/

We are always thankful for the firefighters and First Responders who help us in an emergency.

But let's help them and be prepared by allocating the money needed to manage our forests and the resources to attack small fires that have the potential to threaten our communities before they grow into uncontrollable inferno's.

And we all need be responsible and cautious in preventing human caused wildfires.
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Re: Wildfire Discussion

Post by mister_coffee »

Time lapse videos of Virginian Ridge last night from above Big Valley, approximately 100x speedup:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wayekdpndhq3te0/800.mp4?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wdhev2lu3npz9v4/1130.mp4?dl=0
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General Wildfire Discussion

Post by pasayten »

Folks, Feel free to post your own wildfire pictures, comments, and links on this thread.

How to upload a picture to your post...
Pictures can be displayed in a post by using the "attach file" option at the lower part of the new post interface. Choose the "insert inline" option and your picture will be displayed in the post.

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