Map showing location of photos of retardant near Sespe Creek at the Howard Fire. The red area is the western side of the fire Oct. 12, 2022. The photo locations were obtained from the metadata in the iPhone photos.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday alleged that the US Forest Service has polluted waterways by firefighting air tankers inadvertently dropping fire retardant in or near waterways in violation of the Clean Water Act and a policy adopted by the Forest Service and other federal agencies in 2011. The policy requires that retardant not be dropped within 300 feet of a waterway on federal land.
Photo 1. Retardant near Sespe Creek at the Howard Fire. Oct. 12, 2022. Peter Deneen.
Fire Aviation has acquired photos and a video that reportedly show signs of retardant being dropped into Sespe Creek on the Los Padres National Forest 8 miles northeast of Ojai, California October 8, 2022. The photos were shot by Pete Deneen on October 12, 2022 at the 85-acre Howard Fire. The creek is designated a “wild and scenic river” and is in a wilderness area.
Photo 2. Retardant near Sespe Creek at the Howard Fire. Oct. 12, 2022. Peter Deneen.
The photos show retardant on rocks and other objects very close to water in Sespe Creek.
Photo 3. Retardant in a dry area of Sespe Creek at the Howard Fire. Oct. 12, 2022. Peter Deneen.
Some organisms, including aquatic threatened and endangered species or their habitats, can be adversely affected by retardants. In addition, retardant in water is a pollutant.
According to US Forest Service data, between 2012 and 2019, the Forest Service discharged retardant on at least 376 occasions totaling 761,282 gallons from aircraft directly into national forest waterways.
In the video below Mr. Deneen explains that there were two locations where retardant was dropped very close to the creek. In one case the aircraft may have turned as it was dropping to follow the creek for several hundred yards, or a second drop accounted for the retardant in the waterway.
The lawsuit was filed Oct. 11 by the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, FSEEE. In the group’s complaint they are seeking:
A declaration that the Forest Service’s placement of retardant in waterways is a violation of the Clean Water Act.
An injunction “to compel the Forest Service to comply with applicable environmental statutes, prevent irreparable harm, and satisfy the public interest.”
Reimbursement for FSEEE’s costs, expenses, expert witness fees, and attorney fees.
“Such further relief as may be just, proper, and equitable.”
More about FSEEE’s history of protesting retardant, and the federal government’s policy of retardant avoidance areas established in 2011.
Air Tanker 41, a BAe-146, drops retardant. BLM photo.
An environmental group filed a lawsuit in a Montana federal court Tuesday alleging that the US Forest Service has polluted waterways by inadvertently dropping fire retardant in or near waterways. The retardant was dropped by aircraft under contract with the Forest Service while assisting wildland firefighters on the ground.
The suit says government data released earlier this year showed more than 760,000 gallons of fire retardant was dropped into waterways between 2012 and 2019. The lawsuit alleges the continued use of retardant from aircraft violates the Clean Water Act and requests a judge to declare the pollution illegal.
Example of retardant avoidance areas (red) in Northern California along Hwy. 96 near Klamath River.
The Forest Service has established retardant avoidance areas along waterways where the liquid is not supposed to be applied. This puts buffer zones around waterways and habitat for some threatened, endangered, and sensitive species in order to avoid applying retardant in those areas. When they were first established in 2011 it resulted in approximately 30 percent of USFS lands being off limits for retardant while fighting fire. There is an exception if human life or public safety is threatened. The policy was the result of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that studied the use of retardant and how it affects water resources and certain plant and wildlife species. The EIS was written in response to a July, 2010 decision by U. S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy in a lawsuit filed in 2008 by the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics.
The same organization, FSEEE, filed the new case yesterday. An attorney in Missoula, MT who specializes in environmental law, Tim Bechtold, will be representing FSEEE. Presiding over the case will be District Court Judge Dana Christensen. He joined the court in 2011 after a nomination from President Barack Obama. Before, he was a partner in the firm of Christensen, Moore, Cockrell, Cummings, and Axelberg, in Kalispell, Montana. One of the 15 practice areas the firm deals with today is environment and natural resources.
In 2012 FSEEE issued a statement criticizing the use of air tankers on fires, claiming it is “immoral”. The group argued that aerial firefighting is too dangerous and ineffective and that “retardant doesn’t save homes; proper construction and landscaping save homes.”
Firefighters on the North Complex, Plumas NF, Sept. 9, 2020. USFS photo by Kari Greer.
Today President Biden made remarks at the Summit on Fire Prevention and Control addressing the nation’s fire service leaders, commemorating Fire Prevention Week, honoring the bravery and heroism of our nation’s Firefighters, and discussing efforts to protect our communities and ensure Firefighter health and safety amidst the ongoing climate crisis. The summit happened during Fire Prevention Week, which began on Sunday. It is the 100th year of the week’s observance.
You can read the full text of his speech and see the video. Below are excerpts.
…And when the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly evident, we’re calling on you more and more and more.
Extreme heat and prolonged drought have turned wildfire season into wildfire years. And local firefighters are being called in more to respond to the fires in the wildland urban interface where we’re moving out into the forest areas to develop and it becomes local and federal.
So I want you to know that my administration is doing everything we can to make sure you have the resources you need to do your job as safely and effectively and efficiently as possible.
You know, we invested $350 billion in the American Rescue Plan to help states and local — states and cities keep first responders on the job, including firefighters on the job when — during COVID-19.
And between the American Rescue Plan and my 2023 budget request, we’ve increased federal firefighting grants by $320 million, which includes money to fund 1,200 more local firefighters in the field, hundreds more emergency response vehicles, and thousands — thousands of sets of turnout gear. A pioneer in research on issues from — including like cancer prevention.
You know, it’s close to my heart. Cancer is a leading killer of firefighters. Toxic substances you’ve been exposed to as part of your job are almost certainly — certainly connected to those cancer diagnoses. And we’re doing — we’re going to do something about it.
We created a special claims unit at the Department of Labor to ensure that they’re processing federal firefighters’ cancer claims quickly.
And I’m urging Congress to send to my desk the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act — let me say it again: the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act — which are going to help federal firefighters and their families assess critical worker compensation resources, including making sure that several forms of cancer are presumed to be caused — presumed to be caused by the firefighter’s job. [Note from Bill: the legislation passed overwhelmingly in the House, but it is bogged down in the Senate.]
And I’m also — I’m also proud that last November, I signed into law Protecting America’s First Responders Act, which extends the benefits under the Public Safety Officers’ Death Benefits Program to the families of firefighters killed in training and made it easier to qualify for permanent disability.
The final point — I’m sorry to go on so long, but I feel passionately about this. The final point I’d like to make today is that we’re doing everything we can to ease the burden on our firefighters by preventing fires. This is the 100th — hard to believe — it’s the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week. And the landmark legislation I’ve signed into law includes historic investments to reduce the risk of fire.
The Bipar- — the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes significant forest management, increases community resilience and — to wildfires, and harnesses new technologies to keep communities safe. It’s also repairing vital infrastructure and — firefighters and other first responders rely on to quickly get to the — to those — those in need.
You know, the Inflation Reduction Act enables us to take unprecedented steps to confront climate crisis, which is going to protect forest health, reduce fire risk, and supercharge our clean energy future.
We’re also maximizing protections for people when fires do break out, through a national initiative to help states, local, and Tribal and territorial governments adapt and adopt the most up-to-date building codes that reflect the threats from the climate — from climate change.
Look, on behalf of my own family and every American, I just want to close by saying again: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Fires will always be a fact of human life. And when the worst happens, when those alarms go off, when everything and everybody you love is in danger, there’s no better sight in the world than that firefighter who’s ready to go to work.
So, thank you for being who you are. Thank you for all the heroes you represent. You are — you are on the alert and on call in communities all across this country right now as I speak.
So God bless you all. And may God protect our firefighters. Thank you for letting me have a chance to talk to you. I wish our — I literally do wish I were there with you. Thank you. And thank you, Lori.
Wildland firefighters in Spain demonstrate for workers rights. Image from Reuters video.
On Saturday about 2,000 wildland firefighters demonstrated in Madrid for improved workers’ rights. In Spain most of them are employed by regional agencies and work for four months during the summer fire season.
They are asking for more training, that the government recognize the category of wildland firefighter, and that they take into account the risk inherent in the job.
Wildland firefighters in Spain demonstrate for workers rights. Image from Reuters video.
“We are risking our lives for a four-month-a-year contract and earning just over 1,200 euro,” said Jesús, who said he was one of five firefighters entrapped in a fire in Almorós, in Toledo.
“I am 57 years old and I don’t know how long they are going to keep me in a forest fire or carrying a chainsaw,” said María José.
Wildland firefighters in Spain demonstrate for workers rights. Image from Reuters video.
Reuters has video of the demonstration which appears to show hundreds of firefighters demonstrating in the street. Many of them are wearing their uniforms and in one scene a group with flappers beat them on the ground rhythmically.
Wildland firefighters in Spain demonstrate for workers rights. Image from Reuters video.
In the United States federal wildland firefighters have many of the same issues as their colleagues in Spain. But they have not yet taken to the streets.
Nine countries in Europe set records in 2022 for the total burned area since the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) began collecting wildfire data in 2006. They were Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. The difference this year compared to the 15-year average was extreme in Spain, Romania, and France.
Spain’s new record is by far the most notable with 299,635 hectares burned this year compared to an average of 66,965.
Wildfire on Easter Island damages iconic statues. Municipalidad de Rapu Nui photo.
Approximately 80 of the famous stone figures on Easter Island were damaged by a wildfire on October 5 local authorities say. The statues, known as moai which range in size from 6 to more than 30 feet tall, were affected by the fire that burned about 148 acres of the Rapa Nui National Park on the island which is part of Chile. There are an estimated 416 moia in that area of the island.
Wildfire on Easter Island damages iconic statues. Municipalidad de Rapu Nui photo.
Moai are made of lapilli tuff, pyroclastic rock prone to fractures if exposed to high temperatures. A Polynesian society that had settled in the area around the year 300 built the shrines between the 10th and 16th centuries on what experts say is the most remote inhabited island on Earth.
Wildfire on Easter Island. Photo by Primera Compania de Bomberos de Isla de Pascua.
Ariki Tepano, with the indigenous Ma’u Henua community that manages the park, said the fire had done “irreparable” damage to the site.
“The moai are totally charred, and you can see the effect of the fire upon them,” he said in a statement.
Wildfire on Easter Island damages iconic statues. Municipalidad de Rapu Nui photo.
A shortage of volunteers made it difficult to contain the fire, according to the post by Rapa Nui.
Pedro Edmunds, mayor of Easter Island, attributed the origin of the flames to the burning of pastures “that some horse and cow farmers do on the island.” The Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, announced on Friday that the cause of the fire will be investigated and that Chile’s National Forestry Corporation (Conaf) will have a permanent forestry brigade on Easter Island throughout the year.
Ninoska Huki, provincial head of Conaf on Easter Island, explained to Chile’s La Tercera news outlet that the corporation “hires brigades during forest fire seasons, and that begins in the second half of October until April,” so the brigade was not active. Chile, moreover, is one of the few countries in the world where firefighters work on a voluntary basis. And it is becoming increasingly difficult to get new young people to join the corps. From July 1, 2020, to April 21 of this year, 60 forest or vegetation fires occurred on the island, 13% less than in the same period of the previous year.
During his visit to Santiago, shortly after the island reopened to tourism after almost two and a half years of closure due to the pandemic, the mayor met with Chilean President Gabriel Boric and some of his ministers to request a budget readjustment for Easter Island. As Rapa Nui generates most of its income via tourism, the isolation left the community “bankrupt,” according to the municipality. Of the 800 park rangers hired to prevent fires, clean up and prevent tourists from damaging the statues in the 16,000-hectare park, there are now only 120. The island now receives only three flights weekly, for a total of 750 passengers, compared to the 14 flights of 8,000 total passengers that arrived before the lockdown. “Who is going to come to help put out fires if you don’t pay them? It’s that simple,” said the mayor, who was not granted the requested budget readjustment.
Wildfire on Easter Island damages iconic statues. Municipalidad de Rapu Nui photo.
Howard Fire photo, looking west at 10:20 a.m. Oct. 9, 2022. FIRIS.
Aircraft were over the Howard Fire Sunday morning, including a lead plane and water-dropping helicopters.
The FIRIS OES 24 aircraft created an updated map at about 10 a.m. showing that the fire had grown to 85 acres, an increase of 10 acres since it was mapped Saturday evening.
The incident is 8 miles northeast of Ojai, California. It is burning on both sides of Sespe Creek and the 20W13 Road, 6 miles east of Highway 33.
FIRIS was able to see fire retardant around much of the fire as well as hand-constructed and dozer-constructed fire line on portions of the perimeter. The video below is from FIRIS.
7:15 p.m. PDT October 8, 2022
Howard Fire 3-D map (in red) 5:21 p.m. Oct. 8, 2022
The Howard Fire started Saturday afternoon in a remote area 8 miles northeast of Ojai, California. It is burning on both sides of Sespe Creek and the 20W13 Road 6 miles east of Highway 33.
At about 5:50 the incident commander estimated it had burned 80 to 85 acres. About half an hour earlier it was mapped by the FIRIS aircraft at 75 acres.
Howard Fire, looking southeast from Tecuyamtn1 camera at 4:32 p.m. Oct. 8, 2022. AlertWildfire.
For the first hour or so it was growing quickly putting up a convection column of smoke. Firefighters said it had the potential for 1,000 acres, but after aggressive initial attack by hand crews and aircraft in the difficult terrain, little smoke was seen as the sun was setting. Air tankers were able to complete a retardant line around 80 percent of the blaze by flight cutoff time. Orders were placed for aircraft to be available on the fire Sunday morning.
Several hikers were rescued by fire department helicopters.
