The system will enhance situational awareness for 1,200 firefighting resources.
Above: an example of a mobile data terminal made by Radio Mobile.
(Originally published at 10:50 a.m. MT February 15, 2018)
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has signed a contract to provide technology in 1,200 state-owned vehicles that will facilitate mission critical data communications over a variety of networks (broadband, narrowband and satellite).
Under the agreement, RadioMobile will provide a centralized location tracking application within a mobile data terminal solution. The system receives incident information, provides mapping, and enables vehicle operators to communicate via a touchscreen application interfacing with their computer aided dispatching (CAD) system. The company will also provide the equipment, services, and support needed to implement a statewide VHF mobile data system and integrate network switching between broadband/cellular, VHF and satellite for CAL FIRE mobile resources.
We have been an advocate for the Holy Grail of Wildland Firefighting, which is knowing the real time location of firefighters and the fire. This system will implement a portion of that, tracking the location of firefighting vehicles and other mobile equipment (but probably can’t track dismounted personnel). It will also have the capability of displaying a map, and when data is available it could show the location of the fire. For example, it could show a sketched-out hand drawn map of the fire, or live video from an air attack ship or drone orbiting 10,000 feet over the fire. And, importantly, it could indicate the location of all firefighting resources that have location tracking enabled.
When these functions are implemented, it will enhance the situational awareness of firefighters. Congratulations to CAL FIRE for taking a step to make their personnel just a little bit safer.
This is a screen shot from a Radio Mobile “about us” video. Notice anything interesting?
In light of the article posted earlier today reporting on Secretary Ryan Zinke’s order for the Department of the Interior to be more aggressive about conducting fuel treatment activities to better protect facilities from burning in a wildfire, this video is very appropriate.
Nobody knows more than Dr. Jack Cohen about why and how structures burn. He also knows what homeowners can do to make their homes fire resistant.
Before recently retiring, Dr. Cohen was a Fire Science Researcher with the U.S. Forest Service.
The directive introduces a political element to wildland fire management
The Jasper Fire approaches the Visitor Center at Jewel Cave National Monument, August 25, 2000. NPS photo by Bill Gabbert.
In a message to Directors and Managers in the Department of the Interior, Secretary Ryan Zinke ordered “more aggressive practices” to “prevent and combat the spread of catastrophic wildfires through robust fuels reduction and pre-suppression techniques”. The directive, dated September 12, 2017, attracted attention today when Mr. Zinke referred to it in a press release about the President’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2019.
“In September, I directed all land managers to adopt aggressive practices to prevent the spread of
catastrophic wildfires,” said Mr. Zinke in the February 12 release. “The President’s budget request for the Wildland Fire Management program provides the resources needed for fuels management and efforts that will help protect firefighters, the public and local communities.”
The September 12 directive mentions implementing FireWise principles around government facilities:
The Department has lost historic structures in wildfires like Glacier National Park’s historic Sperry Chalet lodge. In an effort to help prevent future losses, the Secretary is also directing increased protection of Interior assets that are in wildfire prone areas, following the Firewise guidance, writing: “If we ask local communities to ‘be safer from the start’ and meet Firewise standards, we should be the leaders of and the model for ‘Firewise-friendly’ standards in our planning, development, and maintenance of visitor-service and administrative facilities.”
It is a wise move to encourage better fuel management and FireWise techniques around public structures in fire-prone areas. I have seen too many U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service facilities with nearby hazardous fuels that make them extremely vulnerable to a wildfire. An example is the photo above showing dense tree canopy very close to the visitor center at Jewel Cave National Memorial as the Jasper Fire approached in 2000. A few years after that a professional tree service was brought in to thin out the large pines within 100 feet of the headquarters building at Mount Rushmore as a large wildfire burned nearby. Firefighters took the same action at Devils Tower National Memorial when a fire was bearing down on the visitors center. Waiting until a fire is an imminent threat is not the best policy.
When the 83,000-acre Jasper Fire burned into Jewel Cave National Monument in 2000 the shake shingle roof on an isolated historic structure surrounded by ponderosa pines had just been replaced with a new roof. A reasonable person would have chosen materials that look like shakes, but are fire resistant. The new wooden shake shingles had to foamed by engine crews before they withdrew on three occasions when the fire lofted burning embers at the site and made runs at the structure.
While Mr. Zinke makes some good points about more aggressive fuel management on public lands, he attempts to reinforce his directive by introducing a political element. I don’t read every directive issued by the Secretary of the Interior, but politicizing wildland fire management is not productive.
In the third paragraph Mr. Zinke is quoted taking an unnecessary swipe at the land managers that preceded him, saying:
This Administration will take a serious turn from the past and will proactively work to prevent forest fires through aggressive and scientific fuels reduction management to save lives, homes, and wildlife habitat.
It is an unusual but welcome tactic for the current administration to invoke science in a discussion.
The directive goes on to include quotes attributed to five senators and representatives, all Republicans, and all supposedly saying that Mr. Zinke is right. No Democrats were quoted.
One of the most egregious examples is from Rob Bishop, (R-Utah):
I’m heartened to finally have an Administration that’s focused on actively managing and addressing the on-the-ground conditions that are contributing to our historic wildfire crisis.
Mr. Bishop goes on to advocate more logging.
Politicizing wildland fire management and going out of your way to create barriers that make it more difficult to get anything done, is not the best course of action to preserve and protect our natural resources and public facilities. It brings to mind one of Mr. Zinke’s predecessors, James Watt, who served as Secretary of the Interior from 1981 to 1983.
The President’s recommended FY 19 budget reportedly includes a fix to funding wildfire suppression
Last week when the federal budget deal was being hurriedly thrown together as the government shutdown approached, there was an effort to include a provision to fix the fire borrowing fiasco, where funds are taken from other functions to pay for wildfire suppression. The legislation the President signed increased the debt limit and appropriated an additional $165 billion for the Department of Defense, but there was nothing earthshaking in the bill specifically related to wildland fire. However it included more money for most federal agencies, including the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior. Some of those funds may find their way into fire budgets in the next few months.
Today President Trump is releasing his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2019 which begins in October. One of our sources said it includes the fire funding fix. But expecting Congress to pass a traditional year-long budget has become a quaint idea.
Kari Greer’s photography will be featured during a two-month exhibit in Moscow, ID
Our favorite wildfire photographer is being honored with her own exhibit in Moscow, Idaho from February 16 through April 14. Kari Greer’s work will be displayed in the Prichard Art Gallery of the Bruce M. Pitman Center on the campus of the University of Idaho (map). A former firefighter, she maintains a Red Card while working on the fireline as a photographer under contract with NIFC.
Here is the announcement about the exhibit from the university:
“Facing the Inferno, the Wildfire Photography of Kari Greer,” will go in display Friday, Feb. 16, at the Prichard Art Gallery. An opening reception is 5-7 p.m. Friday. Greer, who works as a photographer for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, will speak about her work during a lecture at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, in the Borah Theater of the Bruce M. Pitman Center on campus.
Greer, a former firefighter, specializes in wildland fire photography and editorial photojournalism. She has unprecedented access to aerial operations and accompanies fire crews working side-by-side on attack lines throughout the Western fire season. Her work examines the heighted fire activity seen across Idaho, Montana and Wyoming at a time when people are traveling further into the woods and the land surrounding wildfires is increasingly contested.
Congratulations Kari!
Below are a few samples of Kari’s photos we have used.
Firefighter on the Brian Head Fire in Utah. Photo by Kari Greer.Idaho September 3, 2012. Photo by Kari Greer.Trinity Ridge fire, August 19, 2012, photo by Kari Greer for USFSKari Greer. Photo by Bill Gabbert.
Approximately 400 race horses at a training facility were freed from their stalls as the fire rapidly approached in December, 2017.
Above: The Lilac Fire, near Bonsall, California, spread in front of strong Santa Ana winds in December, 2017. (Photo courtesy of Kimberly Peterson)
(Originally published at 1:32 p.m. MT February 10, 2018)
By Diana Fredlund, Public Affairs Officer, Stanislaus National Forest
When a wildfire ignites, a call to action is sounded and firefighting personnel converge to manage the incident. However, supporting a fire incident doesn’t always mean working on the fire line. There are many tasks that need to be done during a large fire event. For example, logistics, administration, dealing with the media and informing and assisting residents who have been impacted by a disaster are only a few examples of the support teams needed to properly handle the scale and scope of something as impactful as a wildfire.
Kimberly Peterson, a biological science technician on the Stanislaus National Forest, greets one of the racehorses she cared for during the Lilac Fire in San Diego, December 2017. (Photo courtesy of Kimberly Peterson)
When the Lilac Fire broke out in San Diego County, Kimberly Peterson, a biological science technician on the Stanislaus National Forest, answered the call for support as a public information officer trainee. Part of her duties were helping evacuated animals held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The Lilac Fire was a product of the strong Santa Ana winds so common in southern California. The blaze went on to burn 4,100 acres and destroy 157 buildings in December 2017, forcing many to either leave or move their animals to a safer location.
Peterson was helping families retrieve their animals after the evacuation orders were lifted and residents were allowed to return to their homes or businesses.
“This was an amazing assignment,” said Peterson. “I got to help folks load their animals, who had survived the fire, into their trailers to go home.”
Peterson, an avid horsewoman, was thrilled that her duties included helping out some of the 400 racehorses that had been evacuated from their stables at the San Luis Rey Downs Training Center when the fire swept through. She helped the horses settle in and tried to calm them, aided by a 20-pound bag of carrots given to her by the thoroughbreds’ trainers who told her to go make friends.
Local residents brought supplies and equipment and volunteered countless hours helping out at the large animal evacuation center at Del Mar Fairground, Del Mar, California, during the Lilac Fire. (Photo courtesy of Kimberly Peterson)
Lucas Spelman, a member of CAL FIRE and Peterson’s public information officer within the incident command, knew her skills working with large animals.
“I try whenever possible to match members of my team with their skill sets. She was tasked [to manage] the Red Cross shelters and large animal rescues,” said Spelman. “Kimberly was able to inform and console victims that had been displaced and even those who had lost their homes or their animals.”
Working with her Lilac Fire team was very satisfying, Peterson said.
“I am so grateful to have the opportunity to work with the CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 1 again. I have learned so much from both Lucas Spelman and Richard Cordova on how to be a better [public information officer]. We come together from a variety of fire agencies with one purpose: to serve the public during an incredibly difficult time,” said Peterson. “There have been times when I did not feel as much a part of the team, but Richard and Lucas really make you feel like you are not just part of the team, but family.”
Peterson comforted more than horses and other animals temporarily housed at the fairgrounds.
“Often the public information officers are the only ones these folks get to talk to. I was comforting some residents who lost their homes or their animals,” Peterson said. “It was important that they knew someone cared and was there who understood what they were going through and just offer a shoulder to lean on, or an ear to listen to them, even if it was just for a few minutes.”
She was stunned by the response from residents, who brought tons of supplies and equipment.
“The response from the community was amazing. Members of the public brought truckloads of feed, bedding, tools and equipment in huge quantities,” said Peterson. “They were there to help clean out stalls or corrals – anything that needed doing, they were always right there to help out in any way they could.”
Peterson’s public affairs tasks were more than working at the evacuation centers.
“I went to one of the hardest hit areas of the Lilac Fire to assist residents as they learned for the first time whether they still had a home or not. I would supply them with gloves, a face mask and a screen to help sift through the ash,” said Peterson. “I was there to give out hugs, food and water – and to just listen to them. I would ask them if they needed anything and gave them information about [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] and other resources to help them through their loss. I also delivered Red Cross kits, which included a washcloth, soap, toothpaste and toothbrush, in case they needed it to clean up.”
After several days on evacuation duty, the Lilac Fire was finally being contained and Peterson was called on to assist with the growing threat of the Thomas Fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties as an equipment manager trainee.
All sorts of jobs and tasks need to be done during a major fire incident and Peterson is like most U.S. Forest Service employees who step up to help support the massive effort. They see a need and know people need help during and after such a destructive event. Every fire support assignment is different and employees support the fire effort in a myriad of ways, some standing on the front line face-to-face with the flames or offering a shoulder to lean on or even providing care to frightened animals. All are equally important and are critical to those affected who look for solace and a way forward after the deadly impact of a fire.
From Bill Gabbert:
As the Lilac Fire quickly approached, hundreds of race horses at the San Luis Rey Downs training facility east of Bonsall were turned loose to fend for themselves since there wasn’t enough time to load all of them into trucks or trailers and transport them to safety. Not all of them survived.
Map of the Lilac Fire at 12:01 a.m. PST December 8, 2017. Wildfire Today/NASA/USFS/Google Earth.
