It has become common practice in a busy wildfire season f0r high-ranking people in D.C. to write letters to the field directing that red-carded employees, meaning they are qualified to assist on a fire in a specific capacity, be made available to be dispatched to a fire. This has been affectionally called the “Moses Letter.”
In a 2021 version of the letter signed July 14 by Forest Service Chief Victoria Christiansen she said, “We are seeing severe fire behavior that resists control efforts.”
As is the custom in years like this, she directed mission support supervisors to make all “red-carded” personnel available for fire assignments.
The Chief also asked regional and local Certifying Officials to consider granting a one-year certification for employees who hold expired red cards in non-operations and command positions where appropriate. But the request would not override the required medical or physical fitness standards. She also emphasized the “importance of wearing masks in fire camps where vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals are coming into contact with one another.” There was no mention of mandatory mask wearing.
Chief Christiansen also announced a significant change, increasing the required 2 days of rest after returning from a 14-day assignment to three days. In addition, “a two-day rest period for those working 14 continuous and extended days in support of local fire management.
[pdf-embedder url=”https://wildfiretoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-Wildland-Fire-Priority-Letter.pdf” title=”2021 Wildland Fire Priority Letter”]
Here are the dates of some other Moses Letters that we happened to mention on Wildfire today. There are no doubt many others.
- 2020, May 5. BLM Director William Perry Pendley, the employee serving as the effective head of the agency since one was never nominated during that Administration, wrote what we called a preemptive Moses Letter.
- 2015, August 18: Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell distributed the anticipated letter.
- 2008, July 11, from the Forest Service.
In the Bible, Exodus 5:1, the Lord told Moses to tell the Pharaoh to “Let my people go” from bondage in Egypt. This phrase is the title of the one of the most well known African American spirituals of all time.
The video below was filmed at the Christmas concert at the town hall in Puteaux, France December 11, 2016. It begins at 2:44. The traditional words are:
When Israel was in Egypt’s land
Let my people go
Oppress’d so hard they could not stand
Let my people go
Refrain:
Go down, Moses
Way down in Egypt’s land
Tell old Pharaoh
Let my people go
Looking for a little clarification. If we are on a 14 day fire assignment on our own forest, with a resource order, camping out/not going home in the evenings, are we still entitled to the 3 days R & R? Our forest supervisor says that we don’t because we are supporting our local unit. Anyone know what’s really supposed to happen?
How can I print this letter?
During my 25 years working at a large national park in the Rockies, only one superintendent ever to those letters to heart. I remember one superintendent literally laughing out loud when an employee at a meeting asked if the park was going to do an inventory of who had quals and experience to offer up.
The timing of this is interesting….Vicki is on her way out and she sends out a Moses Letter? Really? 3 days? I thought the time off was set by law, by Congress, not by a Moses Letter. Does Vicki even have the authority to do that?
Hot shot crews in FS Region 3 have been kept in the until today GACC despite rising PLs in other regions and monsoonal moisture at home. At the same time, other regions 3 resources such as IMTs and 2IA crews have been allowed to leave. Not a fair way to treat your hardest worked and underpaid resource that depends on those out of region hours to make a living wage.
I can confirm this. Our crew got sent to a forest within R3 that didn’t request us and didn’t know why the region sent us. Our theory was that R3 wanted to show us as committed to keep us away from other regions. Bit I think the pressure got too much with the priority dropping to 2 in R3.
Ahh yes, the ‘old rat-hole the resources game. R2 used to be experts doing that.
Classic…!
In the past, the letter tends to come at national PL 5, about the time the military is being mobilized. It would be interesting to know how many employees, by agency, are red carded this year relative to past years; releasing it at PL 4 may be an attempt to gain time to red card additional employees before national PL 5 occurs.
As staffs have shrunk, even the offers of backfill or retaining base 8 salaries at the home unit have failed to result in supervisors releasing employees to fire assignments, especially if there just isn’t staff with which to backfill. So it will be illuminating to see how many employees really do follow Moses.
It is PL5 as of 2 hours ago
There are many uncarded folks that can help also
I must have missed it, but is there a set date that the three day R&R will go into effect?
Probably December 1st.
This can already be done by Agency Administrator approval. Done many times before. Nothing new and shocking. Sad Chief uses it as a political win on her way out.
Except now it is required and not up to the discretion of the IC or the home unit.
Has the National Park Service also issued a similar policy from the Director?
Don, generally, the FS and DOI and its agencies release their respective letters at the same time. It’s interesting that DOI is missing, or at least not mentioned. I noticed that this year, unlike past years, various briefings and hearings seem to only have the Chief testifying, with DOI, and its Office of Wildland Fire, apparently not present, or perhaps not even invited. If so, not a good sign for interagency fire.management.
People can thank NFFE (UNION) for the extra time off!