Where Do We Go from Here?

Fall 2020 ▲ Vol. 9 Issue 3 ▲ Produced and distributed quarterly by the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center Where Do We Go From Here? By Bre Orcasitas 020. What a doozie, huh? What started out in the beginning as a global pandemic 2 actually turned into something much more than that. Somewhere along the way the year 2020 turned into its own thing. A span of time that feels akin to spending 12 rounds in the ring with Muhammad Ali all while having your hands tied behind your back. Yes, the year 2020 seems to “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.” Highlighting the universal hardships of 2020 is important because it added overarching complexities and layers of stress for all of us while we were just trying to do our jobs, which was challenging in and of itself due to the pandemic. What made it challenging? Let’s take a brief look in the rearview mirror. For many of our folks “fire season” 2020 began way back in the winter, with a constant cycle of firefighters headed to the Southern Hemisphere to work in Australia. (Doesn’t that seem like a million years ago?) Once the pandemic gripped our nation, trainings were canceled, work capacity tests were waived, technology swooped into every fire program, crews desperately attempted to train their folks from a distance while still ensuring that they were physically prepared to fight fire. A firefighter on the 2020 Williams Fork Fire in Colorado. Photo by Kari Greer. There was also a mad scramble to find and purchase PPE. Telework was now the rule rather than the exception, protocols were developed then altered and tweaked seemingly every Also in this Issue other day at every level of the organization as people started to figure out what works and what doesn’t; all before we even Ground Truths: Smug and Satisfied….Page 2 made it to June. One of Our Own: Logistics Section Chief Stu Rodeffer….Page 5 [Continued on Page 3] ‘The Quicksand of Complacency’ by Peter M. Leschak….Page 10 Your Feedback….Page 12 akin to spending 12 rounds in the ring with Muhammad Ali all Ground By Travis Dotson Fire Management Specialist Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center Truths [email protected] Smug and Satisfied Smug (adjective): Having or showing an excessive pride in What does this word conjure up for you? The aftermath of oneself or one’s achievements. a breakfast MRE? Your last performance eval? How you feel about your current level of physical fitness or the state What does this brief descriptor make you think of? The of the Union? Likely not. politician you despise? The neighbor’s dog after a visit to your lawn? Your last hunting photo? As a descriptor of us fire junkies, the word “satisfied” is missing an “un” (just like the word “couth”). We want Pride is good. We all need to be proud of the work we do more. More resources, more support, more influence. and most of us should be proud of the work we do. (A More challenges, more insight, more growth. More, more, handful of us need to strive for work worthy of pride, but I more. Like most things, more is good . in moderation. In don’t think those folks are reading this.) Pride is not bad— this context, as it relates to individual and collective excessive pride is. performance, satisfied is not an attitude we embrace. Hmmm, where is that sneaky line demarcating And here we are, the point where I make my point. “excessive”? Maybe it’s one of those “you know it when you see it” type deals. The problem is, you are not likely to Don’t be smug. Don’t be satisfied. see it in yourself. Others will notice Be grateful. Be humble. Get long before you do. Do you have the better. capacity to pick up on the clues I say all of this standing in the rubble indicating you have crossed the We are not “a special breed” invisible line? Check yourself against of 2020. We have done hard things or uniquely tough or deserving the ideal. of anything extra—especially not a cape. Falling down the What is the “ideal”? together. We should be proud—but not hero hole will halt your “Quiet professional” is a term that smug or satisfied. growth. We are humans doing gets used in our business. I have hard things together. Together literally heard people loudly is where the power comes proclaim to be a “quiet from—mission first. professional”. That is funny. And sad. Just as we must be vigilant at the individual level, we must I think a true quiet professional is bad ass. Maybe also be weary of the smug and satisfied trap at the someday I’ll shut up and be good at something. (#goals) organizational level. Some of us feign individual humility while flaunting shameless bravado in our group identity. So, can one operate as a quiet professional AND be smug? Organizational contentment and excessive pride can just as Well, part of what makes a true quiet professional is easily poison a team of any size at any level. Do not contribute humility. Humility and excessive pride cannot occupy the to this. same space. Hence, the answer is NO, one cannot be smug and bad ass. On the “Are You a Quiet Professional?” quiz I say all of this standing in the rubble of 2020. We have (which exists only in your heart) smugness is an auto-fail. done hard things together. We should be proud—but not smug or satisfied. As we reflect on this past year, we must It’s in our doctrine: accept that the next roll is right around the corner. Let’s “Be Humble – Always allow for the possibility of orient ourselves for growth. improvement.” – Learning in The Wildland Fire Service. “To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to Moving on to our next word. restore it, and to render it more fit for its prime function Satisfied (adjective): Contented; pleased. of looking forward.” – Margaret Fairless Barber Eyes Forward, Toolswingers. 2 [Continued from Page 1] Needless to say, folks were already feeling fatigued as the western fire season was just starting to pick up steam. Once we actually got into the height of fire season it was all about “Module as One”, staying away from ICP, learning that the COVID protocols for every county/state health department are different and adjusting accordingly, using COVID screening questions and thermometers and pulse- oximeters with regularity, navigating challenges regarding pay when firefighters ended up in quarantine or isolation, finding ways to maintain some semblance of hygiene in the field, figuring out remote Check-in and Demob as well as dealing with virtual CTRs and learning what a FOB (Forward Operating Base) is and is not. Beyond new implementations, this year also left us with heavy hearts, as the fire community was hit especially hard by the loss of nine of our aviators in the line of duty among others in the greater fire community. There were entrapments and shelter deployments, militia-guarded fires, several COVID Mitigations – Incident personnel wear protective face masks and adhere to social distancing on the 2020 Williams Fork Fire in Colorado. Photo by Kari Greer. communities were lost, and we had our formal introduction to the first “Gigafire.” What else? Let’s see, lightning struck a fence and ended up burning down a fire camp and the bubonic plague even managed to make a guest appearance in Colorado. Seriously. 2020 is in a league all its own. Much has been thrown our way, and much has been endured. Distillation Distilling things down, the pandemic provided a general disheveling of our It is entirely possible to be an expert in standard operating procedures. It hasn’t been all good and it hasn’t been all bad. adaptability while also being completely But good or bad, some of our entrenched habits surfaced due to the circumstances we found ourselves in. They are now worth taking a harder look at. averse to change. This is the fire So let’s dive in, shall we? community in a nutshell. We are Built to Organize Chaos Our workforce thrives in dynamic and ever-evolving work environments, mainly because our work environment is dynamic and ever evolving. Luckily, utilizing the ICS system is second nature and we collectively excel when given the direction to “just make it work.” Essentially, we had solid experience in dealing with mayhem prior to the pandemic coming along. Aren’t we so lucky? However, even with a solid starting point, times were tough. Something that really ate our lunch was that we couldn’t rely on all our tried and true SOPs. We quickly realized that much of the playbook we have turned to for so long had become obsolete overnight. Good thing we are built to organize chaos! I mean, the fire community is nothing if not adaptive, right? Right. We can shift plans and innovate our way out of just about any sticky situation. But here’s the funny thing about being adaptive. It is entirely possible to be an expert in adaptability while also being completely averse to change. This is the fire community in a nutshell. We’ve always done it this way. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. This is our tradition! In this regard, we are truly at odds with ourselves. Yes, we are adaptive and will flex our tactics in a millisecond to make it work when we are in the midst of an escalating incident.

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