Refuge Notebook
Peninsula Clarion Article
Dated 04 June 1999
 Interpreting
Nature's Smoke Signals No Lost Art on Refuge
by Doug Newbould
Can you interpret smoke signals? If you are old enough to read and
understand this article, I'll bet you can.
Oh, I'm not talking about the kind of smoke signals we used to see
in those old B-Westerns. I'm talking about the smoke we see and smell
everyday here on the Kenai.
We all make observations about smoke, and we all react to it whenever
we smell it or see it. I would even go so far to say that smoke is one
of the most powerful signals we encounter in our environment, especially
when you consider the effects it can have on us - both emotionally and
physiologically.
How do you react to the smell of some savory meal smoking on the barbecue?
How about the smell of a campfire on a cool summer evening? What kinds
of thoughts go through your mind when you smell incense, or pipe smoke,
or a cigarette in a restaurant?
Did I touch any nerves there?
OK, so what about your reaction to the smell of diesel smoke, burning
tires, burning plastic or an electrical fire? Do you react in a certain
way to different colors or amounts of smoke, or to its location in the
atmosphere?
Sure you do. Thick, billowing clouds of black smoke are probably a
lot more threatening to most people than soft, hazy white smoke...wouldn't
you agree? I rest my case...I think we all interpret smoke signals,
almost everyday.
As a wildland firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, I have been learning how to read smoke signals
for almost 25 years. About ten years ago, I even completed a course
in "smoke management".
Some of you know my boss, Larry Adams. Larry has been a Fire Management
Officer on the Kenai for more than ten years, with the Alaska Division
of Forestry and here on the Refuge. He has more than 35 years experience
interpreting smoke signals. In fact his first job in natural resources
was manning a fire tower in the Rockies, daily scanning the forests
for the first wisps of smoke that signal the beginnings of a wildfire.
Larry also did a stint as a smokejumper, the most romantic of firefighting
positions. Personally, I never understood what would possess a man or
a woman to jump out of an airplane into a burning forest, risking life
and limb. What's so romantic about that? I guess you'll have to ask
him about that sometime.
When Larry and I look at the smoke from a wildfire or a prescribed
burn, we can usually tell a lot about that fire: its size, its intensity,
its rate of spread, or even the type of fuels that are burning. We can
also make judgements about the weather by watching smoke: wind speed,
wind direction, atmospheric stability, and the presence of inversions
or approaching frontal systems.
We also use our noses to seek out those invisible fires, creeping slowly
through the duff. We call them sleepers, because they can wake up days
after a fire is thought to be out, or days after a lightning storm passes
through an area. Sleepers have a very characteristic odor, usually just
a delicate, slightly pungent aroma. You might even say we are smoke
connoisseurs!
Those of you who know me, probably agree that I have the nose for the
job (Mom always says it's a proud nose).
Both Larry and I would like to tell you more about fire management
on the Refuge and perhaps about our firefighting careers...we love to
tell "war stories". And remember, "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires!"
Doug Newbould is the Assistant Fire Management Officer at the Kenai
National Wildlife Refuge. He has lived happily in Kasilof with his wife
Denise, son Brandon and daughter Megan since 1991.
Last updated: June 16, 2008
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