Their fire training will begin August 30 near Tacoma, Washington
Continue readingAn additional 250 active duty military personnel assigned to fire suppression duty
At the request of the National Interagency Fire Center and in support of the U.S. Forest Service, approximately 250 Marines and sailors will assist wildland firefighting efforts in Central California. The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC), comprised of state and federal wildland fire managers at NIFC, requested the personnel, along with command and support staff, from the Department of Defense (DOD).
The Marine unit from Camp Pendleton, California will receive wildland firefighting training before assisting with response efforts in Central California.
In late August 200 active duty U.S. Army personnel were mobilized to help battle the blazes.
Wildfire Today has articles about other mobilizations of the military in 2008, 2015, 2017, and 2018.
200 U.S. Army soldiers to be mobilized to fight wildfires
After training, they are expected to be fire-ready by September 3
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Wildfires have the potential to become a concern at seven additional bases where it is not now a serious threat
Continue readingSkidgeon on the Cougar Creek Fire
BLM crew of veterans trains National Guardsmen
Continue reading200 soldiers activated to fight wildfires in the West
The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group at the National Interagency Fire Center has requested that 200 active duty soldiers be activated to help fight the wildfires currently burning in the Western states. The Department of Defense approved the request and will provide personnel from Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) near Tacoma, Washington. The soldiers will be organized into ten crews of 20-persons each. All of them will be sent to the same wildfire, which is in the process of being identified.
The soldiers will be outfitted with wildland fire Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and all of the gear they will need to serve as wildland firefighters. They will be trained by wildland fire agency personnel at JBLM beginning Thursday, August 9. The training is expected to conclude by Sunday, August 12, and the soldiers are expected to begin working on a wildfire on Monday, August 13. While working on a wildfire, the soldiers will be accompanied by experienced wildland fire strike team leaders and crew bosses from wildland fire management agencies.
The training will consist of one day of classroom training at JBLM and two days of field training when the soldiers reach the wildfire that they will be assigned to. During classroom training, they will learn about a variety of topics related to wildfire suppression including fire terminology, fire behavior, and fireline safety. During field training, they will receive instruction in fire suppression methods and procedures, including Watch Out Situations and Standard Firefighting Orders, Personal Protective Equipment, and use, transportation and maintenance of wildfire suppression tools.
The U.S. military has been a key partner in wildland firefighting for decades, providing aircraft and personnel to serve as wildland firefighters. Four military C-130s equipped with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) are currently mobilized to serve as large airtankers and are operating from the Sacramento McClellan Airport in California. One military RC-26 aircraft is also currently mobilized to augment USDA Forest Service aircraft capability to detect and map wildfires in the western states and is operating from Spokane, Washington.
Since 1987, active duty military personnel have been mobilized to serve as wildland firefighters a total of 37 times. The last time active duty military personnel were mobilized as wildland firefighters was in September, 2017 when 200 soldiers from JBLM were mobilized to work on the North Umpqua Complex of Fires in Oregon for 30 days. Currently, several states – including Oregon, California, and Washington – have mobilized National Guard helicopters, equipment, and personnel to serve as wildland firefighters and assist with a variety of wildfire suppression support efforts.
Last week 138 fireline management personnel from Australia and New Zealand came to the United States to support large fires in California, Oregon, and Washington.
Extreme mopup
The U.S. Forest Service distributed this photo on Twitter September 17 that shows at least 90 Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers during a firefighting training exercise at the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training in Salem, Oregon, August 28, 2017.
Nearly 125 Citizen-Soldiers from the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team volunteered to join the second iteration of personnel, also known as NG-2, activated by Governor Kate Brown to assist with wildfires across the state of Oregon. The Oregon National Guard is currently assigned to three fires in central and southern Oregon; the Whitewater, High Cascades Complex, and Chetco Bar fires. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class April Davis, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)
In addition to the National Guard, 200 members of the active duty military were activated from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington earlier this month. Initially they were assigned to the Umpqua North Complex of fires 50 miles east of Roseburg, Oregon.
Military mobilized to help fight wildfires
Above: Personal Protective Equipment is distributed to soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in preparation for deployment to the Umpqua North Fire in Oregon.
(Originally published at 7:53 a.m. MDT September 7r, 2017)
With the National Preparedness Level at 5, the highest level, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho has mobilized active duty military personnel to serve as firefighters to assist with wildfire suppression efforts.
The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) at NIFC requested the Department of Defense to provide 200 active duty military personnel to assist with firefighting efforts. The DoD has approved the request and identified the 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team (23rd Brigade Engineer Battalion and 1st Battalion 23rd Infantry Regiment), 7th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Washington to provide the active duty military personnel. The Soldiers will be organized into ten crews of 20 persons each, all of which will be sent to the Umpqua North Complex which is burning on approximately 30,000 acres on the Umpqua National Forest, approximately 50 miles east of Roseburg, Oregon.
“We are committed to continuing to do everything we can to provide the firefighters, aircraft, engines, and other wildfire suppression assets that Incident Commanders need to protect lives, property, and valuable natural and cultural resources,” said Dan Buckley, Chair of NMAC. “The U.S. military is a key partner in wildland firefighting and we greatly appreciate their willingness to provide us with Soldiers to serve as firefighters as well as aircraft to help with wildfire suppression efforts.”
Their training, which began September 6, is expected to conclude by September 9th, and the Soldiers are expected to begin working on a wildfire on September 10th. While on a wildfire, the Soldiers will be accompanied by experienced wildland fire strike team leaders and crew bosses from wildland fire management agencies.
The training will consist of one day of classroom training at JBLM and two days of field training when the Soldiers reach the wildfire that they will be assigned to.
The last time that active duty military personnel were mobilized to serve as wildland firefighters was in August, 2015 when 200 soldiers from the 17th Field Artillery Brigade based out of JBLM were mobilized to work on wildfires in Washington for 30 days. The last time before that was in 2006. Currently, several states – including Oregon, Montana, and Washington – have mobilized National Guard helicopters and personnel to serve as wildland firefighters to assist with wildfire suppression efforts.
Army soldiers in Washington get their first fireline assignment
Tom Story, who is in Washington documenting some of the wildfire activity, has been spending time with some of the 200 soldiers that were trained last week to assist on the fires. These are his photos, and below is his report.
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Three crews from the freshly fire-trained Army Task Force First Round, from Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington, made their first trip to the fireline August 24, 2015 when they traveled north of the Kaniksu Complex’s Tower Fire in eastern Washington to the 300-acre Onata Fire. The Incident Management Team welcomed the additional help and gave the soldiers two tasks for the day: put in some hand line and help plumb, or install fire hose, on the bottom edge of the fire along a road the team wanted to use to halt the fire’s spread.
Like most things in fire, the plans changed on the scene and the hand line assignment was cancelled and the crews were put to work putting in a 1,500 foot hose lay in preparation for a burnout. Not only did the crew haul and lay a bunch of hose, they tied in with the Forest Service’s McKenzie River Hand Crew who were doing chain saw work, prepping for the burnout, lending a hand with swamping the cut material.
200 active duty military personnel mobilized to fight wildfires
For the first time since 2006, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho is mobilizing active duty military personnel to serve as firefighters to assist with wildfire suppression efforts. Currently, approximately 95 large wildfires are burning about 1.1 million acres in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, California, Nevada, and Colorado.
The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) at NIFC requested the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide 200 active duty military personnel to assist with firefighting efforts. The DOD has approved the request and identified the 17th Field Artillery Brigade, 7th Infantry Division, Army located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Washington to provide the active duty military personnel. The Soldiers will be organized into ten crews of 20 persons each, all of which will be sent to the same wildfire, which is in the process of being identified.
“We are committed to continuing to do everything we can to provide the firefighters, aircraft, engines, and other wildfire suppression assets that Incident Commanders need to protect lives, property, and valuable natural and cultural resources to suppress the most challenging wildfires we’ve experienced in several years,” said Aitor Bidaburu, Chair of NMAC. “The U.S. military has been a key partner in wildland firefighting for decades and we greatly appreciate their willingness to provide us with Soldiers to serve as firefighters as well as C-130s equipped with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) to serve as large air tankers to help with wildfire suppression efforts.”
The Soldiers will be trained by wildland fire agency personnel, including the Bureau of Land Management Vegas Valley Crew comprised entirely of military veterans, at JBLM beginning this Wednesday, August 19th. The training is expected to conclude by Saturday, August 22nd, and the Soldiers are expected to begin working on a wildfire on Sunday, August 23rd.
The training will consist of one day of classroom training at JBLM and one to two days of field training at the wildfire that the Soldiers will be assigned to.
Since 1987, active duty military personnel have been mobilized to serve as wildland firefighters a total of 35 times. The last time was in 2006 when a battalion from JBLM was mobilized to work on the Tripod Complex Fires on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in Washington. Currently, several states – including California, Washington, and Oregon – have mobilized National Guard personnel to serve as wildland firefighters and helicopters to assist with wildfire suppression efforts. For example, 100 soldiers from the Washington National Guard who previously received wildland firefighter training, began working on the Reach Fire at Chelan, Washington on August 17.