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Firefighter pay and fuels treatments were discussed in Senate hearing today

Bill GabbertMay 26, 2021May 26, 2021UncategorizedCongress, hearing, legislation, pay, Victoria Christiansen8 Comments

Senator Dianne Feinstein was adamant that the pay structure for federal wildland firefighters is not adequate in today’s job market

Senate hearing, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies hearing, May 26, 2021 — Senate hearing, Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, May 26, 2021. Still image from Committee video.

The pay of federal wildland firefighters and hazardous fuels treatments were two of the issues discussed Wednesday at a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. The only witness was Vicki Christiansen, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service. The hearing was titled, Rethinking Resiliency: Budgeting for the Future of Forest Management.

The fact that it was scheduled at all seemed unusual, since a similar hearing before the same committee was held just five weeks ago on April 15 with Chief Christiansen testifying. The video of the earlier hearing is still available at the link above, but the hearing is not listed in the Committee’s list of “recent hearings.”

The video of today’s hearing is available at Grassroots Wildland Firefighters and at the Committee’s website.

Senator Dianne Feinstein said her main concern is the “salary situation.” She said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Suppression pays their firefighters $70,000 and the “U.S. Forest Service pays $38,000.” She had a strong point but her information about the FS salary is misleading. Most FS firefighters start as a seasonal employee at the GS-3 level. If they worked year round, which most of them do not, they would earn $28,078 a year at $13.45 an hour. After working for five to ten years they might be able to obtain a permanent full time appointment. If they reached the GS-6 level, they could earn $39,311 a year as a trained, experienced, highly skilled mid-level firefighter — an employee highly valued by other organizations anxious to hire them at double the salary.

Senate hearing, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies hearing, May 26, 2021 Senator Feinstein — Senator Dianne Feinstein, at Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, May 26, 2021. Still image from Committee video.

Senator Feinstein said the differential in pay between CAL FIRE and the FS “…is the problem. And the loss in fire is just tremendous. I think that we have to move some way in a bill to make that change.”

“State, local, and private entities can range from $70,000 to $88,000 a year,” Chief Christiansen replied. “And their benefits are better. We have folks that are absolutely committed to the mission of the Forest Service, but at that wage, that gap in the wage, they’re going on to work for other entities. So we really appreciate working with you to bridge this gap and to discuss. We need more of a year-round workforce as well.”

“Well thank you Chief,” said Senator Feinstein. “Thank you very much for that because I’ve been around a long time, was a mayor for nine years of [San Francisco]. And I’ve never seen a pay differential this stark as the difference between federal firefighter pay and state firefighter pay. So the reason I’m here, is to say we need to move and do something about it. Let me ask another question. Do you have the mobility, Chief, to make the necessary moves to prevent this inequity from showing in actual firefighting?”

Senate hearing, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies hearing, May 26, 2021 Vicki Christiansen — US Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen, at Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, May 26, 2021. Still image from Committee video.

“Thank you,” Said the Chief. “We certainly can bring a strong voice to this problem, but we have to work across the Federal government with the Office of Personnel Management and of course, other agencies with federal wildland firefighters, the Department of the Interior being the largest. [Agriculture] Secretary Vilsack has made a commitment to bring leadership to this. And we really look forward to working with you here in Congress to address this issue.”

Senator Feinstein said she hoped the committee would work with her and others and “try to solve it.”

The Chief said that during the pandemic the FS continued hazardous fuels work, “…but we know it’s not enough. We need a paradigm shift under the President’s jobs plan. President Biden is calling on Congress to significantly invest in protection from extreme wildfire. After confronting record wildfires last year, we expect another long and arduous fire year in ’21. We are prepared, but we remain deeply concerned about the welfare and the pay of our thousands of firefighters. We’re grateful for your help in finding solutions that address pay equity, fatigue, and the mental wellbeing of our firefighters. Just this Monday, a Forest Service firefighter was seriously injured in New Mexico. He is a smoke jumper from Montana, and this demonstrates the seriousness of this business. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. As I know yours are as well. You know, our infrastructure needs are pressing as are the economic needs of Americans. When we improve the infrastructure of the National Forests by upgrading roads, trails, and recreation sites. It spurs job growth and boosts economies. Thanks to the Great American Outdoor Act, we expect to create an additional 4,400 jobs and contribute an estimated $420 million to the GDP annually.

Senator Jeff Merkley, Chair of the Subcommittee, brought up an issue that again illustrates how the land management agencies can make it difficult for Congress to appropriate badly needed funds.

Senator Merkley asked about a report required by law to have been submitted by March 27 to provide Congress an estimate of the federal investment required to treat and restore federal and non-federal acres classified as high risk for wildfire. Chief Christiansen blamed the delay on the Department of the Interior where it is “in its final clearance”. Senator Merkley emphasized that the subcommittee needs the data “to advance far more funds for forest treatments” and asked the Chief to be sure it is submitted by the end of the month.

The Senator mentioned there is a significant backlog of fuel reduction projects in Oregon and New Mexico. He asked the Chief, “What does it take to get these projects that have already cleared the environmental controls, underway. Is it a single limitation? Is it just money or is it anything else?”

After an extended answer from the Chief, Senator Merkley interrupted to say, “I’m going to have you shorten it a little bit there. I think your answer was essentially, ‘Yes, it’s funds’ “.

Chief Christiansen said, in part, “Absolutely”.

Heavy Equipment Academy completed in Mississippi

Bill GabbertMay 25, 2021Uncategorizeddozer, Mississippi, tractor plow, training1 Comment

A week-long class aimed at training forest rangers and technicians to use heavy equipment to fight wildfires

Dozer plow line — Still image from MFC video.

Earlier this month 16 employees from the Mississippi Forestry Commission (MFC) took part in the agency’s Heavy Equipment Academy (HEA).

“Training is a huge part of what we do at the Mississippi Forestry Commission,” said Russell Bozeman, Mississippi State Forester. “Responding to wildfires is dangerous and the Heavy Equipment Academy gives our employees the real-world training they need to safely and effectively suppress wildfires in the state.”

During the HEA, students participate in two days of classroom instruction followed by three days of field work at the MFC’s HEA training site in Raymond. Students learned how to properly plow a firelane with a bulldozer, how to use a bulldozer to shape slopes, and how to properly “recover” a bulldozer that gets bogged down in mud.

“This real-world training gives our employees the experience and confidence they need to perform their wildfire suppression duties when called upon,” Mr. Bozeman said.

From the Mississippi Forestry Commission

Drought has killed junipers in Arizona and blue oaks in the San Francisco Bay Area

Bill GabbertMay 25, 2021Uncategorizeddrought, soil moisture, weather2 Comments

Soil moisture is very low across much of the West and Upper Midwest

In some areas of the Western states the 20-year long drought has reduced moisture content in plants to the lowest levels scientists have seen. Soil moisture is very low — at or near record lows across much of California. Particularly hard hit are locations in Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

Junipers are dying in Arizona from a lack of water. The East Bay Times reports that drought is likely responsible for dead or dying acacia, eucalyptus, and Monterey pines in East Bay Regional Parks near San Francisco.

From the an Associated Press article by Seth Borenstein:

In Arizona, junipers are succumbing to the 20-year drought and its two-year intensification, said Joel McMillin, a forest health zone leader for the U.S. Forest Service there. Officials haven’t done a precise count but anecdotally the die-off is 5% to 30% with some patches up to 60%.

Until the dead needles drop to the ground, which takes a year or so, the fire hazard increases, fire manager Steinhardt said. “So you have something that’s highly flammable and it’s … 20-, 30-, 40-foot tall and every single one of those needles on there now becomes an ember that can be launched.”

“This is probably one of the driest and potentially most challenging situations I’ve been in,” said the veteran of 32 fire seasons.

In California, normally drought-tolerant blue oaks are dying around the San Francisco Bay Area, said Scott Stephens, a fire science professor at the University of California, Berkeley. “They don’t have access to water. Soil moisture is so low. When you start to see blue oak dying, that gets your attention.”

Human-caused climate change and decades of fire suppression that increases fuel loads are aggravating fire conditions across the West, scientists said.

Global warming has contributed to the megadrought and is making plants more prone to burning.

Vegetation with a low moisture content is easier to ignite in a wildfire and contributes to a rapid rate rate of spread that is more difficult for firefighters to suppress. Dead or dying trees that still have leaves attached during the first year or so after their decline can also enhance the spread and intensity of a fire and adds to the number of burning embers lofted into the air that can ignite spot fires ahead of the blaze, putting structures at risk that are distant from the fire.

Extremely dry soil and vegetation in May does not guarantee a busier than average summer fire season in the West — the weather in the coming months is the primary factor. If it turns relatively cool and wet, the number of acres burned is not likely to be extreme. But if the drought continues into June, July, and August, normal weather, or especially warmer and drier than normal weather, could produce a busier than average Western fire season.

Precip & Temp outlook for May 1-7, 2021. Made May 24, 2021.

Precip & Temp outlook for June, July, & August, 2021. Made May 20, 2021.

Documentary about the 1977 Honda Canyon Fire accepted at film festivals

Bill GabbertMay 24, 2021UncategorizedCalifornia, Honda Canyon Fire, lodd3 Comments

Four firefighters were killed on the fire at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Southern California

A documentary film about the 1977 Honda Canyon Fire that killed four people and injured 65 on Vandenberg Air Force Base has been accepted at multiple film festivals. It is based on the book by Joseph N. Valencia titled Beyond Tranquillon Ridge.

The film, titled Firestorm 77, is available for streaming at the Malibu International Film Festival now. It will also be streaming at the Big Bear Film Summit in Big Bear, California June 11-27).

More information is at the film’s Facebook page.

Mr. Valencia, one of the first firefighters on the fire, served as a technical consultant on the documentary which is adapted from the book.

Here is how Mr. Valencia described the fire to us in an email:

A combination of hurricane-force winds and the snapping of an electrical pole starts the Honda Canyon Fire on Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, early in the morning of December 20, 1977. Over a thousand people consisting of professional firemen and military personnel fight the fire. Outlier winds would increase to over a hundred miles per hour, making the firefight almost impossible. Four fatalities and sixty-five injuries resulted. Ten-thousand acres burn, resulting in significant damage to the military installation infrastructure. Ironically and fortuitously, the fire will be out, a little more than 30 hours later, due to a rain storm-front coming in.

Others working on the film included producer Dennis R. Ford and Christopher Hite, Director of Photography and Cinematographer. Mr. Ford was one of the firefighters on the fire.

The fatalities in 1977 included the Base Commander Colonel Joseph Turner, Fire Chief Billy Bell, Assistant Fire Chief Eugene Cooper, and Heavy Equipment Operator Clarence McCauley.

Below is a two-page brochure about the film:

Continue reading “Documentary about the 1977 Honda Canyon Fire accepted at film festivals”

Researchers study conditions that can lead to overwintering wildfires

Bill GabbertMay 23, 2021UncategorizedAlaska, overwinter, research, zombie fire3 Comments

Sometimes called “zombie fires”

Boney Creek Fire in Alaska, July 19, 2019. Photo by Camila Roy, BLM.

Spatiotemporal patterns of overwintering fire in Alaska

By Rebecca Scholten and Sander Veraverbeke
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

What are holdover and overwintering fires?
Fires can appear to be out, but retain smoldering combustion deep in the fuelbed and flare up again when the weather favors flaming behavior and fire spread. This phenomenon occurs not infrequently in boreal forests of North America, and presents a well-known challenge to firefighters. Over the last two decades, fire managers noted increasing occurrences where fires survive the cold and wet boreal winter months by smoldering, and re-emerged in the subsequent spring.

Scientists and managers seek better understanding of how these fires sustain during such unfavorable conditions. Fire managers have already started targeting locations where they expect fires to flare up again. However, they are missing detailed information on the environmental and climatic factors that facilitate these fires. This information is crucial to detect fires at an early stage and keep firefighting costs low. A research group at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is studying when and where these holdover fires emerge and how their occurrence is tied to specific geographic locations.

Mapping overwintering fires from satellite data
Since 2005, fire managers reported data on 39 holdover fires that survived winter in Alaska. However, the location and emergence date of these fires were used in conjunction with satellite data to develop an algorithm for overwintering holdover detection. From satellite imagery, we can only observe fires that are large enough to generate a considerable amount of heat and burn a large enough area. Consequently, 32 out of 39 reported overwintering fires were too small (all smaller than 11 ha, 25 out of 32 smaller than 1 ha) to be detected from space. The location and emergence date of these small overwintering fires were used for the calibration of an algorithm focused on large overwintering fires. From the remaining seven large reported overwintering fires, our algorithm classified 6 out of 7 as overwintering fire. In addition, our approach revealed 9 large overwintering fires that were not reported by agencies between 2002 and 2018 in Alaska. A results paper is currently in preparation.

The spread rate of smoldering fires is known to be very low, and a smoldering fire would spread only between 100 and 250 m in an entire year (Rein, 2013). So, overwintered fires usually emerge within or close to the previous year fire (Fig.1) and can re-emerge with flaming behavior as soon as favorable burning conditions appear in spring develop in to flaming forest fires before the major lightning-induced fire season. The onset of warm and dry conditions varies from year to year depending on the winter and spring temperatures and precipitation. These variables also shape the regional snowmelt day, which can be inferred from satellite observations. Indeed, our research indicates that holdover fires usually re-emerge within 50 days after the regional snowmelt. Overwintering fires are more likely to occur the year after a large fire
year (Fig. 2).

Overwintering wildfires — Figure 2: Years with a large burned area (grey bars) are more likely to generate
overwintering flare-ups (orange bars) than years with less burned area. Rebecca Scholten and Sander Veraverbeke.

Can we predict where overwintering may re-emerge?
It is not only important to know when these fires emerge, but also where. We therefore analyzed spatial drivers of the overwintering fires we detected. Our research indicates that holdover fires are facilitated in those regions of a fire perimeter that had burned deeper into the organic soil the year before. Deep burning is a characteristic of a high severity fire. We also observed that overwintering fires were more likely to emerge in lowland areas with black spruce-dominated forest. Overwintering fires thus have some temporal and spatial predictability. Monitoring the edges of fire perimeters from the preceding year in lowland forested peatlands early in the fire season, and especially after a year with large burned area, may prove beneficial to extinguish flare-ups from overwintering fires before they develop into a large flaming forest fire. This could be a cost-efficient strategy for fire management agencies. In addition, this would preserve terrestrial carbon by safeguarding it from combustion.

This article is from the Alaska Fire Science Consortium’s Fire Science Highlights.

Legislation reintroduced to boost prescribed fire activities

Bill GabbertMay 21, 2021Prescribed Fireinmates, legislation, prescribed fire3 Comments

$600 million could be appropriated

Prescribed fire, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore near Ogden Dunes in northwest Indiana in 2013. NPS photo.

Legislation that did not pass in Congress last year to promote prescribed fire was reintroduced yesterday by four Senators. The National Prescribed Fire Act of 2021 would appropriate $300 million each to the Departments of the Interior (DOI) and Agriculture (DOA) to increase the pace and scale of controlled burns on state, county, and federally managed lands. Companion legislation with four sponsors was introduced in the House of Representatives.

Of the total of eight sponsors and co-sponsors, seven are Democrats and one is Republican. The legislation did not stand a chance in 2020 but it could fare better this year.

Senators have issued press releases promising that if the bill is passed it “would help prevent the blistering and destructive infernos from destroying homes, businesses and livelihoods.” ?

The legislation:

Establishes a $10 million collaborative program, based on the successful Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, to implement controlled burns on county, state and private land at high risk of burning in a wildfire.
Establishes an incentive program to provide funding to state, county, and federal agencies for any large-scale controlled burn.S tates and counties could receive up to $100,000 for prescribed fire projects.
Establishes a workforce development program at the Forest Service and DOI to develop, train, and hire prescribed fire practitioners, and establishes employment programs for Tribes, veterans, women, and those formerly incarcerated.
Directs the DOI and DOA to hire additional personnel and procure equipment, including unmanned aerial systems equipped with aerial ignitions systems, in order to implement a greater number of prescribed fires.
Encourages large cross-boundary prescribed fires exceeding 50,000 acres.
Sets an annual target of at least one million acres treated with prescribed fire by federal agencies, but not to exceed 20 million.
Requires that by September 30, 2023 a minimum of one prescribed fire to be conducted on each unit of the National Forest System, unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System, unit of the National Park System, and Bureau of Land Management district under the jurisdiction of the two Departments. The intent is to increase familiarity with prescribed fire in local units.
The two Departments shall hire additional employees and provide training and development activities, including through partnerships with community colleges, to increase the number of skilled and qualified prescribed fire practitioners in the DOI, DOA, Indian Tribes, and other qualified organizations, including training in smoke management practices.
The Office of Personnel Management shall give the two Departments new authority to hire temporary personnel to perform work related to prescribed fire, including training, implementation, and post-prescribed burning activities. The workers could begin three days before the project and work through three days after “the prescribed fire has stopped burning.”
Overtime payments for prescribed fire could be paid out of wildfire suppression accounts.
Each Department shall create at least one crew for implementing prescribed fires. After a person works on the crew for five seasons they would become eligible for noncompetitive conversion to a permanent position.
The Departments may spend up to $1 million in working with the National Governors’ Association to host a conference to discuss the benefits of addressing liability protection related to prescribed fires, and possible incentives for States to enact a covered law.

“In the simplest terms, the National Prescribed Fire Act offers a legislative solution to increase the use of prescribed fire,” said National Association of State Foresters President, Arkansas State Forester, Joe Fox. “With this bill, state foresters would be able to maximize their utilization of controlled burns to enhance forest health while minimizing damages and mega smoke emissions from catastrophic wildfires. It is a win-win-win for forests, wildland fire management, and public health.”

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Spatiotemporal patterns of overwintering fire in Alaska

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