Rapid Extraction Module. Screenshot from the video below.
It has been a while since we covered Rapid Extraction Modules. Here is a video describing one that was assigned to the Maple Fire in Washington last year.
The Incident Command System Position Manual (ICS-223-12) describes a Rapid Extraction Module as “a pre-staged rescue team assigned to a wildland fire to provide firefighters a safe, effective and efficient method of egress off the fireline in the event of injury or illness incurred during firefighting operations.”
Map of the Tubbs, Nuns, and Atlas Fires. October, 2017.
When the Tubbs Fire burned through Santa Rosa and Sonoma County, California in October 2017, it destroyed over 5,600 structures and burned almost 37,000 acres.
Photographer Kent Porter has documented some of the rebuilding efforts in Santa Rosa with photos taken soon after the fire and again recently.
The NPS Director position has been vacant since January 2017
David Vela. NPS photo.
The National Park Service has not had a Director to lead the agency since January 2017, when Jonathan Jarvis left the job after serving as director for eight years under President Obama.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced September 30 that David Vela, already serving as one of three deputy directors in the NPS, will now also exercise the delegated authority of the director. In other words, he was appointed to the Acting Director position.
Mr. Vela was nominated for the Director position in 2018 and was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, but the Senate declined to take a vote. When the new Congress convened in January he would have had to have been nominated again by the President, but that did not happen. When he was nominated he was the Superintendent of Grand Teton National Park. After the Senate confirmation fell through, according to EENews he joined the NPS Washington Office anyway serving as the Deputy Director of Operations.
On October 1, 2019 Mr. Vela will take the place of the current acting Director, P. Daniel Smith who has been a controversial figure.
National Parks Traveler has three examples of recent forced transfers of high ranking NPS employees that resulted in them choosing to retire rather than agree to the moves.
(Above: screenshot from Cannonshot’s wildland fire tour article. Click to enlarge.)
After a military veteran, a retired Colonel, learned that there are similarities between warfighting and firefighting, he decided to visit scores, if not hundreds, of locations around the western United States that are related to wildland fire. He departed from Southeast Wisconsin on his BMW GS Adventure motorcycle and returned 22 days and 10,000 miles later having accomplished about a third of his goal. He visited fire stations, notable fires, fatality sites, as well as helitack and air tanker bases. He also stopped at, photographed, and wrote about other sites of general interest in between. He identified locations to visit all around the western United States. His first article documents his travels through the Northwest, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and parts of South Dakota, Utah, Nevada, and Colorado. On two more trips next year he plans to cover the Southwest and California.
It is interesting to hear how someone with a military background, in this case a paratrooper, perceives wildland firefighting. In this case the writer is known only by his “Cannonshot” handle at the Adventure Rider website, which is usually frequented by long distance or “adventure” motorcyclists, who are not often seen on Harley-type loud-pipe bikes. That’s my impression of the site anyway, after a quick perusal.
Cannonshot’s writings and photographs of this 22-day trip are very extensive, covering 14 lengthy pages. You’ll need to schedule some time if you intend to read it all. But if you’re into wildland fire or motorcycles, or both like some of us, it will be a good way to spend an evening.
Tubbs Fire, October, 2017. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.
Retired Fire Chief John Hawkins has written what he calls a “Major Wildfire Action Plan” for the state of California. The Chief describes the document as “comprehensive and broadly addresses the wildfire problem via the four accepted phases of emergency management: Prevention, Response, Recovery, and Mitigation.”
The catastrophic fires of 2017 and 2018 in California are evidence that something needs to change. Maybe this four-page document will help move the conversation along.
Some power companies in California are turning off the electricity during periods of high wildfire danger to prevent fires
One of the generators that caught fire during PG&E’s planned power outage. Screenshot from video below.
In what Pacific Gas and Electric calls a “Public Safety Power Shutoff”, the company turned off the power to 48,000 customers Tuesday and Wednesday in the Sierra foothills of California.
Following many fires created by their electrical equipment, PG&E began the program to prevent additional fires. Some residents are using generators when they lose their power to pump water and to keep medical equipment and refrigerators running, but on Tuesday and Wednesday three fires in Nevada County were caused by generators.
PG&E and other companies, including San Diego Gas & Electric, have opted to turn off power to their customers during periods of high fire danger rather than harden their infrastructure to prevent failures that start fires.
