Moose Fire map, 3-D, looking east at 9:56 p.m. July 20, 2022.
The Moose Fire 12 air miles northwest of Salmon, Idaho was very active Wednesday afternoon on both sides of the Salmon River, on the west, south, and east flanks. A mapping flight Wednesday night found that it had grown to more than 20,600 acres and was 2 miles west of North Fork and Highway 93.
Fire officials said the potential remains for the fire to reach the Highway 93 corridor. Additionally, the fire continues to grow to the west along the south side of the Salmon River, beyond East Boulder Creek.
Moose Fire map, 9:56 p.m. July 20, 2022.
Fire crews are constructing direct and indirect fire line on the north side of the fire north of the Salmon River, working from Ulysses Mountain to the west and the east toward the river. On Wednesday burn out operations were completed near the mountain and crews secured and improved the line into the evening.
Moose Fire, July 17, 2022. InciWeb
South of the river firefighters are expecting to use indirect line, natural features, or roads to stop the spread.
Continued dry, hot, and windy conditions are expected Thursday with humidities near 10 percent and 15 mph winds out of the west gusting to 22 mph. The forecast for Friday predicts humidity in the mid-teens with stronger winds, 22 mph gusting to 31 out of the west switching to the northwest in the late afternoon. Fire growth on Thursday and Friday could be considerable, but conditions will moderate on Saturday and Sunday.
Another blaze, the Hog Trough Fire 53 air miles to the north-northeast, has burned about 350 acres 15 miles east-southeast of Grantsdale, Montana.
Moose and Hog Trough Fires, satellite photo at 7:16 p.m. MDT July 20, 2022. The Hog Trough Fire is the northernmost, and is smaller.
The forecast for smoke from the two fires predicts it will be moving primarily to the northeast and east Thursday afternoon and evening, possibly affecting Salmon, Butte, Bozeman, Livingston, Dillon, and points further east and southeast.
Smoke forecast for 8 p.m. MDT July 21, 2022. NOAA.
A Type 1 Incident Management Team has been activated. Other resources assigned include 18 hand crews, 25 fire engines, and 9 helicopters for a total of 517 personnel.
Reasons cited include difficulty in filling positions
One of the three dispatch centers that serve the Custer Gallatin National Forest in Montana is closing. Bozeman Interagency Dispatch Center has been the smallest of the three and multiple factors over the last decade have created a situation where the center is not sustainable, according to information released by the Forest:
Fire seasons are generally longer and often intense, increasing the expectations from dispatch centers that directly support firefighters. Additional policy changes affecting aircraft dispatching and the cost of living to attract dispatchers to Bozeman, MT are also factors.
Over the last three years, Bozeman dispatch has tried unsuccessfully to recruit and fill the Initial Attack dispatcher position in several separate hiring events. The cost of living in Bozeman was cited as the biggest deterrent to accepting a position.
The Forest Service (FS) and the other agencies staffing the Bozeman Interagency Dispatch Center have decided that the Bozeman-based dispatch center “will transition to Billings,” meaning, Bozeman Dispatch will close.
Marna Daley, the Public Affairs Officer for the Custer Gallatin NF told Wildfire Today that the organizational chart for the Bozeman Dispatch Center had five positions supplied by the Forest Service — two permanent full-time, one permanent part-time, and two seasonals. Because of the difficulty in filling the jobs there, in recent years typically there were only two FS personnel in the office. Ms. Daley said with so many vacant positions at Bozeman, they often brought in detailers or used other methods to take up the slack.
As this transition is occurring, and with it being early in the fire season, only one position is filled, and that person has accepted a different job on the Forest.
Example of a dispatch center — Great Plains in Rapid City, SD. January 25, 2012.
The Billings Interagency Dispatch Center is staffed by workers not only from the FS, but also the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Montana Department of Natural Resources. The FS’s contribution will be three permanent full-time positions and one seasonal.
But in recent years both Bozeman and Billings have operated at low staffing levels with critical unfilled vacancies.
“Often throughout a wildland fire season dispatch centers need to operate seven-days/week, round-the-clock schedule to support wildland fire operations, which has proven difficult at current staffing levels,” the FS wrote in a briefing document about combining the two dispatch centers.
The FS described Billings as “A city with a broad base of socially and economically diverse systems including housing, schools, airport, healthcare, childcare, and family necessities associated with the cost of living…A fully staffed Billings Interagency Dispatch Center should also provide a better work-life balance for employees across the spectrum.”
The FS tentatively expects Billings Dispatch to be fully operational with the appropriate radio communications and additional duties on April 18, 2022. Field testing has been going on since March. The phone number to report a fire will be the main dispatch number, 406-896-2900.
Engine in Harris Fire burnover — July 16, 2021. From the report.
A Facilitated Learning Analysis has been released for the burnover that occurred July 16, 2021 on the Harris Fire near Joliet, Montana 25 miles northeast of Red Lodge. Dan Steffensen of Red Lodge Fire Rescue who had six years of experience with wildland fire was on a two-person engine crew when very strong winds suddenly shifted. He attempted to reach safety, but was overrun by the fast moving fire and was injured. Due to the severity of his burns, 2nd and 3rd degree on 45 percent of his body, Mr. Steffensen was flown to the University of Utah Burn Center in Salt Lake City where he was treated for nine weeks.
Mr. Steffensen was operating a nozzle while he and another firefighter who was driving the engine were making a mobile attack on a grass fire. It was burning in pastureland that had not been burned, grazed, or hayed in six years, consisting primarily of dense grass and some sage approximately two feet in height.
In accordance with department common practice, Mr. Steffensen was not wearing his line pack and fire shelter, as neither he nor the driver would ever get past the end of the hardline hose. In that first section, Mr. Steffensen was always in the driver’s direct line of sight, and the three-to four-foot flames “took down easy” and quickly.
The firefighters did not know that minutes before the burnover the National Weather Service had issued a Significant Weather Advisory for thunderstorms moving in their direction. “Wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph are possible with these storms,” it said. “A gust to 63 mph was reported in Big Timber with this activity.”
When the wind gusts arrived at the fire, increasing from 10 mph to about 55 mph, a helicopter pilot who had been dropping water was forced to jettison the water from his bucket.
As the wind speed suddenly increased and the direction shifted, Mr. Steffensen and the engine were entrapped by flames. The firefighter driving the engine had no visibility and knowing there was a cliff nearby, stayed in place and let it burn over the engine. He later described it as being “hotter than hell in the cab” for the 20-30 seconds of the burnover. He was not injured.
From the report:
For Dan, those few seconds between when he recognized that they had a problem and when the flame front hit were not enough for him to return to the engine or reach the black. He later said “I’ve been on many fires, [and] I’ve never seen one come out of nowhere so fast. All it took was the wind switch.” Although he was only 15 or so feet from the burned portion of the field that he and Scott had just left, the fire was traveling too fast for him to get there. With no line gear on him, and no time to deploy a shelter even if he had carried it, he was left with just his PPE to protect him from the 20-foot high, fast-moving flame front, which hit him after slamming into the driver’s side of the engine and eddying under to the passenger side.
Below are the Key Takeaways from the report:
Almost every single experienced wildland firefighter reading this analysis will find the series of events recounted here familiar: an initial attack in light, flashy fuels with rapidly changing conditions. It can, therefore, be tempting to write this off as an unavoidable situation in an inherently risky profession. While the FLA team agrees that accepting some level of risk while fighting fire is inevitable, we do believe there are some key lessons for the reader to consider, should they ever find themselves in a similar situation.
1) Remember the importance of PPE and wearing it correctly. Dan’s injuries would have been much worse had he not been wearing his Nomex, a layered shirt, gloves, and a helmet in the appropriate manner.
2) Remaining in your vehicle during a burnover may be the best option in light, flashy fuels. Scott was able to walk away from the Harris Fire that day with no physical injuries. The comparison of the conditions inside and outside of E78 suggest that this was the safest place he could have been in that moment.
We also encourage you to reflect on the following questions, especially as they relate to fast-moving initial attack scenarios:
1) When planning your escape route, how much time do you really have to react? It was repeated throughout this analysis, both from individuals involved in the incident and those not involved, how common it is in our current firefighting environment to operate outside of the black. In this case, however, there were some slightly unusual circumstances, such as the high grassy fuel loads, that contributed to the unintended outcome. Take the time to consider such factors, as well as harder to predict factors such as unexpected wind shifts, when planning an escape route.
2) Is the higher level of risk that comes with missing elements of LCES acceptable to you? If yes, what values must be threatened for you to accept that higher level of risk? When asked, Scott shared that his major lesson learned from the day was, “what were we doing here?” With time to reflect, he regretted entering an unburned area with an inadequate escape route to save a few acres of grass, especially when an alternate suppression strategy may have been as effective at keeping the fire on the plateau.
3) What is the process in your organization for quickly communicating special weather statements and advisories about changing conditions? In this case, the special weather statement was issued only minutes before the thunderstorm impacted wind speed, direction, and fire activity at the scene, and no one on the fire received this information in time to react and reevaluate their tactics.
4) When the forecast restates the same thing every day, how do you ensure that you still account for the potential impacts of extreme weather during initial attack? Even if those on the hill had received the special weather statement in a timely manner, it had been hot and dry with a chance of thunderstorms in the area for weeks. Such repetition during fire season often results in the line of thinking that “nothing bad happened yesterday, so today we should be fine again.” Even for the most experienced firefighters, extreme fire weather should still be of note; in fact, these are often the firefighters that must battle most against complacency to objectively consider the potential risk posed by extreme fire weather.
5) Is your assessment of fuels valid? Just as in timber litter fuel types, there can be significant variations in grass fuels with regards to fuel loading and arrangement. In many areas of the west, grazing lands are enrolled in conservation programs that govern the frequency of grazing, haying, or burning, resulting in significantly higher amounts of fuel on the ground. How do you make sure that your assumptions about fire behavior and spread rates are still valid as you make decisions about tactics?
Seasonal entry-level firefighters now making more than $15 an hour
Corral fire, a few miles northwest of the state Capitol building in Helena, Montana June 25, 2012. KXLH photo.
Wildland firefighters working for the state of Montana have received a pay increase. The state announced today that seasonal firefighters in Montana will get an additional $1.70 per hour, bringing the minimum base pay to $15.50 per hour.
“Montana’s wildland firefighters are some of the most important and necessary personnel serving our state, especially with recent, more severe fire seasons,” Governor Greg Gianforte said. “This well-deserved pay increase will help ensure our wildland firefighters remain the most skilled and mission capable firefighting workforce in the region.”
Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Director Amanda Kaster said, “It is more important than ever that we modernize our firefighting workforce to effectively address the challenges we face during these unprecedented fire seasons.”
Montana’s job listing website today shows seasonal firefighters at Anaconda will be paid $15.50 to $16.19 an hour, while engine bosses at the same location will earn $16.85 to $18.47 an hour. Both job announcements have a disclaimer that the actual pay may be less than advertised: “This agency may use a training assignment. Employees in training assignments may be paid below the base pay established by the agency pay rules.”
It may not be a coincidence that this pay raise came after Congress passed the bipartisan infrastructure legislation in November authorizing pay increases for federal wildland firefighters of $20,000 a year, or an amount equal to 50 percent of the base salary — the lesser of the two.
In a quote often attributed to President John F. Kennedy, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” However, it can take some time for the ripples to reach every vessel and the height reached may not be equal. For example, CAL FIRE vs. federal firefighters.
These pay increases, while long overdue, are deserved and welcomed by firefighters who work in one of the toughest and dangerous professions.
Compensation of federal firefighters
The next step to benefit federal firefighters is for Congress to pass H.R. 4274Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act, and H.R. 5631Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act. Or, some combination of the two. Brief descriptions of the bills are in the article we published October 26. The bills have been introduced, referred to five committees, and one hearing was held by the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.
L to R: Brandon Cordell Bennett Jr., Jevin James Mclean, Galvinn Coates Munson. Photo: Cascade County Detention Center.
Three teens have been charged with arson for starting two fires last week, one of which destroyed 13 homes, 16 outbuildings, and numerous vehicles in Gibson Flats just south of Great Falls, Montana.
Those charged were Brandon Cordell Bennett, Jr. 18; Jevin James Mclean, 19; and Galvinn Coates Munson, 19; all of Great Falls.
Munson was also charged with 15 counts of criminal endangerment. Bennett received an additional charge of tampering with evidence for reportedly “wiping” his phone.
The two fires, which burned about 120 acres, started at around 2:40 a.m. December 1 pushed by strong winds gusting at more than 50 mph.
“One of the defendants disclosed that all three of them were driving around the area the night this occurred smoking marijuana and shooting fireworks at each other inside the vehicle,” Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said in a news conference.
The Sheriff said the fact that no one was killed was a “complete miracle.”
The Fergus County Fire Warden, Ryan Peterson, said on December 1 that a power line was the suspected cause of the fire that destroyed grain elevators and 25 homes in Denton, Montana that day. Winds gusting up to 65 mph pushed the fire, spreading for 18 miles from Highway 80 to the east well past Denton.
The Opportunity Bank of Montana has started a donation drive to assist victims and evacuees. Checks can be made payable to the Denton Fire Relief Fund and mailed to the bank at PO Box 1047, Denton, MT 59430.
The state of Montana mobilized a County Assist Team and helicopters to aid in the suppression and recovery from the fire.
At the Coffee Creek N weather station northwest of Denton the high temperature recorded on December 1 when the fire burned through the town was 66 degrees at 1 p.m., with a minimum relative humidity of 37 percent. The maximum sustained wind speed and wind gust that day occurred at the same time — 41 mph gusting to 65.
The temperature was 30 degrees warmer than normal. According to Accuweather the average high temperature for Denton on December 1 is 36 degrees. The forecast for today, Friday December 3, is a high of 40 degrees with a 25 percent chance of snow Friday night.
Earlier this week new records were set in Montana and other western states for daily and monthly high temperatures.
7:46 p.m. MST Dec. 2, 2021
Grain elevators and 25 homes burned in Denton, Montana Wednesday December 1 as a large wildfire burned through the town, the Fergus County Sheriff’s office said.
The West Wind Fire was reported at 11:14 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 30 near Highway 80. Pushed by 24 to 40 mph winds gusting out of the west up to 60 mph hour it quickly spread east from Judith Basin County into Fergus County. On Wednesday Dec. 1 it burned into Denton, population about 300, and destroyed grain elevators, bridges, and 25 residences. The Sheriff’s Facebook page has a list of the affected homes.
West Wind Fire map Dec. 2, 2021.
The wind was too strong on Wednesday for aircraft to assist firefighters.
The town was evacuated and there were no reports of serious injuries or fatalities. The Sheriff expected to lift the evacuation order Thursday afternoon. Highway 81 west of Denton is closed due to a bridge that burned.
The fire was no longer spreading on Thursday after burning 10,644 acres.
There has been record setting heat in Montana in recent days.
The wildfire potential in central Montana is predicted to be higher than average in December.
Do not drive into a flooded street. Do not drive into a fire.
Major brush fire ongoing in Denton, MT. Less than a half mile out of town. No immediate threat to the community at the moment. Route 81 heading towards Coffee Creek is closed as the fire has jumped the highway. #MTwxpic.twitter.com/CTEKqs8oIu
