The wildfire burned 83,000 acres 15 miles west of Custer, South Dakota
Photo taken Oct. 2016 on the Anti-Horse Project; Black Hills National Forest photo.
The Black Hills National Forest plans to ignite the 2,700-acre Anti-Horse prescribed fire Wednesday March 11, if the weather is suitable.
“This is scheduled to be a two day burn, however we may burn into Friday March 13th if conditions warrant,” said Josh Morgan, Fuels Assistant Fire Manager Officer, Hell Canyon Ranger District.
The Anti-Horse Project area is located approximately 15 air miles west of Custer, South Dakota and 17 miles east of Newcastle, WY in the Surveyor Hill Road/Jasper Fire area, across from the U.S. Forest Service Tepee Work Center.
The objective of the burn is to reduce long term fire hazards and improve health and vigor of forested stands in portions of the Jasper fire area. In 2000 the 83,000-acre Jasper Fire created extensive areas of dead and dying stands. The dead trees have fallen to the ground, creating high concentrations of fuel on the ground that create a hazard to firefighters, the public, and forest resources.
The Jasper fire, about 2 hours after it started on August 25, 2000. Photo by Bill Gabbert.
In 2013 a decision was signed which allows 16,500 acres of fire hazard reduction in the Jasper Fire and the nearby Roger’s Shack Fire. Over the course of about 10 years, prescribed burning is being used to reduce the fire hazard in these areas. In addition, the decision includes about 650 acres of thinning to improve the health and vigor of islands of forest stands within these areas. “Over the next several years we will work on this project to make the area more resilient for the future,” said District Ranger Lynn Kolund when he signed the decision in April, 2013.
The Nature Conservancy planned and executed the Elkhorn Creek Unit #4 prescribed fire that took place on the Ben Delatour Scout Ranch, private property located in Larimer County, Colorado 25 miles northwest of Fort Collins. It was part of a forest restoration effort aimed to reduce the impact of high severity wildfire on Elkhorn Creek, an important tributary of the Poudre River.
On day two of the project a spot fire occurred an hour after cloud cover moved out of the area. It was suppressed, but later two more ignited.
Below are excerpts from the report:
Located in dry, dead grass on a steep slope aligned with strong westerly winds, these two spots quickly grew together and began spreading rapidly away from the unit towards the Glacier View community to the east. Leadership personnel, quickly determining that on-site resources would not be able to contain the fire, immediately ordered ground and aerial resources and then declared the wildfire at 3:59 PM. In total, the fire burned 682 acres, with 118 acres outside of the planned boundaries of the project and 82 acres off the Scout Ranch property. One outbuilding was destroyed by the fire.
[…]
Recommendations for All Prescribed Fire Practitioners
1. A strong understanding of fire weather is critical to mitigating risk and responding to changing conditions. Review fire weather concepts presented in the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Intermediate Wildland Fire Weather Behavior (S-290) course and fire weather data acquisition and analysis concepts presented in the NWCG Intermediate National Fire Danger Rating System (S-491) course before each fire season utilizing an Incident Meteorologist (IMET), a Long Term Fire Analyst (LTAN), Fire Behavior Analyst (FBAN), or other knowledgeable individual, and incorporate these concepts into development of prescribed fire plans.
Review and remain diligent regarding the differences between 20-ft sustained 10 minute average winds, gusts, eye level, and midflame wind speeds.
Ensure on-site wind measurements are consistent with the type of wind parameters used in the prescribed fire plan, or ensure that accurate conversion techniques are accurately and consistently applied.
2. Apply “lessons re-learned” from the factors and best practices identified as being common between this prescribed fire and previous prescribed fires that were later declared wildfires.
Recommendations for The Nature Conservancy
3. Evaluate and refine the collaborative burning approach, including considerations for additional cooperative or partnership agreements to increase the experience level below that of overhead or trainee positions on high consequence prescribed fires.
4. Consider the full adoption of the DFPC Colorado Prescribed Fire Planning and Implementation Policy Guide as well as the Prescribed Fire Complexity Rating System Guide (NWCG PMS-424-1).
Adoption of these guides would increase consistency and support cooperation between The Nature Conservancy and DFPC and other Colorado partners.
Recommendations for the Division of Fire Prevention and Control
5. Evaluate all DFPC statutory and policy frameworks and craft solutions to align with all three co-equal goals of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy.
Changes to DFPC’s organizational focus and statutory authority may be necessary to reduce wildfire risk to communities and create resilient landscapes. In the face of an increasingly complex wildland fire environment, the ability to implement proactive measures must be part of a holistic strategy to reduce risk.
Pile burning back in the day on the Challis National Forest. Photo by Rick Freimuth.
Rick Freimuth sent us this photo, and said, “This is late season pile burning on the Lost River RD of the, then, Challis NF. I had totally forgotten our sketchy setup of Indian pumps rigged for burning. I’m sure the fuel mix was heavy on the gas side, not to mention the even sketchier igniting wand out front. Where’s our Nomex? Things have definitely changed for the better.”
For those not familiar with the device on the person’s back, it is designed to hold five gallons of water which is used to suppress or mop up a fire.
He did not say if they ever got the back pumps mixed up and used the wrong one on a fire.
Lakeview Hotshots are assisting with prescribed fires in the Southeast
Lakeview Hotshots assisting with a burn operation in Alaska in 2019. Photo by Lakeview Hotshots..
On February 6, 2020 the Lakeview Interagency Hotshots posted on Instagram saying that they are “ready for RX [prescribed fire] support in the Southeast.” Currently they have prescribed fire modules deployed in the southeast, usually with eight to 10 firefighters each.
The post included the hashtag #ignis2 which refers to the second generation aerial ignition module Drone Amplified is manufacturing which enables drones to conduct aerial ignition on prescribed fires or wildfires. The crew included in their post the next two photos showing a drone aerial ignition system and a drone, both disassembled and packed into cases.
This year the Lakeview Hotshots have four qualified drone pilots. In 2018 their four pilots together completed over 100 missions.
An aerial ignition system made by Drone Amplified posted Feb. 6, 2020 by @lakeview_hotshots on Instagram.A Matrice 600 drone made by DJI, posted Feb. 6, 2020 by @lakeview_hotshots on Instagram.
Before the Lakeview IHC acquired Hotshot status in 2018 they were the Lakeview Crew 7 formed by the Bureau of Land Management. The crew was initially created in 2000 and reorganized in 2011 to help military veterans transition to productive civilian careers. Today it is comprised almost entirely of U.S. military veterans. The crew has been funded under the BLM Veterans Crew Program since 2012.
Lakeview Hotshots photo, Alaska in 2019. Lakeview Hotshots photo.
Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges are supported by TNC, USFS, and DOI
Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchange event in Florida, March, 2019. WTREX photo.
Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges (WTREX) holds 12-day training sessions to help women advance their formal qualifications in wildland fire management. The goal is to enhance their understanding of fire ecology, fire effects, communications, outreach, prescribed fire policy, and planning. At least three sessions have occurred, in Florida and California.
When the U.S. fire management system was conceived in the early 1900s, women’s roles in the workforce were much different than they are now. Even today, women constitute a relatively small proportion of the workforce, filling roughly 10 percent of wildland fire positions and only 7 in 100 leadership roles. In recent years, there has been an increased effort to recruit women into fire, yet social and cultural challenges remain. New recruits often find the dominant fire management system to be dismissive of female perspectives and strengths, even as its increasing complexity requires fresh approaches and insights.
Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchange event in Florida, March, 2019. WTREX photo.
WTREX is supported by Promoting Ecosystem Resilience and Fire Adapted Communities Together, a cooperative agreement between The Nature Conservancy, USDA Forest Service, and agencies of the Department of the Interior.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Paula. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
Burner Bob promotes prescribed fire in longleaf forests
Burner Bob. Longleaf Alliance photo.
Longleaf pine needs fire to survive, so the Longleaf Alliance is using “Burner Bob” to educate the public about “good fire”. Here is how they describe the program.
“Burner Bob is a bobwhite quail who lives in the longleaf forest with other animal friends such as gopher tortoises and red-cockaded woodpeckers. He devotes his life to explaining to people that the longleaf forest with its many plants and animals has evolved over time to being burned on a regular basis. The forests needs fire to survive. He goes about the land telling the story, and showing people how to control burn safely.”
