RICHFIELD INTERAGENCY FIRE CENTER 2012 ANNUAL FIRE REPORT
US Department of Agriculture U.S. Forest Service Fishlake National Forest
U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Color Country District, Richfield Field Office West Desert District, Fillmore Field Office
Bureau of Indian Affairs Southern Paiute Field Station
National Park Service Capitol Reef
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge
State of Utah Department of Forestry, Fire & State Lands Central Area Office
1830 S Industrial Park Rd, Richfield, UT 84701
INTRODUCTION
The Richfield Interagency Fire Center (RIFC) is located in central Utah. The response area of RIFC consists of over 11 million acres including the Fishlake National Forest, BLM Fillmore Field Office, BLM Richfield Field Office, Capitol Reef National Park, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Central Area of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, and the BIA Southern Piute Field Station. Eight counties are included within the jurisdiction boundaries: Juab, Millard, Sevier, Sanpete, Piute, Wayne, Garfield and Beaver. Interstate highways I-15 and I-70 transect through the area as well as major highways. The terrain includes the Great Basin Desert, the Colorado Plateau, fertile valleys, and high mountain ecosystems. Elevations range from approximately 4,000 to over 12,000 feet.
Listed below is the total acreage responsibility of Richfield Interagency Fire Center and each agency’s ownership acres.
BLM Forest National Fish & State BIA DOD Service Park Wildlife Acres 6,577,159 1, 835, 648 244, 802 17, 975 2, 775, 290 2, 741 961
Richfield Dispatch Protection Responsibility Acres 11, 454, 576
RICHFIELD INTERAGENCY DISPATCH CENTER ORGANIZATION
Cheryl Carpenter Center Mgr
Marleen Tandy Bolling Chappell Asst Asst Center Center Mgr Mgr
Vacant Sherie Taylor Terrie Coburn Kristi Hardy Lucinda Nay Von Newby Lead Seasonal Seasonal Seasonal Logistics Cache Dispatcher Dispatcher Dispatcher Dispatcher Dispatcher Manager
The Richfield Dispatch operates with nine personnel: one center manager, two assistant center managers, one logistics dispatcher, four initial attack dispatchers and one cache manager. The Center Manager position, which became vacant in October 2011, was filled in May. The Lead Dispatcher position became vacant in May and was vacant for the remainder of the year.
Besides normal dispatch duties, the staff also completed other assignments which include: Kristi Hardy: Fire Assignment to Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center as an EDSD Von Newby: Assisted the Utah Wildfire Academy with logistic duties Marleen Chappell: Fire Assignment to Fort Collins Interagency Dispatch Center as an EDSD Cheryl Carpenter: Fire Assignment to the Karney Fire as an ORDM FIRE ACTIVITY
Local fire activity was near the ten year average with the number of starts but above normal using the five year average. The acreage burned in 2012 was above both the five and ten year average.
Average Fires Acres 2012 Fire Season 218 182,711 5 Year Average 163 49,490
10 Year Average 211 68,104
YEAR RID RID FIF FIF SCS SCS FSR FSR MLF1 MLF1 TOTAL TOTAL FIRE ACRES FIRE ACRES FIRE ACRES Fire Acres Fire Acres FIRE ACRES *** *** 2003 99 36,615 71 585 115 6,714 0 0 22 14 307 43,928 2004 75 907 53 250 87 3,062 0 0 13 4,722 228 8,941 2005 79 11,416 74 1,953 121 9,476 0 0 N/A N/A 274 22,845 2006 107 34,290 76 30,692 119 19,856 0 0 N/A N/A 302 84,838 2007 49 198,045* 31 494 99 76,535** 0 0 N/A N/A 179 275,074 2008 31 934 23 327 66 422 0 0 N/A N/A 120 1,683 2009 39 588 35 7,265 100 1,687 0 0 N/A N/A 174 9,540 2010 38 67 39 44,937 60 242 0 0 N/A N/A 137 45,246 2011 60 4,104 36 239 74 1,864 1 26 N/A N/A 171 6,233 2012 77 21,456 56 82,277 85 78,977 0 0 N/A N/A 218 182,711 10 YR AVG 2003 - 65 30,842 49 16,902 93 19,884 0 3 4 474 211 68,104 2012 Acres have been rounded to the fullest number. RID = BLM, Richfield and Fillmore Field Offices, FIF = Fishlake National Forest, SCS = Central Area – Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, & State Lands (Includes private lands), FSR = Fish Springs Refuge, MLF1 = Sanpete Ranger District on the Manti-LaSal National Forest *Includes acres of Milford Flat fire that burned within RIFC boundary. ** Includes acres of Salt Creek fire that burned within RIFC boundary. *** Sanpete Ranger District of the Manti-LaSal National Forest was reassigned to the Moab Interagency Fire Center in the spring of 2005. All statistics from 2005 on are kept by MFC.
Acres - 10 Yr Average
SCS FIF 29% 25% FSR 0% MFL1 1% RID 45%
The 2012 wildland fire season started the beginning of June and ended in October. We ended the season with 218 fires, 26 assists, 98 false alarms and 7 abandoned campfires for a total of 182,710.80 acres. Excluding December, we had at least one fire a month during 2012.
Fires by Month
70
60 50
40
Fires 30
20 10
0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Natural 0 0 0 0 1 0 70 44 33 1 0 0 Human 1 1 3 1 9 27 13 14 5 4 3 0
Our season began with 7 human caused fires that burned into one large fire consisting of 2,075 acres due to a wind event. June brought multiple large fires; numerous fires went from IA directly into a large project fire, there was not much extended attack. In June we had four Type 2 Teams and one Type 3 Team. Our Expanded Dispatch supported an additional Type 2, which was the Seeley Fire that was in the Moab Interagency Fire Center’s area. During this period the Expanded Dispatch supported three Type 2 Teams simultaneously. The middle of July through August brought numerous lightning busts but we did not host any additional teams.
Richfield Interagency Fire Center had 604 incidents in 2012, below is the breakdown of the workload.
Incident Type # Incidents % Medical Incident Types by Percentage Search & Rescues 2 0% Aid (Types less than 2% are not shown on graph) Wildfire 324 43% 2% (fires, false alarms, responses) Misc Wildfire Assists 26 4% 3% (false alarms & responses) Prescribed Wildfire Aircraft 146 19% Fire 43% Law Enforcement 40 5% 24% Prescribed Fire 18 24% Medical Aid 13 2% Aircraft Miscellaneous 26 3% Law 19% Resource Order 5 1% Enforceme Public Assist 3 1% nt Assists Traffic Collision 1 0% 5% 4%
The first lightning caused fire started on May 18th on BLM Fillmore Field Office and burned a 1/10 of an acre. The largest lightning caused fire occurred on August 10th on BLM Fillmore land with 1759 acres. The last lightning caused fire for the season occurred on October 4th on the Forest Service Fillmore District for a 1/10 of an acre. Over a three day period from July 27th through July 29th we had a total of 48 responses to reports of fires, of which 21 fires occurred within the first 24 hours for a total of 1,299 acres.
The first human caused fire occurred on January 4th on State Land for a 1/10 of an acres and our last human caused occurred on 11/30 on the Forest Service Fremont River District for a 4/10 of an acre. Our largest human caused fire was Clay Springs which was 107,847 acres, which occurred on June 27th.
The majority of our fires/smoke reports occurred on Friday with 1400 being the initial hour they began. Class A, which is less than a quarter acre, was 60% of the fires this year.
Wildfire Incidents by Day of the Week Wildfire Incidents by Initial Hour 35 Saturday Sunday 18% 13% 30
Monday 25 13% 20 Friday
24% Tuesday Count 15 12% 10 5 0 Total, 1 Thursday Wednesday 10% 10% 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Fires by Size Classification Fire Size %
Class A (0 - .25) 60% 50 Class B (.26 – 9) 25% 45 Class C (10-99) 10% 40 Class A (0-0.25) 35 Class D (100-299) 1% 30 Class B (0.26-9) Class E (300-999) 1% 25 Class C (10-99) Class F (1000 – 4999) 2% 20 Class G (5000+) 1% 15 Class D (100-299) 10 Class E (300-999) 5 Class F (1000-499) 0 Class G (5000+)
RIFC FIRE ACTIVITY STATISTICS
The five year average of lightning caused fires is 99 fires and 13,512 acres. The 2012 season was below five year average for acres burnt, however the number of fires was above the average. Lightning caused fires accounted for 63 percent of the fires but only 3 percent of the total acres.
The five year average of human caused fires is 64 fires and 36,029 acres. Human caused fires and acres were above the five year average for 2012. The total number of human caused fires for 2012 accounted for 37 percent of the fires and 97 percent of the acres.
Below is the 2012 breakdown of activity by ownership for the number of fires and acres burned.
Ownership Lightning Lightning Human Fires Human Acres Total Fires Total Acres Fires Acres RID 63 3,357.10 14 18,099.3 77 21,456.40 FIF 41 131.60 15 82,145.40 56 82,277.0 SCS 34 1,533.40 51 77,444.0 85 78,977.4 FSR 0 0 0 0 0 0 CRP 0 0 0 0 0 0 SPA 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 138 5,022.10 80 177,688.70 218 182,710.80 (63%) (3%) (37%) (97%) RID = Richfield Field Office & Fillmore Field Office, FIF = Fishlake National Forest, SCS = Utah Department of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, FSR = Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, CRP = Capital Reef National Park, SPA = BIA Southern Paiute Agency
218 Starts in 2012
USFS BLM 26% 36%
SCS 38%
182,711 Acres in 2012 BLM 12% USFS 45%
SCS
43%
Below depicts the fires and acres by each Forest Service District, BLM Field Office, and Counties within the Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands (FFSL) jurisdiction.
Fires and Acres by Ranger District Ranger District Lightning Lightning Human Human Total Total Fires Acres Fires Acres Fires Acres Fillmore (D1) 17 69.10 1 77,887.1 18 77,956.2 Beaver (D3) 5 30.9 2 0.2 7 31.1 Fremont River (D2) 2 0.2 9 2,087.90 11 2,088.10 Richfield (D4) 17 31.4 3 2,170.2 20 2,201.6 Forest Total 41 131.6 15 82,145.40 56 82,277
Starts by Forest Service District
D4 D1 36% 32%
D3 D2 12% 20%
Fires and Acres by Field Office Field Office Lightning Lightning Human Human Total Total Fires Acres Fires Acres Fires Acres Fillmore Field 44 3279.6 12 12,518.3 56 15,797.9 Office Richfield Field 19 77.5 2 5,581 21 5,658.5 Office BLM Total 63 3,357.1 14 18,099.3 77 21,456.4
Starts by BLM Field Office
RFO 28%
FFO 72%
Fires and Acres by FFSL County (Private and State Lands for Beaver and Garfield counties are dispatched out of Color Country Dispatch) Area Lightning Lightning Human Human Total Total Fires Acres Fires Acres Fires Acres Juab County, State 3 2.8 6 3.7 9 6.5 Millard County, State 5 147.4 5 13,549.1 10 13,696.5 Piute County, State 1 0.1 0 0 1 0.1 Sanpete County, State 3 0.5 4 6,602.2 7 6,602.7 Sevier County, State 1 0.1 0 189.0 1 189.1 Wayne County, State 0 0 0 0 0 0 State Total 13 150.9 15 20,344.0 28 20,494.9 Juab County, Private 34 19.8 9 72.9 13 71.692.7 Millard County, Private 12 1,362.2 8 20,135.8 20 21,498 Piute Country, Private 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sanpete County, Private 1 0.1 13 36,736.6 14 36,735.7 Sevier County, Private 4 0.4 5 154.6 9 155.0 Wayne County, Private 0 0 1 .10 1 .10 Private Total 21 1,382.5 36 57,100 57 58,482.5 FFSL Total 34 1,533.4 51 77,444 85 78,977.4
Starts by FFSL
STATE 33%
PRIVATE 67%
Fires by Counties
20 18 16 14
12 10 Fires 8 6 4 2 0 Juab Millard Piute Sanpete Sevier Wayne Private 13 20 0 14 9 0 State 9 10 1 7 1 0 The graphs below depict the percentage of fire and acres for each agency for human and natural caused fires.
138 Natural Starts 5022 Natural Acres
Fishlake Fishlake Central NF NF Area Fillmore Richfield 3% 30% State BLM BLM 3% 33% 1%
Private 27%
Central Area Private Fillmore State Richfield 14% BLM 9% BLM 66% 14%
80 Human Starts 177,689 Human Acres Fishlake NF 19% Fillmore Fillmore BLM BLM Central 13% 7% Area Stat 19% Fishlake NF Private 46% 32% Private 45%
Richfield Richfield BLM Central 4% BLM Area 3% State 12% LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
During the 2012 fire season we had 12 large fires for a total of 181,765 acres. Our season of large fire activity started early, with the Lost Lake that fire started June 3rd. The largest fire was Clay Springs for a total of 107,847 acres.
Of the 12 fires four were managed by Type 2 Incident Management Teams. Box Creek was managed by a local Type 3 organization from 6/6 until 6/10 when it was transitioned to a Type 2 IMT.
The below chart includes fires over 100 acres.
NAME ORG. START CAUSE CONTROL TOTAL BLM FS State/ Comments Date DATE ACRES Acres Acres PVT Acres Lost Lake UT-FIF 06/03 Human 07/16 2075 2075 Type 2 Wilde Box Creek UT-FIF 06/05 Human 07/09 2170 2170 TYPE 2 Adell Macintyre UT-RID 06/08 Human 06/10 119 119 Type 4 Ranch Trevor Riding Glen Anna UT-SCS 6/19 Human 6/22 1535 1235 300 Type 4 Ryan McCollin (T) Grease UT-SCS 6/22 Human 6/27 15,898 2435 13,463 Type 4 Unified Command Wood Hollow UT-SCS 6/23 Human 7/06 47387 4168 43219 Type 2 Whelan Clay Springs UT-SCS 6/27 Human 8/14 107,847 9786 77887 20174 Type 2 Walker SE Cedar UT-SCS 7/27 Lightning 8/01 1239 1239 Type 3 Howard Allred West Twin UT-RID 08/10 Lightning 08/14 1759 1521 238 Type 4 Peak Russell Shields (T) Glenwood UT-RID 08/21 Human 08/22 217 1778 39 Type 4 Glen Chappell/ Hills Pete Metz Interchange UT-RID 09/06 Lightning 09/19 816 Type 4 Robert Lopez Spencer Stevens (T) West Cricket UT-RID 09/09 Lightning 09/19 703 Type 4 Daniel Probert Spencer Stevens (T)
AVIATION
Central Utah does not have exclusive use contracts for helicopters, air-attack or single engine air tankers. The two Call-When Needed SEAT Bases in Fillmore and Nephi were opened 12 times with 6 different SEMG assigned.
Seat Base Total Total Total Times Number of Gallons of Opened trips Retardant SEATS flew Nephi 8 121 102,611 Fillmore 4 98 75,826
Below is a summary of flight hours and aircraft usage within the Richfield Interagency Fire Center’s zone of coverage.
2012 Aircraft Usage
Air Attack Type 3 Helicopter 16% 16% Heavy Air Tankers Type 2 Helicopter 13% 11%
Jump Ships 1% SEATS 26% Lead Plan Type 1 Helicopter 6% 11%
Flight Following Misc Flight Follow 24%
Project 6% Wildfire 70%
Below is a breakdown of aircraft usage on fires.
Total Total Total Total Cargo Total PAX Aircraft Flight Time Retardant Water Gallons Pounds Transported Fire Gallons SEATS 4.16 2,152 Box Creek Air Tanker 5.88 8,317 Fixed Wing 68.87 Helicopters 148.4 528,964 2,760 47 Meadow SEATS 2.93 1,475 Potato Patch Seats 2.24 1,500 Indian Springs Seats 5.4 2,902 SE Cedar SEAT 7.19 6,950 Fixed Wing 3.63 Grease Fixed Wing 4.62 Lost Lake Helicopters 14.4 16,652 1,502 27 West Cricket SEAT 2.46 1,475 Interchange SEAT 1.02 725 GlenAnna SEAT 7.6 4,348 Helicopters 2.40 850 400 7 Fixed Wing 7.5 Air Tanker 6,246 Clay Springs SEAT 32.19 43,778 Air Tankers 12.68 20 Fixed Wing 23.2 Helicopter 249.9 746,266 18,946 167 Wood Hollow SEAT 16.96 23,837 Air Tanker 32.51 62,316 Fixed Wing 11.2 Helicopters 10.6 6,582 980 48
WEATHER & FUEL MOISTURE SUMMARY
The outlook for 2012 was for a slightly above normal fire potential for the higher elevations of central Utah. The lower elevations of western Utah were expected to see an increase in activity relative to the past few years, but still remain normal. Above normal fire potential was expected to occur later in the season during July and August when the peak of heating and dryness has moved into the area. The below normal snowpack and recent warm temperatures across the area allowed heavier fuel types at the higher elevations to begin drying out earlier and become available to burn sooner than normal.
Poor winter snowpack exacerbated by a warm and very dry spring across the area has left dead and live fuel moistures much below normal across the mid and high elevations. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor Utah is currently experiencing a moderate to severe drought conditions. These warm and dry conditions have led to record or near record Energy Release Component (ERC) values across the most of the dispatch zone during the month of June. However, July and August brought average or below average ERC values to the area.
In June, Eastern Great Basin issued a Fuel and Fire Behavior Advisory due to very dry dead and down fuel at high elevations and the very low soil moisture and last year’s grass crop for the low elevations which can make fire difficult to contain. The advisory was rescinded in July.
May and June on average resulted in a significantly less precipitation than the previous four years, but our mean temperatures were below 2011 mean temperatures.
*Information courtesy of Predictive Services Tule Valley RAWS recorded the first temperature over 100 2012 Annual Precipitation for RAWS RAWS Station May June July Aug Sept Total degrees on June 22nd and 421501 - Sevier Res 0.01 0 1.22 .59 .59 2.41 recorded 10 days over 100 421502 - Mud Springs 0.16 0 0.35 0.35 .96 1.82 degrees. It also recorded 3 421805 - Black Cedar 0 0 0.06 0.21 0.42 0.69 consecutive days at 105 421806 - Tule Valley 0.03 0 0.59 0.31 1.22 2.15 degrees. Sevier Reservoir 421807 - Horse Hollow 0.01 0.01 0.26 0.62 0.39 1.29 RAWS recorded four days at or 421904 - Signal Peak 0 0 2.53 .84 .28 3.65 over 100 degrees starting on 421905 - Lost Creek 0.05 0 2.45 1.65 0.88 5.03 June 22nd. Mud Springs RAWs 422610 - Larb Hollow 0.16 0 3.94 2.54 1.08 7.72 recorded one day above 100 422611 - Henry Mtn. 0 00.2 1.22 2.35 1.3 4.89 degrees during the season. Total 0.42 0.03 12.62 9.46 7.12 29.65
CUIFMA Precipitation Totals
25
20
15 10 INCHES 5 0 MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT Sum of 2012 0.42 0.03 12.62 9.46 7.12 Sum of 2011 20.2 5.01 13.23 13.84 9.98 Sum of 2010 10.89 8.32 7.87 10.45 1.15 Sum of 2009 19.96 10 5.17 2.21 5.75 Sum of 2008 12.39 9.12 7.89 5.86 4.98
2012 Mean Maximum Temperature RAWS Station May June July August Sept 421501 - Sevier Reservoir 63.0 75.3 80.1 78.6 69.1 421502 - Mud Springs 58.7 70.4 75.3 75.2 65.5 421805 - Black Cedar 59.4 70.3 74.9 75.3 65.6 421806 - Tule Valley 64.7 76.2 82.4 82.2 72.3 421807 - Horse Hollow 60.0 70.2 75.7 76.2 66.8 421904 - Signal Peak 54.1 66.2 68.4 68.8 61.9 421905 - Lost Creek 56.2 68.0 69.8 70.0 62.5 422610 - Larb Hollow 55.7 67.5 68.0 68.3 61.3 422611 - Henry Mountain 56.0 68.0 68.9 69.8 65.5 Average Monthly Temp 58.6 70.2 73.7 73.8 65.6 Live and dead fuel samples are collected bi-weekly for the Fishlake National Forest from three permanent RAWS locations: Black Cedar (D1), Signal Peak (D4), and Larb Hollow (D2). Sampling generally beings in late April and concludes in early October.
The BLM collects fuel samples bi-weekly from six permanent RAWS locations: Sevier Reservoir, Mud Springs, Tule Valley, Horse Hollow, Lost Creek and Henry Mountains.
The fuel moisture information is inputted into the National Fuel Moisture Database. The database is used by Predictive Services to compare years, compile trends and to assist in predicting what type of fire season we might see. Fuel moisture sampling is available at http://gacc.nifc.gov/ebgc/fuels.php
STATION NAME STATION ID LOCATION ELEVATION AGENCY SEVIER RESERVOIR 421501 5 MI OF S OF SEVIER RESERVOIR 5329 BLM MUD SPRINGS 421502 6 MI N OF LITTLE SAHARA 5902 BLM BLACK CEDAR 421805 6 MI NE OF FILLMORE 6480 FS TULE VALLEY 421806 7 MI NW OF ANTELOPE SPRING 5200 BLM RESERVOIR HORSE HOLLOW 421807 6 MI NW OF COVE FORT 6010 BLM SIGNAL PEAK 421904 3 MI NE OF MONROE 8792 FS LOST CREEK 421905 7 MI NE OF GLENWOOD 7490 BLM LARB HOLLOW 421905 7 MI NW OF BROWN RESERVOIR 8490 FS HENRY MOUNTAIN 422611 22 MI SW OF HANKSVILLE 8294 BLM
FIRE DANGER RATING SYSTEM
Central Utah has three Fire Danger Rating Areas; Central Utah West Desert, Central Utah Mountains and Hanksville Area.
The Central Utah West Desert encompasses 6,793,009 acres and includes all areas in Central Utah west of I-15 including the Canyon Mountains, the House Range, the Confusions, the Crickets, the Conger Range and Little Sahara Recreation area.
The Central Utah Mountain is east of I-15, spread across the mountains of Central Utah. It includes the Pahvant Range, the Tushars, Monroe Mountain, southern Wasatch Plateau, Thousand Lake and Boulder Plateaus, and Parker Mountain. It encompasses approximately 2,675,483 acres.
The Hanksville Area begins on the western edge of Capitol Reef National Park, south of Emery County line then east to the Colorado River, including the Hanksville Desert and the Henry Mountains. It encompasses 1,856,630 acres.
Each FDRA uses Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) to obtain the weather information needed to produce fire danger outputs. Each area uses data compiled with the Energy Release Component (ERC) to determine the Adjective Fire Danger Rating. To determine the Dispatch Level the Burning Index (BI) is used for each area. Below is a list of RAWS used for each FDRA.
STATION NAME STATION ID LOCATION ELEVATION FUEL STAFFING MODEL INDEX WEST DESERT TULE VALLEY 421806 7 MI NW OF ANTELOPE 5200 F ERC SPRING RESERVOIR G BI MOUNTAIN LOST CREEK 421905 7 MI NE OF GLENWOOD 7490 BLACK CEDAR 421805 6 MI NE OF FILLMORE 6480 G ERC LOST CREEK 421905 7 MI NE OF GLENWOOD 7490 BLACK CEDAR 421805 6 MI NE OF FILLMORE 6480 G BI SIGNAL PEAK 421904 5 MI NNW OF MONROE 8792 HANKSVILLE KANE GULCH* 422712 KANE GULCH RANGER 6500 F ERC STATION F BI *Kane Gulch is owned by the Moab Field Office, but is used for the Hanksville Area data because the Henry Mountain RAWS does not have a long enough weather record.
Below are outputs produced from each of the FDRA within our area from May 1st through October 31ST. These charts include the historical data, the current year highlighted, a previous large fire year, multiple fire days, large fire days and the critical percentile that has been identified for each area.
CENTRAL UTAH WEST DESERT
Central Utah Mountains Hanksville CENTRAL UTAH PREPAREDNESS LEVEL 2012
The table below indicates the number of days at each fire danger level for the FDRAs from May 15 through September 30 (139 days).
PREPAREDNESS LEVEL DAYS % PL 1 37 26% RIFC Preparedness Levels PL 5 PL 2 40 29% PL 4 9% PL 3 40 29% 7% PL 4 10 7% PL 1 26% PL 5 12 9% PL 3 29% PL 2 Preparedness Levels 29%
120 100
80 60 WEST HENRY
Days FIRE 40 DANGER DESERT MOUNTAIN MOUNTAIN RATING 20 DAYS % DAYS % DAYS % LEVEL 0 1 2 3 4 5 LOW 10 7% 0 0% 86 62% MODERATE 12 9% 70 50% 3 2% CY 2011 101 28 13 2 0 HIGH 29 21% 31 22% 6 4% CY 2012 37 40 40 10 12 VERY HIGH 47 34% 22 16% 14 10% EXTREME 41 29% 16 12% 30 22% WEST HENRY MOUNTAIN DISPATCH DESERT MOUNTAIN LEVEL DAYS % DAYS % DAYS % LOW 12 9% 11 8% 79 57% MODERATE 40 29% 37 27% 11 8% HIGH 45 32% 49 35% 14 10% EXTREME 42 30% 42 30% 35 25% RED FLAG 29 13 16 WARNINGS
LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS
In 2012, the 44 fire departments and/or county resources of Central Utah were dispatched 459 times (thru 10/01/2012).
Volunteer Fire Assist to Private Assist to State Assist to USFS Assist to BLM Total Assist Departments Aurora 1 0 0 0 1 Beaver County 0 0 3 1 4 Bicknell 0 0 1 1 2 Delta 7 7 0 5 19 Desert Mountain 0 0 0 0 0 Elsinore 0 0 0 0 0 Ephraim 3 16 0 2 21 Eskdale 0 0 0 0 0 Eureka 5 5 0 20 30 Fairview 5 3 0 0 8 Fillmore 8 2 0 4 14 Fountain Green 0 13 1 1 15 Garrison 0 0 0 0 0 Gunnison 2 15 2 3 22 Hinkley 0 5 0 0 5 Holden 3 1 0 0 4 Indianola 7 0 1 0 8 Junction 0 0 1 0 1 Kanosh 14 4 5 9 32 Koosharem 0 0 0 3 3 Leamington 0 7 0 0 7 Levan 12 0 0 6 18 Loa 0 0 1 0 1 Lyman 0 0 1 2 3 Lynndyl 0 4 0 1 5 Manti 8 1 0 0 9 Meadow 4 1 0 3 8 Millard County 0 7 1 2 10 Mona 16 13 0 7 36 Monroe 2 0 0 0 2 Moroni 0 6 0 0 6 Mt. Pleasant 4 7 0 0 11 Nephi 22 14 0 10 46 Oak City 0 13 0 0 13 Richfield 18 0 1 7 26 Rocky Ridge 12 2 2 0 16 Salina 4 2 0 0 6 Scipio 6 0 0 0 6 Sigurd 3 0 0 0 3 Spring City 4 5 0 0 9 Sterling 7 7 0 3 17 Teasdale 0 0 3 0 3 Torrey 0 0 3 0 3 Wales 2 4 0 0 6 TOTALS 179 164 26 90 459
FUELS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Prescribed fire activity occurred approximately 27 days during the spring, fall and into the winter. The agencies accomplished 17 prescribed fire projects for a total of 7,292 acres during 2012.
Agency Fires Acres Fishlake N.F. 7 6,185 Richfield BLM (Color Country) 0 0 Fillmore BLM (West Desert) 1 638 Fish Springs Refuge 0 0 Central State 9 469 Total 17 7,292
In addition to the prescribed fire accomplishment, the fuels programs accomplished many other fuel treatments projects.
The Richfield BLM completed 4 mechanical treatments totaling 5779. The Fillmore BLM completed two mechanical treatment totaling 860 acres and two prescribed burns for a total of 637 acres.
Field Office Acres Richfield 747 Bullhog 3253 Seeding 1599 Chaining 180 Thin & Hand Pile TOTAL ACRES TREATED – 5,779 Fillmore 637 Prescribed Fire 407 Lop & Scatter 453 Bullhog TOTAL ACRES TREATED – 1,497
The Fishlake National Forest completed 3,808 WUI acres and 2,081 non-WUI acres of mechanical treatments, along with 562 WUI acres and 5,844 non-WUI acres by prescribed burn. The Richfield Ranger District completed approximately 800 acres of the Box Creek Prescribed Burn that was within the planned prescription area*. However since the fire was an escaped RX all acres have been counted under the Box Creek wildfire on the 209 and SIT Report. Below is a breakdown of accomplishments by district.
District Acres Treatment D1 – Fillmore 60 (WUI) Mechanical 1234 (Non-WUI) Mechanical 614 (Non-WUI) Prescribed Fire TOTAL ACRES TREATED – 1,908 D2 – Fremont River 1678 (WUI) Mechanical 138 (Non-WUI) Mechanical 162 (WUI) Prescribed Fire 230 (Non-WUI) Prescribed Fire TOTAL ACRES TREATED – 2,208 D3 – Beaver 1696 (WUI) Mechanical 4200(Non-WUI) Prescribed Fire 400 (WUI) Prescribed Fire TOTAL ACRES TREATED – 6,296 D4 – Richfield 374 (WUI) Mechanical 709 (Non-WUI) Mechanical 800 (Non-WUI)* Prescribed Fire TOTAL ACRES TREATED – 1,883
The State of Utah complete 9 prescribed burns for a total of 469 acres and 171 acres of mechanical treatments on State or Private Lands.
County Acres Treatment Sanpete 300 Prescribed Fire 91 Mechanical TOTAL ACRES TREATED – 391 Juab 3 Prescribed Fire TOTAL ACRES TREATED – 3 Millard 86 Prescribed Fire TOTAL ACRES TREATED – 86 Tri-County (Sevier, 80 Prescribed Fire Wayne & Piute) 80 Mechanical TOTAL ACRES TREATED –160
LOGISTICAL ACTIVITY
Richfield Interagency Fire Center is responsible to mobilize 491 overhead personnel, 1 Type 2IA Crew, 3 camp crews, 22 Engines/Water Tenders, and 25 miscellaneous I-BPA equipment. In addition, approximately 80 camp crew members were signed up as ADs this year (these ADs are not issued Qualification Cards therefore they are not counted in the AD section of the below chart).
Agency UT-FIF UT-RID UT-SCS UT-CRP UT-FSR UT-SPA # Of Personnel 162 86 238 3 1 0 AD 8 6 0 0 0 0 Type 2IA Crew 1 0 0 0 0 0 Camp Crew 0 3 0 0 0 0 Engines/Water Tenders 6 12 4 0 0 0 I-BPA 9 16 0 0 0 0 Equipment
In 2012, the BLM staffed a total of 7 engines and 1 tactical water tenders consistently throughout the season, this is down from 2011 (10 engines & 2 tactical water tenders) due to funding issues. The Fishlake Forest staffed six engines and two wildfire modules.
Richfield Interagency Fire Center sent a total of 16 engines on off unit assignments during the year. The table below shows the off-unit engine activity during 2012.
Agency BLM USFS FFSL Total Engines/Water Tenders 8 6 4 Date of First Off-Unit Assignment 5/19/2012 5/20/2012 N/A Date of Last Off-Unit Assignment 8/21/2012 8/29/2012 N/A Total Off Unit Assignments 8 8 0
Prior to 2012 the BLM was the employing agency for all ADs. During 2012 ADs were hired by the Fishlake National Forest, Fillmore BLM or Richfield BLM. Richfield Interagency Fire Center filled 66 requests with ADs.
Agency Employment (reemployments counted) Fishlake NF 37 BLM Richfield Field Office 23 Fillmore Field Office 6 Total 66
The three Central Utah Campcrews, which are sponsored by the Richfield BLM, took a total of 11 assignments during 2012, five assignments were on-unit and six were off-unit.
The Fishlake Regulars Type 2 IA crew is an essential part of our fire organization. The Fishlake Regulars is an interagency crew which is a combined effort of the Fishlake National Forest, Richfield and Fillmore BLM, and the Central Area Forestry Fire and State Lands. The crew was able to take two off-unit assignments this year and two local assignments. The crew was critical to our success in initial attack on a local level this year.
RIFC mobilized one of the two local Type 3 teams only once this year. RIFC also assigned approximately 121 local red-carded personnel to local incidents.
The Richfield Interagency Fire Center opened Expanded Dispatch June 5th and was opened for approximately 30 days, only closing for 6 days with in that timeframe. Expanded dispatch supported five Type 2 and one Type 3 Incident Management Teams during that time.
The Richfield Interagency Fire Center plays a vital role in supporting the local, regional, and national fire programs. During 2012, RIFC was busy supporting local and non-local incidents. Supporting the Great Basin and our own local fires was the majority of activity for us this year.
RIFC assigned a total of 285 overhead, two Type 2IA Hand Crews, six camp crews, 16 engines and 76 pieces of miscellaneous equipment to off-unit assignments. Below shows a chart of how our resources supported each geographical area.
WESTERN
EASTERN GREAT BASIN
SOUTHERN
NATIONAL NATIONAL
NORTHERN
ROCKY MOUNTAINROCKY
NORTHERN
SOUTHERN
COORDINATION
EASTERN
SOUTHWEST
NORTHWEST
AUSTRAILIA
CANADA
ALASKA
GREAT
INTERAGENCY
CALIFORNIA
CALIFORNIA
ROCKIES
AREA
AREA
BASIN
OVERHEAD* 0 0 141 1 21 0 57 19 2 8 36 0 0 0 CREW** 0 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 EQUIPMENT 0 0 56 0 0 3 5 1 0 3 8 0 0 0 *Included support personnel, i.e. drivers. **Included camp crews.
Below are the total numbers of resource requests processed by the Richfield Interagency Fire Center. In 2012, Richfield Fire Center filled 3,207 orders (not counting supplies), of which 369 were off unit requests.
RICHFIELD FIRE CENTER RESOURCE ORDERS – RESOURCE ORDER & STATUS SYSTEM REPORT ENTER Delete PLACE RETRIEVE FILL Unfill REASSIGN RELEASE CANCEL CANCEL UTF UTF AIRCRAFT 291 3 245 25 111 1 85 180 34 18 5 CREW 133 0 129 16 74 6 54 153 19 22 10 EQUIPMENT 714 24 205 19 585 23 132 658 92 10 39 OVERHEAD 3,528 20 2,800 310 2,437 136 1,627 3,595 113 47 290 SUPPLY 3,965 77 1,071 23 2,535 0 0 239 235 96 0 TOTAL 8,631 124 124 4,450 5,742 166 1,898 4,825 493 193 344
PREVENTION/MITIGATION
The Richfield and Fillmore BLM, Fishlake National Forest and Forestry, Fire and State Lands Central Area went into statewide fire restriction June 14th. On July 10th additional restrictions went into place with a Fire Ban for the state which included BLM, State and Private Lands for our counties of Sanpete, Piute, Wayne and Sevier. This Fire Ban excluded Fishlake National Forest Lands. On August 2nd the Fire Restrictions were rescinded on Forest Service Lands. The BLM and State stayed in Fire Restrictions until September 7th when they were rescinded.
East Zone Prevention for the Fishlake’s Richfield and Fremont River Ranger Districts, Richfield BLM and Henry Mountains Field Station assembled 45 Fire Restriction/Patrol Packets and distributed to each of the front desk folks located at the BLM and Forest Service offices, patrol personnel, campground hosts, county sheriff deputies, LEO’s and guard stations. Each packet included a copy of each order, news release, talking points, contacts, and fire restriction flyer.
West Zone Prevention for the Fishlake’s Fillmore and Beaver Districts posted restriction information to approximately 100 grocery stores, gas stations, hotels, and post offices and posted restrictions to all information boards and fire back signs on federal lands in Juab, Millard and Beaver counties. In addition to posting restrictions, there was coordination of 17 (22 groups) days of patrols on the Beaver and Fillmore Ranger Districts. The patrols were performed together with 1 FPO and 1 ride-a-long. Patrols worked 4 hour shifts, with 2 groups on each district. Approximately 300 contacts were made by the patrol groups.
Prevention personnel and Smokey Bear made numerous public appearances and contacts to educate the public about wildfire prevention and campfire safety throughout 2012. Time was also spent maintaining, replacing and repairing information signs. In addition, prevention personnel conducted community education meetings, assisted volunteer fire departments with various trainings, completed numerous patrols throughout the summer and assisted with public information for prescribed burns, fuels projects and wildfires.
Below is a table of prevention activities and accomplishments for both zones.
Parades Workshops School/ Brochures Radio Signs Fuels & Assist Neighborhoods/ Distributed Spots / Installed & RX with PIO Smokey Bear for the Year PSA maintained Assists for Fires & Programs RX East Zone 5 5 43 23,785 6 132 16 11 (BLM & FS) West Zone 6 4 15 2,500 0 100 10 9 (FS) West Zone 0 0 2 500 0 10 2 0 (BLM) Central Utah 29 7 15,625 720 3 9 25 (State)
2012 East Zone Prevention Activities and Accomplishments
Snow College Career Fair – Richfield & Ephraim Salina Parade Campus Monroe Parade Sevier Valley Sportsman’s Expo Torrey Parade North Sevier Middle School Science Fair Loa Parade Smokey Bear Preschool Programs – 10 ea. Gooseberry 3rd Grade Program Richfield High School Career Fair Salina 2nd Grade Field Trip to Maple Grove Head Start Smokey Bear programs (Monroe & Ashman 1st Grade Field Trip to Maple Grove Richfield) – 2 ea. Loa 4th and 5th Grade field Trip to Singletree CWPP Meetings (Mayfield & Fountain Green) – Monroe 3rd Grade program 2 ea. Fishlake National Forest Red Hills Middle School Career Fair Temporary/Seasonal Outreach Central Region 10th Grade Career Fair Announcement was emailed to 20 high Antimony Elementary School Fire Safety schools within the six county areas and to all Program college outlets in Utah. Natural Resource Festival With the assistance of Central Utah FFSL’s Girls Camp Certifications – 2 ea. Fuels & WUI Coordinator 15,050 Utah Living North Sevier Fire Prevention Class With Fire Brochures were inserted into Radio Talk Show newspapers through the six county area, Life Included Presentation and delivered to every subscriber with the Wal-Mart Safety Day following newspaper outlets: Sanpete Eye’s to the Sky Hot Air Balloon Festival Messenger, The times news, Millard County Richfield Parade Chronicle, The Salina Sun, The Richfield Reaper, and The Wayne County Insider .
2012 West Zone Prevention Activities and Accomplishments
Instructed wildland fire prevention and Patrolled and performed Forest Protection education school, Hunter’s Education & Scout Officer (FPO) duties on Fishlake National Programs. Forest Service Assisted Volunteer Fire Attended and supported fire councils and Departments with trainings, wildland fire homeowners associations with CWPP’s investigations and prevention activities Provided wildland fire and prescribed fire Interagency Communication Committee information to employees and public through Utah Living with Fire Committee personnel contacts, information boards, radio CUIF/Color Country WUI/Fuels Committee and newspapers. Member Developed and reviewed NEPA wildland fire CISM Member prevention stipulations and mitigation measures Fillmore ATV Jamboree (400 people) for authorized actions on Forest Service and 5th Grade Natural Resource Day (100 People) BLM lands – Beaver City Water Line (FS), Pacific Local Boy Scout Programs Corp, Black Rock Road (BLM), Siguard-Red Butte Hi_Lo Homeowners meetings & Chipper Transmission Line (BLM) Days st Beaver 1 Grade Day Clay Springs Show Me Tour rd Beaver 3 Grade Day Fillmore, Scipio, Delta, Hinckley, Beaver Fillmore & Beaver Orientation Days Parades Natural Resource Fair Millard and Juab County Fairs Conducted inspection on Special Uses and Scipio and Delta Rodeo Recreation projects
TRAINING
In March, the Central Area Fire Wardens along with two U.S. Forest Service employees took advantage of the ready reserve money allocated to them by the State by offering several advanced classes to local volunteer fire departments, S-131, S-132, S-211 and S-212. There were 35 participants in all representing, Sevier, Sanpete, Juab and Millard Counties. The classes were held at the Hilton Garden Inn in St. George. The participants were in class for roughly 10 hours a day for a week and at the end of the week the Utah Fire and Rescue Academy tested participants on both written and skills. Each participant was issued a FFT1/Squad Boss task book to work on over the next couple of years. The reviews that were received highly complemented the instructors and the source of funding for this opportunity which they were given to participate in such a class. Also, they highly recommended trying to continue with such classes that benefit the local volunteer departments that assist us with wildland firefighting in the central area.
For the 2011/2012 Training Season there were a total of 122 training courses completed. In addition, RT212, Chain Saw refresher training, RT212, was put on in Beaver, Loa, and Teasdale where 41 students attended.
Several sessions of RT130, Annual Fire Refresher, was conducted providing this training to 194 people, including 34 contractors.
Nomination received and Processed FS FS Ads BLM BLM ADs Total Nominations for Utah Wildfire Academy 49 0 11 0 60 Nominations for Utah Fire and Rescue Academy (UFRA) 18 0 26 0 44 Nominations for Great Basin 19 0 12 0 31 Nominations for NAFRI 0 0 0 0 0 Nominations for Other Geographic Areas 2 0 2 0 4 Nominations for Prescribed Fire Training Center (PTFC) 2 0 0 0 2 Nominations for GB Engine Academy 1 0 0 0 1 Nominations for Dixie Applied Technology Center (DXATC) 0 0 0 0 0 Total Nominations Received 91 0 51 0 142 Nominations not approved due to missing prerequisites 2 0 3 0 5 Nominations not approved due to budgetary or other 10 0 17 0 27 Total Nominations Approved Locally 79 0 31 0 110 Student Not Accepted into course 4 0 1 0 5 Students Accepted into course 75 0 30 0 105 Non-attendance due to student cancellation 3 0 5 0 8 Non-attendance due to course cancellation 2 0 2 0 4 Non-attendance due to student no show 0 0 0 0 0 Total Training courses completed 70 0 23 0 93
Locally sponsored NWCG Training
The below courses were a Forest Service and BLM combined effort. In addition, RT212, Chain Saw refresher training, was put on in Beaver and Richfield where 25 students attended.
Several sessions of RT130, Annual Fire Refresher, was conducted providing this training to 220 people, including 15 contractors.
Non- Course Course Local Local Total Number Name Instructor Students Students Students S131 Advanced Firefighter Kelly Cornwall 11 0 11 S133 Look up, look down, look around Clay Matheson 11 0 11 S133 Look up, look down, look around Glen Chappell 8 0 8 Nels S211 Portable Pumps & Water Use Rasmussen 14 1 15 S212 Wildland Fire Chain Saws Jeff Bergfeld 2 0 2 S212 Wildland Fire Chain Saws Kelly Cornwall 8 0 8
The below courses were coordinated and instructed by the State.
Tri- WUI Course Course Sanpete Juab Millard County Totals Number Name S190/190 30 0 0 15 0 45 S211 Portable Pumps & Water Use 40 0 0 12 0 42 S212 Wildland Fire Chain Saws 40 0 0 0 12 52 S131 Advanced Firefighter 0 40 0 0 0 40 S133 Look up, look down, look around 0 40 0 88 0 128 RT130 Annual Fire Refresher 70 45 50 20 0 185
QUALIFICATIONS
A total of 240 personnel were issued qualifications cards by Central Utah in 2012; 156 to FS employees including 8 ADs, and 84 to BLM employees, also including 8 ADs.
Employee Location & Type Fire Fuels Other Total Fillmore Ranger District 12 1 9 22 Fremont River Ranger District 15 2 9 26 Beaver Ranger District 14 1 14 29 Richfield Ranger District 11 4 13 28 Supervisor's Office 7 1 35 43 ADs 8 0 0 8 Forest Total 67 9 80 156 Employee Location & Type Fire Fuels Other Total Richfield 11 2 13 26 Hanksville 0 0 2 2 ADs 7 0 0 7 Richfield Field Office Total 18 2 15 35 Fillmore 13 4 19 36 Little Sahara 11 0 1 12 ADs 1 0 0 1 Fillmore Field Office Total 25 4 20 49 BLM Total 43 6 35 84
Position Task Books
During 2012, the federal agencies issued 104 new position task books, 47 were certified, and 69 expired.
The State issued 4 new task books, 7 were certified and 2 expired. In addition, approximately 40 FFT1/ICT5 task books were issued to VFDs after the Advanced Firefighter Academy in March.
FS FS FS BLM BLM BLM State State State Function Issued Certified Expired Issued Certified Expired Issued Certified Expired Air Ops 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 Command & Staff 18 9 13 5 2 5 1 4 0 Dispatch 3 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 Finance 7 0 9 2 0 1 0 0 0 Logistics 11 4 3 7 1 3 1 0 0 Operations 21 14 11 13 10 6 0 2 0 Planning 8 5 8 1 1 5 2 0 0 Prevention & 0 0 0 Investigation 1 0 1 2 0 2 Total 72 32 46 32 15 22 4 7 2
TRESPASS CASES
Bureau of Land Management
There were 18 human caused fires that involved BLM land in 2012.
Four occurred in the Richfield Field Office burning a total of 5,580 acres of BLM land. From the four investigation reports received for the Richfield Field Office, three have been processed with a recommended not to proceed. The other one was recommended to proceed with cost recovery. If successful the BLM could receive $2,475,390.
A case from 2005 reached a settlement with the BLM this year in the amount of $2,828.95. Of this, $2,500 automatically went to the Richfield Field Office.
RICHFIELD FIELD OFFICE
Name Date Owner Acres Cause Investigated Potential Burned on Trespass BLM Case I70 MP 90 6/12 BLM .25 Car Fire Yes No GlenAnna 6/19 Private 1235 Misc./unknown Yes No Wood Hollow 6/23 Private 4168 Power line Yes Yes Glenwood 8/21 BLM 177.70 Misc./unknown Yes No Hills
The Fillmore Field Office had 14 human caused fires that involved BLM land for a total of 12,483 acres. Eleven of the fires had investigations done totaling 124,098 acres. Five cases were recommended to proceed and two investigations are ongoing. Decisions are still pending on which cases may actually be sent forward for cost recovery.
No costs were recovered for previous cases during 2012. There are nine cases from previous years already awaiting action at the Utah State Office and with the Solicitor/Assistant US Attorney’s Office.
FILLMORE FIELD OFFICE
Name Date Owner Acres Cause Investigated Potential Burned on Trespass BLM Case Dumpster 5/26 BLM .10 Debris Yes No Lime 6/5 BLM .50 Misc./unknown No No McIntire 6/8 BLM 118.60 Railroad Yes Yes Ranch Baker Canyon 6/22 BLM 52 Equipment – Yes Yes Vehicle Grease 6/22 State 2435 Incendiary Yes TBD SR 132 MP 17 6/25 BLM 1.0 Misc./Unknown No No Clay Springs 6/27 State 9786 Incendiary Yes TBD Landfill 7/27 State 13 Equipment Yes Yes Black 8/1 BLM 67.2 Incendiary Yes No Mountain Cut Off Road 8/8 BLM 1.0 Misc./Unknown No No Sage River 8/21 BLM 3.0 Power line Yes Yes Chicken Creek 8/25 BLM 38 Campfire Yes Yes I 15 MP 205 9/2 BLM 1.80 Catalytic Yes No Converter MP 142 9/22 BLM 1.0 Equipment Yes No Furner Valley 10/22 BLM .10 Misc./Unknown No No
Utah Forestry, Fire & State Lands
During 2012, there were 51 human caused fires that involved state or private lands. The Central Area, State of Utah completed a total of 12 investigations on private land.
Sanpete County Juab County Millard County Tri-County* 4 4 3 1 TOTAL 12 *Tri-County consists of Sevier, Piute and Wayne counties.
Fishlake National Forest
The Fishlake National Forest had 16 human caused fires that involved forest lands. Of these 16 fires, seven burned into the Lost Lake fire. As of the end of the year, the Lost Lake fire has been forwarded to claims for cost recovery. The Clay Springs fire which burned 77,887 of the 107,847 acres on Forest Service land is still under investigation.
Name Date Owner Acres Cause Cost Burned on Recovery FS Power line 5/14 FS .10 Power line No Lost Lake 6/3 FS 2,075 Arson Yes Box Creek 6/5 FS 2,170 Escaped RX No Clay Springs 6/27 State 77,887 Incendiary TBD
South Cedar 7/1 FS .10 Campfire No Canyon Bentenson 7/21 FS .10 Campfire No
Cove Camp 7/25 FS .10 Campfire No
CC Road 8/8 FS .10 Campfire No
Forsyth 11/30 FS .40 Unknown No