Great Basin Coordination Centers to merge

GAAC mapThe Eastern Great Basin and Western Great Basin Coordination Centers will merge and be located in a new facility in Salt Lake City. The federal agencies involved say the consolidation will save money and improve response time in getting resources to wildfires and other incidents. The centers, currently located in Salt Lake City and Reno, are responsible for mobilizing resources for wildland fire, prescribed fire and other all-hazard incidents primarily in Nevada, Utah and southern Idaho, plus small portions of California, Wyoming and Arizona.

The decision to consolidate was made after a study by the participating agencies that examined criteria including the safety of the public and firefighters; providing services at the same or higher level than the two existing organizations; proximity to other offices and an airport; minimal disruption to employees; technological capabilities; and overall efficiency. The consolidation will save about $305,000 a year after one-time moving expenses and will affect up to five employees in Reno, all of whom will be offered positions at the new center.

The coordination centers are two of eleven such organizations throughout the country. The centers also provide intelligence and meteorological products to wildfire personnel. Participating agencies include the states of Nevada, Utah and Idaho; BLM; the Forest Service; Bureau of Indian Affairs; National Park Service; and the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Five options were considered, ranging from status quo to consolidating facilities in Salt Lake City, Reno or Boise.

The target start-up date for the new Great Basin Geographic Area Coordination Center is April 2014.

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Our thoughts

I always thought it was strange that the Great Basin was divided into basically two Geographic Area Coordination Centers —  and, that California is broken up into two as well. How long do you think it will before California’s North Zone and South Zone merge?

Idaho: Raft and Hells Canyon Fires

Hells Canyon Fire
Hells Canyon Fire in foreground, Raft Fire in the distance. Photo by Keith Lannon.

Firefighters are beginning to get a handle on one of the two fires burning 70 miles northwest of Boise, Idaho. The Raft and Hells Canyon fires are three miles from each other on the east side of Brownlee Reservoir.

The Hells Canyon Fire only grew by 10 acres Saturday, bringing the total to 9,373 acres. It is 85% contained. The Raft has burned 12,000 acres, is only 8% contained, and is actively burning within Benton Creek on the Payette National Forest.

A Type 2 Incident Management team with Mike Whalen as the Incident Commander will assume command of the fires Sunday. They will be managed as the Weiser Complex.

Hells Canyon Fire
Hells Canyon Fire August 29, 2013. InciWeb photo.
Raft Fire
Raft Fire burning in Benton Creek August 31, 2013. InciWeb photo.

Beth Lund, Incident Commander on the Beaver Creek Fire

Beth Lund, Incident Commander
Beth Lund, Incident Commander. Incident Management Team photo.

Beth Lund is one of two female Incident Commanders on Type 1 Incident Management Teams, the largest and most capable teams that run large incidents. Jeanne Pincha-Tulley is the other.

Ms. Lund’s Type 1 Team has been managing the Beaver Creek Fire near Ketchum, Idaho which is one of the fires getting a lot of national media attention due to the number of acres burned, 111,000, and the movie stars homes that have been threatened by the fire. The Idaho Mountain Express has an article about her. Here is an excerpt:

In the modern world of firefighting, mavericks are discouraged, a strong and flexible mind excels and only quiet competence is rewarded.

It’s in this world that a 58-year-old woman, who is halfheartedly eyeing a retirement in which she will learn to quilt, has risen to become the face of fire news at its best and worst.

She is one of only two women in the already tiny national cadre of 16 U.S. Forest Service Type I incident commanders—the people who try to tame the most complicated wildland fires.

“My policy is to tell what I know and to tell the truth while being mindful that we don’t want people to hear it from the news first,” says Beaver Creek Fire Incident Command Leader Beth Lund.

She’s been the calm center in a relentless stream of media and public inquiry since arriving nearly two weeks ago to manage and expand the efforts to repel the fire that threatened the length of the Wood River Valley.

Even in the diciest moments as she bounces from gathering recon to live TV on demand, to fielding questions from strangers, with nearly every step she takes, she remains unflustered—even when she delivers unsavory news.

Traci Weaver and Beth Lund
Traci Weaver and Beth Lund accept a card from the Wood River community. Incident Management Team photo.
Burnout operation on the Beaver Creek Fire
Burnout operation on the Beaver Creek Fire. Incident Management Team photo.

 

Video: scenes from the Beaver Creek Fire

This video of scenes from the Beaver Creek Fire has some excellent fire and aviation footage. It’s a little over-edited, but you won’t be bored during the three minutes.

Here is the description from SCVP Cordovano Video & Production:

I shot this video before, during and after being evacuated from my home due to the Beaver Creek Wildfire. I am taking this chance to celebrate the power of nature and its natural cycles as well as celebrating the power of modern technology.