The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center conducted a review of prescribed fires that escaped in 2012. Here is an excerpt:
During the course of the 2012 season, the National Interagency Fire Center reports that 16,626 prescribed fires treated 1,971,834 acres. At the end of 2012, the Lessons Learned Center (LLC) received reviews on seven escaped prescribed fires (housed in the LLC Incident Review Database [IRDB]). In addition, other agency notifications and media reports indicated seven additional escaped prescribed fires occurred in 2012. (Reviews from these seven events were not submitted to the LLC. Factors associated with these seven escapes are not considered in the detailed analysis that follows.)
When viewed as a whole, 14 escapes out of more than 16,600 prescribed fires represent a very small percentage: 0.08 %. While this might seem to be an insignificant number, it’s only part of the story.
The Lessons Learned Center looked for common themes. They are listed below, but are not necessarily the causes of the escapes.
- Are you ready for an escape on Day 1? Are you still vigilant two weeks later?
- How do you deal with issues related to unburned fuels inside your project area?
- Are your Mop-up Plans adaptable to burn results and forecasted weather?
- How familiar are you and your burn organization with your fuels and your unit?
- Can you pay for your contingency resources?
- Be careful what you ask your prescribed fire organizations to do. They’ll find a way to do it, even if conditions are less than ideal.
