Tuesday the Montana Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision in a lawsuit filed by a rancher whose land burned in the Ryan Gulch fire in 2000. In 2012 a jury awarded Fred and Joan Weaver $730,000 in a trial over the strategy and tactics that were used on the fire. The Weavers claimed firefighters’ burouts caused them to lose valuable timber and grass in their pastures. The fire burned 17,000 acres near the Clark Fork River along Interstate 90.
The heart of the Weavers’ case was their contention that firefighters who usually fought fire in the flat, wet southeast United States used poor judgement in selecting and implementing an indirect strategy of backfiring or burning out, rather than constructing direct fireline on the edge of the fire. In the process, they argued, more land burned than was necessary, including 900 acres of their ranch.
The State of Montana argued that a legal principle known as the “public duty doctrine” prohibited the recovery of damages for government efforts to contain and suppress a wildland fire. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision that the State had not raised the issue in time and declined to consider the argument. The Court determined that the State had not given adequate notice to the landowners that it would be relying on that legal theory. Because the issue was not raised until three weeks before trial, the District Court was within its discretion in ruling that the plaintiffs did not have adequate time to respond.
The Court also rejected the State’s arguments that the plaintiffs had failed to present adequate expert testimony at trial and that the trial court should have moved the trial to a different county.
Trail on which the PT run was conducted. NPS photo.
A Lessons Learned Review (LLR) for an unusual but severe injury has been released. A firefighter working for the National Park Service at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California developed rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo) during his first week of work this season, probably after his first day which included very strenuous physical training. Then four days later, on June 27, 2013, he suffered from heat stroke during a training run. Recent research indicates that muscle damaging exercises can increase heat strain during subsequent exercise.
The firefighter was treated by NPS medics at the scene and then transported by a California Highway Patrol helicopter with a paramedic on board. He arrived at a Level I trauma center within one hour and thirty three minutes of his collapse while running. The doctor at the hospital told his parents that he was “…a profoundly sick young man, who may not make it.” He was hospitalized for two weeks and underwent kidney dialysis three times a week for seven weeks; reduced to once a week at the time the report was written, and was projected to make a full recovery. He hopes to return to light duty work, but cannot do so until he is finished with kidney dialysis treatments.
An excerpt from the report:
The LLR Team would like to commend the EMS responders, both from the NPS and the CHP, for their quick- thinking and actions. The LLR Team is certain that if these employees had not done so, [the firefighter’s] injury would have proved fatal.
The report, written by a four-person team that included an Exercise Physiologist with a PH.D., is very well written. It includes numerous recommendations for sustaining good practices as well as suggestions for improving the handling of rhambdo and other serious injuries, both locally and nationally.
If you have been interested in wildland fire for more than 10 years, you may remember when the National Interagency Coordination Center’s Incident Management Situation Report had much more data about the number of firefighting resources committed to incidents than it has today. Below is an example from the August 10, 2004 Situation Report.
Wildland firefighting resources committed, from the August 10, 2004 Situation Report. (click to enlarge)
On today’s Situation Report the only information about resources committed is the number of incident management teams and MAFFS air tankers that have been activated. The table with the wealth of information you see above disappeared in 2005.
It is likely that in the years before 2004 a person at NICC had to spend some time with a calculator to come up with the numbers. With the computer systems currently in use, it should be much easier to produce this data.
Last week NICC/NIFC began including the number of interagency personnel committed to large fires on their fire information page. That is a step in the right direction and is appreciated, but it should also be on the Situation Report along with the other data that disappeared in 2005.
Two videos were released today. The first one is from the National Interagency Fire Center and summarizes the 2013 fire season to date. The second is from CAL FIRE and covers the fires in California over the last week.
The body of Engine Captain Token Adams was found today. At 11:45 a.m. searchers discovered his remains about one-quarter mile from the nearest road. In a video about this development at KRQE, the reporter said there was an apparent crash of the ATV and that Captain Adams had been wearing full protective gear, but the exact cause of death has not been determined.
Below is an announcement issued Friday afternoon by the Incident Management Team managing the search organization:
Friday September 6 2013 – 4:45 pm
We are sad to announce that the body of Jemez Ranger District Engine Captain Token Adams has been located. Token was dispatched to locate a smoke reported on Friday August 30 2013. Search efforts began late Friday afternoon and continued through this morning when his body was discovered.
Token was an Engine Captain working in Jemez Springs NM. He was 41 years old and had been an Engine Captain on the Jemez Ranger District for 1 ½ years. He was a wildland firefighter for 10 years including previous experience as a hotshot. Before coming to the Forest Service Token served in the U.S. Navy. Token grew up in the community of Coarsegold California and was a 1990 graduate of Yosemite High School in Oakhurst California.
Token is survived by his wife Heidi a 3 year old son Tristan his mother a brother and sister. Token’s wife Heidi is expecting their second child.
All public and media are asked to please respect the privacy of the firefighter’s family during this time of mourning. We will release all details of this tragedy when more information becomes available.
Our sincere condolences go out to the family and co-workers of Capain Adams.
****
(UPDATED at 7:45 a.m. MDT, September 6, 2013)
There is not much new to report on the search for missing firefighter Token Adams. The incident management team has released a missing person’s flyer, which contains the following information:
MISSING PERSON
Santa Fe National Forest requests your assistance in locating this person.
Search Subject: Token Adams PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Age: 41
Height: 5’ 11″
Weight: 165
Hair: Peppered
Eyes: Wearing black sunglasses
Last seen wearing long sleeve yellow nomex shirt, green nomex pants, and lace up brown leather wildland fire boots. Last seen in the area of Holiday Mesa off Forest Service road 608 on Friday, 8/30/13. Mr. Adams was seen riding a red Polaris 400 ATV while investigating a possible fire start when he disappeared.
If you were in the area of Holiday Mesa and Stable Mesa on or after August 30th and may have seen this individual, please contact the Forest Service at 505-438-5600.
****
(UPDATED at 10:35 a.m. MDT, September 5, 2013)
Searchers are still looking for U.S. Forest Service engine captain Token Adams who was last seen Friday, August 30, as he boarded an ATV to attempt to locate a smoke that had been reported on the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico.
The mother of Token Adams, Letake Anderson, visited the Incident Base Camp Thursday morning. She spoke to search crews and thanked them for their hard work.
A Firewatch Cobra helicopter is scheduled to arrive today to provide additional support for the search team. This specialized helicopter has cameras as well as infrared and low-light sensors and can transmit images to search crews up to 30 miles away.
The search and rescue operation continues today, looking for Engine Captain Token Adams who disappeared Friday. Captain Adams has not been heard from since he departed on an ATV trying to find a fire that had been reported in the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico.
Joe Reinarz’s Type 1 Incident Management Team assumed command of search efforts Wednesday morning as part of a unified command and will oversee the organization in coordination with the New Mexico State Police.
****
(UPDATED at 12:47 p.m. MDT, September 3, 2013)
Token Adams, USFS photo
Rain on Sunday and Monday hampered the search for Engine Captain Token Adams. The 250 personnel involved in the search are traversing topography described as extreme with sheer cliffs.
Despite the grid pattern being used by the professional and dedicated personnel on the incident, their efforts have not been successful. Searchers are using GPS as part of this grid pattern and are being asked to report their locations hourly. Searchers will focus Tuesday on determining that certain areas have been fully searched.
Weather predictions for today and tonight are for a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms which will once again affect both air and ground operations.
HERE is a link to a map of the area being searched, but be advised it is a huge 19Mb file and will take a while to download.
****
(UPDATED at 8:23 a.m. MDT September 3, 2013)
A Southwest Type 1 Incident Management Type, with Incident Commander Joe Reinarz, will assume command of the search efforts Wednesday morning at 6:00 a.m. for missing firefighter Token Adams. The team will begin in-briefing at noon Tuesday, September 3.
Mr. Adams is 41 years old and is an engine captain with the U.S. Forest Service and a former Hotshot. He is married with one son, and is expecting another child in less than a month.
****
(Originally published at 2:27 p.m. MDT Monday, September 2, 2013)
A wildland firefighter sent out to look for a fire has been missing since Friday August 30. Token Adams was one of three people that were dispatched to a report of a smoke in the Schoolhouse Mesa area on the Jemez Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico. When they arrived in the general area Mr. Adams went off by himself on an all terrain vehicle to attempt to locate the smoke. He did not return as expected to the meeting point.
John Helmich, a spokesperson for the Santa Fe National Forest, told us on Monday that when Mr. Adams was first outbound to look for the smoke late in the day on Friday he called his wife on his cell phone, and has not been heard from since, either by phone or via the radio he also carried.
At least 200 people from several land management agencies, search and rescue organizations, the National Guard, and law enforcement agencies are actively searching for him. The Civil Air Patrol has used infrared equipment from a fixed wing aircraft and the New Mexico State Police have made a helicopter available.
The fire the three firefighters were trying to locate was eventually found. It was named the Schoolhouse Fire and was fully contained at 25 acres.
The last time we heard of wildland firefighters missing was late in the afternoon on June 30 — the Granite Mountain Hotshots were missing on the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. We hope this incident has a better outcome.
The Predictive Services section at the National Interagency Fire Center issued their Wildland Fire Potential Outlook for September through December, 2013. If their prediction is correct the world of wildland fire will be slower than normal everywhere in the United States except for California. Here is a summary:
September
Significant fire potential remains above normal for a large portion California due to long term drought and high fire danger indices. This will be exacerbated by the possibility of off-shore flow events developing.
The remainder of the western U.S. will return to normal September conditions and begin to transition into regular fall fire activity levels.
In the western Great Lakes states conditions will increase to normal and some fall fire activity should be expected
The southeast will continue to see periodic moisture and a below normal fall fire season, except possible short term increases across the southern plains.
October
Most of California will return to normal during October as fall develops in earnest. This will be late month for portions of northern California
Southwestern California will continue to see above normal significant fire potential through the month and will also have a continued threat of off-shore flow events.
Below normal fire potential will continue across portions of the eastern U.S.
November and December
The remainder of California will return to normal out of season significant fire potential during this period.
Below normal fire potential will continue across portions of the eastern U.S
Tuesday the Montana Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision in a lawsuit filed by a rancher whose land burned in the Ryan Gulch fire in 2000. In 2012 a jury awarded Fred and Joan Weaver $730,000 in a trial over the strategy and tactics that were used on the fire. The Weavers claimed firefighters’ burouts caused them to lose valuable timber and grass in their pastures. The fire burned 17,000 acres near the Clark Fork River along Interstate 90.
