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...... _------United States Department of Fire Agriculture Forest Service Management S An international quarterly periodical Volume 50, NO.1 Notes devoted to forest fire management 1989 Contents

2 Fire Management: Strength Through Diversity 53 Forest Fire Simulation Video and Graphic System Harry Croft L.F. Southard

6 Major Transitions in Firefighting: 1950 to 1990 56 Smoke Management Modeling in the Bureau of Jack F. Wilson Land Management Allen R. Riebau and Michael L. Sestak 9 A Look at the Next 50 Years John R. Warren 59 Smoke From Smoldering Fires-a Road Hazard Leonidas G. Lavdas 13 Warm Springs Hotshots Holly M. Gill 63 Author Index-Volume 49

16 Wildfire Law Enforcement-Virginia Style 65 Subject Index-Volume 49 John N. Graff

19 Fire Management in the Berkeley Hills Short Features Carol L. Rice, 1 Thank you, Fire Management Notes 21 Light-Hand Suppression Tactics-a Fire Allan J West Management Challenge Francis Mohr 5 Workforce Diversity-What We Can Do! L.A. Amicare//a 31 Lightning Fires in Saskatchewan Forests c.i Oglivie 8 The Fire Equipment Working Team William Shenk 37 GSA-a Partner in Wildfire Protection 11 Smokejumper Reunion-June 1989 Larry Camp Janice Eberhardt

38 Predicting Fire Potential 15 NWCG's Publication Management System: Thomas J. Rios A Progress Report Mike Munkres 42 Wildfire 1988-a Year To Remember Arnold F. Hartigan 55 Identifying Federal Excess Personal Property Francis R. Russ 45 Documenting Wildfire Behavior: The 1988 Brereton Lake Fire, Manitoba Kelvin G. Hirsch Special Features

49 Fire Observation Exercises-a Valuable Part of 24 The Way Wc Were Fire Behavior Training Patricia L. Andrews and Stephen S. Sackett 33 The 1988 Greater Yellowstone Area Fires.

Back cover: Front cover: With this Smokey Bear poster, Fire Control Nates A lire truck used on the Mendocino National Forest published its first piece of Smokey Bear art on the in 1923. back cover 01its April 1952 issue.

Fire Management Notes Overwhelmed-and We Thank You, Fire Management Notes Love It! As a former District Fire Man­ For the first issue of its 50th vol­ agement Officer, District Ranger, ume of publication, Fire Manage­ Forest Supervisor, and Director of ment Notes was overwhelmed with articles and news items. Your Fire Aviation and Management response was encouraging to all who Staff, I have seen Fire Management work on the publication to keep the Notes mature in service to the wild­ wildfire protection community and fire community. Over the years, its interested public informed about although some of the issues con­ important fire management issues fronting the fire protection commu­ and concerns. Materials submitted nity have changed, the focus of but not published in this issue will Fire Management Notes has always be used in later issues of this impor­ been on strengthening the wildfire tant anniversary year, a half-century protection effort and preventing the milestone in sharing research, policy loss of lives and natural resources. development, equipment and sup­ plies, delivery systems, and experi­ Fire Management Notes, initially ences in fire protection. We will use known as Fire Control Notes, was your important contributions and first published in 1936 and has celebrate your enthusiasm through. been published continuously since out the year! then, except for the war years of 1943 to 1945. The name Fire Man­ Doris N. Celarier, editor agement Notes was first used in Public Affairs Office, Forest 1973 when the Division of Fire Service. Washington, DC Control was changed to the Divi­ sion of Fire Management. With this anniversary issue, we begin the second half century of information A {{an J. West sharing. Fire Management Notes serves as a forum in which new developments, equipment modifications, and other matters of interest to the national and Fire Management Notes is published by the Forest Service otthe United States international fire community are discussed. Fire Management Notes is also Department 01 Agriculture, Washington, D.C. The Secretary 01 Agriculture has determined a respected medium through which the Forest Service carries out some of . that the publication 01this periodical is its technology transfer responsibilities by sharing information with the necessary in the transaction of the pUblic business required by law 01 this Depanrnem international wildfire community. Keep up the good work! Subscriptions may be obtained from the The challenging fire seasons of the past few years remind us how cooper­ Superintendent 01Documents, U,S Government Printing Office, Washington. ative and dependable the wildfire community really is and of our continu­ D.C. 20402 ing need to share information and other resources. Fire Management Notes Send suggestions and articles to Chief, has been there for the past 50-plus years, a tried and trusted tool, to help Forest seroce (Attn: Fire Management Noles), P.O. Box 96090. U.S. Department 01 us meet our many fire protection challenges. Agricu~ure. Washington, DC 20090-6090. I am deeply appreciative of Fire Management Notes' long service to the Clayton K. Vaulter Francis A. Russ wildfire community. I extend my gratitude and encouragement to those Secretary General Manager U,S. Department managers, writers, and editors whose efforts have made its publication pos­ of Agriculture Doris N, Celarier Edi\m sible. I also take this opportunity to remind you, the reader, that this is F. Dale Robertson, Chief your publication. Take the time to document your findings and experiences Forest Service and share them with others. Fire Management Notes is a reflection of your L.A. Amicarella, Director Fire and Aviation interests and contributions! Your continued support will help start us on another 50 years.

Disclaimer: The use of trade, firm, or cof?Qratioo names \n this publication is lor the in/ormation and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an attica) endorsement 01 any product or service by the U.S. Department of Agricu~ure. ALLAN J. WEST Individual authors are responsible for the technicai accuracy of the material presented Deputy Chief in Fire Management Notes. State and Private Forestry

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 1 Fire Management: Strength Through Diversity

Harry Croft

Budget coordinator, USDA Forest Service, Fire and Aviation Management, Washington, DC

The fire community has a new What's Different? workforce through their own pro­ look! Today, we find women in gram. More than 38 people are many nontraditional jobs such as Why is this effort different from working on implementation strate­ smokejumpers, lead plane pilots, ongoing agencywide activities? gies to accomplish the action items division supervisors, and engine Deputy Chief West knows that identified in the "Model for Work­ operators. Similarly, minorities are affirmative action measures have force Diversity." Nearly all regions assuming greater roles in fire man­ not always gotten the grassroots are represented with personnel agement as the need for qualified support needed to bring about from a wide variety of fire manage­ people transcends racial and sexual effective change. He also knows ment backgrounds. All these peo­ barriers. Through the Forest Serv­ fire people have a "can do" reputa­ ple share a desire to design ice vision statement the Chief says tion, so his strategy focused on fire workable actions increasing the it most clearly and succinctly: "We people achieving diversity in the diversity of the F&AM workforce. will have a workforce that better reflects the national diversity." Fire technology, terminology, FiscalYear1976 and organizational structure have changed in the last 80 years; simi­ larly the composition of firefighters and other personnel involved in fire protection activities has also under­ gone significant change. The workforce-its values, and composition-have changed and continue to change as the number of women and minorities become an integral part of the fire manage­ Fiscal Year1988 ment family (fig. 1). Change is not new to fire management. C.P. Cockrell stirred up plenty of con­ troversy when she became the first woman fire lookout in 1920. Fire and Aviation Maoagement (F&AM) organization has tradition­ ally been white male dominated. While we all can see progress in assimilating women and minorities, the organization still has a long way to go to achieve the Forest Service vision. Nearly a year ago, a major effort, directed by Allan J. West, Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry, was initiated to formulate Figi.i'~ and implement tangible results that I-A changing Forest Service workforce" would change the composition of *Data contain all and only permanent General Service and General Merit employees. Female F&AM by 1995. minority employees are counted in both the female and minority categories.

2 Fire Management Notes "We will have a workforce that better reflects the national diversity."

-The USDA Forest Service-Caring for the Land and Serving People.

• Hiring goals-Definitive hiring and publicizing inappropriate targets to accomplish the overall behavior, a human resource spe­ goal of reaching population par­ cialist at large fire incidents to ity by 1995 and a program to counsel staff and coordinate monitor fire's progress in achiev­ activities, and increased empha­ ing the goal. sis on the rating of fire teams • Development of opportunities for their Equal Employment and skills-Elimination of Opportunities/Civil Rights barriers within the Incident (EEO/CR) actions. Command System/National Interagency Incident Manage­ What's Already Underway ment System (ICS/NIIMS); methods of eliminating bottle­ Some of the planned actions necks in the fire organizational have already been initiated. For the structure; proactive training first time, posters are displayed at linked to preplanned mobiliza­ large fire bases providing informa­ tion; emphasis on diversity in tion for those who need help. training, emphasis on and train­ Some Incident Commanders (Ie) ing for mentoring; and in the have designated an EEO specialist spring of 1989 a national confer­ who coordinates with the local Native Americans continue to be among the ence on diversity in F&AM. forest and region on a variety of best wildland firefighters. • Inappropriate behavior­ human rights issues. Gordon Rein­ The "Model" Training lessons in all supervi­ hart, IC of a national fire team, sory training courses, tracking has added a training specialist to Five primary issues are addressed by the "Model for Workforce Diversity": recruitment, Washing­ ton Office funding, hiring goals, development of opportunities and skills, and inappropriate behavior. Planned products growing out of these issues include: • Recruitment-A handbook for supervisors on how to recruit, a cross-training program to recruit women and minorities internally into F&AM, and an expanded detailer program for interagency handcrews, • Washington Office funding­ Creation of a special affirmative action fund along with a recog­ nition program specific to fire accomplishments in affirmative action. Regular U.S. Army personnel take a break with USDA firefighters.

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 3 his team who also has human outnumber the negative cases. The resource management responsibili­ national TV show, "High Risk," ties. On the Shady Beach Fire, 50 highlighted the courage and hard percent of the training assignments work of the Redding Interagency involved women and minorities as Hotshot Crew and captured the the result of his proactive role. spirit of the entire fire community. Region 1 dispatched an EEO coun­ One could not miss the presence of selor to one of the Greater Yellow­ women and minorities on that crew stone Area fires. A sampling of and their contribution to the total fires revealed nearly all had some­ suppression effort. We've come a one designated as available for long way from the c.P. Cockrell handling EEO-related issues. Many days! Ie's included EEO issues in their A changing workforce is inevita­ daily briefing sessions. Region 6 ble. The "model" sets a course of deliberately took time to brief action to bring about the change in incoming crews, including the U.S. a positive and constructive manner. Army and casuals; unit leaders Utilizing all our resources, provided comprehensive briefings human and natural, is the key to on a variety of topics, including maintaining a strong and respon­ positive guidelines for appropriate sive organization. F&AM is a Women are playing an expanding role in all behavior. At the Fire Directors' leader in this and many other phases offire management. annual meeting and at the national areas. The plan is simple: Foster a Ie's meeting, L.A. (Mic) constructive, proactive work envi­ Amicarella, National Fire Director, ronment for women and minorities emphasized the need to address in the short term, and everyone cases of inappropriate behavior benefits in the long term. Just as actively and gave direction on how C.P. Cockrell encountered resis­ to do that. During the height of tance in 1920, resistance to change intense fire activity, Ie's sent indi­ in 1988 and beyond is inevitable. viduals and entire crews home for Our success will depend on the documented instances of sexual positive attitude of fire managers harassment or other inappropriate in carrying out the Chief's vision. behavior. The Deputy Chief and the Supervisory responsibilities are National Fire Director both have drafted for inclusion in the Fireline exercised leadership in F&AM Handbook (FSH 5109.32), and a efforts to take affirmative action. quality video to help us all under­ They are committed to diversity in stand the nature of sexual harass­ the workforce and are convinced ment is being prepared for national F&AM will be better for everyone distribution. EEO/CR issues are once parity is reached. They are now part of crew hriefings and are intolerant of inappropriate behav­ part of an IC··s performance fating. ior. They need your support. = Fortunately, the number of posi­ tive experiences and the overall suc­ cess of the 1988 fire season far

4 Fire Management Noles I tasks dealing with emergency situa­ ,!Moving, Anyone? Would tions. I can think of no other You Tell Us About It? agency that has the track record that we have. Who else can rapidly If you have moved recently or are mobilize 25,000 or more firefight­ about to do so, please send us your ers in a week? Who else can man­ ]address change or a copy of your age the aviation operations, the new mailing label. Our address is as logistics, the planning, or the sup­ follows: pression efforts over the last 2 Fire Management Notes years as effectively as we have? I P.O. Box 96090 feel the same way about how we Room RPE-lOO9 U.S. Department of Agricnlture can achieve workforce diversity. Washington, DC 20090-6090 Our reputation is on the line. Every fire supervisor, every fire management officer, every section chief-from crewleaders to the Incident Commander-has a per­ sonal responsibility to accomplish the goals and objectives of work­ force diversity. This effort is not a L.A. A micarella one-time shot. The effort must be Workforce Diversity­ continuous and proactive. Success in fire managementgoes What We Can Do! beyond putting wildfires out. Suc­ cess in fire management includes Over the last 50 years of Fire aggressive "initial attack" for inte­ Management Notes' publication, grating women and minorities a wide variety of topics has been throughout our organization-at discussed for the overall benefit of all levels, grades, and positions. Fire and Aviation Management Our overall success as an organiza­ (F&AM) personnel across the tion will depend on the extent we country. Only recently have we all participate in this effort and begun to address the issue of work­ achieve its goals. F&AM has a force diversity. Nothing is so "can do" reputation. I personally important as the management of take pride in our attitude and capa­ our personnel and of the many bility to diversify the F&AM work­ people from other agencies and force. If we all take a "can do" groups who help us accomplish attitude, I have no doubt about the our mission. After all, that's what continued success of F&AM.• it's all about, accomplishing our mission. L.A. Amicarella Fire management people have Director, Fire and Aviation accomplished seemingly impossible Management

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 5 Major Transitions in Firefighting: 1950 to 1990

Jack F. Wilson

Director, Boise Interagency Fire Center, Boise, ID

In the decades from 1950 to the fighting efforts. This has led to an teach the earlier systems is being present, quantum leaps in wildland extremely efficient system of mobil- reworked to better fit the concepts firefighting effectiveness have been ity and rapid deployment. Key to of today. made. Wildland firefighting has these cooperative efforts was the Today, even the makeup of the --.~hisij)ricallybeen apartof tnis: ---development-of-theinteragency.fire.~group_o(people.whofight fires has country's culture since it was first center concept. In 1965, the Boise become diverse. Firefighters.from settled. At first, this effort was in Interagency Fire Center (RIFC) was many ethnic groups make up the the hands of private landowners established, and in 1974, the firefighting crews. No longer are and the States, but in August of National Wildfire Coordinating there only firemen, but firewomen 1886, when the Secretary of the Group (NWCG). as well. Interior requested the Secretary It was within this environment of of the Army to protect the newly cooperative effort that a significant Advances in Technology, created National Parks from wild- development in training could take Equipment, and Technique fire, it also became a Federal place. The fire training process responsibility. became an interagency effort, Important advances in technol­ Today, as in 1886, fires are still bringing together the expertise of ogy, equipment, and technique dur­ suppressed in some of the same all fire agencies. The effort resulted ing these decades contributed ways-by smothering them with in a structured professional currie- significantly to effective firefight­ dirt or by wetting them to the ulum, standardized course mate- ing. One of those advances having point of extinguishment. The fire- rial, a responsive distribution the greatest impact came in the fighter still uses a shovel or axe or system, and a qualification and area of fire behavior research. The wetting device-be it hose, back- certification system that included a understanding of fuel loads, burn­ pack pump, or something similar. physical conditioning standard and ing characteristics, fire behavior, From the earliest days, wildland a system for evaluating experience. and prediction capability greatly firefighting was an experience in The methodology that grew out enhanced the sophistication of fire­ neighborly togetherness, ranchers of the training program did much fighting. Most of the research was and farmers working with Govern- to establish the way fires are fought done in the Northern Forest Fire ment officials and forest landown- today. This training and qualifica- Laboratory in Missoula, MT, dur­ ers. Even though some things tion effort known as the National ing the 1960's and early 1970's. remain the same, from those early Interagency Fire Qualification Sys- The National Fire Danger Rating beginnings, and later through tern (NIFQS) was directed by System (NFDRS) and its allied cooperation of multi-Federal agen- NWCG. In the early 1970's, a fire delivery system; the Administrative cies, State agencies, and private management system was developed and Forest Fire Information individuals and companies, enor- in southern California that became Retrieval Management System mous advances have been made in known as the Incident Command (AFFIRMS), have become bench­ how we fight wildland fire. System (ICS). This system was marks in the management of fire­ broader based than NIFQS in that fighting and provided the scientific Advances in Cooperative it was viewed as an all-risk system base to enter the era of prescribed Firefighting that could be used to manage any fire USe. kind of an emergency. In the early Most of the technologies, equip­ During these decades, the major 1980's, the two systems were ment, and techniques that came of innovation in wildland firefighting merged into a new system known age during the 1950 to 1990 period probably is the growth in coopera­ as the National Interagency Inci­ began in the 1920's and 1930's­ tion between Federal and State dent Management System (NllMS). reconnaissance aircraft in 1919, air agencies to coordinate their fire- Now the course material used to cargo delivery in 1928, retardant

6 Fire Management Notes During these decades, the major innovation in wildland firefighting probably is the growth in coop­ eration between Federal and State agencies to coordinate their firefighting efforts.

dropping (firebombing) in 1931, New Mexico in 1952 (Larkin 1987). ushered in the era of the large air smoke jumping in 1939. Many of In 1968, larger transport aircraft tanker that could carry 2,000 gal­ these technologies, it is interesting became available-DC-4 and the lons. Also the skilled air attack to note, arise out of either the war Lockheed Electra. The crews were pilot and air attack boss came into efforts or some major project like downsized to 19-person crews to the picture. Today, a fleet of the "mari-on-the-moon" space pro­ allow 4 crews to fit into the air­ approximately 80 air tankers, which gram. The emergence of aircraft craft. Today, there are 58 Category consists of outdated commercial use in fire suppression closely fol­ I or Federal professional crews and airline aircraft (DC-4, DC-6, and lowed the introduction of aircraft about 375 Category II crews or DC-7), improved World War II used in the two World Wars-the trained crews, like the original Mes­ bombers (PB4Y2, P2V, and S2F), reconnaissance plane of World War calero, that move in jet transport and 8 military C-130 Hercules air­ I and the bomber and helicopter of aircraft. craft capable of carrying 3,000 gal­ World War II. The explosion in the The use of helicopters moved lons. use of electronics in fire programs from the early beginnings in 1943 It is clear that without the coor­ followed the technology of the through successive stages, with the dination of efforts of Federal agen­ manned space programs. development of the turbine­ cies, States, and others the effective The use of this equipment and powered helicopter, from the small use of our technology would have its accompanying technology was single-place Bell 0-2's and 0-3's, been diminished. Mobilization not the only change taking place. which carried I or 2 people, before 1950 was usually by road With each new piece of equipment mainly for reconnaissance, to the vehicle; today it is by jet aircraft. or technology, a specialized crew multirotored Boeing Chinook, the In scale, instead of moving hun­ was needed to operate the equip­ giant Sikorsky Sky Crane, or the dreds in firefighting operations, ment. To use the technological S-62 or S-68 logging helicopter, thousands are moved. For instance, advances to their fullest, the which could carry 1,000 gallons of during the fire siege of 1987, the organizations were created to retardant or 20 people. The work­ entire national wildland fire suppres­ institutionalize the technology: horse, however, was the Bell Jet sion capability was mobilized in just provide the required training, cer­ Ranger or the Hughes 500, which 4 days. This consisted of about tify skills, integrate the systems, usually carried three to four people 28,000 people and all the hardware, and evaluate the results. With each and 150 gallons of retardant. subsistence and management capa­ new technological step, a similar With the accidental salvo of bility that was possible. sequence followed. water from a prototype DC-7 air­ Consider some of the events that craft over the runway at Palm Today's Direction occurred in these years. In the Springs, CA, in 1953, the program early 1950's, the DC-3 aircraft of "water bombing" revived. It Today, we are rapidly moving came on the scene in a big way to rapidly evolved from the small, into the technology of the infor­ move crews rapidly. It was at this World War II training aircraft, the mation age. Pioneeer systems like time that the first professional fire Stearman, and the N3N, which the lightning detection system, crews were organized. These carried from 200- to 4OO-gallons, to remote automated weather systems trained, managed, and equipped larger aircraft. The real impetus to (RAWS), infrared applications, and firefighters originally were in com­ use water came with the securing the danger-rating predictive systems ponents of 25 persons including of eight surplus TBM (US. Navy are the forerunners. The develop­ 4 squads each with a squad boss torpedo bombers) by the Forest ment of computer-based informa­ and a crew boss. The first record Service in 1956 (Wilson 1978). tion and data systems, satellite of such a crew was a Southwest These aircraft could carry 600 gal­ transmitted communications sys­ Indian crew (Mescalero Tribe) from lons. By 1965, the 4-engine B-17 tems, tracking systems (Geostar),

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 7 Automated Resource Ordering The Fire Equipment BIFC System (AROSl, satellite network Working Team 3905 Vista Avenue in fire camps (INCINETl, and a Boise, ID 83705 Foam Applications for Wild/and & __ host of other space age technolo- The Fire Equipment Working gies are-already being-developed - Team (FEWT) was established in Urban Fire Management, a newslet­ ter prepared by the NWCG Fire 1976 by the National Wildfire Coor­ and tested. The development of Equipment Working Team's Thsk dinating Group (NWCG). NWCG's sophisticated foams to replace Group of International/Interagency purpose is to coordinate programs water, and the delivery systems are Foams and Applications System, and projects of mutual concern to just coming on. Truly, transitions can be obtained through Paul Hill, the wildland fire protection commu­ in these decades have been produc- advisor to FEWT. His address is as nity in the United States. To support tive and exciting, and we are only that objective, FEWT works to follows: beginning. _ San Dimas Technology and inform Federal and State firefighting Development Center agencies about new fire equipment 444 East Bonita Avenue lLiterature (;ited and fire chemicals and advise them San Dimas, CA 91773 on its use. For the benefit and Con­ (818) 332-6231 or FTS 793-8000 Larkin. James. 1987. Unpublished paper. venience of the fire protection com­ Wilson. Carl C. 1978. A brief history of the munity, FEWT publishes the The team has recently completed a use of aircraft in forest firefighting: brochure describing FEWT activities following guides to equipment and report to Chief, USDA Forest Service. and listing members. The brochure Unpublished. supplies: Water Handling Equipment is also available from Paul Hill or from Bill Shenk, Chairperson of Guide (NFES 1275) $ 3.00 FEWT. and other team members. National Fire Danger Rating Bill Shenk's address is as follows: System User's Guide (NFES 1522) 5.33 USDA Forest Service P.O. Box 96090 Spark Arrester Guide Washington, DC 20090-6090 (NFES (363) 4.24 Airtanker Base Planning William Shenk, fire equipment and Guide (NFES 1259) 0.95 chemicals specialist, Fire and Avia­ Field Quality Control of tion Management. Forest Service. Fire Retardant (NFES (245) 40.90 Washington, DC These guides can be ordered from the Boise Interagency Fire Center (BIFC) at the following address:

8 Fire Management Notes A Look at the Next 50 Years

John R. Warren

Advanced electronics group leader, USDA Forest Service, Boise Interagency Fire Center, Boise, ID

Information Storage, Retrieval, and any TV set, either EHDTV or the altered with your permission. This Viewing old HDTV, which became popular was originally a method to provide before the turn of the century in parental supervision over channel The year is 2038. I just electroni­ the 1990's. selection. Parents program the cally "paged" through the latest The video minicard recorder channels that can be accessed by Fire Management Notes on my 36­ (VMR) is all electronic and about their children's voices at specified inch extended high definition TV the size of a deck of playing cards. hours. With 120 channels available (EHDTV) monitor hanging on the It doesn't need to be connected by from worldwide sources over the wall. I stopped to read an article wires. it simply uses a low-power fiber optic Integrated Services Sys­ entitled "Supplemental Intelligence infrared (IR) transmitter to com­ tem (ISS) to nearly all the homes on Minicards" written by Frank municate with the TV receiver. All in the country, there is every con­ Russ. (Fran Russ, Frank's grandpa, receivers have the worldwide stan­ ceivable type of programing avail­ was managing editor of Fire Man­ dard remote capability, sort of a able. Much of the programing is agement Notes when I was working take-off from the old remote con­ stored and can be selected by the as an electronics engineer at the trol units that were once used for consumer over the ISS. To use the Boise Interagency Fire Center such simple tasks as turning TV ISS requires videophones and (BIFe) 50 years ago.) I could not sets on and off, changing channels, EHDTV. The system provides help but compare this article to and adjusting the volume. We do stereo sound and access to general one written by Don Latham in the all that now by just telling the TV and special purpose computer data early artificial intelligence days and set to turn on or off, to change bases. The ISS evolved from the reflect on how far research had channels, and to make other old Integrated Services Digital Net­ taken us in this area. I stored this adjustments. Voice control has work (ISDN). All signals are trans­ article, along with two others, on a greatly reduced TV and stereo mitted digitally now. video mini card and made a full­ theft. A set responds only to "its color printout of another. As a master's voice," and can't be oper­ Fire Detection and Mapping retired but full-time Forest Service ated by anyone else. The voice volunteer, I still like to keep up­ prints are burned in when you first Supplemental intelligence (SI) to-date on the latest changes in buy your set and can only be coupled with Remote Sensing electronics and its effects on fire Spacecraft (RSS) data has made management. fire occurrence about 95 percent Back in 2008, many were predict­ predictable. That other 5 percent ing that paper copies would gradu­ that develops unpredictably can be ally vanish. Some people still use embarrassing sometimes. For exam­ them, but most of us use the mini­ ple, last year when a rainstorm, card. The minicards are the size of usually predictable 8 days in business cards and can store the advance, veered off at the last equivalent of the Encyclopedia minute, the worst fires in the Brittanica, the unabridged Web­ Greater Yellowstone Area in nearly ster's Dictionary, and a few other 50 years resulted. And some of the lengthy reference books. Alterna­ best fire behavior people of that tively, they can store 20 hours of era, including Richard Rothermel, EHDTV programing with stereo thought that wouldn't happen sound or 12 hours of 3D-TV. again in 100 years. Of course, with Playback can be on your fold-out Space systems in communications are lim­ the new Cool-It foams, no struc­ 5-inch color wrist monitor or on ited only by the imagination. tures were lost this time, and the

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 9 "I believe spending a certain amount of time looking toward the future is a necessity, not a luxury."

-Former Chief R. Max Peterson in speech at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY. 1986.

"50-year-growth" timber, started videos are viewed by the Multi­ technology to their fire manage­ after the 1988 fires, was protected. Agency Committee of Experts.' ment problems. Fred Fuchs' article With the new foams delivered by (MACE) team, while the various on his China trip was published in Remote Automatic Vehicles combinations of weather, fuels, Fire Management Notes in 1988. (RAV's), the Highly Accurate Pre­ values) and suppression resources It is stored on my video library scribed Predictable Yield (HAPPY)-­ are"processed-by the SI computer, minicard. fires rarely cause harm and are The range of possible fire spread, sometimes even steered into desired probable costs and losses, and rec­ areas and patterns. ommended suppression action are Individual Instruments and With the fourth generation all displayed with other pertinent Communications Landsats and SPOT and third gen­ data. The LEO satellites provide an eration China-view RSS constella­ accurate update every 30 minutes The only IR devices used now tions in low-earth orbit (LEO) and of the fire location via the Very (besides those on the satellites) are their multispectral, automatically Speedy Acquisition Terminals the zoom flashlight-sized starring selected, microband spectrometers, (VSAT's). Applied and available array units. These are handheld or virtually all small fires are detected suppression resources are also dis­ mounted on the RAV's. They can and correlated with the Automatic played continuously on the 60-inch locate the hot spots occasionally Lightning Detection System (152.4 em) graphics/EHDTV moni­ missed by the satellites because (ALDS-IV) data. The microband tors on the wall. The MACE team they are under foliage and are use­ spectrometers with ultra high speed members no longer meet together ful for mop-up and special purpose integrated circuits (UHSIC) are at a central location as they did operations. The satellite location able to combine numerous narrow until about 2018. All of them can data are only accurate to 20 feet (6.1 spectral bands similarly to how view the same displays and talk to rn), so the small units come in Ralph Wilson, once a Forest Serv­ each other via wall monitors in handy. ice physicist, combined the two their own offices. With the excep­ Fire crew members now always wide IR bands many years ago to tion of an occasional unpredicted know their location to within optimize hot spot. detection. Ralph, weather change and a few fires 2 feet (0.6 m) by using the pocket as well as Dale Gable, electronics picked up by Santa Ana-type winds Advanced Global Positioning Sys­ technician at BIFC, would certainly each year, all other fires burn only tem (AGPS) receivers in use. Their appreciate the added amount of under prescribed conditions, moni­ locations are transmitted via satel­ intelligence that can be derived by tored by satellites, and displayed on lite for display on the large wall combining so many narrow bands the large wall monitors in agencies' monitors. The SI computer auto­ of the spectrum now. The Fire And fire staff offices. matically monitors their positions Smoke Termination (FAST) teams The fourth generation airborne and the fire status and location, are dispatched in minutes to para­ IR Advanced Starring Array (ASA) and tells them, their crew chief, chute or otherwise get to the scene systems were phased out after the and the safety observer at agency fast and take appropriate action on LEO satellite constellations were headquarters when a dangerous the fires as recommended by the SI put in orbit by the Orient Express situation is developing. There computers, with concurrence from II a few years ago. The China-view hasn't been a fire line death Or fire the fire staff. satellites are quite advanced and shelter deployment for 12 years. would no doubt be amazing to me, The shelter folds into handkerchief Fire Management Patricia Andrews, and Fred Fuchs, size and when used releases a spe­ who all visited China about 50 cial formulation of Cool-It foam For larger prescribed or the occa­ years ago (ca. 1987, 88) to start that covers and surrounds the sional escaped fire, fire behavior helping the Chinese apply modern shelter.

10 Fire Management Notes All communications are via the agement Notes. Since large-screen : arisen out of fire to a new life as Personal Satellite Systems (PSS), video teleconferencing is now uni­ retired volunteers. which replaced the Mobile Satellite versally used and the new Data In Looking Forward, a Look Back System (MSS II). The capacity is International General (DIG) Auto­ adequate so there is never any wait­ matic Dispatch System (ADS) does To continue the tradition I ing. If your line is busy and not require a centralized facility, started 50 years ago, maybe I'll another call comes in, your pocket the Boise Interagency Fire Center write an article for the 100th anni­ phone will let you know who's call­ (BIFC) (they never did get that versary volume of Fire Manage­ ing and store the voice or data name changed) will be disbanded. ment Notes. What are the message which you can listen to or Coincident with that, my former significant electronic advances that read when you're ready. Fire per­ colleague, the Bureau of Land have changed how we manage fire­ sonnel are all connected through Management Director of BIFC, fighting? In my earlier article, I Instanet. Jack Wilson, announced he will listed 50 years of those events (see retire. Jack said he'd been thinking next page). That list will need an BIFe and the Phoenix about it since his 102d birthday update. It is good to know where and felt this would be a good time. you've been to understand how far I saw another interesting notice He will join me, Fran Russ, and you've come and where you might in this 99th volume of Fire Man- many other "phoenix" who have be heading.•

Smokejumper round-canopy parachute, jumpers three times the number that Reunion-June 1989 who use the square Ram-air chutes, attended the first smokejumper as well as pilots and other people reunion held in Missoula, MT, in who have supported srnokejurnping, 1984. It is in the processof updat­ Like the distant roar of a Ford to attend this 50th year reunion. ing its mailing list and encourages Tri-Motor churning its props into The 3-day festival, June 16-t8, response from all who wish to airworthy rpms, a rendezvous call 1989, begins Friday afternoon with attend or who can offer help in goes out to all those who intimately sign-in, followed by an outdoor buf­ organizing the reunion. The com­ knew that hardy "smokejumper fet and photography session. Satur­ mittee also would appreciate those plane" and to those who know its day's activities include exhibition reading this article to pass the word successors. A half century of jumps and tours of the national along to others who are or who smokejumping will be celebrated in Boise Interagency Fire Center, near­ have been involved with smoke­ Boise, ID, this June. by Idaho City, and the Snake River jumping. For further information, Though initially considered a Birds of Prey Natural Area. There contact: dangerous and impractical means of will also be a golf and tennis tour­ Smokejumper Reunion firefighting by the USDAForest Serv­ nament and a lO-kilometer rUD. P.O. Box 5759 ice, the agency put the idea of Children will have a chance to play Boise, ID 83705-0757. smokejumping to the test in 1939. at the local water slide park. A non­ The following 50 years of history denominational memorial service Janice Eberhardt, Writer, Public have confirmed its relative safety will be held Sunday morning. The Affairs Office. Bureau ofLand and effectiveness. service will be followed by a closing Management, Boise Interagency Fire The smokejumper reunion com­ brunch. Center, Boise, ID mittee invites all who have rigged or The reunion committee antici­ relied upon the Eagle or Derry pates attendance of over 3,000,

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 11 A Chronology of Some • 1956-First video tape recorder • 1972-The first handheld scien­ Electronic Advances: built by Ampex Corporation. tific calculator (HP 35) was • 1957-The U.S.S.R. orbited first marketed by TI. 1938 to 1987 artificial satellite (Sputnik). -First domestic communica­ • 1958-First integrated circuit was tions satellite (Anik 1) was • 1938-The klystron was developed by Texas Instruments launched by Canada. developed. Incorporated (TI). • 1975-Home video disks were • 1939-William Hewlett and David • 1960-Laser action was first introduced by Radio Corporation Packard started a small company demonstrated. of America (RCA); Sony Corpo­ in Packard's garage. • 1963-First successful geostation­ ration introduced Betamax. • 1940-1945-The development of ary satellite was launched • 1976-Forest Service and loran and radar rapidly advanced (Syncom 2). Communications Satellite during World War II. • 1963-First touch-tone telephone Corporation (Comsat) labora­ • 1945-Arthur C. Clarke proposes was developed. tories demonstrated remote-site the geostationary orbit for • 1964-The abbreviation cycles per satellite communication. communications. second (cps) was replaced by hertz • 1978-First operational Remote • 1946-First all-electronic com­ (Hz); Forest Service first used Automated Weather Stations puter (Electronic Numerical Inte­ infrared (lR) operationally. (RAWS)·were developed and grator and Calculator (ENIAC)), • 1965-First commercial communi­ fielded by the Forest Service and using 18,000 vacuum tubes, was cations satellite was launched, the Bureau of Land Management. built. Intelsat I (Early Bird). • 1979-First handheld forward • 1947-ltansistor was invented at • 1966-Charles Kao published his looking IR (FUR) was used by Bell Telephone Laboratories by paper on fiber optics. Forest Service. John Bardeen, Walter H. Brat­ • 1969-Apollo 1I landed on the • 1981-International Business tain, and William Shockley. moon. Machines Corp. (IBM) enters the • 1948-Claude Shannon published • 1970-First digital watch personal computer market. his classic information theory produced by Hamilton Watch • 1982-American Telephone and paper, "A Mathematical Theory Company. Telegraph (AT&T) Company of Communication." • 1971-The microprocessor was agreed to divestiture settlement. • 1953-First digital voltmeter built introduced by Integrated Electron­ • 1987-Superconductivity was by Non-Linear Systems. ics (Intel) Corp. achieved at 77K (liquid nitrogen temperature).•

12 Fire Management Notes Warm Springs Hotshots

Holly M. Gill

Volunteer, USDI, Bureau ofIndian Affairs, Warm Springs, OR

mated $150,000," reported Mike A. Gomez, field operations liaison officer for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Gomez has been involved with training, organizing, and supervising the crew since its inception. According to Gomez, the crew got its start in 1983 when the tribes used extra Federal money to hire a crew to do forestry-related work. "Production and interest was good, so they decided to make the crew more professional-able to fight fires as an organized crew," he said. "In 1984, with over $200,000 budgeted for them by the tribes, they became a firefighting crew. Our goal was to become self­ sufficient in 3 years," Gomez added. "We surpassed that goal, Warm Springs Interagency Hotshots. and the following year met our Now in their fourth year as an shot crews were from the Fort second goal of becoming an Inter­ organized firefighting crew, the Apache Indian Reservation, White­ agency Hotshot Crew." Warm Springs Interagency Hotshot river, AZ, and Flathead Indian By obtaining BIA, Forest Serv­ Crew can claim two special distinc­ Reservation, Mission Valley, MT. ice, and private contracts for plant­ tions: They are one of two nation­ Those crews, like all other hotshot ing seedlings, constructing firelines ally recognized all-Indian hotshot crews, are made up of Federal on clearcuts, and prescribed burn­ crews in the United States, and employees. ing, the crew was able to make they are the Nation's only self­ UWe think it is a real success nearly all the money needed to supporting hotshot crew of any story," said Bob C. Harned of support themselves in 1986, a year kind. Ronan, MT, who recently retired ahead of schedule. "We've come a In June 1987, the 20-member from his position as Forest Man­ long way from the idea to the organ­ team became the first Indian crew ager for the Bureau of Indian ized crew," Gomez said. in the Northwest to be recognized Affairs (BIA) at the Warm Springs The crew, made up of 17 men by the USDA Forest Service as an office and is currently a consultant and 3 women, works out of the Interagency Hotshot Crew. The for the Warm Springs hotshot crew. Warm Springs BIA Fire Manage­ Boise Interagency Fire Center gave "This crew contracts for all of its ment Office from March I through national acceptance in 1988 by list­ jobs and earns all its own money." November 30 of each year and ing them on the national roster. Of the $315,000 budgeted by the then is furloughed for 3 months. The "Type I" hotshot status indi­ crew for 1988, only about $15,000 "If they want to keep working the cates that a crew is well trained and in training funds was received from full 9 months, they have to get experienced. Before the Warm the Federal Government. "To subsi­ contracts and get work done on Springs crew earned that recogni­ dize a regular Interagency Hotshot time," Gomez said. tion, the only other all-Indian hot- Crew costs the government an esti- "In order to get contracts, bids

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 13 They are one of two nationally recognized all-Indian hotshot crews and ... the Nation's only self­ supporting hotshot crew . . . .

the crew, noted that the ways in are also taking part in an experi­ which they "take care of" the reser­ ment. "The Boise Interagency Fire vation are varied. He explained, Center, the forest firefighting head­ "In the spring and fall we plant quarters for the United States, has seedlings. We also spray herbicides selected the crew to perform in a 'for brush'reduction ana helpin the-­ nationalexperiment to evaluate tree improvement program by put­ the use of firefighting foam in ting squirrel guards around supe- backpack pumps," said Harned. rior trees and pole-stepping trees "For the remainder of the year," for cone collection." he added, "they will turn in The off-season for firefighting evaluations and suggestions for can also be a time for first-hand improvements." experience with fires. "We learn a This year they were selected for a lot by prescribed burning of national experiment; only last year, clearcut blocks. The fire behavior they were still struggling to become that we learn there carries over to an Interagency Hotshot Crew. "It wildfires," Gomez said. has not been easy gaining status as From the first of April, the a hotshot crew," said Jim Steele, Warm Springs crew accepts fire­ fire management officer for the fighting assignments. "We tell the Warm Springs BIA, who oversees Crew superintendent Michael Gomez dis­ crews to pack so they can be gone the crew. "Crew performance is cusses chainsaw maintenance with sawyer, only one criterion." Steele Vernon Tias, comfortably for 2 weeks. We may be gone a minimum of 2 weeks to explained that there are regional must be competitive with other a maximum of 45 days," said and national limits on the number contractors," Harned stressed. Gomez. "The crew must be dedi­ of such crews that can be formed. "Even for work on their own reser­ cated to their jobs." After achiev­ The limits are "tied to funding and vation," he continued, "they have ing "hotshot" status in 1987, the fire occurrence throughout the to go through the bidding process. crew was dispatched to several fires country by region and fire season," If they are too far off, they don't in Oregon and northern California. he said. get the bid." This year, they have been dis­ According to Steele, decisions on A commercial forest, such as the patched to fires in Ontario, Can­ the number of Interagency Hotshot Warm Springs Indian Reservation, ada; Rapid City, SD; and most Crews to be allowed are made as a requires a lot of labor-intensive recently, Jackson Hole, WY. result of a National Crew Study. In contract work, according to "Being an Interagency Hotshot the past, these studies assumed Gomez. "Most of the contracting Crew is giving us more experience that federally funded crews would crews are based in the Willamette and opportunities to fight fires in be the sole source for Interagency Valley. Since we don't have the other countries and different Hotshot Crews. "It helped the travel and lodging costs that they States. The crew really enjoys see­ Warm Springs crew to be spon­ do, we can bid less for most of the ing a different country and work­ sored by the BIA and to have iden­ contracts and still make money. ing with different crews. For the tified their desire to become an Also, we have a genuine interest in month of July, the crew was only Interagency Hotshot Crew.when what we are doing because we are home for 3 days, then gone again," the National Crew Study was being taking care of our reservation," he said Gomez. revised," Steele explained. said. While they are performing their The Forest Service set the stan­ Jim Surface, a squad boss for firefighting duties this year, they dard for Type I crews, Steele

14 Fire Management Notes reported, and as a result, in the credit the tribes for helping with tions. "I've had a lot of calls from past, it has been difficult for other another important requirement: other reservations to find out how crews to gain acceptance, although The crew must be self-equipped. to get started. They want to get it has been done by federally The tribes have purchased two crew people working." Two other funded crews, such as those from cabs with canopies and one eight­ reservations-the Shoshone­ the National Park Service and the passenger van for the crew. He Bannock Indian Reservation in BIA. Steele noted, "The Warm added, "This year they're going Pocatello, If), and the Blackfeet Springs crew helped change things to buy the crew a 3,SOO-gallon Indian Reservation in Browning, in two ways: They've been accepted water-tender. That will help us to MT-are currently forming crews nationally, and they've now been compete better on our burning using the same guidelines and organ­ accepted based on their perform­ contracts." ization used by the Warm Springs ance. They're not Federal employ­ "The tribes have a lot of pride in group, he said. ees. They have set a precedent. the crew because they're doing a "We're real proud of them," Contract crews can be Type I." tremendous job," Gomez said. commented Zane Jackson, To attain Type I status, crew "The crew is one of the few organi­ Chairman of the Warm Springs members must pass basic firefight­ zations on the reservation that is Tribal Council. "The crew mem­ ing courses and physical require­ trying to survive on its own." bers are role models for our young ments and have firefighting Their success has attracted atten­ people." • experience. Gomez is quick to tion from other Indian reserva-

NWCG's Publication The PMS Unit has several tion, and, the International Fire Management System: A functions: Service Training Association. Each • Maintain an inventory of all cur­ of these distribution points distrib­ Progress Report rent publications approved by utes catalogs. NWCG. The demand for NWCG material In 1983, the National Wildfire • Assign publication and form is steadily increasing. During 1987, Coordinating Group (NWCG) numbers. nearly 1.2 million. copies of materi­ established the Publications Man­ • Provide camera-ready masters to als were ordered from BIFC alone; agement System (PMS) Unit. Ini­ designated distribution points. in 1988, that figure increased to just tially, PMS was developed as a way • Make recommendations to over 1.5 million. to make National Interagency Inci­ NWCG on minimal format and For further information about dent Management System materials publication standards. PMS, please write to the following: available to users. NWCG later The PMS Unit recognizes four Publications Management System expanded the role of the PMS to distribution points for handling Boise Interagency Fire Center include all wildland fire materials these NWCG materials. Most PMS 3905 Vista Avenue endorsed for use by the NWCG. items are available through the U.S. Boise, ID 83705 .• There are currently over 300 Department of the Interior (USDI) NWCG-sponsored items in the sys­ Bureau of Land Management Mike Munkres, chief, Branch of tem including forms, guides, signs, (BLM) Warehouse at BIFC. An Technical Development, Division of handbooks, and training course annual publication catalog of these Training, Bureau ofLand Manage­ materials. materials is available by ordering ment, Boise Interagency Fire Center, The PMS Unit is made up of rep­ NFES 3362. There is a charge for BoiseLl). resentatives from each Federal wild­ the catalog. The other three distri­ land agency. All the representatives bution points are as follows: the are based at the Boise Interagency National AudioVisual Center, the Fire Center (BIFC). National Fire Protection Associa-

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 15 Wildfire Law Enforcement­ ~\R(}llVl.1 DEPARTMENT Virginia Style OF FORESTRY John N. Graff

Chief, Fire Management, Virginia Department of Forestry, Charlottesville, VA

In Virginia, law enforcement give them a prenumbered receipt, system provides for at least one continues to be an important part and go on their way. juvenile intake officer in each local of the Department of Forestry's The misdemeanor that has the jurisdiction, available to help fire prevention program, although greatest impact on wildfire occur­ Department personnel with juve­ it cannot do the job by itself. The rence in Virginia is the violation of niles who have set fires. Several 3 E's, education, -enforcement, and the 4,00 p:m:lJurninglaw: This'law­ options-are available'to theparent engineering, are the pillars of fire simply states that no open burning or guardian of a juvenile firesetter: prevention. Commitment to all of will be done from March I to May o The parent or guardian can vol­ the E's is essential if fire occur­ 15 each year, except between the untarily pay the suppression cost rence numbers are to be reduced. hours of 4:00 p.m. and midnight. for the juvenile. Law enforcement for the Virginia The penalty has been a maximum • In some instances, the juvenile Department of Forestry has been fine of $100 and court costs. In intake officer takes part in the ongoing for many years. The 1988, the maximum fine was matter and conducts an off-the­ Department will celebrate its 75th increased to $500. Smoke detected record informal hearing with the anniversary in 1989. Law enforce­ before 4:00 p.m. in the spring usu­ parent or guardian and the ment as part of the Department's ally stems from a wildfire or a law juvenile. program is not quite that old, but violation. o If the matter cannot be resolved it is close. Other statutes effective in pre­ informally, the parent or guard­ venting fire include those assessing ian can be required to pay up to Suppression Costs-Who Pays? penalties for leaving a fire unat­ $750 suppression costs through tended and consequently damaging civil action brought through the Soon after the creation of the or jeopardizing property belonging General District Court. Department of Forestry in 1914, to another person. o As a last resort, the matter may the Governor commissioned for­ be taken to juvenile court. estry personnel to act as forest war­ The Juvenile Firesetter During the first 6 months of dens. Today, all field personnel Juvenile firesetters present spe­ 1988 out of approximately 45 cases, including professional foresters act 30 juvenile cases were resolved. in the capacity of forest wardens, cial problems. The Virginia judicial regularly enforcing the fire laws Table-Fire data and law enforcement accomplishments and collecting payment for sup­ pression costs. The earliest statute Cases requiring the State Forester to Escaped Fires Nonescaped fires recover the costs of firefighting Court cases Court cases was enacted in,1919. Acres No. of Suppression won- Year burned fires Won Lost cost collected (percent) Won Lost Suppression costs are collected by the forest wardens and may be 1943 102.251 2,526 114 15 437 21.1 124 8 1953 32.763 2,461 91 7 694 31.9 269 13 collected at the fire scene after the 1963 44,823 3.300 237 15 1.147 42.1 356 19 fire is controlled. The wardens 1973 3.291 914 24 3 431 50.0 165 1 carry rate sheets showing pay, mile­ 1983 3.098 885 58 2 316 49.0 198 4 age, and equipment rates. On small 1984 2,755 949 73 0 317 49.0 230 9 fires, if there is no violation of the 1985 12.722 2,470 216 17 820 49.0 411 12 1986 13.833 2.091 181 7 612 39.0 459 law, they can compute the suppres- 15 1987 20,393 1.326 148 9 385 42.0 549 9 sion cost, collect it from the person • Refers to those casas successfully prosecuted or cases in Which the State was able to collect for suppression without responsible for starting the fire, gomg to court.

16 Fire Management Noles Law enforcement in a forestry organization requires commitment at the leadership level, dedication at the field level, and good cooperation with other agencies.

Incendiary Fire Percent of Total Fires 25 A growing problem in Virginia and in many other States is woods arson or incendiary fires. Incendi­ 20 ary fires have steadily increased for at least 22 years to the point where 25 percent of the wildfires were attributed to this cause in 1987, 15 (fig. 1). Arson cases are much more complex than those resulting from other causes and require 10 talented, well-trained, and experi­ enced officers to investigate. The Department of Forestry has 5 a Chief Fire Investigator, Milton Morris, whose primary responsibil­ ity is to train forest wardens in arson investigation as he works O'-.l..-..l---'---....L-L-L--l.--l-..-JL--.l..-.l..-..l---'---'------'----'--L--l.-..-JL--'-.I..-.J 1965 67 72 77 82 87 with them on cases. One additional fire investigator works in the south­ Figure l-Arson-caused wildfires in Virginia. 1965-1987. western portion of the State. Some progress is being made in incendiary fire prosecutions. Dur­ identify, on railroad track charts, fire management program that ing 1986, seven persons were prose­ the hazardous areas adjacent to the includes a prevention program. cuted for intentionally setting fires, rights-of-way. These areas must be • Prevention programs have a with varying degrees of penalties. cleared of flammable material direct effect on reducing wildfire In 1987, 12 persons were success­ prior to the spring fire season. The occurrence in Virginia. fully prosecuted. During 1988, 10 penalty for noncompliance is a • The current Virginia Department persons were prosecuted with more temporary injunction against that of Forestry fire management cases pending in court. railroad brought by the Attorney program, as a whole, is the best A bloodhound program was ini­ General in any circuit court of his effort possible at the current tiated in 1987 in southwest Virginia or her choice. funding level in the effective use with moderate success. Firesetters of taxpayers' dollars. who leave the scene on foot can A Cost Efficient Program • Based on comparisons of fire­ now be tracked and apprehended. fighting costs with neighbor The prevention value of this The USDA Forest Service pro­ States, Virginia's fire prevention resource is significant. vided the following information to program is saving State taxpayers Railroad fire prevention has the Virginia State Forester in a July $1,431,208 in fire suppression improved dramatically in the past 1987 report: costs annually. several years with the advent of a • The Virginia Department of For­ The 1987 USDA Forest Service new statute in 1984 (fig. 2). estry is one of the two States in report measured the success of the Department of Forestry people the South with a cost efficient Virginia Fire Prevention and Law

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 17 Number of Railroad-Caused Fires 400

------

300

200

100

OLl--l--LJ~~~~--J.-l---l--l-L-L---L.---L.....L...L....L....L....L.-'--'-.L...J 1962 67 72 77 82 87

Figure 2-Railroad-caused wildfires in Virginia. 1962-1987.

Enforcement Program. The report Law enforcement in a forestry confirmed the importance of fire organization requires commitment prevention and law enforcement to at the leadership level, dedication a forestry agency charged with at the field level, and good cooper­ wildfire responsibility. It also'pro­ ation with other agencies. When vided an insight into the vision of good law enforcement is combined early forestry officials ipVirginia with other elements of fire preven­ such as former State Foresters tion and greater public awareness George Dean and W.F. Custard of the importance of fire preven­ and Forestry Relations Chief Ed tion efforts, an impact can and will Rodger. The present State Forester be made on wildfire occurrence. _ James Garner continues to fully support these programs.

18 Fire Management Notes Fire Management in the Berkeley Hills

Carol L. Rice

Consultant, Wildland Resources Management, Walnut Creek, CA

The hills above the University of California at Berkeley campus include a remarkably large expanse of wildlands, mixed with custom­ built homes, research installations such as the Lawrence Hall of Sci­ ence, the Space Sciences Labora­ tory, the Mathematical Science Research Institute, and areas of high recreational usage. Resource values are high and, until recently, at some risk due to heavy fuel loadings. The problems of this hillside area are a microcosm of those across the country in the urban­ wildland interface: steep slopes, wooden building materials, lack of clearance around structures, poor access, and jurisdictional conflict. Vegetation suffers through Califor­ nia's summer drought, and a mix Goats used to modify vegetation in the Berkeley Hills. of plant species and ages combine • Reducing flammability of the to gradually decrease fuel loading to make a fuel arrangement that is fuels. A mixture of these meth­ to an acceptable level, reducing optimal for great heat buildup and ods is often used. The most dra­ flame length by 50 percent. explosive rates of fire spread. matic improvement in fire safety While all prescribed activities results from the removal of large incorporate concerns for fire safety Fire Hazard Reduction Program eucalyptus sprouts. Five of the and cost efficiency, precautions are last six fires in the hill area have taken to minimize environmental The Office of Environmental burned in eucalyptus. impact. Forty percent of the pro­ Health and Safety recognized the The highest priority areas to gram costs result from these pre­ problem and initiated a 5-year pro­ treat are those on University bor­ cautions. In addition, a wildlife gram in 1986 that prescribes and ders and those adjacent to high­ refuge has been established in the schedules activities to reduce this value facilities. Vegetation area where no manipulations will fire hazard. Management activities modification is directed first at occur. either change the vegetation type those flammable fuels that pose the The fire hazard reduction activi­ or reduce the fuel volume within a greatest risk. The methods used to ties will restore native grasslands to vegetation type by the following: make this modification include areas now invaded by brush or • Reducing the total amount of hand labor, goat grazing, cutting, planted with eucalyptus. Because material to burn. chemical treatment of stumps of this area, which at one time • Designing spacing of the vegeta­ the most flammable vegetation encompassed two dairy farms, is tion (both horizontally and (eucalyptus), and prescribed burn­ now an Ecological Study Area, the vertically). ing. A schedule has been developed ecosystem restoration aspects are

1989 Volume 50. Number 1 19 The problems of this hillside area are a microcosm of those across the country in the urban-wildland interface ....

being highlighted through maga­ neighbors, wary Bay Area Air 100 of the 350 acres (40.5 of the zine features, news articles, and Quality Management District 141.7 hal targeted for manipulation participation in field trips to other administrators and inspectors, and have been treated through these communities. skeptical fire department officers means. has been-noteworthy=all-have- -­ - Perhaps other areas will want to The Fire Prevention Committee responded to early notification of respond to local problems through planned activities. Further, concern joint action. Other examples of A Fire Prevention Committee over smoke, changed vistas, and cooperative programs include the guides the implementation of this fenced goats has been minimal. Wildfire Strikes Home Initiative fire management program. This Faculty and students realize and Project Phoenix. Both involve committee has a diverse popula­ increased research opportunity to private organizations and public tion, representing many viewpoints. analyze a greater diversity of vege­ agencies on the Federal, State, and Membership in this committee tation ages and treatments. Stu­ local level. Cooperative programs includes homeowners, officials dents have benefited by taking part can be a source of help and sup­ from local fire departments, and in operations, planning, patrol, port to those who live or work in staff from the University of Cali­ and mop-up. Areas made inaccessi­ the urban-wildland interface. The fornia operating (Facilities Manage­ ble by brush and poison oak will University of California and groups ment, Campus Planning, and be more open to recreationists. and individuals in the community Environmental Health and Safety) The first years of the program surrounding it are seeing the bene­ and academic (Zoology and For­ are proceeding well. Approximately fits of a cooperative effort. They estryand Resource Management) 100,000 hours of hand labor have are pleased to share experiences departments. Environmental con­ been donated to this program by with others. cerns have been identified and the California Conservation Corps, For more information, contact resolved. Efforts have not been who prune and thin forest stands the University of California. The without opposition and delay (after and build firelines, all in anticipa­ address and telephone number are all, this is Berkeley). tion of prescribed burns. The pro­ as follows: gram has conducted six prescribed Office of Environmental Health Program Status burns and contracted a goatherd and Safety (500 goats) to graze in areas of 2223 Fulton Street Cooperation is integral to the dense brush where other manipula­ Berkeley, CA 94720 program. Cooperation of worried tion is not feasible. So far, almost (415) 642-4400.•

20 Fire Management Notes Light-Hand Suppression Tactics­ a Fire Management Challenge Francis Mohr

Assistant fire management officer, USDA Forest Service, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Baker, OR

Fire Control to Fire Management for the land is still in a pioneering stage. One clearly visible impact is Fire management is more than the tactical choice of fire1ining. just a name change for what was There are examples where cattle once called fire control. Rather, the trails, in grass fuels on a 30 percent change reflects a change in fire­ slope, were used as fireline and as fighting approach. Traditional the anchoring point for burnout. thinking that all fires need to be On the other hand, parallel, blade­ put out immediately and the only wide dozerlines were constructed safe wildfire is a fire without a through sparse grass and rocky trace of smoke is no longer the sale scab areas. On some easily accessi­ approach to fire suppression ble ground, engines drove along the action. Fire management challenges fire's perimeter, using water as the land managers to make unique tactic to hold and extinguish decisions with each fire start. There firespread-not a clump of sad was are situations when the decision removed. In other areas on similar involvessuppressing fire "with ground of grass and scattered trees, time" in contrast to "against time." dozerlines were constructed parallel This is a major change from the to a major forest access road that era of the 10 a.m. policy that pre­ could have served as an adequate vailed before 1978. The fire sup­ fireline. On another forest where pression decision process involves burnout was planned, a four-blade­ assessment of land management wide dozerline was constructed objectives, resource values, and along an open grassy ridge. consideration of minimum cost and Tree Cutting. Another impact that Portable weather station with automatic resource damage. recording capability. used on prescribed­ can be long-term and even a direct burn areas. resource loss is tree cutting. Tree Environmental Impact of cutting occurs during both the fire­ Suppression Tactics firefighter, but all levels of manage­ lining and mop-up phase. In some ment as well. Firefighters, fire situations, 300 yards (274.32 m) Whether the appropriate sup­ managers, and land managers need inside the fire perimeter, live pon­ pression response is prompt control to assess the effect of tactics used derosa pines with minimum fire in at the smallest acreage possible or during fire suppression just as the the base were cut. Because of the confinement of a fire to specific effect of any proposed project is natural tolerance to fire of this spe­ drainage, the tactical approach to assessed using the environmental cies, a small amount of water from achieve that objective can have a assessment process. a backpack or a few shovelfuls of major effect on the natural Suppression Tactics-Some soil instead could have been the resources of the area. Determina­ Examples ' means of extinguishing the fire. tion of appropriate tactics that Diameters of cut trees ranged from achieve suppression objectives with­ Firelines. Awareness of tactics 10 inches to 5 feet (25.4 em to out unnecessary environmental and concern for the land has 1.5 m)-a direct valuable resource impact is part of the inherited increased; however, a survey of sev­ loss. (The observed cut trees were change that came with the move eral fires during the last 3 years "solid" at the base and posed no from fire control to fire manage­ indicates that application of fire safety hazard threat.) Similar ment. It involves not just the management concepts with concern actions occurred with other species

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 21 The fire suppression decision process involves assessment of land management objectives, resource values, and consideration of minimum cost and resource damage.

pression of a fire must include responsibility for the land. Tech­ niques and fire behavior principles learned and used during prescribed burning activities can be utilized --effectively during fire suppression activities.

Recommendations

Change is imperative. Increased ""; , awareness and understanding of the problem and development of a "light-hand-on-the-land" attitude :- . '. ~;. can be achieved through a consci­ entious. assertive effort. Some ini­ tial recommendations are as follows: Five-foot diameter pine, jelled during suppression activity, had fire only in portion ofbase. • The national forests and Govern­ ment agencies concerned with as well. The question needs to be • Which tactics are effective in fire management should include asked, "Even if a tree is on fire light of existing or potential fire the topic of "light-hand-on-the­ and may eventually die, does it behavior? land tactics" during future man­ need to be cut?" In a forest man­ • What is the objective of a con­ agement meetings and seminars. agement environment, dead, stand­ structed fireline-to burn out (See box for list of suggested ing trees are acknowledged as a from or to halt advancing fire training aids pertaining to light­ resource that achieves specific man­ spread? hand tactics.) agement objectives. • Are our tactics causing unneces­ • Forest Service regional training sary long-term adverse impact offices should schedule or pro­ Question Guide for Selecting on the land? mote use of light-hand tactics Appropriate Tactics Although choice of tactics in training aids at their annual some situations left little to no basic and refresher sessions for Land managers, fire managers, impact on the land, tactics imple­ Incident Management Teams, and firefighters are challenged to mented on some burned areas left Interagency Hotshot Crews, and select tactics appropriate to achieve a greater impact than did the fire! smokejumpers and at fire fire suppression objectives, without Tactics that may have been accept­ management-related conferences causing unnecessary scars on the able during an era of staunch fire and symposiums. The national landscape. In this selection process, control policy may no longer be a forests and Government agen­ managers and firefighters need to part of today's fire management cies, likewise, should review and ask the following questions: actions. Times have changed and discuss this topic at their local, • Are suppression and mop-up so have attitudes and concern for annual fire training sessions. tactics commensurate with the the land. Just as resource manage­ • Government agency managers fire's potential to spread or ment activities are directed by an and resource advisors should escape and cause resource approved environmental assessment request that working documents damage? document, our actions during sup- such as "Escaped Fire Situation

22 Fire Management Notes Analysis," "Fire Behavior Ana­ pression action. Light-hand tactics Summary lyst Forecast," and the "Incident means that the suppression action Shift Plan" address and evaluate taken is effective and necessary to The light-hand-on-the-land con­ specific suppression and mop-up counteract a fire's existing or cept is intended to raise the level tactics. potential behavior and threat to of environmental consciousness • The national forests and Govern­ resource values. It means a one­ among firefighters in order to ment agencies should preselect to-four-blade-wide dozerline (fire­ avoid unnecessary adverse impact resource advisors before the fire line) isn't constructed when the fire on natural resources from suppres­ season, considering such criteria is only generating 1- to 2-foot sion actions. Accomplishment of as a broad resource background, (30.5- to 61-cm) flame lengths and light-hand tactics originates with knowledge of District resources can be halted by burning out with instructions that are understand­ (including locations of cultural a 1- to 2-foot (30.5- to 61-cm) wide able, stated in measurable terms, sites), familiarity with the Inci­ fireline or extinguished with a and communicated both verbally dent Command System, and spray of water. It means burned and in writing. Monitoring tactics experience with wildfire suppres­ trees are not cut unless they pose a during the suppression effort and a sion or use of prescribed fire. threat of additional fire spread or follow-up evaluation of their • All fire training courses should are a safety hazard for crews. It effects will increase the understand­ be reviewed and edited on the means fire effects on the vegetation ing and achievement of profes­ national level. (Some inappropri­ and resource values of the area are sional stewardship and good land ate or adverse impact tactics are important factors in selecting a tac­ ethics during fire suppression activ­ still suggested in course content.) tical approach in suppressing a ities without compromising fire Light-Hand Tactics-Defined fire. It means fire behavior knowl­ suppression objectives.• Further edge is applied and the factors influencing fire behavior are evalu­ Light-hand tactics does not mean ated on a case-by-case basis. "no action" or non-aggressive sup-

'fraining Aids in ter and the Training Division of the tactics that meet appropriate sup­ Light-Hand Tactics Boise Interagency Fire Center to pression response objectives, yet produce a video of a presentation leave minimal impact on the land. on fire suppression tactics made at a Master copies of both video tapes Concern over suppression strate­ regional Forest Service fire manag­ have been loaned to 'Ieknifilm, Inc., gies'and tactics that leave long­ er's conference. This video focuses in Portland, OR, for duplicating lasting scars on forest resources over on tactics used during suppression purposes. Copies of both video the years prompted a small group and mop-up and the process used in tapes can be acquired from of individuals in the Pacific North­ managing fire in confinement strat­ Teknifilm, Inc., at a reasonable west to identify a variety of suppres­ egy. The title of the video is "Fire rate. The address and telephone sion, mop-up. and rehabilitation Management Concepts in Suppres­ number are as follows: 909 19th techniques to meet light-hand objec­ sion and Mop-Up." Avenue NW, Portland, OR 97209, tives. As a result, they produced a In addition to the video. the Red­ (503) 224-3835. Copies of the video entitled "Light-Hand mond Training Center published a pocket-sized guide can be acquired Tactics-Strategies and Tactics" to pocket-sized field guide entitled by contacting the Redmond Training demonstrate these techniques. "Light-Hand Tactics." Its intent is Center. USDA Forest Service. 1740 Early in 1988. a similar concern to assist land managers. incident SE Ochoco Way, Redmond, OR caused the Redmond Training Cen- teams. and firefighters in selecting 97756, (503) 548-5071. •

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 23 The way we were ..• in fire deteetion~ on the line and in eamp~ in radio and telephone eommunieation~and .in transportation and support operations

Helen Dowe in Devit's Head Fire Lookout, Forest palmi airplane, Olympic Air Patrol, Olympic National Forest, (WI Paeth, 1921), Pike National Forest (F.E. Colburn, 1919).

Pilots of the Olympic Airplane Patrol at Humptulips, WA,'Olympic National Forest Photographs; (WI Paeth 192/). Courtesy of National Agricultural Library, Forest Service Photo Collection

24 Getting ready to start on fire patrol in pony blimp, Angeles National Forest (W:l. Hutchinson, 1921).

Autogyro at Summit Meadows. Mt. flood National Forest (Roy Headley, 1932). flelen Dowe climbing stairway to Divil's Head Fire Lookout in the Pike National Forest (1919).

~---.~

Perry Davis.forest guard. Davidson River District, patrolling on his leg-powered. rail speeder, Pisgah National Forest (E.S. Shipp. 1923).

25 Helicopter project-s-complete attack equipmenr--ready for drop. Assistant District Ranger Lynn Biddison wearing smokejumper's suit (R.F. Johnson, /954).

Pumping out ofrailroad tank car during mop-up work on the Three Forks Fire, Monongahela National Forest (1936).

Washing up at fire camp on O'Brien Creek Fire, Lola National Forest (Virgil Andrews, 1940).

Disking plowed fire lines with tractor and 7-foot disk harrow, Huron National Forest (E.5. Shipp. 1929).

26 Fire camp at Green River Fire, Cleveland National Forest (Don Downie, 1948).

Firefighters who worked on the night fire line catch sleep at Daggett Creek Fire camp WKF.L. (Work, Knowledge, Faith, Love) Fountain of the World serving (Bluford W. Muir, 1955). dinner al fire camp-Fish Fork Fire, Angeles National Forest (Jack Rouiar, /953).

27 Composite photo-radio communication between ground and blimp for fire control, Los Padres Equippedfire wagon (Massachusetts) (T.F. Borst, 1904), National Forest (Paul Fair. 1943).

Message center at Barley Flats Fire, CA (George WE. Petersen, 1936). Forest Service fire truck used in Region 1 (KD. Swan, 1936).

Forest Service fire control research airplane, Shasta National Forest (Fred W. Funke. Lookout man on Black BUlle, CA, using heliograph. (Two 1938). mirrors are in use and the shutter is being held open with a buckskin thong.) (DP. Godwin, 19/2).

28 Fire truck at Waterville Garage, ready with equipment for 50 men to respond to fire call, White Mountain National Forest (1931).

Packing water on mule (20 gallons to a mule) from base camp to another camp nearer fire line where water was not available, Kootenai National Forest (KD. Swan, 1940).

Forest ranger radio broadcasting measurements offire Motorcycle van for transporting fire equipment, Gila National Forest (1917). danger.H) (KD. Swan, 1935).

Loading Forest Service radio equipment on airplane at Missoula. MTJor transporta­ Forest patrol reporting forest fire hy portable telephone [rom top ojKing tion to back country. Lola National Forest (KD. Swan, 1935). Doodle Peak. Ouachita National Forest (1924).

29 Ranger Jordan in car convened to rail patrol, Sierra National Forest (1914). Radio experiment: crystal control transmitter and 2-volt station cell. Klamath National Forest (Capt. Daniel Sheehan, 1933).

Truck loaded wilh mules enroule to afire (Montana) (RUlh Ambrose Ogg. Fire truck with suction hose and pump and backpack pump fastenings 1937). attached to fastenings welded tv pipe rack, Ozark National Forest (April, 1937).

Fire dispatcher. Churchpnn, Camp Jefferson Fares/fire patrol truck with load offirefighsers. Shasta National Forest (1926). National Forest (W.H. Morin. 1937).

30 Lightning Fires in Saskatchewan

Forests Canadian Service C.J. Ogilvie Forestry canadien des .+ Service torets Fire research technician, Canadian Forestry Service, Northern Forestry Centre, Edmonton, AL

Lightning is responsible for ignit­ sentative fuel moisture and bulk ing more than 3,000 forest fires in density samples as close as possible Canada per year, (1) yet there is to the point of ignition and in any surprisingly very little formal docu­ other fuels in which the fire was mentation available on the initial burning. Moisture content samples stages of such fires, except the gen­ were taken from the top 2-inch (5­ eral information contained in indi­ em) segment and the 2- to 4-inch vidual forest fire report forms. (5- to lO-cm) and 6- to 8-inch (15­ Data on the type and condition of to 20-cm), segments from the fuel where the fire originated and organic component of the forest the time interval between ignition floor. If the fire was candling, and arrival are needed for con­ moisture samples were taken of structing models to predict the whatever fuel was responsible for occurrence of lightning fires, carrying the fire upwards (usually including an evaluation of holdover bark flakes or arboreal lichens). potential. These data, however, are The bulk density layer samples meas­ rather difficult to obtain because ured 4 by 4 by 2 inches (10 x 10 the pertinent information must be x 5 em) in size, giving a gross vol­ gathered very soon after ignition ume of 32 inches' (500 em'). A before the evidence is subsequently record was completed on every fire Figure I-Tree destroyed by lightning that obliterated. investigated. This included details started Fire No.9. In 1982, the author made on the nature of the strike point Although no firm conclusions can arrangements with the Saskatch­ (tree species, height, diameter at be drawn from the results obtained ewan Department of Parks and breast height, and condition). In to date, some interim observations Renewable Resources to accompany addition, notes were made on the on the natural history of lightning an initial attack (IA) crew to the fire's general behavior, fuel com­ fires in the boreal forest are in scene of recently reported lightning plex characteristics in the area, and order: fires near La Range in the northern any unusual occurrences. All • Living trees acted as the initial part of the province (lat. 55°06' aspects of the incipient lightning "ground terminal" in at least N., long. 105°07'W). These four­ fire were photographed with a five of seven cases (figs. I and member crews are charged with 35-mm camera, with particular 2). actioning fires as quickly as possi­ emphasis on the tree struck by the • Ten of the eleven fires propa­ ble and, depending on a fire's sta­ lightning (if found) and the fuel gated themselves in the deep tus, extinguishing or holding it complex. organic matter near the base of until a larger suppression crew The distance and direction to the trees (if present). The moisture arrives. They are then returned to two closest fire weather network content of the organic layers was their base for dispatching to the stations and the fire danger indexes extremely variable with the top next reported fire. The IA crew is at those two stations was noted 2-inch (5-cm) layer ranging from transported in a S-55 or S-58 later. The lightning locator system 8.6 to 148 percent between dif­ Sikorsky helicopter. These helicop­ (2) data for up to 5 days before the ferent fires and from 8.6 to 69.8 ters are large enough to permit fire's occurrence was examined in percent on the same fire with the room for an observer and his or relation to the fire's exact known dry sample taken from an her equipment. location. exposed area and the other from Upon reaching the fire location, Eleven lightning fires were docu­ within the forest stand. Bulk the first priority was to take repre- mented between 1982 and 1985. densities of the top 2-inch (5-cm)

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 31 During wildfires, suppression personnel are often in the best position to make fire behavior observations.

scars with one individual stem possessing two scars. • Most of the fires were ignited by relatively isolated lightning, probably because high-density lightning storms are usually accompanied by heavy rain. As further data are accrued, a clearer picture of the relationships between the lightning fire ignition process and forest fuel characteris­ tics should emerge.•

Literature Cited

Ramsey, G.E.; Higgins. D.G. 1986. Cana­ dian forest fire statistics: 1981. 1982, 1983. Inf. Rep. PI-X-49 ElF. Chalk River, ON: Government of Canada, Canadian Forestry Service, Petawawa National Forestry Institute. 148 p. Figure 2-Scar left by lightning that ignited Krider, E.P.; Noggle, R.C.; Pifer, A.E.; Fire No. 4. Vance, D.L. 1980. Lightning direction organic layer ranged from 0.499 finding systems for forest fire detection. Bulletin of the American Meteorological pound per foot' (0.OO89/cm') to Society. 61(9):980-986. 1.62 pounds per foot' (0.0269/ em'). The bridge fuels such as bark flakes were much more uni­ form ranging only from 9 to 14 percent moisture content. Of interest here is that the only fire presenting a real control problem was the one where the bridge fuels were at 9 percent moisture content. • One fire did occur on a treeless muskeg plain. • A live black spruce, 10 inches (25 em) diameter at breast height, exhibited a lightning­ caused bole scar that ended 8 ...~ inches (20 em) above the tree _~ . .(~.J ~ base (fig. 3). - .. -=- _. '1_" . - ~-_r--:-"'--- u. .;; \ • Another fire was started at a :. -> . < • ~;. C location where at least three tree boles exhibited older lightning Figure 3-Fire No. 4. Notice lightning scar, stopping 8 inches (20 cm) from forest floor.

32 Fire Management Notes The 1988 Greater Yellowstone Area Fires­ Along with Many Others-We Were There Undaunted by fire blow-ups on the North Fork, Old Faithful, with its own special show of force, erupts on schedule for tour­ ists. Smoke billows in the background, a byproduct of another ancient element. In seeming tranquility, swans swim near the shore; an elk browses on grass along the edge of the burned area.

33 Firefighters-25,000 of them in the 1988 season-came from around the country and Canada. As many as 9,500 roughed it in fire camps and took on the bone-weary work of fighting fires at the fire season's peak. After driving all night, Minnesota fire­ fighters catnap on the grass before assignment. Even soldiers of the U.S. Sixth Army, after a crash course in firefighting, march to fireline assignments to relieve trained firefighters for special­ ized tasks.

34 Working in time-honored ways, firefighters battled 249 fires in the Greater Yellowstone Area in 1988, using pulaskis, McCleods, axes, and shovels in the hard labor demanded in the building of a fireline or extinguishing hotspots. For the firefighter detailed to pulaski sharpening, there was no shortage of supply.

35 Firefighters also relied, as they have since World War II, on air­ borne equipment for attacking major fireruns and reaching diffi­ cult-to-aceess areas. In the struggle to protect structures, they frost buildings with snowy-looking foam-water retardants. Heli­ copters alone dropped about 1.4 million gallons of fire retardant and 10 million gallons of water in the assault on the Yellowstone fires. II r· J

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36 GSA-a Partner in Wildfire Protection

Larry Camp

Fire coordinator, General Services Administration, Federal Supply Service, Fort Worth, TX

The 1988 fire season is one to be ment and other products meet items offered by GSA will improve requirements and specifications. firefighters' readiness and response I remembered for a long time, espe­ '" cially by those in the supply sup­ time when needed in other parts of port area, as the system was Location and Shipment Routes the United States by insuring that stretched to its limit. General the firefighters are properly outfit­ GSA's support personnel are ted upon arrival at the incident. Services Administration (GSA) located in the FSS's General Prod­ took orders for and shipped a total Field input and user feedback ucts Commodity Center, Fort are considered to be key compo­ of 34 million dollars' worth of fire Worth, TX. The program was supplies during fiscal year 1988. nents of the ongoing success of the transferred from Denver, CO, in wildfire supply support function. The bulk was ordered and shipped 1986 and all procurement, inven­ during August and September. This One avenue of input from the users tory management, and requisition comes from participation in the represents a 30-percent increase processing activities are centered in over any previous fire year. annual "National Wildfire Protec­ Fort Worth. The major stocking tion Equipment Conference" held Responsibilities point for fire support items is the each year in November. This con­ GSA Western Distribution Center ference is sponsored jointly by the The GSA's Federal Supply Serv­ (WDC), located in Stockton, CA. USDA Forest Service, USDI ice (FSS) is responsible for procur­ During fire alerts, the Stockton Bureau of Land Management, and ing, stocking, and shipping over personnel are on call 24 hours per GSA. Input from the 1988 meeting 300 items used in the wildfire pro­ day, 7 days per week. During July, has now been evaluated. Based on tection efforts. This support is that review, changes have been mandated by a written agreement GSA is increasing inventory levels made to products and the delivery between GSA, the U.S. Department and working to improve the order­ operations. Attendance at this of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Serv­ ing process to better serve its meeting is open to any government ice, and the U.S. Department of customers. entity that is involved in wildfire the Interior (USDl) bureaus and protection activities. services involved in wildland fire­ August, and September, the WDC GSA looks to the future and its fighting. The various State fire­ shipped 295 trailer loads (2,446 challenges with a renewed commit­ fighting groups also purchase tons) of fire supplies. Most of the ment to meet the needs of and supplies from FSS by virtue of supplies were sent to the major improve service to its many wild­ their individual agreements with caches supplying the Greater Yel­ land fire management customers. the USDA Forest Service or the lowstone Area fires, with other GSA is increasing inventory levels USDI agencies. shipments going to Denver, CO, and working to improve the order­ New or improved equipment and and Redmond, OR. Many smaller ing process to better serve its cus­ supplies enter the GSA system after shipments were dispatched to loca­ tomers. For information on GSA development at one of the two tions throughout the Western support or questions regarding any USDA Forest Service Technology United States. fire item furnished by GSA, con­ and Development Centers (San tact Larry Camp, GSA Fire Coor­ Dimas, CA, and Missoula, MT) or Future Role dinator. His address and telephone through the USDI Bureau of Land number are as follows: Management development activity GSA anticipates that the wildfire GSA Region 7 (7FXER) in Boise, ID. The members of support program will continue to 819 Taylor Street those staffs work closely with the grow as the States and other Fed­ Fort Worth, TX 76102 GSA engineering representative eral agencies such as the Depart­ (817) 334-8637 or located in Fort Worth, TX, to see ment of Defense increase their FTS 334-8637 • that the newly developed equip- participation. Increased use of -

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 37 Predicting Fire Potential

Thomas J. Rios

Intelligence section chief, USDA Forest Service, Boise Interagency Fire Center, Boise, ID I If

For many years, fire managers map of the United States (3). With geographic areas. For example, have looked for ways to predict this mapping program, the actual a BI of 40 is not as big a fire where wildfires would occur and forecasted Burning Index (BI), problem in California as it is in how intense they would be. How­ Energy Release Component (ERe), Florida. ever, it was not until recent years and the IOOO-Hour Timelag Fuels that the need to plan for severe fire (THTLF) could be displayed using Improving Information Gathering activity became a necessity within information retrieved from the the agencies' fire management pro­ Administrative and Forest Fire In 1985, the Fire and Aviation grams. With decreasing budgets Information and Retrieval Manage­ Management Staff in the USDA and increasing competition for ment System (4). This program was Forest Service Washington Office resources, managers had a need for used during the 1985 fire season, identified it need to improve infor­ both short- and long-range predic­ but only provided "today and mation used in a fire severity fore­ tions for planning purposes. With tomorrow" information. Another casting system. An interdisciplinary a prediction system to provide problem was its reliance on hard group met at Boise, 10, to develop guidance, managers could better numbers. The weakness in a pro­ a process to be used by the Boise utilize existing resources by being gram that identifies fire problems Interagency Fire Center's (BIFe) able to separate low fire potential based on actual values is the differ­ Intelligence Section in the prepara­ areas from high potential areas. ence in applicability to varying tion of a severity mapping process.

Rating Methods and Their Usefulness in Planning Strategic plans Preparedness activity Implementation (Dynamic models) Decision The National Fire Danger Rating Seasonal" 30~15 days" 6-10 days" 3-5 days" 3-1 days" ..::1 oay'' (4xlyr) (2x/mo) (2xlwk) (Daily) (2xld) (2xld) System (NFDRS) (1) provides a Staffing and consistent method for rating the support (BIFC) X' X relative fire potential of areas with Severity homogeneous fuels, topography, (Fund requests) X X and climate. However, the indexes Pre-position produced were limited to actual national information for the current day resources and a forecast for the next day. Identify and locate This provides good information; resource X X X however, it lacks long-range projec­ Alert X tions that are needed for planning .. Staging purposes such as budget requests level I X X II for additional resources, both add­ .' Staging on and pre-positioned. level II X In 1984, Robert E. Burgan, a Deployment XX research forester at the Southeast Forest Experimental Station in Figure I-Decision matrix: relation offorecast periods and decision strategy. Macon, GA, and Roberta A. Hart­ Note: The longer the range of the forecast the more heavily dependent that forecast is on climatology ford, a physical sciences technician (historical weather patterns! evetaqes}. few it any decisions that involve high costs are made on tlle basis of long-range Iorecasts. The more costly staging and deployment decisions are not made until at the Intermountain Research Sta­ dynamic models based on actual information can be constructed. tion in Missoula, MT, prepared a "temperature and precipitation departing from norm. bAli weather information. computer program that generated a Clang-term and seasonal employees.

38 Fire Managemenl Notes With the current 30-day predicted fire potential map and severity potential narrative, fire managers now have a system that can be used for planning purposes.

Inputs Map display Developing Fire Potential Maps Actual and predicted Palmer Drought Index (POI) - Low The identified items and the Manual available information accurately 30- and so-dav weather forecast manipulation Medium describing the current conditions Crop Moisture Index of High inputs allowed the Intelligence Section to Actual fire behavior information Extreme begin preparing a 30-day predicted (Burning Index, Energy Release fire potential map and a severity Component, and potential assessments potential narrative. Although there from the field) is no way to predict the exact loca­ tion where fires will start, areas Figure 2-Flowchart of information needed to prepare map. with high probabilities of sustain­ The group prepared a matrix (fig. "below normal" to describe a cur­ ing ignitions and potential for I) that identified the decisions that rent situation in a convenient but these fires to become large or trou­ needed to be made, timeframes for useful way. Also with the historical blesome can be identified. making those decisions, and some database, a map could be gener­ As the fire community is aware, of the products available to base ated anytime showing the climato­ there is no universal indicator of forecasts on. This provided some logical normal for the polygons on fire problems. The formats of guidance for the development of any given day of the year. information used to determine the the process. The group also pre­ pared a flowchart of information needed to prepare the map (fig. 2). When the input information nec­ essary to develop the severity map­ ping was identified, it was decided that the actual information (BI, ERC, and THTLF) needed to be more complete. This was accom­ plished by identifying NFDRS weather stations that had sufficient historical information (6 to 10 years) archived at the National Weather Data Library at the Fort Collins Computer Center. After the raw weather information was gath­ ered for these stations, the BI and ERC were computed for the fuel Potential model selected for the polygon (60 E=:J Low percent or more of the fuel type rrm Medium within the polygon). This was used E3High to create a historical database to ~ Extreme compare with current information. In other words, ranges could be Figure 3-Predictedfire potentialfor period, August 5, 1988, to September 9, 1988. (Drought derived and given labels such as conditions were stiJl affecting 80 percent of the country. Recent rain in the East and Southeast "normal," "above normal," or had only provided short-term relief.] (Intelligence Section of Boise Interagency Fire Center.)

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 39 extent of a fire problem range from still difficult to use due to the has been publishing the maps on a i, narrative field reports to map dis­ amount of time an individual had monthly basis for the past few " plays. This has been the major to spend preparing a display. The years. The Cable Network News obstacle in the efforts made toward display prepared by BIFC's Intelli­ weather channel in Atlanta, GA, fire forecasting and has prevented gence Section was a map of the has aired a modified version of the the creation of a fully automated Western United States that was maps showing fire danger predic­ process. Although a fully auto­ divided into the polygons and was tions through the weekend. These mated system would be the easiest handcolored. predictions are incorporated with for the user, it lacks "on-the­ At the same time BIFC's Intelli­ recreation reports and fire preven­ ground observation." On the other gence Section was producing the tion messages. hand, by not being fully automated handcolored map of the Western Currently, the maps are distrib­ the need to convert the data manu­ United States, it also prepared a uted through normal mail and elec­ ally allows for seasonal and geo­ map that displayed the Palmer tronically through the Forest graphic adjustments based on Drought Index (2) (an index of Service Data General (DG) com­ experience. Once the data has been meteorlogical drought or moisture puter system. The Forest Service's interpreted and entered, fire poten­ excess indicating prolonged abnor­ coordination centers receive the tial is displayed with a uniform mal conditions affecting water­ maps and narrative via the DG on map and narrative for the conti­ sensitive economics). This was a monthly basis. They can also nental United States (fig. 3). doneon a monthly basis along retrieve the daily maps that display The information collected with a narrative that discussed the "actual" and "forecast" maps gen­ through NFDRS inputs (fig. 2) are current situation and gave a brief erated at BIFC. The Bureau of plotted on a map at BIFC to dis­ forecast of what could be expected Land Management (BLM) users play areas of high fire danger in for the next 30 days. Although this have the ability to receive the 30­ the II western States for national provided helpful guidance, it was day severity potential narrative and planning. However, this proved to time-consuming to prepare. to view the 3D-day predicted fire be a difficult task on a daily basis Another problem with this map potential map for the Western half due to the high number of weather and narrative was its reliance on of the United States using the station files that an individual was the Palmer Drought Index and 30­ BLM Initial Attack Management required to review. In 1979, John day weather forecasts as the main computer system. E. Deeming (retired, USDA Forest inputs. Currently, the Pacific Southwest Service), Clyde A. O'Dell (retired, Forest and Range Experimental National Weather Service), and Distribution and Use of Mapping Station in Riverside, CA, is work­ Ernie V. Anderson (retired, USDA Displays ing on a project to enhance the use Forest Service) divided the Western of the short-range (3D-day) weather United States into polygons. These The current severity mapping forecast information provided by 'I polygons represented areas that and daily mapping displays of fire­ the National Weather Service. I. were of similar fuel types, topogra­ danger indexes provide information The station expects to be able to phy, and climate. Within each that is being used for planning and provide this information by next I, polygon, anywhere from one to six operational decisions. The F&AM year. This will provide additional stations that were representative of is using the 3D-day severity poten­ guidance in the preparation of the the polygon were used to provide tial map to support requests for 3D-day mapping displays. In addi­ an average fire danger rating for additional funds during severe con­ tion, the existing polygons of the the polygon. However, even when ditions within specific geographic map itself will undergo some the number of weather stations areas. These maps have also grown modification. These changes will used was reduced, this method was popular for media use. USA Today include moving some boundary

40 Fire Management Notes I .I I I \

,j

lines and creating new polygons as 4. Helfman. R.S.; Straub, R.J.; and well as switching from some of the Deeming. J.E. 1980. User's guide to weather stations now used to other AFFIRMS: time-shared computerized processing for fire danger rating. Gen. stations. Tech. Rep. INT-82. Ogden. UT: U.S. One of the biggest obstacles Department of Agriculture, Forest Ser­ faced in the use of the current vice. Intermountain Forest and Range mapping and narrative system is Station. 150 p. the lack of high quality, consistent weather information. Data that is needed to prepare daily and histori­ cal information for periods of high-fire activity is often missing. Also, Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) are replacing many manual stations, leaving gaps in the available historical data. Within the next few years, it is hoped that RAWS databases will have sufficient data to replace the manual stations' databases. With the current 30-day predicted fire potential map and severity potential narrative, fire managers now have a system that can be used for planning purposes. Other uses for the system such as determining the feasibility of a pre­ scribed burn could be considered as well. _

Literature Cited

L Deeming, J.E.; Burgan, R.E.; Cohen, J.D. 1977. The national fire-danger rating system-1978. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-39. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agricul­ ture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 63 p. 2. Palmer, w.e. 1965. Meteorological drought, Weather Bureau Research Paper No. 45. Washington, DC: U.S. Depart­ ment of Commerce, Environmental Sci­ ences Service, Weather Bureau. S8 p. 3. Burgan, Robert E. 1988. Computer map­ ping of fire danger and fire locations in the continental United States. Journal of Fire prevention promotion, "Corry a can for canning Camels." u.s. Army fire pasrotman explain­ Forestry. 86(1): 25-30. ing to visitor the need to be careful with Lighted cigarettes (/924).

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 41 Wildfire 1988-a Year To Remember

Arnold F. Hartigan

Public affairs officer, Boise Interagency Fire Center, Boise,ID

Persistent drought in many parts April and May, with most April temperatures and plentiful dry l' of the country was a key factor in activity taking place east of the lightning triggered major fire activ­ the conditions that led to an Mississippi. Eleven western crews ity in Alaska. The Montana and unprecedentedly severe 1988 fire were mobilized for suppression South Dakota fires continued and season in the United States. duties in the Northeast. Drought two more Type I Incident Manage­ Drought continuing from 1987 conditions prevented normal green­ ment Teams were mobilized for and, in some parts of the Nation, up in most of the Eastern United those States. During July, 246 1986 and 1985, contributed to States, and fire activity continued crews were mobilized through BlFC record-low snowpacks and fuel into May. with six more western for fires in Alaska, Colorado, moistures. When the lightning and crews mobilized to the Northeast Idaho, Nevada, Montana, South wind came, the fuels were ready, and six to the Southeast. Minne­ Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wiscon­ and the resulting fire season will be sota had to deal with fires spread sin, and Wyoming. Seventeen Type remembered for many years to rapidly by persistent high winds I Incident Management Teams were come. and above normal temperatures. assigned to fires in the western By June, hot, dry weather pre­ United States. Alaska developed 52 Weather and Fuel Conditions vailed over most of the Nation. large fires that consumed 2.2 mil­ Fires in the Southwest necessitated lion acres (890,340 hal and A month-to-month breakdown the dispatch of 23 crews from other required outside support that of weather and fuel conditions regions of the country. Ten percent included 8 fire crews and 73 across the United States starts with of the air tanker fleet remained smokejumpers. Fires that ignited in a cold, wet, and snowy January in east of the Mississippi later than and around Yellowstone National the Northeast and Southeast normal, and II additional crews Park in late June and early July United States. 'Iemperatures were were sent to the East. Canada's were exhibiting unusual fire behav­ moderating there by the end of severe fire conditions led their fire ior that required aggressive sup­ January, but February saw cold, managers to call for help. The pression action. dry conditions prevailing over the Boise Interagency Fire Center August saw some relief in the Great Basin and the North Central (BIFC) responded by dispatching 7 East, but windy conditions aggra­ States. Drought conditions present Type I crews, 2 Type II crews, I vated the situation in the West. at the end of the 1987 fire season Type I Incident Management Team, Problem fires occurred in the west­ persisted in many parts of the 195 pump kits, 3,200 lengths of ern third of Wyoming and the country. Only minor fire activity hose, and radio equipment. It took western third of Montana, as well occurred in the Southeast. High three large air transport flights to as Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. winds triggered fire activity in move the crews and four to move Mobilization of resources increased Texas in March and led to the acti­ the equipment. Drought conditions dramatically. In addition to local vation of the Southern Compact in southwestern Montana and resources, 576 of 579 crews mobi­ and the declaration of a Federal northwestern South Dakota led to lized during August were sent to Emergency Management Agency a run of fire activity that called for fires in the Greater Yellowstone (FEMA) emergency. By late March, the activation of two Type I Inci­ Area and Montana. Fire activity fire activity had spread into the dent Management Teams. continued to increase during the southern Appalachians. This led to July saw record-breaking 100­ month, and many of the fires in the dispatch of 20 fire crews from plus degree temperatures occurring the Greater Yellowstone Area the West and Northeast, along with over most of the country. Substan­ burned together. Civilian firefight­ two airtankers and a Type II Inci­ tial rainfall brought short-term ing resources were soon depleted dent Management Team. Fire activ­ relief to some of the drought­ and, on August 19, the Sixth U.S. ity continued to increase during stricken regions of the East. High Army was asked for help. Their

42 Fire Management Notes When the lightning and wind came, the fuels were ready, and the resnlting fire season will he remembered for many years to come.

(,I

support included 6 Army and 2 expected to continue to burn Office (LSO) processed 12,768 Marine battalions to be used as until major snows fell. As of Octo­ requests for assistance in support hand crews; 23 Type I and 22 Type ber 20, 1988, BIFC had received of 738 fires. The previous record II helicopters for crew transport; reports of 72,479 fires for was 6,000 resource requests, in and 2 infrared aircraft. A total of 4,321,340 acres (1,748,846 hal 1985. In a typical year, the LSO 5,595 military personnel were burned for the year. In comparing processes 2,000 resource requests. involved in this effort. Eight this year with last year, we see that In addition, 3,041 supply orders Modular Airborne Firefighting Sys­ by October 20, 1987, BIFC had were processed by the Equipment tems (MAFFS) in National Guard reports of 57,003 fires for Desk through the National Fire C-130's were mobilized to drop 2,106,745 acres (852,599.7 hal Equipment System. The LSO uti­ retardant on fires in Montana. burned. lizes the closest National Cache to These aircraft flew 646 missions the ordering office to fill the order. from August 20 to September 14 Logistics Were More Than Just a The Forest Service and the and dropped a total of 1,917,000 Challenge Department of the Interior main­ gallons (7,263,130 1) of retardant tain the National Incident Radio on fires in Montana, Oregon, and It is sometimes difficult to get a Support Cache (NIRSC) at BIFC Washington. On August 26, the true picture of the magnitude of as a national, interagency resource. Forest Service issued a recruitment the situation from statistics. but NIRSC provides multichannel notice to hire and train Emergency the numbers for 1988 were impres­ radio equipment for complex inci­ Firefighters (EFF) to supplement sive. BIFC's Logistic Support dent communications. Command/ existing firefighting crews. September saw dry weather and record heat in the Pacific States, while ample rainfall brought relief to drought-parched central and eastern portions of the country. The need for firefighting resources in the Greater Yellowstone Area continued, and on September 8, Canadian resources were mobilized. People and equipment included 125 helicopter support personnel, 12 air tankers, 8 lead planes, I infrared aircraft, 4 5-person water-handling il' teams, 200 Mark III pumps, and 3,895 Pulaskis. On September 9, the total number of personnel on project fires peaked at 24,188. By late September, increased precipita­ tion and decreasing winds and tem­ peratures allowed many of the major fires to be contained. Some of the larger fires in and around The Boise Interagency Fire Center logistics office operated on a 24-hour basis for most of the Yellowstone National Park were summer of 1988.

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 43 Other aviation resources supplied returns valued at $9.1 million. included 222 flights of light, fixed­ BIFC drivers made 634 trips and wing aircraft, carrying 126,004 traveled 507,277 miles, carrying pounds (57,156 kg) of supplies and supplies to fires. BIFC Support 316 passengers. The large transport Services processed 5,570 fire crew aircraft, including the BLM 727, and overhead personnel through Forest Service Convair 580's, and the center, feeding them 9,084 other chartered large air transports, meals. This office issued 1,593 made 289 flights in the process of emergency firefighter paychecks mobilizing 20,880 firefighters. Dur­ with a value approaching $1 mil­ ing demobilization, the same mix lion. The tool shop repaired, refur­ of aircraft made 219 flights carry­ bished, and returned to the field ing 15,335 firefighters. Large cargo 35,000 handtools such as Pulaskis, aircraft made 21 flights carrying shovels, and McLeods. 560,000 pounds (254,016 kg) of The 1988 fire season is history, supplies to firefighters. A total of but what are the prospects for 258 air tanker orders were proc­ 1989? As of this writing, the 90­ essed, along with 497 requests for day weather forecast for November Firefighters were kept supplied through the infrared overflights. Boise Interagency Fire Center. 1988 through January 1989 has A lot of people were mobilized just been released. It indicates near to fight the 1988 fires, including normal precipitation for much of tactical and logistical radio nets 7,740 overhead personnel and a the country with pockets of slightly can be dispatched to meet incident record 1,336 crews (26,720 fire­ below normal for sections of the communications needs in a wide fighters). Type I team assignments Northwest, the Upper Midwest, variety of situations. NIRSC totaled 60, with 1,560 personnel and the South. But forecasters say fielded its 32 systems in response to included in that figure. Type II it will take much above normal pre­ 999 requests for communications team assignments totaled 15, and cipitation over much of the country assistance in 1988. 765 smokejumper orders were to eradicate stubborn pockets of The LSO received and processed filled. drought and bring fuel moistures 629 orders for engines during this BIFC was a busy place internally back to normal. It's too early to be fire season. A total of 217 requests in 1988. The BIFC Fire Cache predicting fire potentials for 1989 for light, medium, and heavy heli­ filled 14,000 orders with a value of but, barring record snowpack in copters were also processed. $25.4 million and received 4,600 many locations, the end of this story is yet to be told .•

;)

44 Fire Management Notes 'I 1 I

Documenting Wildfire Behavior: The

1988 Brereton Lake Fire, Manitoba Canadian Service 1+ Forestry canadien des I Kelvin G. Hirsch 1 Service torets I Fire research officer, Canadian Forestry Service, Manitoba District Office, Winnepeg, MB

'I Introduction data presently used in the develop­ used to plot the progression of the f ment of the Canadian Forest Fire fire on a topographic map, forest I The documented behavior of Behavior Prediction (FBP) System. inventory map, or recent aerial free-burning wildfires can be a The FBP System database currently photograph. valuable source of information for consists of 245 experimental and Position of the flanks. Mapping both fire researchers and opera­ operational prescribed fires and 45 or noting the positions of the fire's tional staff. For example, in an documented wildfires (Lawson et flanks (along with that of the head active fire situation, fire behavior al. 1985). Presently, most of the fire) permits the length-to-breadth observations provide a basis for information regarding fire behavior ratio of the fire to be calculated. suppression personnel to take under extreme fire weather condi­ Other fire behavior observations. action and advise personnel. Such tions is collected from wildfires Other observations not directly information allows them to do the since it is difficult to arrange and required to document the rate of following: conduct experimental fires success­ spread but which can be useful in • On a timely basis, inform and fully under such conditions. A understanding other aspects of fire update district, regional, and detailed example of a documented behavior are as follows: provincial staff of the fire's wildfire in the Northwest Territo­ • Type of fire (surface fire, torch­ status. ries is provided by Alexander and ing, crown fire). • Provide information that can be Lanoville (1987). • Fire whirl development, occur­ used to brief both the media and This note summarizes the infor­ rence of spot fires, and associ­ the public. mation needed to document wild­ ated distances. • Ensure the safety of firefighting fire spread rates and illustrates that • Flame lengths or flame heights. personnel by directing them this is not a complicated process • Smoke column characteristics away from potentially dangerous but merely one that requires a few such as height of column and situations. key observations. An example, angle of tilt. • Make immediate comparisons taken from the information re­ • Suppression effectiveness. (For between actual and predicted fire corded by the suppression staff at example, hand-constructed fire behavior. the 1988 Brereton Lake Fire in guards are challenged but water­ Also, future benefits can be gained southeastern Manitoba, has also bombers are effective.) from formally recording the influ­ been included. • Depth of burn. ences of weather, fuels, and topog­ • Mop-up difficulty. raphy on a fire's behavior. That Information Requirements • Post-fire evidence such as nar­ information can then be used as an row "streets" of unburned trees effective training tool for suppres­ associated with horizontal roll A summary of the information sion staff since individuals relate vortices. required to document accurately well to recent real-life experiences It is worth noting that a photo­ wildfire spread rates is given below. in which they may have been graph can be an exceptionally use­ The FBP System user guide pro­ involved. ful tool in documenting many vides a more detailed account of 'I From a fire research perspective, aspects of a fire's behavior. A pho­ the information needed (Alexander I observations of extreme fire behav­ tograph is especially valuable if the et al. 1984: 61-62). ior can supplement or verify the time it was taken is also recorded. Forward rates of spread. The This may be done manually Or a 1 The author thanks the many Manitoba position of the head fire at various camera with a "databack" attach­ Natural Resources staff members who pro­ times during a major run needs to vided information regarding the events of ment can be used. be recorded. Observations can be the Brereton Lake Fire, with special thanks Fire weather observations and to Blair Bastian, Bob Enns, and Don made easily if landmarks such as Jacobs for their assistance and cooperation. roads, creeks, and hydro lines are fire danger indexes. The most sig-

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 45 I'

During wildfires, suppression personnel are often in the best position to make fire behavior observations.

J 1 nificant fire weather parameter to J measure during a major fire run is ) wind speed and direction. Hourly observations of the wind, along with temperature and relative I humidity, if possible, should be N made at a weather station near the I fire. However, if this is not possi­ ble, then estimate these parameters at the fire site by using, for in­ stance, the Beaufort Scale to esti­ mate wind speed. The information lllill Boreal spruce could also be obtained from a (FBP System fuel type: C-2) [;Sj Mature jack pine nearby fire weather station or (FBP System fuel type: C-3) Atmospheric Environment Service rn Leaflessaspen (AES) station. Inclusion of the (FBP System fuel type: 0-1) daily fire weather observations that Ii11l Muskeg preceded the fire is important for IZl Cottage subdivision calculating the values of the Cana­ +-+ Railway tracks dian Forest Fire Weather Index - Roads (FWI) System and for possible • Observed head fire, future analysis. location, and time (COT) Topography and fuel-type char­ acteristics. For documentation pur­ poses, details on the topography Scale and fuel-type mosaic in the fire area can often be described after a 0.5 km the fire has occurred. This may consist of information from 1:50 000 NTS topographic maps, FBP System fuel-type maps prepared from Landsat imagery or forest inventory data. However, observa­ tions of the fire's behavior in the various fuel types and on different topographic features should be noted. The 1988 Brereton Lake Fire: A Case Study of Documentation

Observations of the fire behavior _--.. Winnipeg Point of origin­ 120 km at the 1988 Brereton Lake Fire were 1540 h made by a number of Manitoba Natural Resources staff members Figure I-Fire Behavior Prediction System fuel-type and fire-progress map for the Brereton Lake Fire, May 1, 1988. who were coordinating the fire sup-

46 Fire Management Notes pression activities and positioned Position of the flanks. office at Rennie but a number of primarily in helicopters. This infor­ • 1746 hours-The fire is now other sources were used to establish mation was recorded verbally on spreading at the back. the conditions that existed before tape and also onto the district • 1806 hours-The west side of (table I) and during the fire run on radio logs. Given below is a sum­ fire is crowning in black spruce May I. This included the 1300­ mary of the recorded fire behavior and spreading rapidly. hour observations from the fire at various times during the major • 1924 hours-A small spot fire is weather stations at West Hawk run on May I (fig. I) and how it just east of Highway No. 307. Lake and Nutimik Lake; the hourly relates to the information required Other fire behavior observations. readings on May I from the AES for documentation." • 1734 hours-The head fire is too stations at Kenora, Winnipeg, and Forward rates of spread. intense for crews to work in Sprague, MB; and estimates of the • 1540 hours-The fire was front of fire so suppression conditions by the suppression staff detected and reported to the efforts are restricted to the at the fire. At 1700 hours, during a Manitoba Natural Resources flanks. major fire run at the Brereton Lake office in Rennie. It was located • 1920 hours-The first cottage is Fire on May I, 1988, the fire­ just west of the south railway lost to the fire. weather and fire-danger condition crossing on Highway No. 307 It was also noted that the fire observations provided in table 2 and was less than 0.25 acres (0.1 was not continuously crowning; were made by fire suppression per­ hal in size. that is, some torching was occur­ sonnel and substantiated with data • 1550 hours-The fire crowned ring but spread was not sustained from the AES weather stations. almost immediately and was through the tree crowns. The fire Topography and fuel-type char­ heading northward towards the spread primarily on the jack pine acteristics. The fire area is situated Brereton Lake subdivision. ridges and only occasionally at an elevation of 1,082 feet (330 • 1634 hours-The head fire was burned through the black spruce m) above mean sea level (m.s.l.), estimated to be approximately stands. Also, some mop-up diffi­ The terrain is gently undulating halfway to Brereton Lake, a dis­ culty was experienced in areas with and had a minimal effect on the tance of 0.9 miles (1.5 km) from a southern exposure; however, this fire's behavior. the point of ignition. was not the case on north-facing The fuel types in this area were • 1706 hours-The fire was on the sites due to the presence of ground primarily mature jack pine (FBP last ridge before the swamp, a frost at or near the surface. System Fuel Type: C-3) with some distance of 1.5 miles (2.4 km) By the evening of May I, crews small stands of boreal spruce (C-2) from the point of ignition. were able to secure a fireline com­ and trembling aspen prior to leaf • 1753 hours-The head fire pletely around the fire using both flush (0-1). The forest inventory crossed the north tracks near the natural fuelbreaks and constructed information for the area within the subdivision, approximately 1.9 fireguards. A major suppression perimeter of the fire has been miles (3.1 km) from the point of effort on May 2, which included broadly categorized according to ignition. the use of three CL-215 water­ the FBP System fuel-type classifi­ In summary, the fire spread 1.9 bombers, prevented any further cation. A map depicting these fuel miles (3. I km) in 2 hours and 13 flare-ups from occurring and types is shown in figure I. minutes (133 minutes) for a rate of effectively brought the fire under control. spread of 76.4 feet per minute Concluding Remarks (23.3 m/min) or 0.88 miles per Fire weather observations and hour (1.4 km/h). fire danger indexes. Fire weather information was not available from During wildfires, suppression personnel are often in the best 2 Time is central daylight time (c.d.t.). the Manitoba Natural Resources

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 47 1

, Table I-Fire weather and fire danger conditions which preceded the occurrence of the 1988 Literature Cited Brereton Lake Fire .' Alexander, M.E.; Laneville, R.A. 1987. 1300 hr weather observations 1 FWI System components 2 Wildfires as a source of fire behavior Relative data: a case study from Northwest Terri­ Date Temperature Wind Rain humidity FFMC DMC DC lSI SUI FWI tories, Canada. In: Proceedings of ninth conference fire and forest meteorology; (OC) (OF) (%) (km/h) (mph) (mm) (in) 1987 April 21-24; San Diego, CA. Post 04/21 2.0 36 73 12.5 7.8 0 0 83 30 236 3.1 46 9 print volume. Boston, MA: American 04/22 3.5 38 72 1.5 0.9 0 0 83 31 238 1.7 46 5 Meteorological Society: 86-93. 04/23 6.0 43 49 7.0 4.3 0 0 84 31 240 2.7 47 B Alexander, M.E.; Lawson, B.D,; Stocks, 04124 9.5 49 47 12.5 7.8 0 0 86 33 243 4.3 49 12 a.i.. Van Wagner, C.E. 1984. User guide 04125 3.5 38 86 13.0 8.1 4.7 0.19 44 22 235 0.1 35 0 to the Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Pre­ 04/26 5.5 42 45 9.0 5.6 0.1 0.01 65 23 237 0.8 36 1 diction System: rate of spread relation­ 04/27 10.0 50 33 14.5 9.0 0 0 81 24 239 2.5 39 6 ships. Interim edition. Environment 04/28 18.0 64 19 16.5 10.3 0 0 91 28 244 11.3 44 23 Canada, Canadian Forestry Service Fire 04129 22.0 72 18 12.5 7.8 0 0 94 33 249 13.6 49 27 Danger Group. 73 p. plus supplements. 04/30 22.0 72 32 16.0 9.9 0 0 93 36 254 14.4 54 30. Lawson, B,D.; Stocks, B.l.; Alexander, 05/01 22.5 73 40 27.5 17.1 0 0 91 40 260 20.9 58 39 M.E.; Van Wagner, C.E. 1985. A system

1 Observations from the West Hawk Lake (1,085 ft or 331 m rn.a.l.) and Nulimik Lake(991ft Of 302 m rn.s.L] fire weather for predicting fire behavior in Canadian stations were averaged to obtain the values lor the Brereton lake area. Note; these stations are operated by Manitoba forests. In: Donoghue, Linda R.; Martin, Natural geeccrcee and located applOximately 19-miles (30 km) southeast and north of the lire area, respectively, R.E., eds. Proceedings of the eighth con­ 2 FWI System calculations began on April 21 with the following moisture-code starting values; FFMC-85, DMC-30, and DC-235. Key to acronyms: Fine Fuel Moisture COde (FFMC), Duff Moisture Code (OMC), Drought Code (DC), Inilial ference on fire and forest meteorology; Spread tndel':(1St), Buildup Index (BUll, and Fire Weather l~ (FWI). 1985 April 29-May 2~ Detroit, MI. SAF Publication 85-04. Bethesda, MD: Soci­ ety of American Foresters, 1985: 6-16. Table 2-Fire-weather and fire-danger conditions during a major fire run at the Brereton Lake Fire on May I, 1988

1700 hr fire weather observations 1 Temperature 79°F (26.0°C) Relative humidity 21% Wind SSE 19 mi/h (30 km/h) Days since rain 2 6 Adjusted Fire Weather Index System values Fire Fuel Moisture Code 91 Initial Spread Index 22.4 Fire Weather Index 42

1 Estimates were made by fire suppression personnel and substantiated with data from the AES weather stations at Kenora, 47 m! (75 km) east, 1,348 ft (411 m) m.s.t:Winnipeg, 75 miles (120 km) west, 784 ft (239 m) m.s.t: and Sprague, 56 m! (90 km) south, 1,079 ft (329 m) m.e.L ,. 2. Greater than 0.6 mm (0.02 In.). " position to make fire behavior poses such as use at post-fire observations. This was true at the boards of review and verification Brereton Lake Fire. The efforts of of the FBP System relationships. the suppression staff resulted in the Operational staff should be encour­ collection of useful data. Informa­ aged to make similar observations tion of this type serves many pur- in the future.•

48 Fire Management Notes Fire Observation Exercises-a Valuable Part of Fire Behavior Training Patricia L. Andrews and Stephen S. Sackett

With USDA Forest Service, respectively, mathematician, Intermountain Research Station, Missoula, MT, and research forester, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Riverside, CA

Fire observation exercises have However, a person cannot estimate behavior and relay data to a fire proven to be a valuable part of fire flame length to that precision. behavior analyst. A strike team behavior training at the National There are reasons other than to leader may radio the dispatch cen­ Advanced Resource Technology smell smoke and escape from the ter the observed fire behavior at Center (NARTC). The exercise waL classroom to justify the time and initial attack. The Forest Service originally developed for the S-590 expense involved in setting up a fire report form requires an esti­ (Fire Behavior Analyst) course in fire exercise. Although S-590 mate of flame length on initial 1977 and has since been used in trainees are all task force or strike attack (7)- the courses, Fire Behavior for team leader qualified, many have Fire managers are likely to be Managers and Fire and Resource not spent much time observing fire involved with recording observed Management. Trainees record behavior. There is a difference fire behavior on prescribed fires. A observations of flame length and between merely seeing fire and major duty of a monitor on a "wil­ rate of spread as the fire burns observing its behavior. Eighty-six derness fire" is to periodically across constructed 50-foot (l5-m) percent of the class of 1985 had 10 record fire behavior. Fire behavior fuelbeds (fig. I). In this article, we or more years of fire experience, observations taken on prescribed discuss the need for a fire observa­ but only 16 percent had been fires can be later correlated to fire tion exercise in fire behavior train­ observing fire behavior for 10 or effects. In addition, the associated ing courses and tell how to conduct more years. For example, an indi­ weather and fuel moisture condi­ such an exercise. vidual who had 27 years of fire tions, predicted fire behavior, and Much of fire behavior training is experience indicated that he had observed fire behavior can be used devoted to predicting fire behavior been observing fire behavior for 6 to refine prescription windows of using tables, graphs, calculators, years. Only one person indicated acceptable burning conditions (8). and computers (1,2). A live fire that he had been observing fire Program managers and line exercise provides a touch of reality behavior for his whole career. Peo­ officers are not likely to be respon­ as well as a break from classroom ple seemed to have no trouble in sible for recording fire behavior work. The computer may predict identifying the point in their career themselves. Nevertheless, the fire flame length of 4.2 feet (1.3 m). when they really started observing exercise can help them make better fire behavior. management decisions. They can better understand and interpret fire Need for Fire Observations behavior predictions. Perhaps even Fire behavior is observed by peo­ more important, they will recognize ple at various levels in the organi­ the implications of sending zation for various purposes. In untrained people to record fire behavior. ,., some cases, special equipment can be used to measure behavior Methods of developing custom (3,4,5), but often the judgment of fuel models depend on having the observer is the only means of observed fire behavior and associ­ measurement. ated weather and fuel moisture In the S-590 course, the exercise conditions (9). Fuel model parame­ has been included in the lesson ters are adjusted until predictions that instructs fire behavior analysts match observations. A person to verify predictions by comparing should have the best possible obser­ Figure I-1hrinees record observations of vations and should also recognize flame length and rate ofspread as the fire predicted and observed fire behav­ burns across a constructed logging-slash ior (6). People on the fireline are the inherent variability in those fuelbed. sometimes asked to observe fire observations.

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 49 There are reasons other than to smell smoke and escape from the classroom to justify the time and expense involved in setting up a fire exercise.

The need to record observed fire Number of Observations behavior properly became evident 20 during an evaluation of the National Fire Danger Rating Sys­ Slash tem (NFDRS) in North Carolina (10). An attempt was made to cor­ relate NFDRS indexes to observed fire behavior recorded on historical fire reports of the North Carolina Forest Service. Because the results 10 were not as expected, a survey was conducted to determine how indi­ viduals measured flame lengths. According to Williams (10), "The results showed that only 4 percent of those surveyed knew how to measure flame lengths and none of IS-foot (4.5-m) flames. Think 2 3 4 about the implications of these observations being used in a deci­ sion involving level of suppression action to be taken. We would expect less variation in in fuel. Variability within each fig­ Number of Observations the observations a second time ure is due to differences in the' 30 around. It would be ideal to have observers. these had the responsibility for fill­ Although the computer gives a Litter ing out the fire reports that this seemingly definitive prediction of study was dependent on." flame length to the nearest 0.1 foot (0.1 m), there is much variability in Example Observations from an actual flames. It is not expected 20 Exercise that everyone in the class would record the same observed value. In Figures 2 and 3 summarize some this case, most observers estimated of the flame-length observations flame length I to 2 feet (0.3 to 0.6 recorded by the 72 members of the m) in litter and 6 to 9 feet (2 to 3 10 Fire and Resource Management m) in slash. Even with the variabil­ class of 1986. These trainees came ity in observations, the difference from a variety of disciplines and in fire behavior between the two management levels, and their fire fuel types is clear. It is important experience covered a wide range. that two fuel types be included in Figure 2 is for a fire in needle lit­ the exercise. 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 ter; figure 3 is for logging slash. In To some extent, flame length is FlameLength, ft each case the observations were in the eye of the beholder. Note Figure 2-0bserved flame lengths at asin­ recorded at a single stake in the that at the same stake in the gle stake in the litter fuelbed. (From . fuelbed. Variability between figure fuelbed, three people saw 4-foot NARTe course, Fire and Resource Manage­ 2 and figure 3 is due to differences (1.2-m) flames and one person saw ment, 1986.)

50 Fire Management Notes l I I

the fires, discuss the results, look Thinning sapling stands is the at videos of the fires, and conduct easiest way to get good slash. Tops Post similar burns. of small trees provide easy han­ 5 0~ dling and pack well in the trans­ Setting up the Fire Exercise port vehicle. 1\\'0 7- by 16-foot • (2.1-'bY-4;8om) trailers with slash At NARTC, two fuelbeds are compacted to 10 feet (3 m) high used for comparison. A needle lit­ make a good 50-foot (15-m) diame­ Posts Spaced ter bed is used to represent a low­ ter slash fuelbed. Slash fuel is 10 It Apart intensity, relatively slow-moving arranged as uniformly as possible fire; a logging slash fuelbed pro­ in depth and distribution. vides a high-intensity, relatively The time between slash cutting fast-moving fire. Ponderosa pine and burning is critical. Enough has been used at NARTC for both time must be allowed for the new, the litter and slash fuelbeds, Circu­ green slash to dry. At NARTC, the lar beds are used so that wind Arizona desert environment dries Figure 4-Diagram of the juelbed used in direction is not a problem at the material in 3 to 4 winter months. the fire exercises. time of burning. Other climates would require more The litter fuelbed is relatively time, depending on the season. estimates of rate of spread. In easy to set up. Collecting clean, Once set up, the fuelbeds should order to get a line of fire moving relatively fresh needles is the diffi­ be protected against disturbance. across the fuelbed, two instructors cult part. Needle litter can be col­ At NARTC, for example, a truck begin ignition with fusees in line lected from permanent, mineral­ has been driven through the slash­ with the posts and move along the soil firelines, making it easy to rake bed; slash has been collected for edge in either direction. and bag material. Heavy duty, 4­ firewood; and a fuelbed has been The fire exercise begins with a mil plastic bags have proved satis­ burned by pranksters and by an classroom lecture that covers the factory. A more tedious and time­ untended trash fire. Fuelbeds worksheet and the information to consuming alternative is to rake should be flagged and posted to be recorded. Slides are used to fresh, top-layer needles from the warn against deliberate or acciden­ describe the estimation of flame forest floor. A 50-foot (15-m) tal disturbance. diameter fuelbed requires about A fuelbed is diagrammed in fig­ twenty, 3- by 4-foot (0.9- by 1.2-m) ure 4. Shortly before ignition, an plastic bags of needles. Needles are instructor determines wind direc­ spread by hand evenly over the cir­ tion and sets guidestakes through '! cular plot. the diameter of the fuelbeds, paral­ Constructing the slash fuelbed lel to the wind direction. One-half­ requires cutting, loading, and haul­ inch-diameter (1.3-cm) rebar stakes ing slash. A large amount of slash are placed at 10-foot (3-m) inter­ is required to build a fuelbed vals, the first about 5 feet (1.5 m) equivalent to a fuel model II or 12 from the edge. Alternating colors, (11). Slash must be hauled green painted at I-foot (0.3-m) incre­ (fresh) so that it can be packed in a ments on 6-foot (1.8-m) stakes, Figure S-Stakes painted alternate colors in I-foot (O.3-m) increments facilitate estima­ trailer or truck. If gray, brown, or aid students in estimating flame tion ojflame length. The time that tne base red slash is compacted, it will end length. Timing the fire's spread oj the flame reaches the stake is recorded up as a pile of twigs. from one stake to another provides and used to calculate rate ofspread.

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 51 length and arrival of the fire at people with little fire experience as 9. Burgan, Robert E.; Rothermel, Richard each stake. Figure 5 illustrates the well as anyone whose entire career C. 1984. BEHAVE: fire behavior predic­ relationship between flame length has been devoted to managing fire. tion and fuel modeling system-FUEL and flame height, which is meas­ subsystem. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-167. • Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agri­ ured directly by the stake. The culture, Forest Service, Intermountain arrival time at each stake is Literature Cited Forest and Range Experiment Station. recorded when the base of the 126 p. flame, rather than the flame tip, 1. Rothermel, R.C. 1983. How to predict 10. Williams, C.A. 1983. An evaluation of the spread and intensity of forest and the National Fire-Danger Rating System reaches the stake. Worksheets have range fires. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT -143. for three fuel models in North Carolina. spaces for flame length and time, Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agri­ Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State Uni­ which are recorded at each stake. culture, Forest Service. Intermountain versity; 1983. 33 p. M.S. thesis. Time lapse between stakes and rate Forest and Range Experiment Station. 11. Anderson, H.E. 1982. Aids to determin­ of spread are calculated later. 16\ p. ing fuel models. for estimating fire 2. Andrews, P.L. 1986. Methods for pre­ behavior. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-122. If the exercise is part of a course dieting fire behavior-you do have a Ogden, U'I: U.S. Department of Agri­ that emphasizes methods of fire choice. Fire Management Notes. 47(2): culture, Forest Service, Intermountain behavior prediction, as does 5-590, 6-10. Forest and Range Experiment Station. trainees should be asked to do 3. McMahon, C.K.; Adkins, C.W.; Rodg­ 2Z p. more than just record their fire ers, S.L. 1986. A video image analysis 12. Sackett. Stephen S. 1980. An instrument system for measuring fire behavior. Fire for rapid, accurate determination of fuel I behavior observations. Before the Management Notes. 47(1): 11-15. moisture content. Fire Management fire, they assign fuel models to 4. Ryan, K.C. 1981. Evaluation of a pas­ Notes. 41(2): 17-18. each fuelbed, estimating the depth sive flame-height sensor to estimate for­ of the slash. An on-site weather est fire intensity. Res. Note PNW-390. station should be provided to deter­ Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agri­ culture, Forest Service, Pacific North­ mine temperature, humidity, and west Forest and Range Experiment wind speed and direction. Fuel Station. 13 p. samples are collected and fuel 5. Blank. R.W.; Simard. A.J. 1983. An moisture determined (12). After the electronic timer for measuring spread fire, trainees calculate observed rates of wildland fires. Res. Note NC­ 304. St. Paul, MN: North Central Forest rates of spread from times between Experiment Station. 4 p. stakes. They then compute pre­ 6. Rothermel. Richard c,; Rinehart, dicted flame length and rate of George C. 1983. Field procedures for spread from fuel model, fuel mois­ verification and adjustment of fire ture, and windspeed. Observed fire behavior predictions. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-142. Ogden, UT. U.S. Department behavior is tabulated by an instruc­ of Agriculture, Forest Service, Inter­ tor and summarized in a form mounta'in Forest and Range Experiment illustrated by figures 2 and 3. The Station. 25 p. results of the fire exercise are dis­ 7. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Forest cussed the next day. Service. Forest Service Handbook 5109.14. Individual fire report hand­ book, Form FS-5100-29. Washington, Recommendations DC. 8. van Wagtendonk, Jan W.; Botti, We recommend that a live-fire Stephen J. 1984. Modeling behavior of exercise be included in fire behavior prescribed fires in Yosemite National Park. Journal of Forestry. 82(8): 479­ training courses. The exercise has 484. been shown to be worthwhile for

52 Fire Management Notes ,-

Forest Fire Simulation Video and 'oI\1\G 1lVl <4 DEPARTMENT Graphic System OF FORESTRY L.F. Southard I Chief, Information and Education, Virginia • Department ofForestry, Charlottesville, VA r It's early spring in Virginia; a The program was developed by forest fire about 10 acres (4 hal in V-Graph, Inc., of Westtown, PA, ! size is spreading from a debris­ on a request for a proposal con­ burning operation toward a small tract, using ideas suggested by the woodland development. Virginia Virginia Department of Forestry Department of Forestry personnel ~­ personnel. V-Graph, Inc., in coop­ with fire trucks and tractor­ eration with the Department of transport units arrive on the scene. Forestry, has designed and devel­ Suppression efforts have begun. oped a software package for forest Helicopter bucket drops are called fire simulation. The package also in. From the air the fire head and has applications for hazardous flanks are visible, leaving behind chemical spills, structures, and blackened char. The smoke billows plant fires. Incident Command upward and drifts northeast. The System Simulator (ICSS) software progress of the fire lines and line allows bulky and expensive projec­ firing begin to show up as the fire tion units to be replaced with a is controlled by one man sitting in PC-based system. Benefits include front of a large projection screen increased productivity and flexibil­ with only a radio. ity and the reduction of set-up time This scene could play on any from hours to minutes. The origi­ Larry Moody, forestry technician with the Virginia Department of Forestry. takes a spring day on Virginia's 15 million nal ideas for this project occurred turn at controlling a forest fire through the acres (6,070,500 hal of timberland, when Virginia Department of For­ Computerized Fire Simulation System. but it is instead being generated by estry personnel watched a graphics a computer located in one of the simulation of a forest fire on Janu­ positioned. Helicopters can actu­ Virginia Department of Forestry's ary 16, 1987, in Washington, DC. ally be flown through the scene. mobile tractor-trailer simulators. A copy of the video showing new These elements are controlled inter­ computer graphics capabilities was actively by the instructor, based on Radical Changes in the Simulator obtained and shown to the State directions given over a simulated System Forester on January 19, 1987. State radio system by the student. The Forester Garner, immediately exercise can be recorded directly For over 20 years, the Virginia approved exploring the project. On onto video tape for subsequent Department of Forestry has oper­ May 6, 1988, the system was put analysis and replay. Simulation can ated a forest fire simulator to train into operation. To move this new also be monitored in another room firefighters. The old Scot simula­ revolutionary forest fire training by another class. The simulation tor, now made by Technovate, has system from idea to operation took exercise is projected onto a large been retired in the face of newer only 16 months! screen from the rear with a video and highly portable equipment. •J Basically, the simulations are projector. I The new, complete computer sys­ created by instruction using digi­ Maynard Stoddard, Assistant I tem is also much more economical. tized terrain maps. These maps can Chief, Fire Management, in charge State Forester, Jim Garner, states, be created from slides, video tapes, of the Virginia Department of For­ "The new computer program for topographic sheets, or relief maps. estry simulator training says, training incident commanders and Various events such as fire, smoke, "Computer graphics is the answer other wildfire control specialists is so water, and fire breaks can be to many simulator problems. Now creative that only one's imagination depicted over the terrain. Vehicles we can show equipment such as will limit the system's capabilities." and equipment can be moved and fire trucks and helicopters in addi-

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 53 "Computer graphics is the answer to many simulator problems . . . we can show equipment such as fire trucks and helicopters in addition to the fire scene and fire features ... faster and with more precision."

tion to the fire scene and fire fea­ fire lines properly before these Item Number tures. and we can do it faster and overlays appear on the ICB image. IBM PC XTIAT or compatible with more precision." The monochrome monitor also dis­ MS-DOS 640KB. 20MB hard plays the program menus and selec­ drive, and 360KB drive PC How the System Works tion options. The density and size Monochrome monitor (can be of each overlay image can be built-in) The basic equipment needed to changed at any time by the opera­ External cotor monitor ICSS program with hardware key 1 run a simple simulation is an IBM­ tor. All these functions are selected Microsoft mouse or compatible unit compatible personal computer with using the mouse. Image Capture Board 2

640KB of RAM, a 20MB hard At any point during a simula­ 1 Available from V-Graph, Inc., 1275 Westtown Road, disk. and a monochrome monitor. tion, the ICB or PC image can be Box 10, Westtown, PA 19395, (215) 399-1521. 2 Available from Truevision, 7351 Shadeland Station, (We use a Compaq \I portable saved to disk without interrupting Suite 100, Indianapolis, IN 46256. computer with a built-in monitor). the session. ICB images require The following equipment is An Image Capture Board (ICB) is I02K of storage; PC images, 17K. optional: installed in the computer, and a During a simulation, the operator continuously monitors both the mouse is attached to the serial Item Number port. The Incident Command Sys­ ICB image and the PC image to be Truevision Image Processing tem Simulator (ICSS) program is assured of proper position, density, Software (TIPS) 1 loaded onto the hard disk and a and size of overlays. 35-mm slide/negative digitizer 2 color monitor is attached to the The initial ICB image can be Image display device (color monitor, output of the ICB board. created from 35mm slides or nega­ VCR, video projection unit, or The equipment is set up as tives (via a slide digitizer) or direct gg-mm Polaroid recorder) input from a video camera or video 1 Software for capturing images from video cameras or shown in the accompanying photo­ o\her composite video SOUTee. A;vai\ablelrom Truevision. graph. The color monitor displays cassette recorder. These images are Highly desirable. digitized using True Vision Image 2 "Photomaster" available from Howtek, 21 Park Avenue. the ICB image. The ICB image is Hudson, NH 03051. the initial realistic simulation scene Processing Software (TIPS) and and, as the simulation progresses, saved to disk for later use. TIPS To date, the Virginia Department smoke, fire, and other overlays are also allows the initial images to be of Forestry has three of these sys­ placed on the initial scene. During modified to create more suitable tems, two of which have replaced an actual simulation session, the scenes. For example, structures or the old Scot simulators in the ICB image is also outputted to a vegetation can be added, deleted, Department's fire simulator trail­ large color monitor or video pro­ or moved. ers. The third unit is used for train­ jector for viewing by the trainee A unique feature of the ICSS ing and can be sent ahead so that or to a video cassette recorder for program is that "window" images regional personnel can practice taping. of firefighting equipment such as using simulation equipment before The monochrome monitor dis­ pickups, transports, and pumpers the fire simulator now in use arrives. plays the PC image. This image is can be added to the lCB image. f,; a graphic representation of the ICB Aircraft can even be "flown" These two units are on the road image created by using the trace across the ICB image. constantly during the fall and win­ mode of the lCSS program. The ter months before the spring fire season. A dozen Department PC image is the working model of Equipment the ICB image. The cursor appears instructors have been trained in the on the PC image allowing the use of the new computer simulator. operator to position the overlay The equipment and number of You actually have to see the sim­ images of smoke, fire. water, and each piece required are as follows: ulation in operation to appreciate

54 Fire Management Notes the capabilities of this system. Fur­ ther details can be obtained by contacting the Department of For­ Federal Property-Fire Uae Only SUSDA • Forest Service estry, P.O. Box 3758, Charlottes­ ville, VA 22903. The Department This unit of Federal Property is under the control of the + - would be happy to arrange for visi-- -­ USDA. Forest Service and was acquired for fire tors to view the new simulator protection purposes only. It shall not be sold. traded. system.• exchanged, or otherwise disposed of without the expressed written approval of the State Forester and the USDA, Forest Service. INo. I

Identifying Federal Excess as Federal property. An approved Personal Property property identification method is required for all accountable FEPP. State Forestry agencies most com- The "honest mistake" can be pre- monly use one of two tags to iden- vented by identifying properly all tify Federal Excess Personal FEPP, other than consumable Property (FEPP) the USDA Forest items. More information is available Service has on loan to a State For- from your Cooperative Fire Protec- estry agency for use in fire protec- tion representative in the USDA tion (fig. 1). The identification Forest Service regional or area information is the same on each office.• tag, but one tag is made of plastic Francis R. Russ, property manage- and the other of aluminum. Some ment specialist, Fire and Aviation States, however, have developed Management, Forest Service, Wash- their own methods to identify FEPP ington, DC

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 55 Smoke Management Modeling in the Bureau of Land Management Allen R. Riebau and Michael L. Sestak

Air Quality Specialists, USD!, Bureau ofLand Management, Wyoming State Office, Cheyenne, WY "

For the past 2 years, the Wyo­ Forest Service has also included it, probably after some of the ming State Office (WSO) of the as a recommended procedure. in its enhancements described later in U.S. Department of the Interior's Air Resources Management Hand­ this paper are incorporated in the Bureau of Land Management book (FSH 2509.19). guide. (BLM) has been working on com­ In 1986, the WSO and the Forest puter models of smoke dispersion Service's Pacific Northwest Fire Programs from controlled burns. The initial Laboratory entered into a formal model was programed in BASIC on agreement to link the SASEM The master copy of the TSARS a Sharp handheld calculator. This model with an emissions model program is maintained on a DG model has been reprogramed and they had developed for Pacific MV/ 4000DC at the Branch of incorporated in a modeling system Northwest fuel types. This model, Biological Resources, Division of called the Tiered Smoke and Air the Emissions Production Model Lands and Renewable Resources of Resources System (TSARS). It pres­ (EPM), was linked with SASEM in the BLM Wyoming State Office in ently consists of two FORTRAN an interactive operating environ­ Cheyenne. The programs operating programs plus operating system ment named TSARS. within the TSARS system are writ­ procedure files available for IBM Because of the relative ease of ten in ANSI Standard X3.9-1978 PC compatible microcomputers using the programs and since there FORTRAN. Executable versions and Data General (DG) minicom­ are no formal requirements for its are available for DG MV and desk­ puters. This article provides infor­ use except in Wyoming, no official top generation (such as Initial mation about the current capa­ training on TSARS is currently Attack Management System bilities, limitations, and avail­ available. The programs have been (lAMS» minicomputers and IBM ability of TSARS and our plans for and will be demonstrated PC compatible microcomputers. additional development. (including hands-on sessions) at Source code is available in several several BLM and interagency fire computer readable formats for other Responsibility management courses. machines. Modification of the pro­ gram to support other operating sys­ TSARS was developed by BLM Documentation tems is primarily the responsibility personnel at the WSo. Its current of the user. However, tests should be smoke dispersion model was ini­ Because TSARS has been so made to ensure that the modified tially developed in 1985 in response recently developed, the documenta­ program system conforms in appear­ to the Wyoming Department of tion is not as comprehensive as ance and results to the master. It Environmental Quality's (WDEQ) BLM would like. Technical descrip­ would be appreciated if all such requirement that an air quality per­ tions of each of the two current modifications were reported to the mit be obtained for a prescribed models, EPM (Sandberg and Peter­ authors so a log can be kept of burn, WDEQ accepted the model, son 1984) and SASEM (Riebau et versions and machines supported. Simple Approach Smoke Estima­ aJ. 1988), are available in the open TSARS currently consists of three tion Model (SASEM), as a basis literature. A general overview and parts: an operating system interface, for determining air quality, and it user's guide (Sestak and Riebau EPM, and SASEM. is now used by Wyoming land 1989) of the SASEM component of managers for meeting the air qual­ the system is in development as a ity analysis requirements to receive BLM Technical Note (available burning permits. The BLM later soon through BLM's Denver Serv­ I All technical articles are available from the accepted it bureauwide as a means ice Center).' An overall TSARS authors. The BLM Technical Notes are of assessing smoke impact from available from the authors and also through guide for fire managers is also the National Technical Information Service prescribed burns. The USDA expected to be developed in 1990- (NTIS), Springfield, VA.

56 Fire Management Notes T,

TSARS, BLM's current smoke dispersion model, was developed in response to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality requirement that an air quality permit be obtained for a prescribed burn.

The Operating System Interface. sites such as roads, housing devel­ sented. At this point, the user can The operating system interface dif­ opments, and Clean Air Act Class either quit without doing anything, fers in actual implementation on I areas. This is intended to provide request a detailed list of the each machine. It serves to provide information for at least an initial required information to be printed, a consistent and transparent con­ assessment of visibility impacts or continue on to execute the nection to executing the model pro­ from smoke at such sites. model. Input information is grams, printing results, and storing The EPM. The EPM was devel­ requested interactively, one value at information in files. oped by the USDA Forest Service's a time. If the user does not know a SASEM. SASEM is a highly Pacific Northwest Experiment Sta­ suitable value for a variable, press­ interactive program which calcu­ tion researchers and provides a ing the RETURN key (also labeled lates particulate emission and more accurate method than those NEWLINE or ENTER on various dispersion from simplified informa­ previously used for calculating fire machines) will enter a default value tion about fuels, meteorology, and emissions, particularly for burning (also displayed on the screen). If sensitive receptor locations such as logging slash. From descriptions of the user is uncertain of the mean­ towns, highways, and national fuel loading and moisture by size­ ing of a question, entering a ques­ parks. The concentrations calcu­ class and ignition procedures, this tion mark will produce a more lated are compared with National model determines emissions of par­ detailed description of what is Ambient Air Quality Standards, ticulates, carbon monoxide, and required. After all the individual and potential violations are heat as a function of time. values have been entered, they will flagged. This model is intended for It accounts not only for the fuel­ again be displayed on the screen, use as a regulatory screening tool; size and moisture effects, but also and the user will be given the that is, the model is designed so it for the two phases (flaming and chance to make any changes is more likely that it will over smoldering) of fire development. desired (to correct typographical rather than under predict 24-hour These emissions can be combined errors Or other inconsistencies). ground-level concentrations. Thus, into total heat and particulates pro­ When the user has acknowledged if no violations are flagged by the duced and transferred to SASEM that all values are correct, the model, it is extremely unlikely any for determination of the ambient model calculations begin. As the would occur under the actual cir­ particulate concentration under model computations are completed, cumstances. If a violation is pre­ selected meteorological conditions. they are displayed on the screen, dicted by the model, minor At present, the entire executable printed, or displayed and printed changes in the fire prescription will version of the system fits comfort­ as requested by the user. The user often eliminate the problem. The ably on a single 360K IBM PC is then asked if more model runs interactive nature of this model compatible floppy disk. It will run are desired. If so, the process is makes it easy to test such changes on any such machine (if somewhat repeated. The user also has the to facilitate smoke management slowly on an IBM XT compatible option of accepting the previously planning. A more realistic model with no math coprocessor chip). entered values and going immedi­ (such as the Forest Service/BLM TSARS. All TSARS programs ately to the display where input Topographic Air Pollution Analysis have the same general structure. corrections are requested. This System (TAPAS) (Riebau et al. When a user first enters a TSARS allows for a few values to be 1986» could also be used to dem­ program, a program logo giving changed quickly and then the onstrate that the violation would the program name, version number, calculations performed repeatedly not actually occur under the ini­ and developing agency is displayed. for testing alternative fire prescrip­ tially proposed conditions. Finally, Then, after a short pause, a list uf tions. When all the desired fire the model provides a simple calcu­ the major input information simulations have been made, the lation of visual range at sensitive required by the program is pre- user can stop the program.

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 57 Upgrades ing analyses within the WSO using Literature Cited TAPAS. TAPAS is a system of A major upgrade of TSARS is interactive minicomputer! Riebau, A.R.: Fox, D.G.; and Marlatt, now in progress. This will consist mainframe-based meteorological W.E. 1987. TAPAS: Topographic Air of the addition of a ventilated val­ and dispersion models designed to Pollution Analysis System. BLM Techni­ cal Note 375. Denver, CO: U.S. Depart­ ley box model (VALBOX) for cal­ support land management activi­ ment of the Interior, Bureau of Land culation of ambient particulate ties. This system can be used to Management Service Center. 48 p. concentrations. Using a box model supplement TSARS results in com­ Riebau, A.R.; Fox, D.G.; Sestak, M.L.; approach to concentration calcula­ plex or extremely controversial Dailey, B.; and Archer, S.F. 1988. Sim­ tion instead of the flat terrain burning situations. ple approach smoke estimation model. Atmospheric Environment. 22(4): 783­ gaussian approach of SASEM will 788. allow stagnation episodes in moun­ Summary Sandberg, D.V. and Peterson, J. 1984. A tain valleys to be considered. For source strength model for prescribed the box model, emission informa­ TSARS is a set of FORTRAN fires in coniferous logging slash. In: tion will be supplied either by the programs for screening level assess­ Proceedings, 21st annual meeting of the Air Pollution Control Association, 1984 emission calculations from SASEM ment of impact on ambient particu­ November 12-14; Pittsburgh, PA. Pitts­ or EPM as desired. In addition, late concentration and visibility burgh, PA: Air Pollution Control Asso­ SASEM and EPM will be modified resulting from prescribed bums. The ciation. 10 p. to calculate particulate matter of system was developed by the BLM to Sestak, M.L. and Riebau, A.R. 1989. 10 microns or less (PM emis­ determine whether air quality in SASEM: Simple approach smoke estl­ IO mation model, BLM Technical Note. [In sions). This upgrade and a user's Wyoming is such that a permit can press]. manual covering all three compo­ be issued for a prescribed burn. It nents of the system are expected to has also been approved for agency­ be completed mid-1989. A list is wide use and is recommended in the being compiled of those currently USDA Forest Service Air Resources using TSARS and the initial Management Handbook. New fine SASEM component. Listed users particulate and visibility standards will be informed when the upgrade promulgated at the national level will is available and how to obtain it. cause State air agencies administra­ Anyone else who wishes to be tors and Federal and other fire man­ placed on this list or wishes to agers to demonstrate that they are receive a current copy of the smoke using good smoke management prac­ management programs should write tices. For more information on the to the authors. In particular, those TSARS programs, please contact: desiring an IBM PC compatible ver­ Allen R. Riebau and Michael L. sion of the program should specify Sestak, Bureau of Land Manage­ whether TSARS is to be run on an ment, Wyoming State Office, 2515 IBM XT or AT compatible system Warren Avenue, P.O. Box 1828, and send two 5 1/4-inch diskettes. Cheyenne, WY 82003. •

Additional Modeling Support

Currently, the BLM has opera­ tional capability to perform more advanced, complex terrain model-

58 Fire Management Notes -,-

Smoke from Smoldering Fires-a Road Hazard' Leonidas G. Lavdas

Research meteorologist, USDA Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Dry Branch, GA

In recent years. smoke manage­ ing periods of high as well as The fire can emit enough smoke to ment has focused increasingly on low relative humidity. reduce air quality and raise the preventing visibility hazards on Given the rudimentary state of odds of traffic accidents over a public roadways. Smoke from knowledge, there is much to be wide area for many weeks. smoldering fuels contributes to this gained by simply observing smol­ road hazard more often than other dering fires. This article summa­ Observations from a Burn Site kinds of fire for the following rizes my notes taken on an organic The site of my observations was reasons: soil fire that mayor may not be part of an extensive land clearing • The low-heat output from smol­ typical of such fires. I share these operation near Shalotte, NC, in the dering combustion produces lit­ notes in the hope that others will Coastal Plain in the southeastern tle or no plume rise, so high also share their observations. Much part of the State about 30 miles concentrations of smoke are left new information is needed about (48.3 km) west-northwest of Wil­ near the ground. smoke from smoldering fires and mington, NC. By August 12 and • Smoldering can last a long time how it appears to be influenced by 13, 1987, when my observations and may be mistakenly classed relative humidity. were made, the burn had reached as inconsequential. Smoldering in a deep layer of a fairly steady state after about • Smoldering often continues into organic soil may create the ultimate 10 days of decreasing surface­ the night when visibility is low, smoke management problem in combustion. I took no instrumen­ when atmospheric dispersion forestry. The deep layer of peat tation readings, but made numer­ usually is poor, and when the "cooks" like a gigantic charcoal ous notes from visual observations. relative humidity is often high. bed, glowing, smoldering, and. An aerial photograph from 500 feet High humidity increases the occasionally flaring. The soil seems (152 m) of one of the more active chances of producing smog, but to melt away inch by inch over a areas of the burn site is shown in the exact relationship is not period that may last for months. figure I. known. Paul, Lavdas, and Wells (1987) dis­ cuss the influence of weather on visibility in smoke more completely.

Information Needed Two of the most pressing needs for information about the effect of smoke from smoldering fires are as follows: • Predicting how much smoke will come from a fire during its entire lifetime on an hour-by­ hour basis. • Determining what effect the smoke will have on visibility dur-

1 The author thanks the North Carolina Division of Forestry fur their cooperation, particularly Dane Roten, john Sheppard. and Bill Miller for their help. Figure I-Cluster ofsmoke sources in the organic site burn.

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 59 'I, 'I

Can you help? More information will help us understand and manage the effects of smoke generated by smoldering fires.

Day 1. On the afternoon of 2). About 20 to 30 percent of the ity and a windspeed increase to August 12, the site was completely mound seemed to be actively burn­ about 15 knots. By 10 a.m., the open and burned over. Access ing. The approximate dimensions first thermal cumulus clouds roads were actually at a higher ele­ of the mound were 8 by 12 feet appeared. These increased rapidly vation than the surrounding vegeta­ (2.4 x 3.7 m). in number and size, indicating tion in the upwind direction for 2 Day 2. Just before sunrise on excellent vertical as well as horizon­ miles (3.2 km). Since the vegeta­ August 13, the appearance of tal mixing. The visibility in the tion was gone, the site was far smoke over the burn area was far smoke closely approached the windier than any forest fire weather different. A layer of smoke, haze, favorable conditions of the prior station, and more closely compara­ and fog was present within 30 feet afternoon well before the best dis­ ble to the exposure of wind sensors (9.1 m) of the ground. The layer persion conditions were estab­ at National Weather Service sta­ was particularly dense I mile (1.6 lished. In fact, the appearance of tions at airport locations. The km) north of the clump near the the smoke over the burn site as a organic soil was at least 4 feet (1.2 extensive area of combustion whole seemed to be related more m) deep, judging from the appear­ shown in figure I. Only within a closely to the amount of dew ance along access ditches. Whitish few feet of the clump did any of remaining on the top of a parked smoke rose from several isolated the smoke have a convective vehicle than to any other phenom­ spots into a clear, well-ventilated appearance, but even this smoke ena noted. The humidity when the atmosphere. One specific source of stayed close to the ground in a last of the dew evaporated was smoke was a mound of burning fairly steady wind of about 6 probably about 85 percent. The soil underneath a clump of live knots. This windspeed created smoke from the clump maintained pocosin located 20 to 25 feet (6 to unusually good dispersion for sum­ its convective appearance through­ 7.6 m) upwind of the road (figure mer nighttime hours in eastern out the morning. As conditions North Carolina. At Wilmington, dried and the wind increased, the NC, windspeed was 7 knots. There smoke lifted to a height of 12 to 18 was much dew; the Wilmington feet (3.7 to 5.5 m) as it traveled relative humidity was 93 percent, across the 30-foot (9.I-m) wide but locally, based on the presence road. Much of the smoke was con­ of a heavy dew, it was probably at centrated in sail-shaped wedges or very near 100 percent. We about a road's width apart. White remained at the burn site for most smoke predominated when wind­ of the morning. speeds were relatively light, but Visibility through the smoke rap­ brown smoke appeared in puffs as idly improved at and just after sun­ the wind picked up. Bill Miller of rise as the humidity dropped to the the North Carolina Division of high 80's. The sun was partially Forestry noted that this effect of hidden behind a deck of clouds for windspeed on smoke color is typi­ the first 90 minutes after sunrise, cal of organic soil smoke. so warming and drying occurred We flew over the burn site at 500 slowly at first. After the sky feet (152.4 m) around noon. The cleared, warming and drying in smoke plume from the clump direct sunlight was more rapid; the (barely visible in figure 2) was visi­ improvement in visibility continued ble by eye for 1/4 mile (0.33 km) Figure 2-A clump ofpocosin (within the during this time but seemed less downwind. There was a similar circle) smolders near a road. dramatic despite the lower humid- clump 3/8 mile (0.6 km) to the

60 Fire Management Notes "

gory out of seven described by Lavdas (1986). National Weather Service obser­ vations at Wilmington, NC, (table I) were similar to conditions at the burn site. The wind directions and speeds estimated by watching and timing smoke movement were in very close agreement. The only sig­ nificant difference is that Wilming­ ton had more extensive cloud cover during the first few hours after sunrise on August 13. As a result, warming and drying at the burn site was more rapid. By 11:00 a.m., the temperature and humidity at the burn site were probably close to those reported in Wilmington for 2:00 p.m.

Impressions Figure 3-A newly ignited land-clearing burn near the organic soil burn site. The conclusions that can be northwest that emitted a bit more cates that the atmosphere's ability drawn from these very limited smoke. The source of smoke I mile to disperse smoke was within the observations are as follows: (1.6 km) to the north of the clump best or at least next to best cate- • Visibility in smoke can be appre- turned out to be a cluster of indi- Table 1-National Weather Service observations, Wilmington, NC, at Bshour intervals vidual sources (shown in fig. I) that appeared to emit at least 25 Date Sky Ceiling Relative Wind Wind times as much smoke as the clump. (Aug. Hour cover height Visibility Temperature humidity direction speed 1987) (EDT) (10ths) (ft) (mi) (oF) (percent) (degrees) (kn) This smoke was visible for 2 to 2.5 miles (3.2 to 4 km) downwind and 12 z a.rn. 5 Unlimited 10 73 87 050 8 12 5 a.m. 5 Unlimited 10 72 79 020 8 probably accounted for 60 to 80 12 8 a.m. 10 9,000 7 73 87 010 12 percent of the total smoke emitted 12 11 a.m. 5 Unlimited 7 82 74 010 11 from the burn site. An idea of the 12 2 p.m." 9 25,000 7 86 61 050 8 effect of the atmosphere on an 12 5 p.m. 6 12,000 12 85 63 080 12 050 7 active fire and its smoke column 12 8 p.m. 10 5,500 10 76 88 12 11 p.m. 5 Unlimited 15 75 87 040 7 '. may be gained from examining fig- 13 2 a.m, 0 Unlimited 15 72 90 040 7 ure 3, which shows a nearby land 13 5 a.m.' 4 Unlimited 12 71 93 040 7 clearing fire ignited less than I 13 8 a.m." 9 9,000 12 73 87 040 7 hour previous to the photograph 13 11 a.m." 7 4,500 10 80 69 040 6 a.rn." 3,300 B4 61 070 15 time. The smoke columns indicated 13 2 9 10 13 5 p.m. 5 Unlimited 10 83 61 080 13 an unstable atmosphere with mod- 13 8 p.m. 7 25,000 15 79 67 080 12 erately strong winds which veer 13 11 p.m. 0 Unlimited 15 73 82 030 8

about 25° with height. This indi- o Oenotes observations closest to the times of the notes at the fire sire,

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 61 i'

ciably lower when the relative Lee Lavdas Literature Cited humidity is near 100 percent Research Meteorologist than when it is around 80 per­ Southeastern Forest Experiment Lavdas, Leonidas G. 1986. An atmospheric cent, even though the wind is Station dispersion index for prescribed burning. too strong for fog formation. Route I, Box 182A Res. Pap. SE-256. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Serv­ • A smoke source that looks Dry Branch, GA 31020 ice, Southeastern Forest Experiment Sta­ unimpressive during the day can (912) 744-0252 or tion. 33 p. be a traffic hazard at night, par­ FTS 238-0204 • Paul, James T.; Lavdas, Leonidas G.; Wells, ticularly when relative humidity Wesley. 1987. Use of general weather and is high. dispersion index to minimize the impact of smoke on highway visibility. Georgia • Hygrometers, dew sensors, or Forest Res. Pap. 69. Atlanta GA: Georgia similar instruments that can Forestry Commission, Research Division. directly or indirectly monitor 9 p. atmospheric moisture could be useful in monitoring the risk of low visibility in smoke . • Although too few data are avail­ able to predict the exact visibility in smoke during high relative humidity, the potential for greatly reduced visibility appears to begin when the relative humidity reaches about 85 percent.

An Appeal for More Information

Data are too scarce to justify recommendations, but the safety hazards of smoke in high relative humidity are real. We need a store­ house of knowledge that includes results from test fires and the qual­ itative observations of experienced firefighters. I therefore would like very much to hear from people who have made (or wish to make) such observations on the effects of .' smoldering fires on visibility, par­ ticularly at high relative humidities. A complete copy of my notes taken at the organic burn site is also available. Those interested in my notes or in sharing their observa­ Packing water from base camp for uno/her L'ampnearer fire line where willer was nOI available ru tions should contact: Turner Mountain Fire. Kootenai National Forest (KD. Swan, 1940).

62 Fire Management Notes r, I

Author Index-Volume 49

"

Andrews, Patricia L.; Carroll, Frank; Glen, John Mason; Estimating slope for predicting fire "So, ya wanna make a movie?" The Florida Division of Forestry behavior. 49(2):10-12. helicopter program. 49(3):16-18. 49(2):6-7. Chaffee, Rod; Francis Mohr; Bailey, Dan w.; Contracted fire detection Greene, J.P.; NFPA to establish wildland fire services-a savings. Wildland fire engine standards. section. 49(4):27-29. 49(4):13. 49(1):30-31. Corn, Troy; Haines, Donald A.; Benedict, Gene; Wildland Interagency Engine: a Downbursts and wildland fires: a New McCall smokejumper base pilot program. dangerous combination. dedication planned. 49(3):28-29. 49(3):8-10. 49(2):33. Croft, Harry; Harbour, r.c., Jr.; Bethea, John M.; Model for workforce diversity. Leadership strategies for incident Role of social science in the 49(1):29. management teams. urban/wildland complex. 49(1):10-12. 49(1):22-24. Deeming, John E.; Fire-danger rating: the next 20 Hirsch, Kelvin G.; Brandel, Kimberly; Mike Rogers; years. An overview of the 1987 Wallace Gordon Reinhart; 49(4):3-8. Lake Fire, Manitoba. Fire management in Israel. 49(2):26-27. 49(3):34-37. Dipert, Duane; John R. Warren; Mapping fires with the FIRE Hunter, John E.; Brandel, Kimberly A.; MOUSE TRAP. Prescribed burning for cultural The National Fire Management 49(2):28-30. resources. Analysis System: flexible tool. 49(2):8-9. 49(1):26-28. Dzuranin, Dan; McCall smokejumper base Knowlton, Linda; Burgan, Robert E.; Ronald A. dedication. Teaching old dogs new tricks. Susott; 49(4):16-17. 49(4):18-20. Correcting an error in the HP-7IB fire behavior CROM. Freyer, Don c., Latham, Don J.; 49(2):31-32. The Georgia Rural Fire Defense Artificial intelligence applications program. to fire. Burns, John R., Jr.; 49(3):22-23. 49(2):3-5. <,' Georgia's fire simulator. 49(3):12-13. Fuchs, Fred A.; Lunsford, Jim; Fire protection project in China. Wilderness fire management in Burzynski, Roberta M.; 49(3):3-7. Region 8. Celebrating research 49(1):3-7. accomplishments at the Forest Fire Gagen, Michael H.; Laboratory. Wyoming engine strike teams. 49(2):25. 49(1):25.

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 63 Martin, George G.; Riley, Douglas J.; Weeden, Paul J.; Fuel treatment assessment-1985 Know thy neighbor-the key to Fourth international forest fire season in Region 8. unified command. firefighting COurse. 49(4):21-24. 49(1):8-9. 49(3):32-33.

Martini, William B.; Schlobohm, Paul; Ron Rochna; Whitson, James B.; Let's stop fighting forest fires. An evaluation of foam as a fire Interagency regional training 49(3):38-39. suppressant. groups. 49(2):16-20. 49(3):14-15. Miller, James; Railroad fire prevention course. Sibayan, Emilio R.; Wilson, Jack E; 49(3):19-20. Communications cooperation: The wings of fire. wildland fire agencies in the 49(1):18-21. Paul James T.; Robert C. Northwest. Thatcher; 49(4):14-15. A new approach to fire research in the South. Smith, Linda; Bonnee Thrner; 49(1):16-17. Fire is the tie that binds. 49(1):13-15. Peterson, Janice L.; Using NFDRS-predicted !OOO-hour Stoddard, Maynard; fuel moisture as a daily Celebrity wildfire prevention. management tool. 49(3):11. 49(4):9-12. Terrill, Ken; Greg Krumbach; Quintilio, Dennis; Peter 1. Murphy; South Dakota strike teams help Paul M. Woodard; fight California fires. Production guidelines for initial 49(2):21-22. attack hotspotting. 49(3):24-27. Terry, Bill; Building a command post that is Reinhardt, Elizabeth D.; Kevin C. mobile. Ryan; 49(2):13-15. How to estimate tree mortality resulting from underburning. Terry, Bill; 49(4):30-36. Texas big country fire puts ICS to the test. Rouse, Cary; Donna Paananen; 49(4):38-40. A quick method to determine Northeastern woody fuel weights. Trask, Art; 49(2):23-24. Helicopter foam system. 49(4):25-26.

64 Fire Management Notes I I' Subject Index-Volume 49

Aviation NFPA to establish wildland fire Communications cooperation: section. wildland fire agencies in the The Florida Division of Forestry Dan W. Bailey. Northwest. helicopter program. 49(1):30-31. Emilio R. Sibayan. John MasonG]erl. _ 49(4):14-15. 49(1):6-7. South Dakota striketeams help fight California fires. Equipment and Computer Systems Helicopter foam system. Ken Terrill and Greg Krumbach. Art Trask. 49(2):21-22. The wings of fire. 49(4):25-26. Jack F. Wilson. Interagency regional training 49(1):18-21. The wings of fire. groups. Jack F. Wilson. James B. Whitson. Wyoming engine strike teams. 49(1):18-21. 49(3):14-15. Michael H. Gagen. 49(1):25. Cooperation The Georgia Rural Fire Defense program. The National Fire Management Fire protection project in China. Don C. Freyer. Analysis System: flexible tool. Fred A. Fuchs. 49(3):22-23. Kimberly A. Brandel. 49(3):3-7. 49(1):26-28. Wildland Interagency Engine: a Know thy neighbor-the key to pilot program. Artificial intelligence applications unified command. Troy Corn. to fire. Douglas J. Riley. 49(3):28-29. Don J. Latham. 49(1):8-9. 49(2):3-5. Fourth international forest Fire is the tie that binds. firefighting course. The Florida Division of Forestry Linda Smith and Bonnee Turner, Paul J. Weeden. helicopter program. 49(1):13-15. 49(3):32-33. John Mason Glen. 49(2):6-7. A new approach to fire research in Fire management in Israel. the South. Kimberly Brandel, Mike Rogers, Building a command post that is James T. Paul and Robert C. and Gordon Reinhart. mobile. j, Thatcher. 49(3):34-37. Bill Terry. 49(1):16-17. 49(2):13-15. Let's stop fighting forest fires. Wyoming engine strike teams. William B. Martini. An evaluation of foam as a fire Michael H. Gagen. 49(3):38-39. suppressant. 49(1):25. Paul Schlobohm and Ron Wildland fire engine standards. Rochna. Model for workforce diversity. J.P. Greene. 49(2):16-20. Harry Croft. 49(4):13. 49(1):29.

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 65 il

•

South Dakota strike teams help Teaching old dogs new tricks. Prescribed burning for cultural fight California fires. Linda Knowlton. resources. Ken Terrill and Greg Krumbach. 49(4):18-20. John E. Hunter. 49(2):21-22. 49(2):8-9. Helicopter foam system. Mapping fires with the FIRE Art Trask. A quick method to determine MOUSETRAP. 49(4):25-26. Northeastern woody fuel. Duane Dipert and John R. Cary Rouse and Donna Warren. Fire Behavior Paananen. 49(2):28-30. 49(2):23-24. A New Approach to fire research Correcting an error in the HP-71B in the South. Estimating slope for predicting fire fire behavior CRaM. James T. Paul and Robert C. behavior. Robert E. Burgan and Ronald A. Thatcher. Patricia L. Andrews. Susott. 49(1):16-17. 49(3):16-18. 49(2):31-32. Downbursts and wildland fires: a Production guidelines for initial Georgia '8 fire simulator. dangerous combination. attack hotspotting. John R. Burns, Jr. Donald A. Haines. Dennis Quintilio, Peter J. 49(3):12-13. 49(3):8-10. Murphy, and Paul M. Woodard. 49(3):24-27. Railroad fire prevention course. Estimating slope for predicting fire James Miller. behavior. Fuel treatment assessment-1985 49(3):19-20. Patricia L. Andrews. fire season in Region 8. 49(3):16-18. George G. Martin. The Georgia Rural Fire Defense 49(4):21-24. program. Fire-danger rating: the next 20 Don C. Freyer. years. How to estimate tree mortality 49(3):22-23. John E. Deeming. resulting from underburning. 49(4):3-8. Elizabeth D. Reinhardt and Wildland Interagency Engine: a Kevin C. Ryan. pilot program. Using NFDRS-predicted lOoo-hour 49(4):30-36. Troy Corn. fuel moisture as a daily 49(3):28-29. management tool. General Fire Management '1 Janice L. Peterson. Wildland fire engine standards. 49(4):9-13. Wilderness fire management in J.P. Greene. Region 8. 49(4):13. Fuels Jim Lunsford. 49(1):3-7. Communications cooperation: Wilderness fire management in wildland fire agencies in the Region 8. Role of social science in the Northwest. Jim Lunsford. urban/wildland complex. Emilio R. Sibayan. 49(1):3-7. John M. Bethea. 49(4):14-15. 49(1):22-24.

66 Fire Management Noles r

Model for workforce diversity. Downbursts and wildland fires: a The National Fire Management Harry Croft. dangerous combination. Analysis System: flexible tool. 49(1):29. Donald A. Haines. Kimberly A. Brandel. 49(3):8-10. 49(1):26-28. NFPA to establish wildland fire section. McCall smokejurnper base "So, ya wanna make a movie?" Dan W. Bailey. dedication. Frank Carroll. 49(1):30-31. Dan Dzuranin. 49(2):10-12. 49(4):16-17. Artificial intelligence applications Building a command post that is to fire. Teaching old dogs new tricks. mobile. Don J. Latham. Linda Knowlton. Bill Terry. 49(2):3-5. 49(4):18-20. 49(2):13-15.

Prescribed burning for cultural Contracted fire detection A quick method to determine resources. services-a savings. Northeastern woody fuel weights. John E. Hunter. Rod Chaffee and Francis Mohr. Cary Rouse and Donna 49(2):8-9. 49(4):27-29. Paananen. 49(2):23-24. Celebrating research How to estimate tree mortality accomplishments at the Forest Fire resulting from underburning. Celebrating research Laboratory. Elizabeth D. Reinhardt and accomplishments at the Forest Fire Roberta M. Burzynski. Kevin e. Ryan. Laboratory. 49(2):25. 49(4):30-36. Roberta M. Burzynski. 49(2):25. An overview of the 1987 Wallace Presuppression Lake Fire, Manitoba. New McCall smokejumper base Kelvin Hirsch. Know thy neighbor-the key to dedication planned. 49(2):26-27. unified command. Gene Benedict. Douglas J. Riley. 49(2):33. Correcting an error in the HP-71B 49(1):8-9. fire behavior CROM. Celebrity wildfire prevention. Robert E. Burgan and Ronald A. Leadership strategies for incident Maynard Stoddard. Susott, management teams. 49(3):II. 49(2):31-32. T.e. Harbour, Jr. 49(1):10-12. Railroad fire prevention course. New McCall smokejumper base James Miller. dedication planned. Role of social science in the 49(3):19-20. Gene Benedict. urban/wildland complex. 49(2):33. John M. Bethea. Fire management in Israel. 49(1):22-24. Kimberly Brandel, Mike Rogers Fire protection project in China. and Gordon Reinhart. Fred A. Fuchs. 49(3):34-37. 49(3):3-7.

1989 Volume 50, Number 1 67

.i. ~.

I,

'~, <

McCall smokejumper base Mapping fires with the FIRE Fourth international forest dedication. MOUSE TRAP. firefighting course. Dan Dzuranin, Duane Dipert and John R. Paul J. Weeden. 49(4):16-17. Warren. 49(3):32-33. 49(2):28-30. Fuel treatment assessment-1985 Let's stop fighting forest fires. fire season in Region 8. Production guidelines for initial William B. Martini. George G. Martin. attack hotspotting. 49(3):38-39. 49(4):21-24. Dennis Quintilio, Peter J. Murphy, and Paul M. Woodard. Texas big country fire puts ICS to Contracted fire detection 49(3):24-27. the test. services-a savings. Bill Terry. Rod Chaffee and Francis Mohr. Fire-danger rating: the next 20 49(4):38-40. 49(4):27-29. years. John E. Deeming. Prevention 49(4):3-8.

Georgia's fire simulator. Using NFDRS-predicted lOW-hour John R. Burns, Jr. fuel moisture as a daily 49(3):12-13. management tool. Janice L. Peterson. Celebrity wildfire prevention. 49(4):9-12. Maynard Stoddard. 49(3):II. Training

Texas big country fire puts ICS to Leadership strategies for incident the test. management teams. Bill Terry, T.C. Harbour, Jr. 49(4):38-40. 49(1):13-15.

Suppression Fire is the tie that binds. Linda Smith and Bonnee Thrner. An overview of the 1987 Wallace 49(1):13-15. Lake Fire, Manitoba. ;, Kelvin Hirsch. "SOt ya wanna make a movie?" : 49(2):26-27. Frank Carroll. 49(2): I0-12. An evaluation of foam as a fire suppressant. Interagency regional training Paul Schlobohm and Ron groups. Rochna. James B. Whitson. 49(2):16-20. 49(3):14-15.

68 Fire Management Notes )

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___ subscription(s) to FIRE MANAGEMENT NOTES for $5.00 each per year domestic, $6.25 per year foreign

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1989 Volume 50, Number 1 '1: I

1

~ ,I'1 I, ~ I f, I I I - I 0£emem&er.:... Only you can . f 1, I. "UVINt t6l1S1 fIllS! . • U. 'i, o.~"'M '" A;'kvtl",.. tI'I9lAm> INSUI'I'Ol1 0. IT\!. I s.,.~ '~Y" FO~m" FI~[ I F... cn I'IAIION·WIDt: COOPU.-.IIV[ PIIEVl:NfION CA""""'IGN Sf"" Forest 5"'i'" :, ,. ,__'':'''''...... , ,...o·~'" -----

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