Tag: Fire

Community

Wildfire Resources- useful links

Sam

This time of the year, it’s hard to tell where the smoke is coming from – there is just so much of it. Given how dry things are, and how thin our resources are spread, it’s good to keep informed.

So, where do we go?

State Map– helpful to get a quick glance and see if there’s anything new in the area.

InciWeb– Good for a broader map- the website also includes tables that list the reported incidents.

Code Red– Receive notifications of emergencies in your area.

TFS Volunteer Fire Department– they post information on Facebook, and they can always use help and support.

Fire Restrictions– What do the different stages mean? Find out here. Wondering which stage an area is in? They have a map!

Fire and Smoke Map– National level map. More useful to answer “where is the smoke coming from” when we don’t have as many fires nearby. Speaking of those…

Nearby Fires:

Burnt Peak and South Yaak Fires– Burnt Peak was 2,715 acres and 31% contained, as of about 7 pm July 26th. South Yaak was 1,523 acres and 10% contained. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has been putting updates out on Facebook. The South Yaak fire has seen both evacuation and pre-evacuation notices.

Closer to home, while not in Lincoln County, is the Hay Creek Fire. It is 4 miles West of Polebridge. As of 6 pm July 26th, it was 1,158 acres. The area receiving pre-evacuation notice for the Hay Creek Fire has been expanding.

Community

Breathing Smoke- Once Again

Sam

Well, the smoke has hit us a bit earlier this year, and it isn’t quite as hazy as it was last year when I wrote about breathing smoke. Smoke inhalation isn’t something to take lightly- it comes with a number of unpleasant symptoms.

Here’s Last Year:
Tuesday, September 15th of 2020

Smoke seemed to fill the air over the course of Saturday, with the mountains becoming increasingly difficult to see.

According to the CDC, breathing in smoke may have several immediate effects:

  • trouble breathing
  • coughing
  • wheezing
  • headaches
  • scratchy throat
  • stinging eyes

These, among other unpleasant side-effects are caused primarily by the very small particles in smoke. While wildfire smoke can contain carbon monoxide (which also causes headaches), carbon monoxide seldom travels far from the initial fire. Ozone is also a concern, because it can form as the smoke plume moves away from the fire.

According to the EPA, the main components of wildfire smoke are: particulate matter (small, large), carbon dioxide, and ozone. Other chemicals are present, but in far smaller amounts. The major component that’s tracked is the very small particulate matter (small in this case means less 2.5 microns in diameter, which is substantially smaller than the diameter of a hair)

A clear day vs a photo taken around noon on Saturday

As our local air quality increasingly worsens the recommendations to stay indoors, avoid strenuous outdoor exertion, etc. become more broadly applicable, no longer applying only to sensitive groups.

The EPA, in addition to defining sensitive groups and noting that there’s been fairly little research done on the long term effects of smoke inhalation, offers some further information about staying indoors.

  • Tightly Closed Air conditioned homes where the air condition recirculates indoor air (instead of drawing in outside air) will keep air pollution outside more effectively
  • Open homes only in periods when the air is relatively clean
  • If cleaning use damp mopping or dusting to avoid putting particles back into the air
  • Minimize driving and trips outdoors
  • Reduce outdoor physical activity
  • Only use an air cleaner (air filter to the rest of us) that doesn’t produce ozone
  • Humidifiers may reduce eye/airway irritation in dry climates

With the skies remaining a bright white/gray, it remained a beautiful day to spend inside. Updates on the wildfire smoke (and a brief forecast) can be viewed on Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)’s website.

Community

Fireworks and Fires

Sam

When we risk fire, we do not just choose that risk for ourselves. Rather, we choose that risk for our neighbors as well.

As we approach the fourth of July, it’s time to start considering the fire danger. According to the National Fire Prevention Association, there were 19,500 fires started by fireworks in 2018 (not bad for a whole year- but also unlikely to be all of the fires started by fireworks- just the ones where people admitted to it).

Where do we learn about fire restrictions and fire danger? weather.gov actually has a national map that includes all warnings, including red flag warnings. At the moment, we’re showing an “excessive heat warning” from noon Monday (6/28) to 8 PM Thursday.

If we’re not at red-flag level, it’s still important to know how close we are to reaching it. For that, we want to look at the fire potential map put out by the forest service and accompanying agencies. At the moment, we’re placed in high risk, coded orange. The area coded red moves closer as the forecast date moves further out into the week.

If you don’t feel like wandering out by one of the Smokey the Bear signs, you can get an update on the fire danger on the upper right of this page.

Given the (very) warm weather, and the lack of recent rain, the fire risk is worth watching. Fireworks and other flammable fun definitely requires some caution and consideration. Choose your risks carefully and keep watching the warnings/fire restrictions/etc.

As ever- we appreciate our local volunteer fire department– and hope not to need them! Thank you!

Community

Breathing Smoke

Sam

Smoke seemed to fill the air over the course of Saturday, with the mountains becoming increasingly difficult to see.

According to the CDC, breathing in smoke may have several immediate effects:

  • trouble breathing
  • coughing
  • wheezing
  • headaches
  • scratchy throat
  • stinging eyes

These, among other unpleasant side-effects are caused primarily by the very small particles in smoke. While wildfire smoke can contain carbon monoxide (which also causes headaches), carbon monoxide seldom travels far from the initial fire. Ozone is also a concern, because it can form as the smoke plume moves away from the fire.

According to the EPA, the main components of wildfire smoke are: particulate matter (small, large), carbon dioxide, and ozone. Other chemicals are present, but in far smaller amounts. The major component that’s tracked is the very small particulate matter (small in this case means less 2.5 microns in diameter, which is substantially smaller than the diameter of a hair)

A clear day vs a photo taken around noon on Saturday

As our local air quality increasingly worsens the recommendations to stay indoors, avoid strenuous outdoor exertion, etc. become more broadly applicable, no longer applying only to sensitive groups.

The EPA, in addition to defining sensitive groups and noting that there’s been fairly little research done on the long term effects of smoke inhalation, offers some further information about staying indoors.

  • Tightly Closed Air conditioned homes where the air condition recirculates indoor air (instead of drawing in outside air) will keep air pollution outside more effectively
  • Open homes only in periods when the air is relatively clean
  • If cleaning use damp mopping or dusting to avoid putting particles back into the air
  • Minimize driving and trips outdoors
  • Reduce outdoor physical activity
  • Only use an air cleaner (air filter to the rest of us) that doesn’t produce ozone
  • Humidifiers may reduce eye/airway irritation in dry climates

With the skies remaining a bright white/gray, it remained a beautiful day to spend inside. Updates on the wildfire smoke (and a brief forecast) can be viewed on Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)’s website.

Ask The Entomologist

Pine Bark Beetles and Fire Risk

EntomologistJed

The dense smoke currently hanging over our part of the country has had me thinking about beetles. Why beetles, you say? Pine bark beetles and relatives (genus Dendroctonus) are notorious for killing large stands of coniferous trees (Fir, Larch, Pine, etc.) – even their scientific name translates to “tree killer”.

As time goes by and environmental stressors increase, we’re seeing more and more tree die-offs related to these bark beetles. Death by bark beetle can triple the rate at which trees go up in flames. It’s not fair to put all the blame on the beetles, though – tree death is ultimately caused by infection from the fungi that the beetles spread. The one bright side of how destructive these beetles and fungi are is that they have been well studied. As a result, there are many ways of controlling their infestations.

Douglas-Fir Beetles I found under bark while splitting some Douglas Fir wood.
Note the “galleries” (tunnels) they’ve made – many bark beetles can be identified by the shape of their galleries.

The most effective way we can control pine bark beetles on our own is by good management of our forest resources. Keep tree stands resistant to pine bark beetles by thinning trees to a healthy density – beetles are most likely to become a problem in over-crowded woods. Beetle damage will become evident by “boring dust” – spots of reddish sawdusty powder along the trunk, and “pitch tubes” – globs of resin the tree has pushed out, trying to stop a beetle’s tunneling (red pitch tubes likely indicate infestation, while yellow ones often indicate successful defense).

Remove stressed, fire-damaged, and wind-thrown trees. Promptly clean up fallen timber. Damaged and downed trees are excellent places for pine bark beetles to reproduce, and should be removed before new beetles emerge! Where one beetle feeds and reproduces, there will soon be more – pine bark beetles attract each other to damaged trees by releasing aggregation pheromones.

A close-up of three Douglas-Fir Beetles – they have since been executed for their crimes.

My favorite method of control involves removing the pine bark beetles’ symbiotic fungi. Without these fungi, most of the beetles can’t reproduce well. Because it’s not practical to directly remove fungi from beetles in the wild, scientists have raised pine bark beetles in captivity. These captive-raised beetles can be inoculated with special aggressive fungi which can outcompete and kill the fungi that wild pine bark beetles carry. The thought is that captive beetles could be released and will interact with wild beetles, spreading their different fungi like a disease. The new fungus will prevent beetle reproduction and thus stop small infestations from becoming large and economically devastating ones.

Unfortunately, beetle-delivered fungal control treatments aren’t ready for public use yet – ask your Forest Service folks what beetle controls they are researching and testing! If you’re particularly concerned about pine bark beetle infestation, they may be able to use chemical measures like anti-aggregation MCH pheromone to lessen the risk.

Have you been seeing signs of pine bark beetle damage near your home?