Another fire week is upon us and it didn’t take long for breakouts near Fillmore and another in Norco. The NOAA has now extended the time frame for triple digit temps and single digit humidities from Tuesday-Thursday to Tuesday-Sunday. Surely more fires will be set in the next few days, hopefully not anywhere near BFS. Yes, set. A 13 year old male from El Monte was arrested for arson in the Azusa/Highway 39 fire from a few weeks ago. It burned 5 square miles and was followed within a days by the historic and giant Station fire which has burned 215 square miles — mind blowing. It too was arson and no one has been arrested.
I took photographs from BFS for several days of the Station Fire, and even from this distance they showed the immensity of the event. In none of the photos below is there a single “cloud”, it is all fire weather and smoke.
Update 27 September: The Station Fire is now at Day 33, and it’s still not quite out (98% contained). I’ve added a couple of additional photos to Stephen’s. –NVH
Dawn, Day 5, August 30 – smoke from the Station Fire over the East Field. Photo by Nancy Hamlett.
Day 5, August 30 – Pyrocumulus cloud from the Station Fire seen from the BFS
Evening, Day 5, August 30 – Station Fire
Day 6, August 31 – Station Fire from BFS
Afternoon, Day 7, September 1 – Station Fire, over BFS
Sunset, Day 7, September 1 – Station Fire from BFS
Sunset, Day 7, September 1 – Station Fire, from BFS
Day 25, September 19 – a water-dropping heli-tanker flies over the BFS on the way to the Station Fire. Photo by Nancy Hamlett.
On Saturday, September 19, additional water-dropping helicopters were called in to put out hot spots in advance of “Furnace Week”. This particular helicopter, #720, is a Sikorsky Skycrane stationed in San Bernardino. The helicopters, which are equipped with heat-sensing infrared technology, are invaluable for sensing and putting out hot spots in rugged, inaccessible terrain.