Colliemom wrote:Thanks for the updates Anne. Glad to know you are in a more agriculture type area that won’t burn, although stray embers could set structures on fire. I understand well the situation with wildfires as we have areas here in northern Michigan prone to same. The county to my south and also some to southeast as well as some areas of the U.P. contain many acres of jackpine forests. Those trees need fire to open their cones and release seeds to allow new trees to grow. They are also home to the endangered Kirkland Warbler who use the smaller low growth trees to nest. In past years,before people started really coming up north and building in rose forests and around lakes within them, it was common practice for officials to do “controlled burns” in those pines to regenerate new trees and establish habitat for the birds, plus clear out the undergrowth and dead stuff. Needless to say, since people started moving in, and knowing that “controlled burns” can occasionally get out of control, people burning when they shouldn’t, a spark caused by things such as you said or even by mom nature, there have Been wildfires which have destroyed homes and properties. Granted, not to a grand scale mind you, but none the less, maybe some outbuildings and a couple of ocassions, about 80 homes. Controlled burns aren’t done much these days as logging the trees and replanting with seedlings grown from seeds harvested from cones is more the norm now. There are still some wildfires each year, but have been confined to small acreages. The Michigan National Guard operates Camp Grayling here which is the largest military training facility of it’s kind in the country and the Range 40 complex as the Air to Ground Range is called, is about 7 miles or so from me. Our prime fire season is usually in spring after snow melts till things green up, that’s when it’s really dry. Well, this summer we had drought conditions and of course the military needs to practice regardless. They set off a fire on the range which burned around 1,000 acres. We got smoked out here and did have some ash coming down for awhile. They said it was a controlled burn, but the joke always is that an accidental fire becomes a controlled burn. It’s not unusual to have Range fires back there. The weather Channel was explaining some of the science behind wildfires and how they create their own weather within themselves, which is why you are seeing winds different than those within the fire areas. I like you am in an area where fires sren’t very comon due to the fact we have different forest makeup here. But in spring when it’s dry, grasses and leaves are susceptible. It’s wise to practice what is called “fire safe”, keeping leaves and other debris at least 50 feet from your buildings to keep a fire from spreading along the ground to your house or whatever. But for now, we have a blanket of snow, so no worries.
Thanks for your note, Sue. It's good that people understand our situation here. Generally, our fires are not in the spring (like yours are there) because November to April is our rainy season, so everything is moist and green in the spring. We don't have the kind of snow that you have there; major snow here only happens in the high mountains, generally above 6,000 feet elevation.
Sad update this evening. The television networks are reporting that the death toll from the Camp fire has now risen to 42, making it the worst loss of life of any fire in California history. This number may increase. There are still 258 people reported missing and unaccounted for who live in the fire area.
"I tell you, it's very, very hard. In some cases, the fire burned so intensely that it burned everything to the ground, and in some cases it melted the metal. In those cases it is possible the temperatures were high enough to completely consume the body."
- Kory Honea, Butte County Sheriff, as quoted in the Washington Post
As of Monday, fifty-two thousand people remain evacuated from their homes in the area of the Camp Fire.
Some harrowing stories are beginning to come out on in the news from the Camp Fire. This one is pretty amazing. And miraculous:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nurses-fleeing-fast-moving-camp-fire-scramble-save-patients-themselves-n934961
Anne
