Sunday, October 30, 2011
So Cal Fire Journal Images
Untitled ProjectThe latest Images from So Cal Fire Journal, Zimmerman Media LLC
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
We Remember The Esperanza Wildfire and Honor The Crew of Engine 57 Today
Five years ago today five firefighters from the United States Forest Service were killed on the Esperanza Wildfire in Riverside County. We remember their sacrifice and service to our National Forests.
Santa Ana winds are predicted today in very similar circumstances that entrapped the firefighters on the Esperanza Wildfire. A red flag fire warning is in effect for Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Fire Station Safety, Yuba City FD
OSHA: California Dept. Didn't Address MRSA at Firehouse
A complaint has been filed against the Yuba City FD, alleging health violations have not been addressed.
BY ASHLEY GEBB - Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
Posted: Mon, 10/24/2011 - 10:27am
Updated: Mon, 10/24/2011 - 10:43am
..A complaint has been filed against the Yuba City Fire Department, alleging MRSA outbreaks and other health violations have not been addressed at a fire station.
The Department of Occupational Safety and Health notified the Fire Department on Oct. 13 that it has until Thursday to provide a response.
The complaint alleged:
--Four outbreaks of MRSA -- an antibiotic resistant staph infection -- at the Butte House Road Station in the last 16 months.
--A toilet drain in the living area plugged with fabric.
--Insulation exposed in the living room.
--The septic system backed up three to six months ago with no official cleanup.
A Yuba City firefighter, saying he feared retribution, spoke to the Appeal-Democrat on condition of anonymity. He said one of the greatest frustrations is firefighters are doing their jobs, but do not have a clean, safe station.
"We do take risks, that's our job, but in this place, people are starting to feel like the department doesn't have their backs, and people are getting sick," he said.
Firefighters at the station are frustrated by the prolonged conditions, he said.
"They finished the exterior so it looks great from the outside. As people drive by it looks completed, but you go inside and it's a mess," the firefighter, who does not work at the station, said. "If we inspected a building like that, we'd shut it down."
Fire Chief Pete Daley is preparing a response to the workplace safety agency, known as Cal/OSHA. He said the Butte House Road station, also known as Station 7, is in the middle of a major remodel, and all health and safety issues are being overseen with the help of an industr al hygienist.
Daley said he was "disappointed" when the letter arrived, since Station 7 firefighters have been involved in the remodel and are frequently updated on its status.
"The letter from Cal/OSHA, what it allows everyone to do is make sure we are focusing on taking care of the problem," he said. "That's the primary goal, to make sure the facility is safe and that our employees are safe."
The Fire Department inherited the Butte House Road station when it merged with the Walton Fire Department in 2001. The structure was built only as a daytime-use station, not a 24-hour live-in station, and remodeling was needed, Daley said.
The first priority was to weatherize the building, Daley said, and a $316,000 exterior remodel was completed earlier this year.
It was during the exterior remodel that interior remodel discussions began. Firefighters at the station asked to remove a living room bathroom to create more space and were allowed to make the change themselves, exposing the insulation and causing the plugged toilet drain.
It was difficult to remodel a fire station while it's in use, Daley said. Exposed walls and other issues inevitably occur, and the remodel has taken longer than usual.
Six months ago, the Fire Department brought in an industrial hygienist to focus on sanitation, resulting in new safety and cleaning policies and sanitation training for all firefighters. The county Health Department was also brought in to provide additional training.
Daley stressed that MRSA -- methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus -- is common in hospitals, care homes and other locations. Its ease of contraction makes it a risk even in public places like grocery stores. As firefighters enter private homes and provide medical aid services, it is not unexpected they would be exposed to various health issues, he said.
"We deal with a lot of sick people," Daley said. "MRSA is just one of the concerns we have in our facility and with our people. As far as safety, there is hepatitis, there is MRSA, there is the flu-influenza."
Additional improvements have been identified to improve sanitation, such as replacing carpeting with a nonporous surface, switching fabric chairs to plastic, and firefighters sanitizing their boots before entering the station.
"We are using Station 7 as a prototype as we go through and remodel other stations," Daley said. "Our No. 1 priority is taking care of our customers and the community as well as our employees."
In its current condition, the anonymous firefighter said, the station has egregious fire safety violations, including covered smoke detectors and open walls that would allow the quick spread of fire.
"Here we are, the Fire Department, and we are breaking our own rules," he said.
The plans and specifications for the interior remodel went before the council Sept. 20, and the advertisement of bids was authorized with an anticipation of a November construction start. The improvements include new flooring, drywall, electrical, mechanical, painting, sound insulation, doors, appliances, cabinets, counters and plumbing.
The interior project is estimated to cost $318,000. Funding for the work has been in the city's Capital Improvement Program budget since 2009.
During the improvements, the department has saved money and create a better living situation for the firefighters by renting the house next door, Daley said.
"We are doing everything we can to deal with all the issues and all the concerns we have at Station 7," he said. "(With the) industrial hygienist to help us, I think we have taken all the precautions we can."
Mayor John Dukes had not heard about the letter Friday but after speaking with Daley, he said he trusted the Fire Department to keep its facilities and firefighters safe. The remodel of the Butte House Road station will be a model for all other stations for health and safety once it is complete.
"They are working on the issues, they were aware of these issues and had been working on them for some time," he said.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
A complaint has been filed against the Yuba City FD, alleging health violations have not been addressed.
BY ASHLEY GEBB - Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
Posted: Mon, 10/24/2011 - 10:27am
Updated: Mon, 10/24/2011 - 10:43am
..A complaint has been filed against the Yuba City Fire Department, alleging MRSA outbreaks and other health violations have not been addressed at a fire station.
The Department of Occupational Safety and Health notified the Fire Department on Oct. 13 that it has until Thursday to provide a response.
The complaint alleged:
--Four outbreaks of MRSA -- an antibiotic resistant staph infection -- at the Butte House Road Station in the last 16 months.
--A toilet drain in the living area plugged with fabric.
--Insulation exposed in the living room.
--The septic system backed up three to six months ago with no official cleanup.
A Yuba City firefighter, saying he feared retribution, spoke to the Appeal-Democrat on condition of anonymity. He said one of the greatest frustrations is firefighters are doing their jobs, but do not have a clean, safe station.
"We do take risks, that's our job, but in this place, people are starting to feel like the department doesn't have their backs, and people are getting sick," he said.
Firefighters at the station are frustrated by the prolonged conditions, he said.
"They finished the exterior so it looks great from the outside. As people drive by it looks completed, but you go inside and it's a mess," the firefighter, who does not work at the station, said. "If we inspected a building like that, we'd shut it down."
Fire Chief Pete Daley is preparing a response to the workplace safety agency, known as Cal/OSHA. He said the Butte House Road station, also known as Station 7, is in the middle of a major remodel, and all health and safety issues are being overseen with the help of an industr al hygienist.
Daley said he was "disappointed" when the letter arrived, since Station 7 firefighters have been involved in the remodel and are frequently updated on its status.
"The letter from Cal/OSHA, what it allows everyone to do is make sure we are focusing on taking care of the problem," he said. "That's the primary goal, to make sure the facility is safe and that our employees are safe."
The Fire Department inherited the Butte House Road station when it merged with the Walton Fire Department in 2001. The structure was built only as a daytime-use station, not a 24-hour live-in station, and remodeling was needed, Daley said.
The first priority was to weatherize the building, Daley said, and a $316,000 exterior remodel was completed earlier this year.
It was during the exterior remodel that interior remodel discussions began. Firefighters at the station asked to remove a living room bathroom to create more space and were allowed to make the change themselves, exposing the insulation and causing the plugged toilet drain.
It was difficult to remodel a fire station while it's in use, Daley said. Exposed walls and other issues inevitably occur, and the remodel has taken longer than usual.
Six months ago, the Fire Department brought in an industrial hygienist to focus on sanitation, resulting in new safety and cleaning policies and sanitation training for all firefighters. The county Health Department was also brought in to provide additional training.
Daley stressed that MRSA -- methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus -- is common in hospitals, care homes and other locations. Its ease of contraction makes it a risk even in public places like grocery stores. As firefighters enter private homes and provide medical aid services, it is not unexpected they would be exposed to various health issues, he said.
"We deal with a lot of sick people," Daley said. "MRSA is just one of the concerns we have in our facility and with our people. As far as safety, there is hepatitis, there is MRSA, there is the flu-influenza."
Additional improvements have been identified to improve sanitation, such as replacing carpeting with a nonporous surface, switching fabric chairs to plastic, and firefighters sanitizing their boots before entering the station.
"We are using Station 7 as a prototype as we go through and remodel other stations," Daley said. "Our No. 1 priority is taking care of our customers and the community as well as our employees."
In its current condition, the anonymous firefighter said, the station has egregious fire safety violations, including covered smoke detectors and open walls that would allow the quick spread of fire.
"Here we are, the Fire Department, and we are breaking our own rules," he said.
The plans and specifications for the interior remodel went before the council Sept. 20, and the advertisement of bids was authorized with an anticipation of a November construction start. The improvements include new flooring, drywall, electrical, mechanical, painting, sound insulation, doors, appliances, cabinets, counters and plumbing.
The interior project is estimated to cost $318,000. Funding for the work has been in the city's Capital Improvement Program budget since 2009.
During the improvements, the department has saved money and create a better living situation for the firefighters by renting the house next door, Daley said.
"We are doing everything we can to deal with all the issues and all the concerns we have at Station 7," he said. "(With the) industrial hygienist to help us, I think we have taken all the precautions we can."
Mayor John Dukes had not heard about the letter Friday but after speaking with Daley, he said he trusted the Fire Department to keep its facilities and firefighters safe. The remodel of the Butte House Road station will be a model for all other stations for health and safety once it is complete.
"They are working on the issues, they were aware of these issues and had been working on them for some time," he said.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Santa Maria Airtanker Base
Progress takes flight at SM airport
By Isaiah Brookshire, Staff Writer
So Cal Fire Journals Response
The Santa Maria Airport has been abuzz with activity in the last weeks. From movement on a permanent fire-fighting base to a special honor for the airport’s tower crew, there is a lot going on.
The downgrading of tanker bases at the Santa Barbara Airport in 2007 and at the Santa Maria Airport in 2009 meant the county was without permanent aerial fire protection for the first time since 1958. Recent meetings between fire officials, the Forest Service personnel and local politicians about bringing the Santa Maria base back to full capacity have been productive, according to Congresswoman Lois Capps.
In a statement from Capps’s press secretary, Ashley Schapitl said, “She understands that ensuring our firefighting community has all the tools they need to do their job thoroughly and quickly is paramount. The Congresswoman has been actively working to find a solution that ensures public safety and the ability to effectively fight fires.”
Schapitl went on to say, “She is confident the details of the agreement will be put to paper in the coming weeks that will address the concerns of the local fire chiefs and ensure the Santa Maria Air Tanker base will be adequately staffed and equipped to respond to wildfires.”
The concerns the new resolution addresses mainly are related to the time it takes for firefighting aircraft to reach the Central Coast. In an email Schapitl said, “The fire chief’s main concern was that in the event of a wildfire, it would take too long to get the firefighting operation up and running if the based remained ‘call when needed’ as opposed to ‘full time.’”
She said there were also worries that the aircraft would have to fly as far as Porterville, Paso Robles and Fox Field to reload retardant, sapping precious hours away from battling blazes. According to Schapitl, the new resolution quells those fears by “essentially bringing the base back to full-time status.” An exact date for when the deal might be complete wasn’t given, but Capp’s expects to move forward in the coming weeks.
Taking off:
With speculation abounding on whether the Santa Maria Airport will get a tanker base, some are already thinking about how and with what aircraft those fires will be fought. David Baskett is a local business man who has attempted in recent years to bring Russian firefighting aircraft into the Forest Service’s tanker fleet to varying degrees of success.
Baskett even came up with a plan to help lower levels of radiation at nuclear power plants crippled in the Japanese tsunami by using his tanker aircraft equipped with special foam. This too met with some resistance from officials who weren’t keen to be seen as incompetent or unprepared. Baskett said he continues to work on solving problems in Japan, but has shifted his focus back to supplying the Forest Service with tankers.
Baskett said his new BAE 200 firefighting aircraft would help restore the aging and inadequate tankers. He said that during the recent Texas wildfires there simply weren’t enough aircraft to meet the needs. “They ran into big problems and didn’t win any congressional kudos for their lack of airplanes,” he said.
While meetings over restoring the Santa Maria Air Tanker base to full-time status have been progressing, Baskett said he also was meeting with success. “We expect to sign a contract to begin testing in Russia within the next few weeks.” He added, “This is a huge step to contracting in the U.S.”
The BAE 200 will have to undergo rigorous testing if it is to enter into the Forest Service tanker lineup. One of the most challenging will be one Baskett calls the “Dixie Cup test.” The Forest Service wants any tanker it operates to lay down a consistent line of retardant or water. This helps with operational logistics but also ensures there aren’t breaks in the fire line. “Imagine a field, 3,000 feet long and 1,000 feet wide. It’s covered in steel toothpicks and on top of each toothpick is a Dixie cup. Now what the Forest Service wants you to do is fly over at 120 miles per hour and drop roughly the same amount of retardant into each cup,” said Baskett. While confident his aircraft were up to the task, he said the testing would take place in Russia, near the BAE 200 factory, where fine-tuning could take place at a lower cost.
If the testing goes well, Baskett plans to deliver 10 of his tankers to the U.S. and base them out of the Santa Maria Airport. Under contract with the Forest Service, Baskett said he hopes to employ about 80-90 total employees at the tanker base. He said he also hopes to build a new hangar and maintenance buildings at the airport to house his aircraft.
The plans for the BAE 200 don’t end with a Forest Service contract. Currently, Baskett and his business partners are in the process of forming a separate board that would raise funds to give Santa Barbara County priority on one of the tankers. The “Spirit of Santa Barbara,” as Baskett envisions it, would be funded by local citizens and companies that are willing to donate toward more fire protection. The idea for the designated tanker came after talks with property owners in Santa Barbara and Montecito, some of whom had lost homes in devastating fires.“They told me they would be happy to donate in exchange for priority access to a tanker,” said Baskett.
So Cal Fire Journal Perspective: With the loss of C-130 and numerous P-3 Orion aircraft the Central Coast is extremely vulnerable to wildfires. Many of these aircraft have been grounded since there were concerns about metal fatigue and air-worthiness. The age and fatigue are serious concerns as well as corrosion, this was justified after a c-130 wings fell off during a wildfire sortie in Northern California killing the crew.
Aero Union Corporation's airtankes have a long history of battling wildfires on the Central Coast and on the Los Padres National Forest. They have flown on many major campaign fires and have been a great firefighting asset capable of dropping water and retardant from the air in substantial volumes, which have a much larger capacity then the Cal Fire S-2 aircraft.
With heavy fuel loads of dense brush in the urban interface, much larger loads are required to hold these fires in check. With extreme energy release components of dry or dead forest fuels, larger aircraft with tanks of at least 2,000 gallons are needed. Hopefully the advent of newer jet assisted aircraft will fill the void created by the loss of older aircraft.
The solution is quick initial attack, hold the fires in check when they are small, not to drop millions of gallons of retardant when fires are massive. The quick initial attack from a local air tanker base is very important to people who live in the foothill communities. The concept of hitting the fire hard and quick while it is in the incipient phase must occur at the outset. Larger airtankers VLAT carrying up to 10,000 gallons of water are needed to cool a fire front until ground forces are in place for fire attack. Once a fire is well established, no amount of retardant can slow a forest inferno.
As the owner and CEO of Southern California Fire Journal I would encourage all of our faithful readers and your family members to contact their Congressional Office and ask for support. Every time there are budget cuts to aircraft, ground forces or forest fuel thinning projects it weakens the chain of survivability from wildfires. Of course homeowners must be responsible to maintain defensible space around their homes and property which many negate. We should not risk firefighters lives for people who have not cleared their brush and flammable vegetation from their homes and property.
With the Santa Ana season here, thousands of homes and millions of people lay in wait for the peril of large fires. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Great Bel Air conflagration we will be covering a story of those who battled the massive wildfire and urban conflagration. Many of the lessons learned from this wildfire are very applicable today. We are only as safe as our neighbor, fires from downed power lines, lightning, careless use of fire, children playing with matches or the insidious torch of arsonists threaten our very existence. Without airtanker and fixed wing support we have yet another chink in our armour of protection.
We know the U.S. Forest Service has been conducting studies as to the effectiveness of retardant and the chemical effects on forest fuels and water tributaries which is a good concept. The USFS reports that fire retardant is only used on 5 percent of the wildfires that start each year, costing $24 million to $36 million a year of the nearly $1 billion spent annually fighting wildfires. There were 36,000 retardant drops from 2000 through 2010, using more than 90 million gallons of the substance.Of course research should always continue to the effectivenss of suppressing agents but to outlaw its use at this current time would be ludicrous.
We also know there is much debate about using heavy helicopters and super scooper air craft and the cost and safety concerns associated with these programs. But let's not become penny wise and pound foolish with the fire budget. Write to your Forest Supervisor and Congressional office asking for support.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Brush Fires LAFD, Kern County and USFS
...BREEZY OFFSHORE WINDS WITH WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS THIS WEEKEND... ...POTENTIAL FOR GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS MIDDLE TO END OF NEXT WEEK... .DISCUSSION... A RIDGE ALOFT WILL BUILD OVER CALIFORNIA THROUGH THE WEEKEND...WHILE BREEZY OFFSHORE FLOW IMPACTS THE FAVORED INLAND VALLEYS AND MOUNTAINS. THESE NORTHEAST WINDS WILL BE STRONGEST OVER LOS ANGELES AND VENTURA COUNTIES...WHERE LOCAL GUSTS TO 35 MPH ARE LIKELY. AS A RESULT...WIDESPREAD WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND...EXCEPT COASTAL AREAS IMPACTED BY ANY DENSE FOG AND THE VERY SHALLOW MARINE LAYER. HUMIDITIES SHOULD FALL INTO THE TEENS OVER MOST VALLEYS AND MOUNTAINS...AND POSSIBLY TOUCHING SINGLE DIGITS IN THE WARMEST LOCATIONS...WITH POOR MOUNTAIN AND FOOTHILL OVERNIGHT RECOVERIES. ISOLATED CRITICAL CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE WEEKEND OVER THE WINDIEST LOCATIONS...BUT SHOULD NOT EXCEED DURATION CRITERIA.
New Brush Fire, LAFD 11880 Terra Vista, 5 acres brush, LA County and Forest Service mutual aid, 482-g7 OCD channel 5, EPN Channel 1 and Tac 2
Kern County and USFS LPF working a fire near Frazier Park CA, near Kern County Fire Station 57 aand the shooting range, second alarm assignments.
A little Fire History of Santa Ana Wind events:
Major fires in Malibu and Los Angeles with loss of multiple homes: October and November Santa Ana events:
> Trippet fire LA County and La City Nov 23-3- 1938
> Laurel Cyn 1959, LAFD.
• Malibu fire in 1956
• Malibu fire in Ocotber 1958
> La Tuna Cyn Nov 6, 1955
> Bel Aire, Nov 6 1961
• Malibu Canyon fire in September 1970
> Mill Creek Fire ANF 1975
> Topanga Cyn 1977 Nov 14
> Mandevile Canyon LAFD, 1978 Ocotber
• Malibu fire October 1978
• Malibu fire in 1982
• Malibu fire in October 1985
• November 2, 1993 Old Topanga Malibu fire
• Malibu fire in October 1996
• Malibu fire in January 2003
> CA Fire Storms of October 2003
• Malibu fire in January 2007
• Malibu fires in October-November 2007
New Brush Fire, LAFD 11880 Terra Vista, 5 acres brush, LA County and Forest Service mutual aid, 482-g7 OCD channel 5, EPN Channel 1 and Tac 2
Kern County and USFS LPF working a fire near Frazier Park CA, near Kern County Fire Station 57 aand the shooting range, second alarm assignments.
A little Fire History of Santa Ana Wind events:
Major fires in Malibu and Los Angeles with loss of multiple homes: October and November Santa Ana events:
> Trippet fire LA County and La City Nov 23-3- 1938
> Laurel Cyn 1959, LAFD.
• Malibu fire in 1956
• Malibu fire in Ocotber 1958
> La Tuna Cyn Nov 6, 1955
> Bel Aire, Nov 6 1961
• Malibu Canyon fire in September 1970
> Mill Creek Fire ANF 1975
> Topanga Cyn 1977 Nov 14
> Mandevile Canyon LAFD, 1978 Ocotber
• Malibu fire October 1978
• Malibu fire in 1982
• Malibu fire in October 1985
• November 2, 1993 Old Topanga Malibu fire
• Malibu fire in October 1996
• Malibu fire in January 2003
> CA Fire Storms of October 2003
• Malibu fire in January 2007
• Malibu fires in October-November 2007
Friday, October 21, 2011
Buckweed Fire 2007
Friday October 21, 2011
1:00 pm - 1:00 pm
This event repeats every year.
Santa Clarita Valley/Los Angeles County
This afternoon in 2007 an older child playing with matches started this fire which drive by hurricane-force Santa Ana Wind spread over 38,356 acres and destroyed 63 structures including many homes.
Four people were injured.
Watching for Santa Anas Wed-thru-Thursday
1:00 pm - 1:00 pm
This event repeats every year.
Santa Clarita Valley/Los Angeles County
This afternoon in 2007 an older child playing with matches started this fire which drive by hurricane-force Santa Ana Wind spread over 38,356 acres and destroyed 63 structures including many homes.
Four people were injured.
Watching for Santa Anas Wed-thru-Thursday
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Oakland Hills Fire, 20th Anniversary
20 years ago on October 20th 1991 a large urban fire occurred on the hillsides of northern Oakland, California, and southeastern Berkeley, just two years after the Loma Prieta earthquake. The fire has been referred to as the Oakland hills firestorm, the East Bay Hills Fire, and the Tunnel Fire (because of its origin above the west portal of the Caldecott Tunnel) in Oakland. The fire ultimately killed 25 people and injured 150 others. The 1,520 acres destroyed included 3,354 single-family dwellings and 437 apartment and condominium units. The economic loss has been estimated at $1.5 billion.
Supplemental Information:
20 years ago today, The Tunnel Fire, also known as the East Bay Hills Fire, originally started on October 19, 1991. On October 20, the fire, fanned by wind gusts up to 65 miles per hour, escaped containment lines and ran through the neighborhoods of Oakland Hills. Battalion Chief James Riley, Police Officer John Grubensky, and 23 civilians were killed; between 100-150 injured, and 3,354 single-family dwellings, 456 apartment units and approximately 2,000 vehicles were destroyed. While only burning 1,600 acres, total damages has been estimated at $1.5 billion, making it the costliest fire monetarily in U.S. history. For more information, visit http://www.wlfalwaysremember.org/incident-lists/186-james-riley-oakland-berkeley-hills.html
Ironically offshore Diablo winds are soon predicted and a small earthquak jolted San Fransico toady.
Supplemental Information:
20 years ago today, The Tunnel Fire, also known as the East Bay Hills Fire, originally started on October 19, 1991. On October 20, the fire, fanned by wind gusts up to 65 miles per hour, escaped containment lines and ran through the neighborhoods of Oakland Hills. Battalion Chief James Riley, Police Officer John Grubensky, and 23 civilians were killed; between 100-150 injured, and 3,354 single-family dwellings, 456 apartment units and approximately 2,000 vehicles were destroyed. While only burning 1,600 acres, total damages has been estimated at $1.5 billion, making it the costliest fire monetarily in U.S. history. For more information, visit http://www.wlfalwaysremember.org/incident-lists/186-james-riley-oakland-berkeley-hills.html
Ironically offshore Diablo winds are soon predicted and a small earthquak jolted San Fransico toady.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Fire Weather, Offshore Wind Event
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT...CURRENTLY TO THE SOUTHWEST...WILL GRADUALLY BUILD EASTWARD THROUGH THE WEEK...SETTLING OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. AT THE SAME TIME...SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE GREAT BASIN. THIS COMBINATION WILL PRODUCE AN OFFSHORE FLOW PATTERN ACROSS THE AREA THIS WEEK. TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...THE LOW-LEVEL FLOW WILL BE NORTHERLY. THIS WILL PRODUCE SOME GUSTY NORTH WINDS IN THE USUAL AREAS...INCLUDING THE SANTA YNEZ RANGE AND THE INTERSTATE 5 CORRIDOR. NORTHERLY WIND GUSTS BETWEEN 35 AND 45 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE WINDIER SPOTS. BY WEDNESDAY MORNING AND CONTINUING THROUGH THURSDAY THE WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE NORTHEAST WITH GUSTS TO BETWEEN 35 AND 40 MPH LIKELY IN THE WINDIER SPOTS. ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...AS THE WINDS SHIFT TO THE NORTHEAST... AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES WILL JUMP DRAMATICALLY. TEMPERATURES IN THE 90S ARE LIKELY ACROSS THE VALLEYS AND EVEN THE COASTAL PLAIN. AS THE TEMPERATURES INCREASE...RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL TUMBLE. INLAND AREAS WILL EXPERIENCE AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITY IN THE TEENS ON WEDNESDAY THEN INTO THE LOW TEENS AND SINGLE DIGITS ON THURSDAY. OVERNIGHT RECOVERY WILL BE POOR AWAY FROM THE COAST. THE COMBINATION OF THE OFFSHORE WINDS...HOT TEMPERATURES AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY MAY PRODUCE A FEW HOURS OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. THE RAINFALL FROM LAST WEEK WILL MITIGATE THE SITUATION SOMEWHAT...BUT THERE WILL BE A HEIGHTENED FIRE WEATHER CONCERN WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Crimson Skies
Crimson Skies Short Photo essay from Zimmerman Media LLC Click on the purple letters"Crimson Skies"
Friday, October 7, 2011
Drying Trend for So Cal
...PROLONGED WARMING AND DRYING TREND THROUGH FRIDAY OCTOBER 14... .DISCUSSION... HIGH PRESSURE...BOTH SURFACE AND ALOFT...WILL BUILD TO THE NORTH THROUGH SATURDAY. THE HIGH WILL TEMPORARILY WEAKEN SUNDAY AND MONDAY...THEN REBUILD TUESDAY THROUGH NEXT FRIDAY. THIS WILL PRODUCE PERIODS OF EAST TO NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTING TO 35 MPH...MAINLY DURING THE MORNING AND EVENING HOURS. RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL FALL BELOW 15 PERCENT EACH DAY...BUT MODERATE RECOVERY IS EXPECTED EACH NIGHT. DAYTIME TEMPERATURES ARE LIKELY TO RUN 10 TO 15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Global Warming and Wildfires
Global Warming, NaturallyPosted by: angelafritz, 10:48 PM GMT on September 16, 2011 +16
The Earth has undergone many episodes of natural global warming and cooling and by various causes. The Earth's most common mechanism for climate change are Milankovitch cycles—variations in the Earth's orbit that change its distance from the Sun, which spur ice ages and subsequent warming. Other changes in Earth's past climate were caused by the same processes causing today's warming. The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which occurred around 56 million years ago, is the most recent event that we can compare today's warming to. Global temperatures rose at least 5°C (9°F), and the PETM warmth lasted 200,000 years before the Earth system was able to remove the extra CO2 from the atmosphere. The resulting impact on Earth's climate was so severe that a new geological era was born—the Eocene. Earth's ecosystems were able to adapt to the PETM because the warming was gradual; however, the warming we're causing today is about 10 times as fast, and Mother Nature might not be able to keep up with the changing climate this time around.
Global Warming 56 Million Years Ago
After years of research, the PETM is now thought to have been caused by greenhouse gas emissions, similar to how the earth is warming today. 56 million years ago, at the end of the Paleocene epoch, the supercontinent Pangaea was in the final stages of breaking apart into the continents as we know them today. As the land masses split apart, volcanoes erupted and molten rock bubbled toward the Earth's surface, literally baking carbon-rich sediments and releasing the greenhouse gas into the air. During this time, atmospheric temperature probably increased by a couple of degrees.
The initial increase in temperature triggered events that led to more greenhouse gas emissions and more warming. Climate scientists generally agree that the feedback with the most impact on the atmospheric temperature increase was the melting of methane hydrates in the ocean seabed. As the atmosphere warmed the ocean surface, currents (probably not unlike the thermohaline circulation we know today) would have funneled the warm water to the ocean floor, where it melted the frozen methane hydrates (also referred to as methane clathrates), releasing the potent greenhouse gas into the ocean and eventually the atmosphere, a process called outgassing. Hydrates could have also been outgassed via other mechanisms—tectonic uplift, volcanic activity, or changes in deep ocean temperature from the closing off of certain gateways due to shifting continental plates. No matter how the process started, methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas that has 20 to 25 times more warming power than carbon dioxide, although it degrades to carbon dioxide after about ten years in the atmosphere. However, a steady influx of the gas would have been sufficient to warm the planet by more than a few additional degrees.
Rate of temperature change today (red) and in the PETM (blue). Temperature rose steadily in the PETM due to the slow release of greenhouse gas (around 2 billion tons per year). Today, fossil fuel burning is leading to 30 billion tons of carbon released into the atmosphere every year, driving temperature up at an incredible rate.
Many of the other climate feedbacks that we either already observe today or expect to experience probably took place during the PETM warming, as well. Severe drought would have led to increased wildfires, injecting more carbon into the atmosphere. Some research shows that permafrost on a then glacier-free Antarctica thawed, which would have also released carbon dioxide and methane. Another interesting source of carbon that some scientists hypothesize is the burning of peat and coal seams. Peat is decayed vegetation and has a very high carbon content. Peat, which is found in the soil beneath the surface, can be ignited by something like a wildfire and continue to smolder for as long as centuries. Coal seams can be ignited in a similar way, and burn for decades to centuries, releasing huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
PETM Warming vs. Current Warming
During the PETM, around 1.5 billion tons of carbon was released into the atmosphere per year. The Earth warmed around 6°C (11°F) over 20,000 years, although some estimates are that the warming was more like 9°C (16°F). Using the low end of that estimated range, the globe warmed around 0.025°C every 100 years. Today, the globe is warming at least ten times as fast, anywhere from 1 to 4°C every 100 years. In 2010, our fossil fuel burning released 35 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere. By comparison, volcanoes release 0.2 billion tons of carbon per year. How fast carbon enters the atmosphere translates to the how fast temperature increases, and the environmental and societal consequences of warming at such a break-neck speed could be devastating.
Environmental Impacts
• Ocean Circulation
Environmental impacts of the PETM were similar to the impacts that are warned of today. There is some evidence that during the PETM, large-scale ocean circulation reversed, which would have led to enhanced warming. Ocean circulations are largely by temperature and salinity (salt concentration), and warming of ocean water at high latitudes would have acted to at least slow, if not totally reverse, the "global conveyor belt."
• Sea Level Rise
Since the PETM occurred in an already warm climate (another thing that sets the PETM apart from modern warming), there was very little sea ice and glacial cover to melt, so sea level did not change dramatically. However, there is plenty of ice to melt on our modern planet, and we expect sea level to rise anywhere from 0.2 to 0.6 meters (0.7 to 2 feet) by the year 2100. We've already seen sea level rise at a rate that would support the higher end of that range (0.6 meters/2 feet).
• Permafrost and Methane Hydrates
Scientists agree that a major contributor to the PETM warming was the melting of methane hydrates on the seafloor and permafrost at high latitudes. Both of these store immense amounts of carbon and constitute a tipping point for the climate—once hydrates and permafrost begin to melt, the process will be irreversible. The reservoirs of methane hydrate stored in marine sediments (500 to 10,000 billion tons of carbon) and in permafrost (7.5 to 400 billion tons) are being constantly monitored. Melting of methane hydrates and permafrost enhanced the PETM warming, and could tip the scales of modern warming, too. Already we see that permafrost is degrading, and scientists suspect that methane hydrates are melting near the Arctic Shelf.
• Ocean Acidification
The most disruptive impact during the PETM was likely the exceptional ocean acidification. The ocean naturally absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and also from the sea floor (in the form of calcium carbonate). When excess carbon enters the atmosphere, the oceans try to balance the system by absorbing more. Numerous studies have shown that this was the case during the PETM. The effect of this is a decrease in the pH of the water, or "acidification." Unfortunately, this has a devastatingly negative impact on calcifying creatures like foraminifera, molluscs, and coral. Coral bleaching is caused by a number of environmental changes, including ocean acidification and increased water temperature.
On the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, bleached coral in the foreground, healthy coral in the background. Source: Wikipedia.
Ecosystem Impacts
Ecosystems adapted remarkably well to the PETM warming, likely because it was gradual enough for life to adjust to the new environment. The only species extinction that scientists have found were some foraminifera that lived on the sea floor. It's hypothesized that these foraminifera could not adapt to the new warmth at such great depths (bottom waters warmed 4 to 5°C). As excess carbon dissolved in the ocean, the water acidified which likely resulted in coral bleaching. Marine life adapted by migrating poleward toward cooler water. On land, mammals not only migrated to find more sustainable environments, but they also decreased in size, likely because it is easier for smaller animals to dissipate heat. Hoofed animals and turtles were confined to the tropics before the PETM, but during the warming this animals made the trek northward into North America and Europe. The PETM did not cause mass extinctions of plants and animals on land, but a major turnover in mammalian life occurred at that time. Many of today's major mammalian orders emerged in the wake of the PETM.
Emperor Penguins are particularly susceptible to a warming climate. Source: Wikipedia.
Modern ecosystems are already struggling to adapt to their new, warmer environments. Penguins, polar bears, whales, seals, salmon, and orangutans are just a few of the mammals being impacted by anthropogenic climate change. Foraminifera have already decreased markedly in some areas. Coral is bleaching at a very rapid rate. While it was possible for land mammals to migrate to cooler regions in the PETM, manmade infrastructure (roads, railways, cities, etc) will prevent them from doing so this time around. Given the rate of warming the globe is experiencing, it is likely that many ecosystems will be totally incapable of adapting.
The Takeaway
There are a lot of uncertainties surrounding the PETM—this extremely warm geologic period has been notoriously difficult to recreate, but recent advancements in understanding the warming have been made. Uncertainties should not be interpreted as misunderstanding. Instead, they should be treated a testament to how sensitive the climate system could be, and how influential humans are on the delicate global energy balance. It is clear that the earth dumped almost all of its stored carbon into the atmosphere, and now we are doing the same by pulling fossil fuels out of the ground and burning them. Just like the previous great global warming did, we are likely catapulting ourselves into a new geologic era: the Anthropocene.
The Earth has undergone many episodes of natural global warming and cooling and by various causes. The Earth's most common mechanism for climate change are Milankovitch cycles—variations in the Earth's orbit that change its distance from the Sun, which spur ice ages and subsequent warming. Other changes in Earth's past climate were caused by the same processes causing today's warming. The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which occurred around 56 million years ago, is the most recent event that we can compare today's warming to. Global temperatures rose at least 5°C (9°F), and the PETM warmth lasted 200,000 years before the Earth system was able to remove the extra CO2 from the atmosphere. The resulting impact on Earth's climate was so severe that a new geological era was born—the Eocene. Earth's ecosystems were able to adapt to the PETM because the warming was gradual; however, the warming we're causing today is about 10 times as fast, and Mother Nature might not be able to keep up with the changing climate this time around.
Global Warming 56 Million Years Ago
After years of research, the PETM is now thought to have been caused by greenhouse gas emissions, similar to how the earth is warming today. 56 million years ago, at the end of the Paleocene epoch, the supercontinent Pangaea was in the final stages of breaking apart into the continents as we know them today. As the land masses split apart, volcanoes erupted and molten rock bubbled toward the Earth's surface, literally baking carbon-rich sediments and releasing the greenhouse gas into the air. During this time, atmospheric temperature probably increased by a couple of degrees.
The initial increase in temperature triggered events that led to more greenhouse gas emissions and more warming. Climate scientists generally agree that the feedback with the most impact on the atmospheric temperature increase was the melting of methane hydrates in the ocean seabed. As the atmosphere warmed the ocean surface, currents (probably not unlike the thermohaline circulation we know today) would have funneled the warm water to the ocean floor, where it melted the frozen methane hydrates (also referred to as methane clathrates), releasing the potent greenhouse gas into the ocean and eventually the atmosphere, a process called outgassing. Hydrates could have also been outgassed via other mechanisms—tectonic uplift, volcanic activity, or changes in deep ocean temperature from the closing off of certain gateways due to shifting continental plates. No matter how the process started, methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas that has 20 to 25 times more warming power than carbon dioxide, although it degrades to carbon dioxide after about ten years in the atmosphere. However, a steady influx of the gas would have been sufficient to warm the planet by more than a few additional degrees.
Rate of temperature change today (red) and in the PETM (blue). Temperature rose steadily in the PETM due to the slow release of greenhouse gas (around 2 billion tons per year). Today, fossil fuel burning is leading to 30 billion tons of carbon released into the atmosphere every year, driving temperature up at an incredible rate.
Many of the other climate feedbacks that we either already observe today or expect to experience probably took place during the PETM warming, as well. Severe drought would have led to increased wildfires, injecting more carbon into the atmosphere. Some research shows that permafrost on a then glacier-free Antarctica thawed, which would have also released carbon dioxide and methane. Another interesting source of carbon that some scientists hypothesize is the burning of peat and coal seams. Peat is decayed vegetation and has a very high carbon content. Peat, which is found in the soil beneath the surface, can be ignited by something like a wildfire and continue to smolder for as long as centuries. Coal seams can be ignited in a similar way, and burn for decades to centuries, releasing huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
PETM Warming vs. Current Warming
During the PETM, around 1.5 billion tons of carbon was released into the atmosphere per year. The Earth warmed around 6°C (11°F) over 20,000 years, although some estimates are that the warming was more like 9°C (16°F). Using the low end of that estimated range, the globe warmed around 0.025°C every 100 years. Today, the globe is warming at least ten times as fast, anywhere from 1 to 4°C every 100 years. In 2010, our fossil fuel burning released 35 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere. By comparison, volcanoes release 0.2 billion tons of carbon per year. How fast carbon enters the atmosphere translates to the how fast temperature increases, and the environmental and societal consequences of warming at such a break-neck speed could be devastating.
Environmental Impacts
• Ocean Circulation
Environmental impacts of the PETM were similar to the impacts that are warned of today. There is some evidence that during the PETM, large-scale ocean circulation reversed, which would have led to enhanced warming. Ocean circulations are largely by temperature and salinity (salt concentration), and warming of ocean water at high latitudes would have acted to at least slow, if not totally reverse, the "global conveyor belt."
• Sea Level Rise
Since the PETM occurred in an already warm climate (another thing that sets the PETM apart from modern warming), there was very little sea ice and glacial cover to melt, so sea level did not change dramatically. However, there is plenty of ice to melt on our modern planet, and we expect sea level to rise anywhere from 0.2 to 0.6 meters (0.7 to 2 feet) by the year 2100. We've already seen sea level rise at a rate that would support the higher end of that range (0.6 meters/2 feet).
• Permafrost and Methane Hydrates
Scientists agree that a major contributor to the PETM warming was the melting of methane hydrates on the seafloor and permafrost at high latitudes. Both of these store immense amounts of carbon and constitute a tipping point for the climate—once hydrates and permafrost begin to melt, the process will be irreversible. The reservoirs of methane hydrate stored in marine sediments (500 to 10,000 billion tons of carbon) and in permafrost (7.5 to 400 billion tons) are being constantly monitored. Melting of methane hydrates and permafrost enhanced the PETM warming, and could tip the scales of modern warming, too. Already we see that permafrost is degrading, and scientists suspect that methane hydrates are melting near the Arctic Shelf.
• Ocean Acidification
The most disruptive impact during the PETM was likely the exceptional ocean acidification. The ocean naturally absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and also from the sea floor (in the form of calcium carbonate). When excess carbon enters the atmosphere, the oceans try to balance the system by absorbing more. Numerous studies have shown that this was the case during the PETM. The effect of this is a decrease in the pH of the water, or "acidification." Unfortunately, this has a devastatingly negative impact on calcifying creatures like foraminifera, molluscs, and coral. Coral bleaching is caused by a number of environmental changes, including ocean acidification and increased water temperature.
On the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, bleached coral in the foreground, healthy coral in the background. Source: Wikipedia.
Ecosystem Impacts
Ecosystems adapted remarkably well to the PETM warming, likely because it was gradual enough for life to adjust to the new environment. The only species extinction that scientists have found were some foraminifera that lived on the sea floor. It's hypothesized that these foraminifera could not adapt to the new warmth at such great depths (bottom waters warmed 4 to 5°C). As excess carbon dissolved in the ocean, the water acidified which likely resulted in coral bleaching. Marine life adapted by migrating poleward toward cooler water. On land, mammals not only migrated to find more sustainable environments, but they also decreased in size, likely because it is easier for smaller animals to dissipate heat. Hoofed animals and turtles were confined to the tropics before the PETM, but during the warming this animals made the trek northward into North America and Europe. The PETM did not cause mass extinctions of plants and animals on land, but a major turnover in mammalian life occurred at that time. Many of today's major mammalian orders emerged in the wake of the PETM.
Emperor Penguins are particularly susceptible to a warming climate. Source: Wikipedia.
Modern ecosystems are already struggling to adapt to their new, warmer environments. Penguins, polar bears, whales, seals, salmon, and orangutans are just a few of the mammals being impacted by anthropogenic climate change. Foraminifera have already decreased markedly in some areas. Coral is bleaching at a very rapid rate. While it was possible for land mammals to migrate to cooler regions in the PETM, manmade infrastructure (roads, railways, cities, etc) will prevent them from doing so this time around. Given the rate of warming the globe is experiencing, it is likely that many ecosystems will be totally incapable of adapting.
The Takeaway
There are a lot of uncertainties surrounding the PETM—this extremely warm geologic period has been notoriously difficult to recreate, but recent advancements in understanding the warming have been made. Uncertainties should not be interpreted as misunderstanding. Instead, they should be treated a testament to how sensitive the climate system could be, and how influential humans are on the delicate global energy balance. It is clear that the earth dumped almost all of its stored carbon into the atmosphere, and now we are doing the same by pulling fossil fuels out of the ground and burning them. Just like the previous great global warming did, we are likely catapulting ourselves into a new geologic era: the Anthropocene.
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