Author: Bill

Tom Collins of the North Carolina Department of Emergency Management says that the drought could result in a year-round fire season, according to an article in the News Observer.

“The epidemic of hundreds of wildfires in every corner of the state served as a warning that drought could expand the spring and fall fire seasons into one long year of risk, emergency officials said Monday.

“Right now, we could have a fire season year-round,” said Tom Collins, eastern branch manager for the N.C. Division of Emergency Management.

Normally, the spring season doesn’t begin until March. But in a single weekend, 10,100 acres — more than half the acreage normally torched in an an entire year — were burned.

“We probably had fires in every county in the state,” Collins said. “I’ve seen days in the western part of the state where we just had fires everywhere, but this time it was statewide.

“It just had to be drought-related.”

Propelled by strong winds, more than 300 wildfires flared across the state Sunday. By Monday, the winds had died, but several small fires and three larger blazes were still burning, state fire officials said. The last major fires, each about 2,000 acres, were in Halifax, Tyrrell and Camden counties.”

One of the companies that provides professional liability insurance for wildland firefighters has now expanded their coverage to include AD (Administratively Determined) employees. This is big news for the AD firefighters out there. The cost is $270 a year, the same as for a regular government firefighter.

Here is some information from a news release by the company, Federal Employee Defense Services.

“Federal Employee Defense Services (FEDS) has recently determined that personnel hired under the Pay Plan for Emergency Workers (AD Pay Plan) are considered “federal employees” for purposes of eligibility for benefits and membership in the FEDS program.

Through our relationships with such organizations as the Federal Wildland Fire Service Association (FWFSA), AD Firefighters Association, Wildlandfire.com and other groups and individuals involved with federal wildland fire fighting, we learned about a group of individuals called ADs who were hired by federal agencies to support the federal government’s wildland fire fighting mission. We received many inquiries as to whether these individuals would be eligible for liability protection under the FEDs program.

We have determined that individuals who are hired under the Pay Plan for Emergency Workers (AD Pay Plan) are eligible for membership under FEDS. Eligibility for benefits under FEDS, however, is limited to those instances when you are performing a federal function under the direction and control of a federal agency (i.e. within the scope of federal employment and are an employee under 5 U.S.C. 2105(a)). Accordingly, we at FEDS are happy to continue our support of the federal wildland fire fighting community by extending our coverage to ADs in this regard. When signing up on line at www.fedsprotection.com simply select AD Pay Plan when asked to identify the federal agency for which you work.”

The Western Governors’ Association sent out a news release calling for adequate federal funding for both wildland fire suppression and prevention.

“Denver — On the heels of one of the most costly wildfire seasons on record, Western governors are calling on Congress and the Bush Administration to provide adequate resources in the upcoming budget and beyond to not only fight future fires, but also improve forest health to prevent them.

The Western Governors’ Association is calling for a “funding fix” to ensure fire suppression costs can be covered without taking money away from restoration and fuels reduction – the very programs that help prevent catastrophic wildfires. A letter outlining the governors’ concerns was sent to leaders in Congress and the Administration. It was signed by Govs. Dave Freudenthal ( Wyo.), WGA Chairman; Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. ( Utah), WGA Vice Chairman; and Janet Napolitano ( Ariz.), WGA lead governor for forest health.

“It is clear that we have entered a new age of wildland fires,” the governors said, noting that three of the last six fire seasons have resulted in more than $1 billion in suppression costs. At the same time, funding for the other functions has decreased by over $200 million.

They said to solve the impact of suppression costs on agencies’ budgets, “we must take a reality check” and realize that additional investment is a necessary part of the solution. The governors support full implementation and funding of the National Fire Plan and the 10-year Comprehensive Strategy and Implementation Plan that states, federal agencies and stakeholders developed in 2001 and updated in 2006.”