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
Mid-sept and the PNW is at PL3 and easing towards PL2 after a brutal 12 week stretch. Still a lot of work to close out some fires, but the wetter and cooler weather is helping greatly. Nationally, 2,459,142 acres have burned this year, with 1,811,254 of them in Oregon and Washington. 1/
September 16, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Mid-sept and the PNW is at PL3 and easing towards PL2 after a brutal 12 week stretch. Still a lot of work to close out some fires, but the wetter and cooler weather is helping greatly. Nationally, 2,459,142 acres have burned this year, with 1,811,254 of them in Oregon and Washington. 1/
Willie Nelson - Whiskey River - 9/13/1984 - Austin (Official)
YouTube video by Session Spotlight
www.youtube.com
September 14, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Jim Whittington🔥
An incredible article about the wildfire situation that was recommended on X by two fire chiefs I deeply respect and we all should listen to, Bobby Garcia and Kim Zagaris. California is lucky to have them both. Can we listen to what they and others are saying?
grist.org/extreme-weat...
grist.org/extreme-weat...
America is losing its war against wildfire
Wildland firefighting is increasingly facing an intractable reality: We’re stuck in a vicious cycle. A doom loop.
grist.org
September 10, 2026 at 3:50 AM
An incredible article about the wildfire situation that was recommended on X by two fire chiefs I deeply respect and we all should listen to, Bobby Garcia and Kim Zagaris. California is lucky to have them both. Can we listen to what they and others are saying?
grist.org/extreme-weat...
grist.org/extreme-weat...
Reposted by Jim Whittington🔥
In disaster research we talk about Pro-Social Behavior. There are certainly many examples of that during 9/11. We also talk about Elite Panic. 9/11 is a textbook example of Elite Panic that we have lived within for the last 25 years.
But that feeling of a shared bond among all Americans in the early weeks after the attack is something I’m so glad I got to experience. Because it’s the thing that I think we’re missing the most today.
September 11, 2026 at 5:41 PM
In disaster research we talk about Pro-Social Behavior. There are certainly many examples of that during 9/11. We also talk about Elite Panic. 9/11 is a textbook example of Elite Panic that we have lived within for the last 25 years.
Reposted by Jim Whittington🔥
Our new paper asks the question: is there any precedent for recent, high-severity fires that have removed >100,000 acres of forests from northern New Mexico? Based on the locations of trees that recorded surface fires over the prior 500 years, the answer is, statistically speaking, "not a chance".
September 2, 2026 at 2:26 AM
Our new paper asks the question: is there any precedent for recent, high-severity fires that have removed >100,000 acres of forests from northern New Mexico? Based on the locations of trees that recorded surface fires over the prior 500 years, the answer is, statistically speaking, "not a chance".
A "PANIC!" thread (mostly for responders):
Academics and emergency managers/responders have long realized that people do not panic during disasters. What may look like panic to one person who understands the situation is another person acting on the best information they have. 1/
Academics and emergency managers/responders have long realized that people do not panic during disasters. What may look like panic to one person who understands the situation is another person acting on the best information they have. 1/
September 10, 2026 at 5:16 PM
A "PANIC!" thread (mostly for responders):
Academics and emergency managers/responders have long realized that people do not panic during disasters. What may look like panic to one person who understands the situation is another person acting on the best information they have. 1/
Academics and emergency managers/responders have long realized that people do not panic during disasters. What may look like panic to one person who understands the situation is another person acting on the best information they have. 1/
Nice bit of insight/oral history about the wildland fire community’s response to the attacks and some of the changes the interaction with FDNY brought to both orgs.
teamcast.missioncti.com/episode/21-t...
teamcast.missioncti.com/episode/21-t...
#21 The Story of Wildland Fire and 9/11 - Teamcast
Preston converses with ret. Chief Bob Maynes of FDNY and Chief Dan Oltrogge of Wildland Fire on the Southwest Incident Management Team at 9/11.
teamcast.missioncti.com
September 9, 2026 at 8:53 AM
Nice bit of insight/oral history about the wildland fire community’s response to the attacks and some of the changes the interaction with FDNY brought to both orgs.
teamcast.missioncti.com/episode/21-t...
teamcast.missioncti.com/episode/21-t...
E.V. Debs quote for Labor Day: “The greedy, profit-seeking exploiter cannot see beyond the end of his nose... He knows nothing of the great throbbing world... He has no capacity for literature; no appreciation of art; no soul for beauty. That is the penalty the parasites pay...”
September 6, 2026 at 2:03 PM
E.V. Debs quote for Labor Day: “The greedy, profit-seeking exploiter cannot see beyond the end of his nose... He knows nothing of the great throbbing world... He has no capacity for literature; no appreciation of art; no soul for beauty. That is the penalty the parasites pay...”
September 5 is a big day in Texas history: In 1836, Sam Houston was elected the first President of the Republic of Texas and in 2008, Hakeem Olajuwon entered the Basketball Hall of Fame.
September 5, 2026 at 8:40 AM
September 5 is a big day in Texas history: In 1836, Sam Houston was elected the first President of the Republic of Texas and in 2008, Hakeem Olajuwon entered the Basketball Hall of Fame.
OK, I just got blocked out of my gmail because of a redirect to a sign-up page to Gemini. I would appreciate any help that gets me back to regular old gmail without signing up for Gemini.
September 4, 2026 at 5:14 PM
OK, I just got blocked out of my gmail because of a redirect to a sign-up page to Gemini. I would appreciate any help that gets me back to regular old gmail without signing up for Gemini.
Some people call me the Space Cowboy. Some call me the Gangster of Love. Some people call me Jim.
Only the DMV and the credit card solicitations that show up in my mailbox call me James.
Only the DMV and the credit card solicitations that show up in my mailbox call me James.
September 4, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Some people call me the Space Cowboy. Some call me the Gangster of Love. Some people call me Jim.
Only the DMV and the credit card solicitations that show up in my mailbox call me James.
Only the DMV and the credit card solicitations that show up in my mailbox call me James.
As I ease into that birthday that makes every senior discount mine & there is no more lying about still being middle-aged, I think I'll quasi-retire from my quasi-retirement. That means fewer posts & less attention to the daily fire/disaster news with more time doing fun stuff. Maybe. I'll try.
September 2, 2026 at 11:42 AM
As I ease into that birthday that makes every senior discount mine & there is no more lying about still being middle-aged, I think I'll quasi-retire from my quasi-retirement. That means fewer posts & less attention to the daily fire/disaster news with more time doing fun stuff. Maybe. I'll try.
Excellent piece on what I've always called the "prevention problem." However, this is a much smarter bit of writing than I could ever put forth. Well worth the read.
I read this and thought of you @lucygobag.bsky.social
“The reason foresight is scarce is …foresight has costs today & benefits tomorrow, and almost every system we’ve built – corporate, political, personal – is calibrated to reward the opposite trade.” flowchainsensei.wordpress.com/2026/08/02/t...
“The reason foresight is scarce is …foresight has costs today & benefits tomorrow, and almost every system we’ve built – corporate, political, personal – is calibrated to reward the opposite trade.” flowchainsensei.wordpress.com/2026/08/02/t...
The Cost of Seeing It Coming
The Cost of Seeing It Coming Every disaster has a paper trail. Somewhere in the archive there is a memo, a risk register, a slightly too-blunt email from an engineer, a report commissioned three ye…
flowchainsensei.wordpress.com
August 31, 2026 at 8:23 PM
Excellent piece on what I've always called the "prevention problem." However, this is a much smarter bit of writing than I could ever put forth. Well worth the read.
Every time I watch a monster island film like Skull Island or Jurassic Park, I can’t escape the notion that fauna that large would quickly denude the whole place of vegetation. Yet all we see are lush landscapes. Not very realistic.
August 31, 2026 at 9:10 AM
Every time I watch a monster island film like Skull Island or Jurassic Park, I can’t escape the notion that fauna that large would quickly denude the whole place of vegetation. Yet all we see are lush landscapes. Not very realistic.
Had a great assignment in Tok 20 years ago. Great people and all very kind. I feel for that whole community.
Sam Harrel, a spokesperson for the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection, described the loss of so many homes as a tragedy for the town, which has just 1,600 residents.
(From KUAC - Fairbanks)
(From KUAC - Fairbanks)
The Mukluk Fire has destroyed 44 homes in Tok
Some evacuation orders remain in place for the fire, which is now 29% contained.
www.ktoo.org
August 30, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Had a great assignment in Tok 20 years ago. Great people and all very kind. I feel for that whole community.
Reposted by Jim Whittington🔥
What Talleyrand said of the Bourbon monarchy: they learn nothing and forget nothing.
www.activenorcal.com/the-firefigh...
www.activenorcal.com/the-firefigh...
The Firefighting Rule America Abandoned 50 Years Ago Could Be Coming Back - Active NorCal
The 10 a.m. rule shaped a century of firefighting. Now Washington may revive it, and California's fire community is split.
www.activenorcal.com
August 27, 2026 at 2:43 AM
What Talleyrand said of the Bourbon monarchy: they learn nothing and forget nothing.
www.activenorcal.com/the-firefigh...
www.activenorcal.com/the-firefigh...
Reposted by Jim Whittington🔥
El Niño’s looming threat to the global food system
El Niño’s looming threat to the global food system
The world must be better prepared for big recurring shocks to agriculture
www.ft.com
August 26, 2026 at 6:37 PM
El Niño’s looming threat to the global food system
Happy Birthday to my old employer, the National Park Service. Born on this day in 1916, it's still one of our best ideas.
August 26, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Happy Birthday to my old employer, the National Park Service. Born on this day in 1916, it's still one of our best ideas.
It's easing a bit in the PNW as we are now down to a mere 36 large fires with 4 possibly set to come off the books today. The number of assigned personnel across OR/WA dropped by 506 yesterday, but we still have over 16k deployed, 3,500 more than the rest of the country combined--and weeks to go.
August 17, 2026 at 2:19 PM
It's easing a bit in the PNW as we are now down to a mere 36 large fires with 4 possibly set to come off the books today. The number of assigned personnel across OR/WA dropped by 506 yesterday, but we still have over 16k deployed, 3,500 more than the rest of the country combined--and weeks to go.
I, a Rockets fan living in Medford, OR (not CA), was thinking about getting NBA League Pass. But I can't justify it because even though only Blazers games are weakly broadcast in my town, Golden State, Sacto, & Utah are blacked out too. Utah? Really? That's 14 unwatchable games, a month's worth.
August 16, 2026 at 5:34 AM
I, a Rockets fan living in Medford, OR (not CA), was thinking about getting NBA League Pass. But I can't justify it because even though only Blazers games are weakly broadcast in my town, Golden State, Sacto, & Utah are blacked out too. Utah? Really? That's 14 unwatchable games, a month's worth.
Reposted by Jim Whittington🔥
“This gradual adjustment to a degraded environment has a name: environmental amnesia. "The real disaster we are witnessing today is not just the loss of biodiversity. It is also the incredible capacity we have for not remembering what it was like before.”
While we can recall car windshields covered with dead insects after a drive, what do we know about wolves that once roamed the countryside in the Middle Ages, or salmon swimming in the Seine in the 19th century? Asks Valentine Faure. archive.ph/gU1bM www.lemonde.fr/en/environme...
Environmental amnesia: How we can't even remember the lost biodiversity of yore
While we can recall car windshields covered with dead insects after a drive, what do we know about wolves that once roamed the countryside in the Middle Ages, or salmon swimming in the Seine in the…
www.lemonde.fr
August 15, 2026 at 10:51 PM
“This gradual adjustment to a degraded environment has a name: environmental amnesia. "The real disaster we are witnessing today is not just the loss of biodiversity. It is also the incredible capacity we have for not remembering what it was like before.”
Other than everyone except the people actually in charge, who could have predicted such a thing?
Federal Job Cuts Are Making Wildfires Harder to Fight (Gift Article)
The Trump administration pushed out thousands of veteran U.S. Forest Service staff. An ‘extraordinary’ fire season is testing those who are left.
www.nytimes.com
August 15, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Other than everyone except the people actually in charge, who could have predicted such a thing?
PNW Fire Update: 2 new large fires yesterday makes 55 large fires burning in OR (33) and WA (22). Good news: at least 4 are expected to be off the board today. Bad news: Conditions remain challenging and the lightning is coming this week is expected to be "highly efficient" east of the Cascades. 1/
August 10, 2026 at 3:23 PM
PNW Fire Update: 2 new large fires yesterday makes 55 large fires burning in OR (33) and WA (22). Good news: at least 4 are expected to be off the board today. Bad news: Conditions remain challenging and the lightning is coming this week is expected to be "highly efficient" east of the Cascades. 1/
Reposted by Jim Whittington🔥
El atardecer de ayer deja una estampa que no recuerdo haber visto nunca:
prácticamente la totalidad del territorio continental de los EEUU bajo el humo de decenas de incendios forestales en los estados de Oregón y Washington a los que se suman los de British Columbia (Canadá)
prácticamente la totalidad del territorio continental de los EEUU bajo el humo de decenas de incendios forestales en los estados de Oregón y Washington a los que se suman los de British Columbia (Canadá)
August 9, 2026 at 7:56 AM
El atardecer de ayer deja una estampa que no recuerdo haber visto nunca:
prácticamente la totalidad del territorio continental de los EEUU bajo el humo de decenas de incendios forestales en los estados de Oregón y Washington a los que se suman los de British Columbia (Canadá)
prácticamente la totalidad del territorio continental de los EEUU bajo el humo de decenas de incendios forestales en los estados de Oregón y Washington a los que se suman los de British Columbia (Canadá)