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Wildfire potential, October through January

Bill GabbertOctober 2, 2016Uncategorizedpotential, Red Flag Warning, weather1 Comment

On October 1 the Predictive Services section at the National Interagency Fire Center issued their Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for October through January. The data represents the cumulative forecasts of the ten Geographic Area Predictive Services Units and the National Predictive Services Unit.

If their predictions are correct, firefighters in the mountains of central and southern California could be busy through November, at least, while most of the Southeast is coming into what could be a very active fall fire season.

Scroll down to see 6 to 14-day temperature and precipitation outlooks, and Red Flag Warnings for October 2, but immediately below are highlights from the wildfire potential outlook.

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“October represents a significant shift in fire activity in the United States. Shorter days, cooler nights and generally moister conditions reduce wildfire activity across the northern tier of the U.S., taking much of this area out of season or at least to very low fire activity conditions.

“October does represent the beginning of the primary time of concern for offshore flow across California. These dry windy conditions can lead to very significant fire events in areas with high populations. This year the forecasts indicate that offshore wind events may be less frequent than usual. However during even light wind periods fires will occur and they will have the potential to spread extremely quickly with extreme fire behavior. Fuels continue to be very dry in California due to long term drought and increased vegetation stress and mortality. Under windy conditions these fuels will become extremely volatile and can support extreme fire behavior.

“October also marks the start of the fall fire season across the eastern U.S. Leaf drop begins and adds a new dry layer of fuel. In seasons such as this one where leaf drop occurs on already dry fuels, fire activity can be amplified. Expect this to lead to increased initial attack activity and probably a slight increase in large fires. Fire activity occurs year round in the southeastern U.S. so the most likely scenario is to see an increase in frequency and the potential for more control problems than usual on fires this fall.

Continue reading “Wildfire potential, October through January”

Former firefighter reports sexism on a Utah hotshot crew

Bill GabbertOctober 1, 2016October 1, 2016Uncategorizedsexual harassment, Utah4 Comments

Hazing resulted in her seeking another line of work.

After working for one season as a rookie on a 21-person firefighting hotshot crew in Utah, Melissa Lewis decided not to return the following season.

She had been excited to begin the job, and felt that having recently hiked 2,178.2 miles of the Appalachian Trail solo and stepping up her physical training would make her a good fit on the crew.

Below is an excerpt from an article she wrote for the Huffington Post, published last month:

…Unfortunately, the job was not what I hoped it would be. The work itself was much as I had imagined and trained for, but the behavior of my co-workers was not. I quickly learned that the hazing of rookies is a common practice. A male firefighter who recently had his rookie year told me that because he had been hazed, it was now his turn to haze me. Hazing lasted all season for us three “newbs.” For instance, we three were expected to rush to do the lowliest of tasks and faced verbal abuse if we were slow.

On top of that, because so many of them derided anything feminine in correlation to our work, I felt I had to prove over and over again why I, as a woman, deserved to be there. In discussing it with another firefighter, he agreed that it wasn’t fair, but he had accepted it as “just the way things are” in this male-dominated field.

As the season progressed, so did my feelings of isolation and depression. Some of my co-workers routinely made statements belittling and objectifying women in front of me. While time has erased many of the words, I haven’t forgotten how they made me feel. They further fueled my downward spiral; never have I felt so low about myself simply for being female…

I am not aware of any hazing on the two hotshot crews I was on, but have heard stories in recent years about rookies being tied up with duct or fiber tape, and “blanket parties” where the victim is covered with a blanket while he is beaten by multiple firefighters who are too cowardly to show their faces. These are assaults and could result in jail time if reported to law enforcement.

In April and May of this year there were two examples of rookie firefighters on their first or second day on the job being hospitalized with conditions that are sometimes fatal. Both of the incidents, Rhabdo and heat stroke, occurred after strenuous physical training that may have been appropriate for a seasoned, experienced hotshot firefighter, but apparently was not feasible for a person that walked in off the street.

The hazing reported by Ms. Lewis and the careless disregard for the physical safety of the two new employees that suffered very serious injuries, show what may be too common in the ranks of wildland firefighters. If the agencies want to encourage people, and especially women, to apply for jobs and eventually make a career choice of being a firefighter, these examples and the facts that were revealed in the September 22 Congressional hearing about sexual harassment and hostile work environments will make it very difficult to recruit and retain quality personnel.

Do you think any women who watched that hearing will enthusiastically apply for a job as wildland firefighter with the federal agencies?

I have always felt that the performance and behavior of a crew is a reflection of the personality and ethics of the supervisor; in the case of a hotshot crew, the Crew Superintendent. And if others higher in the chain of command look the other way and become enablers of a hostile work environment, it can build to a point where good people quit and in very rare cases, a crew is disbanded.

Rarely in the wildland fire service or land management agencies are the perpetrators or enablers held accountable for their actions. Too often they are scolded or transferred, much like the Catholic priests accused of assaults on altar boys.

During the Congressional hearing last month the National Park Service’s Deputy Director for Operations, Michael Reynolds, testified that he was not aware of anyone in his agency being fired for sexual harassment. However, a week after the hearing, the Superintendent of Yosemite National Park who was identified at the hearing as contributing to a hostile work environment (not sexual harassment), resigned after being told he was being transferred from California to Denver, Colorado.

After Fire Chief’s testimony, Yosemite’s Superintendent is forced out

Bill GabbertSeptember 30, 2016August 25, 2019UncategorizedCalifornia, sexual harassment, Yosemite National Park2 Comments

He was given the option of transferring from Yosemite National Park to Denver, but decided to retire.

A week after the congressional hearing that included numerous examples of a hostile work environment at Yosemite National Park in California, the Superintendent of the park has been forced out of the park.

According to an email Superintendent Don Neubacher sent to all employees in the park at about 7 p.m. on September 28, during a discussion with the Regional Director “it was determined that new leadership was needed” in the park. He said he was offered a position in Denver serving as a “Senior Advisor to Michael Reynolds, Deputy Director for the National Park Service”, but since his home was in California he opted to retire. He will be on leave until the retirement is effective on November 1, 2016.

During the September 22 Congressional hearing it was revealed that at least 20 employees in Yosemite described the park as a hostile work environment as a result of the behavior and conduct of the park Superintendent.

Kelly Martin, the Chief of Fire and Aviation Management at Yosemite, was one of two current National Park Service employees categorized as whistleblowers that testified in the hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The topic of the hearing was “misconduct and mismanagement in the National Park Service”.

She described three of her experiences with sexual harassment that occurred in the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service before she worked at Yosemite. In her oral and written testimony she also provided examples of incidents at Yosemite in which Superintendent Neubacher created or contributed to a hostile work environment.

We interviewed Chief Martin on September 30, and she wanted to make it clear that she was speaking a private citizen, was not a spokesperson for the NPS, and is not aware of any sexual harassment claims at Yosemite. She said that after the hearing some headlines reported sexual harassment at Yosemite, but the only allegations that came up in the hearing about Yosemite were regarding a hostile work environment. However several examples of sexual harassment were alleged at Yellowstone and Grand Canyon National Parks.

She said that dozens of people have reached out to her after learning what she did before Congress.

We asked her about what else has happened since her testimony:

The thing that is surprising is that post my testimony our Regional and National offices, our leadership in the Park Service, is taking the allegations of the hostile work environment complaints seriously. They have also dispatched the Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General to complete additional interviews. It sounds as if, I don’t know this for sure, that additional people are willing to come forward based upon my testimony, but they still fear retaliation.

There are a lot of women, and men too, that sent me emails thanking me for being so brave in coming forward addressing these issues. Women in particular … have not felt they’ve been able to come forward.

Nationwide people from all agencies, people I don’t even know, were responding, thanking me for my testimony. They have experienced very similar situations but never had the opportunity or the feeling that they could have come forward without fear of retaliation.

Hopefully it will spur some additional conversations with folks that watch your blog. Have we created hostile environments for women and minorities in our wildland fire communities? What are some good examples of some crews that are really integrated and have included women in their organization, and how difficult is it for them to get assignments and work their way up through the ranks? There’s the potential for a lot of really good topics out there. I think you’re the one to help with that.

Millions of acres burning in Siberia

Bill GabbertSeptember 30, 2016October 1, 2016UncategorizedRussia, Siberia

Above: Fires in Russia detected by a NASA satellite September 28, 2016.

Many wildfires are burning in eastern Siberia, creating massive amounts of smoke. Greenpeace reports that last week almost 5 million acres were involved. The fires have forced school closures in Bratsk and Ust-Kut in the Irkutsk region where thousands of children have been sent home according to local media.

Fire crew extracted with minutes to spare

Bill GabbertSeptember 29, 2016UncategorizedAlaska, helicopter, Lessons Learned Review4 Comments

They had to leave behind a helicopter bucket, chainsaw, pump, and a flight helmet which were all consumed by the fire.

Above: The Tok River Fire as the helicopter landed. The helicopter is in the brown grassy area near the bottom of the photo.

The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center has released a report they call a “Rapid Lesson Sharing” about a close call that happened in Alaska late in the afternoon on July 14, 2016.

The report does not clearly, unequivocally, and in detail describe how and why the wind changed and affected the direction of spread, but there are two clues. The “Event Type” is “Thunderstorm Influence on IA [initial attack]”. And, the “Lessons” section has tips about attacking a fire when thunderstorms are in the area.

In this incident, a helicopter ferried an Incident Commander and three firefighters to a new fire. As they approached and made several orbits over the new start to size it up they noticed a thunderstorm in the general area. The fire was 10 to 15 acres and burning in black spruce with 50 to 75-foot flames at the head. The pilot and the helicopter manager on board selected a “tussock” (a grassy area) as a landing zone.

Below is an excerpt from the report, which you can read in full here.

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“….The decision was made to land the helicopter, unload firefighters and equipment, and prepare the helicopter to begin making bucket drops. With the wind blowing out of the southeast, a tussock near the heel of the fire to the north and east was selected as a Landing Zone.

Tussock Believed to be a Good LZ Location

The Helicopter Manager and Pilot both felt that the tussock was a good location because it was close to the heel of the fire and the proximity of water sources. In addition, the IC felt that the tussock was in a good location and of sufficient size that it could be burned-out to create a safety zone in a worst case scenario.

When the bucket was attached, the helicopter left to begin making water drops on the heel of the fire. The IC began walking across the tussock toward the heel to size-up the fire from the ground and make a plan for containment. As he negotiated the uneven ground of the tussock, travel was slow and difficult. The IC had only gone about 200 feet when he began to feel the heat from the fire. He looked up to see the smoke column rotating and moving in the direction of the tussock area where crew had landed.

The winds had shifted approximately 90 degrees. Now the heel of the fire, which moments before had been burning with low intensity, began actively burning— heading toward the IC and his crew.

The helicopter Pilot had just filled his second bucket. He quickly dropped the water when he noticed the wind shift and flew back to the landing zone.

The IC turned around and headed back toward the Landing Zone. He got about half way back when the helicopter returned to the Landing Zone and turned on the siren to alert the fire crew.

Decision Made to Leave Their Gear and Board the Helicopter

The crew disconnected the bucket and began loading gear back on the helicopter. When the crew began packing the bucket, the Pilot told them to leave it and get on the helicopter.

The smoke column was leaning over the tussock and the pilot was concerned that if the column dropped too close on the ground, he would not have enough visibility to lift off.

The fire crew did not believe that they were in imminent danger and that they had plenty of time to load the rest of the gear before they would be affected by the flaming front. However, there was concern that if they lost visibility they would be stuck in the landing zone.

The decision was made to leave the rest of the gear and get in the Helicopter. After taking off, the helicopter made several revolutions around the area hoping to be able to land again and retrieve their gear. The fire continued burning in the direction of the Landing Zone, growing from approximately 16 acres at 1730 to an estimated 100 acres at 1810. The helicopter bucket, a chainsaw, a pump, and a flight helmet were all eventually consumed by the approaching fire…”

Lessons, Tok River Fire — From the report.

South Dakota politicians covet Forest Service land in Black Hills

Bill GabbertSeptember 27, 2016August 25, 2019UncategorizedDennis Daugaard, John Thune, Kristi Noem, Mike Rounds, South Dakota10 Comments

(UPDATED at 2 p.m. MDT October 7, 2016)

After one of our readers told us about the video above about the U.S. Forest Service trading away land, we added it.

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(Originally published at 1:54 p.m. MDT September 27, 2016)

The four highest ranking politicians in South Dakota are backing legislation that would require the U.S. Forest Service to turn over two of the most beautiful areas of the Black Hills National Forest to the state. In exchange for approximately 2,000 acres, the USFS would receive an equal number of acres from four parcels in three counties scattered around the state. The size of the parcels could be adjusted based on an appraised value.

Pushing the land grab are Governor Dennis Daugaard, Senator John Thune, Senator Mike Rounds, and Representative Kristi Noem. The Senators have co-sponsored a bill in the Senate and Representative Noem has introduced similar legislation in the House.

The South Dakota politicians are trying to take from the federal government two of the crown jewels of the Black Hills National Forest — Spearfish Canyon and Bismarck Lake.

The state wants 1,468 acres in Spearfish Canyon. The road through the canyon, framed by towering 1,000-foot limestone canyon walls, is officially designated as a Scenic Byway. South of the city of Spearfish, it attracts large numbers of visitors to see the fall colors when the aspen turn brilliant yellow in September. One of the best known features is Bridal Veil Falls that cascades down a sheer 60-foot cliff alongside the road as it feeds the creeks that run through the canyon. Hikers enjoy the many trails that meander through the area. Fly fishermen take advantage of the incredibly scenic pools and rapids along the creek.

Bridal Veil Falls Spearfish Canyon — Bridal Veil Falls. Google Street View.

The second crown jewel the state wants to take from the federal government is 524 acres east of Custer, including Bismarck Lake. With the nearby campground, it is set amidst a scattering of aspen groves and Ponderosa pine at 5,000 feet. The lake supports populations of rainbow and brown trout, a variety of sunfish, smallmouth bass, northern pike, and catfish. At the campground, a short foot trail traverses the forested shoreline, offering opportunities for birding in early morning or picnicking in the afternoon.

Bismark Lake — Bismarck Lake, east of Custer, SD. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

The parcels of land the four politicians want to trade for these crown jewels are in the counties of Lyman, Pennington, and Lawrence.

Central Lyman County. Google Street View.

We don’t know exactly where in those counties the land is that the politicians want to trade for the USFS land, but the photo above is a typical scene in central Lyman County in the middle of the state, more than 150 miles east of the Black Hills National Forest.

If the land grab occurs, the state would use Spearfish Canyon to expand its Roughlock Falls Nature Area and designate it as a state park. The 640 acres around Bismarck Lake would be added to Custer State Park.

In written testimony during a Senate hearing last week about the bill, the USFS opposed the transfer of land. Leslie Weldon, the Forest Service’s deputy chief of the National Forest System, wrote, “the bill is unnecessary and contains provisions that raise concerns.”

Below is an excerpt from an article at NewsCenter1:

“Normally in a land exchange process, just like in a real estate transaction, you have a willing buyer, a willing seller, or at least two willing parties, and you have a mutually beneficial agreement,” said Mark Van Every, forest supervisor for the Black Hills National Forest. “And in this particular case, we don’t believe that this land exchange is mutually beneficial.”

Van Every said the Forest Service has invested heavily in both the Spearfish Canyon and Bismarck Lake areas, from campgrounds to trails and more. In addition to that predicted revenue loss, he said the Forest Service was not consulted on the bill.

Geese at Bismarck Lake — Geese on Bismarck Lake. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

“The state of South Dakota has proven time and again that it can preserve and protect South Dakota’s natural resources while providing unparalleled outdoor experiences that attract people from across the state and nation,” said Senator Thune. “I’m confident this track record will lend itself to creating similar opportunities in the Spearfish Canyon and Bismarck Lake areas once this land exchange is completed.”

Senator John Thune and Representative Kristi Noem are up for reelection in November.

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