Buck Fire in Southern Trinity Explodes to 2500 Acres

Modis 9-15-17

Smoke from the Buck Fire Impacts Southern Humboldt and northern Mendocino today. [Satellite imagery from today.]

While smoke from the Buck Fire only smudges the air in Southern Humboldt and Mendocino, the residents of Trinity County and Shasta County have a possible expanding threat on their southern mutual border as the blaze which started from lighting on the 12th continues to grow quickly. Today, the fire is only in Trinity County but it threatens to move to the southeast into Shasta.

While the fire currently is not near any town–Platina is the nearest at about 11 1/2 miles away—there are a few threatened structures nearby, according to the InciWeb. And, the terrain is making fighting the fire difficult.

Below is a press release from the Shasta Trinity National Forest about the Buck Fire.

Current Fire Situation: The Buck Fire is in the area of Black Rock Mountain west of Stuart Gap on the South Fork Management Unit.  It is burning in heavy timber and on steep and inaccessible terrain, which have been major safety considerations for fire crews.  Lack of natural and manmade barriers to stop the fire’s progression are also a challenge, and fire management officials continue to scout for opportunities where fire resources can slow and stop the fire.  Single Engine Air Tankers and helicopters have assisted ground resources by dropping water and retardant to slow the growth of the fire.

Yesterday, the fire grew approximately 700 acres.  The most active portions of the fire were on the southeast and western portions of the fire. Short upslope runs and occasional torching occurred as burning material rolled downhill and moved uphill.  Low relative humidity and cooler temperatures limited fire activity overnight and the fire backed slowly toward the East Fork of the South Fork Trinity River.

Today, resources will continue to arrive to assist on the Buck Fire.  Helicopters will be used for water bucket drops, as well as gather information for long term planning.  Structure protection will continue in the Black Rock Lookout area, and crews will continue to scout and build indirect fireline.  Information Officers will continue to outreach to forest visitors and hunters in the area.

 

Weather and Smoke:  The weak system pushing over the fire yesterday has moved to the east, leaving dry and seasonable conditions behind. Temperatures today are predicted to be similar to yesterday, but winds are expected to remain light and calm. Air quality has improved considerably with the arrival of cooler temperatures, with only a light inversion settling into valleys overnight. That inversion is predicted to clear by 10am. Smoke and air quality information can be found on the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District at http://www.ncuaqmd.org/.

 

Forest Road/Trail/Area Closure Order: A Forest order for the area of the Buck Fire is pending and will be released as soon as it is available. We advise visitors and hunters to remain vigilant and aware of fire activity in the area, especially in the vicinity of the Low Gap, Hermit Rock and Stuart Gap areas.

 

Other Area Fires:  Several other fires are burning on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, including the Helena/Fork Fires near Junction City and Weaverville. Information is available on InciWeb at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/unit/3/.

 

Fire Restrictions: Despite cooler temperatures, fire restrictions remain in effect on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Please check https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/stnf/alerts-notices for more information.

 

Additional fire information: Please visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5614/.  A fire information number has been set up at (530) 628-0151 and is staffed daily from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. You may also email your fire related questions or concerns to [email protected].

 

Facebooktwitterpinterestmail

Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules

Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

5 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Shak
Guest
Shak
6 years ago

“This year-to-date, 47,700 wildfires have burned 8 million acres across the country, …”
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-zinke-directs-interior-bureaus-take-aggressive-action-prevent-wildfires

8 million acres!
How many habitats resided in each acre?
Frogs, lizards, snakes, quail, snails, slugs, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, porcupines, beavers, elk, deer, turkeys, bats, earthworms, bobcat, bear, lion, martin, minx, eagles, hawks, … Does anyone have the stats?
My searches, to date, only count the “missing endangered species”, but I can’t find the precise numbers of the wildlife and their numbers per acre.
Is it proper to assume that hundreds of species per acre existed before the fires?

If it’s only 10 species per acre, the devastation was only in the millions per acre.
Only.

Memy Selfandi
Guest
Memy Selfandi
6 years ago
Reply to  Shak

I’m curious too. Sorry don’t have answer. And where do they go? Earthworms like can burrow down but far enough? Has there been a mass exodus of creatures from the fires.?

We care more about homes, too often filled with things we do not need that are bad for the ecosystem…many mirrors to stare at ourselves, tvs to stare at version of ourselves and chemical cleaners to protect ourselves and on and on while we ignore the other costs of the fires; critters who have so little of the basics they need to survive and upon whose existence ours also depends …meanwhile we morn “Stuff”.

shak
Guest
shak
6 years ago
Reply to  Memy Selfandi

Funny you should mention the “let nature” take it’s course.
http://usfspayettenationalforest.blogspot.com/2017/09/letter-to-idaho-county-commissioner.html?m=1

Man, being a mammal, use to put out nature’s fires, because man is not only a part of nature, but man has the intelligence, dexterity, skills, and resources to save the forests, selves and wildlife when left to his own devices.

A quote from the article linked:
“Quite frankly, there is a rapidly growing segment of the public which is beginning to get tired of Forest Service lock-it-all-up-and-watch-it-all-burn management policies. That, and not being able to see the sun or mountains at least four months every year while the Forest Service uses taxpayer money to buy more of our forests, just so it can sit back and lock it all up, to watch it all burn. “

shak
Guest
shak
6 years ago
Reply to  Memy Selfandi

Birds use twigs, mud and brush to build homes.
People use the same, except their twigs are larger.
Birds are fowl. People are mammals. Get it?
They’re all a part of nature.

Jackie M Ermacoff
Guest
Jackie M Ermacoff
6 years ago

Just because we are a higher species does not mean that we are wiser. Animals instinctually know when danger is near..fight or flight! They will remove themselves from fire danger, just as we would. They are just much more efficient at it.

If there is one thing animals are capable of, it is determining if there is imminent danger and the best route to escape said danger.

Why do we species of high learning give the rest of the animal kingdom so little credit?

Lighting strikes for a reason. Nature will make fires erupt out of necessity. Who are we to put a halt to those eruptions?

Make defensible those structures that are historic, those structures that are government funded, and those structures that private land owners are willing to finance the preservation of..

Other than that..LET THE SON OF BITCH BURN!!!!

The fire Dept has no financially sound plan of action which would give them the ability to efficiently contain a fire.

What they are capable of, however, is protecting the man made structures we tend to deem so necessary to our existence, as if they define us.

At what point do we stop playing God, stop misappropriating funds, stop robbing Peter to pay Paul, stop blaming anything other than our own arrogance..and start seeing the big picture?

A society so willing to bicker, so willing to blame, so willing to deceive, so willing to place our faith in fallacies and words we choose to heed, rather than words of truth.

I will not apologize with the concern that I may have offended fellow readers, I will not spitefully defend my stance just because I believe others to be quacks..

I will simply say this…PULL YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR @$$3$!!!!