News and opinion about wildland fire
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Using a flare pistol to ignite burnout operation The video above is a slide show of a series of photographs shot in very quick succession while a member of the San Juan Hotshots used a flare pistol to ignite areas along Cold Creek Canyon during a burnout operation on the Myrtle Fire, July 22, 2012. The photos were taken by Bill Gabbert.
Thanks to the petition that John Lauer, a firefighter on the Tatanka Hotshot crew started, seasonal firefighters now have the opportunity to purchase health insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published an interim final rule on July 19 that puts the new provision into effect immediately. This is a big friggin’ deal for firefighters, so congratulations, Mr. Lauer, for taking the first steps that made this happen.
Here is the pertinent text from the interim rule that was just published:
OPM is amending 5 CFR part 890 as follows:
PART 890—FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM
Section 890.102 to be amended by adding paragraphs (h) and (i) to read as follows:
§ 890.102 Coverage.
* * * * *
(h) Notwithstanding paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section, an employee who is in a position identified by OPM that provides emergency response services for wildland fire protection is eligible to be enrolled in a health benefits plan under this part.
(i) Notwithstanding paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) of this section, upon request by the employing agency, OPM may grant eligibility to employees performing similar types of emergency response services to enroll in a health benefits plan under this part.
[FR Doc. 2012-17623 Filed 07/17/2012 at 8:45 am; Publication Date: 07/19/2012]
In the text that accompanied the interim rule, the OPM wrote:
OPM is committed to making the process for signing up for FEHB coverage simple and streamlined so that the firefighters covered by this rule can secure their new benefits with minimal burden. We are working closely with the Departments of Agriculture and Interior to ensure firefighters are able to promptly enroll for FEHB coverage.
After President Obama visited the Waldo Canyon fire on June 29, he directed that federal agencies offer seasonal firefighters the opportunity to purchase health insurance.
I have to admit I was skeptical that it could happen this quickly and even initiated a poll (now closed) asking our readers if they thought it could be implemented in the month of July. Happily, I was wrong, along with 70 percent of the folks who participated in the poll. Here are the results:
Thanks go out to Bill B.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Photos of air tankers being reloaded at Rapid City Air Tanker Base 
On Saturday we had the opportunity to visit the Air Tanker Base at the Rapid City Regional Airport. The crew, led by Base Manager Gordon Schaffer, was busy keeping three P2V air tankers reloaded with retardant as they returned from fires, paused on the ramp to get another 2,000 gallons of the red stuff, and took off again.
On Saturday the three air tankers working out of the base were from Neptune, Tankers 43 and 07, and 48 from Minden. The staff at the base consisted of the Base Manager, the Ramp Manager, a radio operator/dispatcher/office-assistant, and a 2-person reloading crew. In addition, there were three to four mechanics checking the aircraft every time they reloaded. The mechanics work for Neptune and Minden, the companies that operate the air tankers which are contracted to the federal government. The Minden mechanic said that when the tanker relocates to another air tanker base, which happens frequently, he usually travels with the aircraft, and a chase vehicle with additional mechanics and equipment follows on the ground, sometimes arriving a day or two later.
On Sunday, July 22, two of the three air tanker crews will be on mandatory days off, and another will come off of their days off, resulting in Tankers 45 and 48 being available at the base beginning at 9 a.m.
All of these photos were taken by Bill Gabbert.
(More photos are below.)
Continue reading “Photos of air tankers being reloaded at Rapid City Air Tanker Base”
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized1 Comment on Update and map of the Myrtle fire in South Dakota, July 22, 2012 
UPDATE at 5:21 p.m. MT, July 22, 2012:
This afternoon firefighters conducted a large burnout to tie in a fireline on the southeast side of the fire in Cold Brook Canyon, and from there north along Song Dog Road (didn’t this used to be called Shirt Tail Road?). It put up a great deal of smoke and looks bad if you don’t know what’s going on, but I was there on scene and the portion I saw went very well.
No time for more right now. Will post photos later.
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Original article at 8:40 a.m. July 22:
The incident management team assigned to the Myrtle fire in the Black Hills of South Dakota is calling the fire 20 percent contained and 9,075 acres. It is likely that much of the fire received some rain from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday as thunderstorms with a great deal of lightning moved through the Black Hills. The Elk Mountain weather station 1 mile east of the fire measured 0.28″, and the BKF1 Portable weather station 4 miles west of the fire recorded 0.16″.
The most current map the team has provided, below, was current as of 11:56 p.m. June 20.
An update from the Incident Management Team:
Date: July 21, 2012, at 10:00 p.m.
Current Situation: Firefighters continued to make progress on containment of the Myrtle Fire today. Containment of the fire was increased to 20% this evening with additional containment on the northern perimeter of the fire. Firefighters and crews were able to construct hand line and dozer line on the western perimeter of the fire. Afternoon thunderstorms prevented a planned firing operation to occur this afternoon on the eastern perimeter of the fire. Overnight, firefighters will improve containment lines and patrol the fire perimeter.
On Sunday, firefighters plan to improve and hold containment lines on the northern perimeter of the fire. On the western side of the fire, crews will continue line construction to the south. On the eastern side of the fire, crews are planning to conduct a firing operation that was delayed today due to weather and safety considerations. Public Information Officers will be available for media tours at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday at the staging area in Pringle. A community meeting will be held in Pringle tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. in the community building next to the fire station.
Weather: Scattered thunderstorms developing in the afternoon is anticipated to continue on Sunday and through the first part of next week. Temperatures will be in the 90’s tomorrow with a minimum relative humidity of 30% and increasing in the afternoon with the development of the expected thunderstorms. Winds will be light and variable throughout the day.
Information about the status of evacuations can be found at InciWeb.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized13 Comments on Tanker 07 drops on the Myrtle fire A video/slide show of Tanker 07, a P2V, dropping on the Myrtle Fire. All photos were taken near Rifle Pit Road on July 19, 2012 at 8:24 p.m. by Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today. And no, it did not crash into the trees; it exited the area safely and went back to Rapid City for the night.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Uncategorized8 Comments on South Dakota: Myrtle Fire causing evacuations south of Pringle 
UPDATED at 11:20 p.m., July 19, 2012
The Myrtle Fire that was reported Thursday at 1:30 p.m. has already burned 1,200 to 1,500 acres and is causing evacuations between Pringle and Hot Springs in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The fire started about 3 miles east of the small town of Pringle between US Highway 385 and Beaver Creek Road.
A wind shift in the late afternoon made things difficult for firefighters. As you can see in the photo above which looks toward the north, the fire was pushed by a west wind when the picture was taken at 4:12 p.m. At around 5 or 6 p.m., when the temperature at the nearby Elk Mountain weather station was 104 degrees and the relative humidity was 9 percent, the wind died and then began blowing out of the north and northeast. This caused spotting across Highway 385 as the fire spread rapidly to the west and south. By 10 p.m. it was approaching Shirt Tail Road and at 10:45 the Hot Springs Fire Department was toned out to assist with evacuations in the “Argyle Road West” area, which is south of Pringle and north of Hot Springs. Some areas north of Argyle Road and south of Wind Cave National Park are affected by the evacuations.
InciWeb should have more information about the fire on Friday.
The first heavy air tankers were requested at about 3:40 p.m., and two were dispatched from Montana, the dispatcher told the Incident Commander. About an hour later two additional large air tankers were requested. The first one, a P2V, arrived at 7:14 p.m., almost six hours after the fire was reported. The second arrived before 8 p.m. As far as I know the additional two that were ordered did not arrive at all on Thursday.
What’s wrong with this picture: the first air tankers arrived at the fire AFTER a Type 1 Incident Management Team (Hahnenberg) was ordered, which is used for managing the largest, most complex wildfires. Who knows, the IMTeam, with an ETA of 6 p.m. Friday, may arrive before the third and fourth air tankers show up.
That decision to release the DC-10 very large air tanker from its Call When Needed assignment on Monday is not looking very brilliant right now.
We posted some videos of the fire HERE, and more photos are below:
Continue reading “South Dakota: Myrtle Fire causing evacuations south of Pringle”
