2021 Fires

Forest Management Lessons From the Dixie Fire: A Conversation With Forest Service Biologist Danny Cluck

by

What did the 2021 Dixie Fire teach us about our public lands and how they are managed? What are we doing well, and what could we do better? In reflecting on the lessons learned from the Dixie Fire, The Lookout spoke with Danny Cluck, a biologist with U.S. Forest Service working in the Modoc, Lassen, Plumas … Read more

Firing Operations During the 2021 Dixie Fire

by

This article was written as the million-acre Dixie Fire neared its conclusion, in September 2021. Many bad things happened during the two months of action during this firefight, and much of the fire’s growth was affected by fire put on the ground during firefighting. Firing operations are one of the main tools firefighters have at … Read more

Echo Lake & the Caldor Fire

by

Zeke sat down with Junet Bedayn, from the Echo Lake Environment Fund to talk about the 2021 Caldor Fire, and it’s landscape-scale effects on the forests it burned across. Junet grew up spending summers at cabins on Echo Lake, located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, just south of Lake Tahoe, and she … Read more

Dixie Fire Stories Interview

by

I did an interview a couple months ago with Joanne Burgueño, a photographer who helps run the Dixie Fire Stories page on Facebook. They have been running multi-part interviews, with photos, with people who went thru the Dixie Fire in one way or another. Here it is: My name is Zeke Lunder. I’m a geographer … Read more

Structure Losses in the Camp Fire

by

A Conversation with Eric Knapp and Yana Valachovic Eric Knapp, of the US Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, and Yana Valachovic, from UC Cooperative Extension, came by The Lookout in November to talk with me about their new paper on home losses in the Camp Fire. Our talk is live on Amanda Monthei’s Life … Read more

Forest Management and the Dixie Fire Video

by

This video shows how a major wind event in early August, 2021, created extreme fire behavior west of Chester, California. We use satellite-derived forestry data to investigate whether past forest management had any effect on survival of trees in the approximately 100,000-acre area affected by the firestorm. This video is focused on forest conditions and fire behavior in the area around Chester and Swain Mountain. Fire behavior throughout the almost 1,000,000 acre Dixie Fire had a large amount of variety.

We’ll look at other parts of the fire in other videos. This video is a production of The Lookout (the-lookout.org), a user-supported wildfire journalism and education initiative run by Zeke and Erika Lunder, in Chico, California.

Alisal Fire – 10/14/2021

by

Here are images of the Alisal Fire based on an infrared overflight at 9:30pm on on October 13. The fire spread about 2.5 miles to the west since it was mapped 24 hours earlier on October 12. Yellow shows scattered heat, in areas that are generally cooling off. Orange/red fill shows areas which were burning … Read more

Alisal Fire – 10/12/2021

by

We are covering the Alisal Fire in Santa Barbara County. If this is your first visit to our site, please check out the About The Lookout page. This site provides wildfire intelligence and commentary. We are not affiliated with any organized fire department — this is unofficial information collated from public data sources. If you … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 10/11/2021

by

KNP COMPLEX *** 7:00am on October 11 –  Ryan Stephens: The fire grew by one acre last night. Unless conditions change, today will be my last day covering fire progression for the KNP Complex. *** 9:50pm on October 10 – IR Interpreter’s Log: MAP KEY: RED perimeter line to WHITE perimeter line showing one acre … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 10/8/2021

by

KNP COMPLEX *** 7am on October 8 – Ryan Stephens: With a heavy heart we’re reposting a special announcement that came out from the KNP Complex yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved. *** 9:45pm on October 7 – Special announcement from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks   *** October 7 … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 10/6/2021

by

KNP COMPLEX By Ryan Stephens ***10:30am on October 6 – Operational update reported slopover near North Fork Drive in the area of Advance. Looking southeast toward Advance (lower left) and Three Rivers (center right).   Today’s Ops Map   ***10:00am on October6  – Today’s operational update video from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. ***9:50pm … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 10/5/2021

by

KNP COMPLEX Intel & Commentary by Chuck Ervin  *****  Maps & Captions Ryan Stephens ***11:30am on October 10 ~ Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks KNP Complex Facebook Update: A Virtual Community Meeting will be held at 7pm tonight at https://www.facebook.com/SequoiaKingsNPS/live_videos Active fire behavior was observed over most of the fire yesterday, making a run as … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 10/4/2021

by

KNP COMPLEX Maps and commentary by Ryan Stephens *** 7am on October 4 ~ IR interpreters log book appears to have inconsistencies. Time and date for the flight last night is unreliable/unknown. Overview looking northeast over the KNP Complex: The Key in the upper left corner of the map explains color shading in regards to … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 10/3/2021

by

KNP COMPLEX Maps and commentary by Ryan Stephens Overview looking northeast over the KNP Complex: The Key in the upper left corner of the map explains color shading in regards to heat intensity within the KNP Complex perimeter. Red dots show isolated heat. White perimeter line around the fire was yesterday’s fire perimeter. Giant Sequoia Groves are … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 10/2/2021

by

KNP COMPLEX Maps and commentary by Ryan Stephens *** 9:32pm on October 1 ~ IR interpreter’s log   Overview looking northeast over the KNP Complex: The Key in the upper left corner of the map explains color shading in regards to heat intensity within the KNP Complex perimeter. Red dots show isolated heat. White perimeter … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 10/1/2021

by

KNP COMPLEX Maps and commentary by: Ryan Stephens ***Noon on October 1  ~ KNP Complex Weather Update by Incident Meteorologist Jason Straub Watch the weather update here. ***10am on October 1 ~ Morning briefing video from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Watch today’s briefing here. ***9:30pm on September 30 ~ Sequoia and Kings Canyon … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 9/30/2021

by

KNP evening update 500-600 acre spotfire reported across the north fork of the Kaweah RIver ***9:30pm on September 30 ~ Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks KNP Complex Facebook Update KNP Complex Fire Announcement: Ground and air resources are currently responding to a 500-600 acre spot fire that has crossed the north fork of the … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 9/29/2021

by

SOUTHERN SIERRA FIRES MAP KEY: The RED shaded areas at center of the map are our current Windy and KNP fire perimeters, The Tule River Reservation is shaded BROWN, Giant Sequoia Groves are shaded LIGHT GREEN, the past 10 years of Rx fires are shaded DARK BLUE, and LIGHT BLUE shows the past 20 years … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 9/28/2021

by

WINDY FIRE Commentary by Sequoia National Forest  –  Lookout Maps and Captions by Ryan Stephens LOOKOUT MAP KEY: Windy Fire footprint – RED PERIMETER LINE to WHITE LINE shows approximately 24 hours of growth, RED DOTS are isolated heat sources, Tule River Reservation is SHADED BROWN, Giant Sequoia Groves are SHADED GREEN, all of the … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 9/27/2021

by

7am on September 27, 2021 – Weather update for the Southern Sierra Fires Below is a Tweet from an Incident Meteorologist regarding a weather shift that could have significant impacts on the South Sierra fires: Change is on the horizon, literally. A cold front will bring stronger transport flow later today & Tuesday. It will … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 9/26/2021

by

***September 26 at 11:30am, Commentary from Chuck Ervin Windy mid-day update. While I was writing on KNP this morning, the Windy was making a major push up toward Tobias Peak.  About 4:30am the fire overran the communication site at Tobias peak, visible on the remote cameras stationed there.  It appears from the timelapse footage that … Read more

Guest Photo Essay – Southern Sierra Forests

by

Here is a guest photo essay from Darin McQuoid. He saw a post we did last week on the fires in the Southern Sierra where we mentioned tree mortality, so he sent us these great photos. We welcome submissions like this. Thanks, Darin! December 12, 2015: Tree mortality from bark beetle. Castle Rock and Paradise … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 9/25/2021

by

WINDY FIRE Commentary by Chuck Ervin  *****  Maps and Captions by Ryan Stephens 11am update from a knowledgeable local via wildfireintel.org: Pretty quiet this morning in Pine Flat. Fire made it to the northwest part of the community near Flying T and Rocking K yesterday, but there were no issues. Tons of resources remain in … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 9/24/2021

by

KNP COMPLEX Commentary by Chuck Ervin  *****  Maps and Captions by Ryan Stephens   Overview Map – IR Flight – September 23 – 11:11pm: Overview of 24 hour fire growth looking east. MAP LAYERS: Giant Sequoia Groves are Shaded GREEN. The area between red and white lines around the perimeter of the fire show roughly … Read more

Fawn Fire – 9/24/2021 Morning Update

by

Good morning, Our latest intel from the Fawn Fire is infrared mapping flights from 9:40pm on September 23. The white line is where fire was at noon on September 23. Yellow line is 1pm, first red line is 6pm, and outermost line from 9:40pm. Here are still images of the same information from the video. … Read more

Fawn Fire – 9/23/2021 6pm Update

by

Here is information on the Fawn Fire, burning northeast of Redding. General Fire Location   The fire slowed down significantly this afternoon under a heavy aerial attack that had at least 12 tankers working at the peak of the firefight. Here is an update from NorthOps — the regional fire coordination center at the Redding … Read more

Southern Sierra Fires – 9/23/2021

by

KNP Complex Commentary by Chuck Ervin  *****  Maps and Captions by Ryan Stephens: Today’s Operations Map   Alexander Pincus IR interpreters log, September 22 at 11:55pm: Observed perimeter growth along the majority of the western and northern sides of the perimeter. Several smaller fingers advancing past the perimeter to the east and south.   MAP … Read more