Transcript Wilderness Manager’s WINTER Meeting

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Wilderness Training Center.
Wilderness
Fire
Resource Advisor Training
Fire in Wilderness: Perspectives from a Hotshot Crew
Overview
I.
Our Perspectives and Background
II.
Consider This….
“How to help us meet your goals”
III.
MIST – What, When, Why, How?
IV.
Circumstances, Tactics, and Options
I. PERSPECTIVES
Hotshot Crews are
Multi-tasking
• Mission Statement: The primary
mission of the IHCs is to provide a
safe, professional, mobile, and highly
skilled hand crew for all phases of
wildland fire operations.
• According to the IHC Ops guide, our
program emphasis also includes:
– DISASTER INCIDENT ASSISTANCE
– RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
OBJECTIVES
– TRAINING CADRE
Hotshot Crews are
Flexible
• Also per National IHC Ops Guide
• Can break down into 3 squads
for independent missions
• Come equipped to minimum
standards
• Highly trained, efficient and
motivated
What Wilderness Fires Mean to US
What MIST Means to US
Most
Intelligent
Sensible
Tactics
II. CONSIDER THIS…
•
•
•
•
Planning
Tools
Communication
Improvement
•FUEL TYPES
species
health
loading and arrangement
•TOPOGRAPHY
•WEATHER PATTERNS
•FIRE REGIMES
• WWW.fs.fed/database/feis/.html
• Find information on how fire effects plants,
animals, soils, air, and water.
• Find typical fire regimes by fuel type
PRESCRIPTIVE GOALS
• Low intensity
• Stand Replacement
• No Fire
• Special Circumstances
• Political Goals
KEEPING IT SMALL
INITIAL ATTACK
FREE REIGN TO NATURAL PROCESSES
PLANNING
• IDENTIFY
– HELISPOTS, MEDIVAC, SPIKE CAMPS
– DIP SITES
– LOCAL HAZARDS
– MANAGEMENT AREAS
PLANNING
•IDENTIFY
–PROTECTION PRIORITIES
–EVACUATION PLANS
–BEST INGRESS / EGRESS
–ACCESS ISSUES
–LAW ENFORCEMENT NEEDS
–CLOSURE PROCEDURES
PLANNING
REGULATIONS AND
POLICY
•Don’t let them affect our safety
•Can affect suppression tactics
•Let’s work through procedures
beforehand
TOOLS
INFORMATION PACKET
•
List MIST specific to your area
•
MAPS
show topography and boundaries
travel routes
water features
aerial photos?
Delineate:
your priority areas (prescriptive goals; what and why)
hazards
structures
private property
TOOLS
•OUR TOOLBOX
–FIRE
–LINE
–MONITOR STATUS
–WATER
COMMUNICATION
• WRA / FIREFIGHTER / IMT COLLABORATION
• Have a presence in the field
• Clear and concise interchanges
FOSTER EDUCATION IN BOTH DIRECTIONS
Simple explanations go a long way
Allows for learning and understanding
COMMUNICATION
SECONDARY INFLUENCES
• Team Influence
– How committed are they to MIST
• Local influence (WRA, District Ranger,
local population, etc…)
– Coordination btw the two is essential
– The WRA and Team need to be on same
page
COMMUNICATION
• Constraints and framework that firefighters work
under:
SAFETY WILL ALWAYS BE
NUMBER ONE
Suppression is not the time for policy
discussions
IMPROVEMENT
WHO CARES ABOUT WILDERNESS?
• “good” firefighters do
(really!)
IMPROVEMENT
TO MAKE A GOOD FIREFIGHTER:
•
•
ATTITUDE
EDUCATION
MIST – What, When, Why, How
• Concept: minimum forces necessary to
achieve given objectives
• Goal: halt or delay fire spread within
predetermined parameters with least
possible impact
• MIST is not separate from “regular” fire
suppression, it is a mindset
Our Job on Wilderness Fires
 Ensure the safety of ourselves, other fire
personnel, and the public
 Accomplish the incident objectives tasked
to us in a safe, effective, and timely
manner
 Utilize MIST
 Plan for rehabilitation efforts and
implement as needed
Our Job on Wilderness Fires
 Seek out and understand the unique and
sensitive features of our assigned area.
Know what they are, where they are, and
what to do about them
 Be good stewards of land we temporarily
inhabit
 Collaborate with WRA
Your Job When Working With Us
 Know your Wilderness Area
 Sensitive features: what are they, where
are they, how do they effect us
 Locate Natural Fuel Breaks/Holding
Features
 Locate Potential Camp Areas
 Locate helispots
Your Job When Working With Us
• Locate water sources
• Identify hazards
• Collaborate with Fire Management and
suppression resources
Your attitude, communications skills, and
willingness to collaborate/compromise will
determine your success and happiness
WildernessSuppression
Suppression Tactics
Wilderness
Tactics
• Safety is always our highest priority
• All tactics based on Appropriate
Management Response and Incident
Objectives
Wilderness Suppression Tactics
 5 Elements of Wilderness Fire Suppression
o Monitor
o Burnout
o Line Construction
o Combination
o Mop up
Monitor
Monitor
• Line Officer and
Management Team decision
• Know your area, YOU may
be sought for technical
advice
• Based on
fuels/weather/topography/
values at risk
Monitor
• Long-term fire behavior
predictions required
• May only occur on some
parts of fire
Burnout
• Containment of a wildfire, or sections of a
wildfire by igniting unburned fuels between
holding features and the main fire
• Utilize natural holding features
Rock scree
Timberline
Wet meadows
Rivers/lakes
Trails
Burnout
• Construct line where necessary
• Prep holding features as needed
• Aerial ignition
• LCES
Line Construction
• Cold trail
• Wet line
• Trail improvement
• Hand line
• Machine
• Combination
Coldtrail
Wet Line
Handline
Trail Improvement
Handline
Machine
Combination
• Most widely used
• Assess the fire area and fire behavior
• Strategy: monitor where feasible, utilize
natural holding features at every
opportunity, burnout where appropriate,
use water when it’s available, utilize trails,
build hand line to connect the dots
Mop Up
• Eliminate hazard trees
• Mop up only what is absolutely
necessary to hold our line
• Angle-cut or beaver-cut felled trees
• Blacken stumps
• Reduced mop up standards may require
increased monitoring
Logistics
• Fundamental to any operation
• Pre-planning is key
• Hotshot Crews are self-sufficient for 24
hours
Camp
• Safe location, near the work area
• Preferably a non-sensitive area
• Dispersed camping and travel
• Designated toilet areas
• We police ourselves
• Supplied by helicopter or pack train
Spike
Medical
• Helicopter medivac sites will be
identified, improved, and constructed
as necessary
• Non-negotiable
Hazmat
 Hazardous materials are kept away from
water sources and sensitive areas
whenever possible
 When conducting portable pump
operations, all prudent precautions will be
exercised to prevent hazmat spilling
Rehabilitation
• WRA works with fire management to determine
rehab standards
• Mitigate evidence and effects of camp
locations
• Rehabilitate constructed line as appropriate
• Mitigate visual effects of felled trees and brush
• Provide for erosion control as appropriate
Summary
Our job is to accomplish the incident
objectives assigned to us in the safest,
most efficient manner, while causing the
least environmental impact possible, in
both the long and short term
As Wilderness Resource Advisors, you can
make both our job and your job much easier
by planning ahead, knowing your area, and
compiling your information in a clear, concise,
deliverable format
Create a map of your wilderness area and
identify:
• Sensitive/Critical features
• Potential camp locations
• Potential holding features
• Fuel types/changes
• Water sources
• Existing/Potential helicopter landing zones
• Hazards
• Trails
What MIST Means to US
Most
Intelligent
Sensible
Tactics
SUMMARY
• SAFETY IS NUMBER ONE, AND IS THE
REASON BEHIND OUR DECISIONS
• COMMUNICATION IS KEY
• FLEXIBILTY AND TRADE-OFFS A MUST
• EDUCATION
QUESTIONS ???
MIMA
• What is it?
• How is it different from MIST?
• Has MIMA been transmitted to the fire
world?
• Is the change official?
• How will it effect firefighters?