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Contest: when will the first Type 1 Incident Management Team be assigned

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , ,

question markOn March 8 we looked back at the weather in the United States over the last three months knowing that it could have an effect on wildfires over the next three to six months. However the extent to which past weather influences future fires is debatable and can be overridden by the weather conditions during the fire season.

What is YOUR prediction for the 2015 fire season? Like the first robin you see in the spring, the assignment of the first Type 1 Incident Management Team (IMT) is a sign that things are getting real. In the last few years there have been about 30 to 50 assignments each year for T1 IMTs.

So let’s have a contest about the date the first Type 1 IMT will be assigned on a fire.

How to enter: In a comment below this article give us your prediction of the date the first Type 1 IMT will be assigned to a fire in 2015. In case more than one person selects the correct date, include the state. A second tie breaker will be the general area within that state. The date is defined by the date they are actually dispatched to a fire, not necessarily arriving at the fire. For the purposes of this contest, a Type 1 IMT includes only the 16 national interagency IMTs listed here. Only one entry per person, of course.

Deadline for entries: write your date with the two tie breakers in a comment below this article before April 1, 2015. If an IMT is assigned before April 1, the deadline for entries will change retroactively to the day before that fire started.

Prize: the winner will receive a limited edition Wildfire Today cap. So that we can contact the winner, you must enter your correct email address in the form when you are writing your comment. As usual, email addresses will never be disclosed to anyone without your specific permission.

Thanks and a tip of the hat for the idea go out to Dick.

Typos, let us know HERE, and specify which article. Please read the commenting rules before you post a comment.

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.

60 thoughts on “Contest: when will the first Type 1 Incident Management Team be assigned”

  1. April 2, 2015

    A couple of things:

    –The deadline for entries was March 31.

    –The assignment of a Type 1 IMT on March 30 does not count. We clearly state above that we are guessing about the first assignment of a Type 1 IMT “on a fire”. The name of the incident to which the IMT was assigned on March 30 is “Desoto Aviation Response”; not a fire.

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    1. The incident was assigned an WFSU (Wildland fire suppression) management/job code – P8JK6Y (0807).

      This was probably a mistake though since FS policy clearly states that WFPR is used for incidents involving serious injury or death (or the project code, ie.. WFHF). – Ref. Forest Service Death and Serious Injury Handbook.

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  11. Custer, SD. Today 3 12, 2015. Request another contest Dr.Gabbert. What date, year or day will the (Fire Aviation) Fed C 130 at McCellean respond to and take action (squirt) on a wildfire?

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  28. April 30, Southern California

    (although Ken might be onto something with his flooding guess)

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  37. Be very careful Bill. I once got in a peck of trouble for running a similar contest while working in the Senate. Some of those wounds still sting when I google myself three years after someone gave the story to the Washington Post.

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    1. Fair point, Frank. However, your contest was to guess the date of the next crash of an air tanker, an event that usually involves multiple fatalities. This one is to guess the first assignment of a Type 1 IMT. There are usually 30 to 50 of those each year — fairly routine occurrences in the world of wildland fire.

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