USFS photo from the report on the escaped prescribed fire, the Pautre Fire, in North Dakota and South Dakota.
The Associated Press is reporting that the Department of Agriculture, in a letter signed by Department Secretary Tom Vilsack, is denying $50 million in claims filed by sixteen ranchers and landowners over a prescribed fire that escaped and burned 10,679 acres in North Dakota and South Dakota.
The “Pasture 3B” prescribed fire was planned to be 210 acres on the Dakota Prairie National Grasslands, but strong winds on April 3, 2013 caused by the predicted passage of a cold front pushed the fire across a mowed fire line into tall grass and ultimately burned 10,679 acres, (3,519 acres federal and 7,160 acres private). The wildfire, named Pautre Fire, was stopped at 11 p.m. that night.
In explaining the denial, Secretary Vilsack said the Forest Service relied on forecasts from the National Weather Service in Rapid City, South Dakota, that ultimately proved inaccurate.
In February, 2014 the US Forest Service released a report about the fire, called a “Facilitated Learning Analysis. The issues listed by the document included:
Improved weather forecasts are needed.
Consider additional research on methods to predict effects of drought on fire behavior in grass fuel models.
The nearest remote automated weather station (RAWS) is more than 90 miles away.
The project was conducted at the critical edge of the prescription.
Consider gaming out worst case scenario “what ifs” during the planning process, and discuss with participants during the on-site briefing.
There were problems with radio communications [note from Bill: I don’t remember EVER seeing a report like this that did not cite radio communications as being an issue].
A report issued by the U.S. Forest Service for a prescribed fire that escaped on the Dakota Prairie National Grasslands in northern South Dakota last year cited weather as being one of the primary factors in losing control of the fire.
The Pasture 3B prescribed fire was planned at 210 acres, but strong winds on April 3, 2013 caused by the predicted passage of a cold front pushed the fire across a mowed fire line into tall grass and ultimately burned 10,679 acres, (3,519 acres federal and 7,160 acres private). The wildfire, named Pautre Fire, was stopped at 11 p.m. that night.
An article in The Rapid City Journal has more information about the impacts of the fire on the ranchers. Privately owned grazing, hay stacks, and miles of fencing were damaged or destroyed during the ranchers’ calving season. Here is an excerpt:
“Laurie Casper, 36, said the fire destroyed 95 percent of her family’s farmland, which is more than 1,000 acres.
‘We lost all of our calving pasture, we lost our summer grazing, we lost our fall grazing, we lost 100 percent of our alfalfa— which we cut for hay bales in order to feed the cattle this oncoming winter— all that’s completely gone,’ she said. ‘And there’s just just miles and miles of fences that are completely gone.’ “
The prescription in the project’s burn plan for the maximum wind speed at eye level was 15 mph and the maximum wind speed at the 20-foot level was 20 mph. One of the spot weather forecasts for the morning of the prescribed fire predicted the passage of the cold front, with winds shifting from the south at 5 to 11 mph in the morning, to northwest at 25 mph with gusts to 30 mph in the afternoon. The actual weather that day was very similar to the forecast.
About a month later, another prescribed fire not too far away, at Devils Tower National Memorial in western Wyoming, also escaped, due partially to strong winds. That report still has not been posted on the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center website. We were told today that was due to a glitch, and it will appear there very soon, possibly as early as today, February 4. (UPDATE, February 5, 2014: the National Park Service arranged to have the Devils Tower report posted late in the day on February 4. We wrote about it here.)
Pautre Fire. US Forest Service photo.
The report said firefighters concluded they would not do much different next time (page 12):
Firefighters did an excellent job of planning, organizing and executing this prescribed fire and adhering to the prescribed fire plan. Following the control of the escaped fire some firefighters had difficulty thinking of anything they would do differently next time. While it is true that we work in a dangerous environment with unexpected changes in weather, we strive to be a learning culture and continuously improve our ability to make decisions that evaluate risk and get work done on the ground.
Some of the issues listed by the Facilitated Learning Analysis team included:
Improved weather forecasts are needed.
Consider additional research on methods to predict effects of drought on fire behavior in grass fuel models.
The nearest remote automated weather station (RAWS) is more than 90 miles away.
The project was conducted at the critical edge of the prescription.
Consider gaming out worst case scenario “what ifs” during the planning process, and discuss with participants during the on-site briefing.
There were problems with radio communications [note from Bill: I don’t remember EVER seeing a report like this that did not cite radio communications as being an issue].
The commendations section included this:
The personnel involved in all levels of the Pasture 3B prescribed fire were motivated, worked well as a team, were adequately trained, and appropriately briefed. They had a keen awareness that this was the first burn of the year, and took numerous precautions to ensure successful completion of the prescribed fire.
We did not see any mention in the report of damaged fences, hay, or pastures.
Map of the Pautre Fire at 0000 on 4-4-2013, provided by USFS.
The US Forest Service has announced that their escaped prescribed fire is 90 percent contained and is now estimated to have burned 10,800 acres southeast of Hettinger, North Dakota and southwest of Lemmon, South Dakota. One outbuilding has burned, along with fences, hay, and pastures.
On Friday there were 16 engines and 2 water tenders assigned. Firefighters have been engaged in mopup, including trying to put out a burning dump site close to the fire perimeter.
There will be a public meeting at the North Dakota State University Research Center in Hettinger, ND on Saturday April 6 at 4:00 p.m. Information about the Pautre Fire and the claims process will be presented by the USFS.
**** UPDATED at 10:23 a.m. MT, April 5, 2013:
An article in The Rapid City Journal has more information about the impacts of the fire on the ranchers. Privately owned grazing, hay stacks, and miles of fencing were damaged or destroyed during the ranchers’ calving season. Here is an excerpt:
Laurie Casper, 36, said the fire destroyed 95 percent of her family’s farmland, which is more than 1,000 acres.
“We lost all of our calving pasture, we lost our summer grazing, we lost our fall grazing, we lost 100 percent of our alfalfa— which we cut for hay bales in order to feed the cattle this oncoming winter— all that’s completely gone,” she said. “And there’s just just miles and miles of fences that are completely gone.”
Casper’s family didn’t sleep on Wednesday night. The fire came at the worst time for them and other ranchers: the middle of calving season. While Casper’s family found refuge for their cattle in a neighbor’s cornfield, her family is now worried about their herd’s health. On Thursday morning, their cattle wouldn’t clean their calves because they smelled like smoke. They also fear their livestock may suffer respiratory issues after inhaling dust and smoke.
****
UPDATED at 10:21 p.m. MT, April 4, 2013:
The Pautre Fire is 75 percent contained and is still estimated to have burned 14,000 acres.
Eighteen fire engines and two water tenders are assigned to the fire and continue to work on strengthening the perimeter and providing structure protection. Full containment of the fire is expected by Friday evening.
Paul Hancock, Grand River District Ranger said, “As suppression operations are ending, the Forest Service will be conducting an assessment to determine property damage and working on short and long term strategies to pay for the damage we caused.”
****
(Originally published at 12:34 p.m. MT, April 4, 2013)
A prescribed fire on the Grand River Ranger District of the Dakota Prairie National Grasslands escaped on Wednesday and burned 14,000 to 16,000 acres of grassland near Lemmon in northwest South Dakota (map). The fire was being conducted by the U.S. Forest Service, the agency that administers the National Grassland.
Babete Anderson, a spokesperson for the National Grassland, told Wildfire Today Thursday morning that the spread of the wildfire now named the Pautre Fire, has been stopped and no structures were destroyed. A little snow Thursday morning assisted firefighters with mopup
The original plan for the prescribed fire called for treating 130 acres with fire. At about 2 p.m. on Wednesday winds gusting up to 30 mph pushed the fire across control lines. Approximately 50 to 60 percent of the acres that burned were on private land. Firefighters are calling it 50 percent contained on Thursday and expect strong winds again late in the afternoon on Thursday.
“The Forest Service regrets that the prescribed burn escaped the containment lines and affected so many people. I appreciate the support and efforts from the firefighters, their families and the communities affected by this fire.” stated Paul Hancock, Grand River District Ranger.
