DNR sends firefighters to British Columbia as part of an international crew
DNR sends firefighters to British Columbia as part of an international crew
27 July 2017
published by http://www.uppermichiganssource.com
Canada / USA – Firefighters from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources are joining international crews this week to battle wildfires raging in the western Canadian province of British Columbia. According to the British Columbia Wildfire Service, more than 930,000 acres have burned since April 1.
Eight Michigan firefighters will join two, 20-person international teams that also include staff from Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Canadian province of Ontario. Theyre slated to spend two weeks in British Columbia, working up to 16-hour days.
The DNR regularly cooperates with other agencies to help put out fires across North America. In addition to the Canadian wildfires, the DNR has sent two engines with six crew members to Montana, and six new crew members will rotate in this week. An interagency crew also is expected to return soon from Montana.
Additional Michigan fire resources also have been sent to fire efforts in Arizona, Wyoming, Nevada and Washington state so far this year.
Pete Glover recently came back from Arizona, where he worked as a division supervisor on two separate fires near Prescott and Whiteriver. He led crews of 100 to 150 people at a time, using various types of equipment to work fire lines that stretched up to several miles long.
Glover said the out-of-state assignments provide valuable experience for Michigan firefighters, who learn how different terrain, fuel and weather can affect the way a fire burns.
The more you do something, the better you become at it, he said. It makes you more proficient when the time comes to protect your own lands and your own people.
Steve Cameron recently worked on the Rooster Comb fire near Nevadas Battle Mountain, which burned more than 200,000 acres of grass and brush earlier this month.
Its historic. Firefighters that live here and are working say they havent seen it like this, Cameron said. This year is going to be an exceptional year for fires out west, and participation is definitely needed.
Even when the DNR has crews in other states, there are plenty of firefighters still in place to battle any fires that might break out at home.
Of course our involvement depends on the activity here in Michigan, Glover said.
When crews are sent on out-of-state assignments, the DNR is fully reimbursed for all costs associated with the support.
For more information about the DNRs fire management efforts, visit www.michigan.gov/firemanagement.
An international team of climate researchers from the US, South Korea and the UK has developed a new wildfire and drought prediction model for southwestern North America. Extending far beyond the current seasonal forecast, this study published in the journal Scientific Reports could benefit the economies with a variety of applications in agriculture, water management and forestry.
Over the past 15 years, California and neighboring regions have experienced heighteneddrought conditions and an increase inwildfire numbers with considerable impacts on human livelihoods, agriculture, and terrestrial ecosystems. This new research shows that in addition to a discernible contribution from natural forcings and human-induced global warming, the large-scale difference between Atlantic and Pacific ocean temperatures plays a fundamental role in causing droughts, and enhancing wildfire risks.
“Our results document that a combination of processes is at work. Through an ensemble modeling approach, we were able to show that without anthropogenic effects, the droughts in the southwestern United States would have been less severe,” says co-author Axel Timmermann, Director of the newly founded IBS Center for Climate Physics, within the Institute for Basics Science (IBS), and Distinguished Professor at Pusan National University in South Korea. “By prescribing the effects of man-made climate change and observed global ocean temperatures, our model can reproduce the observed shifts in weather patterns and wildfire occurrences.”
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-atlanticpacific-ocean-temperature-difference-fuels.html#jCpAn international team of climate researchers from the US, South Korea and the UK has developed a new wildfire and drought prediction model for southwestern North America. Extending far beyond the current seasonal forecast, this study published in the journal Scientific Reports could benefit the economies with a variety of applications in agriculture, water management and forestry.
Over the past 15 years, California and neighboring regions have experienced heighteneddrought conditions and an increase inwildfire numbers with considerable impacts on human livelihoods, agriculture, and terrestrial ecosystems. This new research shows that in addition to a discernible contribution from natural forcings and human-induced global warming, the large-scale difference between Atlantic and Pacific ocean temperatures plays a fundamental role in causing droughts, and enhancing wildfire risks.
“Our results document that a combination of processes is at work. Through an ensemble modeling approach, we were able to show that without anthropogenic effects, the droughts in the southwestern United States would have been less severe,” says co-author Axel Timmermann, Director of the newly founded IBS Center for Climate Physics, within the Institute for Basics Science (IBS), and Distinguished Professor at Pusan National University in South Korea. “By prescribing the effects of man-made climate change and observed global ocean temperatures, our model can reproduce the observed shifts in weather patterns and wildfire occurrences.”
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-atlanticpacific-ocean-temperature-difference-fuels.html#jCp
