California on Fire! More pix

[olroy2044]

Here is sort of an update on the time since the huge firestorm swept the area east of Chico, Calif. I went out to shoot some of the aftermath of the fire. It consumed 36 sq, miles, destroyed 87 homes, caused one fatality, and burned unknown numbers of outbuildings. As I was shooting the very south edge of the burned area, a nasty lightning storm hit, and it started all over. As of this morning, over 1000 fires are burning in N. Calif., with a total of over 130,000 acres burned. Over 30 fires are burning in Butte county alone. Many are small, but many are burning unchallenged due to not having enough manpower or equipment to put on all of them. A strong inversion layer is holding the smoke in the valley, and visibility is less than a mile here in Chico. It is worse the closer to the foothills you get. Aircraft are grounded, so aerial firefighting is at a virtual standstill. Helicopters equipped with infrared equipment are reconning the fires. This morning they found a previously undetected fire, here in Butte County, that was already at 2500 acres, and shelters are once again in operation.

Unofficial photography is all but impossible, other than shots of the smoke, because of road closures and the terrible visibility.

Here is a link to what I have been able to get. Some are redundant, and others are poor quality, but they give a sense of the conditions.

photobucket.com/olroy2044-firestorm

[Michael Fraley]

Roy, I've been thinking of you these last few days. Glad to hear you are all right, and I certainly hope these fires come under control. This is not like any other summer is it?

[olroy2044]

This is not like any other summer is it?

Michael: Thanks for your concern. It certainly is not like other summers. I have been in this country for the better part of 25 years, and have never seen anything like this. This is the summer that those of us in emergency services have been warning about since 1980, that I know of. The Paradise Fire Department had been trying to get people to listen to them for longer than that. Even though I'm now an "ex" cop, my heart and prayers are still with those guys on the ridge, and all over Northern Cal. As of the latest data from Cal Fire, there are over 13 THOUSAND firefighters on the lines! The smoke is intense here in Chico, and the other communities on the floor of the valley. That pesky inversion layer is acting like a lid and holding the smoke right here. People who must work outside are wearing respirator masks, many of which have been donated by Enloe Hospital here. The good side of that is that the winds are staying mild, which slows the spread of the fires. On the other hand, aircraft are only able to work for a short time in the afternoon. Yesterday I heard them starting engines, and went out to the airport and shot a few pics. Looked and sounded like a wartime scramble. Smoke was so thick that the contrast was very low. Left the pics as shot to give a feel for the conditions.

This Chinook was lifting off as a 130 crossed behind him on the way to the fires. SRT202 Viv 300mm TX Fuji Superia 400


Business end of a Modular Firefighting System, built and installed by Chico Aero Union. Turns any 130 into a fire bomber.


This old DC7 came in on 3 engines the other day, and was back on the line yesterday!


More pix here:
s214.photobucket.com/albums/cc136/olroy2044/Fire%20aircraft/

Roy

[Andrew]

i sure do empathise with you Roy and all those folks there. its a devistating fire and a enormous loss of homes and hopefully not a single one more fatality.

i have spent many summers helping with bush fires in the outback years ago and every summer here in Adelaide that is surrounded by hills and bushland/forest, it is always cross your fingers and hope the summer goes by with only a small fire. years ago i had a property in the hills that was burnt out on what we call 'Ash Wednesday' and where i live now near the base of the hills in Adelaide i once remember seeing the entire hills alight with flames and smoke..it was a horrible thing to see and even after it was eventually over and most of the smoke gone the hills look like christmas tree lights at night from all the big gum trees still glowing....wish we had that equipment you blokes have!

i hope everyone remains safe (it is over now though isn't it or not?) and its under controll

[Randy]

Hope you are safe Roy, take it easy.

[olroy2044]

Thank you all for your concern.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to live here on the valley floor are not in danger at this point, other than from the terrible air quality. It is still listed as being in the extremely unhealthy range. The inversion layer has lifted a little, but visibility is still terrible.

(it is over now though isn't it or not?)

Andrew, the big Humbolt fire of a few days ago is over, but the lightning fires that started as that fire was ending are far from over. In fact, they are growing. As of 10:00 this AM, there were 1420 active fires burning in Ca. 356,134 acres have burned in Northern Ca. Numerous evacuations have been ordered, and warnings have been issued for more areas. Hydro-electric operations infrastructure is being threatened both in Shasta County and in the Feather River Canyon here in Butte County. The number of firefighters has grown to almost 19,000. They are coming from all over Ca. I have given up trying to keep track of all the different FD's I have seen. There are simply too many of them. I have seen crews from as far away as Utah, Oklahoma and Arkansas. 331 dozers, 92 choppers and an unknown number of fixed wing a/c are here, with more arriving every day. I have given up trying to take any more pix, as all they would show at this time is smoke.

Now the weather prognostiguessers are predicting more lightning for this weekend! S-H-E-E-E-S-H! Just what we need!

Heartfelt thanks go out to all the personnel who have come to our aid.

Roy

[davesworld]

Just saw the film from your area on our local news, devastating to say the least. All the best to everyone affected by these fires, stay safe.

Dave

[Andrew]

Jun 29, 2008 14:50:21 GMT -5 olroy2044 said:

In fact, they are growing. As of 10:00 this AM, there were 1420 active fires burning in Ca. 356,134 acres have burned in Northern Ca. Numerous evacuations have been ordered, and warnings have been issued for more areas. Hydro-electric operations infrastructure is being threatened both in Shasta County and in the Feather River Canyon here in Butte County. The number of firefighters has grown to almost 19,000. They are coming from all over Ca. I have given up trying to keep track of all the different FD's I have seen. There are simply too many of them. I have seen crews from as far away as Utah, Oklahoma and Arkansas. 331 dozers, 92 choppers and an unknown number of fixed wing a/c are here, with more arriving every day. I have given up trying to take any more pix, as all they would show at this time is smoke.

Now the weather prognostiguessers are predicting more lightning for this weekend! S-H-E-E-E-S-H! Just what we need!

Heartfelt thanks go out to all the personnel who have come to our aid.

Roy

if there is one single thing that 'may' be considered good that comes out of these horrible occurances is the peoples good character shows through...meaning all those fighters coming from afar is very heartening...its one thing that has stuck with me from an early age when i was envolved in my first fire. i was in a sleepy outback town and an old guy that i had known for years, (he was to me at the time! nearly 50 lol) that always had trouble moving about from having polio when he was kid and general wear and tear on his body, ,,never did see him move without a limp and trouble until ..on christmas day as it would have it the fire siren sounded in the town like and air raid siren alerting all that can hear.

this old gentleman got to his feet quicker than anyone, jumped in his ute spinning the wheels like a blue tounge lizard (oz for young guy, we dont usually say lizard just blue tounge) and was up to the task...i remember him saying seroius words to a young a fella (older than me but still young) that was too hungover from the night before and thought he would skip this one...he changed his mind after that! but it wasnt just him ..i noticed the town awoke with wheels squeeling and women moving to do there part as well...just amazing i thought and i had reale pride in this bloke....

the years have passed and at times there have been some horrible fires on these larger scales here...not so long ago either in the past year or two, with sadly many people losing their lives but it does make me glad the way people on these larger scale happening must all have the same attitude..people from all over the country come to help and on one or two of them if i remember rightly there were firefighters from the canada and the US that came as well...such is the best qualities in people

great pictures of the equipment...i know what you mean about the lightening,,its just a bugger !!!....i hope you all get a break in this yesterday not tomorrow

[nikonbob]

Roy

Great photos of the equipment. I didn't know of the C130 conversion module but it is not surprising considering the versatility of that venerable bird. I hope you and yours are and remain safe through this time. With fires like those all you can do is endure. We know about fires here too and how devastating they can be. We are lucky though, in most cases forest fires here cause some remote communities to be evacuated but generally no loss of life. We will keep our fingers crossed that your area gets some relief soon.

Bob

[chrisy]

Hi Roy,Hope everythings OK with you still.
I'll never conplain about the rain again after seeing what you guys have to go through
Stay safe (even if it means missing a good pic!)
Chris.