Transcript TWT Update 12/2003

Holding, Contingency Planning,
and Mop-Up
Primary Objective is to
understand this:
•Fire inside the unit:
GOOD
•Fire outside the unit: BAD
Objectives
• Identify the importance and elements of
the holding and contingency plan.
• Identify “trigger points” for implementing
the contingency plan.
• Address interactions between prescribed
fire forces and suppression forces
• Identify how to use an after action review
to improve contingency plan.
• Discuss Mop-up procedures
Who is more Important?
Holding Rules of Thumb
• Assign the most experienced staff to holding
• Stage equipment near problem areas
• Rotate holding responsibilities to alleviate
fatigue and boredom
• “bump” along behind the ignition team
• Check all the way back to the point of ignition
periodically.
• Begin Mop-up as soon as the burn begins
“Size-up” is the preliminary and
continuing appraisal of the overall
fire situation for the purposes of
determining control actions.
Before
the Burn
Burn Plan Development
• Size-up begins now!
• Contingency Planning for Escape Fires is
a critical step in your Burn Plan
development.
• Recognizing areas that may cause you
problems during the burn before they
happen is an important skill - it will save
you from problems in the future!
Size-Up of Your Burn Unit
• Fire History of the Unit
• Fuel and Terrain
• Access into the Unit
• Barriers to Fire Spread
• Special Hazards
– Structures, fences, wet areas, roadways
• Weather Conditions
• Safety Considerations - LCES
Fire History of the Unit
• When was the last time the
unit was burned?
• How did the unit burn? Did
any crowning, spotting, or
extreme fire behavior occur?
• If the fire spotted, where did
it occur?
• If the unit has not been
burned in the past, what is
the expected fire behavior?
Fuels
• Break up and scatter
jackpots of fuels close to
the line.
• If unable to break up
jackpots, these will create
holding and fire behavior
related problems that
need to be addressed in
the plan.
• Reduce the ladder fuels
especially near the control
line.
• Locate lines in lighter,
easier to control fuels.
Topography
• Lines located directly on tops of ridges or
near saddles can lead to control
problems due to wind.
• If you are unable to move lines off
ridgetops or away from saddles expect
difficulty at these locations and address
in the holding and ignition plan.
Access
• Access will determine what types of
suppression resources you can use.
• Access into the site can change based
upon the current ground conditions at the
site.
• Provide a good address or legal
description of the burn site to local fire
suppression agencies in case they need
to assist.
Barriers to Fire Spread
• Examine the area surrounding your unit
for barriers to fire spread such as creeks,
wet areas, or roads.
• Note these areas in the plan and utilize
them in the suppression of escape fires.
• Identify barriers as primary and
secondary places to stop the fire.
• Identify the fire intensity level these
barriers should be expected to stop.
Know your area,
be familiar with
barriers e.g., -
canals, creeks
swamps,
streams, etc.
Special Hazards
• Identify structures at risk.
• Examine fuels outside of unit and the expected
fire behavior from these fuels
– Look at flame lengths
– Rate of spread
– Probability of Ignition
• Examine the topography outside the unit and
note any problem areas
– Equipment restrictions
– Muck
• Note wet areas with available fuels and access
into and/or fuel breaks around these areas.
Weather Conditions
• In planning, examine all the potential
weather conditions you may have during
the burn.
• Predict the fire behavior of an escaped
fire in each scenario to help predict what
resources you may need.
Florida Division of Forestry
Fire readiness level as
related to fire danger
• FIRE READINESS LEVEL
• FIRE READINESS LEVEL
• FIRE READINESS LEVEL
• FIRE READINESS LEVEL
• FIRE READINESS LEVEL
1
2
3
4
5
=
=
=
=
=
Moderate
High
Very High
Extreme
Extreme
As Related to the Anticipated
Fire Situation
• In consideration of weather, season,
recent fire activity and other related
factors:
• FIRE READINESS LEVEL 1
Little or no fire activity
anticipated.
FIRE READINESS LEVEL 2
•Some "routine" fires
anticipated. No more
than 50% of resources
expected to be needed at
any given time. No
difficulty in control or
mop-up expected.
FIRE READINESS LEVEL 3
• Very active fire day
anticipated. Fire
occurrence above
average and
difficulty of control
expected. May
have to commit
80% of resources
at any given time.
FIRE READINESS LEVEL 4
• Fire situation expected to be
difficult. May have fires
carrying over from the
previous day, new fire
starting, and experiencing
difficulty of control. All
resources will probably be
committed and assistance
from outside the district may
be required.
FIRE READINESS LEVEL 5
• Fire situation is extreme and
ability to respond will exceed
district capability. Fires are
numerous, large, and difficult to
control and mop up. Outside
assistance will be needed
beyond a 24-hour period, and an
incident command team may
be required.
Review: Before The Burn
Incorporate the knowledge you gained into your
burn plan and develop your plan with these
factors in mind.
• Fire history
• Fuel
• Topography
• Access
• Barriers to fire spread
• Special hazards
• Weather conditions
Day of Burn
Crew Briefing
• During the crew briefing
review contingency plan
• Identify high value and
special concern areas.
• Assure understanding of
mitigation measures,
procedures, secondary
lines, etc.
Avoidance of Problems
• Keep current with fuel and weather conditions
• Adequate holding forces
• Slopovers maybe expected if burning during
marginal conditions that are required to meet
prescription.
• Anticipate potential problem areas identified
during plan development.
• Establish good working relationship with local
fire suppression organization or fire
department.
During the burn
What do you do
if you find
yourself
“Out of
Prescription”?
Your Options if you are out of
Prescription
• Ignore it and continue?
• Shut the burn down?
– How?
• Assess the situation (size-up), and make
decisions based on:
– Current and expected fire behavior
Trigger Points
What is it?
• A number (Number of slopovers, etc)
• When the ability of the holding forces to pickup slopovers is exceeded.
• Other issues based upon the burn objectives
and current management policy
• Smoke!
– Use markers along roads to use as a measure of
visibility
– Complaints
• When the prescription is exceeded.
What Do You Do If It Gets
Away?
• Contingency planning
answers the questions
– What if?
– Are there adequate
control forces?
– Does everyone involved
know what is expected of
them?
– Where are escape routes
and safety zones?
Use Your Contingency Plan
• Clearly defined trigger point(s).
• Instructions for reporting a escaped fire.
• Notification procedures
• Location of values requiring protection
• Initial action when fire escapes
• Identified containment opportunities
outside the burn unit
• Actions to be taken.
Size-up of Escape Fire
• Time of Day
• Rate of Spread
• Flame Lengths
• Fuels ahead of fire
• Weather current and
expected
• Topography
• Time before help
arrives
Decisions to Make
• Where to Attack
• How to Attack
• Location of Line
• Type of Line
• Help Needed
• What to do with
the prescribed
burn . . . ?
Initial Action When Fire
Escapes
• Incident commander should be identified
in plan.
• The tactics used and position each
person on the holding crew will perform
should be determined by the incident
commander.
• Interaction between suppression
resources and prescribed fire crew.
Bonus 75 Acres (½ hr)
Original Burn Area, 440 Acres
Resources
• Experience of Personnel
• Number and type of
resources needed
• Placement during burn
• Condition of resources
• Appropriateness of
resources
• Availability of additional
resources
Tactics
• Plan your attack!!!
• Base actions on expected fire behavior
• Establish anchor points to work from by
using existing natural / man made
barriers
• Work from black if possible
Control Line Location
• Determine distance in front of fire
• Locate this place on the ground.
• Avoid dangerous areas
• Use areas of easy line construction
• Decide where to anchor line (wet area,
creek, road, etc.)
• Know the best access to any area
• Know where natural and manmade
barriers are located.
• Know all trails and woods roads
• Know areas of high fuel buildup
After the Incident
How Do We Improve?
• Identify areas of the
unit that caused
holding problems and
address in an update to
the burn plan.
• Review what holding
actions were effective
and which were not.
• Did the holding crew
know what they were
supposed to do when a
escape occurred?
How Do We Improve?
• Strategy and tactics employed during the
suppression. Appropriate, safe,
effective?
• How did the burn crew work with the local
suppression resources.
• Do the trigger points needed to be
reevaluated?
Successful Contingency
Planning is the Result of Proper
and Complete….Size-up!
Mop-Up
What is Mop - Up
• Process of making a
controlled fire safe
• Process of containing
a fire to eliminate
escape
• Process of mitigating
smoke hazards
What dictates the standards for
mop-up?
• Firebreak type
• Firebreak width
• Current Weather
• Forecasted Weather
• Fuel type: burn-out
time
• Fuel loading
• Smoke sensitive areas
Mop- Up
Tasks
• Extinguish fuels
that threaten
firebreaks
– ground fuels,
snags
• Extinguish
smoking fuels
that contribute to
smoke problems
Mop- Up Safety Considerations
• Snags
• Hollow or partially burned trees
• Green trees with roots
burned away
• Smoke inhalation
• Fatigue
• Complacency
Review
•Fire inside the unit:
GOOD
•Fire outside the unit: BAD
Comments, Questions?