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Fire Management Today Is Published by the Forest Service of the U.S Fire today ManagementVolume 75 • No. 2 • 2017 RIM FIRE EFFECTS ON RESTORED AREAS BUDWORM EFFECTS AND WILDFIRE YOU WILL NOT STAND ALONE AND MORE … United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Follow us at <https://twitter.com/forestservice> or <http://bi.ly/1kl3Dhz>. USDA Forest Service Like us at <http://on.fb.me/1zN6OQq>. Fire Management Today is published by the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC. The Secretary of Agriculture has determined that the publication of this periodical is necessary in the transaction of the public business as required by law of this Department. Fire Management Today is available on the world wide web at <http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/fmt/index.html>. Sonny Perdue, Secretary Kaari Carpenter, General Manager U.S. Department of Agriculture Hutch Brown, Editor Tony Tooke, Chief Forest Service Shawna A. Legarza, Psy.D., Director Fire and Aviation Management In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at <http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html> and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. December 2017 Trade Names (FMT) The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement of any product or service by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Individual authors are responsible for the technical accuracy of the material presented in Fire Management Today. Fire Management today Volume 75 • No. 2 • 2017 On the Cover: CONTENTS Anchor Point Thank You, Team! ............................................................4 Shawna Legarza, Psy.D. Rim Fire Severity in Forests With Relatively Restored Frequent Fire Regimes ....................................5 Jamie M. Lydersen, Malcolm P. North, and Brandon M. Collins Western Spruce Budworm and Wildfire: Is There a Connection? ..............................................................12 Daniel G. Gavin, Aquila Flower, Greg M. Cohn, Russell A. Parsons, and Emily K. Heyerdahl Coping With Tragedy: You Will Not Stand Alone ................17 Kristel Johnson Rim Fire in 2013, with the smoke plume in the background and Lake Eleanor in the foreground, taken Unplanned Wildfire in Areas With Slash Piles ...................25 from the south shore. The area across Alexander M. Evans and Clinton S. Wright the lake burned later that day. Photo: Jamie Lydersen, Forest Service. Prescribed Fire Training Center Surpasses 1 Million Acres ..........................................................30 Joseph P. Ferguson and Greg Seamon Insurance and Wildfire Mitigation: What Do We Know? ................................................................33 James R. Meldrum, Chris Barth, Patricia A. Champ, Hannah Brenkert- The USDA Forest Service’s Fire and Aviation Smith, Lilia Falk, and Travis Warziniack Management Staff has adopted a logo reflecting three central principles of wildland fire management: Contracting Without Getting Burned ................................39 • Innovation: We will respect and value Ed Delaney thinking minds, voices, and thoughts of those that challenge the status quo while focusing on the greater good. Interagency Partnership Mitigates Wildfire Risk in Georgia .................................................................42 • Execution: We will do what we say we will do. Achieving program objectives, Holly Krake, Mike Ward, and Mike Davis improving diversity, and accomplishing targets are essential to our credibility. Becoming Authentic: The Heart of Leadership in • Discipline: What we do, we will do well. Wildland Fire Management .........................................45 Fiscal, managerial, and operational discipline are at the core of our ability to Alexis Waldron and Mike Alarid fulfill our mission. Six Minutes for Safety ...................................................49 Ten Fire Orders and Eighteen Watchout Situations ............50 Guidelines for Contributors .............................................51 Firefighter and public safety is our first priority. Volume 75 • No. 2 • 2017 3 By Shawna A. Legarza, Psy.D. Anchor Director, Fire and Aviation Management Point USDA Forest Service THANK YOU, TEAM! n retrospect, I want to say thank We had a busy 2017 fire season; we up the chain, down the chain, and you for your service during the made good decisions and worked across the chain. Ask questions if I2017 fire season! Thanks for all well together with our cooperators. you are unsure, ask for feedback, your dedication and hard work While every fire is unique and every and offer clarity and respect to all. throughout the year! fire season has its challenges, I am 3. Self-leadership—Continue to reminded each day working in this take good care of yourself so you job of the value of our employees can lead others. Self-leadership who work diligently day in and is you leading yourself through day out protecting our natural both challenging times and resources and serving the public. successful times. Self-leadership As we work through the 2018 fire is understanding yourself and season, I encourage all of you to knowing when you need to take continue to lead in your respective time out, get clarity, and live in areas, learn about new challenges, the present. and really take time out for yourself when you need it. I am honored to be your national director of Fire and Aviation My leader’s intent for 2018 is: Management, and I look forward to our continued success in many 1. Engaged leadership—Continue challenging areas. to be an engaged leader in whatever area you work in. Continue to learn, Please take good care! ■ Shawna A. Legarza, Psy.D., Director, Fire rise to challenges, and be a leader. and Aviation Management, Forest Service 2. The alignment of communication—Help provide the most accurate communication Fire Management Today 4 RIM FIRE SEVERITY IN FORESTS WITH RELATIVELY RESTORED FREQUENT FIRE REGIMES* Jamie M. Lydersen, Malcolm P. North, and Brandon M. Collins orests that evolved under the influence of frequent low- Contemporary forests with restored fire regimes Fseverity fire have undergone dramatic change following a should burn with a lower proportion of high- century of fire suppression, severity fire under most wildfire conditions. including a buildup of surface fuels; greater density of small, shade-tolerant trees; and a loss of Research in Relatively spatial heterogeneity (Lydersen Restored Forests Under a frequent low-severity fire and others 2013; Parsons and regime, forests are characterized Debenedetti 1979; Scholl and Restoration of forests with altered spatially by diverse sizes of tree Taylor 2010). Following these structure due to a history of fire clumps interspersed with forest changes, a greater proportion of suppression is of high interest gaps and widely spaced single the fires in low- and mid-elevation to managers and stakeholders trees (Larson and Churchill forests are burning with high of Sierra Nevada forests (North 2012; Show and Kotok 1924). severity than they did historically, 2012). Since the late 1960s, This heterogeneity was likely and high-severity fires are burning following the recognition of fire as the product of an intact fire larger patch sizes in these forests an important ecosystem process, regime that allowed fires to than before (Mallek and others Yosemite National Park has made burn under a range of weather 2013). These uncharacteristically use of prescribed and wildland fires and fuel conditions (Skinner large and severe wildfires have burning under moderate weather and Taylor 2006). In addition to significant impacts on sensitive conditions to meet management creating and maintaining spatial wildlife habitat (North and others objectives (Stephens and Ruth heterogeneity, repeated fire in 2010), air quality (Fowler 2003), 2005; van Wagtendonk 2007). This these forests maintains a lower and greenhouse gas concentrations has resulted
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