I love the fact that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service frequently posts photos of their fire activities on Facebook and Flickr. The first two photos are from a prescribed fire on the McNary National Wildlife Refuge in southern Washington. More photos from that project can be found on Flickr.
The last one is from a black-lining operation in preparation for a prescribed fire on the Southeast Idaho National Wildlife Refuge Complex. I am a big proponent of black-lining. It can be done when conditions are a little too wet for your main burn. And a black line around your project can greatly reduce the amount of time needed for the main burn, while providing an extra margin of safety and reducing the chance of an escape. Black-lining can be done with fewer people than the main burn, and can turn a large 2-day project into a 1-day job, reducing the overall costs.
Screen grab from CBS Denver report about Colorado wildfire conditions
Excellent photos of a P2V and an Air Tractor 802A at Jeffco Air Tanker Base in Colorado.
Annual wildfire refresher available, online and by DVD. Warning: a lame, pointless video with audio will automatically play for about 15 seconds when you visit the NIFC web site.
The weather in western South Dakota is going to be interesting for the next day or two as you can see in the hourly graph below. The relative humidity will be above 50% until noon, when it drops into the low 20s. The wind will increase during the afternoon as a front comes through; 30+ mph with gusts in the mid-40s. And on Tuesday we’ll again see strong winds, 20+ with gusts around 30, with the RH about 20%.
P2V air tanker flying off into the sunset. Photo by Bill Gabbert
Stop me if you’ve heard this before.
The U.S. Forest Service is going to pay for still another air tanker study. The agency has issued a solicitation (AG-024B-S-12-0003) for private contractors to produce a report that:
…proposes at least three (3) alternatives that demonstrates the effectiveness of airtankers, heavy helicopters and water scoopers (defined in terms of aircraft use, aircraft characteristics, bases, contracts, costs, dispatching, mission objectives, tactics, strategy and communications).
This will be the sixth air tanker study in the last 17 years. Here is the list:
1995-1996: National Air Tanker Study (NATS)
2002: Blue Ribbon Panel report
2005: Wildland Fire Management Aerial Application Study
2007-2009: National Interagency Aviation Council, Interagency Aviation Strategy
2010: “An Examination of the United States Forest Service’s Need for Large Aviation”, by the Rand Corporation
2012: (this new study: “Aerial Firefighting Effective Use and Efficiency”)
In 2010 the USFS hired the Rand Corporation for an air tanker study that is being kept secret. The agency would not provide a copy of it even after we requested it under the Freedom of Information Act. They replied, saying “…the report is proprietary and confidential Rand business information and must be withheld in entirety under FOIA Exemption 4”. Their refusal letter went on to say: “The data, analysis, and conclusion in this report are not accurate or complete.” The letter also said they wanted “to protect against public confusion that might result from premature disclosure.” But, according to Jennifer Jones, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service in Boise, the agency paid the Rand Corporation $840,092. What a deal for Rand, for submitting an inaccurate and incomplete report.
The new study
This new report must be submitted within 154 days after the award, which makes it due as the 2012 fire season is winding down, probably in October or November.
The USFS ordered the writers of the 2010 Rand report to specifically exclude Very Large Air Tankers (VLAT) from their study. The new solicitation does not exclude them in writing, but neither does it include them. It requires the contractor to:
Define the utility and operational parameters of large airtankers (LAT), heavy helicopters (defined as Type 1), and water scoopers in accomplishing the variety of aviation missions supporting wildfire management…
The solicitation repeatedly refers to “large air tankers (LAT)” being studied, so it appears that again VLATs will not be included since they are not mentioned at all. Apparently the USFS thinks they already have enough information about the DC-10, 747, and any other air tankers that can carry 5 to 10 times more retardant than the air tankers we are currently using. In other words, “My mind is made up. Don’t confuse me with facts”.
The aborted study
This is at least the second solicitation for an air tanker study that has been issued since the 2010 Rand report. The USFS announced on August 15, 2011 that they intended to award a second contract, at that time a non-competitive contract, to the Rand Corporation to continue studying the air tanker issue. It seemed counter-intuitive that anyone would award another contract, especially a non-competitive contract, to a company that months before had produced a similar product the same buyer described as inaccurate and incomplete. Two weeks later the USFS canceled the solicitation, “due to the responses received expressing interest in this procurement”. The USFS has not announced that any contracting officers or high-level managers were disciplined or fired over that debacle.
Why pay for another air tanker study?
This additional air tanker study continues the analysis paralysis of the last 17 years. Continuing to kick the can farther down the road decade after decade allows our leadership in Boise and Washington D.C. to postpone the terrible ordeal of making a decision. Their air tanker strategy appears to be: “Make no tough decisions, but continue to order and pay for study after study until we retire. Then let someone else deal with it.”
And while Rome our forests and grasslands burn, the USFS leadership fiddles around, making only 11 or 12 large air tankers available on exclusive use contracts this fire season, 75 percent less than we had 10 years ago.
Another theory about why the USFS repeatedly pays for more studies is that they will keep doing it until an “unbiased” outside expert submits a result that the agency silently is hoping for. For example, the 2010 Rand report recommended an emphasis on scooper air tankers. But the USFS has never awarded an exclusive use contract for scoopers, unless the two that USFS Chief Tom Tidwell referred to when he testified before Congress on March 6 turn out to be exclusive use. (He may have been referring to the two CL-215 scoopers that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has had on contract.)
It is a common belief that USFS leaders have a strong bias against scoopers, even though many agencies have had great success with them, including: Los Angeles County, Minnnesota, North Carolina, Department of Interior, Canada, and several countries in Europe. According to the Rand report, when a suitable body of water is reasonably close, a scooper can deliver more gallons onto a fire and at a much lower annualized cost than a conventional air tanker or a large helicopter, especially when considering the cost of retardant, which ran $1.97 per gallon on the Fourmile fire in Colorado in 2010.
On a news program today someone described military officers as being decisive. My first thought was that effective managers and leaders in the fire service are decisive. (As proof, I offer the 2008 Sprint-Nextel commercial.) I’ve worked with hundreds of them. Then I thought about the inability of the U.S. Forest Service leadership to make a decision about a specific and detailed long term air tanker strategy.
The White House declares Open Government – except for the U. S. Forest Service?
I can’t find anything in this new 62-page solicitation that says the information submitted will remain private, secret, proprietary, or confidential — or, that the public is likely to be confused by its disclosure. I will be very interested to see if the U.S. Forest Service treats this report, like the Rand report, as secret as the information held in the vaults of the CIA. Mr. Tidwell and Tom Harbour, USFS Director of Fire and Aviation, should remember that the cover-up is worse than the original crime.
From the White House’s web site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/open
The principles of Open Government, as described by Mr. Tidwell’s boss, do not necessarily apply to the operations of the CIA, but the U.S. Forest Service is in a very different category.
The family that lost their son, Trampus Haskvitz, to a wildfire last year was so impressed with the support they received from the Wildland Firefighter Foundation that they are helping to organize a fund raiser for the organization. Here is a message from them and others asking for us to contribute.
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Dear Firefighters,
On August 11, 2011, South Dakota lost a brave Wildland Firefighter in the Coal Canyon Fire near Edgemont, South Dakota.
Trampus S. Haskvitz was a recent graduate of Dickinson State University in Dickinson, North Dakota and was in his fifth year of firefighting based out of Hot Springs, SD with the South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression Division as a FFT I ICT 5. He was an Engine Boss when he tragically lost his life saving others from a wildfire.
In his memory and to honor all Wildland Firefighters, his family is planning the First Annual Trampus S. Haskvitz Golf Tournament in Hot Springs, South Dakota on June 2, 2012 to raise funds for the Wildland Firefighters Foundation (WFF) based in Boise, Idaho. All proceeds collected as a result of the golf tournament will go to the WFF.
To make the golf tournament as meaningful and successful for the Wildland Firefighters Foundation as possible, Trampus’ family is respectfully soliciting donations from the fire community. Any merchandise, gift certificates or cash will be gratefully accepted. Cash donations can be sent directly to the 1st Annual Trampus S Haskvitz Golf Tournament at Wells Fargo Bank in Hot Springs SD. Questions or concerns about merchandise and gift certificates, please contact Jim Stevens Chief of the Hot Springs VFD.
The mission of the Wildland Firefighter Foundation is to honor past, present, and future Wildland firefighters. The Foundation helps maintain and grow the national monument established for those who have lost their lives in Wildland fires and to operate a financial fund providing assistance to the families of fallen and injured Wildland firefighters. In addition, the Foundation partners with private and interagency organizations to educate the public about Wildland fires and to promote excellence and safety in firefighting.
Trampus’ family and his firefighting colleagues in Hot Springs would like to thank you in advance for any support you can provide this annual event. It promises to be an exciting and fun weekend in the Black Hills of South Dakota and you can make a very positive impact on the Wildland Firefighting Community with your support.
Compassion Spreads Like Wildfire.
Respectfully,
Trampus’ Family: Don, LuJean, Benjamin, Betsy and John Haskvitz
Jim Strain, Assistant Chief of Operations, South Dakota Division of Wildland Fire Suppression; Office Phone: 605-393-8114, for any questions or concerns.
Jim Stevens, Chief of the Hot Springs VFD; Cell #: 605-890-2124, for any questions concerning merchandise and gift certificates.
P.S. We will be putting the information to register for the 1st Annual Trampus S Haskvitz Golf Tournament on the internet soon and will inform you of the domain in the near future.
P2 air tanker on Whoopup fire near Newcastle, WY, July 18, 2011. Photo by Bill Gabbert
The 2011 wildfire season was relatively slow in the United States with the exception of Texas and two very large fires in Arizona and New Mexico. During most of the season there were only 11 large air tankers on exclusive use contracts and this year we are starting with 12. Ten years ago there were 44.
The request for proposal that the U.S. Forest Service issued on November 30 could result in as many as seven additional air tankers on contract over the next two years — up to three this year and four in 2013. However, these additional “next generation” air tankers that can hold 3,000 to 5,000 gallons of retardant and cruise at 300 knots do not exist. Potential vendors will have to be given contracts and then they will begin converting recycled airliners into air tankers, a lengthy and very expensive endeavor. After that, the aircraft will be required to undergo extensive testing which could lead to approval by the Interagency Air Tanker Board (IATB).
Minden’s BAe-146 during the conversion process. Photo: Minden, used with permission
One next-gen air tanker has partially completed this process. Late last year Tronos and Neptune received interim approval for a converted BAe-146 airliner which is being leased and operated by Neptune. At the end of 2012 the IATB will consider it for full approval, based on its performance on fires and how it functions at air tanker bases. Minden Air Corp. is also converting a BAe-146 and hopes to have it flying over fires this year.
The Chief of the Forest Service, Tom Tidwell, told a congressional committee on March 6 that this year the USFS will contract for two scooper air tankers (presumably CL-215s or CL-415′s) for the first time. We have a call in to the agency to find out if they will be on exclusive use or call when needed contracts. If they are exclusive use, this would bring the total up to 14 (counting the interim approval of the Neptune/Tronos BAe-146), still less than one-third of the size of the air tanker fleet 10 years ago.
In a letter dated March 7 that Ken Pimlott, the Director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) wrote to Mr. Tidwell, he expressed concern about the decline of the USFS air tanker fleet, which has put pressure on CAL FIRE to bail out the USFS when there are fires on federal lands within the state. Mr. Pimlott also said that the Large Airtanker Modernization Strategy developed in January is not sufficient “to meet the needs of the combined federal, state and local wildland firefighting missions” and that it does not consider the potential of very large air tankers (VLAT), such as the DC-10s and the 747.
The USFS has no interest in awarding exclusive use contracts for the VLATs, and has only offered call when needed contracts with no assurance that a company will receive any income. Evergreen said their business model for their 747 air tanker can’t be sustained with occasional use and did not sign a CWN contract. 10 Tanker Air Carrier is struggling to maintain one of their two DC-10s and a crew on a CWN contract.
An article by Ben Goad in the Press-Enterprise also addresses these issues. Here is an excerpt:
…Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has been critical of the Forest Service’s handling of the situation, said she agreed with Pimlott that the Forest Service’s plan falls short.
“Millions of Californians work and live in high-fire threat areas, and a failure to address this issue jeopardizes lives and property,” said Feinstein, D-Calif. “Chief Tidwell admits the Forest Service lacks aviation assets to meet the wildfire response need, yet he has not requested sufficient funds to make the acquisitions, nor has he provided Congress with a timetable.”
Harbour maintained that the Forest Service is actively pursuing new contracts with tanker vendors and said he hoped to bring as many as eight into operation over the next two years, with two or three going into service this year. He acknowledged that the shortage could strain resources in the coming fire season.
“I worry about it, but that’s why 900 engines and 11 air tankers and 120 helicopters and eight (Defense Department) aircraft make me sleep a little bit better at night,” he said. “I worry about it, but we plan and prepare to deal with it.”
The last one is from a black-lining operation in preparation for a prescribed fire on the Southeast Idaho National Wildlife Refuge Complex. I am a big proponent of black-lining. It can be done when conditions are a little too wet for your main burn. And a black line around your project can greatly reduce the amount of time needed for the main burn, while providing an extra margin of safety and reducing the chance of an escape. Black-lining can be done with fewer people than the main burn, and can turn a large 2-day project into a 1-day job, reducing the overall costs.
