Simulation developed for managing wildfires during COVID-19

Redding Hotshots Trail Mountain Fire
The Redding Hotshots conduct a safety briefing before beginning their assignment on the Trail Mountain Fire. U.S. Forest Service photo.

The National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) teams are working on procedures for managing wildland fire organizations and suppressing wildfires during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is an update from NIMO.

Friday May 1, 2020

NIMO has been involved for some weeks now, with the development of a fire/COVID-19 simulation to help IMT’s and Agency Administrators prepare for fire in the new COVID environment this coming summer. If you wish to take part in one of the regional simulations, please contact your GATR..

COVID-19 Wildland Fire Simulation Development and Delivery
Date: April 27, 2020

Summary: Fire and Aviation Management (FAM), Workforce Development, Risk Management, Human Dimensions-Rocky Mountain Research Station, and National Incident Management Organization are collaborating to develop and deliver a late spring 2020 COVID-19 Wildland Fire Response Simulation.

The intended audience is Line Officers, Type 3 and higher complex Incident Management Teams (IMTs), and community partners. The intent of this virtual simulation is to facilitate dialog with Line Officers and IMTs on the use of Best Management Practices to make informed decisions, while providing an opportunity to evaluate and learn from those decisions. The exercise will highlight leadership principles and concepts, risk assessment processes, Gifford Pinchot’s Maxims, agency policy and direction; all within a complex fire situation under the constraints of a Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) environment where participants will perform functional and team responsibilities.

The simulation will provide for both Operational Risk assessment and Quantitative Risk evaluation using the Risk Assessment Worksheet (RAW, and tools such as the atlas of Potential Control Locations (PCL), Suppression Difficulty Index (SDI), and asset layers.

This simulation will also prepare Line Officers and IMTs to use a whole host of decision tools including the 2020 Chief’s letter, Leadership Stance and Habits, and Center for Disease Control guidance, while evaluating decisions based on Social, Political, Health, and Safety considerations. Each simulation will be broken into two parts:
1) Morning session consisting of education, policy, guidance, and information
2) Afternoon session is the simulation with practical exercises

The Simulation will break participants into four teams to include representation of Line Officer(s), IMT Command and General Staff section chiefs, and partners, totaling no more than10 people per team. Delivery will be through Adobe Connect and will begin with Alpha and Beta test deliveries. Each delivery will be followed by an After Action Review (AAR). Closed captioning capabilities are available with at least a 48-hour notice prior to delivery. Below is the tentative schedule.
1. May 6 – Alpha delivery to Field Command School and NATP students
2. Week of May 11 Beta delivery to Regions 8 and 9
3. Week of May 18 Delivery to Regions 3 and 10
4. Week of May 25 Delivery to Regions 2 and 5
5. Week of June 1 Delivery to Regions 4 and 6
6. Week of June 8 Delivery to Region 1

Regional Training Officers will be advertising for, and prioritizing, participants for each simulation.

Please contact Jay Winfield at jay.winfield@usda.gov or 208-993-0768 for additional information.

 

BLM is concerned that some states will not permit state and local firefighters to respond to wildfires outside their local jurisdictions

blm firefighter
BLM file photo.

While taking active measures to protect the public and employees and minimize exposure to COVID-19, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) continues to reduce hazardous fuels across the West and in Alaska and to plan for the upcoming fire season by maintaining and strengthening firefighting capabilities.

“We are committed to protecting our colleagues in the BLM and those with whom we come in contact during this challenging time; however, as westerners we know we must fight fire all year long and we will do exactly that,” said BLM Deputy Director for Policy and Programs William Perry Pendley.  “Guided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as well as state and local health authorities, we continue to implement proactive COVID-19 measures to protect employees and the public, but, when it comes to fire, we have no intention of standing down.”

The BLM Fire and Aviation program works closely with, and relies on, its state and local partners for all wildfire suppression efforts.  During the COVID-19 outbreak, some state governments have declared they will not permit state and local resources to respond to wildfires outside of their local jurisdiction, which will greatly limit the national response capabilities of these valuable resources.  The BLM is working with these governments to address concerns and to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that shared resources are available to be deployed wherever need may be greatest.

“In order to ensure smooth interstate wildfire suppression operations, all wildland firefighters must be permitted to cross state boundaries without restriction to ensure safe and effective wildfire operations throughout the country,” said Pendley. “We beseech our federal, state, and local partners to ensure that ability.”

Every year, the BLM works with its Federal, state, and local partners to conduct initial attack on all wildland fire incidents to suppress wildfires as soon as they ignite.  Aggressive initial attack is the single most important method to ensure the safety of firefighters and the public; it also limits suppression costs.  During the COVID-19 outbreak, the wildland fire agencies will continue to work to suppress wildfires with the goal of reducing wildfire size and intensity.

The BLM is also working with its Federal, state and local partners to develop specific COVID-19 wildfire response plans to provide for wildland fire personnel safety.  These plans outline best management practices to limit the spread of the virus and to provide a safe working environment for all wildland fire personnel.

In addition to large air tankers and Type 1 and 2 helicopters under contract with the U.S. Forest Service, the BLM will have on contract 34 Single Engine Airtankers (SEAT), 4 water scooping air tankers, 7 smokejumper planes, 19 tactical support aircraft, and 25 helicopters for wildfire suppression efforts this year.  The BLM also has access to call when needed helicopters, SEATs, Large and Very Large Airtankers, water scoopers, and  tactical support aircraft.

-BLM

US Forest Service may contract for up to 30 more helicopters

helicopter HAI HELI-EXPO arrival landing anaheim california
A Eurocopter Super Puma AS 332L arrives at HAI HELI-EXPO in Anaheim, California January 24, 2020. It is registered to Horizon Helicopters in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

The U.S. Forest Service has published a solicitation asking for bids that could add up to 30 helicopters to the firefighting fleet this summer.

Published April 22, the solicitation has a very quick turnaround date, with offers due April 27, 2020. In order to be eligible for this opportunity, parties applying must already have one of the 68 current Call When Needed agreements in place.

The Forest Service is asking for pricing proposals for Type 1 and 2 helicopters which would be available for a 90-day Mandatory Availability Period commencing on either June 1st or June 15th.

As we wrote April 22, the four-year exclusive use contracts for Type 1 firefighting helicopters issued in 2016 expire April 30. Since new contracts based on the solicitation issued November 15, 2019 have not yet been awarded the Forest Service has given 30-day contracts to a handful of vendors. The agency has refused to provide to us any details about the 30-day contracts.

Since many of their procurement actions for firefighting aircraft are protested, delaying activation for several months, these 90-day contracts for up to 30 helicopters may be a safety net in case of a protest. If a company receives one of the Type 1 EU contracts, the Forest Service “will then remove your awarded helicopter from consideration for this one-time [90-day] opportunity.”

On April 6, 2018 the Forest Service awarded EU contracts for 34 Type 2 firefighting helicopters. The duration was for one base year through April 30, 2019, with the possibility of 3 one-year renewal option periods. The U.S. Forest Service has shown by how they manage the air tanker and Type 1 helicopter contracts that the option periods are definitely not a sure thing after cutting those aircraft during recent optional years.

This possible increase in the number of helicopters is presumably a response to what could a diminished firefighting capability during the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 23 Fire Aviation called for a large increase in the numbers of aviation resources:

Congress needs to appropriate enough funding to have 40 large air tankers on exclusive use contracts. Until that takes place and the aircraft are sitting on ramps at air tanker bases, all 17 of the large air tankers on call when needed contracts need to be activated this summer. Right now, only one large air tanker is working.

Several years ago the number of the largest helicopters on EU contracts, Type 1, were cut from 34 to 28. This number needs to be increased to 50. Until that happens 22 CWN Type 1 helicopters should be activated this summer.

If this temporary increase in the Type 1 and Type 2 helicopter fleets actually occurs, unimpeded by contract protests, it is the right thing to do.

The next action that needs to be taken is a similar increase in the fixed wing fleet this summer.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Sean. Typos or errors, report them HERE.