Senate hearing in Seattle August 27 about wildland fire management

Below is the witness list for a field hearing that will be held before the Senate’s Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Thursday, August 27, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. PDT in the Pigott Auditorium of Seattle University (located at Su Campus Walk). The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on opportunities to improve the organizational response of the Federal agencies in the management of wildland fires.

Senate hearing list wildland fire

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

4 thoughts on “Senate hearing in Seattle August 27 about wildland fire management”

  1. The Cat is out of the bag .Once we started to “”manage the forests,we will have to do so forever !! .The Federal Govt. is obstructionist ,and is staffed by individuals with little insight into forest management !! . Anyone should ask people in the forestry industry ,whether or not companies such as Plum Creek ,or just individual foresters for their input .What ever happened to selective logging ,thinning ,removal of deadfall ,etc ? Additionally,he USFS , puts up false standards for equipment [ such as helicopters .large aerial tankers and ground equipment ,under the guise of “‘Safety ”
    The fact is ,they do not want to fight these fires and even if their is a slight inclination properly manage wildfires, the USFS is too indecisive to do so . They are on a Fool’s errand.
    Obviously the “‘LET BURN”policy is still in effect . Now we have gone from protecting structures, to mass evacuations, and thence to just trying to protect humans. Wildlife are just a perishable commodity. What a shame !
    Even protecting firefighters has failed !!. Three [3] dead in Washinton state. Who is the forthright person that will take the blame ?What happened to the $ 65,000,000 that congress appropriated for new aerial tankers ? .Again the obstructionists are at work !!
    The Canadians ,although imperfect ,seem to be able to MANAGE their forests better !. The forests looked much healthier ,when I visited B.C. about 9 days ago .
    No smoke in B.C. ,except one fire near Kelowna . They must be doing some thing correctly ? . Perhaps our so-called Federal fire managers could learn something from the Canadians ?? Also evident in Canada, were one or more Air Tankers [about DC 10 size] .
    The last I knew ,in Wa,. State ,we had to borrow the Canadian Air TANKER [s]. [ridiculous!!] .

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  2. Tom Zimmerman:

    ” Fire occurrence and response now constitute a year round activity; fire numbers are increasing; seasonal burning periods are extending; and response capabilities are heavily taxed. ”

    “However, determining innovative solutions is difficult; resistance to change is hard to overcome, and precedence tends to push us to familiar ways of doing business. To meet future challenges, problems must be clearly defined, understood, and parceled into achievable divisions. ”

    http://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=d4edb1a0-e438-48c1-bea9-260053788526

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  3. I would say the federal response is darn great, with over 32,000 personnel assigned, what is not so great is the over 17% decline in firefighters hired over the past few years, relief in targets and accomplishments when in years like this the non regular firefighters are free to assist without unit reprisals, the low level of funding provided to federal agencies for the protection of our landscapes and all resources across that landscape through vegetation management and fire use, low level of local commitment by local communities in maintain fire readiness, vegetation management, community planning, and training in the incident command system to be incorporated into an integrated incident command system when wildfires occur.

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  4. I’m pleased that Tom Z will be there to represent the on-the-ground firefighters of the world!

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