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User:Gcarlson26/sandbox

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2017 Oregon Wildfires edit

2017 Oregon Wildfires
 
Western Coast of the United States August 29, 2017 (satellite image). Large fires visible in the Washington and Oregon Cascades, with smoke from Oregon flowing north.
Date(s)June–November, 2017 (ongoing)
Statistics
Total fires1070
Total area451,863 acres

The 2017 fire season in the state of Oregon was a particularly notable one. There has been a trend for the last three decades that shows an increase in the overall number of wildfires as well as the fire season length in the state of Oregon. [1] In 2017 Oregon experienced a total of 1,069 reported wildfires: with 779 human ignited and 290 ignited by lightning strikes. [2] These fires burned a total area of 451,863 acres.[3] The catalyst for these fires was the abnormal weather patterns that persisted throughout 2017.

2017 Climate in Oregon edit

The 2016/2017 winter in Oregon was the second wettest winter in the past 75 years. Between the dates of October 1st, 2016, and April 26th, 2017, Portland International Airport received 45.5inches (116 centimeters) of rain. The month of February 2017 was the wettest February on record in Oregon with 10.356 inches (26 centimeters) of rain.[4]During the month of August, the weather station at Portland International Airport recorded a monthly average temperature of 73.6 degrees Fahrenheit (23.1 C) with the daily average temperature hitting 87 degrees Fahrenheit (30.5 C). The average temperature during the month of August 2017 was five degrees higher than the average August temperature recorded since 1941. It stands to be the second hottest August on record.[5]

The extreme winter and summer weather that occurred in 2017 was met by some dangerous weather patterns in the late summer months. Early August through September in Southern Oregon saw several waves of thunderstorms. These storm systems brought rainfall which helped slow the growth of existing wildfires. However, the storms also brought lighting which resulted in the ignition of new fires. These storms travel on fast moving paths. After one these storms moves over an area, it quickly returns back to a hot dry state. This allows for the newly ignited fires to spread quickly and develop into full wildfires.[6]

Climate Aided Fires in Oregon edit

The future climate trend in the Pacific Northwest is projected to be drastic. The current projections show that annual temperatures will rise faster than the global norm. Although temperatures will be higher, winters are expected to experience more rainfall.[7] These seasonal extremes are exactly the type of trends that were experienced in 2017. Climatic patterns such as these provide ample rainfall throughout the spring which allows for high rates of plant growth. The high temperatures in the summer then quickly dries up the new growth. This leads to large spread availability of dry grasses and small diameter fuels. The combination of these climate driven phenomenon are what led to the extreme fire season in Oregon in 2017.

Cheatgrass edit

Another problem plaguing Oregon in 2017 was invasive cheatgrass. This grass has its origins in Eurasia and has become a huge problem in Oregon. In burned areas this grass quickly replaces native vegetation such as sagebrush. Cheatgrass is especially dangerous in regards to wildfires because it is highly dependent on water and typically dries out a month before native Oregon grasses. The high rainfall in 2017 allowed cheatgrass to spread abundantly throughout eastern Oregon. In areas that have cheatgrass, fire seasons have essentially been lengthened by a month due to the sooner availability of fuel.[8] Due to its ability to both cause fires and repopulate burned areas cheatgrass is in a positive feedback loop of continual dispersal.[9]

Human Impact on Wild Fire edit

Oregon’s population has been in a steady state of growth for the last three decades.[10] With higher populations comes higher risk of human ignited forest fires. 2017 saw the devastating effects of human influenced fires. The Eagle Creek Fire burned 48,831 acres of land. This fire was ignited by a smoke bomb carelessly thrown by a 15 year old boy.[11] Something as simple as the exhaust pipe of a car or a cigarette out of a car window can start a devastating fire.

Wild Fires edit

Table contains 2017 wildfires in Oregon that burned over 1,000 acres

Name National Forest Acres Burned Start Date Containment Date Status Notes Ref
Milli Fire Deschutes National Forest 24,079 Augest 11, 2017 September 24, 2017 Contained Cause:Lighting [12]
Desolation Fire Ochoco National Forest 4,512 September 9, 2017 Date:Unknown Contained Cause:Unknown [13]
High Cascades Complex Rogue River–Siskiyou National ForestFremont–Winema National ForestUmpqua National ForestCrater Lake National Park 27,476 August 13th, 2017 approx. October 15th, 2017 Contained Cause:Lighting/Natural [14]
Horse Creek Complex Willamette National Forest 42,489 August 10th, 2017 approx. September 27, 2017 Contained Cause:Lighting [15]
Staley Fire Willamette National Forest 2,300 August 9th, 2017 approx. December 01st, 2017 Contained Cause:Lighting [16]
Jones Fire Willamette National Forest 10,114 August 10th, 2017 approx. October 14th, 2017 Contained Cause:Lightning/Natural [17]
Whitewater Fire Willamette National Forest 14,451 July 23rd,2017 October 31th, 2017 Contained Cause:Lightning/Natural [18]
Umpqua North Complex Umpqua National Forest 43,158 August 11th,2017 approx. October 30th, 2017 Contained Cause:Unknown [19]
Falcon Complex Umpqua National Forest 2,935 August 08th, 2017 September 15th, 2017 Contained Cause:Lightning/Natural [20]
Chetco Bar Fire Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest 191,125 July 12th, 2017 November 2, 2017 Contained Cause:Lightning, 8th largest fire in Oregon’s recorded history [21][22]
Miller Complex Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest 39,715 August 14th, 2017 November 9, 2017 Contained Cause:Lightning [23]
Eagle Creek Fire Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area 48,831 September 02nd, 2017 November 30, 2017 Contained Cause:Human [24]

Fires On ODF Land edit

The majority of the burned area within Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) held land occurred within the SOA fire region which includes the districts: Southwest, Coos, Douglas, South Cascade, and Western Lane. The SOA fire region experienced 38,384.33 acres of burned land. The EOA fire region had the second highest amount of burned area and includes the fire districts of: Central Oregon, Northeast Oregon, Klamath- Lake, and Walker Range. This fire region experienced a total of 4,992.6 acres of burned land. The NOA saw the least amount of area burned but still had 151 individual fires ignited within the region. The NOA fire region includes the fire districts of: Tillamook, Astoria, Forest Grove, West Oregon, and North Cascade. The fires in this region accounted for a total of 2168.88 acres of burned land.In 2017 the Oregon Department of Forestry had 45,681.5 acres of land burned in their forests. [25]

Article Topic edit

For my article I plan on improving the "2017 Oregon Wildfires" page. At the moment there is almost no information on the page and a huge amount of room for improvement.

Proposed Article Edit edit

I wanted to stick with the Eagle Creek Fire Wiki page because it seems like it could use some help. I wanted my edit to include some more up to date information about closures and the general condition of the burned environment. I went to inciweb because that is a reliable government website with up to date information.

As of October 27, 2017 there is a closure in effect across the recently burned area. This closure is due to unstable ground and mass movement events caused by the recent rains. The closed area includes burned regions both in the Mt. Hood National forest and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic area.

[26]


Article Critique edit

Overview edit

I choose to take a look at the eagle creek fire article. I imagined there would be a pretty comprehensive review of the fire due to its prevalence in local news this past summer. A well put together and organized entry is not what I found. The Wikipedia article on the eagle creek fire is a scattered out of date time line of a few events that took place during the fire. There is no organization of time within the article which makes reading through the article rather frustrating. I know that this is an ongoing development but there at least should be a little bit of order going on.The article lacks a lot of scientific data on the fire. The information in the article is almost entirely taken from newspapers. All the citations links work except for one.There is also a title over the article saying that it is a current wild fire and information is changing.

Talk Page edit

The talk page seems to be the source of all the disorganization see in this article. There looks to be about 9 separate people adding things. The problem is that while there is new information being added, these new edits are being placed out of order. Going back and comparing the original verses the most up to date copy shows how this happened. The original creator has not been active in maintaining the article either.

Feedback edit

Good point, but can you please add a wikilink so I can access the article, and remember it has to be accessible from wikipedia. Plus, you should be able to post your ideas in the talk page too, which I could not access either. Jfaay (talk) 05:20, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

  1. ^ Ana, Barros,; Alan, Ager,; Michelle, Day,; Haiganoush, Preisler,; Thomas, Spies,; Eric, White,; Robert, Pabst,; Keith, Olsen,; Emily, Platt,; John, Bailey,; John, Bolte, (February 24, 2017). "Spatiotemporal dynamics of simulated wildfire, forest management, and forest succession in central Oregon, USA". Ecology and Society. 22 (1). doi:10.5751/ES-08917-220124. ISSN 1708-3087.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Oregon Department of Forestry - Daily Fire Statistics". www.odf.state.or.us.
  3. ^ helpdesk@dms.nwcg.gov, InciWeb developed and maintained by USDA Forest Service, Fire and Aviation Management,. "https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/state/38/0/". inciweb.nwcg.gov. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Le, Phuong; Flaccus, Gillian. "Portland Close To Breaking Rain Record, While Seattle Crushes Its Record". www.opb.org. OPB.
  5. ^ Ryan, Jim. "August is hottest on record at PDX; more on way for Labor Day". OregonLive.com. Oregonian.
  6. ^ Manning, Jeff. "Changing weather aids firefighters, but for how long?". OregonLive.com. Oregonian.
  7. ^ Mote, Philip W.; Salathé, Eric P. (May 18, 2010). "Future climate in the Pacific Northwest". Climatic Change. 102 (1–2): 29–50. doi:10.1007/s10584-010-9848-z.
  8. ^ Hamway, Stephen. [bendbulletin.com/localstate/5381477-151/cheatgrass-returns-to-central-oregon "Cheatgrass returns to Central Oregon"]. bendbulletin.com. The Bulletin. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  9. ^ Coates, Peter. "Excess wildfire, cheatgrass affecting sage-grouse; targeted actions needed | News and Research Communications | Oregon State University". oregonstate.edu.
  10. ^ "POPULATION FORECASTS BY AGE AND SEX" (PDF). Oregon.gov.
  11. ^ Brettman, Allan. "Charges filed against 15-year-old boy in Eagle Creek fire". OregonLive.com. Oregonian.
  12. ^ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5517/
  13. ^ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5610/
  14. ^ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5503/
  15. ^ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5523/
  16. ^ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5512/
  17. ^ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5494/
  18. ^ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5420/
  19. ^ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5505/
  20. ^ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5484/
  21. ^ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5385/
  22. ^ http://www.oregonlive.com/wildfires/index.ssf/2017/09/the_worst_wildfires_in_oregon.html
  23. ^ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5514/
  24. ^ https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5584/
  25. ^ "Oregon Department of Forestry - Daily Fire Statistics". www.odf.state.or.us.
  26. ^ "Eagle Creek Fire Announcements". inciweb.nwcg.gov. United States Forest Service. Retrieved 10/27. {{cite web}}: |first1= missing |last1= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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