I am going to start out by letting you all know that I have
very little experience with fire, besides my spotty ability to start one in our
wood stove during the winter. Living in
Central Oregon, I have seen my fair share of wildfires in the last few years.
Last summer I was able to witness firsthand the saga and the
devastation left behind by the County Line 2 Fire on the Warms Springs
Reservation. The fire ignited on August 12th
from human caused sparks and started several small fires along Highway 26. During this time there was low relative humidity,
high temperatures and dry fine fuels to feed the fire. These factors created the perfect storm for
the small fires to combine into 1 large fire that continued to grow under these
optimal conditions. Once the fire
reached an area of steep terrain, its containment became very difficult.
The fire ended up burning a total of 67,207 acres in total. Manual labor, aircraft attacks along with a
decrease in temperatures, an increase in relative humidity, a change in wind
direction and lower wind speeds helped contain the fire. When the wind direction changed, it created a
backfire that was essential for the containment of the fire. I thought this was a cool example of how once
the weather side of the fire behavioral triangle changed, the whole dynamics of
the fire changed.
Image courtesy of KPTV News Channel 21 Oregon
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