Entiat, WA - exploding targets may have caused 120-acre fire

[ATCclears]

Let's be careful out there. Things are VERY dry.

Exploding targets spark 120-acre Entiat wildfire | The Today File | Seattle Times

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[DoubleTapDrew]

I wonder if by "exploding targets" they mean something like tannerite, or something like a propane tank.

 

[MrNiceGuy]

I doubt it was the tannerite... it was most likely the gallon of diesel they sat next to the tannerite.

 

[deen_ad]

Anything excuse to close down a shooting area!

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Entait sounds dirty!

 

[hermannr]

Entiat is a nice area, but just like where I live (about 100 miles north) we had a lot of moisture this spring so the forest grasses grew tall and thick...then, at least for here and most of Eastern WA...we have not had any rain since 15 July, yep, we are coming up really quick on 90 days without any moisture...it is DRY...

I normally shoot steel my own property...haven't in over a month. No because of a ban, but because I live up here, and want to continue to live up here. No more fires please. Enough is enough.

Oh, maybe I could point out teh danger level over here...colville res, Oct 2, fire start...Oct 5 9500 acres burned. Today they posted it at 16,853 acres, 60% contained.

 

[MrNatural]

ANY shooting while the woods are shut down can cause fires. Period. For instance steel-jacketed bullets are notorious for causing sparks when they hit rocks or anything metal.

Anyway it almost certainly wasn't the Tannerite. Tannerite is non-incendiary. That big puff of smoke is actually water vapor. Sounds counter-intuitive, I know, but see 3rd paragraph at

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I actually tested this (trust but verify!). We put a 1-lb jar of Tannerite on top of a very dry hay bale (even pulled up a bunch of loose straws around the jar) in dry weather and shot it. Nothing so much as smoldered. Yep, its water vapor.

Tannerite's inventor, Dan Tanner, has pointed out on other sites that if you mix WAY too much activator (the black stuff) in with the product (the white stuff) you can get a limited incendiary effect. But that way you use up the included activator way before you run out of targets in the case. But that reason is why most Tannerite is now packaged and sold with the activator in single-use packets anyway, so it would take a real Genetic Democrat to make an incendiary mix.

The problem comes from other companies (COUGHSTARTARGETSCOUGH) trying to outsell Tannerite by adding other stuff like magnesium powder or other pyrotechnic additives to their product, which will indeed start fires. Also by others trying to Bubba-up regular Tannerite with diesel, propane cannisters, etc, etc.

Respectfully, the bottom line is that guy and his kid should not have been shooting ANYTHING in the outback with the woods in a 40-year record dry spell.

 

[MrNatural]

I doubt it was the tannerite.

Agree and this vid would seem to prove it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXyDW0hbJ9Y

 

[hoody]

A few weeks ago, Ricky Ranger stopped by while we were shooting out past Mollala. His only question: were we using exploding targets? I didn't ask what would happen if we had said Yes.

 

[InnerBark]

I filmed that video. Apparently the fires are caused by other companies product with un pure ammonium nitrate, and weird powder additives. I shoot the stuff in the desert on dry grassy areas all the time with no issues, and tannerite has been known to blow out road flares if they are set close enough.

 

[davemata]

So then did the shooters cause it, or is this more FUDDiness?

 

[InnerBark]

I'd say it's the shooters fault whether maliciously or by pure accident. Penetrator ammo alone can light up a tinder box, and there was a risk the bullet would have ignited the gasoline by hitting a rock, or rock hitting rock.

 

[davemata]

Was the cause ever actually found, or did they high five once they figured they had a scapegoat?

 

[InnerBark]

They were using other brand targets. Some articles are using the name of the targets like Star, but since Tannerite is more known, they get the blame. It's like using "kleenex" to describe tissues. So later down the line, someone re-writes an article, sees Tannerite, and assumes it must be the cause, even if it was another manufacturer.