Westside Road about 5k N of Lk Okanagan Resort

[oneh2obabe]

*removed* Use the weather thread found here http://forums.castanet.net/viewtopic.ph ... 0&start=75

[trapp]

That wasn't the lightning map, that was the dispatch map showing all the fires.

Was kinda wondering why he would not know how to read the lightning map. Well at least others know now.

Ack, brain fart, fixed it, it is the Active Fire Map.

[Frisk]

Winds are picking up downtown.

[Bubalouie]

Can really smell the smoke downtown, first time since this fire started.

[Queen K]

Yup, we had to come in.

[madadam]

The 5 skimmers have been working the fire for the last hour hitting spots all over. Not much wind so smoke is just hanging low.

Thursday AM.JPG

[madadam]

2 helis now working on the north end of the fire 2000' level limit and the 5 skimmers are working on the south end of the fire.

[madadam]

Skimmers have returned to Penticton, didn't hear if they are coming back. Bombers from Kamloops are now dropping retardant on the south end of the fire - top of the ridge as the fire is still working thru the retardant lines they dropped yesterday according to bird Dog.

[Frisk]

Watching here from Rutland with a pair of binoculars, it appears fire behavior is increasing again, but it looks like they're working it really hard.

[madadam]

Skimmers are back, they are dumping at 3500' elevation on the south top ridge.

[madadam]

South end is the most active, theres been two large flare ups that according to Bird Dog are mostly on the other side of the ridge. They are still dumping on the lake side top south ridge trying to cool it down for crews. Just noticed I caught one skimmer's load dump:

southtop.JPG

[Iamsomeone]

Just wanted to thank you for your updates and photos madadam. Very much appreciated!

[trapp]

Have not been on the ground on this fire ... I'm getting too old now. :) That said a lot of the flare ups have been along the south sector. From pictures I see a steep gully there. It would be my thoughts that the IC wants that fire out of that gully onto higher ground for ease of control. A fire guard down in a gully for control is not the best of conditions. The fire is looking better each day and hopefully Mother Nature co operates with less wind and cooler temps. It will give the ground crews safer conditions to establish guards and begin mop up of the exterior perimeter. Those young guys and gals are doing a great job under some very adverse conditions, steep, hot, and windy.

Once the head of the fire calms the machines may be able to reinforce hand guards with back up guards on both North and South sectors. Again just my thoughts not being on the ground, but from experience.

[madadam]

Bird Dog has the skimmers dumping closer to the top of the ridge as he said they have ground crews working their way up to the bottom smoke in the gulley south end. They have 7 more dumps to go before they have to return to Penticton.

[Donald G]

People that seem to have some past experience at fighing wildfires add a great deal to this thread. Thanks to all of you for your comments.

What fire units are doing what to where on the fire is IMO especially interesing. I am awed by the number of hours some of the crews are working; both air and ground and their back up units required to provide continuous support.

According to a friend of mine who used to manage a large fleet of water bombers in BC the wear and tear on the planes is extensive becaus they spend so much time going to and from full power in repeticiously taking off and landing, refilling , dumping and the air conditions and turbulance over a fire are not the best for the engines OR the airframe. It is amazing that more pilots and planes are not lost given the hours that they fly and the conditions that they fly under.

It is disconcerting to think that any number of such fires are started by human negligence at not extinguishing the cigarettes and campfires that they light and fail to extinguish. Not including the millions of tax dollars required to extinguish such human and otherwise caused fires that turn into wildfires.