Here is a very brief look at the effects of smoke on wildland firefighters, and below that, a longer look, in the embedded four-page .pdf document.
By Kathleen M. Navarro, U.S. Forest Service (currently with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Wildland firefighters are exposed to health hazards including inhaling hazardous pollutants from the combustion of live and dead vegetation (smoke), and breathing in ash and soil dust, while working long shifts with no respiratory protection. This research brief summarizes a study estimating long-term health impacts of smoke exposure for wildland firefighters (Navarro et al. 2019). The study estimated relative risk of lung cancer and cardiovascular disease mortality from existing particulate matter (PM) exposure-response relationships using a measured PM concentration from smoke and breathing rates from previous wildland firefighter studies across different exposure scenarios.
Key Findings:
Firefighters who worked both short and long seasons (49 days and 98 days per year, respectively) were exposed to increased lifetime doses of PM4 across all career durations (5-25 years).
Wildland firefighters were estimated to be at increased risk of lung cancer (8 to 43 percent) and cardiovascular disease (16 to 30 percent) mortality across all season lengths and career durations.
These findings suggest that wildland firefighters should reduce exposure to smoke in any way possible.
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Rep. Louie Gohmert. Still image from video of the July 8 hearing.
A member of the United States House of Representatives elected by the people of Texas had an unusual question for an employee of the US Forest Service Tuesday. Jennifer Eberlein, the Associate Deputy Chief for the National Forest System in Washington, was testifying during a live streamed broadcast of a hearing before the House Natural Resources subcommittee on national parks, forests and public lands.
Rep. Louie Gohmert asked her a question. The topic at the time was climate change.
“I understand from what’s been testified to the Forest Service and the BLM you want very much to work on the issue of climate change,” Rep. Gohmert said. “I was informed by the immediate past director of NASA that they found that the moon’s orbit is changing slightly and so is the Earth’s orbit around the sun,” he continued. “And we know there’s been significant solar flare activity. And so is there anything that the National Forest Service or BLM can do to change the course of the moon’s orbit or the Earth’s orbit around the sun? Obviously, that would have profound effects on our climate.”
After a pause, Ms. Eberlien replied. “I would have to follow up with you on that one, Mr. Gohmert,” she said with a smile.
“Yeah, well, if you figure out a way that you in the Forest Service can make that change,” Rep. Gohmert said, “I’d like to know.”
After word got around about the unusual question, Rep. Gohmert tweeted about it. But he only wanted to clarify that he was referring to the Bureau of Land Management, not Black Lives Matter, and to make an accusation of “fake news” when someone quoted him correctly.
Astrophysicist Katie Mack weighed in:
There are two equally distressing possibilities for explaining this.
1) Gohmert thinks we can adjust the orbits of the Earth or Moon or tweak solar activity.
2) He’s knows that’s impossible & is being sarcastic because he thinks addressing climate change is always impossible. https://t.co/LFS9KF5ZK7
US Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen, at Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, May 26, 2021.
Vicki Christiansen announced today her intention to retire from her position as Chief of the U.S. Forest Service. In addition to issuing a news release, she recorded what the Forest Service calls a “selfie video.” (below)
At times during the three-minute video she appeared to be emotional, taking a pause to collect herself. But she got right to the point. Here is how it began:
Hi everyone, it’s Chief Vicki Christiansen. Today, I’m going to share a personal decision that I have made together with my family. I will be retiring from USDA Forest Service in August. Please know what a difficult and emotional decision this is for me. I’ve been a wildland firefighter, a professional forester and a land manager for the last 40 years, and my personal passion is connecting people with their natural resources and serving at the Forest Service for the past 11 years has allowed me to do that in partnership with all of you. Serving with you has been a really special privilege, and it’s the best capstone that I could ever ask for my career.
From Wikipedia:
Christiansen worked as a firefighter in Washington for 26 years, eventually serving as the Washington State Forester. She then served as the Arizona State Forester from 2009 to 2010. She joined the United States Forest Service in 2010 as the acting director of legislative affairs before serving as deputy director of fire and aviation management. In 2012, she served as acting regional forester for the Northern Region, which covers 25 million acres across five states and includes 12 national forests.
Christiansen was named the 19th chief of the Forest Service in October 2018.
Chief Christiansen said she “has been working with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to plan her retirement for several months.” He is expected to nominate her successor later in June.
Chief Christiansen received mixed reviews during the last several months. She has been criticized for her meek appearances before Congressional committees, failing to be a strong advocate to impress upon the legislators that inadequate funds are being appropriated for the Forest Service, making it impossible to make adequate progress in managing hazardous fuels, prescribing burning, and recruiting and retaining skilled firefighting personnel.
Below is the complete transcript of the video, “lightly edited for clarity” by the US Forest Service:
“Hi everyone, it’s Chief Vicki Christiansen. Today, I’m going to share a personal decision that I have made together with my family. I will be retiring from USDA Forest Service in August. Please know what a difficult and emotional decision this is for me. I’ve been a wildland firefighter, a professional forester and a land manager for the last 40 years, and my personal passion is connecting people with their natural resources and serving at the Forest Service for the past 11 years has allowed me to do that in partnership with all of you. Serving with you has been a really special privilege, and it’s the best capstone that I could ever ask for my career.
“But, the time has come for me to spend more time with my family: my dear mother, who will turn 90 in a few months, my—of course—my children and my grandchildren. You know, they live a continent away in the Pacific Northwest, and I just need to be closer to them. And they have supported me so much throughout my entire career. It’s time for me to give back and to support them.
“I’ve chosen this moment, in part, because I think it’s the best time. There’s never a perfect time. I’d like to get so much more done with you and for you, but there are great leaders that are ready to step up, and in the coming days or weeks Secretary Vilsack will be announcing the next Chief. And I’ll stick around; I’ll spend a few weeks to do a transition with the new Chief once they’re in place. We want you all to know how much a good transition means for the Forest Service and USDA.
“So, think about all that we have accomplished in the last three years: coping with a global pandemic and horrendous fire years, the good traction that has been made in improving forest conditions and really setting the stage to do even more of that work with shared stewardship, and, of course, changing our culture for the better by naming and living our values through This is Who We Are.
“So, thank you for your support and thank you for your incredibly hard work. I am very proud to be one of you and this great mission of the Forest Service will be in my heart forever. It’s been an extreme honor and a great privilege to serve as your Chief.
“Thank you.”
End of transcript.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today tagged “Victoria Christiansen”, click here.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Riva, SR, and Kelly.
On Sunday, June 6, 2021 you can view a two-part live stream on Facebook of Tim Hart’s final journey home. Tim suffered a critical injury while parachuting into the Eicks Fire in New Mexico and passed away June 3.
The stream will be available on the Facebook pages of the Custer Gallatin National Forest and the Shoshone National Forest. The first stream will go live at approximately 8:30 a.m. MDT. The second stream of Tim arriving home in Cody, Wyoming should be available at around 3:00 p.m. MDT (*delayed starts are possible).
The ability to accomplish a lot when given very little is, necessarily, the hallmark of federal firefighting.
Firefighter on the Cold Fire in Wind Cave National Park. Photo by Bill Gabbert.
There have been articles published in recent months describing the working conditions, miserable pay, and dangers to the mental and physical heath of federal wildland firefighters. Some of the attention is due to the efforts of the Grassroots Wildland Firefighters who have been reaching out to politicians and the media.
The fact that hundreds of federal firefighter positions are vacant across the nation is a product of the inability to compete in the job market with public and private organizations that actually pay their employees a living wage without requiring them to be away from home for up to 120 days each year. It is a complex subject that few understand and is difficult to summarize quickly.
The best article I have read that describes the plight of federal firefighters was published this week in Grist by Zora Thomas. I implore you to read it and pass it along to someone who NEEDS to understand. It also has excellent photos taken by Ms. Thomas and other firefighters.
Below is an excerpt — how the article ends.
…The day after the blowout on the Bear Fire, one of our leads was hit by the top of a tree. He was on his own, down in a steep drainage, orchestrating a handful of helicopters to cool down a leading edge of the fire and give the rest of us time to prepare a road to burn off. He didn’t see the dead top of the tree, or hear it fall. He’s lucky to be alive.
The piece that hit him was large enough to be fatal, but decomposed enough to break on impact. It smashed him down the steep hill he was working on, filling pockets on his pack with rot and woodchips. He’s been in wildland fire for most of his adult life and has had plenty of close calls, but this one was enough to make him call his mom, just to say hi.
On our way back to camp that evening, after he hiked out of the ravine and rejoined the crew, he mentioned the incident so casually that it took me a moment to register what he was saying. Tree strikes are killers, the stuff of nightmares, and he spoke with the blasé manner of someone describing how he’d been cut off in traffic.
As he told the story, we laughed and joked, glad he was OK. But the exchange left me sobered and bewildered. After a decade of experience, the accumulation of innumerable specialized skills, and the consistent risk of his life and his health, he still only merits the title of “forestry technician,” and an hourly pay rate comparable to a senior barista at my local Starbucks. There’s a damaging disconnect between the lionized figure of the firefighter and the reality of the men and women who fight more fire than anyone.
The sub-headline is a quote from Ms. Thomas’ article.
Tim Hart, the smokejumper critically injured May 24 in a hard landing while parachuting into the Eicks Fire in New Mexico has passed away. Tim had been flown via air ambulance to a hospital in El Paso, Texas where he has been treated for the last 11 days.
The U.S. Forest Service announced the fatality today in an email sent by Laurel Beth McClean, Executive Assistant to FS Chief Vicki Christiansen, on behalf of the Chief.
“I am deeply saddened to share with you that Tim Hart, a smokejumper from the West Yellowstone Smokejumper Base in Montana, passed away last night as a result of injuries he sustained when jumping on the Eiks Fire in New Mexico on May 24.
“Tim grew up in Illinois and lived with his wife in Cody, Wyoming. During his firefighting career Tim was an Engine Crew Member on the Coconino, Fremont-Winema, and Shoshone National Forests. He was a Lead Firefighter on the Ashville and Ruby Mountain (with the BLM) Hotshot Crews. He moved to Grangeville, Idaho as a Rookie Smokejumper in 2016. In 2019, he transitioned to West Yellowstone and the Custer Gallatin National Forest first as a Squad Leader and then as a Spotter. His life touched many people across the Forest Service and the wildland fire community. He will be greatly missed.
“My heart goes out to Tim’s family, friends and colleagues, and I ask all of you to keep them in your thoughts and prayers. And, please continue to look out for each other. I draw my strength, every day, from the compassion and dedication each of you exhibit in service to our nation. During times of great loss, as we and our partners have experienced over the past week, we pause to reflect on the lives we have lost and the void that can never be filled – and we hold on to, and sustain each other.”
Condolences Mailing Address:
c/o Shoshone National Forest
808 Meadow Lane Ave., Cody, WY 82414
Shoshone National Forest will ensure families receive all condolences.
Tim Hart. USFS photo.
We send out our sincere condolences to Mr. Hart’s family, friends, and co-workers.
