Top Wildland Fire News Stories: January-April, 2008

2008 was a busy year in wildland fire. Yesterday we posted a list of fatalities on wildland fires. Our next project was combing through the stories on Wildfire Today to sort out some of those that are the most interesting and important.

Today, December 30, we have the top stories for January-April; on December 31 we'll cover May-August, and on January 1, September-December. Posted below are excerpts from the articles. To read the entire articles, click on the links.

January 8
Smoke From Escaped Rx Fire and/or Fog Contribute to 3 Deaths & 50-Car Pileup

According to reports, smoke from an escaped prescribed fire combined with fog contributed to a 50-car pileup and three deaths on Interstate 4 in Florida between Orlando and Tampa.

(Update: a 4th person later died as a result of this incident.)

January 16
Major Die-Off of Lodgepoles in WY and CO

The Rocky Mountain News reported this week that every large, mature forest of lodgepole pines in Colorado and southern Wyoming will be dead in three to five years.

January 19
U. S. Wildland Fire Fatality Report--2007

The Safety and Health Working Team, part of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, on January 15 released a "Safety Gram" listing the wildland fire related fatalities in 2007.

"Nine fatalities occurred in 2007 when employees were performing wildland fire management activities. This is a substantial decrease from the 24 fatalities that were reported in 2006. Also noteworthy is the absence of any entrapment or burnover related fatalities.

January 26
Another "Blue Ribbon Task Force" Makes Recommendations in California

The second Blue Ribbon Commission Task Force in California since the fires of 2003 presented it's report yesterday about how to deal with large wildland fires in the state. The recommendations include more engines, more aircraft, more firefighters, fire safe construction, and better systems for real time communications and intelligence. Many of these were in the report following the 2003 fires but were not implemented because of the state's fiscal problems.

January 28
Marc Mullenix passed away on January 28.

Last year Mark was a Type 1 Incident Commander trainee on Kim Martin's Incident Management Team in the Rocky Mountain Geographic Area. Some of his past jobs included Wildland Fire Division Chief for the Boulder Fire Department, Fire Management Officer for Mesa Verde National Park, and Fairmont Fire Protection District, all in Colorado.

February 14
Report Released on 2007 Southern California Fires

The Lessons Learned Center organized a group of five people to analyze the fires in the fall of 2007 in Southern California to determine the potential for lessons learned. They just released their 44-page report. It is very interesting reading.

February 28
Mark Rey; Not Going To Jail
The U.S. District Court Judge cleared Mark Rey of the contempt charges yesterday. From the Missoulian:

"U.S. Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey walked out of federal court a free man Wednesday in Missoula, wearing not an orange inmate's jumpsuit but the gray business suit with American flag lapel pin he had donned for his contempt hearing.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy cleared Rey, the Bush administration's top forest official, and the Forest Service of contempt and withdrew his threat to jail Rey or ground all fire retardant air tankers until the agency evaluated the environmental impact of the chemical slurry."

March 5
Kansas Firefighters Burned Over in Engine

From Salina.com:

Two McPherson firefighters are recovering after being burned when their firefighting brush truck was swept over by a grass fire Saturday southwest of McPherson.

Lt. Randall Willems and firefighter Josh Brewer were treated at the burn unit of Via Christi St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Wichita.

Brewer was treated for burns to his hand and face, and smoke inhalation. He was released from the hospital Sunday. Willems was treated for burns to his hands, arms and face and was released Monday morning, McPherson Fire Chief Dennis Thrower said.

March 6
Patrick Henning, RIP

From Wildlandfire.com:

Patrick Henning, a Fire Apprentice on the Trabuco RD - Cleveland NF, was killed in a single-vehicle accident last Friday evening (Feb. 29) on his way home from work. He was member of the El Cariso Hotshots this past season and currently worked on the district fuels crew. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Patrick's family and friends during this difficult time. He will be missed !!!

March 10
Six People Die in Forest Fire on China

This initially was reported on March 3 by Reuters:
BEIJING, March 3 (Reuters) - Six villagers died in central China's Hunan province as they tried to battle a forest fire in an area ravaged by severe winter storms, state media said on Monday.

March 11
CalFire Proposes to Close 20 Fire Stations

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which now prefers being called CalFire, may have to close 20 fire stations due to a $50 million budget cut for the agency being ordered by the Governator.

March 18
Oklahoma State Trooper Burned on Grass Fire

Trooper Josh Tinsler, 23, was severely burned Friday while checking to see if there was anyone at home in a house that was threatened by a grass fire near Hollis, OK. While handling evacuation on the fire, the second-year trooper's car became stuck while turning around and the car was overrun by the fire. His injuries included second- and third-degree burns on his face, chest, back and arms, including most of the right side of his body.

March 24
Poway, Calif., FF’s Were Ordered To Not Fight Fires

Firegeezer has a story about how during the large fires last October in southern California, Poway firefighters were ordered to withdraw from an area and then waited for 7 hours in a staging area while 23 homes in that community burned.

March 25
B-1 bomber may have started multiple fires

A B-1 bomber based at Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City, South Dakota, apparently started seven vegetation fires last Thursday. The flight crew declared an in-flight emergency and made an emergency landing at Ellsworth. Construction workers in the area reported seeing smoke and flames coming from the aircraft. The B-1 landed safely while Air Force and Box Elder fire departments put out the fires.

March 26
Farmer dies on a fire in Colorado

From 7 News in Denver, March 26:

ORCHARD, Colo. -- A farmer trying to control a fire on his property died Wednesday afternoon when the tractor he was driving flipped into an irrigation ditch.

Morgan County Sheriff Jim Crone said the man was driving his tractor on top of a ditch to get ahead of the fire when the ground shifted or partially collapsed, causing the tractor to flip and roll on top of the farmer. The farmer was killed instantly.

March 28
Santiago fire AAR released

The Orange County Fire Authority has released their after action review on the October, 2007 Santiago fire, southeast of Los Angeles. The document is 138 pages long and 7.3 Mb. The fire burned 28,517 acres and destroyed 42 structures, including 14 homes, 4 commercial buildings, and 24 out buildings.

On a quick review, I did not see any earth-shaking revelations. There were some challenges with communications (i.e. 800 Mh vs. VHF systems) but have you ever seen an AAR for a large incident that did not mention problems with communications?




March 31
BIA cuts hot shot crews

Due to budget reductions within the 2008 Interior Appropriations budget, the Bureau of Indian Affairs is reducing their hot shot crews from nine to seven. Effective immediately, according to a memo dated March 19, the Mescalero Hot Shots of their Southwest Region, and the Bear Paw Hot Shots of their Rocky Mountain Region, are disbanded. A Reduction-in-Force, which means employees may be fired, is to begin within 10 days.

April 7
Illinois: prescribed fire training

I ran across a photo essay about what is apparently a rather informal prescribed fire by students at Knox College. Knox is in Galesburg, IL.

There are 11 photos on the web page that would be interesting to those who are used to having to follow certain, uh, policies, about safety and personal protective equipment. Here are a couple of the photos. You gotta love those safety glasses.
April 11
Garry Briese, new Regional Admin. for FEMA

Garry Briese was the Executive Director for the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) for 20 years until he resigned in February, 2007. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced this week that Briese has accepted a position as Regional Administrator for FEMA Region 8, which includes the states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

April 12
Snowpack in western United States

The snowpack in most of the western United States is average to much above average. The exceptions are southern Arizona and New Mexico. In the map below, the green, blue and purple colors are 90% to more than 180% of normal, while the orange and red colors are 69% to less than 25% of normal. (Click on the map to see an enlarged version.)

UPDATE, December 30
If you click on the map to enlarge it, you will see that most of the mountain areas in California had close to normal snow pack on April 1, 2008, with the exception of the central Sierras which was at 70-89% of normal. Just imagine what those thousands of dry lightning strikes on June 21-22 would have done if they had just experienced a dry winter.

April 22
Court of Appeals: backfire was "discretionary function"

On the Spade fire in 2000 in the Bitterroot Valley south of Missoula, Montana, firefighters ignited a backfire in order to keep the fire from jumping a highway and possibly entrapping firefighters on other fires and threatening other homes and property. In 2002, 114 families filed a $54 million lawsuit against the federal government claiming that the backfire burned their property and homes.

In a very important decision that will affect wildland firefighters, a Court of Appeals just affirmed a District Court judge's opinion that the actions of the firefighters was within their "discretionary function". More information is at The Missoulian.

April 28
Fire near Santa Anita, California
Today the Santa Anita fire near Sierra Madre, California, made some upslope runs and also spread to the southwest. As of 8:00 PM today (Monday) it was 538 acres and 21% contained.

April 29
Ellreese Daniels pleads guilty to two misdemeanors

At the federal district court today in Spokane, Washington, Ellreese Daniels plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of making false statements to investigators. The federal prosecutors dropped the four federal felony charges of involuntary manslaughter related to the deaths of the four firefighters on the Thirtymile fire near Winthrop, Washington in 2001.

In addition to the four involuntary manslaughter charges, Daniels had been charged with seven counts of making false statements to investigators, a federal misdemeanor.

Daniels could have faced as much as six years in prison for each of the four manslaughter charges. Now he faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine for each of the two remaining misdemeanors, although the standard range is much less.

To be continued-
May through August stories will be in an article on December 31. The final installment of September through December stories will be posted on January 1.

Colorado: 1,400 homes evacuated near Boulder

Residents of the Dakota Ridge neighborhood watching the Neva fire near Boulder, CO on January 7, 2008. Denver Post photo by Jim Rettew.

At least two fires near Boulder, Colorado started Wednesday afternoon. Pushed by strong winds they burned thousands of acres and prompted the evacuation of at least 1,400 homes during the night. Another 11,000 homes were notified by reverse-911 calls to be prepared to leave if the fire moved closer to their communities.

This morning the evacuees are trickling back as the winds diminish after gusts over 100 mph were recorded west of Boulder and at Berthoud pass Wednesday afternoon.

Denver Post photo

The two fires are now being treated as one, named the Neva fire. It is 30% contained and has burned over "1,400 acres within a 3,600 acre perimeter".

At a briefing Thursday morning Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said:

"The fire is rapidly becoming more under control". And, "We're very optimistic that it will be 100% contained by this afternoon, unless the winds whip back up."

The evacuees included ex-FEMA head Michael Brown, famous for being praised by President Bush a few days after hurricane Katrina made landfall:

"You're doing a heckuva job, Brownie."

Investigators today expect to confirm that wind-downed powerlines started the fires.

A sign near the fire showing, uh, "Low" fire danger. Photo from Denver Post, by wisco1878

As of this morning, three houses and two large outbuildings have been destroyed.

The weather forecast for Thursday calls for highs near 60 degrees with winds out of the west at 10 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.

We can't vouch for the accuracy of this map, so use it at your own risk. Click on "View Larger Map" to see a legend and links to photos and videos.


View Larger Map

Life Challenge Program, in memory of Marc Mullenix

The Life Challenge Program, created in memory of Marc Mullenix, is now being hosted by the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. Marc passed away on January 28, 2008.

In 2007 Marc was a Type 1 Incident Commander trainee on Kim Martin's Incident Management Team in the Rocky Mountain Geographic Area. Some of his past jobs included Wildland Fire Division Chief for the Boulder Fire Department, Fire Management Officer for Mesa Verde National Park, and Division Chief for the Fairmont Fire Protection District, all in Colorado.

According to the Life Challenge Program web site:

“The Life Challenge Program is a reflective and support based program which will help set a vision for firefighters and families to better understand the emotions faced during the challenges in life. This program is dedicated to those who are the survivors."

We received some questions about the cause of death of Marc Mullenix shortly after it occurred, but did not discuss it since it was not reported widely. But on the web site the biography of his surviving spouse, Shawna Legarze, begins like this:

Shawna Legarze is the surviving spouse of her husband, Marc Mullenix who committed suicide in 2008. She is also the founder of Wildland Firefighter Life Challenge Program, is currently working her 21st year in Fire and Aviation Management. During her fire career she also completed the USFS Joint Wildland Firefighter Apprenticeship Academy, obtained an Associate Arts Degree in Science for Wildland Fire Management, Bachelors Art Degree in Wildland Fire Management, a Bachelors of Science in Exercise Physiology and teaching, a Masters of Science in Kinesiology and is currently working on a PhD in Psychology specializing in Organizational Leadership.

Donations for the program can be made through the Wildland Firefighter Foundation; just specify that it is for the Life Challenge Program.

Former FEMA chief Michael Brown on being evacuated

Yesterday Wildfire Today reported that former FEMA Administrator Michael D. Brown, "you're doing a heck of a job, Brownie" was forced to evacuate due to the (now contained) Neva fire near Boulder, Colorado. The Washington Post has more details:

Former FEMA administrator Michael D. Brown was among 11,000 Boulder, Colo., folks evacuated yesterday amid raging wildfires that have scorched at least 1,000 acres. Brown, dubbed "Brownie" by President Bush during the Katrina Hurricane fiasco, moved back to the Boulder area, where he runs a disaster consulting business.

"I got back home to Boulder, the winds were just whipping up 60, 80 miles an hour. I was working in my home office, the dogs start barking, and lo and behold, there's a Boulder County sheriff with lights flashing saying there's a mandatory evacuation," Brown said during a local radio interview, our colleague Ed O'Keefe reports.

Asked about the irony of the former chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency evacuating his home, Brown said: "It was strange being told to evacuate, because, you know, I firmly believe in evacuations. When they told me that, you know, I just loaded the dogs up, grabbed my briefcase and headed down the mountain."

Brown was told there was a fire. "I couldn't smell the smoke or see it, because the [wind was] just pushing the smoke due east. I couldn't see the fire until I got down to Highway 36. And when I saw it, I was just astonished at just how large it was. So I sat and watched it for about two hours," he said.

The Rocky Mountain News also has an article about Brownie's evacuation. Here is an excerpt quoting Brown during an interview:

"I guess I had two reactions. One is I've seen these fires and I've seen these firefighters. In Colorado, we've had firefighters killed in these wildfires. And we've had firefighters killed in Montana and all over the country. I know what they're like. These men and women are Type-A personalities that will do anything they can to save us or save a home. And I don't want to be the one responsible for them getting hurt. So it's like, OK, I'm out of here."

"And I think the other thing, too, is . . . I remember one fire in particular in California where (President) Bush and I had been at where there were multimillion-dollar homes and everything was gone but the swimming pool. But I mean literally everything. Nothing but a foundation and a chimney. And just on the other side of the ridge was nothing but mobile homes and they were gone. And when you see people in those situations, and particularly for six years, you realize that the house is unimportant. What's important is just get the animals and the family out and the heck with the rest of it.

"It's odd when I think about it. I mean I knew there was a chance the house literally could burn down. But it's like yeah, I get that. I get that and we're all safe. . . . There are a lot worse things that can happen in life."

Here is the 6-second YouTube clip of Bush saying to Brown, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job".

Wildfire news, October 9

California: update on Camp Pendleton fire

(Photos were taken Wednesday)

The "November" fire that started on the military base 40 miles north of San Diego at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday grew to about 1,000 acres by late evening and is 70% contained, Cal Fire Capt. Nick Schuler said. The fire is adjacent to a golf course but no structures are threatened. It is burning in an area used to train Marines in disposing of explosives.

Firefighters were using a total of 10 aircraft yesterday, including the two CL-415 "Super Scoopers" that San Diego County has on contract from a Canadian company. The CL-415's were scooping water out of the Pacific ocean which was just a few miles from the fire.

The humidity is expected to remain high throughout the day today, which will help firefighters pick up that additional 30% containment.

Camp Pendleton, one of the largest bases in the country, takes up 125,000 acres in northern San Diego County. It is home to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. The Marine Corps established the base in 1942.

Photos, courtesy of nbcsandiego.com

Update at 12:50 PT, Thursday, Oct. 9

The fire is now 100% contained at "1,400 to 1,900 acres", according to Marine Major Kristen Lasica.


Researchers: Ozone pollution in wildfires exceeds health standards

According to a press release from the National Science Foundation:

Wildfires can boost ozone pollution to levels that violate U.S. health standards, a new study concludes.

The research, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., focused on California wildfires in 2007, finding that they repeatedly caused ground-level ozone to spike to unhealthy levels across a broad area, including much of rural California as well as neighboring Nevada.

Results of the study are published today in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, published by the American Geophysical Union. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which sponsors NCAR, and by NASA.

"It's important to understand the health impacts of wildfires," says NCAR scientist Gabriele Pfister, the paper's lead author. "We found that ozone can hit unhealthy levels even in places where you are not seeing any smoke."

Although scientists have long known that wildfires can affect air quality by emitting particles and gases into the air, there has been little research to quantify the impacts.

Fires worsen ozone levels by releasing nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, which can form ozone near the fire or far downwind as a result of chemical reactions in sunlight.

The researchers, using a combination of computer models and ground-level measurements, focused on intense California wildfires that broke out in September and October of 2007. They found that ozone was three times more likely to exceed safe levels when fire plumes blew into a region than when no plumes were present.

"Increasingly in the atmospheric sciences, the blending of model results and observations yield new insights into complex natural processes and societal impacts," said Cliff Jacobs, program director in NSF's Division of Atmospheric Sciences. "This study is an excellent example of this research paradigm."

At the time of the wildfires, the public health standard for ozone set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was 0.08 parts per million over an eight-hour period. The EPA has since tightened the standard to 0.075 parts per million. Under the stricter standard, the number of violations would have nearly doubled.

While ozone in the stratosphere benefits life on Earth by blocking ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, ozone in the lower atmosphere can trigger a number of health problems. These range from coughing and throat irritation to more serious problems, such as aggravation of asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema. Ground-level ozone pollution also damages crops and other plants.

"Wildfires are expected to worsen in the future, especially as our climate grows warmer," Pfister says. "But we are only now beginning to understand their potential impacts on people and ecosystems, not only nearby but also potentially far downwind."

New generation fire shelters

According to the National Fire and Aviation Executive Board (NFAEB), Federal Agencies should be transitioned to the New Generation Fire Shelter by January 1, 2009. All agencies, cooperators and contracted resources are to be transitioned by January 1, 2010. More information is HERE.

Wildfire news, September 19

Suit Claims Negligence In Firefighter Helicopter Deaths

The family of one of the firefighters killed in the helicopter crash in Northern California last month has filed suit.

The family of 25-year-old Scott Charlson is suing Carson Helicopters, Sikorsky, which built the helicopter, and General Electric, which made the engine.

The helicopter was transporting crews from a wildfire in a rugged area of the Siskiyou-Trinity national forest when it crash on Aug 5. Nine people were killed, including seven local wildland firefighters, a Carson pilot, and a U.S. Forest Service employee.

A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board says the helicopter's main rotor lost power during takeoff.

The suit claims negligence in the design and manufacture of the helicopter, and the maintainence and operation by Carson. Carson helicopters says it hasn't seen the suit yet. The suit asks for a to-be-determined amount for wrongful death and other claims, and the family's lawyers have asked for a jury trial.

From ktvl.com

Utah: Dixie NF has four fire use fires

The Dixie National Forest is managing four fires for resource benefit: Forsyth Ridge (on the Pine Valley Ranger District), Fife Ridge (on the Cedar City Ranger District), Straight Canyon (on the Powell Ranger District), and Pine (on the Escalante Ranger District).

All four fires are being managed as wildland fire use (WFU). WFU are naturally occurring fires (e.g., lightning strike) that are managed for resource benefit.

The Forsyth Ridge WFU is located in the Pine Valley Wilderness area about 2 miles south from Pine Valley. It is about 209 acres in size and has been burning since Aug. 19. It is is burning in mixed conifer and aspen with dead understory and likely will result in regeneration of some aspen.

The Fife Ridge WFU has been burning since Aug. 30. It is about 704 acres. It is most visible from the Zion Overlook on Highway 14. It is burning in steep terrain, within aspen and conifer stands. Firefighters have taken management actions on the south and east portions of the fire to stop the spread in those directions.

The Straight WFU is 211 acres. It is located on the Powell Ranger District on the south half of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The fire is burning in aspen areas providing additional resource benefit.

The Pine WFU is burning on the Escalante Ranger District 20 miles north of Escalante and 20 miles northwest of Boulder. As of Sept. 15 it is 200 acres in size and has experienced minimal growth in the last couple of days.

From thespectrum.com

Insurance company says homes may be treated with "fire retardant"

Farmers Insurance company has notified some homeowners in southern California that their homes may be sprayed with "fire retardant" before or during a wildland fire. We are assuming that they will actually use wildland foam or gel, rather than the retardant used in air tankers. This is a pilot program that will be free to policy holders. More information is HERE.

Wildfire plays role in movie

Samuel L. Jackson and a wildland fire play leading roles in the movie "Lakeview Terrace" that opens today. It is about a couple that live next door to a cop, Jackson, who begins to harass and then terrorize them.

During much of the movie a fire is slowly approaching the neighborhood, creating tension and a metaphor. The fire is completely CGI, computer generated imagery. The movie was filmed in Walnut, California in a cul-de-sac that was completely taken over by the film crew.

About the location, the director, Neil LaBute, said he "...wanted something that felt very suburban but would afford a believable backdrop for fires..."

If you see this movie, let us know how realistic the fires were.

California: wildire smoke may have tainted wine grapes

Some wineries were affected by the smoke from the Siege of '08 and others were not, but experts say they can filter out the taste if necessary.

An excerpt from pressdemocrat.com

Three months after smoke from wildfires carpeted California’s vineyards, some winemakers in the thick of harvest are reporting grapes giving off unusual odors that may be signs of smoke taint. While it’s too early to generalize about the scope of the potential problem, some troubling reports are filtering in from Mendocino County, which earlier this summer endured some of the fiercest wildfires and worst air quality in memory.

“Winemakers are saying that they think stuff is smelling funny to them, and they want to know what’s going on,” said Glenn McGourty, viticulture adviser for the University of California Cooperative Extension in Mendocino. While worrisome for winemakers, consumers may not need to worry about tasting smoke instead of oak in their favorite chardonnay because winemakers have sophisticated filtration tools to remove offending flavors.

Wildfire news, September 17

Firefighter injured while falling a snag

On September 10 a firefighter from the Entiat Hot Shots was injured while falling a snag on the Rattle fire near Toketee Falls, Oregon.  

From NRtoday.com, Sept. 16:

Pilar Castro, a Wenatchee, Wash., firefighter said to be in his mid-20s, suffered a fractured skull and broken ribs when the top of a dead tree broke off and struck him Wednesday, said Robin DeMario, spokeswoman for the Okanogan-Wenatchee

 National Forest.

Castro, a member of a hot shot crew, had to have surgery on his skull and part of his jaw reconstructed. He was flown by helicopter to Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg.

The firefighter remained there in fair condition this morning, a hospital spokeswoman said. DeMario said Castro is expected to fly today to a hospital in Wenatchee, where he will undergo rehabilitation for about a month.

From Inciweb, Sept. 13:

Last Wednesday evening, a firefighter was injured while cutting a dead tree with a chain saw along the fire line. He was injured near his cheek and bruised his ribs. After being airlifted to the hospital in Roseburg, he was treated for his injuries and is recuperating. On Sunday, he will be flown home to Washington State where he is expected to make a full recovery. It was very fortunate that his accident occurred near an established helicopter landing site where he could be air lifted for immediate medical treatment.

Thanks for the tip, LR

Oregon:  Rattle fire spots 2 miles ahead

Rocks and logs on Highway 138, Sept. 10, 2008

The fire on which the firefighter was injured while falling a snag last week has been very active.

Idleyld Park, OR --- Yesterday's severe fire weather conditions contributed to some very extreme fire behavior. A plume of smoke rose to over 35,000 feet and carried fire brands up to 2 miles from the head of the fire. The fire grew an estimated 4,183 acres and now totals 11,207 acres, most of which remains within the boundary of the Boulder Creek Wilderness. 

Photo and text from InciWeb

San Diego County contracts for Superscoopers

San Diego County is gradually taking steps to increase their fire preparedness after being criticized in reports following their massive fires of 2003 and 2007.  The City of San Diego recently purchased their second helicopter, and the County is contracting for two Bombardier CL-415 Superscooper air tankers and a lead plane for three months.  

HERE is a link to a page with a video from San Diego 6 that shows a demonstration of the aircraft in action Tuesday.  

Contract firefighter dies following road grader accident

A 77-year-old Happy Camp man has died from injuries suffered while serving as a contract firefighter in Siskiyou County, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman said Tuesday.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday commended Curtis Hillman Sr. for his service and announced that Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff in his honor, a spokesman from his office said.

Hillman, a member of the Karuk tribe, was operating a grader to improve road conditions and access for firefighters. They were working the Siskiyou and Blue 2 Complex of fires when Hillman was injured Aug. 25, public information officer Mike Ferris said.

He was working on forest roads 14 and 21, about half a mile from Highway 96 just south of Dillon Creek Campground, Ferris said. The area is halfway between Happy Camp and Orleans.

When his grader failed to start, Hillman and another worker tried to fix the problem. The grader then started, but its brake failed and it began to roll backward. Both men fell or jumped off the machine, and Hillman hit his head, Ferris said.

He was flown to Mercy Medical Center in Redding, where he died from his injuries Thursday, Ferris said.

His is the 13th death as a result of the June lightning strikes that ignited fires across the north state.

A celebration of Hillman's life is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at the River Park Pavilion in Happy Camp, Ferris said.

From Redding.com

Notifying residents of an approaching fire

On yesterday's live discussion one of the issues raised was the difficulty in quickly contacting large numbers of residents who are in danger of an approaching wildland fire. During some of the Black Saturday fires last weekend in Australia there were reports that the fires were so massive and moving so quickly, pushed by 40-60 mph winds, that the fires entered some communities with little or no warning.

So, how do we notify people that they need to evacuate, or to "Prepare, Stay and Defend OR Go Early"?

• A law enforcement officer or fire vehicle cruising the streets knocking on doors or making announcements on a public address system is a slow and inefficient method. The former director of FEMA, Michael Brown, was notified in this manner in January to evacuate from his Boulder area home when it was threatened by the Neva fire. But local emergency services also used a reverse 911 system.
  
• Phone trees have been used in the past, but they can be slow, and if people are not near their phones, the system can break down. And, phone lines can be compromised by a fire.
  
• Reverse-911 systems, automated dialing systems that deliver a short voice message, are becoming more and more common. These can be very effective and can send out messages quickly to large numbers of residents; some systems can even send e-mail messages too. But they are not foolproof; sometimes poorly designed systems can't handle a large enough capacity, or simply fail to function at all. And usually they can't call cell phones unless the user manually ops-in. Tulare County in California will be testing their new system soon. HERE is an example of a company that sells this service. But reverse 911 depends on a functioning phone line system which may be compromised by the fire. And cell phones may not work either, as we found out during the Alabaugh fire near Hot Springs, SD in July, 2007, when the same lightning storm that started the fire also knocked out the Verizon cell tower. One homeowner was killed in his home in that fire and 27 residences were destroyed.
  
• During our live discussion here yesterday, Dick suggested that the weather radio alert system could be used, which could work well as long as everyone had one of the units, and if each one had a battery backup in case the power went out. I think most of the radios have a backup battery; but does everyone replace the battery on a regular schedule?
• Also during our live discussion yesterday, Chris said: "Locally we have a low power AM radio station that we can update from the field by cell phone. This way, the public is always getting up to date info and it can be heard with or without electricity". Maybe Chris was referring to what is called in some areas a "Travelers' Information System", or TIS. You see (or hear) systems like these in national parks or other major tourist areas providing routine messages, or special messages if there is a ongoing incident. But don't these have a range of about a mile or so?
  
• Maybe one day satellites will be broadcasting emergency messages and weather forecasts to our weather radios, keyed and customized to specific local areas. This could be more efficient than having hundreds of ground-based radio transmitters blanketing our country. If Sirius XM satellite radio service goes bankrupt, as is likely, there will be 4-5 satellites and a lot of ground-based repeaters with a lot of time on their hands.
  

There is no fool-proof system, but the reverse 911 system, perhaps layered with the weather radio alert system, seems to be the best thing we have going today.

But what do you think?

Wildfire news, August 5

"What is Red is Dead"

On August 3 we posted a video and some information about the bark beetle outbreak in Colorado. CBS News did a story and shot some video footage months ago that never made it to the air, but it is posted here. The article mentions that you can see the "red" pine beetle damage on Google Earth. I checked it out and it's true. Look on Google Earth 30 miles west of Boulder, Colorado, long/lat: 40 00' 54", 106 21' 37". This is the area that I saw a week ago, where there were some tracts of hundreds of acres with 100% mortality. There are other similar areas across the western U.S. and also in Canada.

The Gunbarrel fire between Yellowstone National Park and Cody, Wyoming is burning in an area with 50-80% bug mortality. Sunday evening the fire made a 4.5-mile run in three hours. Is this a taste of things to come?

More dry lightning?

Thunderstorms, some initially with dry lightning, are expected over portions of northern California and southern Oregon this afternoon and evening.

Turkish fire under control

The fire that burned 12,300 acres near some main tourist hubs is now under control. It broke out between the towns of Serik and Manavgat on Thursday and pushed by 43 mph winds and 104 degree heat killed two men and destroyed 60 houses.

Firefighter injured by grizzly doing OK

The firefighter that was roughed up by the grizzly bear while working on the LeHardy fire in Yellowstone National Park is back at work.

Tony Allabastro, a member of the Lewis and Clark Forest Service hotshot crew based in Great Falls, reportedly saw the bear over his shoulder, coming from where his crew had been doing controlled burns, Sandy Hare, public information officer for the LeHardy fire, said Monday.

Before he had a chance to get his bear spray, the grizzly pounced on him and “roughed him up,” Hare said. The bear was “acting instinctually.”

“(The bear) just wanted out,” Hare said. “There was something in its way, and it happened to be a human.”

Allabastro got away with minimal injuries. He was treated at the Yellowstone Clinic in Lake, Wyo., for scratches and bruises Sunday and released.
[...]
Allabastro, who has fought wildfire for three seasons and served on a hotshot crew for one, was tackled by the grizzly while working on a burnout near Fishing Bridge.

The burnout is intended to put a buffer between the LeHardy fire and Fishing Bridge, an enclave of campgrounds, gas stations and other amenities in the park. As crews resumed that work Monday, people traveling on the park’s Grand Loop Road were again treated to views of giant plumes of smoke from their cars.

Between 500 and 600 grizzly bears are estimated to call Yellowstone home, according to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. Bear sightings by fire crews is a common occurrence, Hare said.

But “firefighter-grizzly conflicts are pretty rare,” she said. “That’s why they carry bear spray.”

To boot, wildlife experts consider the Fishing Bridge area “the core of bear country” in the park, Hare said.

On Monday the LeHardy fire grew from 4,700 to 7,335 acres and is 5% contained. More details are here.

Marc Mullenix- RIP

Marc Mullenix passed away last night. Last year he was a Type 1 Incident Commander trainee on Kim Martin's Incident Management Team in the Rocky Mountain Geographic Area. Some of his past jobs included Wildland Fire Division Chief for the Boulder Fire Department, Fire Management Officer for Mesa Verde National Park, and Fairmont Fire Protection District, all in Colorado.

Here is a link to a photo of Marc and short article that appeared on the US News and World Report web site.

If anyone has a good photo of Marc that we could place here, let me know... and include permission to use it.

Marc Mullenix--rest in peace.

Colorado: Bark beetles, and a dinner honoring firefighters

Colorado is in the wildfire news again today.

Beetles

The bark beetles that are devastating large areas of Colorado expanded their infestation by 400,000 acres last year, bringing the total number of affected acres in the state to 2 million. More information is at the Coloradoan.

More Beetles

The Colorado Independent created a kerfuffle when the newspaper ran an article on January 9 criticizing FEMA for not taking action in Colorado to mitigate the ongoing bark beetle problem and the threat of fires in the infested areas, saying in the article:

FEMA, for the most part, turned the same deaf ear to the problem that the margarita-quaffing (former FEMA Director) Brown offered Hurricane Katrina victims.

Ouch!

The Colorado Independent's Ready, Fire, Aim article got the attention of FEMA. Today the newspaper published a rebuttal article written by Derek Jensen, an External Affairs Specialist for FEMA in their regional office in Denver. Here is an excerpt from Mr. Jensen's article:

We have forged close ties with various fire agencies, including West Metro Fire District and the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center, which coordinates resources to battle wildfires within the Rocky Moutain region. We certainly acknowledge we have areas and relationships where we have a role, and we are actively participating in the preparations and discussions about the catastrophic wildfire threat.

However, the article failed to recognize that under current law, forest health is not FEMA’s charge, nor would it be legal for the agency to reduce fuels on federal forest land. Well-intentioned individuals and organizations have approached FEMA in the past suggesting the agency eliminate the wildfire threat by simply declaring a federal disaster and removing the bark beetle infested lodgepole pines. This is not a legal option since FEMA has no statutory authority to address long-term, large scale forest management issues in undeveloped wilderness.

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act does allow FEMA to focus on mitigation projects that directly affect the built environment and reduce the costs of all hazards. FEMA funding for such mitigation projects are typically provided on a nationally-competitive basis. Colorado Springs received such a grant in the past for a successful fuels reduction project along the city’s Wildland Urban Interface.

While we do not have the legal authority to remove the beetle kill fuel load in the National Forests, we have used a broad set of mitigation alternatives to prevent losses from wildfire and we will continue to work with our local, state and federal counterparts to prepare for this inevitable disaster. To suggest otherwise is simply ignoring the facts.

A Thank-You Dinner for Firefighters

Community groups and businesses in the Boulder area are organizing a dinner Saturday night to honor the firefighters who worked on the January 7 Neva fire. The dinner is open to the public and anyone affected by the fire. Several businesses are donating kegs of beer, cases of wine, and platters of sushi. This is certainly a very nice gesture. I have not developed a taste for raw fish, but I have learned to appreciate beer and wine, and even more so when it's free.

Colorado senator criticized for fighting fire

Colorado state Senator Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, (in picture on the right) is being criticized by one of his constituents for helping to fight the 3,000+ acre Neva fire near Boulder on January 7. Gibbs, who has been a qualified Type 2 Wildland Firefighter since 2007, missed the second day of the legislative session while he was working on the fire.

The criticism was in a letter submitted to the Summit Daily News by Breckenridge resident Jason Kaufman. In part, Mr. Kaufman said:

If you did miss a day of work or more, for which you were elected, to fight a fire, then I’m a little confused. Obviously your priorities are not in order and I’m having a difficult time understanding your actions.

Sen. Gibbs, in case you didn’t notice, there is a huge inferno engulfing many of us. We don’t need any more tough guys or heroes, what we need are people who will show up for work and do the job they were elected to do. I know your pal Gov. Ritter gave you a pat on the back for you outstanding job on the front lines of a devastating wild fire. But like I said, that’s not the problem at hand.

In the fall of 2007 Senator Gibbs traveled to California to work on some of the fires that devastated areas in the southern part of the state.

Pine beetle damage in Colorado

I have heard about the extensive mortality inflicted on some of the pine forests in Colorado by the pine beetle, but I did not have a full appreciation for it until last weekend when I attended a Yamaha FJR 1300 motorcycle gathering in Boulder, Colorado. On Saturday I went for a ride through Rocky Mountain National Park and was stunned by the impacts. A few tracts of hundreds of acres each on my route had 100% mortality. I shot the video below in an area that had 30-50% mortality.

It is going to be very interesting when a fire burns through these areas. Some urban locations are affected as well, with some houses having several dead trees towering above them, creating a major problem for homeowners.

Here are articles on the subject by Newsweek, USA Today, and Colorado State University.

The video is 53 seconds long.