Courtney Air data was gathered by an IR Flight then “interpreted” before uploading to the FTP site @ 03:34 AM. Probably a few hours (?)
VIRS data is via satellite - if viewing on CalTopo with Fire Activity MODIS / VIRS selected, you can zoom in and see the date/time that the detection was taken.
Shows up like this:
I think the entire planning branch is asking the same question as they pore over the maps. The new variables of National Park land and Caribou Wilderness would need to be considered as well. After that, Hwy 44 could become an 8 lane highway. 
@calfirebc that “spot” on the east side may be the Evans fire from early on. “red” on IR maps is just the perimeter.
Let’s hope there is no heat left in the evan
I think based on weather, today will be repeat of yesterday.
In the aftermath of this it will be interesting to see how/where/when fuel treatments played a roll in modifying behavior.
The hog fire should help, but if same weather all bets are off and we are fools to bet against Mother Nature as she will do as she wants…
Thanks @CALFIREBC. Have been trying to get an older aunt and uncle to leave Susanville and be on the early and safe side so they don’t have to rush. The home he grew up in (Greenville) burned yesterday so it’s a challenging time.
I would have said Susanville is fine. However…I thought Humboldt/Humbug would have held and it wasn’t going to Chester. Hwy 36 (W. of Chester) has a large meadow to the South and lots of fuels reduction work on both sides. It was a great looking shaded fuel break… It didn’t hold.
There is grazing land and some good ridges/roads between Almanor and SVille, so I would have said it wouldn’t go that far…
I wouldn’t put a lot of faith in those VIIRS detections. Heat from the column often shows up as fire, but in reality the fire hasn’t progressed into that area. In my experience, this is especially true when the VIIRS hits are in an evenly spaced grid pattern, as is the case on the north end of your map.
is keddle ridge a typo for keddie ridge ? thanks for that phone number yesterday
Great point! I didn’t mean to imply or underplay the importance of the ATGS. Their role in airspace deconfliction and harmonizing the air portion of the tactics is huge. For those who don’t know, the ATGS is like a flying air traffic controller. They coordinate/control the fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft operations over an incident. It is a huge responsibility and a position with very tight qualifications. Keeping the rotary aircraft performing tactical missions (water dropping/crew movement) and logistical missions (food/water/supplies to crews) away from the fixed wing aircraft performing low level retardant missions cannot be overstated, period.
Those maps are old, fire is in Caribou wilderness headed towards silver lake currently
Yeah it is, funny. Should be Keddie
Plus they are listening to 6 different radios at one once.
my husband put in that old dozer line at Bucks years ago…
Was on a photo assignment overnight (as media) and was on the ground in Greenville, Chester, and now watching the column doubled over south of 44, viewing from Mineral. As already mentioned, the majority of central Greenville is gone. The Dollar General, high school, and town market are all standing. There were some incredible saves made east of Greenville where crews could get in and work with defensible space on some structures. Kudos to every engine and crewmember there, I know the residents will be grateful to see at least some homes still standing. The main body of fire seemed to spot past 89 at Oak Grove lodge (total loss with one cabin standing, I know this place was popular with the Chester air base folks at the North Complex) and made it’s run up to Keddie Ridge skirting the Foregay area. I’m so sorry for the residents of Greenville and Plumas County, this is all a punch to the gut.
At 0230 the piece of fire past Chester was capped out moving towards Lassen NP, with extremely active fire behavior for that time of day. The IR hits show it making a multi-mile run, and there’s dense unburned fuels in front of it. I am not in a position to speculate where it will run today (not my expertise) but there’s room to run. The fire south of 44 between there and Humboldt Rd are was extremely active overnight, with rotation visible on the edges of the column.
Currently it’s hot, dry, and breezy in Mineral. Be safe all, LCES, let’s make sure everyone gets home safe from this one. The fire is a demon.
Image from causeway outside of Chester overnight.
The fire was headed right for what looked like a lumber yard outside Chester. Does anyone know what happened to that?
