Another claim against the USFS for escaped prescribed fire in Montana
Another land owner has filed a claim against the U.S. Forest Service for the 2010 Davis prescribed fire that escaped on the Helena National Forest and burned approximately 450 acres of private land belonging to multiple owners. In June Wildfire Today told you about three land owners who are suing the government seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial.
The latest claim is from Andy Skinner, who is asking for $137,770 for damage to his property. He is also asking for $50,000 for the time it has taken for him to research the damage and file the claim.
The Davis prescribed fire northwest of Helena, Montana escaped on August 26, 2010 and burned over 2,000 acres of private and U.S. Forest Service land.
Wildfire Today covered the Davis Fire extensively in 2010, and summarized some of the coverage on November 22, 2010 after the U.S. Forest Service released their report on the incident. We highlighted some of the issues that led to the escaped prescribed fire.
Minnie fire may burn for weeks
The Minnie fire in northwest Minnesota near Fourtown, between Upper Red Lake and Lake of the Woods, has moved into areas containing peat, and is now burning deep underground in the organic soil, making it extremely difficult to suppress. Unless the area receives a great deal of rain soon, it will most likely burn for weeks, or longer.
Extraordinary photo of vehicle fire
A motorist that had to stop when a vehicle fire in Missoula closed a road, took some photos of the burning car. One of them captured the moment a vessel inside the car exploded, demonstrating why firefighters need to employ proper tactics on these fires, and why adequate personal protective equipment should be worn.
Cygnet Fire in Yellowstone NP, August 24, 2012 Photo by Yellowtone National Park
The Cygnet Fire in Yellowstone National Park, 5 miles southeast of Norris Junction, experienced some growth and produced an impressive smoke column most of the day Friday. The estimated size earlier today was 750 acres. A Red Flag warning is in effect on Saturday until 9 p.m.
10 Tanker Air Carrier, which operates the two DC-10 air tankers, sent this via their @10Tanker Twitter account today:
Approaching 1 million gallons dropped on CA fires since arriving at MCC 8 days ago.
Two cousins who started the Wallow fire which became the largest fire in the history of Arizona, were convicted and sentenced to two days in jail.
A man convicted of burning down his own house may have committed suicide in the courtroom seconds after hearing the verdict.
A commission is looking into the Lower North Fork prescribed fire southwest of Denver which escaped on March 26, 2012 and burned 4,140 acres, killed 3 people, and burned 23 homes. Our earlier reports on the fire can be found here.
On August 16 we wrote about the US Forest Service’s plan to add one night-flying helicopter next year. Here is the PE Enterprise’s view on the subject. Thanks go out to LM, Gary, Kelly, and Mark
Sightings of a meteor grounded the air tankers working on the Springer fire west of Colorado Springs on Wednesday. There were numerous reports of the meteor from New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas including the pilot of an air tanker making a drop on the fire. The Associated Press quoted Steve Segin, a spokesperson for the Springer fire, as saying the air tanker “landed as they normally do to reload, and for safety reasons they grounded themselves until they could figure out what it was they saw”.
A TV station in Denver, 7News, reported:
The Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center said planes were grounded after the reports started coming in just after 2:30 p.m.
It was determined that the object was a meteor that broke up in the air over Kansas on a trajectory that would carry it to Florida.
None of the debris hit the ground in Colorado.
Aircraft were released to resume flying at 4 p.m., the Fire Coordination Center said.
This may be the first time that firefighting aircraft were grounded because of a meteor.
It is difficult to tell, when observing a meteor that is falling thousands of miles an hour, how far away it is. There were several reports from people in Colorado who thought it was nearby, but it was actually hundreds of miles away and there were no indications that any portions of it hit the earth. After grounding the air tankers for 90 minutes, let’s not even call this a near miss.
Wildland firefighter dies in Greece
The Associated Press is reporting that a firefighter working on a wildfire in Greece died Wednesday. A fire department spokesperson said the 28-year old felt unwell and was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The firefighter was battling a fire that was burning inside an air force base west of Athens primarily used by firefighting and transport planes.
Our sincere condolences go out to the firefighter’s family and coworkers.
Escaped prescribed fire in North Carolina burns 21,000 acres
A prescribed fire on the Croatan National Forest that escaped on Father’s Day, named the “Dad Fire”, has now burned over 21,000 acres ten miles south of New Bern, North Carolina. The fire is 60 percent contained and has run up costs of $400,000. Smoke from the fire is causing problems for some residents and air quality alerts have been issued for 12 counties.
Congressman Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., called for an investigation Tuesday.
“Our No. 1 priority is to get the fire contained,” said Jones, in a news release. “However, I share the concerns of many Eastern North Carolinians as to how this poorly planned ‘prescribed burn’ is negatively affecting tourism, public health and taxpayers who are being asked to pick up the tab to fight a fire that could have been avoided.”
District Ranger Pancho Smith says even though some prescribed fires do turn into wildfires like this one, he does not regret conducting them.
“One of the big advantages in this country of controlled burns, and on national forest systems across the country, is the reduction of fuel on the forest floor. If we leave it out, when we do get a fire start, a wildfire, there’s nothing we can do about it,” said Smith.
The fire is being managed by Cherry’s Type 3 Incident Management Team.
Texas Forest Service receives Pulaski Award
Congratulations to the Texas Forest Service. Following is the text from a news release:
June 21, 2012 – COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas Forest Service was presented last week with the Pulaski Award, a national honor for outstanding service in wildland firefighting.
The award, commending the agency for its response during the 2011 wildfire season, is presented annually by the National Interagency Fire Center. It was announced at the Southern Group of State Foresters annual conference in Louisville, Ky.
The coveted 30-inch bronze statue is named after U.S. Forest Service Ranger Ed Pulaski, who led a crew to safety during the Great Fire of 1910. First presented in 1998, this is the first time the Pulaski Award has come to Texas. It will stay with Texas Forest Service for one year then will be shipped to the next recipient.
Texas Forest Service Associate Director Mark Stanford said the recognition is an honor for the emergency responders who bravely served Texas during last year’s unprecedented wildfire season. More than 30,000 wildfires burned almost 4 million acres, destroying 2,946 homes across the state.
The wildfires were suppressed with assistance from more than 16,000 emergency responders from all 50 states, along with 239 dozers, 954 engines and 246 aircraft.
“We accept this award on behalf of all the local, state and interagency firefighters who participated in the 2011 wildfire season,” Stanford said. “They’re the ones who really earned this award.”
Gary Bowers, chairman of the National Interagency Fire Center Governing Board, wrote in a letter to Texas Forest Service that the agency demonstrated “exceptional work in interagency cooperation and coordination, safety of their firefighters and the public, the development of partnerships and group performance in fire management and suppression.”
“It is our hope that collaboration efforts such as this will increasingly inspire and inform new cooperative efforts across the country,” Bowers wrote. “Congratulations on this award and the excellent work that it recognizes.”
Three families in Montana whose property burned when a prescribed fire escaped on the Helena National Forest are suing the federal government, seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial. The Davis prescribed fire northwest of Helena, Montana escaped on August 26, 2010 and burned over 2,000 acres of private and U.S. Forest Service land. Approximately 450 acres belonging to multiple landowners burned. The three landowners in the suit own a total of 296 acres and claim “total destruction” of their property.
“The Davis Fire took place under extreme weather conditions consisting of gusty winds and very warm temperatures. In fact, the prescribed fire was set during a fire weather warning,” John Heenan, the attorney for the families, wrote in the lawsuit. “The Forest Service failed to follow its own guidelines for proper prescribed fire implementation in starting the Davis Fire.
“Had the Forest Service notified plaintiffs, they would have been able to take measures to protect their properties and/or ensured that the Forest Service took measures to do so.”
It is dry in much of the southwestern and eastern United States
Average precipitation, January through April, 2012:
Drought conditions as of May 1, 2012:
Escaped prescribed fires complicate future projects in Australia
Last year we first wrote about the prescribed fire in Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park that escaped on November 23, 2011 and pushed by strong winds, destroyed 40 structures and burned over 8,400 acres in western Australia. Residents who had refused to evacuate later had to take refuge from the fire at the ocean on a beach. They were rescued by jet ski and ferried to a search and rescue boat offshore. The report on the incident was very critical of the government’s prescribed fire program, saying some employees of the Department of Environment and Conservation were overworked and performing above their skill levels.
A recent article in The Independent examines further the prescribed fire program in Australia in light of the recent failures. Here is an excerpt:
…A lobby group called the Bush Fire Front, which was set up by a group of retired foresters in western Australia, is also predicting dire consequences unless the burning programme is “greatly expanded”. The Front’s chairman, Roger Underwood, deplores a backlash against DEC’s staff, who have stopped wearing uniforms after being hissed at and abused in the Margaret River shops.
“DEC has been looking after their fire safety for years, doing all the dirty work,” says Mr Underwood. “They make one mistake and are crucified for it.”
However, as locals point out, it was not just one mistake. On the day of the fire, another controlled burn escaped near Nannup, east of Margaret River, incinerating 125,000 acres of national park and state forest, and damaging a farm part-owned by Stewart and Alison Scott. Mr Scott was about to start the afternoon’s milking when he saw flames sweeping towards his property. He dashed over to warn his family, but the smoke was so thick that one of his farmhands – who had leapt on a quad bike – collided with a car. The man suffered head injuries and spent months in Royal Perth Hospital.
California wildfire burns structures
A wildfire near Acton, California in southern California yesterday burned 126 acres and several structures. Inspector Quvondo Johnson of Los Angeles County Fire Department said an aggressive air attack, which included five helicopters and fixed wing air tankers, helped the crews on the ground contain the fire.
CAL FIRE sent S-2 air tankers from Porterville and Hemet, 120 miles and 90 miles from the fire, respectively. There were no federal air tankers at the air tanker base at Landcaster, 18 miles from the fire. The DC-10 very large air tankers are based at Victorville, 60 miles east of Acton.
Is fire suppression causing water shortages?
An opinion piece in the LA Times claims the 100-year old policy of wildfire suppression in the United States has caused water shortages. The theory is that over-stocked forests that have become that way due to successful suppression of fires, have locked up moisture in the trees and reduced runoff. Here is an excerpt from the article:
Today, the hottest and thirstiest parts of the United States are best described as over-forested. Vigorous federal protection has stocked semiarid regions of public land with several billion trees too many. And day after day these excess trees deplete a natural resource that has become far more precious than toilet paper or 2-by-4’s: water.
I will have to go on record as being skeptical of this trees-causing-water-shortage theory.
2011 summary of incident reviews
The Wildfire Lessons Learned Center has released a report summarizing the information gleaned from the seventy-eight 2011 incident review reports—from various agencies—submitted to and gathered by the LLC.
New Mexico establishes fire notification system
The state of New Mexico has established a system by which residents can be notified about wildfires. Emails will contain information including when the fire started, the cause, and a description of threatened homes and communities. For now, the system will send people who sign up for the service information about all fires within the state. Later it will be refined so that notifications can be filtered to more specific locations, such as counties. Anyone can sign up HERE.
Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar on Thursday said prescribed fires can be conducted safely because there is a “very careful, meticulous process” for planning each project. The Secretary was responding to a question during a media conference call about a letter that Colorado Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet sent to the heads of the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. The senators asked the agencies to review their prescribed fire procedures in light of the fatal Lower North Fork escaped prescribed fire on state land in Colorado. The Secretary said:
Both the Forest Service and the BLM and the Interior agencies have a very careful, meticulous process for determining whether a prescribed fire should be ignited. And we as a whole of the federal government feel very confident that if the process is followed we will be able to achieve a successful prescribed fire and thereby reduce hazardous fuel accumulation to make communities safer from the effects of a wildfire. So our history has shown that with all the prescribed fires that we do have around the country that we can do it in fact safely. So we will be responding to both Senator Udall and Senator Bennett because I think they are correct in terms of raising the issue just to make sure that we have all the appropriate protocols in place so that we can do prescribed fire burning safely.
In addition to Secretary Salazar, other federal officials on the conference call to discuss wildfire preparedness included Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture; Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator; Tom Tidwell, Forest Service Chief; and Ed Delgado, National Interagency Fire Center.
In response to a question about the diminished fleet of air tankers, Chief Tidwell said there could be up to three more large air tankers brought on this year and as many as ten more next year.
We’ll bring on probably another three [large air tankers] this year through additional contracts along with one very large air tanker that we also have on contract and then this year we will continue to rely on the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve to provide up to eight of their C-130s. We can slip in a retardant system into those aircraft and within a few hours have another eight aircraft that can respond to fires…So that’s what we have for this year. Next year we plan to probably bring on maybe up to another 10 additional large air tankers through this request for proposals to be able to augment our current fleet.
Actually, the interagency agreement requires that Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) C-130s be operational within 48 hours. However, MAFFS aircraft have routinely responded within 36 hours of the initial request.
