Fire In The Hole

[Teton Chuck]

A few days ago a fire broke out behind my home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Right now it covers about four square miles and is still a threat to the town of Jackson. However, the fire fighters seem to be winning the battle for the town. The fire is likely to burn into the wilderness and will probably burn until the first snows arrive.

Here are a few photos of some of the activity. The first shows the smoke from the fire. It has climbed the ridge above my home and the flames are no longer in view.



The next photos show an Erickson Skycrane helicopter that is one of nine that was used to fight the fire. It loads 2600 gallons of water into the tank under its belly by sucking it up through the hose that hangs below the craft. It can fill up in 18 inches of water.



This one shows what it looks like as it flies directly overhead.



This last one is of the helibase where the helicopters are fuled and serviced. Only a few of the craft were here when the photo was taken.

[Donald]

Good images, Chuck. Just a pity about the circumstances that led to them.

[Kathy O]

Prayers for you and your beautiful state of Wyoming!!

[kdoc856]

Let us know how things turn out, Chuck
Jackson Hole is one of my younger daughter's favorite spots on Earth, and she'll be anxious for any news of it. I hope things stay safe for you.

Kevin

[Mike Buckley]

Stay safe, Chuck.

[Teton Chuck]

Took this picture just a few moments ago. We are suddenly getting a north wind, very unusual for us here. I took this from my deck. Thanks to all of you for your concern. I doubt that we are in danger. Hopefully our neighbors will be safe.

Strange as it must seem to most, the forest here in the west need to burn from time-to-time. The plants are adapted to fire. Fire on the ground makes the grasses grow better and are more nutritious for the wildlife. The lodgepole pine have cones that open at high temperatures and spread their seeds. For decades we have tried to put out all fires. We know now that it is better to have many smaller fires than huge ones every few decades. Enough of the biology.

You can see in the following photo that the fire has really kicked up. The red line on the ground at the right is fire retardant that was dropped by a big air tanker. - chuck

[rtbaum]

I second your feelings about fire in the wilderness. I grew up in Michigan, My grandmother had a cabin in the jack pine barrens near Grayling. There is a small warbler, Kirtland's warbler that nested only in a 50 square mile area nearby....and no where else on this earth. It was a struggle to maintain it's population and much effort, time, and expense was exercised to keep it up. Eventually disaster struck and a large portion of the nesting grounds were razed by wildfire. There was much hand wringing about the future of this very rare bird. It came as quite a surprise to the state about 10 years later when the population exploded!! It seems that the heat of the fire cleared the area of years of accumulated deadfall and allowed the pine cones to open, release seed and reestablish the jackpine as small trees. The Kirtland's warbler they now realize will only nest in small jackpines!!

[Teton Chuck]

Randy, thanks for the comments. It seems that most of the time nature has its own "intelligence" if only we are willing to allow it to do its thing. Three cheers for the Kirtland's Warbler.

chuck