The U.S. Forest Service has released a 72-hour report for an engine rollover in Wyoming that injured three firefighters. It occurred at noon on August 8 while the crew was responding eastbound on Highway 450 to a report of a fire near Newcastle, Wyoming. Here is a link to a map of the general area.
The engine, a new Kovatch Mobile Equipment (KME) Type 4, was totaled.
Below is the narrative from the report:
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“Narrative: A type 4 wildland engine, traveling east along Wyoming State Highway 450, lost control and rolled over, approximately 10 miles east of the Thunder Basin work center. The engine, with a complement of three fire personnel, was responding to a smoke report near Newcastle, WY.
Following the accident, two personnel were transported by ambulance to Newcastle, WY and one by ambulance with life-flight assistance, to Casper, WY. Two personnel were released on the same day (August 8, 2013), while the third individual was released on Saturday, August 10, 2013.
Accident investigations are being conducted by Wyoming Highway Patrol (including an accident reconstruction analysis) and Forest Service law enforcement.
A Facilitated Learning Analysis (FLA) team is on-site and has completed an in-briefing and delegation by the Regional Forester. The FLA team is conducting interviews, reviewing the accident site and assessing information from the accident.”
The U.S. Forest Service announced today that the agency has banned exploding targets on National Forest system lands in the Rocky Mountain Region. In October when we first wrote about these devices that explode when shot with a rifle, we listed 24 wildfires we found with a quick internet search that were started by shooters using the targets in 2012.
Exploding targets have become popular in the last year with shooters who get a thrill from seeing the explosion when their bullet hits its mark. The devices are sometimes called “binary exploding targets”, since they are completely inert until two powders are mixed by the target shooter. After they are combined, the compound is illegal to transport and is classified as an explosive by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and is subject to the regulatory requirements in 27 CFR, Part 555.
In June a man attending a bachelor-bachelorette party in Minnesota was killed by an exploding target. After someone shot the device, shrapnel struck 47-year-old Jeffery Taylor in the abdomen causing his death.
The new ban affects national forest system lands in the states of Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Colorado, and Kansas. Under the Order prohibiting the devices, anyone using them can face a fine of up to $5,000 and imprisonment of not more than 6 months. The Order is effective for one year and expires August 2, 2014.
The U.S. Forest Service has previously banned exploding targets on national forests in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas according to Forest Service spokeswoman Sarah Levy.
The Bureau of Land Management bans them during certain times on their land in some states — not only the use but the possession of the devices.
“The Bureau of Land Management is working on a Fire Prevention Order that will ban exploding targets on BLM lands in Colorado as well,” said John Bierk, State Staff Ranger for BLM Colorado/Eastern States.
They are also banned or soon will be when new legislation takes effect on state lands, at least under some conditions, in Washington, Utah, Oregon, and Idaho.
Exploding targets have started at least 16 wildfires since 2012 on Forest Service lands in 8 western states causing the federal government to spend approximately $33.6 million in suppression costs. The U.S. Forest Service provided the table below which lists seven fires started by exploding targets in the Rocky Mountain Region during that time period. The fires burned a total of 1,187 acres in the Region and cost $2.9 million to suppress.
“Exploding targets pose a very real safety threat to visitors and our employees” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell.
“We have seen a significant increase in the use of exploding targets on National Forest lands within the Region” said U.S. Forest Service Regional Special Agent in Charge Laura Mark. “Our objective is to educate the public on the dangers associated with the use of these targets in vegetation that can ignite a fire, as well as the safety risk they pose to the public, our employees and first responders. In addition to the seven fires caused by exploding targets on national forests in the Region since 2012, explosives ordinance demolition experts have had to respond on three occasions this year to safely dispose of unused targets that had been mixed but not yet used.”
The Incident Management Team on the Hardluck fire reports that heavy dead and down bug killed stands of timber are contributing to enhanced fire behavior, which precludes any direct attack, in the interests of firefighter safety.
The incident management team released this information Wednesday afternoon:
Lander, Wyo. (July 24, 2013) – A public meeting for the Fairfield Fire will be held at 7:00pm this evening at the Lander Middle School, 755 Jefferson St., Lander, Wyo. This meeting will be an opportunity for the public to learn what actions have been taken on the fire thus far and what the plan ahead is.
Following an infrared flight last night, a more precise perimeter was able to be determined. This allowed the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team, who took over command of the fire late yesterday, to develop a more accurate map. The fire is 15 percent contained with a total size of 1,909 acres. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by a Fremont County firefighter and Forest Service officials.
Some local initial attack resources have been released from the fire. A total of 138 personnel are currently on the fire along with 6 single engine air tankers, 2 light helicopters, and 2 heavy helicopters.
The National Weather Service has established a “decision support” web page for the fire.
Map of Fairfield Fire MDT, July 24, 2013
The Fairfield Fire continued to spread on the west side over the last 24 hours as it climbed into the higher elevations, finding more continuous stands of timber.
The weather forecast for Wednesday predicts weather similar to Tuesday’s, with easterly up canyon winds at 5 to 10 mph, 15 to 20 percent relative humidity, 30 to 65 percent cloud cover, and a chance for thunderstorms with little or no rain.
Two newspapers, at least, are running a story following up on the May 7 prescribed fire in Devils Tower National Monument that escaped during mopup operations the following day and burned 56 acres outside the project boundary. All except one or two of those “bonus acres” were inside the Monument. The small amount that crossed over the boundary unfortunately burned land leased by Wyoming state Senator Ogden Driskill, but did not damage any structures.
The Billings Gazette and the Rapid City Journal published the same article written by Kevin Woster of the Rapid City Journal. Senator Driskill’s wife, Rosanne Driskill was quoted as saying:
Fire is a legitimate management tool. Farmers and ranchers use it themselves,” Rosanne Driskill said. “But you don’t do it in your front yard or on the face of a national monument.
However, the Monument’s Chief Ranger, Drew Gilmour, thankfully disagreed, saying that is exactly where you want to do it in order to control invasive plants and reduce fallen timber and other snags that can fuel future wildfires.
File photo of the Meadow prescribed fire, Devils Tower National Monument, May, 2000. NPS photo.
Devils Tower has conducted many prescribed fires without any escapes until this year. But a few of the locals have previously been vocal in their opposition. Around 1996 or 1997, one of the projects burned a little hotter than anticipated and took out a pretty good sized patch of Ponderosa Pine on the east side below the tower — the most visible aspect that can easily be seen from the main highway and as visitors drive into the entrance road. One local citizen was quoted as saying, “The Monument is ruined for generations!”. Since then many of the trees killed in that fire have fallen, and much of the downed wood was probably consumed in the May 7 prescribed fire.
File photo of the Meadow prescribed fire in Devils Tower National Monument, May, 2000. NPS photo by Bill Gabbert.
A few hours after the National Park Service posted a very nice photo on their Facebook page of a prescribed fire at Devils Tower (map) in Wyoming, (which we placed on Wildfire Today) the fire escaped and burned 56 acres outside the project boundary.
Firefighters from the Northern Great Plains unit of the National Park Service ignited the prescribed fire on Tuesday, May 7, but winds on Wednesday caused it to spot across the control line in the afternoon, burning 56 unplanned acres in the southwest part of the Monument. The original intent was to treat 300 acres with fire.
Named Belle Fourche, the fire damaged a power line, interrupting the electrical service for 15 to 20 residences. The power company restored the electricity later in the day.
Today, Thursday, the fire is 90 percent contained and firefighters are mopping up.
In the interest of full disclosure, Devils Tower was one of the seven National Parks for which I was the Area Fire Management Officer, from 1998 until 2003.
We don’t have the exact number of resources that were on the fire, but we found out that the fire organization ordered breakfast for 115 people on Thursday.
At the automatic weather station at Devils Tower on Tuesday and Wednesday the temperature was in the mid 70s. The relative humidity on Tuesday bottomed out at 17 percent, but was higher on Wednesday at 24 percent.
On Thursday, the day the fire escaped, the wind speed was 5 to 7 mph, with gusts at 13 to 22 mph. The previous day it was 2 to 6 mph, gusting at 10 to 12.
Below is a map showing the approximate location of the planned prescribed fire. The Tower is just outside the project boundary, shaped a little oddly in this Google Earth 3-D rendering.
Approximate location of the planned Belle Fourche prescribed fire at Devils Tower. The green line is the Monument’s boundary. Wildfire Today map. (click to enlarge)
The U.S. Forest Service has released a 72-hour report for an engine rollover in Wyoming that injured three firefighters. It occurred at noon on August 8 while the crew was responding eastbound on Highway 450 to a report of a fire near Newcastle, Wyoming. Here is a link to a map of the general area.
