Kelly Andersson, Author at Wildfire Today

Firefighters need a raise in pay

Kelly AnderssonSeptember 16, 2023September 16, 2023Uncategorized, Wildfirefirefighter pay14 Comments

Federal firefighters have for years put up with both low pay — starting at just $15 an hour for entry-level positions — and a high-pressure job that takes a heavy toll mentally and keeps them away from their homes and families. Hundreds of them have left federal service, and hundreds more will likely leave next month if a permanent federal pay increase is not approved by Congress.

This fall, as reported by The Guardian, pay issues are coming to a head. A temporary pay increase, effected as part of Biden’s 2021 infrastructure bill, will expire at the end of September. Without that pay increase, the U.S. risks a crisis of firefighter burnout and falling retention while fires increasingly burn larger, hotter, and for longer than they have in decades.

Lone Peak Hotshots, Cerro Pelado Fire, northern New Mexico. 2022 inciweb photo.

Congress has two weeks to enact a long-term fix. If they fail, federal land management agencies may be left to navigate another mass exodus from the essential workforce just as autumn winds increase risks across the West.

As the Federal News Network recently reported, wildland firefighters are meeting with congressional leaders this week to add urgency to pending legislation that would install a permanent pay raise. The $600 million that funded the two-year pay boost runs out at the end of September.

Back in July, Grassroots Wildland Firefighters launched a petition to tell Congress what’s at stake if they don’t enact a permanent pay solution. In just a week, more than 11,000 wildland firefighters and others signed their names and described what will happen if Congress fails to act. A sample of signers’ responses:

- “30-50% of the firefighting force will leave unless signed, including myself. I have bills to pay, I love this job but unless things change, I can’t afford to do it.”
- “I worry that with this pay cut we will lose our hard-working wildland firefighters, and the land that so many of us love and recreate in will be unprotected and destroyed.”
- “One third of the permanent fire employees I know will have to leave the wildland fire profession to pay their mortgage.”
- “As a fire family, this would hit us hard. These men and women who battle fires daily to prevent homes from being burned deserve the most.”
- “Thousands of firefighters walking off the job. Many of us are planning for what happens if they do nothing.”
- “15 years of firefighting and my nephew makes more working at Panda Express. It’s time to recognize our firefighters for what they do and the sacrifice they have put forth to protect public lands.”

“Firefighters don’t want accolades, they don’t need to be called heroes,” says Riva Duncan, a retired USFS fire officer and vice-president of the Grassroots Wildland Firefighters advocacy group. “But they want to at least be treated like they are appreciated for the risks they take and the sacrifices they make.”

ZigZag Hotshots crewmember sharpens chainsaw on Moose Fire, July 24, 2022 by Mike McMillan-USFS

Biden’s temporary pay bump — which added either $20,000 or a 50 percent increase to firefighter paychecks, whichever was less — was intended as a short-term fix to buy Congress time to pass a permanent solution to the problems that have for years left federal firefighters underpaid and overworked.

The National Federation of Federal Employees, the union that represents many wildland firefighters, said without a permanent solution, there will be a “mass exodus” of firefighters, which would only exacerbate retention challenges that are already increasingly difficult for the four Department of the Interior agencies and the Forest Service; all five agencies employ roughly 17,000 wildland firefighters combined.

That story in the Guardian, by Gabrielle Canon, is WELL WORTH the read — and thanks to Nancy for the tip.

Without the passage of new legislation, federal firefighters will see major reductions to their paychecks starting October 1. Some workers’ pay will be cut back to $15 per hour. … California lawmakers, by the way, just passed a bill that would make $20 an hour the minimum pay for fast-food workers in the state. You can sign the Grassroots petition to Congress [HERE].

British Columbia’s fire crisis arrived decades earlier than forecast

Kelly AnderssonSeptember 10, 2023Wildfire2023, British Columbia2 Comments

British Columbia must adapt its forest management practices to prepare for future seasons, according to a report by Brenna Owen for The Canadian Press published by the CBC News.

The era of severe record-breaking wildfires has occurred earlier in British Columbia than previous research had projected, and experts say the disastrous 2023 season must serve as a springboard for action.

The surge stems from a combination of climate change and entrenched forest management practices, which have together created a landscape conducive to large, high-intensity blazes, says Lori Daniels, a professor in the department of forest and conservation sciences at the University of British Columbia.

“Society is already paying a huge cost for these climate change-fueled fires,” she says.

“The thing we can control in the short term is the vulnerability of the landscape,” adds Daniels.

Reducing that vulnerability means transforming how the landscape is managed. Shifting away from a timber-focused approach that prioritized conifer stocks over less-flammable broadleaf trees and ramping up prescribed burning are key to protecting communities and supporting healthy, resilient forests, says Daniels.

“The sooner we do it, the better,” she adds.

Daniels is the co-author of a recent paper published by the peer-reviewed journal Nature that examined data from the last century and found an “abrupt” uptick in wildfire activity in B.C. corresponding with a warming and drying trend that began in the mid-2000s.

The province has experienced its four most severe wildfire seasons on record during the past seven years, in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2023.

“To have four of these seasons out of the last seven is shocking,” she says.

Pine beetle infestations and expanding interface also factors: As development expands farther into the wildland/urban interface, summers in B.C. are increasingly characterized by hot, dry, and windy conditions primed for fires to burn with the speed and intensity that can overwhelm suppression efforts.

Marc-André Parisien, an Edmonton-based research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service, led the study. He underscores the significance of increasing fire intensity.

“If a fire comes in rolling as a 30-metre wall of flames, there’s not a lot you can do,” he says. “You can dump a lot of water on it, but it amounts to spitting on a campfire.”

Fuel “disaster” on Smith River Complex

Kelly AnderssonSeptember 9, 2023September 10, 2023UncategorizedHotshot Wake Up, Smith River16 Comments

thehotshotwakeup.substack.com/p/a-california-nightmare

I’ve not verified this yet, but I will. Read more at the link.

15:25 UPDATE FROM THE IMT:

We do not have a fuel disaster taking place. We did have a fuel issue that has been resolved.

Thank you,

Stacy King-Powers

PIO

SWIMT 2

Smith River Complex

Neither the USFS update nor the Inciweb page makes any mention of this. But then the “Hotshot Wake Up” has no name or contact info attached to it. Anyone vouch for that “author” ?

And, two days later, an update:

Thanks to TS for the tip and to Bill Morse for the answers.

Torrential rains follow wildfires in Greece

Kelly AnderssonSeptember 5, 2023WildfireGreece, migrants, wildfires

Reuters reported today that torrential rains have flooded homes, businesses, and roads in Greece — with at least one death reported after a man died when a wall collapsed, according to fire officials on Tuesday.

The Guardian reported that Greece has been stricken by hundreds of wildfires this summer, with dozens of new fires starting each day. Most are controlled quickly but some have exceeded fire services’ capacity. One fire in the northeast has destroyed homes and vast tracts of forest since it took off on August 19.

Another fire on the island of Rhodes burned for days in July, forcing holidaymakers and locals to evacuate homes and hotels.

Storm Daniel has battered much of Greece since Monday, with hundreds of calls to emergency services to pump out water just days after a deadly wildfire that has burned for more than two weeks in the north was finally controlled.

Meanwhile, videos posted online on August 23 show Greek members of the political extreme right illegally “arresting” migrants in Evros, a Greek region that borders Turkey. The videos show militants forcing men to sit in the dirt while other migrants were crammed into a trailer. The attackers accuse the migrants of being responsible for the widespread fires in the region.

Oregon’s Tyee Ridge Complex almost 3000 acres

Kelly AnderssonAugust 30, 2023September 2, 2023WildfireOregon, Tyee, Umpqua3 Comments

The Tyee Ridge Complex consists of 19 fires ignited by lightning on the evening of August 24. About 200 people have been evacuated.

As of August 29, the fires had burned 2,899 acres in the hills around the community of Umpqua, approximately 10 miles west of Sutherlin. According to a report by KPIC-TV, the fires are under unified command with the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Team 1 and the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Red Team. The fires are in rugged, steep, and difficult terrain, but crews are making progress and the fire is now estimated at 5 percent containment.

Firefighters have been working since Tuesday night with very active fire behavior on the Cougar Creek and Lighthouse fires. Active fire behavior is predicted till cooler conditions and expected showers arrive.

On Wednesday firefighters worked on a number of spot fires that Had crossed containment lines.

Water and retardant drops are supporting ground crews in areas of steep or inaccessible terrain. Single-engine airtankers and helicopters worked closely with heavy equipment operators and hand crews. Among the aircraft were two Chinook CH-47 helicopters from the Oregon Army National Guard.

To the north, the Big Tom Fire saw more active fire, while there was increased mop-up on the Hardscrabble, Blue Hole, and Yellow Point fires, all moving toward patrol status in coming days, according to a KPIC report.

Oregon State Fire Marshal task forces worked around structures, installing sprinkler kits along Hubbard Creek, Briarwood Road, and the Lighthouse community. They are integrated with ODF crews to HELP in cutting line and protecting homes.

Fuel moistures are well below average for this time of year. There is a heavy dead and down component to the fire area, with fuels burning actively and intensely. Even though humidity recoveries are good to excellent overnight and moderate during the day, heavier fuels are slow to respond. The steep terrain is also a factor in fire behavior that accelerates upslope fire runs, torching, and potential for spotting.

Tyee Ridge Complex at night — **Nighttime on Tyee Ridge**: Headlamps of firefighters on night shift trace a bright trail beneath the rising moon on one of the fires of the Tyee Ridge Complex. Photo ©2023 Dan Morrison, photojournalist at the University of Oregon.

Currently the evacuations are: Level 3 (Go) from the 11000 block of Hubbard Creek Rd. to Millwood Dr., Level 2 (Set) from Hubbard Creek Rd. from Millwood Dr. to Melqua Rd., and Level 1 (Ready) for Tyee Road at the intersection with Rock Creek Rd. to Fanchin Lane. Closures: Hubbard Creek Road at Millwood Drive.

KPIC has a 5-star photo gallery by Dan Morrison.