Ignition

After several anxious days the weather conditions turned out near perfect today. Skies were clear with only a slight breeze blowing away from the staging area toward the heart of our plot. There were lots of last minute preparations. Several researchers hitched a ride on a military helicopter to measure the spread and intensity of the fire. Several gathered around a station that was pulling smoke and gases from the tower at the center of the fire. Several individuals worked to measure the rate of progression of the fire through the understory. My colleague Anne and I sampled particulate matter to later analyze for mercury and we sampled airborne mercury levels for the first part of the fire. It was really incredible to see after so much work and effort went into this project.