Massive wildfires, some burning out of control, have been separately razing portions of Alaska and Quebec while streaming smoke into neighboring locations in recent days. Monday, the USDA  listed 14 large wildfires raging in the United States. Eight of those were in Alaska.

The Toklat Wildfire in central Alaska had grown to over 100,000 acres, a 40-percent increase in 24 hours, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center.

Persistent heat and a lack of rain have been rampant in interior Alaska over the past two weeks.

In Fairbanks, high temperatures have averaged more than 11 degrees F above normal in that time, while it has received only 40 percent of its normal May precipitation.

Highs in Anchorage have also been above normal, averaging over 10 degrees F during the past week. Only 26 percent of typical precipitation for May has occurred in Anchorage.

Fifty forest fires are burning in the province of Quebec, with nine of them out of control — a slight decrease from a day earlier — fire officials said on Saturday.

A total of 67,000 hectares of forested land in Quebec is affected. In the past week, 114 fires have been fought. Alberta, British Columbia and New Brunswick, as well as the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, have sent fire crews and equipment to Quebec. Nearly 1,000 firefighters are battling the flames across the province. Fourteen water bombers and 50 helicopters are assisting fire crews on the ground.

A recent heat wave, accompanied by several thunderstorms and lightning, has been blamed for most of the blazes. The hot spot in the province has been the halfway between Montreal and Quebec City.

Ths happened at the Cedar Fire- As any firefighter in San Diego knows, wildfires can strike at any time. But the wildfires in 2003 in San Diego would make history. A captain, engineer and a firefighter were hard at work doing anything and everything they could to protect the community from further disaster.

As they drove down the street in the engine, they saw a lone house down deep into a canyon, threatened by the fast moving flames racing down the hill. The firefighters were all thinking the same thing.

They immediately turned the engine around and headed down the hill to the house. As they approached the house, the fire was getting closer. They had to hurry or the house would be gone. They jumped out of the rig and went inside the house to make sure no one was there. Outside, they began cutting line along the bottom of the hill to contain the fire. The captain radioed for a water drop on the hill. He got no response from dispatch. He put aside his radio and continued to cut line.

As they were cutting and spraying, the engineer checked his surroundings, and what he saw he couldn’t believe. Spot fires had ignited 360 degrees around them and were closing in fast. The original fire had already reached them and began to spread faster and faster as the wind picked up. The three crew members took their tools, and ran back to the engine, which was 100 yards away. By the time they reached the engine, they were overwhelmed by the fire and could not get in the rig. The huddled beside the engine, and all they could do was put the nozzle on the fog spray setting and pray.

The heat was so intense the were being burned. They ripped off their shrouds and covered their faces. The engineer, staring death in the eyes, took action. He looked at his captain who was on the radio and the firefighter who was handling the hose and said “If we’re gonna die, it won’t be today, ya got that?” They both nodded. The engineer jumped on top of the rig, and charged the 1 3/4” hose. He lay on the top of the rig, spraying water. While laying down, he was burned on his back. He was able to create a gap in the fire for the engine to escape. Out of nowhere, a helicopter appeared. As soon as they got the rig started, the helicopter flew over the rig and made a water drop. The engine, partially on fire, drove up the road and back to safety. All that was lost was a piece of hose.

What I enjoy most about firefighting is helping the people of my area. Last summer, one firefighter and I went to a fire alarm activation. Only two of us responded. Someone ran up to our fire truck and informed us about a “little” grass fire just down the road.

We called in our plan to check out the little grass fire and responded to the given area. The wind was high, and upon arrival we found it was not a little grass fire, instead it was a wall of fire in the forest off the road, as high and as wide as I could see.

We looked at each other and called in asking for MUCH help. We started pulling hose and setting up while we hoped help would show up quickly. Within a short time, there were 7 departments surrounding us, drafting off local ponds, filling our portaponds, and more hose laid out than you can imagine.

The wind swept smoke around us as we were in the woods, making it very difficult to breathe. At that point I had to wonder, why we are not wearing SCBA in here?? We ended up going to the ER for smoke inhalation and heat related problems. The temp was over 80 degrees.

After checking out of the ER and going home to rest. I reported back the next day to spend my birthday helping put out spot fires. What a great birthday! We stopped the fire before it got to any nearby homes.

This job, although volunteer, is most fulfilling.

Photo Caption-
They like their hose like their women, small, handled by too many guys, and late for the party

One of my favorite war stories involved a woman wearing a fuzzy robe and pink curlers, a fire chief, and a working fire scene. The four-inch feeder line from the hydrant to the pumper truck was laid down the center of the street. The woman drove over the charged line, and with her car straddling the hose, accelerated right into the middle of the scene.

The entire street was clogged with two engines, a ladder truck and a rescue squad. Various people tried to wave her off but she ignored them, the flashing lights, and the very LARGE red trucks. Quite oblivious until she all but rear-ended the ladder truck, she finally stopped and laid on her horn, trying to get the truck to move.

The chief stormed over, leaned in, shoved her car into park and snatched her keys.

“What the hell are you doin’, lady?” the chief demanded, red faced and all but sputtering in his anger.

“I need me some cigarettes. Can y’all get the f@*k out of my way?”

The chief threw her keys away. I mean, THREW her keys AWAY! I doubt she ever found them. Her car also sat there until the fire was out, all salvage and overhaul was completed, and the rigs loaded up. At one point, she had the nerve to get out of her car and wander from firefighter to firefighter trying to bum a cigarette. Talk about an addiction!?!

(FROM SILVER JAMES

http://www.murdershewrites.com/2010/05/25/all-of-the-above/)

When Fire Chief Scott Nelson arrived at a multi vehicle crash late Monday morning, a black cloud hovered overhead.

He didn’t know what it was.
“But I found out real quick,” Nelson said. “I opened my door and got stung in the face.”

Thousands of honeybees had escaped from a truck, one of two semi trailers and two automobiles involved in an 11:30 a.m. crash.

The State Patrol said angry bees hampered efforts to clear the scene. A five-mile stretch highway remained closed. Firefighters sprayed tens of thousands of gallons of water on the bees to keep them contained.

We responded to a SFD 1-11 to a home several years ago. When we got there we were told that this was an extremely hot fire. They estimated that the temp. in the house was 1200 to 1500 degrees.

It turned out that the man who lived in the home decided that the natural gas prices were getting to high and he changed to propane. Which would have not been a big deal except, he hooked up a 5 gallon BBQ propane can to the natural gas heater WITHOUT changing the orifice.

Needless to say, he had a propane blow torch going off in his home. Things got a little more intense when it was found that he had 4 other 5 gallon propane cans in the same room. Several of the fire personal had to be taken to the hospital to be checked out for heat exhaustion.

While battling the fire and trying to save the home the man came home and tried to run into the house. The battalion chief on scene was yelling at him like we have never heard before. He did not get into the house. The fire was put out and extra propane cans were removed without incident.

Now for the kicker to this story. The man who lived the house was a BUILDING INSPECTOR

The Black Dragon fire ignited in May of 1987 in China.
Driven by parched conditions and high winds, the wildfire devoured land along both sides of the Amur River, blazing along the Sino-Soviet frontier. The Chinese mobilized two armies of regular troops and thousands of forestry workers to fight the blaze.. Lacking sophisticated suppression tools, most of the 60,000 Chinese fighting the fire were armed with beaters. May 7th and 8th saw the worst days of the Black Dragon fire, as 200 in the path of the blaze perished and 250 were injured. By the end of the fire siege, 3 million acres of forest land had burned in China, totaling 1/3 of the Black Dragon forest reserve.

The Russian government opted to allow the wildfire to burn unchecked on their side of the border. Though in total the fire burned some 15 million acres of Russian timber, the Russian government predicted that they would not harvest in that area for at least a century, which would allow the forest ample time to regrow.
The wildfire was only finally contained in June, after extreme wind conditions subsided.

In all, 18 million acres of forested land were charred in the fire.

Courtesy of Rachel Smith

http://rachelcsmith.com/blog/

Rachel Smith is a wildland firefighter and graduate student studying fire ecology and community risk abatement at the University of California, Berkeley.

An obese mother-of-four had to be winched from her first-floor home by firefighters because the emergency access stairs could not support rescuers carrying her 440 pound body Bed-ridden Jackie Chamberlain needed urgent hospital treatment for serious kidney problems and a suspected blood clot in her leg.

Paramedics and 10 firefighters spent two hours moving Jackie from her bed in the lounge onto a mountain rescue stretcher and then dragged her to the front door so she could be rushed to hospital. They then placed Jackie, on the stretcher, onto two wooden pallets on the rooftop above the stairs and rigged a pulley system from top to the bottom before winching her down.

Husband Paul said: “The wooden stairs wouldn’t have been strong enough to support my wife and the four people needed to carry her