–The U.S. Forest Service Fire Prevention Technician convicted of starting the 137,000-acre Hayman fire in Colorado was re-sentenced to 15 years probation and 1,500 hours of community service.
–A spokesman for North Carolina Division of Forest Resources in Raleigh, said rangers from the division have been allowing a fire to burn on an 18-acre uninhabited island because it doesn’t pose a threat to people or properties.
–A B-1 bomber while landing at Ellsworth Air Force Base had an in-flight emergency and may have dropped burning debris near the base that started multiple wildfires.
Warnings for elevated wildfire danger have been issued by the National Weather Service for areas in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Florida.
The Red Flag Warning map was current as of 12:47 p.m. MDT on Wednesday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts. For the most current data, visit this NWS site.
In the last month the National Interagency Fire Center has uploaded 10 videos with “WFSTAR” in the title, which apparently stands for Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher. We have nine of them embedded here. Earlier we wrote about the Analysis of Burnovers video, and why we think firefighters should arrive at their fire assignment 30 minutes before sunrise.
Barry Koncinsky running a chain saw with the El Cariso Hotshots in 1971. Photo by Bill Gabbert.
The folks at the National Interagency Fire Center have produced a video titled WFSTAR: An Analysis of Burnovers. They do not tell us what “WFSTAR” stands for, but our best guess is Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher.
The video presents findings from an analysis of fatalities on wildland fires. One of the more interesting pieces of information was the time of day that many of the fatalities occurred.
Sixteen of the burnover incidents occurred during a two hour period, between 1448 and 1642. The blowups that led to the fatalities occurred an average of 24 minutes earlier.
Experienced firefighters know that large fires are typically most active in the mid-afternoon. Solar heating has reached it’s peak. The ground, vegetation, and air are as hot as they will be all day. It is not uncommon for firefighters to have to pull back and abandon what they were doing in the afternoon and retreat to a safety zone because the fire threatens to overrun their position. Firelines painstakingly constructed can be lost. It is the hottest part of the day, sapping the energy of personnel and reducing their production while putting them at risk of heat-related injuries.
All of those factors can result in firefighters being least productive in the mid-afternoon. But if they are exhausted or hunkered down in a safety zone at 1500, what was going on at 0500? On some fires most everyone would still be asleep, or maybe slowly moving around looking for a cup of coffee, or standing in a chow line. At the same time out on the fireline, typically the fire would also be moving at a very slow pace. The ground, vegetation, and air are as cool as they will be all day. The relative humidity and the fine fuel moistures are at their peaks. This is the perfect time to take advantage of decreased fire behavior. The cooler conditions are better for the personnel, who can be more productive, and they will have the advantage over the slower moving fire — the opposite of what happens in mid-afternoon.
Don’t squander the early morning hours.
Sometimes firefighters do not arrive at their work assignment on the fireline until mid to late morning. They may have squandered the time of day when the working conditions and the fire behavior were best suited for productive, safe work.
Incident Commanders and Incident Management Teams need to change their thinking on this. Firefighters should ARRIVE at their fireline assignment 30 minutes before sunrise.
0230 or 0300 – Firefighters get up and eat breakfast
0330 – Briefing (lasting no more than 30 minutes)
0400 – Begin travel to fireline (assume one hour; it can be longer)
0500 – Firefighters arrive at their fireline assignment; helicopters can begin flying troops in if needed, air tankers can fly.
0530 – Sunrise
1630 to 1930 – off the clock back at fire camp
With this schedule firefighters could accomplish up to nine hours of actual fire suppression work before the least productive and most dangerous period of the day begins at 1400, compared to three to six hours with a typical schedule.
Fighting fire at night
The schedule above assumes that the fire managers, for whatever reason, have an aversion to fighting fire at night. In the last one to two decades, there have been fewer incident management teams willing to commit firefighters to the fireline after sunset. There can be good reasons for this, such as steep terrain with rolling rocks and logs that can difficult to see and avoid during darkness, or falling snags could be a serious hazard. But if these or other dangerous conditions do not exist, fire managers should consider that firefighters can frequently gain more ground when environmental conditions are better for working, and the fire is moving more slowly.
File photo of Secretary of Interior Sally Jewel (center, with green flight suit) with Boise smokejumpers, May 13, 2013. BLM photo.
(Originally posted at 12:16 p.m. MT, March 25, 2014; updated March 28, 2014)
A smokejumper for the Bureau of Land Management working out of Boise, Idaho suffered a serious injury on a training jump Monday. The patient was initially evaluated on scene by the other jumpers and then flown by Life Flight to a Boise hospital, arriving within 46 minutes, and received treatment, including surgery, for two fractured femurs.
According to Jennifer Smith, a spokesperson for the BLM, the injury resulted from the smokejumper’s landing. There was no parachute malfunction. Boise BLM smokejumpers conduct training jumps on a regular basis in the area where the accident occurred southeast of Emmett, 20 miles northwest of Boise.
An accident investigation team is being organized and is expected to begin work today.
(UPDATE March 28, 2014)
The BLM released a “72-hour report” yesterday. Below is an excerpt.
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“Narrative:
A BLM Boise Great Basin smokejumper incurred two broken femurs when he experienced a hard landing during a routine refresher parachute jump. This was the second jump of the day at the same location. The jump spot was located along an open ridgeline in an area commonly used for training jumps. Life Flight was immediately contacted and smokejumper EMT’s on scene provided emergency medical care and prepared the injured jumper for transportation. Life Flight was able to land in close proximity to the patient, who was transported to a local Boise area hospital approximately 20 miles from the injury site, arriving within an hour of the accident.
Action Taken to Date:
An Interagency Accident Investigation Team has been assigned. The intent of the investigation is to determine the cause of the injury and provide recommendations to help prevent future occurrences.”
For decades many federal, state, and local agencies have purchased most of their wildland firefighting equipment and supplies from the U.S. Government’s General Services Administration (GSA). Starting next month, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) will be assuming their role of stocking and distributing more than 250 items including:
Water handling equipment and supplies;
Fire line tools;
Fire shelters;
Protective clothing;
Canteens;
Field packs;
Sleeping bags;
Batteries;
Chainsaw chaps;
First aid kits;
Goggles and safety glasses; and
Gloves
The following memo was distributed on March 18, 2014 by Stephen A. Gage, the U.S. Forest Service’s Assistant Director for Operations in Boise.
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“The General Services Administration (GSA) currently furnishes specialized wildland firefighting equipment and supplies to federal and cooperating agencies through formal agreements with the USDA Forest Service and the USDI Bureau of Land Management. GSA is currently in the process of transferring their wildland fire program to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). Effective May 1,2014 the DLA is assuming program management responsibilities for the specialized wildland firefighting equipment previously provided by GSA.
In an attempt to minimize confusion created by this transition the following information is provided:
The last day for shipments from GSA is April 30, 2014. Starting May 1st customer orders for wildland fire program items will be routed to DLA for fulfillment.
DLA requires pre-payment (by credit card) for orders by state and local agencies, prior to shipment. DLA also requires a “PKI token” – a security measure required to access the DoD EMALL ordering system. The PKI token requires an annual fee. This will be required by federal, state and local agencies. See attached letter from DLA for additional details.
This change does not affect items purchased through GSA Advantage or other (non-specialized fire equipment) services you might receive from GSA.
You are encouraged to place orders with GSA, prior to the transition to DLA, in order to minimize disruption to your fire program. GSA has indicated that orders received by April 15, 2014 will be shipped by April 30, 2014.
