Crews battle an 80+ acre wildland fire in Minnesota

On Thursday afternoon, firefighters worked to extinguish a wildland fire just west of Cotton in St. Louis County. According to the Northland Fire Wire, the fire was reported shortly before 1:00 pm in Kelsey Township on the Kacer Road of Highway 7. Crews from Cotton and Kelsey Fire Departments along with the Minnesota DNR battle the wildland fire. According to reports over 80 acres have burned. Three aircrafts, and 3 tracked vehicles were called to the scene to help fight the fire. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is using track vehicles to help fight the fire, along with three aircrafts.
WDIO-DT ABC 10 Duluth

Wildfire risk looms despite scenic recovery, Southern California fire chief warns

VIDEO: Orange County Fire Chief Brian Fennessy takes a look at the hillside around Silverado Canyon. Just four years ago, the area had completely burned down. "It’s beautiful, right?" Fennessy said. "People say it looks like Ireland." As scenic it may look, the OCFA Chief shared a dire warning. "When we start to see fires this summer spread very rapidly – there’s no doubt people are going to go, ‘Well how did that happen?’" said Fennessy. "Things were so green, they have forgotten that there is a lot of dead fuel still up on our hillsides." OCFA and Cal Fire have teamed up and gotten a chance to use state-of-the-art technology in hopes of being as wildfire-season ready as possible. For example, Cal Fire have access to C-130s that the agency had received from the military.
KTTV FOX 11 Los Angeles

Colorado’s trail app COTREX adds new feature detailing wildfire alerts

The official trails map app for the state of Colorado has a new feature as we inch closer to the summer season: wildfire alerts. Colorado Trail Explorer, or COTREX for short, is a free app to download and provides interactive mapping of about 45,076 miles of trail across local, state and federal agencies in the state. COTREX works directly with land managers, parks, and open spaces, according to a release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). CPW and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources are responsible for maintaining the project. More than two dozen partners use COTREX to share real-time advisories, which can range from safety hazards to wildlife closures. Now, it also includes active fire alerts — both wildfires and prescribed burns. Each alert will include boundaries, links and descriptions of the event.
KMGH-TV ABC 7 Denver

As wildfire season creeps in for one Alaska city, residents prepare for the worst

Anchorage’s Hillside area largely consists of houses tucked into the woods, with very few roads in and out. Ky Holland grew up in the area, and has lived in his house for about 24 years. “One of the things that has characterized the Anchorage Hillside, in particular, has been this ability to have this rural feeling neighborhood structure up here,” Holland said. Another characteristic: a high risk of wildfires. Wildfire season is starting in Anchorage, and Holland said Hillside residents are well aware. Experts say it’s not a matter of if but when a large blaze impacts the neighborhood. Holland described the McHugh Creek Fire in 2016 as a wake up call. That fire was caused by a campfire that wasn’t put out, and ended up burning hundreds of acres of parkland in South Anchorage, along the Turnagain Arm.
Alaska Public Media

Destructive Horse Fire in Arizona classified as ‘human-caused’

PHOTOS: The Horse Fire, a destructive wildfire burning northeast of metro Phoenix, was caused by human activity, according to officials. Wednesday’s incident report said the fire, which started Sunday south of Horseshoe Lake, was 29% contained after consuming 525 acres. While the Horse Fire has been classified as “human-caused,” no details about how it ignited were provided. The latest incident report said the blaze has destroyed one structure and damaged another. The wildfire site is about 60 miles northeast of downtown Phoenix in the Cave Creek Ranger District of Tonto National Forest. Crews have been working to protect Horseshoe Dam infrastructure, campgrounds and the KA Ranch, a private ranch south of Horseshoe Lake.
KTAR-FM 92.3 Glendale

Smokejumpers: Meet the elite group of firefighters from Northern California who parachute into wildfires

VIDEO: When 33-year-old Cole Skinner said he would be dropping by his workplace, he meant it literally. "The whole thing is a pure adrenaline rush," he said. Skinner is part of an elite group of firefighters that operates in places where roads don't exist. For the last four years, his commute has involved a 3,000-foot death-defying dive with views that are hard to beat. Called Smokejumpers, they parachute directly into the flames. When the siren sounds, Smokejumpers pack on their gear and load into a Shorts C-23 Sherpa plane. "Once the horn blows, we have about two minutes to get our jump gear on and we're boarded up to the plane in less than 10 minutes," Skinner said. Becoming a Smokejumper isn't for the faint of heart. Rookies are expected to be in top physical shape and have some firefighting experience.
KOVR-TV CBS 13 Stockton

University of Oregon professors talk about tools to help fight wildfires this summer

With the weather about to heat up and summer not too far off, experts are already talking about this year’s wildfire season, with professors and researchers with the University of Oregon holding a forum to talk about wildfires and smoke. Geography professor Dan Gavin studies climate and ecosystem changes and said that the heavy snow that hit the Cascades this winter will help this wildfire season. “Generally, when you look around the western United States, it’s generally good news right now: we have above average-snowpack or average snowpack across the Sierras and central Colorado, too,” said Gavin. However, Washington state could be a different story: parts of the state are dryer than normal right now, which could raise the risk of fire dangers.
KGW-TV NBC 8 Portland

Wildfire prevention and investigation training hosted in Guam

Nationally, nearly nine out of ten wildfires are caused by humans. In Guam, all of them are caused by people. It's a scary statistic for those protecting our green spaces like Forestry Aide I Sean Scroggs. “I’m just really frightened about what will happen on our island and I really want to try my best to keep my island safe,” said Scroggs. This also means all of our wildfires can be prevented by people. That thought is what brought two dozen participants from 7 different agencies together throughout this week at the Sinajana Mayor’s Office, like Fire Captain John Sablan with the Guam Fire Department. Sablan said, “Public education of fire prevention, I think that’s the biggest takeaway I get from this whole thing. We need to spread the word to the public to help prevent wildfires.”
KUAM News