Colockum Tarps Wildfire
1300 Hours PST

Foreground Of Photo Shows Tall Grass And Weeds On The Left With Hose Laying Along A Dirt Road And Burned Ground On The Right. Smoke Rises From The Burn At The Far Edge Of The Photo Partially Obscuring Firefighters Mopping Up.

Burn Out Operation on Indirect Fireline with a Plastic Sphere Dispenser

Colockum Tarps Fire 2013.

Burn out operations

Indirect fire line

Fire Crew Standing Shoulder To Shoulder Along A Dirt Forest Road And Monitoring Fire As It Burns Through Ground Fuels Beneath The Timber.

Along portions of west edge of Colockum Tarps Fire, firefighters are using indirect fireline tactics to contain the fire. This strategy is used when it is not safe to put firefighters directly adjacent to the fire for various reasons such as when safety zones are too far away or when rocky terrain is too steep. In this case, on the west side of the fire, the fire is burning below the routes to access it. Putting firefighters down in these steep drainages with fire below them is not safe.

A Firefighter In Full Protective Clothing Walks Along A Dirt Road And Uses A Drip Torch To Start A Burnout Operation In Tall Grass And Weeds Which Are Catching On Fire And Producing A Lot Of Smoke.

Why burn out

When indirect fireline is built, firefighters need to reduce the fuel near the line to moderate the fire activity. If unburned fuel remains between the fireline and the fire, the fireline could be breached. If left to reach the fireline on its own, the fire may reach the line with too much intensity and the line may not be able to contain it. A burnout operation is done to remove the unburned fuel between the containment line and the fire edge to reduce this potential. Burning out allows better control over the intensity of the fire against the fireline. A risk analysis and planning process is conducted and approved by the incident commander prior to undertaking a burn out.

Fire Crews Standing On A Cleared Dirt Road With Trees Below The Road And Fire Buring Woody Debris.

Burn out process

After the fireline is constructed, when the weather (wind speed & direction, relative humidity, temperature) and fuel moisture is appropriate, the burn out operation can begin. Initially a “black line” is burned out directly against the fireline on the fire side. This is done by firefighters using drip torches or handheld flares to light strips of fire parallel to the fireline with each strip progressively further away from the fireline. By adjusting the distances between these strips and the amount of time between lighting each strip, firefighters can control the intensity of the burn. The width of a black line varies depending on terrain, wind and fuel. Approximately three hundred feet is planned for the width of this black line. If the burning of the black line has truly consumed the fuel, the black line increases the fireline.

Fire Burning Through Branches And Grass Under Trees As Part Of A Burnout Operation.

With the fireline and black line in place, the unburned fuel that remains between the blackline and the uncontrolled edge of the fire can be burned out in a controlled manner using aerial ignition. Colockum Tarps firefighters plan to using a Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD) operated from a helicopter to accomplish this. Again, the weather conditions need to be within a specific window along with the temperature and moisture level of the burnable fuel prior to beginning the operation. The helicopter flies in a pattern that allows the plastic spheres to be distributed closest to the fireline and black line first. The plastic spheres are dropped in strips that keep the fire intensity at the desired level. The strips are laid down in a pattern that eventually reaches the edge of the uncontrolled edge of the fire.

Landscape Photo Showing Smoke Rising From Burning Timber.

Plastic Sphere Dispenser

Introduction

The Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD) machine was developed to provide a method of igniting ground fuels, in a short time, on large acreage without causing undue damage to the tree canopy. With aerial ignition, firefighters on the ground are not required to perform the ignition hence it is safer.

Description

The spheres, which look like pingpong balls, are made of high impact polystyrene containing approximately 3.0 grams of potassium permanganate. The PSD injects ethylene-glycol (antifreeze) into the plastic sphere, initiating an exothermic reaction, and then expels the primed sphere from the aircraft.

The PSD can be regulated to control the number of spheres being dispensed, establishing ignition patterns on the ground. It provides a reliable ignition and a time delay of at least 20 seconds. The rate of the chemical reaction is dependent on the particle size and concentration of the chemicals involved.

The American Flag And The Incident Management Team #4 Flag Are Flying At Half Mast Over The Fire Camp At A Middle School In Wenatchee, Wash. The Flags Are At Half Mast In Honor Of Recent Death And Injury On An Oregon Wildfire.

For more information:

Interagency Aerial Ignition Guide published by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group

http://www.nwcg.gov/pms/pubs/pms501.pdf.

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Lower humidity optimum for burn-out operations on the west perimeter of the Colockum Tarps Fire

View Of Distant Hillside Burning From Interior Of Helicopter. Photo Is Framed By Pilot And Helmeted Passenger Of A Helicopter

 Wenatchee, Wash. – Fire managers found a window of opportunity yesterday afternoon to initiate burn-out operations in Division C on the west flank of the Colockum Tarps Fire. Relative humidity dropped enough for a successful test burn. Fire crews then started igniting along prepared, reinforced firelines to remove unburned ground fuels and create a blackened strip. The burned area was patrolled by crews throughout the night.

Aerial View Of Island Of Dark Conifer Trees Amidst Dry Brown Grass. The Trees Have Caught Fire. Orange Flame And Rising Dark Smoke Are Surging Upward.

Today firefighters are expected to continue burn-out along the west fire perimeter to create a continuous broad buffer. Once the blackened line area is sufficiently wide and cool, burn-out of more interior fuels will proceed using aerial ignition techniques. Aerial ignition uses ping-pong-ball-like spheres filled with chemicals that, once ejected from an aircraft, ignite after hitting the ground.

Aerial View Of Dry Grass Hillside. A Fire Is Burning Uphill From The Left. A Line Of Burned Material Is Visible And Emitting A Curtain Of Smoke. More Dry Hills With Brushy Vegetation Are Visible In The Distance.

 

The spheres are spread in pattern intended to burn-out large areas yet avoid undue damage. Aerial application is useful for burning-out areas too steep or inaccessible for firefighters to safely enter. Aerial ignition is likely to be implemented within the next 36 hours when the reinforced fireline is ready and weather conditions are right to obtain the intended result.

Crews, water tenders, and helicopters are monitoring and patrolling fire activity during burn-out procedures to prevent fire from breaching the established containment line.

Aerial View Of Burning Timber. Two Plumes Of Smoke Are Rising From Forest Vegetation That Has Active Fire Visible.

Firefighters continued to construct direct fire line, burn-out fine fuels to reinforce the line, and extinguish hot spots in Division D, also part of the western perimeter.

Line construction, mop up and rehabilitation along the northern and southern perimeters are nearly complete. Crews continue to patrol those areas. The fire is 60 percent contained.

Hand Written Note Thanks Firefighters And Wishes Them Success

Today, ridge top winds will be 4 to 7 miles per hour with humidity expected to drop to 30 to 35 percent. Warmer, drier weather with temperatures reaching 80 degrees on the fireline is expected to increase fire activity. The public can expect to see an increase in smoke being released from interior burning and purposeful burn-out activities near containment lines.

A Large, Puffy White Plume Of Smoke Dominates The Blue Sky Above A Neighborhood Street With Trees And Homes. The Lower Parts Of The Plume Fade To Gray Haze. The Fire Is Burning Approximately 15 Miles South Of Where This Photo Was Taken.

Although some evacuation levels have changed in Kittitas County, Level 3 Evacuations remain in place for the upper Parke Creek, upper Colockum and Secret Canyon areas, including Hilltop, Sheep Creek, Trail Creek and Tucker Creek. A map of Kittitas County evacuation areas is available athttp://tinyurl.com/jvz3x3u. The Level 1 Evacuation Notification is still in effect for vicinities accessed by Colockum Road, Tarpiscan Road, and Kingsbury Road in Chelan County. The Colockum Road is closed in Kittitas County.

The Colockum Tarps Fire has been burning since Saturday, July 27, 2013, through dry grass, sagebrush and timber growing in steep drainages along the western shore of the Columbia River, 11 miles southwest of Wenatchee, Washington. It was human caused. On July 31, the push from easterly winds moved the fire toward sparsely populated areas along the Parke, Caribou and Colockum Roads in Kittitas County where a Level 3 evacuation notice was issued. The current major operational focus is to complete and reinforce containment lines through timber along the western edge of the fire.

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Fire Facts – Tuesday, August 6, 2013 – 0900 HOURS

Fire Size: approximately 80,021 acres Percent Contained: 60%

Evacuations: In effect in Kittitas and Chelan Counties. There are numerous road closures in the vicinity. Some evacuation levels have changed. For updates visit the Kittitas County Interactive Web Map: http://tinyurl.com/jvz3x3u In Kittitas County, sheltering is available for people or animals through the Red Cross as the need arises. Please contact the Emergency Operations Center at 509-933-8305.

Image Is Mostly A Continuous Forest, Shown From Above. A Bright Beige Road Curves Through The Photo. It Would Be Challenging To Create A Sufficient Fuel Break Along This Road To Stop Fire Movement.

Fuels: Grass, brush, with timber at the higher elevations

Air Resources: One light, one medium, and two heavy helicopters.

Crews: 2 Type 1 crews; 19 Type 2 crews

Engines: 53 Dozers: 8 Water Tenders: 16

Total Personnel: Approx. 810

Cost to Date: $6.5 million

 

Source:  inciweb.org

2013 The NW Fire Blog