What is it about the end of July and the beginning of August where, traditionally, there is a lull of activity? Almost every year I can remember, 42 years of record checking in the file cabinet in the head, and no matter how busy the front half of fire season (can I still use that term or is it now PC) is, the brakes are put on for about three weeks, everybody gets caught up, then it’s off to the race again. It certainly seems we are in that groove now. Yes, the Dixie is still active, but there have been no new starts of consequence, beyond IA, around California for a week or so now. Just throwing it out there…headed back to the observation deck. Chau…
11 Likes
Funny, I just recently had this same conversation with someone. I have my own theories, but none of them are good. I’m curious to know what others think.
2 Likes
Its all in our heads…someone at some point created this and we all buy in. We’ve all been grinding on some fire this time of the year in years past. And certainly lull isn’t even a word on the brain for anyone in the Northern Rockies, Northwest or parts of Nor Cal.
2 Likes
Let us go back to July 30 or 31, 1977 when a lightning storm came off the Pacific Ocean, lit of the LPF Marble Cone Fire and marched up to Northern California igniting fires on the coast and in the Sierra’s. Fire names like Scarface, Hoar’s Corners and many more that burned for weeks… History repeats itself maybe not this week but we will see activity increase as the temperature raises, relative humidity and fuel moistures lessen (if practically possible) and the winds blow. Just a little history from an old fire dawg…
9 Likes
Well dude - you’ve jinxed it now! It’s like the dispatch rule - don’t EVER EVER use the “Q” word to describe the day! 
Like the poster above says - I think Northern Rockies would have a different opinion.
Peace-out!
10 Likes
Not sure about that in the NE part of the state-- Bald, Eiler, Day, Carr? Maybe just outliers, it would be interesting to see some acres burned by date.
2 Likes
All I can say, is remember what happened last year when someone brought that up
7 Likes
I remember that, and someone said even mentioning it was like walking into the ICP and seeing, “Gee, it sure is quiet in here.”
4 Likes
I’ve always wondered if it had something to do with the end of “summer” meaning kids are getting ready to go back to school and there are just less people out on vacations and camping trips so less opportunities for fires
1 Like
Rough, rim, manter, McNally and others.
3 Likes
My wife is a dispatcher and I get in very real trouble if I say that word when I’m there on a sit-along.
5 Likes
FireHawk-- were you on any of those fires? Just about every old time logger in the area had their cats pushing line on these. The InterMountain News August 11, 1977: Page 1
2 Likes
If it’s who I think it is, he was probably running one of them.
2 Likes
I’ve always thought the “August Lull”more like a plateau in a very long trail run. A trail run where you you really only know it ends where it began, after a series on memorable increasing hills, typically the most arduous is the last!
4 Likes
I was the local CDF BC when the Pondosa and Horrs Corner Fires took off on the night of Aug. 3, 1977. 2 of my 4 engines had gone off to lightning fires in MEU earlier that day, so I was left with only 2 engines and a dozer. Lots of fires that night. Millie or Maxine on Soldier Mt. (I can’t remember who was on the mountain top that night) just kept calling in new fires all night. Only giving azmuth readings because she had no idea how far the flames out from the lookout.
3 Likes
In years gone by, my wife always reminded me my big OT did not building until August.
1 Like
Ok, I looked at the CAL FIRE Redbooks for the last five years. Here’s a plot of number of fire starts by month statewide (no indication of size or complexity, just the number of fires).
At least we have some data now, so can all argue about what it means 
8 Likes
2013-2020
Number of non nuisance fires from CAL FIRE csv. Which includes fires where calfire_incident = false
Jun, July, Aug, Sept, Nov Blocks
3 Likes
Nope. I was not on any of them. I was one of three BC’s kept at home in BTU by then great Unit Chief Robert E Paulus. The other two BC’s were Bill Sager and Dick Tiller. We had our own small fires during the same period.
2 Likes
Bill Sager didn’t stay at home for the whole siege of August '77. I remember hearing Bill on the Scarface Fire (just over Indian Springs Mt) from the Pondosa later in the event. We didn’t have alot of radio frequencies back then, and since I was 2411, I kept hearing 2111 (Bill) on our shared tactical frequency.
1 Like