Fire management notes / U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.

38 Pages·1998·3.8 MB·English

Historic, Archive Document
Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.
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Fire Management Notes.
Fire
Management
notes Volume 58 • No. 1 • Winter 1998
Contents
U.S. Army Firefighters Practice “No Trace Camping”
on Wilderness Wildfires. 4
Francis Mohr and Karen Curtiss
Firefighter Crews Need Unit SOP. 9
Kent Lewis
Firefighter Safety Zones: How Big Is Big Enough? . 13
Bret W. Butler and Jack D. Cohen
The NARTC Shows You the Future . 17
April J. Baily and Tara Megan Chambers
Whether training occurs in the air; Reduce Fire Hazards in Ponderosa Pine by Thinning .. 20
in class, on the fireline, or at spike
Joe Scott
camp, it can help save lives,
property, and natural resources (see
A New and Efficient Method To Store Fire Records ... 26
related articles in this issue).
Tom French
The cover photo of Airtanker 14
dropping retardant during the Florida’s Governor Declares Prescribed
Indian Creek Fire on July 15,1994,
Fire Awareness Week. 28
in southwestern Oregon was taken
from one of three helicopters in mid- Joseph P. Ferguson
afternoon. Photo: Dan Thorpe,
Oregon Department of Forestry, Author Index—Volume 57 . 33
Southwest Oregon District, Central
Point, OR, 1994.
Subject Index—Volume 57. 34
Short Features
“On the Fire Line” Wins 1997 International
Film Award. 30
Amy Susan Buckler
Mountain Driving Video Now Available. 25
Dick Mangan
Florida Modifies FEPP To Support Emergency
Fire Responses. 31
George L. Cooper
Byron Bonney Named First “FFMO of the Year”. 32
Amy Susan Buckler
FIRE
Guidelines for Contributors. 8
21
Firefighter and public safety is
our first priority.
U.S.
Army Firefighters Practice
“No
Trace Camping”
oim Wilderness Wildfires
Francis Mohr and Karen Curtiss
U.S. Army Battalion has
“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the
"A been assigned to your Park
Meadow Fire and will be integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic
camped out in a nearby mountain community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”—
meadow.” Imagine yourself as the
Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac.
land manager responsible for the
Three Sisters Wilderness on the
Sisters Ranger District, Deschutes
National Forest, in central Oregon What can we do to protect the occasionally, a partially
where this wildfire was located. environment?” decomposed, fallen tree.
You’ve just heard that 300
Background of the
firefighters plus logistical support After being exposed to a week of
personnel are about to move onto Park Meadow Incident high temperatures, low relative
a pristine, high-elevation moun¬ The Park Meadow Fire was one of humidities, and consequent low
tain meadow. The length of their fuel moisture content, this fuel
30 wildfires initiated by a thunder¬
stay is uncertain—it all depends on situation was very receptive for the
storm that passed over central
how long it will take to control the Oregon on the late afternoon of lightning spark to start a fire. (The
wildfire estimated at 700 acres August 23, 1996. The lightning Lightning Detection System
(1,700 ha). It could be a few days strike occurred in a narrow mixed- recorded 31 strikes, of which 30
or much longer. conifer stand of older mountain developed into wildfires in this
area during this period.) The
hemlock, lodgepole pine,
Your first concerns are the existing Haines Index (Haines 1988)—an
Englemann spruce, subalpine fir,
and potential fire behavior along and white fir. The visual character¬ indicator of existing atmospheric
with the possibility of excessive istics of such a stand were: stability—was at “6,” the extreme
resource damage caused by a large end of the index curve. All these
number of people within the con¬ • A dense tree crown canopy with phenomena coincided within the
fines of a fragile, sensitive area. interspersed dead branches, same 24-hour period. Even for this
Evidence of wilderness resource needles, and moss stringing high-elevation, coniferous stand—
damages from past wildfire sup¬ down 1 to 2 feet (0.4 to 0.8 cm), often called “asbestos” during a
pression, sometimes caused by • A continuous vertical arrange¬ majority of the fire seasons—the
only one or two crews (20 to 40 ment of fuels provided by stage was set for easy ignition, a
people), is still visible today in branches of the mixed species rapid increase of fire intensity,
many wilderness areas. As the composition, with all ages development of a heat convection
responsible manager, you know present, column, and fire behavior that
you must ask, “What is the poten¬ • Some clumps of dense under¬ soon dominated its own environ¬
tial for resource damage when story intermingled with dead ment. Within the first burning
300-plus firefighters are involved? standing trees due to natural period, an estimated 550 acres
competition for soil, water, and (1,360 ha)—even on level to gently
minerals, and sloped ground—burned intensely.
• Fuels at the ground surface Several spot fires dotted the fire
Francis Mohr is a fire management
consultant in Baker City, OR, and Karen consisting of a light layer of periphery. Similar atmospheric
Curtiss is the assistant fire staff officer for branches and needles and, conditions existed the following
the Deschutes National Forest, Bend, OR.
Fire Management Notes
day, although the resulting fire The five resource advisors acted • Portable latrines, similar to the
behavior was not as dramatic. The quickly and soon decided on the ones used with back-country
estimated size after the first two following set of procedures and river float trips, will be used,
burning periods was about 700 instructions to be used consis¬ although the slit-trench method
acres (1,700 ha), with potential for tently with the crews and support¬ may be necessary until these
more before fire suppression ing personnel arriving at the arrive.
efforts could be effective. wildfire site:
The resource advisors stayed at
• Camping and storage of supplies
The thunderstorm that initiated the three “spike camp" sites. They
will be in the tree-covered area,
these wildfires in central Oregon also spent time along the fire
away from the grassy area of the
continued its path across north¬ perimeter, promoting, explaining,
meadow.
eastern Oregon and into Idaho. and demonstrating the use of MIST
• Sleeping areas, the camp
More wildfires developed, resulting during the fire lining and mopup
kitchen, latrines, and storage of
in a need for fire suppression activities. The fire crews were at
supplies will be restricted to
forces. The U.S. Army 4th Engi¬ the fire site for 5 days. The only
designated areas within the
neer Battalion from Fort Carson, deviation from the procedures
adjacent tree stands.
CO, which was just being released and instructions outlined above
• The first choice for these desig¬
from fire suppression activity in occurred during a heavy rain
nated areas will be previously
northern California, was quickly shower over the fire area early one
used, impacted sites. (Through
reassigned to assist with the evening. Most crews were able to
the “Limits of Acceptable
central Oregon wildfires. retreat to their sleeping tents or
Change” planning process, the
under tent canopies used in the
District knew where and how
District Resource camp kitchen area before the rain
many such sites existed within
Advisors’ Response hit. However, some crews from one
the vicinity of these meadows.)
spike camp had not yet returned
For Paul Engstrom and Kirk • No open fires or establishment of
from the fire site and were entirely
Metzger, district wilderness “fire rings” will be permitted.
soaked. To avoid possible hypo¬
rangers working as resource • Only obvious “hazard trees”
thermia, four large fire rings were
advisors on the Mt. Jefferson within the sleeping and camp
made, and branch wood from dead,
Wilderness Fire since early July, kitchen areas will be cut and
standing trees was used for the
the arrival of the Army battalion removed.
warming fire. Even in this situa¬
added to an already overloaded • Crews will use just one route
tion, no cutting was permitted. To
work schedule. Two additional across the meadow or will
leave an appearance more closely
“spike camp” situations were restrict their travel to the fringes
resembling a naturally occurring
already being developed on two in the moist, boggy portions.
event, the dead branches were
other adjacent mountain meadows. Travel across any live stream
broken off. In addition, to protect
Fire lining was occurring on differ¬ within the meadow will be at
the soil, fires were built on the top
ent portions of the fire perimeter, predetermined places only.
of old fire shelters.
and the resource advisors were (Such routes were marked by
concerned that the use of MIST red flagging.)
Although the procedures and
(Minimum Impact Suppression • All designated areas within the
instructions outlined by the
Tactics) would not be implemented tree stands will be rehabilitated
resource advisors sounded
by some crews unfamiliar with the to “as natural appearing a land¬
“strange” compared to what tradi¬
concept and wilderness resource. scape as possible.” Crews will
tionally occurred during previous
Dave Priest, another Sisters Dis¬ complete rehabilitation before
wildfire situations, the fire crews
trict employee, and Kent Koeller, a they are demobilized from the
were receptive and made the
wilderness ranger for the adjacent fire site.
attempt to follow them. As might
Bend Ranger District, were called • Foot travel to the latrine and
be expected, some firefighters
to assist with the work load. sleeping areas will be on one
interpreted these instructions
Shortly thereafter, Bob Vidourek path rather than several. (White
differently from the resource
from the USDI Bureau of Land flagging marked the selected
advisors’ interpretation. Therefore,
Management arrived. route so that it was easily visible
at night.)
Continued on page 6
5
Volume 58 • No. 1 • 1998
additional followup and explana¬
“Witnessing the results that occurred on these
tions were necessary on a case-
by-case basis. Some rehabilitation wilderness wildfires is rewarding and a move in the
techniques were necessary, but for right direction toward better land ethics and
the most part, fire crews attempted
stewardship.”
to follow the outlined procedures
and instructions, thus greatly
reducing the amount of suppres¬
sion impacts and need for excessive
rehabilitation activities.
This was not the first time district
employees were challenged with
the concern of potential resource
damage from wildfire suppression
activity. Earlier in the summer,
there was a wildfire in the Mt.
Jefferson Wilderness, also adminis¬
tered by the Sisters Ranger Dis¬
trict. The promotion of MIST and
“Leave No Trace Camping” was the
management direction for this
wildfire as well. The resource
advisors mentioned earlier and
Mike Riehle, a fisheries biologist,
responded to the call. In addition,
Figure 1—The Army tent areas (the crews' sleeping quarters) during the Park Meadow
Tom Smith, a recreation facilities
Fire were restricted to designated areas that had often been previously used.
supervisor, traveled between two Photo: Kirk Metzger, USDA Forest Service, Deschutes National Forest, Sisters, OR, 1996.
spike camps, ensuring that fire
crews understood and practiced
the instructions provided by the
resource advisors.
They Made It Happen
A postfire, onsite review of the
spike camp areas revealed that
“No Trace Camping” is not just an
expected set of human behaviors
reserved for wilderness and back-
country recreationists or users.
It can and should be the only
accepted human behavior during
wildfire suppression as well—
especially in our more sensitive
and fragile managed areas such
as wilderness and national parks.
(See figures 1 and 2 for scenes of Figure 2—The Army tent area for the Park Meadow Fire (shown in Fig. 1) after
rehabilitation. Photo: Kirk Metzger, USDA Forest Service, Deschutes National Forest,
the spike camp where “No Trace
Sisters, OR, 1996.
Camping” was followed.)
6 Fire Management Notes
Four hundred sixty firefighters
and supporting personnel were
assigned to the three spike camps
on the Park Meadow incident. In
addition, 300 others were involved
with the two spike camps and sup¬
pression effort on the Mt. Jefferson
incident. These firefighters (U.S.
Army 4th Engineer Battalion and
the other fire crews) deserve a
word of recognition and gratitude
for their cooperation. Without
their willingness to make the
effort, long-term adverse impacts
on the land and damage of the
wilderness resource would have
resulted.
Figure 3—A portion of the fireline during the Park Meadow Fire in central Oregon
Management emphasis by Karen in 1996. Photo: Kirk Metzger, USDA Forest Service, Deschutes National Forest, Sisters,
Shimamoto, the district ranger, OR, 1996.
toward the concept and implemen¬
tation of MIST helped provide the
overall land management and con¬
sequent fire suppression direction
to the Incident Management Team
and firefighters. Such support is
critical for those assigned to serve
the role of resource advisor.
There would be no story to tell
without the dedication of the
resource advisors assigned to these
wilderness incidents. (See figures 3
and 4.) They prevailed in what
might have seemed like an enor¬
mous task to achieve. Perhaps
their very basic approach should be
established as a set of principles or
“commandments” for those who
Figure 4—After the Park Meadow Fire, crews restored the portion of fireline shown in
are asked to fill the role of resource
figure 3 to “as natural appearing a landscape as possible. ” Photo: Kirk Metzger, USDA
advisor for wildfires in the future.
Forest Service, Deschutes National Forest, Sisters, OR, 1996.
Briefly, the resource advisors:
• Explained what the wilderness • Explained what actions could • Did it themselves. Their own
resource is, the intent of the be performed to accomplish the behavior set the example they
Wilderness Act, and the job of suppressing the fire, yet expected of others. They stayed
experience it could bring to protecting wilderness values; at the spike camps until the
each visitor; • Repeated their explanations, the crews left and demanded
• Explained why the actions and “why’s” and “how’s,” not just at nothing better than what was
conduct of humans, even during formal morning or evening available for the firefighters.
such an emotional and aggres¬ briefings, but with the crews
sive event as a wildfire, need to while back at camp or with any
coincide with the intent of interested firefighter on the line;
Continued on page 8
wilderness resource; and
Volume 58 • No. 1 • 1998
In addition, these resource move in the right direction toward These folks did what was right. It
advisors were experienced in fire better land ethics and stewardship. may not have been popular, how¬
incidents, having served either on There is no doubt that one of the ever. It was not what traditionally
crews or as a strike team leader. earlier patriarchs and promoters occurs in wildfire situations. But
Certainly, this factor added to their for increased land ethics and stew¬ in the end, the suppression job was
credibility and acceptance with the ardship—Aldo Leopold—would achieved, and the integrity of the
firefighters and crews. When have been proud of the Sisters resource was not sacrificed.
selecting individuals to serve as Ranger District, resource advisors,
resource advisors for their unit or and firefighters involved. In his Literature Cited
agency, managers should look for Sand County Almanac (1949), Haines, Donald A. 1988. A lower atmo¬
such experience. Leopold states: spheric severity index for wildland fires.
National Weather Digest. 13(2): 23-27.
Leopold, Aldo. 1949. A Sand County
Summary
“A thing is right when it tends to almanac, and sketches here and there.
Witnessing the results (figs. 3 and preserve the integrity, stability, and New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
226 p. ■
4) that occurred on these wilder¬ beauty of the biotic community. It
ness wildfires is rewarding and a is wrong when it tends otherwise.”
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Fire Management Notes