Today, we’re sharing an interview we recorded in the spring with Will Harling, who works to reintroduce prescribed fire and managed wildfire in Northern California’s remote Klamath Mountains. In the interview, we discuss some of the challenges we’re facing as a result of the way wildfires are currently managed, and talk about how we might … Read more
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
Firefighting is often far more expensive, and more dangerous to firefighters, than prescribed burning, but officials in California have done little to invest in substantively expanding the use of prescribed fire. To illustrate the difference in cost between fire suppression and preemptive forest management practices, we took a look at how much our government has … Read more
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
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
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
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
Windy Fire – September 22, 2021 Let’s take a look at today’s briefing map: _______________ Maps and Captions by Ryan Stephens with commentary by Chuck Ervin Ryan Stephens: IR was back in the air last night and today we have the maps to prove it! So far, the fire has reached into five giant sequoia … Read more
Here is a great map made by our friend Peter Hansen showing the Dixie Fire‘s spread across Lassen Park. As we have discussed in length on previous posts, the 2012 Reading Fire was a managed wildfire that escaped control and burned out of the park. Nine years later, the Reading played a major role in … Read more