Wildfires and Snowstorm Bust
UPDATE: Jay pointed out some really great pictures of the event from Amarillo Globe News:
http://media.amarillo.com/photos/index.php?xml=86
Yesterday was both an amazing and scary sight around Amarillo. One large wildfire and three smaller ones ignited by an arsonist threatened homes and businesses while burning thousands of acres. I had stepped outside late in the afternoon to run some errands and saw the smoke billowing to the north. I immediately called Jay McCoy who was already out on scene. I grabbed my camera gear and headed that way.
Most access routes to get a good view of the fire were barricaded. That's a good thing actually because of the rapid and unpredictable nature of the wildfire. Video on the local news last night showed it at one point rolling along I'd say about 30mph. Pretty scary.
As I was driving around to find a good spot to take some still shots, I saw smoke billowing up to the east from another fire. I got over there in time to get some decent video. Then, ANOTHER fire busted out about a mile to the south of that one. It was pretty obvious that this was not an act of nature. Both of the smaller ones were quickly snuffed out by the fire departments who, by the way, did an excellent job in my opinion. The smaller fires were jumped on quickly and decisively before they could threaten property which was "danger close". I'm sure there are quite a few tired firefighters today.
I then noticed the bigger fire to the north wasn't belching out as much smoke. As I saw a big tanker plane flying around, I figured the show was about over, plus I didn't need to be out there causing more traffic problems unnecessarily. So I mosied on home thankful that it wasn't as bad as it easily could have been. I hope that the fire bug who started these fires is caught.
As far as the potential major snowstorm in these parts, the models are coming into good agreement now (finally!) with regards to the cold air arriving and the forecast track of the upper low. The major piece of data indicates that the cold air arriving won't be very cold at all and rather shallow. Therefore, the vast majority of it appears to be rain with some spotty opportunities in the AM hours for some freezing rain/sleet/snow. Forecast highs even here in the panhandle are forecast to be above freezng for a large part of the event. So, it looks like we will instead get a good dose of signficant rainfall for the region....which is desperately needed.
After this event, it looks like the last parts of February will be rather mild. Is March right around the corner?
http://media.amarillo.com/photos/index.php?xml=86
Yesterday was both an amazing and scary sight around Amarillo. One large wildfire and three smaller ones ignited by an arsonist threatened homes and businesses while burning thousands of acres. I had stepped outside late in the afternoon to run some errands and saw the smoke billowing to the north. I immediately called Jay McCoy who was already out on scene. I grabbed my camera gear and headed that way.
Most access routes to get a good view of the fire were barricaded. That's a good thing actually because of the rapid and unpredictable nature of the wildfire. Video on the local news last night showed it at one point rolling along I'd say about 30mph. Pretty scary.
As I was driving around to find a good spot to take some still shots, I saw smoke billowing up to the east from another fire. I got over there in time to get some decent video. Then, ANOTHER fire busted out about a mile to the south of that one. It was pretty obvious that this was not an act of nature. Both of the smaller ones were quickly snuffed out by the fire departments who, by the way, did an excellent job in my opinion. The smaller fires were jumped on quickly and decisively before they could threaten property which was "danger close". I'm sure there are quite a few tired firefighters today.
I then noticed the bigger fire to the north wasn't belching out as much smoke. As I saw a big tanker plane flying around, I figured the show was about over, plus I didn't need to be out there causing more traffic problems unnecessarily. So I mosied on home thankful that it wasn't as bad as it easily could have been. I hope that the fire bug who started these fires is caught.
As far as the potential major snowstorm in these parts, the models are coming into good agreement now (finally!) with regards to the cold air arriving and the forecast track of the upper low. The major piece of data indicates that the cold air arriving won't be very cold at all and rather shallow. Therefore, the vast majority of it appears to be rain with some spotty opportunities in the AM hours for some freezing rain/sleet/snow. Forecast highs even here in the panhandle are forecast to be above freezng for a large part of the event. So, it looks like we will instead get a good dose of signficant rainfall for the region....which is desperately needed.
After this event, it looks like the last parts of February will be rather mild. Is March right around the corner?
posted by Steve Miller TX at 2/14/2008 11:19:00 AM
4 Comments:
Yesterday was a long day. Spent over 8 1/2 hrs on scene either directing traffic keeping all the curious sightseers out of the danger area and keep roads clear for the fire trucks or helping out the PD going house to house to help evacuate the area threatened as the firees kept jumping roads and firebreaks. Only way we stopped it was a ton of firetrucks and brave men from 6 angencies along with road graders and a few large air tankers. Like Steve said we had winds of 50+mph and firenados racing over the prairie. If it would have jumped that last road and spread into the housing area we would have lost hundreds of houses. It came within about 20ft of a few houses. Is this 2006 again??
I wish you had been with me Steve. I didnt have a camera and some of the views I had were incredible. I already washed my clothes twice but my truck will smell like smoke for days!! Hopefully this rain will cut down on the fires. I hope we catch the arsonists and hang him up by his balls!
Man, I bet some folks were glad to see ya'll. I saw pictures where the fire was stopped within yards of houses. I saw the one trailer house and car though that wasn't so lucky. Maybe the lessons learned in 2006 along with more equipment as a result made a difference.
All I know is that there were alot of heroes from AES, police, fire, ems, highway department, etc. Thanks for being out there volunterring your time.....even if a few stormchasers out there are "totally disgusted" with your light bars. LOL
Saw that on the news this AM. I am so glad it wasn't worse than it was. I'm with Jay, they need to string him up...
Hey, Haven't heard from you in a while. Thought I would pop over and say "hello". Shiloh
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