Jim Whittington🔥
@jimwhittington.bsky.social
Retired BLM/NPS/USFS - Courtesy faculty with Oregon State's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. Interested in wildland fire, incident management, climate change, history, public health, & crisis comms. Texas expat. Birthday: 318.51
I cannot say it has never happened before, but I don't remember a geographic area having to go to a fourth page to list all their large fires on the National Sit Report. OR and WA currently have 50 large fires going. www.nifc.gov/nicc-files/s...
nifc.gov
Been driving for a few days and just pulled into a hotel to see the news from Spokane. From what little I can piece together, it’s bad. Stay safe everyone and do the right things.
Yikes: "Firefighters faced an especially dangerous situation in Vall d'Uixo... where the ground contains old ordnance from the Spanish Civil War that explodes when the flames reach the area, Chevi Bolumar, fire chief of the Valencian regional government, told public broadcaster TVE."
France and Spain race to curb wildfires before new heatwave arrives
About 220,000 people have been evacuated in France, while further south in Spain around 100,000 have been told to leave their homes or seek shelter.
reuters.com
Saw The Odyssey last night & whew boy, did my theater have the volume turned up LOUD. With all the high-pitched sounds, it was too much. Of course, I'm an old, my hearing already sucks, & I did not want to relive a 1981 concert. Should have taken ear plugs or waited for cable. Otherwise, it's OK.
PNW Fire Update: 3 new large fires popped up in WA, giving OR/WA 48 of the 95 large fires in the country. Existing fires grew by 387,976 acres. That makes 702,500 acres of growth (roughly 1,100 sq miles) on existing fires in the last 48 hours. 1/
Saturday, the PNW saw 4 new large fires get established with a total size of 37,800 acres. Growth on existing fires was 314,563 acres. There are now 47 large fires in OR & WA. That's more than half of the reported 90 large fires nationally. 25,310 folks are currently deployed nationally. 1/
The extraordinary wildfire outbreak across Oregon, eastern Washington, and southern British Columbia has become even more alarming amid critical fire weather conditions. Over 500,000 acres have already burned in OR & WA alone, and that number could be >1 million acres by Mon.
It was a rough Friday in Fire. A fourth member of the Rifle helitack crew, Nathan Matthews, died after sustaining burn injuries a month ago on the Knowles Fire. RIP Brother. 1/
If you missed it, the PNW is now at PL5 with 36 large fires as of this morning. Yesterday saw existing fires grow by 65,752 acres. On Wed, monsoonal moisture gets spun up this way & will bring lots of lightning. E of the Cascades and in SW OR, initial attack forces will be challenged. 1/
“What are kingdoms without justice? They're just gangs of bandits.” ― St. Augustine
OK, let's do this again. This is the fire triangle. All three sides must exist. Without any one of heat, oxygen, or fuel, you have no fire. 1/
We don't need to just change strategies. In many ways we already continuously change both strategies and tactics. Wildland fire is no longer a "let's get it done--put your head down and dig line" operation, but by necessity has evolved into a "let's figure it out" mindset. But that has a cost. 1/
Harvey J. Miller@mobileharv.bsky.social · 3w ago“What is unfolding is what climate and forest scientists have been predicting for 30 years. That as the world gets hotter and drier, we are exposing forests to more and more risk, and the old strategies of fire suppression are simply being overwhelmed.”
This is awesome. And as a Tex-pat, I know you have to want to go to Marfa. It's not the easiest place to get to, but it is a great town.
James Talarico@jamestalarico.bsky.social · 3w agoI visited the small town of Marfa, TX. A local mariachi band greeted us with a song they wrote for our campaign! Our Frontera Tour has been full of special moments — but this was a highlight. 🎶
The PNW is now at PL4 after heavy initial attack on a spate of starts. As of this morning, there were 6 new large fires across WA/OR, but expect that number to climb as today will see additional fires get established. More lightning today along with dry winds through the Gorge & Cascade gaps. 1/
Just watched a bit of the hearing where SC justices asked for more funding because of the threats they get. Meanwhile, if you're a regular fed employee working for the Forest Service or BLM or many other agencies, threats and confrontations are constant & you have to beg for basic safety measures.
Well, here's something related to wildland fire that I've not thought about before today. Yet another bad outcome of climate change as manifested in fire. I hope to one day see a study that positively surprises me, because these last couple of decades have been a beating.
Physics Today@physicstoday.aip.org · 3w agoIncreased emissions from wildfires in the past decade have reversed earlier progress made in decreasing US surface-level ozone pollution, a new analysis finds.
It feels like a weird virus has overtaken my laptop because on every site I visit, there is Erling Haaland. I'm in a Haaland loop.
Maybe I missed it before, but this is the first reporting I've seen that suggests aviation contractors were pushing the consolidation of federal wildland firefighting. Needless to say, it does nothing to assuage my worry that the new service is primarily a path to privatization & huge contracts.
Rob Shum@robshum.bsky.social · last mo.Performative rejection of policy expertise and professionalism. And 3 firefighters dead. 🌱
Getting my house painted and with all the windows sealed off with plastic, it is terribly disorienting. All the light coming into the house makes it seem like it is cloudy and cool outside, but it's really clear, sunny, and hot.
When I was growing up, presidents had to be able to handle the Cold War. That was the ongoing crisis. Moving forward, they'll be judged on how they handle the climate crisis. So far, it's not looking great.
If I were hospitalized but also engaged & discussing issues with colleagues while itching to get back to work, I'd be happy to spend 2-3 minutes talking with a reporter, have visits to my hospital room, & record video messages for all those who cared about me. But that's just me, a regular human.
Wildfire in southwestern France - not a new phenomenon, but not a welcome one either. Here's one of several fire paintings by Etienne Mondineu (ca. 1901).
Happy Lennon meets McCartney Day! They met at a church hall dance in Liverpool in 1957. Here's a song they wrote together. www.youtube.com/watch?v=S302...
She Loves You REMASTERED - Best Quality ever!
YouTube video by GuitarDocs
youtube.com
Welp, here we are. In spite of it all, I'll still celebrate the America I love while wearing my USA baseball cap and I hope you all do the same.
Jim Whittington🔥@jimwhittington.bsky.social · 2y agoThe next President will lead our 250th Birthday celebration, the Semiquincentennial. Those of you who were around for the 1976 Bicentennial remember what a big deal it was. On July 4, 2026 I'd prefer to not have a President who makes the day about him. Instead, I'd like the day to be about us.
