Forest Fires in the United States: 17 September 1999
Forest Fires in the United States
17 September 1999
The National Interagency Fire Center reported on 16 September 1999 that four large fires continue to burn in California and Oregon. Reports from firefighters are that the fires in California burn actively in the afternoon hours as temperatures increase and humidities decrease.
Fire Weather Outlook
Another fire weather watch is posted for the western Florida panhandle this afternoon for low humidity.
Hot and dry conditions with light winds are expected to continue to California today. Dry conditions are also expected to dominate in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
Fig. 1. Large Wildland Fires in the United States, 16 September 1999
(National Interagency Fire Center)
For more information please refer to the website of National Interagency Fire Center.
Wildfires raging above California’s rugged Big Sur coast have consumed more than 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares) of parched woodlands, forcing the evacuation of a resort community and threatening a small group of endangered California condor chicks. Wildfires rage above California’s Big Sur coast is an article published by Planet Ark on 17 September 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.2. IAMS image of active fires in Alaska, 16 September 1999
(Source: BLM – Alaska Fire Service )
According the INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SITUATION REPORT the current situation for 16 September 1999 can be quoted as follows:
“…
CURRENT SITUATION
Initial attack activity increased in the Southern Area and was minimal elsewhere. Large fire activity continued in the Northern California, Southern California and Northwest Areas. The National Interagency Coordination Center mobilized helicopters, infrared aircraft, meteorological equipment, a commissary, a shower unit, radio equipment, and miscellaneous overhead. A tractor plow operator on a Mississippi State fire received second degree burns, was treated at the hospital and released. Mississippi State also reported that a tractor plow unit was overrun by a fire. Although the unit was destroyed, the operator was not injured. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Idaho, Utah, California, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, South Dakota, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas.
OUTLOOK:
High pressure will weaken over the Northwest today as a low pressure area moves east across southern Canada. Dry conditions will continue to
dominate in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
A weak upper level low moving into Colorado will bring a chance of afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms into eastern Nevada,
Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.
California will remain dry with low humidities.
Southern Texas will be warm and dry as high pressure builds. Lingering moisture across northern and western Texas will result in a slight chance
of afternoon showers and 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 166 2,750 74,777 1,885,121
For detailed information regarding specified regions, please refer to the whole report.
