Canada's military feeling the strain responding to climate change

[YZT580]

Both Ontario and Quebec rely upon Satellite surveillance for fire watch.  For the most part it works but it can be up to 24 hours before the map is read and interpreted.  That is a lot of time for a fire to get established.  The Mark 1 works but universal coverage is a physical impossibility given the area to be covered.  There is no perfect solution but proper forest management would go a long way to reducing the hazard.  And yes, the majority of human started fires are not arson: bad choice of words

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Ooh! Ooh! And how about long range fire watch IR drone surveillance instead of towers.

:cheers:

How many would that require?  Seems better tasked to a space asset...

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Not to mention the number of helicopters and small planes buzzing about. If the fire is worth fighting, then likley it's in an area that likley fairly well covered.

 

[FJAG]

... There is no perfect solution but proper forest management would go a long way to reducing the hazard.  ...

Like this:

“You’ve got to take care of the floors. You know the floors of the forest, very important,” Trump noted Saturday surrounded by the devastation of the burned town of Paradise in northern California.

“I was with the president of Finland and he said, ‘We have a much different —we’re a forest nation.’ He called it a forest nation, and they spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things. And they don’t have any problem. And when they do, it’s a very small problem,” Trump said.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/trump-says-raking-would-help-prevent-forest-fires_n_5bf0d578e4b0f32bd58a1aba

Oh, wait:

But Niinisto told local newspaper Ilta-Sanomat that he emphasized the use of a surveillance system – and doesn’t remember mentioning raking.

“Finland is a country covered by forests but we also have a good surveillance system and network” in case of wildfires, he said.

He also said he told Trump that “we take care of our forests.”

https://globalnews.ca/news/4676548/finland-trump-raking-leaves-forest-fires/

I guess its back to satellites and drones and towers.

:cheers:

 

[Jarnhamar]

Classic Trump  :

 

[AbdullahD]

Wildfire? Bring in the Fire Train.

30,000 gallons of water.

It is actually suprising how much of a fire risk trains and/or train crews are.

I am in no way shape or form, implying, suggesting or informing anyone of any legal or moral responsibility for railways to fight fires or any realistic statistics involving railways and fires.

It is just interesting. Also not sure how much I can say without getting fired for slander.

Abdullah

 

[mariomike]

I am in no way shape or form, implying, suggesting or informing anyone of any legal or moral responsibility for railways to fight fires or any realistic statistics involving railways and fires.

That sounds like legalese, Abdullah. 

And you know how much I love trains!

 

[daftandbarmy]

That sounds like legalese, Abdullah. 

And you know how much I love trains!

Trainspotter, eh?

Would it make you too jealous if I told you that I touched the Flying Scotsman yesterday?

https://www.railwaymuseum.org.uk/what-was-on/flying-scotsman

 

[garb811]

It is actually suprising how much of a fire risk trains and/or train crews are.

I am in no way shape or form, implying, suggesting or informing anyone of any legal or moral responsibility for railways to fight fires or any realistic statistics involving railways and fires.

It is just interesting. Also not sure how much I can say without getting fired for slander.

Abdullah

Spring grass fires along the right of way where I grew up were a fact of life.

 

[mariomike]

It is actually suprising how much of a fire risk trains and/or train crews are.

Railroad only pays half of cost of fires caused by their steam engines

Coal-burning trains operated by D&SNG in Colorado have started multiple wildfires in the San Juan National Forest

According to an article in the Durango Herald the company that operates a steam-powered railroad for tourists north of Durango, Colorado has been paying only about half of the costs of suppressing numerous fires started by the coal-burning locomotives.

D&SNG reports that they plan to replace some of the coal-powered locomotives with diesel engines during periods of high wildfire danger.
https://wildfiretoday.com/2018/12/14/railroad-only-pays-half-of-cost-of-fires-caused-by-their-steam-engines/

I read that in the old days when city fire departments used steam boilers, a suppression apparatus had to follow to put out fires caused by sparks.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I wonder how leadership impacts this stress factor? Patton famously noted that ‘There are more tired Division and Corps commanders than there are tired Divisions and Corps.’

I assume that this principle applies to this situation, to a certain extent.

 

[AbdullahD]

Spring grass fires along the right of way where I grew up were a fact of life.

Yep, I can't count the number of tie fires I have seen in my few short years. Then talking to the foreman grass fires etc that may have been a result of the tie fires.. are insane.

That doesn't even include when your in power say notch 2, 3 or 4.. and take a minimum with the automatic setting up the train line up and drag it into a siding were you throttle down and stop... a mile or two later... does not help the fire situation at all. Using the dynamic brakes all at he head end, would reduce fire risks.. but for train handling it is less then ideal.. but I've been trained by the old guard, the guys who weren't scared by air.

One chap I work with is a fire tracker and he cross references all wildfire burns and spread models with were railways are.. he has some interesting theories.. that may or may not be correct and/or true.

Abdullah

That sounds like legalese, Abdullah. 

And you know how much I love trains!

*whistles innocently*