Wildfire Today

Fifty years of wildland fire science in Canada

Bill GabbertMarch 13, 2021March 13, 2021UncategorizedCanada, research

Canada -- fire causes, humans and lightning — Stacked bar graph showing the number of new human- and lightning-caused fire occurrences (≥2 ha) for each day of the year from 1959 to 2018. Figure adapted from Coogan et al. 2020. (From “Fifty years of wildland fire science in Canada”)

A group of nine land managers and researchers in Canada have put together a compendium highlighting the country’s accomplishments in wildland fire science over the last 50 years. Information in the 296 pages plus more than 300 references covers five key developments and contributions:

The creation of the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System;
The relationships between wildland fire and weather, climate, and climate change;
Fire ecology;
Operational decision support; and,
Wildland fire management.

There is also a case study about the evolution of wildland fire management in Banff National Park.

Banff NP, wildfire vs Rx fires — Annual area burned by wildfire and prescribed fire in Banff National Park from 1910 to 2018. Note the long period of fire exclusion from the 1940s until the early 1980s. (From “Fifty years of wildland fire science in Canada”)

The paper discusses additional research needs, including:

Further evaluation of fire severity measurements and effects;
Efficacy of fuel management treatments; Climate change effects and mitigation;
Further refinement of models pertaining to fire risk analysis, fire behaviour, and fire weather; and,
Integration of forest management and ecological restoration with wildland fire risk reduction.

Canadian wildland fire research, by decade — Timeline of some key developments in Canadian wildland fire science by decade from the 1970s to the 2010s. FWI, Fire Weather Index System; FBP, Fire Behaviour Prediction System; NSERC, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. (From “Fifty years of wildland fire science in Canada”)

The paper is available at Canadian Science Publishing (html). A .pdf version is also online.

Authors of the referenced online document: Sean C.P. Coogan, Lori D. Daniels, Den Boychuk, Philip J. Burton, Mike D. Flannigan, Sylvie Gauthier, Victor Kafka, Jane S. Park, and B. Mike Wotton.

Chad Fisher selected as NPS Chief of Wildland Fire

Bill GabbertMarch 12, 2021UncategorizedChad Fisher, National Park Service5 Comments

Chad Fisher, who has served as the National Park Service’s (NPS) wildland fire operations program leader since 2017, has been selected as the agency’s chief for the Branch of Wildland Fire. In this position he will lead the team responsible for operations, planning, budget, and science and ecology for the wildland fire management program.

Fisher began his career at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in 1990 after graduating from Haywood Community College with an associate degree in Fish and Wildlife Management. He spent the early ‘90s working at the refuge during the spring and fall fire seasons and the summer season on the Payette National Forest in Idaho. Chad was a member of the Asheville Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC) in 1993 and the NPS’s Alpine IHC in 1994. He returned to school at University of Montana (UM) in 1995 ultimately earning a Bachelor of Science in Resource Conservation. He worked as a smokejumper in McCall, Idaho and a helitack crew leader for the interagency Lolo National Forest/Salish Kootenai Tribe while attending UM.

Chad worked on the Great Smoky Mountains prescribed fire crew (Wildland Fire Module) before receiving his first career seasonal appointment on the Lewis and Clark National Forest. He returned to Great Smoky Mountains National Park as the assistant module leader and module leader before moving to Boise as a training specialist for the NPS. In the mid 2000’s Chad was the national fire training specialist for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service then returned to the NPS as the wildland fire safety program manager. He received the 2013 Paul Gleason Lead by Example Award for his work with the Dutch Creek mitigations. In 2017 Chad officially became the program lead for NPS Wildland Fire Operations.

Chad is a member of the National Park Service Safety Leadership Council (SLC) and the National Multiagency Coordinating Group (NMAC). His wife Sarah works for the United States Forest Service and they are the proud parents of two sons. He credits his parents and strong mentors from his days at Pocosin Lakes and Alpine IHC with helping him establish a strong foundation early in his life and career. Chad enjoys spending time with his family, running, mountain biking, and sitting by the backyard firepit.

Chad will begin his new position on March 28, 2021.

Firefighter/Paramedic suffers medical emergency at wildland fire; pronounced deceased at hospital

Bill GabbertMarch 11, 2021March 11, 2021Uncategorizedlodd, Nebraska1 Comment

Dennis M. Bender had been with Ponca Hills VFD in Nebraska for 50 years

Firefighter/Paramedic Dennis M. Bender died March 10 as the result of a medical emergency while working in support of crews at a fire north of Omaha, Nebraska, said Ponca Hills Volunteer Fire Chief Joe Sacks. He was immediately taken to a hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

It was the department’s third wildland fire of the day.

Mr. Bender, Nebraska’s longest serving paramedic, lived in the Ponca Hills and was affiliated with the volunteer fire department for 50 years. He was among the first group of Certified Paramedics in the state.

He and his wife of 52 years, Patty, both died on March 10, one year apart. Patty died in 2020.

Our sincere condolences go out to Mr. Bender’s family, his fellow firefighters and paramedics, and his friends.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Bill.

Homes burn as several large fires break out in Kansas

Bill GabbertMarch 10, 2021WildfireKansas, T-951 Comment

Strong winds and low humidities created difficult conditions for firefighters

Map of a wildfire southeast of Florence, Kansas detected by satellites at 3:35 p.m. CST March 10, 2021.

The passage of a cold front in Kansas on Wednesday with winds gusting at more than 40 mph and relative humidity in the teens created conditions that firefighters and ranchers dread — several large fires broke out. There are reports that a 7,000-acre blaze southeast of Florence led to evacuations and the destruction of homes.

Other large fires occurred northeast of Washington, southeast of Marysville, north of Morrill, east of Clay Center, and northwest of Concordia.

A vintage S-2 air tanker powered by a radial engine was activated to assist firefighters on the ground. Tanker 95 was formerly operated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection but is now privately owned and under contract to the Kansas Forest Service. It was used Monday, and Wednesday it dropped water on at least two fires, one in Cloud County and another near Jamestown.

An S-2 air tanker drops water on a fire near Jamestown, KS March 10, 2021. Photo by Belleville FD.

In anticipation of the fire threat caused by the extreme winds and low humidity additional engines were brought in from South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado. This mobilization was facilitated by provisions in the Great Plains Interstate Fire Compact. Blackhawk helicopters operated by the Kansas National Guard have also been assisting firefighters by dropping water.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Matt.

Almost 500 federal firefighters, other employees, and contractors are assisting with COVID vaccinations

Bill GabbertMarch 10, 2021March 10, 2021Uncategorizedcoronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic

Working in 15 states

Vaccinations at the Oakland Coliseum — About 50 US Forest Service specially-trained professionals are processing and vaccinating personnel at the Oakland Coliseum Mass COVID Vaccination Site using 6 different lanes of one-of-three drive-through giant canopies. Close to 6,000 people per day receive the vaccine. USFS photo.

At least 491 federal firefighters, other federal employees, and contractors are assisting with COVID vaccinations around the United States after being mobilized through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Support Function #4.

The U.S. Forest Service is the lead agency responsible for coordinating ESF #4, which is primarily fire suppression.

As of March 9 the FS, working with their partner land management agencies, has organized the mobilization of personnel and equipment to assist in the administration of the vaccinations in approximately 60 sites in 15 states — New York, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, Washington, Rhode Island, Illinois, Michigan, Idaho, and New Jersey. Other sites in more states are in the planning stages.

491 personnel are assigned through ESF #4:

U.S. Forest Service, 210
Bureau of Land Management, 16
National Park Service, 26
Fish and Wildlife Service, 2
Bureau of Indian Affairs, 3
State or local government, 94
Contract personnel, 140

Three incident management teams have been activated — a Type 1, Type 2, and a Type 3 team, according to information sent out from the FS.

vaccinations Oakland Coliseum — More than 8,100 vaccinations were administered at Oakland Coliseum March 6, 2021. CAL OES photo.

In addition, 24 radio kits more commonly seen on wildland fires are being used in New Jersey and New York.

ESF4_SitReport_03092021 by wildfiretoday on Scribd

Levy Sensenig, Smokejumper from @NIFC_Fire, was deployed as an EMT to @NashvilleMCC to assist with #COVID19 vaccinations. He completed training with this fellow EMT in anticipation of opening to the public soon. Levy is working with @fema/ @femaregion4. #FirefightingResources pic.twitter.com/tEvZsKyOLV

— Bureau of Land Management Fire and Aviation (@BLMFire) March 9, 2021

Federal & state personnel, including 50+ @forestservice employees from the 18 national forests in California, hit the 100,000 milestone for COVID vaccines given at the @Oakland Coliseum site. Check out the operation here: https://t.co/AhQKZ0WvmR & https://t.co/d4cnwd4iEI pic.twitter.com/v6v4YjQctA

— Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region (@usfs_r5) March 5, 2021

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Jim.

Spread of Punkin Fire south of Payson, AZ stopped after burning more than 300 acres

Bill GabbertMarch 9, 2021WildfireArizona1 Comment

Punkin Fire near Punkin Center, Arizona. Photo credit: AZ Dept. of Forestry.

The Punkin Fire that led to an evacuation Monday near Punkin Center, Arizona burned 304 acres before firefighters stopped the spread. The blaze burned very close to State Route 188 which had to be temporarily closed.

On Monday the fire was being pushed by winds out of the south and southeast with gusts of 15 to 30 mph while the relative humidity was 10 percent.

The Punkin Fire is 40 air miles south of Payson and 15 miles northwest of Theodore Roosevelt Lake.

Investigators determined it was caused by an escaped pile burn on private land.