Major Firing Operations on Park Fire

Note north arrow in upper right of following images:

Discussion

Firing operations are high-risk. In order to have enough time to burn and consume the fuels between the fireline and the main fire, they often have to be lit well in advance of the main fire’s arrival. Embers from the firing operation can fly over control lines and cause the burn to escape control. By their nature, our largest wildfireS burn during the periods of our most critical fire weather, so firing ops are often tested by winds, high temperatures, and low humidities. For example, conditions today on the active portions of the Park Fire are extremely hot and dry.

 

Based upon yesterday’s fire behavior, and today’s forecasts, there is a very high likelihood that portions of today’s firing operations will escape control. However, terrain, weather, and fuels leave firefighters with few other options to control the active parts of this fire. Direct attack on a running timber fire is pretty much impossible. Firefighters have a bias for action, and this can lead to ‘hail Mary’ maneuvers. The biggest problem with putting this much fire on the ground, though, is that if it escapes, the firing has advanced the fire front several miles ahead of where the fire was before. Fires can cover a certain amount of terrain in a given ‘burning period’ so if you light and lose a firing operation 3 miles ahead of a fire that was going to burn 4 miles in a day, you may end up helping the fire advance 7 miles. But there is enormous pressure to ‘just do SOMETHING’, and there is little appetite among the public (or firefighters) to give up and just let the fire burn unchecked.

3pm update:
All resources are being pulled off of Highway 172 and out of Mill Creek Resort and back to Mineral due to increasing fire activity.

15:30 – Scanner discussion about returning to Mill Creek Resort once the fire passes thru to see what they can do then.