The Chelan Hills fire, reported to have been started by some irresponsible fireworks Saturday morning, has now spread to over 10,000 acres (see map below).
A high-resolution visible satellite image this morning shows the burnt area (dark color), and the satellite imagery shows some still-active fires (red dots). Smoke from another (smaller) fire is apparent to the southwest.
The fire started in grass and range vegetation, not forest.
Importantly, this vegetation was NOT unusually dry, as shown in the figure below, which provides 100-h fuel moisture levels on the eastern slopes of the Cascades. Red is observed moisture level, and the shading shows the normal range.
Current moisture levels were above normal.
So "climate change" can not be blamed.
What can be blamed was strong winds.
Winds that were skillfully forecast by the UW WRF modeling system and the NOAA models. To illustrate, below is the wind forecast for Saturday afteroon be the UW WRF weather model....strong winds were predicted around Chelan!
Wow! While I realize the situation's evolving, two questions: Did the fire "cross" the Columbia River? Is the state letting this area burn, as they sometimes do?
ReplyDeleteNote: I find it interesting that the press hardly ever talks about "summer weather" nowadays. Summer is an actual, normally recurring, and a nice break from prolonged "cold-and-wet" patterns on the west side of the Cascades. The term being used now is "wildfire season." Yes, indeed, there are more wildfires during summer than at other times (too often started by careless people), but I have a hard time buying into the chain of incidents as "a season." Crikey.
There is a fire -- Chestnut Fire -- 10 miles west, on the west side of the River. Unrelated to the Chelan Hills Fire.
DeleteChelan Hills Fire started here: 47.799763, -119.976109
It has move about 7 miles upriver. There is a map here: https://fire.airnow.gov/#10.76/47.8348/-119.9696
As to "letting it burn" ; See here:
https://lakechelannow.com/heavy-aerial-support-used-for-chelan-hills-fire/
Incidents like this large and destructive wildfire make a strong case for making fireworks illegial for consumer use. Fireworks should always be left to the professionals.
ReplyDeleteNice report. One more element on fire starts on the 4th of July that you have mentioned in the past. People doing the wrong thing with fireworks in the wrong place
ReplyDeleteI hope the individuals who started this fire are found and severely punished
ReplyDeleteAir quality is rather poor over Whatcom County today. Presumably from wildfires in B.C.
ReplyDelete