Smoke Report: The Rim Fire May Burn For Many Months #CaFire #CaAQ #CaSmoke

Friday, August 30, 2013

Smoke Report: The Rim Fire May Burn For Many Months #CaFire #CaAQ #CaSmoke

The Rim Fire started Aug. 17 and quickly exploded becoming one of the 10 largest California wildfires on record.

Upper level winds can transport chemical matter (combustion products) emitted in a fire long distances, affecting air quality thousands of miles from the source. These model simulations of the transport of carbon monoxide from NASA, offer a clear illustration of the Rim Fire.

\ See 'A Blazing Tour from Earth and Space':http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/08/27/california-rim-fire-a-tour-from-earth-and-space/

#RimFire progression slowed earlier this week when it moved from parts of the forest with thick underbrush that had not burned in nearly a century to areas that had seen fire in the past two decades.

But it will burn for months, possibly until California's dry season ends this fall

"My prediction is it will burn until we see rain," said Hugh Safford, a regional ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service.

That means the smoke could continue to foul air north of Yosemite in the Lake Tahoe basin and neighboring Nevada for many months

The air quality index in the Reno area still had improved only to the "unhealthy" level, and in Douglas County, Nev., school children were kept indoors again when the index registered in the "hazardous" category.

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CFN - California Fire News 2013

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Friday, August 30, 2013