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NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INCIDENT METEOROLOGISTS AND FORECASTERS PROVIDING SUPPORT AS WESTERN WILDFIRES CONTINUE National Preparedness Reaches Highest Levels
The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Boise went to Level 5 for fire danger for the first time this year. This the highest alert status on a scale of one to five. The last Level 5 was last summer, when wildfires burned across a million acres in Montana. National Weather Service meteorologists say a trough of low pressure will move over the Pacific Northwest and northern California by the weekend. The current hot and dry conditions will give way to breezy conditions on Friday and Saturday but with gradual cooling and an increase in moisture. Ever changing weather conditions and extremely dry landscapes are paramount on everyone's mind as lightning has already sparked nearly 1,000 fires since Sunday. More than 20,00 firefighters battle wildfires across the western United States. Most of the fires are in the Great Basin, in Nevada, Idaho and parts of eastern Oregon. Other areas of most concern are in north-central Washington, southern Oregon and Northern California.
The fire weather offices in the NWS' eight-state Western Region have been very busy over the last week. More than 80 large fires have been reported within the region since last Wednesday, August 8. This past weekend, Nevada alone reported 135 new fires, and the Western Great Basin Geographic Coordination Center—located in Reno, Nevada—had the second busiest day on record filling fire resource orders. "We're on top of the situation and ensuring our fire agency partners are getting everything they need meteorologically to support the firefighters," said Vickie Nadolski, NWS Western Region's director. "We have 50 specially trained forecasters, called Incident Meteorologists or IMETs. At the fires, the IMETs provide weather briefings, forecasts, and work closely with the fire managers so they can plan and prepare their fire fighting tactics. " The NWS Incident Meteorologists work throughout the year in many of the agency's forecast offices, but during the fire season, they pack their bags and head to a wildfire that could be burning anywhere from coast to coast. Currently, the NWS has dispatched nine IMETS to fires in Oregon, California, Nevada and Washington. In the past week about 300,000 acres have burned. In addition, many NWS forecast offices are supporting the multitude of fires by providing spot forecasts to land management agencies officials who need to know the latest weather conditions. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, serves as a nationwide command post to provide logistical support during the fire season. It monitors activities that include evacuations, homes that have burned, and which highways and campgrounds are closed. Helicopters and aerial tankers are dumping water on wildfires in the rugged terrain of the West and the firefighters and their resources are stretched thin. Larry Van Bussen, the NWS' meteorologist assigned to support the interagency fire center, begins each day analyzing satellite imagery, reviewing computerized weather models, and talking to meteorologists in the offices and at the fires as he prepares for his weather briefing to the assembled leaders at NIFC. "Each day, the fire managers are involved in a myriad of intra-agency coordination activities to structure the next deployment of firefighters and equipment. Similarly, I'm planning ahead so the NWS can support the next request for deployment of IMETs," Van Bussen said. Relevant Web Sites
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