~Toughbooktalk~

A 180 degree wind change today.
The northern end of the fire is very visible for a change after three days of being smoked in. The Geomac overlay shows two spot fires to the north and west of the main fire.....the distance make me wonder if those were not dozer lights.
Winds are still light but sections of the perimeter seem to be heating up. This fire is on top of a ridge so most movement is a backing type action...into the wind and down slope. The media want it to get close to houses and highway 101....my mapping shows a mile plus still to go. And that would be down a steep ridge into the wind....though as it gets toward the bottom some sideways action could occur. IOW hotter on the east flank during the day and hotter on the west when the wind changes at dusk. This is a major river canyon (South Fork Eel).
The deeper into the canyon the less fixed wing activity (air tankers) but a plus for copter water drops.....i.e. the pool they are dipping from is closer.
Quite a show.
The contingency line is going to more than double the size of this thing. I don't know what the trigger is for firing out....possibly more spotting and running east. This is NOT accessible at this time by vehicles. It is a matter of wait for the fire to get to the roads, do a 100 foot mop-up and let burn until the fall rains.
My opinion.

Wow...I am truly speechless on several levels...The art and skill in wildfire fighting..The unbelievable power of fire..Your knowledge and passion for firefighting..

I admit I don't understand this part...
The contingency line is going to more than double the size of this thing. I don't know what the trigger is for firing out....possibly more spotting and running east. ...... do a 100 foot mop-up and let burn until the fall rains.
..

New word. Make a plan, post a look-out and when the fire reaches a certain point pull the trigger....i.e. start backfiring or pull crews out or whatever the trigger is for.
Contingency is the fall back position, if the main line is over-run or whatever. They have been holding the contingency line for several days on the west side. IOW the primary control line failed and the contingency became the primary. Next contingency would be the Pacific Ocean. lol
Mop-up is to put everything out with-in 100 feet of the line.....or greater in timber. Then patrol the fire until the rain puts it out.
This happened here in 2008. Bell Springs road including my property was fired out (polite term for backfire)and we patrolled it for a month and a half.
I think in fire behavior. (the passion part) where is it going, what will it do, how will surface winds affect it,what topographic features change the above....high pressure, low pressure,winds aspect changes (how the surface lies in relation to the sun) fire is a combination of fuel temperature and ignition temperature. East slopes burn hot in the morning, west in the afternoon. On a small scale fuel burns hotter in the sun then in the shade.
Next question please.

Did you have an avatar before where he was a fire fighter? As I typed this, I "think" I now maybe remember one.

I see there is a LOT more to it than squirt some water and hope it goes out. Combination of science, art and prayer. Nature is still in control no matter what WE do.

You said before 15% humidity. I can't comprehend that.

Highest and Lowest Humidity

Below are averages over the year for maximum and minimum humidity levels in Pennsylvania. The hours when the highest and lowest humidity readings usually occur are given in local standard time.
Annual averages for daily high and low relative humidity

(%) High Time Place Low Time
78.4% 7 am Pittsburgh 55.4% 4 pm
78.2 4 am Erie 64.9 4 pm
77.9 4 am Philadelphia 54.0 4 pm

Shawn wrote:Did you have an avatar before where he was a fire fighter? As I typed this, I "think" I now maybe remember one.

I see there is a LOT more to it than squirt some water and hope it goes out. Combination of science, art and prayer. Nature is still in control no matter what WE do.

When you go to firefighting school you learn a lot to the science to it. It's not the wood or ??? that burns. Heat, heats up the object till it give off gasses, it's those gasses that burn. That is why if you look at a piece of burning wood there is a very small gap between the fire and the wood.

So when you squirt the water on it you are not putting the fire out that way. You use the cooling effect of the water to cool the material burning back down to a level where it does not put out gases so it can burn.

I have a idea on how to do a wide area fire like Jeff is doing but haven't done it. All of my training has been mainly ship based, and internal structure fires. One fire at school we have to put out is called hell hole. The floor is grating with a large diesel spill that has caught fire. So the whole room and floor is on fire. You have to open the door and enter the room with a hose by yourself to put it out with the rest of your team at the door.

This is the smudge just after a wind change taken from the sidewalk lol path in front of my house. Fire backing down to 101 and Leggett, CA.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/itufzh23nimx ... 7Jl_8Kt2Ia

Are those power lines? I thought you were off the grid Jeff?

Telephone and fiber optic. Wind change....... getting poopie. New pic in a second.