Each year we experience more extreme and longer wildland fires, and the wildland firefighting community rises to the challenge to protect life, property, and natural and cultural resources. On July 2, for National Wildland Firefighter Day we show appreciation and recognize the hard work and dedication of every wildland fire responder. Thank you also to the supporting families and friends of wildland fire responders who make it possible for responders to be away for weeks or months at a time.
President Biden issued a statement this morning about the commemoration:
Today, on the first annual National Wildland Firefighter Day, I join Americans across the country in expressing deep gratitude for our wildland firefighters who heroically protect our communities and natural resources from wildfires.
Recognizing their service and sacrifice on this day is especially important because we continue to ask more of them year after year. In the past year and a half, I’ve met firefighters in Idaho, California, Colorado, and New Mexico who work night and day to keep people safe, all while fires are getting larger, more intense, and more difficult to control because of climate change, the accumulation of hazardous fuels in our forests, and evolving land development patterns.
Firefighters can spend months away from their loved ones, courageously working to save lives, homes, schools, businesses, natural resources, and wilderness areas. Beyond fighting fires, these dedicated women and men also work year-round to protect us from wildfires before they start by doing the important fuels management work needed to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic fire. This work is tough and extremely dangerous.
That’s why my Administration continues to make supporting this workforce a top priority. Building on what I initiated last year, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorized historic new initiatives and resources for wildland firefighters that we are implementing now. This includes a substantial pay increase, new programs to support wildland firefighter mental and physical health, and the creation of a wildland firefighter job series that will improve recruitment, retention, and opportunities for professional growth.
We are also building our firefighting workforce, including converting more temporary firefighting positions to permanent jobs. And we’re further supporting our brave firefighters by doing everything we can to help reduce the risk of catastrophic fires, including proposing a nearly 60 percent increase in hazardous fuels management funds in my Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request, and investing another $2.5 billion in this work over the next five years through my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
National Wildland Firefighter Day will occur annually during the previously established wildland firefighter Week of Remembrance. I’ve attended too many memorial services for the fallen, including almost nine years to the day, *honoring 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot firefighters who died fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. They were some of the strongest, most disciplined, tenacious, physically fit firefighters in the world. So, this week we will also reflect on those firefighters who have fallen in the line of duty and renew our commitment to wildland firefighter safety. We pause to remember them, commemorate their selfless service, and thank their loved ones for their service and many sacrifices.
May God bless firefighters and their families across our Nation.
*Link to coverage of the memorial service for the Granite Mountain Hotshots added by Wildfire Today.
The forecast for wildland fire potential issued July 1 by the National Interagency Fire Center predicts that in July it will increase to higher than “normal” this summer in Alaska, Texas, Northern California, and the eastern portions of Washington and Oregon. In August added to the list will be parts of Montana, the Black Hills, and the Northern Plains. Hawaii will be above normal for the next four months.
The fire potential text and maps from NIFC shown here represent the cumulative forecasts of the ten Geographic Area Predictive Services Units and the National Predictive Services Unit. Additional graphics are included from other sources.
Below:
Excerpts from the NIFC narrative report for the next four months;
Additional NIFC monthly graphical outlooks;
NOAA’s three-month temperature and precipitation forecasts;
Drought Monitor;
Keetch-Byram Drought Index;
Soil moisture.
“Most of the West, Plains, and Texas remain in drought, with areas of extreme to exceptional drought across the southwestern US. Drought developed across southwest Alaska and expanded or increased in severity across the Southeast and Hawai’i. Temperatures were above normal across the southern tier of the US and the Plains, with near to below normal temperatures across the northwestern US and the Northeast.
“Climate outlooks indicate below normal precipitation is likely across much of the Plains through the central Rockies into the Inland Pacific Northwest, with above normal temperatures likely across most of the contiguous US (CONUS) through summer. A robust North American Monsoon is expected to continue through July into August across the Southwest and portions of the broader Four Corners region. Alaska is likely to remain warm, with near normal precipitation likely through summer.
“Above normal significant fire potential is forecast for the southern Plains through October, spreading across Texas, the Lower to Mid-Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Valleys by fall. Much of the central and northern High Plains, including the Black Hills, are likely to have above normal potential through summer. The Southwest, southern Great Basin, and Colorado Rockies have returned to near normal potential.
“Southwest, south-central, and Interior Alaska will have above normal significant fire potential through August, although portions of southwest Alaska will likely return to near normal potential during August. Much of the Sierra and Coast Ranges in California will have above normal significant potential by August, continuing through September. Offshore wind prone areas in California will likely retain above normal potential in October as well. Along and east of the Cascades into much of the western and northern Great Basin is expected to have above normal potential this summer due to above normal fine fuel loading and long-term drought, with southwest Oregon likely to have increasing potential by August. Leeward sides of the Hawai’ian Islands will have above normal potential through October due to ongoing drought and likely enhanced trade winds.”
This weekend temperatures in the state could be 20 degrees above average
Alaska daily cumulative acres burned, by year. The black line is 2022. Accessed June 29, 2022. University of Alaska Fairbanks.
With near record-setting wildfire activity early in Alaska’s fire season and a looming heat wave, on Thursday the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center moved to wildland fire Planning Level 5, the highest level. Currently there are multiple large fires that require incident management teams in several areas simultaneously. PL5 status means most of the initial and extended attack firefighting resources are committed to new and existing fires. Nationally the PL is 2, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center, but each geographic area establishes their own based on local conditions.
Red areas represent current fires, July 1, 2022
There are currently 160 fires in Alaska, and 17 are staffed. With the predicted hot dry weather, lightning, and Red Flag warnings, the fire risk is very high. In addition, fire smoke is at health advisory levels in parts of the state.
Red Flag Warnings, Alaska, July 1, 2022
More than 1,646,895 acres have burned so far this season. Since mid-June the cumulative acres burned to date has been hovering at record levels or above. As of June 29 the only year with more acres burned to date was 2015. The average total burned each year in Alaska from 1992 through 2021 was 1,192,909 acres.
Forecasters say a heat dome will settle over Alaska Friday through Monday that will challenge daily record high temperatures. Fairbanks is expected to hit an abnormally high 85 on Friday. That would be three degrees below the July 1 temperature record of 88, which was set just last year.
Interesting times ahead for Alaska, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. ECMWF 500 mb height anomalies for the next 10 days in the loop below. Ridge breakdown/eastward shift could bring explosive growth to the many fires in AK while the ridge ramps up fire weather in YK and NWT. pic.twitter.com/5KsVHDqFAJ
The abnormal heat will pile on to already abnormally dry vegetation, or as known to firefighters, fuels. In Anchorage, just 7 percent of the city’s normal June rainfall fell, while Fairbanks saw 36 percent of its typical June rainfall totals.
Firefighter at the Dixie Fire near Greenville, CA, 2021. Jay Walter.
On Tuesday June 28 at 11 a.m. MDT there will be an event live-streamed on facebook announcing the designation of July 2 as National Wildland Firefighter Day.
(Following is a news release from the National Interagency Fire Center:)
The newly established National Wildland Firefighter Day (July 2) recognizes the dedication of wildland firefighters, including federal, state, local, rural, contract, and support personnel. The selected date is especially meaningful as it occurs during the Week of Remembrance, which is held annually June 30 to July 6, and serves as an opportunity to renew our commitment to wildland firefighter safety as we remember those who have fallen in the line of duty.
National Wildland Firefighter Day is designed to recognize the hard work and devotion of all wildland firefighters and support personnel who are the backbone of the wildland fire community. These men and women work to save lives, property, infrastructure and precious natural and cultural resources every year, and we are incredibly thankful for their professional skills and efforts.
The National Wildland Firefighter Day was also created to support The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) efforts to implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) for DOI and USDA Wildland Fire Management programs. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides significant funding to expand a workforce reform initiative designed to further reinforce wildland fire management staff.
Over the next five years, the Interior and Agriculture Departments will receive $8 billion to fund forest and land management activities, including $600 million for firefighter pay – providing about 1,500 additional firefighters and supporting President Biden’s commitment that no federal firefighter will make less than $15 an hour. The Law also provides for critical wildland firefighter workforce improvements, ranging from a new wildland firefighter classification series to mental health support, and improved compensation to additional training.
Sequoia grove in Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP, November, 2021. NPS photo by Daniel Jeffcoach.
At Wildfire Today we don’t get too excited about proposed legislation because most of it is introduced, sent to a committee, and is never seen again. But pending, there are two that will interest land managers and wildland firefighters and may have a better than 50/50 chance of passing.
Save Our Sequoias
Today House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield-23) and co-author House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) introduced the Save Our Sequoias (SOS) act.
These trees that can live for up to 3,000 years need protection. This should include actively managing and reducing the surrounding hazardous fuels. In addition, when firefighting resources are scarce, which seems to be the new normal, Multi-Agency Coordinating Groups need to consider the irreplaceable value of these iconic groves when allocating personnel and equipment for going fires. Some may say these behemoths are at least, if not more, valuable than man-made structures that also may need protection from nearby fires.
Preliminary surveys found that in a two year period, 2020 and 2021, almost 20 percent of all giant sequoias in their natural range over four feet in diameter were killed by fire (and neglect) or will die in the next few years. In 2020, 10 to 14 percent of the entire Sierra Nevada population of giant sequoia trees over 4 feet in diameter were killed in the Castle Fire. Early estimates after two fires the following year, the KNP Complex and the Windy Fire, 2,261 to 3,637 sequoias over four feet in diameter were killed or will die within the next three to five years.
At this rate, with this climate, we could lose the rest of these massive trees in just a few years.
Three fires in two years that killed giant sequoia trees. The darker green areas represent groves of giant sequoias.
Please watch this video to see how urgent the issue is.
The film was produced by Kyle Dickman and the Mariposa County Resource Conservation District thanks to a grant from the California Wildlife Conservation Board’s Forest conservation Program.
Despite the looming threat to the remaining Giant Sequoias, federal land managers have not been able to increase the pace and scale of treatments necessary to restore Giant Sequoia resiliency to wildfires, insects, and drought. At its current pace, it would take the U.S. Forest Service approximately 52 years to treat just their 19 highest priority Giant Sequoia groves at high-risk of experiencing devastating wildfires. Without urgent action, we are at risk of losing our iconic trees in the next several years. Accelerating scientific forest management practices will not only improve the health and resiliency of these thousand-year-old trees but also enhance air and water quality and protect critical habitat for important species like the Pacific Fisher.
The SOS Act will provide land managers with the emergency tools and resources needed to save these remaining ancient wonders from the unprecedented peril threatening their long-term survival. The bill would:
Enhance coordination between federal, state, tribal and local land managers through shared stewardship agreements and the codification of the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition, a partnership between the current Giant Sequoia managers.
Create a Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency Assessment to prioritize wildfire risk reduction treatments in the highest-risk groves and track the progress of scientific forest management activities.
Declare an emergency to streamline and expedite environmental reviews and consultations while maintaining robust scientific analysis.
Provide new authority to the National Park Foundation and National Forest Foundation to accept private donations to facilitate Giant Sequoia restoration and resiliency.
Establish a comprehensive reforestation strategy to regenerate Giant Sequoias in areas destroyed by recent catastrophic wildfires.
Neither the text or a summary of the bill, H.R.8168, is available, but on the day it was introduced Congress.gov listed 26 cosponsors — 13 Republicans and 13 Democrats.
$1,000 Recruitment or Retention bonus for wildland firefighters
An amendment has been added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2023, H.R.7900, which would pay a recruitment or retention bonus of not less than $1,000 to Federal wildland firefighters. The minimum amount would be increased each year according to the Consumer Price Index. It would be available once a year to any primary or secondary firefighter after successfully completing the Work Capacity Test.
‘‘Federal wildland firefighter’’ is defined as “any temporary, seasonal, or permanent position at the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior that maintains group, emergency incident management, or fire qualifications, as established annually by the Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications published by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, and primarily engages in or supports wildland fire management activities, including forestry and rangeland technicians and positions concerning aviation, engineering heavy equipment operations, or fire and fuels management.”
It does not appropriate any additional funding to pay the bonuses, but the dollars could most likely come from the salaries from unfilled positions.
The NDAA is far from being passed, but this is a high priority piece of legislation which is sometimes used as a vehicle for slipping in unrelated bills. The 2014 NDAA, for example, included authorization and $130 million to transfer seven HC-130H aircraft from the Coast Guard to the US Forest Service to be used as air tankers. But that’s a long, sad, story with a couple of unexpected twists. (Unless there are still more delays, one or more may be actually flying over fires for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, not the Forest Service, in 2023.)
A correction was made to the dates in which nearly 20 percent of all giant sequoias in their natural range over four feet in diameter were killed by fire (and neglect) or will die in the next few years.
Las Dispensas prescribed fire, 1:07 p.m. MDT April 6, 2022. USFS photo.
An 80-page report (4.7Mb) released by the U.S. Forest Service concluded that the management of the prescribed fire that escaped and merged with another escaped prescribed fire to become the largest wildfire in the recorded history of New Mexico, generally followed the approved prescribed fire plan for most but not all of the parameters. The people on the ground felt they were close to or within the prescription limits but fuel moistures were lower than realized and increased heavy fuel loading after fireline preparation contributed to increasing the risk of fire escape.
The prescribed fire on the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico east of the city of Santa Fe was one of the units within the Gallinas Prescribed Fire Project Area. The first burning activity in early October of 2017, was the ignition of piles of debris left after forest thinning projects. Less than expected snow allowed the fire to spread away from the piles over the next three months. In late December they began to suppress the fire, and on January 18, 2018 it was converted to a wildfire. A Facilitated Learning Analysis found that“communication” and “prescribed fire preparation and risk” were two common themes.
In a continuation of that large multi-unit project, on April 6, 2022 at 11:34 a.m. firefighters ignited the test fire on the Las Dispensas prescribed fire, expected to be 150 acres. At 12:34 p.m. the test was considered successful and the project commenced.
Test fire on the Las Dispensas prescribed fire April 6, 2022. USFS photo.
The first small spot fire occurred at 1:35, which was controlled. At 2:26 a quarter-acre spot fire was caught.
Radio communication with some of the personnel was discovered to be a problem. It was later found that Bravo Holding was using a separate “crew net” and were not monitoring the planned frequency.
Ignition stopped a couple of times as spot fires were suppressed, but by about 4 p.m. when the relative humidity dropped to 10 percent there were at least a dozen spots. At 4:06 the Burn boss requested contingency resources and at 4:15 as groups of trees began torching all resources were pulled off the fire due to the increasing fire intensity. At 4:25 Dispatch reported that the contingency resources were physically located in Taos, New Mexico at the Fire Summit (an annual training exercise). Taos is approximately 70 miles from the prescribed fire.
At 4:38 Dispatch advised the Agency Administrator that the Burn Boss and the Fire Management Officer recommend it be declared a wildfire — about four hours after the primary ignition began. The Agency Administrator made the wildfire declaration and at 4:50 the incident was named the Hermits Peak wildfire.
Hermits Peak Fire, April 8, 2022. USFS photo.
On April 22 the Hermits Peak Fire merged with the Calf Canyon Fire, another escaped prescribed fire on the Santa Fe National Forest. As of June 22 the blaze has burned more than 341,000 acres.
Weather
The prescription for broadcast burning required that the relative humidity be between 12 and 60 percent. The spot weather forecast issued by the National Weather Service at 8:53 a.m. on April 6 predicted the minimum RH would be between 9 and 13 percent, west winds 10 to 15 mph gusting to 25, and 54 to 58 degrees.
During the project on April 6 weather conditions were measured by a lookout once an hour using a hand-held Kestrel instrument. With that device the readings appeared to be within the prescription parameters except for the observations at 4 p.m. when it showed the RH had dropped to 10 percent.
From the report:
“Regarding temperature (dry bulb and wet bulb) and relative humidity, the observations recorded by the lookout showed a cooler and more moist bias when compared with other observations of weather and fire behavior on the site. Specifically, relative humidity readings taken from the Kestrel differed from what the relative humidity values should have been if calculated using the National Wildfire Coordinating Group standard tables for that elevation and the dry bulb and wet bulb observations. The relative humidity values recorded from the Kestrel provided values that are nearly 10 percent higher than those calculated.”
The recalculated RH at 4 p.m. was actually 6 percent, not 10 as shown on the Kestrel. One of the Firing Bosses also took readings and used the NWCG standard tables, which were similar to the recalculated values from the lookout’s Kestrel.
To summarize the weather, the forecast predicted the RH to be 9 to 13 percent, possibly below the prescribed 12 percent minimum, but it actually dropped as low as 6 percent, well below the prescription.
Fuels
Fine and heavy fuel loading increased in the years after the prescribed fire plan was developed, resulting from a combination of canopy opening from thinning (fine fuels) and fireline preparation (heavy fuels). This contributed to high fire intensity, torching, prolific spotting, and resistance to control.
The foliar fuel moistures were low and contributed to the transition from surface to crown fire. Fuel moisture samples taken from March 16 to April 3 showed a significant downward trend that contributed to the transition from surface to crown fire and increased spotting potential. Foliar moistures were listed to be sampled in the prescribed fire plan but were not part of the prescription.
The report’s conclusions, findings, and lessons learned
There was no nearby Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) in working order representative of conditions at the burn site. If available, the data could have improved situational awareness.
A thinning project in the burn area opened the canopy in some areas, allowing more sunlight which led to lower fuel moistures. Heavy ground fuels resulting from the construction of fireline for the burn project added to the fuel loading. This contributed to higher fire intensities, torching, spotting, and higher resistance-to-control.
Low live fuel moistures facilitated the transition from surface fire to torching and spotting outside the unit boundaries.
The prescribed fire plan mentioned that the Energy Release Component (ERC) which is an indication of the potential intensity of a fire, was to be monitored, but did not specify how the element would be used. On the date of the prescribed fire it was 37, far above average for the date which was 23. The highest ever recorded on that date was 41. Higher numbers indicate greater fire intensity.
There was an underestimation of the minimum holding and contingency resources needed. After numerous spot fires occurred, the Burn Boss requested the contingency resources, but they were 70 miles away.
A clear recognition and acknowledgment of long-term drought and climate factors versus short-term weather events would have led toward better situational awareness of the fire environment and could have resulted in more favorable outcomes.
The test fire was initiated in an area of the unit that was not representative of the rest of the unit. On several occasions, both before the burn was ignited and after the test fire was considered and accepted, some personnel felt that the dry conditions would result in difficult burning conditions and an increase in risk, but they accepted the assignment.
Consider requiring overhead, such as Firing Boss, Holding Boss and other staffed positions, to document support of the agreement with the Test Fire or the Go/No-Go decision.
Administrative boundaries limited the selection of potential control lines. The prescribed fire unit designation followed boundary lines from private property and other land designations, such as wilderness, and not necessarily advantageous fuels changes or topography.
Use the existing authority in the “Wyden Amendment” that allows managers of federal lands to spend funds to conduct treatments on adjacent non-federal lands to improve the viability of, and otherwise benefit, fish, wildlife, and other biotic resources.
District fire employees perceived pressure to “accomplish the mission,” which may have led to taking greater risk.
Records show the Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 2 (RXB2) performed as a fully qualified RXB2 at least 12 times since 2015.
Invest in education opportunities for continued learning in science and technology specific to fire behavior and fire environment. Consider workshops tailored for prescribed fire practitioners that address today’s challenges related to environmental and social conditions.
Prescribed fire programs and projects should invest in staffing, training, planning and other supporting resources commensurate with the priority and complexity of prescribed fire projects.
Consider Incident Management Teams when implementing complex prescribed fire projects.
Increase support for existing Burn Bosses by activating Planning Section functions when complexity warrants the additional capacity.
Establish an interagency training facility, such as the National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center, that would be located in the Western U.S. and focus on the additional complexities involved with western fuel treatments.
Learn from indigenous communities about cultural land management practices.
Invest in education opportunities for continued learning in science and technology specific to fire behavior and fire environment. Consider workshops tailored for prescribed fire practitioners that address today’s challenges related to environmental and social conditions.
And this from the report
“We ask them to make up ground on long-needed and far-behind proactive restoration work while barely allowing time to recover from a previously taxing wildland fire response and preparing to respond yet again. We ask them to restore fire process to ecosystems that have evolved to burn, but many of which are now primed for extreme fire behavior due to our own decisions to exclude or suppress fire in these areas.
“To accomplish this level and frequency of prescribed fire on the landscape, we must ensure that practitioners have access to the best science, technology and tools, and that they are confident and practiced in their usage. We need an approach to planning and implementing prescribed fire that’s as robust as our Incident Management Teams’ response to wildfire.”
The 10-year plan
The 10-year plan released in January by the Forest Service for prescribed fire and other fuel projects calls for tripling the number of acres treated on National Forest System Lands in the West and other Federal, State, Tribal, and private lands in the West, increasing from about 2.5 million acres a year to 7.5 million.
Our take
The report said, “District fire employees perceived pressure to accomplish the mission, which may have led to taking greater risk.”
If they feel pressure now, how will they feel when the number of acres treated needs to increase substantially? Will there be a corresponding escalation in Burn Bosses, Holding Bosses, full time prescribed fire planners, NEPA compliance capacity, crews, and weather windows?
Hermits Peak – Calf Canyon Fire, June 14, 2022. USFS.
