On this date in 1949. a group of smokejumpers, specially trained fire crews had parachuted into Munn Gulch in the Helena National Forest in Montana. They were fighting a routine fire that suddenly that exploded into an inferno in a phenomenon known as a blowup. With disaster looming, the crew began running from a rapidly advancing wall of flame. It was a race they could not win.

The men were running for their lives. Suddenly, in a move that is controversial to this day, Foreman Wagner Dodge suddenly stopped and lit a fire in the dry grass around him. He was lighting an escape fire. It was a technique that was unknown in those days, but is commonplace today. Today, firefighters know all about “keeping one foot in the black,” meaning that the advancing fire would not be able to jump across an area which had been starved of fuel.

Dodge ordered his men to join them, but by that time, the men were fleeing in all directions They may have thought he was crazy. They may have not been able to hear him over the roar of the approaching flames.

Dodge threw himself down into the ashes of his escape fire. Two rookie firefighters ran alongside Dodge’s escape fire as it ran up the hill toward a ridge of rim rock. It saved their lives. They made their way through a cleft in rim rock and made it safely to the other side when they got into a rock slide.

The fire passed them by. Dodge survived as the fire jumped over him. The other thirteen fire jumpers were killed.

The tragedy did have a positive impact on forest firefighting. The incident has been taught to thousands of firefighters as a training course over the years since 1949. Procedures were re-written and safety rules created. Before fighting fires, safety zones must be designated and escape routes chosen in advance. A clear chain of command is required. Actions must be based on predicted fire behavior. Crew safety is the number one consideration in the decision making process.

There were no other fatalities among smokejumpers in the U.S. until 1994’s South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain in Colorado. The South Canyon Fire was replay of Mann Gulch. The fire’s behavior was not monitored and forecasts of increasing winds did not reach firefighters. 14 firefighters were killed when the lessons learned 45 years earlier were not heeded.

Tropical depression number nine has formed in the far eastern Atlantic near latitude 12.7 N and longitude 34.5 west or about 695 miles west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands. The depression was moving west near 12 mph and this motion was expected to continue for the next 24 hours.

Maximum sustained wind was near 30 mph with higher gusts. Some strengthening is possible during the next 24 hours. Estimated central pressure was 1009 millibars or 29.80 inches.

Should this storm strengthen into a tropical storm, it would be named Irene.

-Brian-

The Thursday afternoon map discussion video is on the server at:

http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb

Before I forget to mention this, other duties related to my consulting work will take me away from the area early Friday morning, so there will be no video map discussion Friday morning. I hope to be back home in time for an early post Friday afternoon.

The water vapor imagery really tells quite a story this afternoon. A band of drier air was observed from northern Louisana to the North Atlantic. Showers will be nonexistant in that area while showers are very prevalent along the Gulf coast. The 500 millibar weakness continues to contribute a positive influence on shower production along and just inland of the coast. In fact, at 3 pm, temperatures across the state were in the lower 90s with the exception of the Mobile area where clouds and showers had helped to reduce temperatures to around 80.

Little change is forecast in our weather pattern for about the next week. Some changes - though subtle - could be in the offing beyond that but it's hard to be faithful to those really long range projections.

In the tropics, Harvey has moved by Bermuda and should continue on an easterly then northeasterly track becoming a nuisance to shipping. Meanwhile, a new disturbed area in the far eastern Atlantic is showing some signs of organization and a depression could be forming there. We'll try to keep you posted on developments with that system. Model track projections have a widespread solution but there is a clustering of tracks north of the Leeward Islands and the Virgin Islands.

Had a great visit and talk with the Mississippi State students downtown this morning. And looking forward to the dunking booth at KidFest 2005 at the Helena Amphitheater along Buck Creek on Saturday morning - 9 to 10 am to be specific. Great way for me to stay cool.

-Brian-

I plan to do a whole series of stories on this subject, not to scare people, but to really emphasize the necessity of using extreme caution when lightning is around.

We have a very sad story out of Northern Utah where a 15-year-old Eagle scout was struck by lightning Tuesday night while lying in his bunk at Camp Stiner high up in the Uinta Mountains in the NE part of the state. (The only mountain range in the USA that runs east-west)

He was lying on a bunk inside what is called an Adironadack shelter, closed on three sides but with an open front. It happened near Mirror Lake at Camp Stiner, the highest Boy Scout camp in the USA at an elevation of 10,400 feet.

We have picnicked there and photographed that area, so I am very familiar. The victim and several other scouts were lying in their bunk at 10:00 p.m. and the bolt of lightning struck an adjacent tree, ran down the tree and jumped across to a small nail head on one of the beams of the cabin. Several other scouts were injured.

Several doctors, also scout leaders, were nearby but he could not be saved. Some of the other injured scouts were airlifted to a Salt Lake hospital.

Lightning rates No. 2 in weather-related deaths in the state of Utah. Number 1: mountain avalanches.

The Thursday morning map discussion video is on the server at:

http://beta.abc3340.com/weather/video.hrb

Dry air continues across North Alabama, North Mississippi, and northern Louisiana, so thunderstorm development and clouds are supressed. A weak trough axis across southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle continued to keep showers active in that area.

The good news suggested by the GFS is that there is no evidence of any high heat in our future. While a large upper level ridge will remain in place into early next week, I don't see any signs of heat higher than the lower 90s that we've been experiencing.

Moisture gradually returns over the weekend so our shower chances will increase to what you might expect in the summertime. A developing shortwave at 500 millibars promises to bring a cold front into the area about Wednesday of next week and into South Alabama by Thursday. While the ambitious nature of this forecast is not out of the question - and would actually be a welcome relief if we could knock 5 to 10 degrees off the dewpoints - I'm a bit skeptical about this becoming fact.

Tropical attention is focused this morning on Harvey passing Bermuda and a rather vigorous area of disturbed weather in the far eastern Atlantic. Harvey is no longer a threat to land, only to shipping. And the forecast for that far eastern Atlantic disturbance is for slow strengthening and a track that would bring it close to the northern Leeward Islands in four days.

Headed downtown this morning to address a group of students from Mississippi State University on my Ivan adventures. Looking forward to that.

Almost Friday - hope the end of your week is going well. Stay cool and enjoy the beauty our atmosphere provides.

-Brian-