Ross Fork Fire
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Ross Fork Fire
Ross Fork Fire: Northern Blaine County, Idaho
MSES 550
Module 4 – What’s the Situation: Exercise #1
Dr. Thomas Sieland
November 12, 2023
Desiree Cook
1
Ross Fork Fire
Part 1
The Ross Fork fire started in Northern Blaine County, Idaho on a Tuesday afternoon
around 6:00 pm on August 14, 2022, by a rod of lightning sparking the forest trees. A
ccording to
a fire report article that appeared on September 7, 2022, by the USDA described the geography
of the region that was being destroyed by the fire as a national forest with timber, high grass,
and low brush as fuel for the fire. The climate was wet and cool, however, over this Labor Day
weekend it was particularly dry and hot with strong gusty winds from the Southwest that soon
created a
fire well
in a creek that helped spread the deadly flames.
Part 2
In an article sent out to the public by fire officials from the, (USDA, 2022) states, “
The
fire grew over 4000 acres in the past 24 hours as measured by an infrared mapping flight
overnight. The fire is 2% contained, and that number is lower because of the growth in the size
of the overall perimeter. A red flag warning has been issued today, this could result in extreme
and erratic fire behavior due to strong winds, high temperatures and very dry fuel conditions”
(USDA, 2022).
Part 3
As the weather changes from cool and wet to dry and hot with increasing wind makes
the conditions of the fire harder to manage and more dangerous. One can quickly get heat
stroke if they do not take particular care to their bodies by hydrating with water and solutes to
keep themselves properly nourished while exerting themselves in this extreme hot weather
round the clock while wearing and carrying heavy equipment. The smoke plumes above created
2
Ross Fork Fire
a haze that made the air quality poor and unhealthy for the county citizens as well as the
firemen putting out the fire.
Part 4 and 5
There are many dangers that firemen face fighting fires in dry, hot, and windy weather. It
has been said by locals residing in states with this weather type like those in Phoenix, Arizona
that these weather conditions make it hard for people to recognize when dehydration begins to
set in. The firefighters were able to depict the amount of damage and assess the fire’s direction
by using
infrared mapping
technology that they monitored around the clock night and day. Fire
Marshall Flannigan stat
es, “On Aug. 30, with a heat dome and high winds in the region, the fire
jumped a crucial ridge above Smiley Creek and raged eastward,”
(Evans, T. 2022).
Monsoon rains
gave the county officials hope that the rains will help firemen put out the fire, however, that
forecast was short lived and instead of rain there were heavy winds and thunderstorms due to
the low pressure moving across the area preventing aircraft and helicopters from helping
ground firemen. During the weeks ahead thousands of acres continued to burn as the skies
became clear as the wind subsided, and smoke haze had switched directions. These conditions
helped make it better for the fire brigade to have a chance at containment.
Over six thousand
acres were burned across the Sawtooth Mountain forests
in nearly two weeks until it was finally
noticed by the public. By the end of its reign three months later on Halloween night, the Ross
Fork fire was extinguished after it had burned nearly 38,000 acres alone. According to (Harris,
2022), “
At least 70 firefighters from the Fort Hall and North Bannock fire departments, the
Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs battled the blaze
with help from firefighting aircraft” (Harris, S. 2022).
People enjoying the sunny and warm
3
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Ross Fork Fire
weather over the fresh water in a nearby lake were warned to evacuate and be cautious of
firefighters and aircraft utilizing the lake in attempts to stop the fire from spreading.
Part 6
The resources provided throughout the modules in this course along with the
background information provided and the links to the different climate and weather images
have helped me understand certain technical terms when it comes to weather patterns and
meteorology. With this assignment, I realized reading through the many news journals and
articles I was able to comprehend their terminology and gain an understanding of the process
emergency personnel’s process when it comes to major forest fires. There are multiple
government officials and agencies that get involved and work in a team effort to put the fire out
with minimal risk of lives and property damage. I can now comprehend the weather forecast
news reporter and decipher the many things happening on a SPC Mesoanalysis map and chart.
Although I have much more to learn, and I am merely gaining my comprehension of the many
terms of weather and climate as it is both fascinating and challenging.
4
Ross Fork Fire
Below are images of the enormous blaze and maps:
Trends/Forecast
-4 -2 -0
- SfcOA
Diag -
+0 +2 +4 +6
- RAP/SfcOA
Fcst -
Image overlays:
County Boundaries
County Warning Areas
Highways & Cities
ARTCC Regions
NWS Watches & Warns
SPC Day1 Outlook
Image underlays:
Opacity
None
Radar
Terrain
Population
Surface Obs
Current SPC
Products
Show popup images?
Day1 Convective
Outlook
Issued at 1929 UTC
Probabilities:
Torn
Hail
W
ind
Day1 National Fire
Outlook
Issued at 1639 UTC
This list updates
automatically.
Please contact John Hart, Matt Mosier, Rich Thompson, and Patrick Marsh
if you have questions or comments regarding this page.
The fields shown on these pages are produced by SPC's SFCOA analysis system, primarily created by Phillip Bothwell, and now maintained by Patrick
Marsh
.
5
Ross Fork Fire
Blain
e County Sheriff’s Office issued a level one pre-evacuation notice for campgrounds and cabins from Sawtooth City to Alturas Lake due to the Ross Fork
Fire.
Author: ktvb.com Published: 10:11 PM MDT September 4, 2022
6
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Ross Fork Fire
A firefighting aircraft assists in battling the blaze in the Ross Fork area on the Fort Hall Reservation on Tuesday evening. The blaze scorched.
6,391 acres by the time it was 100 percent contained Thursday. Kyle Riley/For the Journal.
Sun Valley firefighter Matt Gelso works on the Ross Fork Fire around Smiley Creek near midnight Sunday, Sept. 4.
Courtesy photo by Amy David
Screenshot of fire/fire smoke situation Thursday afternoon via AirNow.gov
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Ross Fork Fire
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Ross Fork Fire
References
1.
Evans, T. (2022, December 28). Ross Fork Fire took community by surprise in 2022:
Charred landscape a visible reminder of nature’s fury.
Idaho Mountain Express
.
https://doi.org/08/11/2022
2.
Harris, S. (2022). Firefighters contain Ross Fork and Michaud Creek Blazes After Nearly
7,000 Total Acres Scortched.
Idaho State Journal
, (November 12, 2022), 1.
https://doi.org/August 11, 2022
3.
Stueber, S. (2022). Dodging the fire smoke could be a challenge in the Idaho Mountains!
Silver City in the Owyhees might be a good call?
Stueby's Outdoor Journal
, 1.
https://doi.org/September 8, 2022
4.
U. S.D.A. (2022, September 7).
Ross Fork Fire Daily Update
. Media Daily Update - Ross
Fork 9-7-22 FINAL. Retrieved November 12, 2023, from
file:///Users/user/Downloads/pict20220807-113511-0.pdf
9
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