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Wildfire burning in area with unexploded ordnance in Alaska

Bill GabbertMay 6, 2019May 7, 2019UncategorizedAlaska, Oregon Lakes Fire

A Type 2 Incident Management Team is being assigned to the Oregon Lakes Fire which has burned more than 6,600 acres southwest of Delta Junction, Alaska

Oregon Lakes Fire, May 1, 2019. BLM Alaska Fire Service photo.

From the BLM Alaska Fire Service

Due to the unseasonable dry fuels and forecasted windy and warmer weather, an incident management team is mobilizing to strategically plan efforts on the Oregon Lakes Fire burning about 11 miles south of Delta Junction. A Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT) from Alaska will start assembling on Monday (May 6) and take over the management of Fire #077 on Tuesday to develop a strategy that, if the chance emerges, applies suppression tactics on this early-season fire.

The remote fire was reported at about 1 p.m. on April 30 and so far has been burning in an area that is off-limits to firefighters and low-flying fire suppression aircraft due to the likelihood of unexploded ordnance on the ground. It is burning mostly in tall, dry grass and downed trees from the 2013 Mississippi Fire on the west of the braided Delta River.

Oregon Lakes Fire May 2 — BLM Alaska Fire Service personnel flew over the Oregon Lakes Fire midday Thursday May 2 and reported the fire was backing, creeping and sometimes running in an area that is interspersed with lakes – some of which still had ice. Photo by Collins Bonds, BLM AFS

The IMT will work with the BLM AFS Military Fire Management Zone, the U.S. Army Alaska Garrison and the Alaska Division of Forestry (DOF) to determine the best course of action, especially with the forecasted increase in temperatures and wind. It is in a limited protection area and is not immediately threatening any structures, military targets or valuable resources. However, because it is burning in the Delta River drainage with known challenging weather patterns that could cause the fire to persist throughout the summer, the team is being activated to plan for an opportunity to launch suppression tactics once the fire moves out of the military impact areas. There will be an increase of people in the area as the IMT sets up a command post and stages firefighting resources in Delta Junction.

BLM Alaska Fire Service personnel flew over the fire midday Sunday and did not see any significant activity, probably due to the between .1 and .25 inches of precipitation that fell in the area over the past two days. The fire has grown to an estimated 6,670 acres over the past few days, mostly to the northwest. Only five percent of the perimeter was actively burning Sunday afternoon and mostly smoldering along the northeast corner.

Oregon Lakes Fire map — Satellite image showing the location of the Oregon Lakes Fire 10 miles southwest of Delta Junction, AK. Data from May 2, 2019

Due to the predicted weather, the fire is expected to continue to grow to the north and possibly threaten State of Alaska timber values along the Delta River and Delta Creek. According to the National Weather Service, a weak south flow will develop over the Alaska Range this afternoon and continue into Monday, causing a slight warming and drying trend. Much stronger southerly chinook winds will develop over the Alaska Range on Tuesday, bringing a sharp increase in temperatures and winds to the fire area. Conditions are forecasted to reach near red flag criteria on Tuesday, which for Deltana and Tanana Flats areas means relative humidity levels of 25 percent or below and winds of 25 mph or higher. The windy, warm, and dry conditions along the Alaska Range will last into the middle of the week. Smoke is very likely to increase with the warmer weather and increased winds.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Oregon Lakes Fire satellite photo — Satellite photo from May 1, 2019 showing the Oregon Lakes Fire 10 miles southwest of Delta Junction Alaska.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Anon. Typos or errors, report them HERE.

A couple of highlights from Matt Jolly’s fire weather presentation

Bill GabbertMay 2, 2019May 2, 2019UncategorizedNFDRS, weather

fire danger firefighter entrapments — Association between weather and firefighter entrapments. From Matt Jolly presentation, May 2, 2019. Click to enlarge.

At the International Association of Wildland Fire’s Fuels conference currently underway in Albuquerque, Research Ecologist Matt Jolly’s presentation on “Mapping extreme fire weather and its impact on firefighter safety” was very interesting. In his allotted 20 minutes he began by talking about the rollout that is nearly complete of the third revision of the National Fire Danger Rating System.

Mr. Jolly described the development and evaluation of an extreme fire weather metric called the Severe Fire Weather Potential Index. The Index is strongly correlated to wildland fire occurrence and intensity detected by the MODIS satellite and is a strong predictor of wildland firefighter entrapments and fatalities from 1979 to 2017.

Mr. Jolly said some firefighters have told him that the WildfireSafe app which has been in the prototype stage for the last three years is a useful tool for accurately predicting the fire danger at the local level.

These images were snapped with a cell phone during Mr. Jolly’s presentation.

CHP report: Redding Hotshots’ truck was hit head-on

Bill GabbertMay 2, 2019December 9, 2019Uncategorizedaccident, Redding Hotshots, report3 Comments

A Lexus drifted over the yellow line into oncoming traffic

The California Highway Patrol reports that the Redding Hotshots’ crew carrier (or “buggy”) was hit head-on in the accident that sent all 10 occupants of the truck to hospitals on April 30.

The accident was reported by the crew via radio. Members of the 20-person crew trained in first aid began treatment of their injured colleagues immediately.

The other vehicle, a 1996 Lexus, was driven by Linda L. Corr, 66. The report indicates that the Lexus drifted across the yellow line into oncoming traffic and collided with the crew carrier. Ms. Coor was transported by helicopter complaining of pain in her chest.

One of the firefighters was transported by CHP helicopter to Shasta Regional Medial Center. Another was taken by ground ambulance and the other eight were transported by U.S. Forest Service vehicles to local hospitals.

As of May 1 two firefighters were still in the hospital.

Redding Hotshots' Crew Carrier — The Redding Hotshots’ Crew Carrier. Screengrab from @KRCR Photog video.

The crew had been engaged in chain saw training and were returning to their Redding, California base when the accident occurred on SR-299 west of Burney at 5:10 p.m. As is typical of a Type 1 crew, they were traveling in three vehicles — two crew carriers and a superintendent’s truck.

The Forest Service has released very little information about the incident.

TBT: working for Ron Campbell

Bill GabbertMay 2, 2019February 12, 2020Uncategorizedcancer, El Cariso6 Comments

For Throwback Thursday, we are revisiting an article I wrote October 11, 2013 shortly after finding out about the death of Ron Campbell. It was titled, “Ron Campbell, 1942 – 2013”.

We recently found out that a former U.S. Forest Service district Fire Management Officer and Superintendent of the El Cariso Hotshots passed away in April. Ron Campbell for the last 13 years had been dealing with a variety of medical issues, including cancer as well as heart and liver failures. He had been living in Redding, California and was 72 years old.

Ron Campbell at El Cariso Hotshot Camp, 1972. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

I worked for Ron on El Cariso for three years. He was by far the best supervisor I ever had. He became more than that — a friend.

This news comes a couple of weeks after we found out that the El Cariso Hot Shots have been disbanded, at least until next year — two blows that feel like a punch to the gut for those who knew Ron or worked on the crew.

He started with the U.S. Forest Service in 1961 as a firefighter on the Cleveland National Forest in Southern California. In 1963 he was promoted to Driver at Alpine working for Chuck Mills and later worked at Descanso. He was a smokejumper at Redding in 1964 for one summer then he worked in fire prevention and was station foreman at Japatul and Mt. Laguna on the Cleveland NF. He was Superintendent of the El Cariso Hot Shots from 1969 until 1975 when he transferred to the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in northern California as Assistant Fire Management Officer on the Yolla Bolly Ranger District. Two years later he transferred to the Sequoia as district Fire Management Officer at Kernville. In 1979 he left the USFS to work with his brother as a private contractor on slash removal and fuel modification projects.

Before I was on El Cariso I worked for one summer on the Mendocino National Forest in northern California running a chain saw on a timber stand improvement (TSI) crew, thinning young Douglas Fir stands. I went to “fire school”, got a Red Card, and worked on three small fires that summer. I decided that fighting fire was more fun than thinning trees and in 1970 got a job on El Cariso with the help of a USFS college student summer work program through my school, Mississippi State University.

Kenny Tortez and Ron Campbell — Kenny Tortez, Supt. of Del Rosa Hotshots (left) and Ron Campbell on the way to a fire with their two crews in 1971. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

Ron was skeptical of me at first, since I got the job through a non-traditional method. He pushed me harder, I thought, than most of the others on the crew, but maybe everyone thought the same thing about themselves. Eventually he came around to the fact that I had chain saw experience and made me a sawyer on the crew. One of my fellow firefighters thought I was stupid for disclosing that I knew how to run a chain saw, saying it was the hardest job. I was shocked the next year when I became one of the crew foremen.

Ron was able to see things in people, tap into their strengths, and help them develop their potential. We did a great deal of training on the crew, more than most wildland firefighters did in the 1970s. He knew how to inspire people and challenged us to become students of fire.

I asked Charlie Phenix what he remembered about Ron:

I was on the El Cariso crew 1969-1970 and Ron was the Superintendent. The crew was 30 men and most were new. I remember him as bigger than life, but I was just 19. From the beginning he was very stern but fair, I never ran so many PT miles in my life. He had a bent broken finger and when he pointed at us it was kind of funny. This was only 3 years after the Loop Fire so safety was a priority. He saw things in me I didn’t know I had, and in 1970 I became a crew leader (we split crew into 2-15 man teams). For a newby it gave me the foundation of Wildland firefighting I carried for my 38 year career. I still occasionally think of him and the positive impact he had on my life.

Hal Mortier also has memories of his time on the crew:

Ron Campbell was my first supervisor in the Forest Service and a memorable one at that. He was a no-nonsense leader with very high standards and expectations on the job…yet a lot of fun and a friend off the job. Ron was a shaker and a mover as evidenced by his rapid assent through the ranks. I am certain I modeled some of my leadership style and qualities after Ron, a true pleasure to work with and for!

And from Rick Bondar:

He was a tough, smart, ballsy, son of a bitch, who scared the hell out of me my first year and whom I respected and was almost friends with my last 2-3 years on the crew. We would have followed him anywhere & DID.

Continue reading “TBT: working for Ron Campbell”

Kim Kelly wins Lead by Example Award

Bill GabbertMay 2, 2019April 30, 2019UncategorizedLead by Example Award

Kim Kelly has been selected as one of the recipients for the 2018 Paul Gleason Lead by Example Award. Ms. Kelly is a Fire Ecologist with the NW Regional Office of the Bureau of Land Management.

The award was created by the NWCG Leadership Committee to remember Paul Gleason’s contributions to the wildland fire service. During a career spanning five decades, Mr. Gleason was a dedicated student of fire, a teacher of fire, and a leader of firefighters. The intent of the award is to recognize individuals or groups who exhibit this same spirit and who exemplify the wildland fire leadership values and principles. Ms. Kelly’s work in support of the Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program has been a demonstration of motivation and vision.

Ms. Kelly was recognized for her strong leadership and unwavering pursuit to improve the health and safety of Native American employees, especially Tribal employees. Her efforts to bring Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs coverage to Tribal employees outside the scope of suppression is commendable and recognized by her peers through this award. Additionally, she was commended for her professionalism and compassion given to individuals and families working through the administrative functions of health care.

The award was also presented to two other individuals and one group for 2018: Kim Lightley, Pete Barry, and the BLM Boise Helitack Crew.

Winners of the award prior to 2018.

Australia/United States joint panel discussion about a woman’s career in fire

Bill GabbertMay 1, 2019UncategorizedNew South Wales, smokejumpers, women

Simultaneously live streamed from both Sydney and Albuquerque

One of the more interesting events at the International Association of Wildland Fire’s (IAWF) Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference this week was that some speakers were being live streamed from Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sydney, Australia; and Marseille, France. At times presenters were contributing to one event simultaneously from two continents.

An example was the joint panel discussion live streamed from Albuquerque and Sydney Wednesday afternoon. Each site had three or four panelists discussing A Life and a Career in Fire, from a woman’s viewpoint.

women in wildland fire panel discussion — The stream from Sydney. New South Wales Rural Fire Service photo.

The panelists talked about how a woman’s career in a male-dominated work force can be different from a man’s, the challenges they faced, and how they reacted or dealt with the issues.

One notable comment was from Deanne Shulman, the first female smokejumper, now retired. She referred to Michelle Obama’s method for handling down in the dirt political campaigning, “When they go low, we go high”. Ms. Shulman said her tactic when harassed by males was somewhat different, “When they go low, I go lower.” Then she laughed.

The IAWF deserves a commendation for working out the logistics, electronics, and timing on both continents. In a previous life one of my duties was to arrange two-hour conference calls with participants in the US, Europe, and Australia. Choosing a time often meant some participants had to call in early in the morning or late at night.

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