Forest Fires in the United States: 16 July 1999
Forest Fires in the United States
16 July 1999
Several vegetation fires were detected by NESDIS/OSEI with the NOAA-14 and 15 POES AVHRR HRPT satellite on 14 and 15 July 1999.
Fig.1. and 2. The left image shows heat signatures and smoke from areas of fire burning in eastern and central Alaska and in the Yukon Territory of Canada. This is the clearest view in some time of the large area of fire in eastern Alaska near the United States / Canada border on 14 July 1999. The right image gives a look at heat signatures and smoke from areas of fire burning in eastern Alaska and in the Yukon Territory on 15 July 1999. Hotspots related to the large fire area in eastern Alaska are clearly visible but others in central Alaska are being obscured by cloud cover.
(source: http://www.osei.noaa.gov/).
The INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SITUATION REPORT from 15 July 1999 can be quoted as follows:
“…
CURRENT SITUATION:
Moderate initial attack activity was reported in California, with light activity elsewhere. Containment objectives were reached on most existing large fires in the California and Southern Areas. In addition to the fires reported below in Alaska’s large fire narratives, the state has 48 fires burning in limited and modified protection areas for a total of 643,000 acres. The National Interagency Coordination Center mobilized an air tanker, a lead plane, a smokejumper aircraft, radio equipment, and miscellaneous overhead. High to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, California, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada.
OUTLOOK:
An upper level trough over the northwestern states will bring scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms to northwest Montana, northern Idaho and northeastern Washington. A few showers are expected over northern Oregon with drizzle in Washington west of the Cascades. The associated surface cold front will be moving into the Great Plains during the day. The northern tier states will experience high temperatures only in the 70’s and 80’s.
Lingering monsoonal moisture will cause isolated to widely scattered wet thunderstorms over Utah, Wyoming, and southern Nevada. The main axis of deeper monsoonal moisture will produce scattered wet thunderstorms over Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, with high temperatures in the 80’s and 90’s. Mountain areas will be in the 70’s, while the southwest desert temperatures reach 104.
Except for low clouds and fog along the coast with highs in the 70’s, California will be mostly sunny with highs in the 80’s and 90’s. Lowest minimum relative humidities will be found in the central valley and deserts of California with 5 to 15 percent readings possible.
Significant winds will blow east of the Cascades at 10 to 20 MPH in southern Oregon and northwest Nevada. On the lee side of the northern Rocky Mountains, in western Wyoming and eastern Montana, winds will be 10 to 25 MPH.
In Alaska, the Mat-Su Valley and McGrath will be mostly cloudy with scattered showers and highs in the 60’s. The Upper Yukon and Northern Region will be mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and widely scattered thunderstorms, with highs in the upper 70’s and minimum humidities of 35 to 45 percent. The Tanana Zone will be cloudy with showers and highs in the 70’s.
…”
For detailed information regarding specified regions, please refer to the whole report.
