VIDEO: Following a hot, dry season across Colorado – the still-burning Aspen Acres fire became the seventh-largest wildfire in state history over the summer – fire danger remains a threat in the state.

That’s part of why the State of Colorado Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting (COEATAF) is pursuing a sky-high modernization of aerial attacks.

The typical aerial attack is low-altitude, executed by a helicopter or aircraft flight crew that drops water or red-colored retardant directly onto a wildland fire, sometimes repeatedly and over the course of hours or days.

The drops are often conducted at approximately 500 feet above ground, or lower, meaning weather, terrain and other conditions can rapidly change how teams are able – if at all – to fight fires from above.

“It can be too dark, too smoky, too windy, things like those,” said COEATAF Director Ben Miller. “We call that the denied environment. Those are places where fire exists, but we can’t get there.”

KUSA-TV NBC 9 Denver

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PHOTOS: The Tyger River Fire Department and several other crews responded to a large commercial fire on Saturday morning.

Officials said they were called to a reported commercial vehicle fire at South Carolina Waste Management, located at 13775 East Wade Hampton Boulevard around 8:54 a.m. The facility specializes in the disposal of used oil and other products.

According to Fire Chief Jim Redd, camera footage from several nearby businesses showed a fire smoldering in a tote with debris and oily rags, with flames coming from it. It appears this was spontaneous combustion.

The fire spread to surrounding plastic waste storage containers and two 10,000-gallon fuel tankers. The tankers ruptured, involving the product in both tanks. The fire was contained to the outside of the facility.

WHNS-TV FOX 21 Greenville

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PHOTOS: A woman was rescued from a burning townhome at a Vancouver apartment complex on Saturday, according to firefighters. Shortly before noon, crews with the Vancouver Fire Department were sent to a housing complex on Northeast Vancouver Mall Drive after callers reported smoke and fire.

Firefighters found a townhouse filled with flames. They searched the unit and rescued a woman still inside. She was given medical treatment at the scene and then rushed to the hospital. Officials have not released any information on her injuries or condition. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office.

KPTV FOX 12 Portland

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PHOTOS: A brush fire started burning in a Renton neighborhood late Friday morning after a caller reported flames in a neighbor’s yard.

Dylan Heitman, deputy fire marshal III and public information officer for the Renton Regional Fire Authority, said a person called at 11:51 a.m. to report that a neighbor’s yard was on fire near Southeast 170th Street and 196th Avenue Southeast in Renton.

Heitman said the fire was slow-moving and involved burning debris and brush.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. No injuries have been reported.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: As Shadle Park High School students returned for the school year, one cross country runner was also trying to recover after the Spokane fires destroyed his home. Just three weeks before school started, Shadle Park High School served as an evacuation center for Spokane fire victims. Instead of students in classrooms, the building held people beginning the process of rebuilding their lives.

For the cross country team, the season did not wait. Head coach Rob Warnock said the Greater Spokane League had long been a tough group with several teams competing for only a few state spots this year.
Warnock said Shadle Park opened the season strong and ranked seventh among 3A schools. With key meets ahead against other teams chasing those same spots, he said the focus stayed on resiliency in life and in sport.

“I think cross-country really helps the kids because it is about digging deep, pushing through the pain and overcoming adversity. So I’d like to think that that helped played a role. I couldn’t be prouder of them…” Warnock said. That message landed especially close for Becks Bird, a Shadle Park runner who finished fourth in state last season and entered his junior year with big goals.

KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

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