Forest Fires in the United States: 28 October 1999

Forest Fires in the United States

28 October 1999


The National Interagency Fire Center reported on 27 October 1999 that while some rain fell on the Big Bar Complex in northern California, the southern part of the state remains hot and dry. In addition, nearly 250 mostly small fires were reported from almost every region of the country yesterday. There are currently six large fires that remain uncontained from California, Idaho, Minnesota, and Utah. As of today, more than 5.1 million acres have been affected by wildland fires throughout the country. In comparison, the 1996 season was a record wildland fire season when about six million acres had been affected by the end of October. What is interesting about this year’s figures is that nearly half of the acres burned so far are from just two states: Alaska reports 1.02 million acres and Nevada reports 1.6 million acres.

Fire Weather Outlook
A strong storm will move inland over the Northwest states this afternoon bringing rain and winds to Oregon, Washington, northern and central Idaho, and northern California. Temperatures will be in the mid 50s to mid 60s. Northern Nevada will be partly cloudy with high temperatures in the 60s and a slight chance of showers in the afternoon. Southern California, southern Nevada, and Utah will be mostly sunny. Temperatures will range from the 70s to the lower 80s with highs in the lower 90s in the California deserts.

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Fig. 1. Large Wildland Fires in the United States, 27 October 1999
(National Interagency Fire Center)

For more information please refer to the website of National Interagency Fire Center.

According the INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SITUATION REPORT the current situation for 27 October 1999 can be quoted as follows:

“…
CURRENT SITUATION
Increased initial attack activity was reported in the Eastern and Southern Areas. New large fires occurred in the Southern, Eastern Great Basin, and Southern California Areas. Containment objectives were met on Great Basin, Southern Area, Northern Rockies and Northwest incidents. The National Interagency Coordination Center mobilized radio equipment, engines, an airtanker, a helicopter, and miscellaneous overhead. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, California, Oregon, Arizona, and Mississippi.

OUTLOOK:
A strong storm will move inland into the northwest states this afternoon. The storm will bring rain to Oregon, Washington, northern and central Idaho, and northern California. Temperatures will be in the mid 50’s to mid 60’s. The northwest coast and northern Sierra Nevada will be windy.
Northern Nevada will be partly cloudy with high temperatures in the 60’s and a slight chance of showers in the afternoon. Southern California, southern Nevada, and Utah will be mostly sunny. Temperatures will range from the 70’s to the lower 80’s, with highs in the lower 90’s in the California 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 244 1,986 81,784 2,096,806

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


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