Finlay Creek Fire

[tsayta]

What lake? I was beginning to think I was living in a smellcloud

[just popping in]

Evacuation Orders lifted

https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#206236

[Glacier]

100% contained.

[Glacier]

http://bcfireinfo.for.gov.bc.ca/ftp/!Pr ... 170906.pdf

[Glacier]

Finlay Creek is 1 of only 3 fires with any measurable fire activity. Rains have doused most of the big fires in the Cariboo and Kootenays.

[klc]

Some of my family near the Finlay Creek fire had a lot of concerns about the fire guard construction and the back burning operations. I think they simply don't understand the firefighting methods, but some of their questions are:

- The fire never came over the top of Acland, and fire doesn't prefer to burn downhill, so how much of that work really made any difference? Maybe they didn't need to make a big mess and cut all those trees since the fire never even got there?

- The helicopter dropped "napalm" or some other horrible chemical burning stuff in the forest

- The burned areas were so small and widely spaced apart on the hillside that it wouldn't have slowed a fire down anyways. They were useless spot burns.

Can someone with more wildfire fighting knowledge explain these?
Thanks!

[Frisk]

- The fire never came over the top of Acland, and fire doesn't prefer to burn downhill, so how much of that work really made any difference? Maybe they didn't need to make a big mess and cut all those trees since the fire never even got there?

Fire typically burns slower downhill, however that doesn't mean it won't. Under certain circumstances it can still travel downhill quite rapidly, usually if it's pushed by a downslope wind. (Glenrosa 2009)

Once the fire is contained it's pretty easy to criticize things like fuel reduction operations but you have to keep in mind that the fire fighters can't predict the future, maybe the fire would've traveled downhill if it wasn't for the burn offs removing the fuels. Mt. Acland is extremely steep, the only way to quickly create a solid containment line in that situation is to get to more leveled ground and burn the fuels in between there and the preexisting fire.

- The helicopter dropped "napalm" or some other horrible chemical burning stuff in the forest

That would be the helitorch. The fuel it uses is a mixture of gasoline or diesel with a thickening agent. So yes it is essentially napalm however it's an effective way to do burn offs.

- The burned areas were so small and widely spaced apart on the hillside that it wouldn't have slowed a fire down anyways. They were useless spot burns.

Burn offs often give that appearance. The whole hillside has likely been removed of fuels though.
They usually conduct burn offs during cooler & less windy weather to reduce the risk of the fire escaping. And since fire is less intense under those conditions it results in a less severe burn. Patches of candled trees can give the illusion of a spotty burn but what you're actually looking at is likely a complete burn since you cannot see below the tree canopy. Most of the trees survived while the ground fuels have been removed.

Hope that helps.

[klc]

Patches of candled trees can give the illusion of a spotty burn but what you're actually looking at is likely a complete burn since you cannot see below the tree canopy. Most of the trees survived while the ground fuels have been removed.

Hope that helps.

Thanks very much, Frisk. All good detail, makes sense. Apparently there's some follow up communication happening now, and residents are feeling better about it.

[Alexa1994]

No, I didn't hear about it what is it?

[Frisk]

Looks like there's a small hot spot puffing away on Acland. I'm sure the average joe could learn a thing or two about fire fighting strategies & containment from watching it slowly burn itself out. Same thing goes for the fire near rattlesnake island. Maybe if people's understanding improved we'd be able to perform more prescribed burns & beneficial fires in the future. Maintaining a healthy forest by removing built up fuels around communities is a good place to start if you want to prevent more intense interface fires in the future.

[Fancy]

Saw hot spots a week ago as well as near rattlesnake island - no one seems concerned.

[Frisk]

Saw hot spots a week ago as well as near rattlesnake island - no one seems concerned.

It's good that people have relaxed now but initially there was quite an uproar. It really highlighted the misconceptions that some people have about beneficial fires, especially given the remote location of the fire and the nonexistent risk that it posed to infrastructure. I couldn't imagine the uproar if forestry were to conduct a prescribed burn closer to the city. Which is really unfortunate considering that removing unnecessary fuels around communities is the only logical way to prevent intense crown fires aside from removing the forest altogether. If conducted properly prescribed burns should pose no risk to communities regardless of their proximity. Fuels can also be removed manually but it takes much, much longer and is more expensive. Low intensity prescribed fires can be conducted yearly in the spring or fall to remove any fuel growth / build up.

Here's a well known example of a fuel treated area diminishing the intensity of a crown fire allowing firefighters to control it. This was during Arizona's Wallow Fire in 2011.