After action report completed for last year’s wildfires near Hutchinson, Kansas

wildfires hutchinson kansas 2017

Above: Wildfires detected by a satellite March 7, 2017 in the Hutchinson, KS and Enid, OK area. NASA.

Reno County in Kansas has completed an after action report (AAR) regarding the wildfires that occurred in March, 2017. One of the largest blazes was north of Hutchinson, which is about 40 air miles northwest of Wichita. While those fires were active, hundreds of thousands of acres were also burning around the Texas/Oklahoma panhandle/Kansas border area.

Before we get into the AAR, one thing to keep in mind about Kansas, which we covered April 2, 2017, is that according to the Wichita Eagle:

The state’s forest service is the smallest and lowest funded of any in the country – which puts people and property in danger. Consider the difference in resources and responses between Kansas and Oklahoma:
–The Kansas Forest Service budget in 2016 was about $3 million, with $1 million dedicated to fire service; Oklahoma’s budget was $15 million, with $8 million for fire service.
–The Kansas Forest Service has three trucks and four employees dedicated to firefighting and fire prevention; Oklahoma has 47 fire engines, 47 bulldozers and 84 firefighters.

The AAR was compiled by Deputy Fire Chief Doug Hanen, with the assistance of Emergency Management Director Adam Weishaar and Sheriff Randy Henderson. The 30-page report concluded that generally the work performed on the fires by numerous agencies was positive and commendable, but there was room for improvement.

Here are some of the highlights of the review:

  • There is a need for smaller fire apparatus that can get into areas not accessible by 6-by-6 military surplus engines.
  • A Polaris side-by-side UTV  holding 75 gallons was very useful for mop up, especially in wet areas. They hope to obtain at least one more.
  • On days with a Red Flag Warning, they will now immediately dispatch at least three brush engines.
  • In order to help manage the span of control, the Hutchinson Fire Department will organize resources into Task Forces comprised of three brush engines, one water tender, and a Task Force Leader.
  • The firefighters in Reno County for the last two years have increasingly used backfire and burnout tactics, and more engines are carrying drip torches.
  • The Hutchinson Fire Department became the first fully-paid department in Kansas to have all of their firefighters red carded. This will enable them to send resources out of the state, for example, to Colorado or California.
  • The Kansas State Incident Management Team provided assistance for a day, but they “seemed overwhelmed by a moving event,” were “inexperienced…in essential positions”, and lacked accountability. At the end of the day the Team left. The state has since reorganized the program, placing teams under the Kansas Department of Emergency Management enabling them to respond nationwide instead of just in Kansas.
  • Toward the end of the fire siege a Type 2 Incident Management Team was called in. The difference between that team and the previous State Team was “night and day”. Local officials learned a lot from the Type 2 Team, especially how to re-populate areas following an evacuation and in dealing with victims following an incident.
  • There are opportunities for better and more timely communication and coordination with the public and the media.
  • The report suggests better guidelines for managing length of first responders’ shifts on wildfires and their rehabilitation in order to reduce exhaustion.

You can’t fight fires on the cheap

The federal government is reducing the numbers of large air tankers and helicopters on exclusive use contracts. Air tankers are being cut from 20 to 13, and Type 1 helicopters over the last year have been reduced from 34 to 28. Cutting back on these firefighting resources is not going to enhance our ability to suppress new fires before they become large, dangerous, and expensive.

Pilot Mark Oberman earns Airward for safe aviation actions during Thomas Fire

(This first appeared at NPS.gov)

pilot Mark Oberman award
Channel Islands Aviation pilot Mark Oberman with Airward. NPS photo.

On Tuesday, December 5, 2017, an intense Santa Ana wind event hit Ventura County, California. Within hours, the Thomas Fire consumed over 30,000 acres and spread from Santa Paula to Ventura burning hundreds of homes. A number of Channel Island National Park employees who work out on the islands had mainland homes in areas that needed to be evacuated. It was urgent and important for park leadership to get all employees back to their families and homes as the Thomas fire evacuations were taking place. The park boats were unable to recover staff from the islands due to high winds and high seas.

Park leadership called Mark Oberman from Channel Islands Aviation to assess the possibility of flying the employees off the islands. Oberman agreed, and made three flights to the islands that day transporting park employees back to the mainland. Flying conditions were marginal due to turbulence from the winds and poor visibility from the smoke.

On the first outbound flight, Oberman stopped to pick up NPS personnel at the west end of Santa Cruz Island. That crew had a heavy load of gear, and Oberman had the judgment and experience to know that it would not be safe to take off from that airstrip with a heavy load in an east wind and declined the flight. After picking up personnel at two other islands, Oberman flew back over the main ranch strip on Santa Cruz and determined that he could safely land there. The personnel who had been left at the west end were directed to drive to the main ranch strip where Oberman safely picked them up and flew them to the mainland.

Photo of the Thomas Fire
Photo of the Thomas Fire as seen from Torrey Peak near Fillmore at 8:15 a.m. PST December 11, 2017.

It was exemplary that Oberman continually evaluated the risk while flying that day and turned down any risk that he felt would be excessive. This constant evaluation of safety led him to pick up the Santa Cruz staff and their gear at the main ranch strip after he had determined conditions were better there than at the west end of the island. The measure of a pilot is not merely in flying skills, but in judgment. Mark Oberman demonstrated not just excellent flying skills in dealing with the Santa Ana winds and turbulence, but excellent risk management and aviation safety judgment. He knew the limitations, how to mitigate risk, and had the experience to know how and where he could safely take off and land.

Returning park employees to their homes and families during the emergency was of crucial importance. Mark Oberman safely and successfully met the mission, while not taking unnecessary risk due to the urgency of the situation. The level of skill and soundness of judgment are qualities the National Park Service values in a pilot and recognizes Mark Oberman with an Airward.

As one of the most destructive fires to hit southern California in decades, the Thomas fire and December 5, 2017 will be remembered by many. Employees of Channel Island National Park are indebted to Mark Oberman and Channel Island Aviation for his safe aviation actions on that day.