Controlled Burn Goes Bad

[slowp]

An escaped controlled burn in Colorado...two people dead.

Colorado wildfire still uncontained: Names of two victims in Lower North Fork Fire released - The Denver Post

 

[RandyMac]

Dang.
Spain is burning too.

 

[paccity]

you know what the kneejerk reaction will be on that.:msp_angry:

 

[forestryworks]

Gonna be a big fire season in CO this year. Huge snowpacks last year, very slim this year. Fine fuels aplenty.

I wonder how CO's liability common law(s) and statutes look at escaped Rx burns?

In Texas, the burner is liable if the victim(s) can prove the burner was negligent.

 

[RandyMac]

Hey sweetp!
You heard of the Salmon Fire? The Feds called it the Offield Fire.
It was a pretty big one, back in 1974, started from a salmon BBQ near Somes Bar.

 

[slowp]

Yes. A guy told me he and crew made a dash for the river and spent some time in the river while the fire burned around them. That's nahsty country.

 

[RandyMac]

I missed that one, was in the Balled Hills at the time.

 

[madhatte]

you know what the kneejerk reaction will be on that.:msp_angry:

Yes, I do, unfortunately. Odds are we won't meet our burn goals this year if the DNR and clean-air folks are on sphincter-clench paranoia watch. Add to that all of the millions of tons of green fuel on the ground from this winter's ice storm and you have a recipe for a rough fire season or two if things decide to play out that way. Who knows, though -- we could get lucky and have it rain all season and be able to burn every day we want to and still get some OT for the occasional unavoidable brush fire. Ain't holdin' my breath, though.

 

[Jacob J.]

The WO has already told USFS that large scale fire use projects are going to be scaled back this year.
There's roughly 18% less money available for suppression and even less available for prevention, fuels, and unit prep.

Interior is taking about a flat 12% across the board cut. Most medium and larger programs are losing one to four
seasonal hire positions. Each region is losing 8 to 14 permanent staff positions including prevention and assistant
fire staff positions on all the west side forests. Rogue-Siskiyou is cutting two FMOs as well.

 

[madhatte]

The WO has already told USFS that large scale fire use projects are going to be scaled back this year.
There's roughly 18% less money available for suppression and even less available for prevention, fuels, and unit prep.

Interior is taking about a flat 12% across the board cut. Most medium and larger programs are losing one to four
seasonal hire positions. Each region is losing 8 to 14 permanent staff positions including prevention and assistant
fire staff positions on all the west side forests. Rogue-Siskiyou is cutting two FMOs as well.

This after LAST fire season? Insane. Oh, well, the fuels WILL reduce themselves... on their own schedule.

 

[Jacob J.]

This after LAST fire season? Insane. Oh, well, the fuels WILL reduce themselves... on their own schedule.

Yep, I dunno. We've been told "Use more contractors..." as if that was ever the answer to anything.

A good friend of mine who was a FS engine boss is out of a job this year. The district he was on cut an entire 5-person type 3 engine module.

 

[RandyMac]

Is a type three a big sixpack with a 250 gal tank?

 

[Dalmatian90]

Yeah, from the brief bit I read I suspect someone will end up writing a check for it...but calling it an "escaped prescribe burn" is a bit at the limits of the phrase to me.

The burn had been done four days earlier. Crews policing it (four days later) did see embers crossing over the lines.

I'm certainly not that experienced with western fire conditions...but if you need a five day window of co-operating weather before you light a burn I'm pretty figuring none could be lit.