Forest Fires in the United States: 5 August 1999
Forest Fires in the United States
5 August 1999
The BLM – Alaska Fire Service Initial Attack Management System (IAMS) is suite of computer applications developed by BLM/Fire to aid dispatchers and fire managers. IAMS Maps is one of these applications and provides graphical representation of various kinds of geographic data. Maps has been modified to produce output to a Web site to allow internet access to the data that IAMS stores. Dynamic data such as lightning (available May – September), fires, etc. are updated at the homepage of the BLM – Alaska Fire Service (select Maps / AFS IAMS Maps Viewer) every 15 minutes during the fire season.
Fig.1. IAMS image of active fires in Alaska, 4 August 1999
(Source: BLM – Alaska Fire Service )
According the INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SITUATION REPORT the current situation for 4 August 1999 can be quoted as follows:
“…
CURRENT SITUATION:
Increased initial attack activity was reported in the Northern Rockies, Northwest and East Great Basin. Moderate initial attack was reported elsewhere.
Heavy demands for smokejumpers and smokechasers continue in the Northwest and Northern Rockies. New large fires were reported in Eastern Great Basin, Northern Rockies and Northwest Areas. Good progress was made on large fires in the Northwest and Southern California. The NIFC jet transported five crews from the Southwest to Missoula, Montana and Redmond, Oregon. The National Interagency Coordination Center mobilized telecommunications equipment, a caterer, a shower, helicopters, infrared aircraft, air tankers, lead planes, smokejumpers, type I and type II hand crews and overhead personnel. High to extreme fire indices were reported in Oregon, Washington, California, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, Utah, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming, Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
OUTLOOK:
Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington will see increasing moisture that has been streaming northward from the four corner states. Wyoming will have a strongly anchored upper level high. Southwest Arizona will experience southerly winds aloft pushing in dry air. California will have southwest winds aloft, which will continue to push any moisture northward.
Widely scattered to isolated thunderstorms will again be the general rule across the west. The eastern Arizona border, north into Utah and the Rockies will experience scattered thunderstorms.
Temperatures will change little with morning low clouds and fog continuing along the west coast. This will keep the maximum afternoon temperatures into the 70’s. High temperatures inland will increase into the 90’s to 115 in the lowest valleys and deserts. The mountains will see high temperatures from 65 to the mid 80’s. Minimum relative humidities will be around 10 percent in the inland valleys.
Winds will be light over most of the area with local gusts to 25 mph along the west coast. Winds will be variable and gusty near thunderstorms.
…”
Following basic fire data describe the fire situation in the UNITED STATES.
Number of FIRES in the last 24 hours HECTARES burning in the last 24 hours FIRES
YEAR-TO-DATE HECTARES
YEAR-TO-DATE 459 7,895 59,536 1,042,288
For detailed information regarding specified regions, please refer to the whole report.
