Forest Fires in the United States

15 November 1999


The Wildland Fire Assessment System, provided by "The Fire Behavior Research Work Unit", Missoula (Montana USA), produces following fire danger map.

click here to enlarge (26 KB)

Fig. 1. Fire Danger Forecast Map, 15 November 1999
(Source: Fire Behavior Research Work Unit, Missoula)

Several active fire signals are recorded by OSEI with the NOAA-14 POES AVHRR HRPT satellite on 11 November 1999 in California and the southeastern U.S.

click here to enlarge (195 KB) click here to enlarge (249 KB)

Fig. 2. and 3. The left image shows heat signatures and smoke plumes from areas of fire, likely wildfires in California's Sierra Nevada Mts., and in the Sacramento Valley, many likely due to agricultural controlled burns. On the right side, there are fires burning in the southeast U.S., also here due to
agricultural controlled burns.
(Source: NOAA http://www.osei.noaa.gov/)

The Wildland Fire Update from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) will be updated from now on every Friday unless significant activity occurs. The latest overview fire map from the 5 November 1999 shows large wildland fires in the United States. For more information please refer to the website of NIFC.

According the INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SITUATION REPORT the situation for 10 November 1999 can be quoted as follows:

"...
CURRENT SITUATION
There was moderate initial attack activity in the Eastern and Southern Areas. Containment objectives were met on the large fires in the Northwest, Great Basin and Eastern Areas. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Virginia, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah and Idaho.

OUTLOOK:
Partly cloudy and warm in Illinois and Indiana. High temperatures will be in the 60's in the north and the mid 70's in the south. Winds are forecasted to be westerly 15 to 25 MPH. Relative humidities will be from 25 to 35 percent. Ohio will be mostly cloudy with a chance of rain showers. Highs will be in the 70's and winds are expected to be west to southwest 15 to 25 MPH.
Kentucky will be mostly sunny with high temperatures in the 70's and the winds will be southwest from 10 to 20 MPH.
South Dakota will be mostly sunny with high temperatures of 50 degrees in the east and in the low 70's in the west. Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming will be mostly sunny with highs in the 50's in the mountains and 60's on the plains. Southern Colorado and eastern Utah could see high temperatures in the mid 70's. Southern Idaho will be mostly cloudy with a chance of mountain rain or snow showers. High temperatures will be in the 50's in the mountains and lower 60's in the valleys.
California will be mostly cloudy in the north with rain likely on the northern coast. High temperatures will be in the 50's in the mountains and lower 70's in the valleys and coastal areas. Southern California will be mostly sunny with locally breezy conditions in the mountain passes and deserts in the afternoon. High temperatures will be from the 60's in the mountains to lower 80's in the valleys and deserts.
... ."

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
109 369 85,529 2,205,444

For detailed information regarding specified regions, please refer to the whole report.


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