Wildfire Today

USFS appoints a Marine as Deputy Director of Fire and Aviation

Bill GabbertNovember 28, 2011August 25, 2019Uncategorizedpyroterrorism, Robert Baird, terrorism26 Comments

We were surprised when the U.S. Forest Service appointed a person with no on-the-ground fire experience to be Deputy Regional Forester for Fire and Aviation Management in the California Region. That trend is continuing, but at a higher level.

Robert Baird has accepted the position of Deputy Director of Fire and Aviation Management in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Forest Service. Mr. Baird is currently the Branch Head, Center for Irregular Warfare, US Marine Corps, in Quantico, Virginia.

Jennifer Jones, a spokesperson for the USFS, told us that in his new position Mr. Baird will supervise the following functions:

Washington Office-State and Private Forestry / Fire and Aviation Management Assistant Director for Fire Operations located at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho;
Washington Office-S&PF/FAM Assistant Director for Risk Management located at NIFC;
Washington Office-S&PF/FAM Assistant Director for Aviation located in Washington, D.C.

Mr.Baird will report to WO-S&PF/FAM Director Tom Harbour.

HERE is a link to the organizational chart for USFS Fire and Aviation Management in the Washington Office. (If it is sideways, in Adobe Reader, click View/Rotate.) The chart was current as of May 11, 2011 and shows Rich Kvale in the Deputy Director position, who is being replaced by Mr. Baird.

On his Linkedin page, Mr. Baird describes his present duties as: “Explore, Develop, Coordinate, Plan, and Integrate IW Concepts for the Marine Corps”. From a brief bio that was provided for an event in 2010, his experience included:

Planner in Afghanistan for special operations integration and implementation
Planner in Iraq to establish initial Iraqi police capability in one province
Director of Operations for the Marine Corps University/Education Command
Lead planner for I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) rapid response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Chief of Plans for I MEF
He obtained a Masters of Operational Studies from Marine Corps University

Mr. Baird is also a former seasonal police officer for Ocean City, Maryland.

He has written a paper titled Profiles in Pyroterrorism: Convergence of crime, terrorism and wildfire unleash as a weapon on population. Wildfire comes up another time in his profile on Linkedin where he said he “Planned for Wildland Fire Fighting contingency mission, served in MCB Emergency Ops Center, and personally supported displacement of Div Cmd Post due to wildfire.”

We very much support the concept of hiring veterans and have highlighted such programs in the past, but we would be more comfortable if the person who is second in command in USFS Fire and Aviation Management had more wildland fire experience and knowledge than we have seen listed for Mr. Baird.

Thanks go out to Dick

Mother of firefighter who died in helicopter crash releases statement

Bill GabbertNovember 28, 2011August 25, 2019Uncategorizedair tanker, helicopter3 Comments

Sikorsky S-61N helicopter operated by Carson

The parents of Scott Charlson will be leaving soon to attend the National Transportation Safety Board forum on the use of “public aircraft”, which includes the helicopters, air tankers, and other fixed wing aircraft operated by the federal land management agencies on wildfires. Scott, along with eight other firefighters and air crew members, was killed when an overweight helicopter with falsified specification documents operated by Carson Helicopters crashed in 2008 on the Iron Complex fire near Weaverville, California.

Unlike passenger-carrying airlines, the operation of “public aircraft” operated by land management agencies receives very little oversight from the Federal Aviation Administration. That is left up to agencies like the U.S. Forest Service, which, perhaps, is more skilled at harvesting trees than regulating aircraft. A more qualified level of oversight may have prevented the deaths on the Iron Complex fire.

The NTSB forum will be held in Washington D.C. and will begin at 9:00 a.m. ET, Wednesday, November 30, 2011 continuing through Thursday, December 1st. It will be available for the public to view live on the internet at the NTSB web site. We wrote more about the forum on November 23, and our article about the NTSB investigation of the accident is HERE.

Nina Charlson, the mother of Fallen Firefighter Scott Charlson, released the following statement today:

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My husband Rick and I along with several other Iron44 families are travelling back to Washington DC to a forum (Nov. 30 & Dec. 1) being held by the NTSB Board regarding oversight of public aircraft. This aircraft that went down was called an “orphan” by the NTSB Board. We are going back to show support to the NTSB in their quest for safety changes. We want to remind people who shuffle paper and try to make budget that their decisions affect peoples lives. Our plea is for them not to forget that. We cannot bring our loved ones back but if we can stand up for safety changes for future passengers – that is what we want to do.

Another reason we are releasing a statement at this time is it is nearly the one year anniversary (Dec. 7) of the release of the final NTSB report regarding this tragedy. The NTSB Board requested a criminal investigation be done into the practices of Carson Helicopters – especially the act of falsifying weight and lift charts. Overweight is deemed to be the main cause of the crash according to the NTSB Board. Frank Carson of Carson helicopters refuted their findings shortly after the final report was released. I am sure you can find that in your archives.

Several families have been trying to find out if there is a criminal investigation going on and we cannot get any information whether there is one taking place or not. Our loved ones were killed serving the public and if there were criminal actions that caused the crash we want to make sure those charges are pursued. The Fallen and their family and friends are victims of a lot of negligence and possibly criminal activity. We know Carson Helicopters would like for us to go away but at this time I cannot let that happen. We hope the media will draw attention to the details of the cause(s) of this tragedy and hopefully help some safety changes to take place. We hope no other parents, spouses, brothers, children, grandparents or friends have to go through what we have because of negligence and lies.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Nina Charlson mother of Fallen Firefighter Scott Charlson

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UPDATE November 29, 2011: here are some excerpts from an article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle:

…Federal, state and local agencies own or lease more than 2,400 nonmilitary planes and helicopters for fighting forest fires, chasing crooks, conducting scientific research and other tasks. By comparison, the world’s largest airline — created by the merger of United and Continental — and its regional carriers operate fewer than 1,300 planes.

But unlike United, Continental and other commercial airlines, government agencies are mostly left to police the safety of their flight operations themselves. The Federal Aviation Administration has long said it doesn’t have the authority to apply regulations to other government agencies.

[…]

The NTSB forum was spurred in part by the agency’s two-year investigation of the August 2008 crash of a firefighting helicopter near Weaverville in Northern California. Nine people were killed and four others injured. The company that operated the flight misrepresented the performance capabilities of its helicopters in order to win a U.S. Forest Service firefighting contract, and then gave misinformation to its own pilots, causing them to underestimate the aircraft’s weight, NTSB’s investigation found.

The board faulted the Forest Service for not ensuring the helicopter operator was following safety regulations as promised in its contract. It also faulted the FAA, whose inspectors checked the safety of aircraft the contractor used for nongovernment work, but ignored helicopters used for government assignments.

Prescribed fire in Western Australia escapes, burns dozens of homes

Bill GabbertNovember 24, 2011October 13, 2012UncategorizedAustralia, escaped prescribed fire, prescribed fire, Western Australia2 Comments

A prescribed fire in Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park in Western Australia escaped on November 23 and has destroyed or heavily damaged 19 to 30 homes in the Prevelly area. Pushed by strong winds, the fire has burned at least 4,900 acres.

Fifty-five people that had refused to be evacuated later had to take refuge from the fire on a Prevelly beach. They were rescued by jet ski and ferried to a waiting search and rescue boat offshore. From there they were taken to nearby Gracetown and then bused to an emergency welfare center in Margaret River.

Reminder about NTSB public aircraft oversight safety forum

Bill GabbertNovember 23, 2011August 25, 2019Uncategorizedair tanker, Carson, helicopter1 Comment

This is a reminder about the National Transportation Safety Board’s two-day Public Aircraft Oversight Safety Forum that we first told you about in September. It will be held in Washington D.C. and will begin at 9:00 a.m. ET, Wednesday, November 30, 2011 and continue through Thursday, December 1st. It will be available for the public to view live on the internet at the NTSB web site.

The forum could affect the way land management agencies use firefighting aircraft, including helicopters, air tankers, and other fixed wing aircraft while managing wildfires.

I am thinking that one of the primary reasons the NTSB is looking into this issue is the helicopter accident on the 2008 Iron Complex fire near Weaverville, California in which nine firefighters died. The NTSB investigation brought to light information that made it clear the FAA and the U.S. Forest Service had inadequate oversight of the operation of aircraft used for wildland firefighting on federal lands. According to the NTSB, there was “intentional wrong-doing” by Carson Helicopters that under-stated the weight of the helicopter and over-stated the performance of the helicopter in the documents they provided to the USFS when bidding on their firefighting contract.

Some of the family members of the firefighters that died on the Iron Complex fire will attend the forum in person in Washington D.C. They have been having trouble finding out if any federal agencies are actively pursuing a criminal investigation into the activities of Carson Helicopters and the company’s role in the fatal accident.

Below is the text from an NTSB press release about the forum:

Continue reading “Reminder about NTSB public aircraft oversight safety forum”

A late fire season in Germany

Bill GabbertNovember 22, 2011November 24, 2011Uncategorized4 Comments

Georg in Germany sent us an update about the wildfire situation in his country.

After an unusual period without any rain, the southern part of Germany and Austria is seeing it`s latest wildfire-season in history. Terrain difficulty: very high. Growth potential: high.

I know, it`s not that spectacular through the eyes of an american (wildland) firefighter, but until this year nobody even expected a wildfire in Germany in November. Also remind it`s a country without any handcrews or strike-teams for wildfire suppression.

There are four helicopters in service in a incident near Lenggries-here a video including some drops. It`s a Sikorsky S-65 (CH 53) operated by german Army “Heer”,dropping 1300 gallons of Water.

HERE is a link to a video that shows some helicopters in action, and an interview with what I assume is a fire official. Thanks to Google Translate, the caption below the video says, roughly: “For more than 50 years November was not as dry as this year. Now in the middle of the Bavarian Alps, a forest fire has broken out. Fire and Mountain Rescue is a day-long use before.” As the video begins, you may hear a voice-over for a commercial, with the announcer speaking in a very soft voice… in German. Interesting.

More still photos are HERE.

Below are a few samples of the photos:

In the photo above, it appears that the water bucket has some sort of dispersing mechanism, such as a rotating device which scatters the water. I’ve never seen this in North America. I wonder if the Germans are on to something here?

Thanks Georg

GAO issues report on Arizona Border area fires

Bill GabbertNovember 22, 2011August 25, 2019Uncategorizedhelicopter, study1 Comment

McCain, Tidwell, Harbour at Wallow fire — Sen. John McCain, Thomas Tidwell (Chief of the Forest Service), and Tom Harbour (Director of Fire and Aviation, USFS) at the Wallow fire, June 18, 2011. Photo by USFS.

On June 18 Senator John McCain flew with Tom Harbour, Director of Fire and Aviation for the USFS, and Thomas Tidwell, Chief of the Forest Service, to Arizona to be briefed on the Wallow fire. He met with reporters that day and started his own firestorm when he was quoted as saying:

There is substantial evidence that some of these fires have been caused by people who have crossed our border illegally. The answer to that part of the problem is to get a secure border.

McCain received a great deal of criticism for his rather vague statement, some of which accused him of unfairly pointing the finger at “vulnerable populations”. It was not clear to which fires McCain was referring, but two cousins from southern Arizona were charged with starting the Wallow fire by leaving a campfire unattended. McCain may have been thinking of the Monument fire which started June 12 near the Arizona/Mexico border and, according to a well-publicized theory by Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever, may have been caused by illegal border crossers. We checked today and the cause of the Monument fire is officially still “under investigation”, according to the Coronado National Forest.

It turns out that in 2010 McCain and three other senators, Lisa Murkokwski, John Barrasso, and Jon Kyl requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a study about wildfires in the Arizona border area. The 55-page report which was released today, covers:

The number, cause, size, and location of wildland fires from 2006 through 2010;
Economic and environmental effects of human-caused wildland fires burning 10 or more acres;
Extent to which illegal border crossers were the ignition source of wildland fires on federal lands; and
Ways in which the presence of illegal border crossers has affected fire suppression activities.

From the report, here are some numbers relating to Arizona border area fires. The GAO looked at data for fires that occurred from 2006 through 2010:

2,467 fires were examined in the report
2,126 or 86% of the fires were caused by humans
1,364 fires burned less than one acre
1,553 or 63% of the 2,467 fires started on federally managed or tribal land
$35 million, the suppression costs for the fires that burned more than 10 acres
?… the number of fires ignited by illegal border crossers on federal lands is not known because not all fires were investigated
422 human-caused wildland fires occurred on Forest Service, Interior, or tribal lands and burned at least 1 acre
77 of the above 422 fires were investigated.
30 (or 39%) of the above 77 investigated fires were identified as being caused by illegal border crossers
57 additional fires were not formally investigated but were suspected (by individuals who completed fire reports) of being caused by illegal border crossers
4% of the 2,216 human caused fires were identified by investigators or by individuals who completed fire reports as being caused by illegal border crossers