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Wildfires burning up British Columbia

Started by Okanagan, July 15, 2017, 08:56:07 AM

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FinsnFur

 :sad: Man that sounds miserable. No escape
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riverboss

I can only imagine what it's like to live this day after day!

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Okanagan

#42
Lockheed Electra dropping fire retardant.

We had a little rain before daylight Sunday and now the smoke is all going toward pitw.  148 wildfires burning in BC yesterday morning. 


Hawks Feather

I knew (or thought that I did) that they were low when they dropped, but I had no idea it was this low.  Kudos to the pilots.

Jerry

pitw

Quote from: Okanagan on August 15, 2017, 11:29:29 AM
Lockheed Electra dropping fire retardant.

We had a little rain before daylight Sunday and now the smoke is all going toward pitw.  148 wildfires burning in BC yesterday morning. 



How many were caused by crashing bombers? :shock2:
Had a strange night here as it started raining at 9pm and we had 3.6 inch's by 9am.  steady rain like I ain't seen before.  Smoke still in the air when it finished. :doh2:
I say what I think not think what I say.

Okanagan

#45
Amazing that the rain didn't get rid of the smoke.  Must be new smoke blowing in constantly.

Re the plane:

That's waaay lower than any fire fighting plane that I've ever seen or seen a photo of.  The plane is obviously flying through a small canyon but there can't be much room.  I wonder if a downdraft sucked it lower than the pilot intended. 

One time some 25 years ago I drove through a burned area west of Kamloops above the lake where a recent fire had burned off the dry grass hills on both sides of the highway.  On a small knoll right beside the road a plane had dropped a load of the pink retardant from such a low height that it had hit in one blob.  It looked like a ball of liquid had hit with such impact that it had made a crater in the dirt hillside a couple of feet deep and about 25 feet across with the pink stuff splashing mostly uphill.  I KNOW the pilot did not intend to let it go that low and that he wanted to disperse it more.  He must have barely missed the knoll and I'll bet he dumped the load as part of clawing for altitude.

We lost a helicopter pilot a few summers back who went into the Fraser River.  Apparently downdraft in the deep canyon plus maybe a bad swirl of current got him as he hovered to fill a bucket of water from the river to dump on a fire.  Nobody knows for sure what happened.  He was solo.

Dangerous flying. 

FinsnFur

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Okanagan

Update:  Some people had evacuation lifted and got to go back to their homes yesterday after 5 weeks, others still not allowed back.

One of the fires, the Plateau, grew about 50,000 acres day before yesterday, and is now over 2000 square miles, and I think is still zero contained. 

Huge areas have a total ban on entry, not just no campfires but no entry on back roads whatsoever.   It is illegal to launch a boat on lakes in huge areas. 

A big new fires started near us on Saturday, from a campfire along the big Harrison Lake which I've shown often in my photos of hunting and picking berries.  Another fire on the upper Harrison has been burning since the end of June.  Steep country with little access and no buildings so I think they are just keeping an eye on it and letting it burn. 

It will take big Fall rains or more likely till snow in the dry climate Interior to put out some of these fires. 


Hawks Feather

I can understand 'no burn' rules, but why no boats?

Jerry

Okanagan

Quote from: Hawks Feather on August 22, 2017, 05:12:15 PM
I can understand 'no burn' rules, but why no boats?

Jerry

:shrug: :shrug:  They have had two fires start from lake shores, almost certainly human caused.  Probably just don't want anyone out there anywhere.

FinsnFur

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Okanagan

This fire thing is so big it is hard to imagine.  Hope it is OK to keep updating.

Last week BC extended the state of emergency again, this time till Sept. 1.

The Plateau fire is the largest in BC history (not counting the 1950 Chinchaga fire which burned BC and Alberta, the largest in recorded North American history at almost 4.2 million acres [over 6,500 square miles]).  19 separate forest fires have combined into the fire they now call the Plateau fire.  It is over 80 miles across north to south, so big that two incident command centers have been set up to fight it, one on the north and one on the south side.  400 firefighters, 25 helicopters and a lot of heavy equipment are making progress on it.  No major communities are affected by it.  This is only one fire of over 100, but it is the biggest one. 

Hawks Feather

That is really hard to believe. 80 miles from end to end and then to not have towns in the path of that is also hard to believe.

Jerry

JohnP

Quote from: Hawks Feather on August 22, 2017, 05:12:15 PM
I can understand 'no burn' rules, but why no boats?

Jerry

When we have our forest fires they will do likewise.  Reason being, at least out here, is that helicopters fly into the local lakes and dip out water and they want no interference from stupid people on boats. 
When they come for mine they better bring theirs

Dave

Keep updating.  I don't hear ANYTHING on it here on the east coast.  Hope your buddy is doing ok.

Okanagan

#55
Quote from: JohnP on August 24, 2017, 03:09:40 PM
Quote from: Hawks Feather on August 22, 2017, 05:12:15 PM
I can understand 'no burn' rules, but why no boats?

Jerry

When we have our forest fires they will do likewise.  Reason being, at least out here, is that helicopters fly into the local lakes and dip out water and they want no interference from stupid people on boats.

John, you nailed it!

I had forgotten that way back in early July they told people to stay off of any lakes anywhere within a huge region of the fires because of water bomber planes and helicopters drawing water from handy lakes.  The planes fly low and scoop up a belly tank full of water with wind going the right way, which means they change lakes and want to be free to hit any lake for water.  I suspect also that they don't want yahoos out there, because they don't want to fight a fire someone started way down a lake from the boat launch and far away from the nearest road. 

FinsnFur

I had to look those planes up. I couldnt imagine a plane scooping water without tumbling itself.
What I found was pretty interesting. I bet it takes some serious skill.



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Hawks Feather

I really like the second video since it gave some great information about the planes.

Jerry

FinsnFur

I think the smoke has made it to Southern Wisconsin...and Illinois for that matter. The skies are filled with a haze that lingers literally everywhere. The sun is out full force but it looks like it's being shielded by something fuzzy. I tried to get some pics with the cellphone but it kind of burns through the haze.

The last couple days I have felt a bit cruddy. Stuffy nose, major sinus pressure, runny nose, sneezing. I just figured it was heavy duty allergies which I get every year around third crop hay...middle of August. I dont know if it's related to the crud in the atmosphere or not.
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Okanagan

Quote from: FinsnFur on August 31, 2017, 07:19:28 PM
I think the smoke has made it to Southern Wisconsin...and Illinois for that matter. The skies are filled with a haze that lingers literally everywhere. The sun is out full force but it looks like it's being shielded by something fuzzy. I tried to get some pics with the cellphone but it kind of burns through the haze.

The last couple days I have felt a bit cruddy. Stuffy nose, major sinus pressure, runny nose, sneezing. I just figured it was heavy duty allergies which I get every year around third crop hay...middle of August. I don't know if it's related to the crud in the atmosphere or not.

A friend of mine was in Winnipeg a few days ago and told me that it is covered with smoke haze from the fires out west.   Winnipeg isn't far from you.

I went up near timberline to pick huckleberries two days ago and had some spectacular mountain peak views with meadows and snow patches, but it was so fuzzy hazy from smoke there was no way to get a decent photo.  The weather people say the haze we have here now is from fires in California and Oregon and that our smoke is going to Wisconsin!   :shrug:

Re the cruddy feeling and smoke effect:  It seems to hit me hardest the first few days and then it is sort of like my body adjusts to breathing it and does a little better, though keeps on bothering my lungs.  It hits some people very hard, like asthma.