Tom Harbour Archives - Page 2 of 5

Kyle Dickman profiles Tom Harbour

Bill GabbertAugust 31, 2015July 15, 2022UncategorizedKyle Dickman, Tom Harbour3 Comments

The author of On the Burning Edge, a book about the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew that was virtually wiped out fighting the Yarnell Hill fire in 2013, has written a long form article about the August wildfires in the west. A good portion of the piece by Kyle Dickman profiles Tom Harbour, the U.S. Forest Service’s National Director of Fire and Aviation Management. I don’t recall seeing such a personal look at the man who wields power at the top of the USFS firefighting food chain — with the possible exception of when he answered our 12 Questions.

Below is an excerpt from the article:

…To contend with California’s regular fires, the Forest Service set up two command centers, with one, in Redding, called North Ops. Redding sits in a bowl in the Sacramento Valley, and as Harbour arrives, the wind is filling that bowl with eye-stinging smoke. On the grounds, a long-haired smokejumper in flip-flops pedals a cruiser bike around the base while air tankers loaded with fire retardant take off from the runway. The mood isn’t festive, but one feels the excitement and gravity of a shared sense of purpose. The command staff hustle about to send firefighters and gear to the front lines. Several stop to shake Harbour’s hand. He joins a briefing headed by Paige Boyer, the assistant director for fire and aviation management for Northern California.

“We really want to get that fire off the map,” Boyer says to a half-dozen of her colleagues gathered before a map. “We want it out of the public eye.” Boyer taps the northeast corner of the map, where red colors the fire where a firefighter died.

Three days earlier, Harbour had flown to Alturas, Calif., to pay his respects to the family of that engine captain, 38-year-old Dave Ruhl. He’d disappeared while scouting a fire near the city limits. His crew didn’t find his body right away, and while CNN and the Associated Press zeroed in on the details of the first fire death of the 2015 season, Harbour arranged to meet his folks, as he’s tried to do for each of the 163 firefighters—both Forest Service and non—lost on duty in the past 10 years…

Forest Service represented in the Rose Parade

Bill GabbertJanuary 1, 2015June 17, 2016UncategorizedCalifornia, pack mules, Rose Parade, Shawna Legarza, Smokey Bear, Tom Harbour7 Comments

The U.S. Forest Service had quite a few representatives in the Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Years Day.

Their entry was a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the historic role of packers in supporting wildland firefighters and other backcountry operations, and appreciation of the outstanding contributions made by national forest volunteers.

The all-mule equestrian entry included an entourage of Forest Service Rangers in period uniforms anchored by three mule pack strings. The mule pack strings were guided by California-based U.S. Forest Service packers Michael Morse, Lee Roeser and Ken Graves, who have an average of 37 years of experience each in the saddle.

Forest Service Rose Parade — USFS firefighters hiked the five-mile parade route.

Shawna Lagarza Tom Harbour — Shawna Legarza, the Director of Fire and Aviation for the U.S. Forest Service’s California Region, and Tom Harbour, the Director of Fire and Aviation for the Forest Service, at the Rose Parade, January 1, 2015.

This is something you don’t see every day — wildland fire personnel dressed up in their super-formal uniforms. (These folks are very high ranking of course, but seeing ANY non-headquarters-based U.S. Forest Service employee in a uniform is unusual.) I didn’t know the USFS had the Smokey Bear type hats except for the honor guards you see at funerals. The roses on the hats are a nice touch.

I did not see the parade, but there is a report that during the live broadcast the announcers had a debate about Smokey’s name — “Smokey Bear”, or “Smokey THE Bear”. Here’s the deal. A song written in 1952 celebrated “Smokey the Bear” and stirred a debate that lasted several decades. To maintain the proper rhythm in the song, the writers added “the” to the name, etching “Smokey the Bear” into the public psyche. But his name always was, and still is, Smokey Bear. Unfortunately the Forest Service fueled the confusion by publishing and distributing the words and music to the song in their fire prevention efforts.

All photos are provided by the U.S. Forest Service.

Senate hearing on tight budgets for forest management

Bill GabbertNovember 6, 2013June 5, 2020Uncategorizedhearing, legislation, Tom Harbour4 Comments

On November 5 the Senate Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources held a hearing titled, “Shortchanging Our Forests: How Tight Budgets and Management Decisions Can Increase the Risk of Wildfire”. A video recording of the hearing can be viewed at the subcommittee’s website.

David Pitcher and Tom Harbour — Tom Harbour (left) the U.S. Forest Service National Director of Fire and Aviation Management (who did not testify), and David Pitcher (right) President and CEO of the Wolf Creek Ski Area at Pagosa Creek, Colorado.

It was held in a small room where the five witnesses outnumbered the four Senators. Generally, the attendees recommended that the government must invest more in forest thinning, prescribed fire, and hazard reduction projects.

Below are some excerpts from the written testimony of a few witnesses. Their statements can be downloaded at the website.

From Jim Hubbard, USFS Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry:

When a wildfire starts within or burns into a fuel treatment area, an assessment is conducted to evaluate the resulting impacts on fire behavior and fire suppression actions. Of over 1,400 assessments conducted to date, over 90 percent of the fuel treatments were effective in changing fire behavior and/or helping with control of the wildfire (USFS, Fuels Treatment Effectiveness Database).

From Sallie Clark, El Paso County Commissioner, Colorado:

A 2007 Congressional Budget Office study indicates that every dollar invested in healthy forest and wildfire mitigation will save more than five dollars in future disaster losses.

From Christopher Topik, Director, Restoring America’s Forests, The Nature Conservancy:

Our current approach to wildland fire and forest management creates a false choice, pitting the viability of one against the other. In reality, we cannot afford to short-change either. The potential costs are too great.

SUMMARY OF KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

I. Budgetary

1. Increase federal funding for hazardous fuels reduction, Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration and associated proactive federal land management operations and science

2. Create and fund a new federal fire suppression funding mechanism to free up resources for proactive management referenced above

3. Permanently authorize stewardship contracting authority

4. Increase capacity of states and communities to become fire adapted

5. Increase research on economic, social and ecological impacts of forest investment

II. Management Decisions

6. Seek policy adjustments that foster innovation and improvement in NEPA implementation, thereby increasing the scale and quality of resulting projects and plans

7. Increase shared commitment and support for forest restoration by states and local governments

8. Enhance participation of additional sectors of society, such as water and power utilities, recreation and tourism, public health, and industrial users of clean water

9. Increase the safe and effective use of wildland fire

Chris Topik, Director, Restoring America’s Forests, The Nature Conservancy

Photos and observations from the Granite Mountain 19 Memorial Service

Bill GabbertJuly 9, 2013August 25, 2019UncategorizedTom Harbour, Yarnell Fire9 Comments

(UPDATE at 7 p.m. MST, July 9, 2013)

The memorial service for the Granite Mountain 19 was conducted with dignity and professionalism today. It was very well organized and gave the firefighters the honor they deserved.

Filled auditorium — The arena a few minutes before the service started. Some of the VIPs in the front rows had not yet entered

Alumni of Granite Mountain Hotshots entering arena

memorial serviceoutside the arena — The crowd gathers outside the arena

Firefighter statue — The wildland firefigher statue that was in the Boise Airport was given to the city of Prescott just before the memorial service. It attracted a lot of attention and was photographed hundreds of times.

Firefighter's gear — Some typical firefighter gear was on display at the front of the arena.

More is below:

Continue reading “Photos and observations from the Granite Mountain 19 Memorial Service”

12 Questions for Tom Harbour

Bill GabbertMarch 19, 2013May 11, 2015Uncategorized12 questions, area command, Tom Harbour1 Comment

Today we have the 12th article of our series in which we ask current and retired leaders in the wildland fire service to answer 12 questions.

We appreciate everyone who is cooperating with this project. Some of their responses may add to the knowledge base of our new firefighters coming up through the ranks. If you would like to nominate someone who would be a good candidate for these questions, drop us a line through our Contact Us page. And their contact information would be appreciated.

Below we hear from Tom Harbour, the U.S. Forest Service National Director of Fire and Aviation Management. After beginning as as GS-2 firefighter, Mr. Harbour worked his way up to District Ranger, Forest Fire Management Officer on the Angeles National Forest, Deputy Regional Fire Director in the Northern Rockies, Regional Fire Director in the Intermountain Region, and National Fire and Aviation Management Deputy Director before assuming his current position. He has been qualified as a Type 1 Prescribed Fire Burn Boss, Type 1 Incident Commander, and Area Commander.

****

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone before their first assignment as an Incident Commander?
You are a leader and a servant. You are accountable and responsible. Remember what you have been taught and learned. Think, and by the way, don’t expect to get much rest.

Tom Harbour at Little Bear Fire — Tom Harbour at the Little Bear Fire, Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico, June, 2012. USFS photo.

If someone is planning a prescribed fire, what is one thing that you hope they will pay particular attention to?
People – the folks executing the fire and the folks who live near the fire.

One of the more common errors in judgment you have seen on fires?
Not engaging the brain prior to action.

One thing that you know now that you wish you had known early in your career?
Some of the folks higher in the food chain were actually concerned for me.

The stupidest mistake you have seen on a fire?
Igniting a prescribed fire when the test fire results indicated we were going to have trouble.

Your most memorable fire?
Mortar Creek (1979, Challis National Forest in Idaho), because I got over the fire when it had just escaped the campfire ring. In 1979, Mortar Creek was a giant we hadn’t seen in the area for decades. The Ship Island Fire happened that same day, I was working the Mortar Creek fire when I heard the radio traffic. I then spent most of the rest of the summer on the Mortar Creek fire.

The funniest thing you have seen on a fire?
A group of folks gathered around Bill Paddock listening to him tell stories about his earlier time in the USFS.

The first very large fire you were on?
A couple of days after I was hired in 1970, I headed with a hand crew to a fire in the Toulumne River Canyon. I cannot remember the name of the fire, but I remember the experience — I was hooked on a career.

Your favorite book about fire or firefighting?
Blink by Malcom Gladwell helps us understand about how we think under pressure.

The first job you had within the fire service?
GS-2 “shovel operator”

What gadgets, electronic or otherwise, can’t you live without?
Hate to say it, but the constant buzz on my belt is an indication the Blackberry is seeking attention.

12 Questions for Greg Greenhoe

Bill GabbertJanuary 10, 2013November 6, 2013Uncategorized12 questions, Tom Harbour6 Comments

Today we have the second article of our series in which we ask current and retired leaders in the wildland fire service to answer 12 questions.

We appreciate everyone who is cooperating with this project. Some of their responses to the first three questions may add to the knowledge base of our new firefighters coming up through the ranks.

Today we hear from Greg Greenhoe, who retired from the U.S. Forest Service as the Deputy Director of Fire and Aviation Management for the Northern Region, working out of Missoula. Presently he is working as an Emergency Management Consultant and Instructor.

***

When you think of an excellent leader in the fire service, who comes to mind first?
There are so many but the ones that touched my life are Lynn Biddison, Steve Gallegos, Tom Harbour, Chuck Mills and Jerry Williams. They were all great leaders and mentors and made a big difference in my career.

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone before their first assignment as an Incident Commander?
Make sure you have qualified, competent people filling the positions on your team and you can’t go wrong. I was blessed with the best bunch of team members when I was an IC. Made the job easy.

If someone is planning a prescribed fire, what is one thing that you hope they will pay particular attention to?
Have a good plan and follow the plan!

What was the first very large fire you were on?
The Wild Bill Fire on the Coconino National Forest, October of 1973. 7,150 acres, not sure we would call that a large fire today! I was a brand new crew boss with an Inmate Crew out of the Federal Prison in Safford, Arizona. It was a pretty miserable crew! A month later I took a Papago (Tohono O’odham) Crew to the Burnt Fire on the other side of the San Francisco Peaks; now that was a great crew!

What color should fire trucks be?
You mean Engines? I really don’t care, as long as they have a good crew and can put “wet stuff on the red stuff!”

What was the first job you ever had?
Timber Stand Improvement Crew on the Tonto NF. It was a youth crew made up of Boy Scouts from Camp Geronimo just below the Mogollon Rim. That was 1965. Our crew boss was Bob Wagenfer who was also a big influence on my starting a career with the Forest Service. He took me on my first fire in 1966.

What was the first job you had within the fire service?
Smoke Chaser on the Coronado NF, Santa Catalina Ranger District, 1972.

What cell phone do you have for personal use?
HTC Android

What kind of computer do you have at home?
HP desktop, HP Netbook and a Kindle Fire HD

What gadgets can’t you live without?
My smart phone and netbook

What was the first vehicle that you bought?
Well I had a hand-me-down 1955 Ford Victoria, but the first vehicle I ever bought with my own money was a 1973 Chevy step-side pickup. Brand new from the dealership!

What was your most memorable vacation?
Well that’s hard but I would have to say Antarctica in 2000. Just an amazing place. Isn’t that funny though… The one continent that doesn’t have a fire problem!

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: