Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

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.

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

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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

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags 6 Comments on 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.

Inadequate sleep can help explain high rates of suicide and cardiac events among firefighters

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 1 Comment on Inadequate sleep can help explain high rates of suicide and cardiac events among firefighters

Studies indicate sleep deprivation increases susceptibility to cancer, cardiac disease, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Firefighters sleep wildfire
USFS photo.

An article by Eric Saylors at Medium.com emphasizes how important sleep is to firefighters.

He reports that one study found men kept awake between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. showed a 70 percent reduction of cancer-fighting immune cells known as “natural killers” after one night. These cells detect and control early signs of cancer. The data in the study indicates that even a modest disturbance of sleep produces a reduction of natural immune responses.

Below are excerpts from Mr. Saylor’s article, which also draws information from several other researchers:

“Lack of quality sleep could explain why cardiac events are common in firefighters, regardless of fitness programs. ”

“Rosaline Cartwright, professor of psychology in neuroscience, explains the mind needs sleep to processes stressful events. Without sleep the brain cannot decouple the memory of tragic events and the physiological response. Essentially, if you can’t sleep on it, you can’t get over it. This explains a new epidemic in the fire service; firefighter suicide.”

“Cartwright’s research suggests the mind needs dreams followed by REM sleep and to process upsetting experiences. In other words, you have to recreate tough experiences in your dreams so your mind can break them down. Without the combination of REM sleep and dreams, memories of traumatic events remain fresh in the person’s mind. As a result, a firefighter who is sleep deprived accumulates traumatic events like a trash can that is never emptied.”

“Contributing to cancer, cardiac events, and PTSD, lack of sleep may be the greatest cause of firefighter deaths.”

Eric Saylors is an instructor, author, pilot, consultant, and 3rd gen firefighter with a Masters degree in security studies from the Naval Post Graduate School.

Fort Osage National Historic Landmark damaged by wildfire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

The Fort will be closed indefinitely while repairs are made.

Above: Some of the structures at Fort Osage National Historic Landmark were damaged by a wildfire. (Credit for all photos: Fort Osage NHL)

(Originally published at 2:55 p.m. MT February 23, 2018)

Several of the structures at Fort Osage National Historic Landmark near Sibley, Missouri were damaged by a wildfire February 18. The fire started along the bank of the Missouri River and ran up the steep slope causing damage to a number of historic buildings (map). Strong winds and dry conditions  helped it spread to the replica of the fort that stood there in 1812.

Photos show the wooden shake shingles burning on at least two buildings. Jackson County spokesperson Marshanna Hester said county parks staff found that none of the structures will have to be demolished and can be repaired, but the officers’ quarters suffered significant interior damage.

wildfire Fort Osage National Historic Landmark

From Wikipedia:

During their famous ascent up the Missouri River to find the Northwest Passage, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark noted the spot in June 1804, as they camped for the night just across the river:

“high commanding position, more than 70 feet above high-water mark, and overlooking the river, which is here but of little depth…”

William Clark led a team in September 1808 back to the site to begin construction of Fort Osage. In November 1808 Pierre Chouteau negotiated the Treaty of Fort Clark with certain members of the Osage Nation, for the fort to be built for the protection of the Osage.

Archaeologists rediscovered the foundations of Fort Osage in the 1940s. The station was rebuilt to portray Fort Osage as it was in 1812 by using the preserved surveys created by William Clark and others, making restoration to exact specifications possible. The rebuilt post is known as Fort Osage National Historic Landmark and is owned and operated by the Jackson County Parks and Recreation.

wildfire Fort Osage National Historic Landmark

wildfire Fort Osage National Historic Landmark

satellite photo Fort Osage National Historic Landmark
Satellite photo of Fort Osage National Historic Landmark. Google Earth.
satellite photo Fort Osage National Historic Landmark
Satellite photo in 3-D, looking south. Google Earth.

Cuts in numbers of air tankers could result in the use of more expensive CWN aircraft

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags 9 Comments on Cuts in numbers of air tankers could result in the use of more expensive CWN aircraft

The exclusive use large air tankers are being cut from 20 in 2017 to 13 in 2018.

Above:  Tanker 101, an MD87, at Rapid City December 12, 2017. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

(Originally published at FireAviation.com at 3:05 p.m. MT February 21, 2018)

With the federal government’s drastic cut in the number of large air tankers on Exclusive Use (EU) contracts this year we did some calculations to look at the increased cost of this strategy. If the Forest Service desires more than the 13 that are on EU contracts, down from 20 in 2017, they can activate those on Call When Needed (CWN) contracts — that is, IF they are available. But this comes at a much higher price tag.

There are two costs for air tankers — daily plus hourly. If the aircraft just sits at an air tanker base available with a flight crew it only earns the daily availability rate. When it flies, an hourly rate is added. Both of these rates are higher for most air tankers.

We averaged the daily and hourly EU and CWN rates for three models of air tankers provided by three different companies, BAe-146 by Neptune, RJ85 by Aero Flite, and C-130 (382G) by Coulson. The numbers below are the combined averages of the three aircraft:

EU Daily: $30,150
EU Hourly: $7,601
CWN Daily: $46,341 (+54%)
CWN Hourly: $8,970 (+18%)

These costs only account for the additional costs of contracting for the air tankers, and do not include any increased costs of new, small wildfires escaping initial attack due to a lack of available air tankers or Type 1 helicopters. It also does not include property damage or, heaven forbid, lives lost. In 2017 the Type 1 helicopters on EU contracts were cut from 34 to 28, and that continues in 2018.

State and local wildfire organizations that in the past have counted on the federal government’s air tankers to assist them when they desperately need air support, had better look for alternatives. However, this slow motion atrophy of the air tanker fleet has been going on for the last 15 years.

air tankers contract exclusive use 2000-2018

gabbert prescription keep wildfires small

You may want to express your opinion to your Senators or Representatives.

Fire Management Officer talks about prescribed fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags 3 Comments on Fire Management Officer talks about prescribed fire

In this video, the Fire Management Officer for the National Park Service’s Northern Great Plains Area, Eric Allen, talks about the benefits of prescribed fire. The seven NPS parks and monuments within that group are in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming.