News and opinion about wildland fire
Thursday February 2, we talked with a commander of the 19,000 hectare (46,950 acre) wildfire south of Matanzas, Chile. We enlisted the help of Felipe to translate.
The fire has been burning for most of this week and at one time had a large number of resources assigned. It has received much attention in recent days from the 747 SuperTanker and the IL-76 very large air tanker.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized4 Comments on Chile’s Under Secretary of Armed Forces visits SuperTanker Ms. Paulina Vodanovic Rojas, Chile’s Under Secretary of the Armed Forces, visited the 747 SuperTanker on February 1 at the Santiago Airport. After she hurriedly toured the interior of the air tanker just before it took off to assist firefighters near Navidad she met with the press.
When the current wildfire siege began a few weeks ago, the Chilean government was reluctant to bring in large or very large air tankers from outside the country.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized3 Comments on The culture of volunteer firefighters in Chile 
A few days ago “cspen” contributed a comment below an article we wrote on January 27 about volunteer firefighters, Bomberos in Spanish, setting up and operating a complex high-volume system for loading 19,200 gallons of water into the SuperTanker every time it pulled in to reload. In case you missed it, here it is again.
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“The tradition of the volunteer fire fighters in Chile is a very old one. To become a volunteer firefighter there is a waiting list in every single town and city across Chile, and it often takes years to get an open slot, typically another member must sponsor the person applying. It is seen as more important and patriotic than volunteering to join the military. It is for life. Even old firefighters that are no longer able to fight fires, still show-up for training and other activities, or help with administration. Often until they die.
At the core, is a sort of belief that fighting fires and rescuing people is such an honor, and so important, that a paid, “professional” group, of fire fighters would not take it so seriously (correct or mistaken). It is not something that can be trusted to the vagaries of government ministers, budget cuts, and so on.
That said, the volunteer departments equipment is mostly provided by the government. Simply the firefighters receive donations in yearly fund raising drives, that they divided between them and is viewed as a thank you for their service through-out the year.
They do receive professional level training. Experts from the around the World are brought in to for training. Firefighters join specialized brigades such as dealing with chemical hazards, high-rise rescues, and so on.
This is not just a bunch of guys standing on the street corner they pick-up, and hand them a garden hose.”
This video, shot February 3, 2016, shows evidence of intentionally set wildfires in southern Chile. In addition to the pattern of ignitions for several fires that indicate the work of an arsonist, you can actually see a horseback rider igniting fires.
When the black and white images appear, it indicates the camera operator has switched from regular video to infrared, which detects heat. The white areas are the hottest.
In recent days there has been much discussion in Chile about the cause of some of the scores of blazes in the country. At least 43 people have been arrested for allegedly starting fires. More than 400,000 hectares (almost a million acres) have burned and 11 people have been killed, including 4 firefighters and one air tanker pilot.
Again, this video is from a year ago.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Seasonal wildland firefighters exempt from Trump’s hiring freeze 
After being in limbo since the federal hiring freeze was enacted on January 22, the land management agencies now know that they can still hire the tens of thousands of firefighters and park rangers that protect and manage our national forests, parks, reservations, and refuges.
A memo was issued January 31 by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management that listed positions exempt from the freeze. Seasonal employees and short-term temporary employees “necessary to meet traditionally recurring seasonal workloads” can still be hired. In addition, term and temporary appointments of existing Federal employees may be extended up to the maximum allowable time limit.
There is also an exemption that allows the head of an agency to hire employees that are necessary to “meet national security responsibilities” or to “meet public safety responsibilities (including essential activities to the extent that they protect life and property)”.
An interesting article by Rocky Barker in the Idaho Statesman covered the effects of the freeze on federal land management agencies. It was published January 30 before the exemption memo was released the following day.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized4 Comments on Chile receives international aid for wildfire crisis Above: Firefighters from Venezuela arrive at Santiago, Chile January 29 2017. Photo by Bill Gabbert.
(UPDATED at 1645 Chile time January 31, 2017, to include additional funds provided to Chile by the United States.)
At least nine countries are sending various forms of aid to Chile to help deal with what President Michelle Bachelet has called the worst forest disaster in Chile’s history.
As of January 30 there were at least 58 active wildfires that have burned 1,047 homes and killed 11 people, including four firefighters and the pilot of a single engine air tanker.
Brazil is contributing the use of a C-130 with a slip-in Modular Airborne FireFighting System (MAFFS), and the Russian IL-76 air tanker arrived on January 30.
The United States sent four wildfire specialists from the U.S. Forest Service and also activated five local consultants in Chile to liaise with national authorities and help coordinate response activities. USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) committed $100,000 to Caritas, a local non-governmental organization associated with the Catholic Church, for the regional procurement and delivery of firefighting equipment.
On Tuesday afternoon the U.S. Embassy in Chile announced that an additional $740,000 is being provided. The U.S. Agency for International Development, through its office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), will donate $500,000 to support the humanitarian needs of communities affected by the wildfires and $200,000 USD worth of personal protective equipment to those fighting the fires. Additionally, $20,000 USD will be donated to Caritas for tools needed to build firebreaks.
This disaster assistance comes in addition to a donation of $20,000 USD made to the non-profit ADRA, for personal hygiene kits which were recently distributed to affected residents of Santa Olga, a town that was completely destroyed by the fires.
A grandson of the founder of WalMart, Ben Walton with his wife Lucy Ana, are funding through the family’s foundation system the initial deployment and use of the privately owned 747 SuperTanker out of Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. Other non-governmental organizations have expressed interest in helping to provide additional financing for the aircraft in Chile.
beautiful footage of @GlobalSuperTank #supertanker in #Chile thanks to @lucyanaah pic.twitter.com/aUJFmYxfIT
— Jorge Daccarett (@j_daccarett) January 28, 2017
Ahora Noticias is reporting that the government of Chile has contracted for four firefighting helicopters to be brought in on an Antonov freighter aircraft. The aircraft are expected to be one K-MAX and three Bell 205’s. There may also be some large Air-Crane helicopters arriving to assist the firefighters on the ground.
Last week President Bachelet declared a state of emergency which authorizes additional authority for the military. We explored the possibility of driving several hours away to report on the fire activity, but were told by local fire personnel that we would encounter numerous checkpoints that could make travel difficult.
