Little Bear Fire, burning operation on 532 Road, June 13, 2012, Photo by Kari Greer/USFS
There can be a variety of narrative reports written about a wildfire, including 24-hour and 72-hour, After Action Review, Individual Fire Review, Fire and Aviation Safety Team Review, and Lessons Learned Review. But a type that was new to us has been released about the 2012 Little Bear Fire in New Mexico. It is titled “Little Bear Fire Summary Report” which is a vague title for a report that analyzed perceptions — how the fire was viewed by fire managers and local residents.
It could be categorized more as research than a conventional report on a fire. A team of seven social scientists from North Carolina State University, the U.S. Forest Service, University of Colorado, and Ohio State University conducted interviews of stakeholders, with a focus on perceptions of the event itself — communication, evacuation, and wildfire preparedness. They talked with community members, local organizations, and federal agency personnel.
The Little Bear Fire started on June 4, 2012 northwest of Ruidoso, New Mexico and was contained at four acres with a fireline around it during the first five days. On the afternoon of the fifth day a wind event blew embers from a torching tree outside the fireline causing the fire to eventually burn 242 houses and 44,330 acres.
The management of the fire has been a magnet for criticism from politicians, residents, and others. But this new report does not explore in detail the tactics, strategy, or suppression decisions that were made — it concentrates on how the fire was perceived.
“Gordie”, a Wildfire Today reader, in commenting on how the U.S. Forest Service expends time and energy on designating “Honorary Forest Rangers” such as Arnold Schwarzenner and Betty White, wrote in part:
…A public official in Washington state once said (paraphrased): “What we are perceived to do may be more important in our customer’s eyes than our actual accomplishments.” A horrible truth, but for the great unknowing masses, looking good is more important [to] taxpayers than actual functionality.
Applying Gordie’s analogy, the USFS ordered research to determine if they are “looking good”.
We will get to the report’s findings, but first there was one fact about the management of the fire that was new to us. On June 9, the day after the four-acre fire blew up, the New Mexico Governor ordered a second Type 1 Incident Management Team. This decision was made without consulting the existing Type 1 team, which learned of the order hours after it had taken command of the fire. When this was discovered, the second team was assigned to stage at Albuquerque, rather than continue to the fire.
The 72-hour Preliminary Information Report for the fatality of Engine Captain Token Adams has been released. If you followed the search for Mr. Adams, who was missing for a week before his body was found on September 6, there is not much new in the report except for the mechanism of injury.
Preliminary analysis indicates Captain Adams was thrown from his ATV as he negotiated over a slight rise and then the ATV flipped onto Captain Adams resulting in fatal injuries.
When the search began, he was last seen on an all terrain vehicle attempting to find a reported fire.
The report below was issued by the Washington office of the U.S. Forest Service.
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“Date: September 13, 2013
Subject: 72 Hour Preliminary Information Report, Schoolhouse Mesa Fire Accident
Number and Type of Injuries: One fatality Name: Token Adams
On the afternoon of August 30th, 41 year old US Forest Service Engine Captain Token Adams was killed in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident while searching for a lightning caused fire. A Learning Review Team has been assigned to the incident and the review is underway.
Narrative:
Late in the afternoon of August 29th a crew member aboard a military aircraft reported a possible wildland fire. The location of the reported fire was estimated to be in Cebolitta Canyon on the Jemez Ranger district, Santa Fe National Forest, in the vicinity of an older fire that crews had believed to be no longer active.
At approximately 0900 on August 30th, three firefighters (Token Adams among them) responded to the general location of the reported smoke. Each of the firefighters brought an ATV. After a briefing concerning the search strategy they each separately began scouting the area. Their first mission was to confirm that the older fire was no longer active and a possible source of the smoke report. This mission was completed and the three met back at their trucks around 1030. Their second mission was to broaden their search area to locate the new fire. They discussed the broader search area and each left separately on their ATVs. Each communicated with each other periodically by two way radio to coordinate the search. Communications were also made with a lookout who was working on a nearby lookout tower and the Santa Fe Interagency Dispatch office.
At 1344, Captain Adams communicated by radio with other firefighters concerning the status of the search. After this time, calls to Captain Adams went unanswered. At about 1500 the new fire was located by one of the firefighters and he called, via radio, to Captain Adams and the third firefighter to respond to the new fire. With no response from Captain Adams, suppression on the new fire was halted and all efforts were then directed towards contacting and locating Captain Adams. Within three hours a formal Search and Rescue operation was ordered which involved numerous, volunteers, state, federal and local government personnel. His body and the ATV were found on September 6th.
Preliminary analysis indicates Captain Adams was thrown from his ATV as he negotiated over a slight rise and then the ATV flipped onto Captain Adams resulting in fatal injuries. Captain Adams was known to be a skilled ATV rider, he was properly trained and certified as an ATV operator, and he was wearing all appropriate personal protective equipment.
The memorial service for Captain Token Adams will be Thursday September 12th, 2013 at 10:00 am at:
Calvary of Albuquerque
4001 Osuna Rd. NE
Albuquerque NM 87109
To get further information about the service please go to www.danielsfuneral.com.
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Token Adams, USFS photo
The body of U.S. Forest Service Engine Captain Token Adams was found today. Missing since Friday, August 30, he was last seen when he boarded an ATV to attempt to locate a smoke that had been reported on the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico. His crew of three split up when they arrived at the general location of a smoke report but he did not return to the agreed upon meeting place. For the last eight days hundreds of people have been searching for him over dozens of square miles of the National Forest.
At 11:45 a.m. today searchers discovered his remains about one-quarter mile from the nearest road. In a video about this development at KRQE, the reporter said there was an apparent crash of the ATV and that Captain Adams had been wearing full protective gear, but the exact cause of death has not been determined.
Below is an announcement issued Friday afternoon by the Incident Management Team managing the search organization:
Friday September 6 2013 – 4:45 pm
We are sad to announce that the body of Jemez Ranger District Engine Captain Token Adams has been located. Token was dispatched to locate a smoke reported on Friday August 30 2013. Search efforts began late Friday afternoon and continued through this morning when his body was discovered.
Token was an Engine Captain working in Jemez Springs NM. He was 41 years old and had been an Engine Captain on the Jemez Ranger District for 1 ½ years. He was a wildland firefighter for 10 years including previous experience as a hotshot. Before coming to the Forest Service Token served in the U.S. Navy. Token grew up in the community of Coarsegold California and was a 1990 graduate of Yosemite High School in Oakhurst California.
Token is survived by his wife Heidi a 3 year old son Tristan his mother a brother and sister. Token’s wife Heidi is expecting their second child.
All public and media are asked to please respect the privacy of the firefighter’s family during this time of mourning. We will release all details of this tragedy when more information becomes available.
The body of Engine Captain Token Adams was found today. At 11:45 a.m. searchers discovered his remains about one-quarter mile from the nearest road. In a video about this development at KRQE, the reporter said there was an apparent crash of the ATV and that Captain Adams had been wearing full protective gear, but the exact cause of death has not been determined.
Below is an announcement issued Friday afternoon by the Incident Management Team managing the search organization:
Friday September 6 2013 – 4:45 pm
We are sad to announce that the body of Jemez Ranger District Engine Captain Token Adams has been located. Token was dispatched to locate a smoke reported on Friday August 30 2013. Search efforts began late Friday afternoon and continued through this morning when his body was discovered.
Token was an Engine Captain working in Jemez Springs NM. He was 41 years old and had been an Engine Captain on the Jemez Ranger District for 1 ½ years. He was a wildland firefighter for 10 years including previous experience as a hotshot. Before coming to the Forest Service Token served in the U.S. Navy. Token grew up in the community of Coarsegold California and was a 1990 graduate of Yosemite High School in Oakhurst California.
Token is survived by his wife Heidi a 3 year old son Tristan his mother a brother and sister. Token’s wife Heidi is expecting their second child.
All public and media are asked to please respect the privacy of the firefighter’s family during this time of mourning. We will release all details of this tragedy when more information becomes available.
Our sincere condolences go out to the family and co-workers of Capain Adams.
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(UPDATED at 7:45 a.m. MDT, September 6, 2013)
There is not much new to report on the search for missing firefighter Token Adams. The incident management team has released a missing person’s flyer, which contains the following information:
MISSING PERSON
Santa Fe National Forest requests your assistance in locating this person.
Search Subject: Token Adams PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Age: 41
Height: 5’ 11″
Weight: 165
Hair: Peppered
Eyes: Wearing black sunglasses
Last seen wearing long sleeve yellow nomex shirt, green nomex pants, and lace up brown leather wildland fire boots. Last seen in the area of Holiday Mesa off Forest Service road 608 on Friday, 8/30/13. Mr. Adams was seen riding a red Polaris 400 ATV while investigating a possible fire start when he disappeared.
If you were in the area of Holiday Mesa and Stable Mesa on or after August 30th and may have seen this individual, please contact the Forest Service at 505-438-5600.
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(UPDATED at 10:35 a.m. MDT, September 5, 2013)
Searchers are still looking for U.S. Forest Service engine captain Token Adams who was last seen Friday, August 30, as he boarded an ATV to attempt to locate a smoke that had been reported on the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico.
The mother of Token Adams, Letake Anderson, visited the Incident Base Camp Thursday morning. She spoke to search crews and thanked them for their hard work.
A Firewatch Cobra helicopter is scheduled to arrive today to provide additional support for the search team. This specialized helicopter has cameras as well as infrared and low-light sensors and can transmit images to search crews up to 30 miles away.
The search and rescue operation continues today, looking for Engine Captain Token Adams who disappeared Friday. Captain Adams has not been heard from since he departed on an ATV trying to find a fire that had been reported in the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico.
Joe Reinarz’s Type 1 Incident Management Team assumed command of search efforts Wednesday morning as part of a unified command and will oversee the organization in coordination with the New Mexico State Police.
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(UPDATED at 12:47 p.m. MDT, September 3, 2013)
Token Adams, USFS photo
Rain on Sunday and Monday hampered the search for Engine Captain Token Adams. The 250 personnel involved in the search are traversing topography described as extreme with sheer cliffs.
Despite the grid pattern being used by the professional and dedicated personnel on the incident, their efforts have not been successful. Searchers are using GPS as part of this grid pattern and are being asked to report their locations hourly. Searchers will focus Tuesday on determining that certain areas have been fully searched.
Weather predictions for today and tonight are for a 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms which will once again affect both air and ground operations.
HERE is a link to a map of the area being searched, but be advised it is a huge 19Mb file and will take a while to download.
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(UPDATED at 8:23 a.m. MDT September 3, 2013)
A Southwest Type 1 Incident Management Type, with Incident Commander Joe Reinarz, will assume command of the search efforts Wednesday morning at 6:00 a.m. for missing firefighter Token Adams. The team will begin in-briefing at noon Tuesday, September 3.
Mr. Adams is 41 years old and is an engine captain with the U.S. Forest Service and a former Hotshot. He is married with one son, and is expecting another child in less than a month.
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(Originally published at 2:27 p.m. MDT Monday, September 2, 2013)
A wildland firefighter sent out to look for a fire has been missing since Friday August 30. Token Adams was one of three people that were dispatched to a report of a smoke in the Schoolhouse Mesa area on the Jemez Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest in northern New Mexico. When they arrived in the general area Mr. Adams went off by himself on an all terrain vehicle to attempt to locate the smoke. He did not return as expected to the meeting point.
John Helmich, a spokesperson for the Santa Fe National Forest, told us on Monday that when Mr. Adams was first outbound to look for the smoke late in the day on Friday he called his wife on his cell phone, and has not been heard from since, either by phone or via the radio he also carried.
At least 200 people from several land management agencies, search and rescue organizations, the National Guard, and law enforcement agencies are actively searching for him. The Civil Air Patrol has used infrared equipment from a fixed wing aircraft and the New Mexico State Police have made a helicopter available.
The fire the three firefighters were trying to locate was eventually found. It was named the Schoolhouse Fire and was fully contained at 25 acres.
The last time we heard of wildland firefighters missing was late in the afternoon on June 30 — the Granite Mountain Hotshots were missing on the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. We hope this incident has a better outcome.
A firefighter taking the Work Capacity Test (WCT) at the Northern Pueblos Agency in Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico collapsed and died Wednesday, July 24. According to the preliminary 24-hour report, Emergency Medical Personnel that were on scene monitoring the test immediately initiated CPR and other lifesaving measures with assistance from the Agency Staff. The patient was transported to the Espanola Hospital four miles away where he was pronounced dead.
The report does not specify if the individual was a firefighter or was attempting to qualify for another fire-related position.
Our sincere condolences go out to the person’s family and co-workers.
There are three versions of the WCT, for firefighters and those who will be in less strenuous jobs. Firefighters have to take the Arduous Pack Test version, which requires hiking 3 miles in less than 45 minutes while carrying 45 pounds.
According to the report “Wildland Firefighter Fatalities in the United States: 1990–2006” (NWCG 2007) 11 fire personnel died during that seven-year period while preparing for or taking the work capacity test. Another died in 2007. In 2011 a firefighter taking the test suffered a non-fatal but severe case of rhabdomyolysis, which if not treated early can lead to irreversible muscle damage, permanent disability, kidney failure possibly requiring lifelong dialysis, and even death.
Map of the Silver Fire at 3:18 a.m. MDT, June 29, 2013. The red areas were the most recently burned. (click to enlarge)
The heat signatures captured by a satellite at 3:18 Saturday morning, shown in the map above, indicate that the Silver Fire spread several miles to the northwest over the last 24 hours.
Below is an update on the fire from the Incident Management Team, late Friday night:
Silver Fire June 28th PM Update- The Silver Fire continues to burn toward Reeds Peak to the NW and North. The South and East flanks of the fire are out and cold. The containment is 35%. The extreme weather has passed but the potential still exists for extreme fire behavior. The weather forecast calls for 20% chance of Thunderstorms with potential for dry lightning and a slight chance for wetting rain. Structure protection continues in the Cooney area.
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(Originally published at 1:30 p.m. MDT, June 28, 2013)
Caption by the National Weather Service: “Words are hard to come by to express the nearly unbelievable nature of this photo. This shows a fully developed column off the Silver fire…BEFORE sunrise. The fire NEVER laid down last night. Intense and extreme fire behavior continued through the night. The Incident Commander asked the 100+ crew supervisors, with a couple thousand combined years of firefighting experience, how many of them had seen this before in their career. Only a handful had. This fire is exhibiting fire behavior that has never been seen in this part of the country.” (click to enlarge)
The Silver Fire in southwest New Mexico exhibited EXTREME fire behavior late Thursday into early Friday morning. Pushed by a strong east wind it spread in a direction that was contrary to its usual movement and blackened about 10,000 more acres, bringing the total to 101,311. The Incident Commander is calling it 20 percent contained. While heavy smoke socked in the Mimbres Valley, the majority of fire growth occurred on the northwestern side of the fire. The east side near Winston did not have much activity Thursday and Thursday night.
The weather Friday will be slightly less dry, but conditions remain extreme. An upper ridge weather system will move in today, slowly moving smoke away, and allowing clouds to form. There is an opportunity for dry lightning this weekend, and a slight potential for precipitation on Monday.
Map of Silver Fire at 2:40 a.m. MDT, June 28, 2013, showing heat detected by a satellite. The red areas were the most recently burned. (click to enlarge)
And at 8:57 a.m. Friday, the National Weather Service out of El Paso sent this tweet:
It was not a good night on the #SilverFire a well defined plume has already developed this morning https://t.co/VetPrikFfD#nmwfire
— NWS El Paso (@NWSElPaso) June 28, 2013
Silver Fire as seen June 17 from Incident Command PostLolo Engine 416 beginning the process of wrapping a cabin on the Silver Fire to protect it from radiated heat and embers from the fire, undated InciWeb photo
