Forum Index > Trail Talk > New fire near Yosemite, "explosive fire behavior"
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Eric Hansen
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Eric Hansen
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PostSun Jul 24, 2022 8:47 pm 
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Joey
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PostMon Jul 25, 2022 5:22 am 
This map will always show the most recent Oak fire perimeter from the NIFC server and also the last 7 days of MODIS/VIIRS satellite heat detections. For the legend and other help with the map see the 2 links in the upper left corner. If usage of this map exceeds 5,000 transactions per 10 minute period then the MODIS/VIIRS data will not display until the next 10 minute period. This rate limit is imposed by NASA. Yosemite National Park is a bit to the east.
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Eric Hansen
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Eric Hansen
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PostMon Jul 25, 2022 6:06 am 
“The growth of this fire is pretty amazing given the fact of how quickly we had resources here,” said Chief Mike van Loben Sels of the Madera Merced Mariposa unit of California’s Fire and Forestry Protection (Cal Fire). He noted that embers and spot fires were igniting more than a mile ahead of the blaze. “We really threw everything at this thing from the beginning,” he said. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/25/california-wildfires-oak-fire-remains-uncontained-as-governor-declares-state-of-emergency zero percent containment as of Sunday night

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Eric Hansen
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PostTue Jul 26, 2022 8:19 am 
https://wildfiretoday.com/2022/07/26/oak-fire-slows-but-still-spreads-into-footprint-of-2018-ferguson-fire/ "Fire officials called Monday a successful day on the Oak Fire northwest of Mariposa, California, saying there was minimal growth. The 1,200 acres added paled in comparison to the rapid spread seen on Friday and Saturday." "Helicopters dropped 300,000 gallons of water Monday, including thousands of gallons dropped by one of CAL FIRE’s new night-flying helicopters," "Resources on the incident Monday night included 24 helicopters, 302 fire engines, 82 dozers, 68 water tenders, and 61 hand crews for a total of 2,991 personnel."

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Joey
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PostTue Jul 26, 2022 10:41 am 
If there were other large fires in CA right now then many of these resources would be used elsewhere and this would be a very different story.

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Eric Hansen
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PostTue Jul 26, 2022 8:15 pm 
Yep, true, pretty incredible count of copters, fire engines and all on the scene. Seems like they got an increase in humidity Sunday night, and ongoing. Mammothweather shows some monsoon thunder/rain arriving from Southeast, not clear if it will pass the Sierra crest to where the fires currently are. The Guardian did a piece on why the Oak fire blew up so quickly and it just seems like the vegetation is at near record dryness. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/25/yosemite-oak-fire-climate-crisis-explained "California fire officials reported last month that vegetation was already as dry early in the summer as it would typically be in October, a foreboding sign."

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PostWed Jul 27, 2022 6:30 am 
Eric Hansen wrote:
The Guardian did a piece on why the Oak fire blew up so quickly and it just seems like the vegetation is at near record dryness.
The Sierra Nevada had a pathetic snowpack for the umpteenth year in a row (since one good year in about 2017). You can view annual snowfall in conjunction with the Mammoth ski area and the Mammoth ski patrol. That(those) site(s) has been relevant to me in as much as I often spring skied there. I will also occasionally view Owens Valley webcams. This year there was very little snow visible on the cams. But, save for a 2-3 day storm, the snowfall would easily have broken an all-time record in a negative way. From memory, Mammoth got about 230" of snow this year, but most all in one storm. It did not snow in January, February, and March. That snowfall record is in the poorest 10%, with the record low about a decade ago at 145" (as I recall). The greatest annual snowfall was over 600"! Howard Sheckter bemoans La Nina years as they tend to be dry in California, although wet here.....

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Eric Hansen
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PostThu Jul 28, 2022 6:29 pm 
Well, Howard Sheckter seems to have nailed it again (with precipitation forecast). This NOAA product shows the precipitation forecast for the next 2 weeks. As of this evening they are showing some rain coming in. So, knock on wood, they may get a momentary reprieve in the Sierras. http://wxmaps.org/pix/prec1 Wildfire Today reports on Oak fire (with neat heat sensor air video) https://wildfiretoday.com/2022/07/28/most-of-the-work-still-remaining-on-the-oak-fire-is-on-northeast-side/

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Eric Hansen
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PostThu Jul 28, 2022 7:14 pm 
We'll see what shakes out. CalFire seems to expect a notably bad season

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PostFri Jul 29, 2022 8:25 am 
Why would anyone call these fires amazing?

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Trailhead
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PostFri Jul 29, 2022 11:06 am 
Mountainpines wrote:
Why would anyone call these fires amazing?
The sentence said that the growth of the fire was amazing.

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PostFri Jul 29, 2022 12:10 pm 
Trailhead wrote:
Mountainpines wrote:
Why would anyone call these fires amazing?
The sentence said that the growth of the fire was amazing.
I'd think if folks on the ground and in the know call fire behavior amazing I would trust their opinions. From an armchair 1000 miles away and with no experience it might be hard to tell........ wink.gif

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Eric Hansen
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Eric Hansen
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PostFri Jul 29, 2022 1:48 pm 
I think Chief van Loben Sels (of CalFire) meant the sheer velocity of the Oak fire's early growth was amazing. Velocity probably a product of extremely dry fuels (historic drought), high winds and extremely low humidity.

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