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South Dakota: White Draw Fire, update July 1, 2012

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , 3 Comments on South Dakota: White Draw Fire, update July 1, 2012

Cabins on White Draw Fire

In the photo above — these two very old structures near Red Canyon Road were carefully protected by firefighters who constructed a fireline around them and then removed additional fuel by burning out from the fireline. Photo by Bill Gabbert, June 30, 2012

The White Draw fire northeast of Edgemont was very active Saturday and firefighters received the support of two military MAFFS C-130 air tankers, until a thundershower in mid-afternoon dropped a little rain on the fire, slowing things down considerably. At 7 p.m. Saturday I drove all the way up Red Canyon road which divides the fire in half. I could only see a fraction of the 3,000-acre fire from the road but there was very little smoke visible. There was MUCH less action than I photographed on Friday, the day the fire started. However helicopters were busy dropping water on the east side yesterday evening.

Sunday morning the fire crews were scheduled to get an early start, with their morning briefing being held at 6 a.m. at the Edgemont Fairgrounds.

The Type 2 Incident Management Team that had been running the Dakota fire near Sheridan Lake is transitioning over to the White Draw fire. Rick Seidlitz will be the Incident Commander on this fire while Bob Fry is turning the Dakota fire over to a local Type 3 IMTeam.

White Draw fire, 10:51 p.m. MT, June 30, 2012
Map of the White Draw fire, 10:51 p.m. MT, June 30, 2012

InciWeb now has current information about the fire.

Below is a news release from the IMTeam issued this morning at 9 a.m.

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Edgemont, SD–Active fire behavior began in the late morning yesterday on the White Draw Fire producing heavy smoke and significant fire growth until a late afternoon shower briefly slowed fire activity, especially in the fine (grassy) fuels. Four helicopters provided water drops throughout the day to temporarily cool hot spots so firefighters could more safely and effectively attack the fire.

It wasn’t but a few minutes after the thundershower passed that once again the helicopters were being asked for aerial support. Aerial support was also provided by a Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) and two heavy air tankers.

As of late last night, the White Draw Fire is 10% contained and has burned roughly 3,000 acres. 181 personnel are assigned to this fire. This includes four type 2 hand crews (20 people each), crews associated with 13 engines, three dozers, and five water tenders. More crews and equipment have been ordered.

After a much dryer and warmer than normal spring, firefighters are dealing with flashy fuels that ignite rapidly. Hazardous steep terrain and rattlesnakes are added additional “watch out” conditions for them to deal with.

The night operation consisted mainly of patrolling and holding the fire line that was constructed during the day.

Weather today is once again expected to be hot and dry. There is a slight chance of light rain that may once again only temporarily slow fire activity.

Fire operations are starting an hour earlier this morning to take advantage of more favorable and efficient working conditions ahead of expected unfavorable winds and temperatures this afternoon. Crews will continue to hold and improve fire lines established yesterday in attempts to minimize fire growth. We are in a full suppression mode. Crews are also concentrating on structure protection to the northwest of the fire perimeter in anticipation of expected winds that could press the fire in that direction.

The White Draw Fire is located approximately five miles northeast of Edgemont, burning primarily on forest service lands in a mix of grasslands and timber.

 

South Dakota: White Draw fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 3 Comments on South Dakota: White Draw fire
Helicopter dropping on White Draw Fire
Helicopter dropping on White Draw Fire. Photo by Bill Gabbert/Wildfire Today

UPDATE at noon, June 30, 2012: we posted many more pictures of the fire HERE as well as additional information about the fire.

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The White Draw fire started at about 4 p.m. Friday afternoon northeast of Edgemont, South Dakota after a motor home driving up the grade on Highway 18 toward Hot Springs caught on fire. I cruised out there and shot some photos. Here’s one, and I’ll post more over the next few days.

There were quite a few engines working on the fire from the local communities, as well as the U.S. Forest Service, the State of South Dakota, and the National Park Service. There were no large air tankers on the fire at any time as far as I know, but there was one Single Engine Air Tanker, plus two Type 3 Helicopters and a Blackhawk. When I left the fire at about 9:45 p.m. I could not see the entire fire, but I’m guessing it had burned hundreds of acres.

USFS restores 4 helicopters previously cut

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 7 Comments on USFS restores 4 helicopters previously cut
Firehawk helicopter
Firehawk helicopter. Photo by Bill Gabbert

In 2011 the U.S. Forest Service had 34 helicopters on national contracts and even though their request for proposals for this year was for 34, they only awarded contracts for 30. The agency cut the helicopters formerly based at Alturas, CA; Oakridge, OR; Orland, CA; and Porterville, CA.

Today the USFS announced they changed their minds and decided to award an additional four exclusive use national contracts for helicopters. They will be:

  • Two S-61s owned by Siller Helicopters of Yuba City, Calif.;
  • One S-64 Skycrane owned by Erickson Air Crane of Central Point, Ore.;
  • One S-70 (Blackhawk) owned by Firehawk Helicopters of Leesburg, Fla.

Here is the updated list of USFS helicopters on exclusive use national contracts for 2012:

Helicopters on contract, 6-19-2012

All of these helicopters are Type 1, which requires a minimum capacity of 700 gallons, except for the eight K-Max ships which can carry only 680 gallons according to the capabilities listed on two of the K-Max contractors’ web sites. The K-Max has about 25 percent of the capacity of an Aircrane and the cost is also about 25 percent. The USFS pays $1,924 per flight hour for a K-Max K-1200 compared to $7,718 for a CH-54/SK-64.

The National Interagency Aviation Council study that was approved by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group in July, 2008 recommended that there be on exclusive use contract in 2012, 34 Type 1 helicopters, 47 Type 2 helicopters, and 100 Type 3 helicopters. The same study recommended that by 2012 there should be 23 large air tankers plus 3 water scooper air tankers on contract, for a total of 26, and by 2018 a total of 35 air tankers (32 plus 3). Currently we have 9 large air tankers on exclusive use contracts with 3 more to be added by the end of this year, and 4 additional in 2013.

Retired aviation professionals to conduct the 6th air tanker study

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , , 4 Comments on Retired aviation professionals to conduct the 6th air tanker study

A crew of retired and current aviation professionals has been assembled to conduct the sixth in an unending series of air tanker and helicopter studies. We wrote about this latest study on June 7 after it was awarded by the U.S. Forest Service to AVID LLC, a company in Virginia. While I could not find any mention of air tankers or wildfire on AVID’s web site except in mentioning one possible function of an unmanned aerial vehicle, the effect of that apparent lack of experience may be minimized by their shrewd hiring of a staff of experts for this $380,000 contract.

Tanker 45 on the Whoopup Fire
Tanker 45 dropping in the smoky Ferguson Canyon on the Whoopup Fire July 18, 2011, protecting structures. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

Dennis Hulbert, who retired from the U.S. Forest Service after serving as the Aviation Officer for the California Region, told Wildfire Today that he is a part of an assembled a group of professionals that will conduct the study with AVID. The team includes a retired National Assistant Director (Aviation), a Fire Planner/Forest Fire Management Officer/Incident Commander, several retired NASA employees, and some “Industry Professionals PHD- types”. In addition, AVID has some unique aircraft synthesis and analytical tools that can be used to assist these folks.

The AVID/Hulbert group will be guided by an in-house collection of federal employees who are subject matter specialists.

Mr. Hulbert believes that his group needs to define performance measures for firefighting aircraft that would be acceptable to the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, both of which have been critical of the USFS’s earlier air tanker proposals for procuring expensive Lockheed C-130J aircraft costing $80-90 million each. Tom Harbour, National Director for Fire and Aviation for the Forest Service, and Mark Rey, former Undersecretary of Agriculture (a position that oversees the USFS) who is now a lobbyist for Lockheed, have both recommended the purchase of C-130Js, but Mr. Harbour may be moving away from that position.

In addition to defining air tanker performance measures, the group should also define them for the U.S. Forest Service, such as an implementation schedule, with dates and names of responsible officials, for moving forward. Accountability can be an effective tool.

The Forest Service should have made decisions about the long-term composition of the fire aviation fleet 10 or 20 years ago. But since they continued to kick the can down the road year after year, and crash after fatal crash, this approach, wielding the expertise of actual wildfire aviation professionals, might be what it will take to move the process forward. Aviation professionals were used in the first four of the earlier studies (and there may have been some on the secret RAND study), but little followup occurred.

Researchers discover that prescribed fire can be beneficial

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 4 Comments on Researchers discover that prescribed fire can be beneficial
Lithograph Canyon Prescribed fire, Jewel Cave NM
Lithograph Canyon Prescribed fire, Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota. Photo by Bill Gabbert

I thought this issue was settled 20 to 30 years ago, but researchers have recently discovered (again) that prescribed fire can be beneficial to the environment. Some folks at UC Berkeley synthesized 20 years of research throughout the country on the ecological impact of reducing forest wildfire risk through controlled burns and tree thinning. They came to the conclusion that prescribed fire is a good thing.

Some of the researchers’ ecological findings include:

  • For the first five years after treatment, some birds and small mammals that prefer shady, dense habitat moved out of treated areas, while others that prefer more open environments thrived. The study authors said these changes were minor and acceptable.
  • When mechanical tree thinning was followed by prescribed fire, there was an increase in the overall diversity of vegetation. However, this also included non-native plant species. The researchers recommend continued monitoring of this effect.
  • Only 2 percent or less of the forest floor saw an increase in mineral soil exposure, which could lead to small-scale erosion. Other soil variables, such as the level of compaction, soil nitrogen and pH levels, were temporary, returning to pre-treatment levels after a year or two.
  • Increases in bark beetles, a pest that preys on fire-damaged trees, was short-lived and concentrated in the smaller diameter trees. Researchers noted that thinning out a too-dense forest stand improves tree vigor and ultimately increases its resilience to pests, in addition to fire.

US Forest Service awards contract for a sixth air tanker study

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , , 9 Comments on US Forest Service awards contract for a sixth air tanker study
Tanker 45, P2V
Tanker 45, a P2V, preparing to drop on the Whoopup fire. Photo by Bill Gabbert

The U.S. Forest Service has awarded a contract for another air tanker study, the sixth air tanker study in the last 17 years. It was given Friday June 1 to AVID LLC, a company in Virginia, which will receive $380,000 from the taxpayers, about half of what RAND received for their secret study, described by the USFS, “The data, analysis, and conclusion in this report are not accurate or complete.” This additional air tanker study should be finished in November. We will be curious to see if the USFS keeps this one secret also.

In scanning AVID’s web site, we can find no mention of wildfire, dispatching, aerial firefighting tactics, or air tankers. Some of the projects they have been involved with include software to determine the best route for an aircraft to reduce noise on takeoff, a small hovering unmanned aerial vehicle, and aerospace engineering.

The primary objective of this additional study is to “identify the appropriate number and types of aviation resources necessary to effectively meet future fire management needs”. In describing the contract, the USFS wrote:

The aerial firefighting mission is extremely complex in terms of aircraft use, aircraft characteristics, bases, contracts, costs, dispatching, mission objectives, tactics, strategy and communications.

It baffles me that a company with no apparent experience in the above, can provide a product that will be worth $380,000 of taxpayers’ money. What it will likely accomplish for the USFS is another six-month delay before they actually have to make a serious, detailed decision about rebuilding the air tanker fleet which, through neglect, has atrophied, from 44 in 2002 to the 9 we have today.

This reduction in the air tanker fleet has made fast, effective initial attack with ground AND air resources a quaint idea in our memory. If fires are not caught when they are small, some of them become large, and a few grow into mega-fires, consuming hundreds of thousands of acres and tens of millions of our dollars.

The U.S. taxpayers can only hope that this sixth air tanker study finally gives the USFS Fire and Aviation Management folks the answer they have been wanting, so we can cease this ridiculous analysis paralysis.

We wrote more about this sixth air tanker study in March.