Fire Management today Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006
SAFETY FIRST!
United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service After many years of editing Fire Management Today, I am leaving the journal.
I first worked on the journal in 1994, when it was undergoing a facelift by Editor Donna Paananen and General Manager April Baily. In that year, it went from a black-and-white version to the current full-color design. The editorial style had earlier been honed by Editor Doris Celarier, working with General Manager Fran Russ.
When I took over as editor in 1998, I tried to bring a fresh focus on my own areas of keenest interest: wildland fire ecology, policy, and history. I am grateful to General Manager April Baily for her full support. I enjoyed working on the journal, but other Forest Service assignments now take up more of my time, so I’m moving on.
The new managing editor, Paul Keller, is a former firefighter and pro fessional journalist. A new general manager, Melissa Frey, has also recently come aboard. I am sure that Melissa and Paul will make an outstanding team.
–Hutch Brown
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 required by law of this Department.
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Mike Johanns, Secretary Melissa Frey U.S. Department of Agriculture General Manager
Dale Bosworth, Chief Paul Keller Forest Service Managing Editor
Tom Harbour, Director Madelyn Dillon Fire and Aviation Management Editor
Mike Apicello Issue Coordinator
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Disclaimer: 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 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006
On the Cover: CONTENTS Safety: From Staff Rides to Fireline Fitness ...... 4 Mike Apicello The First Pulaski Conference A First Step Toward Improved Fireline Safety and Efficiency...... 6 Paul Keller Why We Need Doctrine Now ...... 7 Ed Hollenshead Thirty-Thousand Firefighters Entrusting You to This Enormous Task. . 9 Tom Harbour Saving a hot helispot. In a typical wild- land firefighter whir of action and Pulaski Conference Chronology ...... 10 commotion and flame, the Superintendent of the Stanislaus Interagency Hotshots points out a Putting the Pulaski Conference in Perspective ...... 13 Jack Kirkendall heads-up to his fellow members of the Eldorado Interagency Hotshots—as Where Do We Go From Here? ...... 14 everyone hustles to save their helispot from the approaching Codfish Fire on Chief of Forest Service Endorses Fire Suppression Doctrine...... 15 the Tahoe National Forest. These peo Moving Toward a Learning Culture ...... 17 ple whom our country depends upon Paul Keller to engage with wildland fire—to work inside the ever capricious wildland fire Staff Ride to the Battle of Little Bighorn and Mann Gulch Fire...... 21 environment—must constantly heed Lori Messenger safety on various vital levels. For a dis Improved Decision Support for Proactive Wildland Fire Management . . 25 cussion of safety issues that confront Tom Wordell and Rick Ochoa firefighters and wildland fire manage ment today, see the articles beginning Portals: Key to Safety Awareness ...... 29 on page 4. Photo: Keith Redington, Paul Chamberlin Eldorado Interagency Hotshots, 2003. A National Fitness Regimen Would Benefit Firefighter Safety and Effectiveness ...... 30 The USDA Forest Service’s Fire and Paul Keller Aviation Management Staff has adopted a logo reflecting three central principles of Wanted: A Standardized Firefighter Fitness Program...... 32 wildland fire management: Bequi Livingston • Innovation: We will respect and value Rappel Academy Wins Award for Excellence...... 33 thinking minds, voices, and thoughts of Paul Keller those that challenge the status quo while focusing on the greater good. Integrating Social Science Into Forestry in the • Execution: We will do what we say we Wildland/Urban Interface ...... 35 will do. Achieving program objectives, Jeffrey J. Brooks, Hannah Brenkert, Judy E. Serby, Joseph G. Champ, improving diversity, and accomplishing Tony Simons, and Daniel R. Williams targets are essential to our credibility. Wildfire Monitoring Using Wireless Sensor Networks ...... 44 • Discipline: What we do, we will do well. David M. Doolin and Nicholas Sitar Fiscal, managerial, and operational dis cipline are at the core of our ability to fulfill our mission. SHORT FEATURES Machine Provides Access to Wetlands ...... 48 Gerald Vickers Websites on Fire ...... 8 Guidelines for Contributors ...... 50 Firefighter and public safety is our first priority. Annual Photo Contest ...... Inside Back Cover
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 3 SAFETY: FROM STAFF RIDES TO FIRELINE FITNESS
Mike Apicello
lthough the overall theme of this issue of Fire Management A Today is “safety,” for the most part, our authors are really address ing the collective consequences and outcomes that have emerged as safety issues during the last dozen fire seasons.
Many of the challenges facing our country’s wildland fire grounds today can be attributed to the over all changed forest and range condi tions that have emerged during this period. The lessons of tens of thou sands of wildfires during this time—when aggregated into what are clearly more complex and com plicated landscapes and fuel arrangements—must be acknowl edged and remembered.
Through this issue’s diversity of safety-themed articles—from staff rides, lessons learned, predictive services, and even fireline fitness— we have tried to bring the reader a broad and informative view of these important wildland fire topics. For, if there was ever a time to be more mindful of field conditions and their relationship to negative con sequences or “bad outcomes” on wildland fires, it is now.
As many of the articles in this issue reveal, we must therefore:
• Evolve new fire suppression doctrine,
Mike Apicello, coordinator for this special “safety” issue of Fire Management Today, is the public affairs officer for the USDA Forest Service, Fire and Aviation Management, Washington Office, National Safety first. The Black Mountain 2 Fire on the Lolo National Forest the night this wild- Interagency Fire Center, Boise, ID. land fire blew up. Photo by Kari Greer, National Interagency Fire Center contractor, 2003.
Fire Management Today 4 • Incorporate new reality-based first Pulaski Conference and the It is evidentially clear that the training scenarios, and need to evolve basic firefighter tac return to basics—complimented • Increase the overall collective tical and strategic templates. This with using new methods of train intelligence carrying capacity of important conference explored how ing, role playing, after action our wildland fireline leaders and we can entwine simpler philoso reports, and simply sharing lessons program managers. phies that will allow for decision- from the past—will eventually making and leadership to attain bring us to a higher level of con Some of our authors share infor their highest levels. sciousness in wildland fire safety mation and thoughts about this and professionalism. ■
Sign of the times. Firefighter observes extreme fire behavior on the Paradise Fire in Valley Center, CA. Photo by Keith Redington, Eldorado Interagency Hotshots, 2003.
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 5 A FIRST STEP TOWARD IMPROVED FIRELINE SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY
Paul Keller
pression,” says Hollenshead, who Director of Fire and Aviation “This is the beginning of served as the conference’s incident Management for the Forest a new culture.” commander. Service’s Washington Office, Washington, DC, explain the “This doctrine is foundational, not agency’s central dilemma that hat’s how Ed Hollenshead, fire operational,” he explains. “It is not prompted the need for this confer operations safety officer for the yet the finished product, but rather ence. Jack Kirkendall, fire manage T USDA Forest Service at the the base upon which the finalized ment officer for the Bitterroot National Interagency Fire Center in foundational doctrine will rest.” National Forest, Hamilton, MT, Boise, ID, gauges the potential helps put this unique conference impact of the first Pulaski The conference’s attendees included and its outcomes in perspective. Conference. wildland fire professionals from every Forest Service region—tech A chronological summary also pro Held in Alta, UT, the second week nicians, program managers, line vides an inside peek into how con in June 2005, the Pulaski officers, two regional foresters, ference participants took this first Conference was designed to research station employees—as significant step toward a framework “assemble foundational doctrine well as safety and occupational of wildland fire suppression founda upon which the Forest Service will health professionals. tional doctrine. accomplish its mission in fire sup- In this safety themed issue of Fire Doctrine aimed directly at improv ■ Paul Keller is the managing editor of Fire Management Today, articles by ing fireline safety and efficiency. Management Today. Hollenshead and Tom Harbour,
Brainstorming. Pulaski Conference attendees quickly learn that the pace must be fast and the hours long to accomplish their landmark objectives. Photo: Gary C. Chancey, USDA Forest Service, Black Hills National Forest, Custer, SD, 2005.
Fire Management Today 6 WHY WE NEED DOCTRINE NOW
Ed Hollenshead
n the last several years, the USDA Forest Service has come under Without clearly articulated doctrinal principles in I enormous scrutiny in the per wildland fire suppression, the agency has no formance of its wildland fire sup consistent basis for its actions or responses. pression mission. Fire and aviation operations safety, fire suppression expenditures, and accountability for • “Success” and “failure” are meas ment, or the lack of critical deci decisions and procedures have all ured by the absence or occur sionmaking skills are seldom evalu been brought into question. rence of bad outcomes, and ated. They may go unnoticed for • Personal performance is gauged years—until they result in a bad Responses have largely been tacti by one’s adherence to—or devia outcome. cal, without clear anchoring to well tion from—rules rather than by understood foundational principles, the behaviors and judgment used Through the illumination of clear, or doctrine. This unfortunate to accomplish the task. shared, and unambiguous doctrine: approach has contributed to layers of prescriptive policies that have Current Risk to Agency • Decisions and actions will be con only added to the confusion and The current risk to the agency is nected with the overall mission frustration felt among the members that improper behaviors, poor judg- and will contribute to inter- and of the wildland firefighting work force.
Without clearly articulated doctrinal Two Key Terms principles in wildland fire suppres Doctrine the subjective, dynamic parts of sion, the agency has no consistent the mission that rely on interpre basis for its actions or responses. Without clear doctrine, policies and principles are viewed as inter tation, judgment, and agility. changeable. They are not. Without Clear Doctrine Policy The intent of agency responses to Doctrine is the body of principles, Policy is the body of rules that fireline tragedies has always been to the foundation of judgment, deci guide the objective parts of the correct operational error in fireline sionmaking, and behaviors that mission. Policy serves as the decisionmaking, leadership, and guides the actions of the organiza structure used to put doctrinal fire operations oversight. But bad tion and describes the environ principles into action. outcomes still occurred. Agency ment in which they are taken. leadership, in turn, became pro Policy does not require, nor does gressively more frustrated. Doctrine is developed from the it benefit from, interpretation or legal and ethical mandate of the discretion. When so designed, Without clear doctrine: organization and the intent of its policies (rules) are supportive of senior leaders. effective and safe mission accom • Performance expectations and plishment. The core operating sys accountability are rule-defined, Rules cover those things that sen tem of any organization requires a ior leadership identifies as too solid, integrated framework of Ed Hollenshead is the fire operations safety important to leave to judgment. doctrine and policy operating in officer for the USDA Forest Service, Fire tandem. and Aviation Management, Washington Doctrine, on the other hand, pro Office, National Interagency Fire Center, vides guidance for dealing with Boise, ID.
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 7 intra-program–agency integra The current risk to the agency is that improper tion and coordination; behaviors, poor judgment, or the lack of critical • Communication will be consis tent and comprehensive and mul decisionmaking skills are seldom evaluated. tiple interpretations of purposes, needs, and desired outcomes will context of decisionmaking rather tion, and litigation will be well be eliminated; than confine the decisionmaker; established; and • The value of policy to accom • Decision authority, responsibility, • Firefighters and fireline leaders plishing the mission will be and freedom to act will be pre will be provided with an unam enhanced; cisely defined; biguous means to evaluate risk • Policy—when developed as • The foundation upon which the versus gain to avoid both risk expressions of guiding princi agency establishes consistency in aversion and recklessness. ■ ples—will serve to define the its response to criticism, arbitra
WEBSITES ON FIRE* FIREHouse managers, decisionmakers, scien- FIREHouse is a collaboration The Northwest and Alaska Fire tists, students, and communities among the: Research Clearinghouse who want access to the results of • Fire and Environmental (FIREHouse) is a Web-based proj this group’s efforts in understand- Research Applications Team of ect that provides data and docu ing and managing fire and fuels on the USDA Forest Service Pacific mentation on fire science and public lands. FIREHouse also offers Northwest Research Station, technology relevant to Alaska, server space and Web and database • Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. support for researchers who choose Laboratory, to post their primary data on • University of Washington, The project’s goal is to provide FIREHouse. • National Park Service, and “one-stop shopping” for resource • The U.S. Geological Survey FIREHouse currently provides National Biological Information online access to: Infrastructure. * Occasionally, Fire Management Today briefly describes Websites brought to our attention by the • Project and tool descriptions, wildland fire community. Readers should not con- contact information, and links; Found at strue the description of these sites as in any way exhaustive or as an official endorsement by the • Online publications;
Fire Management Today 8 THIRTY-THOUSAND FIREFIGHTERS ENTRUSTING YOU TO THIS ENORMOUS TASK*
Tom Harbour
ou are here to build a better future. You are entrusted to Fire suppression duties Y accomplish tasks that will today are performed in change the way we think and act in a political, cultural, and our wildland fire suppression duties. physical environment that is more challenging Today and into the future, these than ever before. duties are performed with our interagency partners in a political, of men and women—skilled and cultural, and physical environment experienced in the application of that is more challenging than ever doctrine and policy—to make deci before. Today, the expectations of sions in a dynamic, high-risk, high- our performance and scrutiny of consequence environment. our actions are extraordinary. Thirty-thousand firefighters are You at this conference have been Commander’s Intent. Tom Harbour opens entrusting you to this enormous given an opportunity to set in the Pulaski Conference with strong words task. We must give these men and motion a series of events that will of encouragement. Photo: Gary C. women the skills and tools to be lead us to develop firefighters and Chancey, USDA Forest Service, Black Hills National Forest, Custer, SD, 2005. successful. ■ leaders—who match the infinite variability of the fires we face— with a sense of initiative, creativity, Renewing the Morale of Firefighters and accountability. “I believe this development of doctrine is crucial to renewing the morale You will begin to outline a system of firefighters. Governance of behavior by checklists has taken the heart that demands adherence to devel out of what used to be a most rewarding career—firefighting.” opment of an understanding of –Pulaski Conference participant “how” to think, not “what” to think. You will lay out how we “Tom [Harbour], thanks for the guts to try. This takes a lot of courage.” “think” about fire suppression. To –Pulaski Conference participant succeed, we must develop a core operating system that relies on a “This is the biggest thing I’ve been involved with since ‘Safety First.’ solid, integrated framework of both This has that same kind of energy. We’ve got a big laundry list here . . . doctrine and policy. But it’s just a piece of paper right now. Unless we get buy-off, it’ll just stay a piece of paper.” Rules alone never ensure success. –Pulaski Conference participant Our success depends on the ability “It’s not very often you get a chance to influence policy—especially Tom Harbour is the Director of Fire and something so auspicious and so important. This is the beginning of the Aviation Management, USDA Forest Service, beginning. This will show our people in the field that we really do Washington Office, Washington, DC. care—that we listen. Yes, this is an excellent beginning.” * Based on opening remarks made by the author at the –Pulaski Conference participant first Pulaski Conference, June 5–10, 2005, in Alta, UT.
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 9 PULASKI CONFERENCE CHRONOLOGY
First Day – everyone and provides a highly Sunday, June 5, 2005 Holed Up motivational and well-received “Commander’s Intent” address that Ed Hollenshead, fire operations Workshop participants agreed outlines his guidance to, and expec safety officer for the USDA Forest that the secluded, no-distraction tations for, the Pulaski Conference. Service and conference incident accommodations helped the first commander, welcomes the Pulaski Pulaski Conference’s overall suc A vigorous brainstorming session, Conference participants. He cess. illuminating concerns and issues to explains why their nametags are generate potential ideas for doc first names only. “Your identity is The event was held in a (previ trine, is facilitated by Mike based on your contribution—not ously closed) ski lodge in Alta, DeGrosky and Faye Fentiman. your rank.” UT. All meals were served there. From more than 70 individual-sug gested doctrine ideas, seven general A subject-matter expert in the For 6 days, there were no televi areas of doctrine are formed: development and use of doctrine, sions. No radios. No newspapers. Mark Smith of Mission-Centered No rental cars. No cell phones • Operations, Solutions, Inc., explains the con were allowed. • Defining the environment, cept and purpose of “doctrine.” His • Leadership and accountability, presentation includes how doctrine A winterlike snowstorm raged • Risk and risk management, fits with our legal mandate and pol for most of the week. On the • Mission, icy and how this week’s efforts fit final day, when the finalized, • Roles, and into the larger scheme of things. future-aimed doctrine was hand • Cost management. ed to Tom Harbour, the blue sky Hollenshead explains: and sun returned. Ground Rules “You are here to make clearly artic Participants dive into a “30-Minute ulated, commonly understood doc Mission.” Facilitated by Fentiman, trine—foundational doctrine— Your identity is based on each of the participants chooses upon which we can build our oper your contribution—not which of the seven doctrine teams ational doctrine. your rank. he or she will join. They may not be on the same team with people “We want you to move freely out whom they work with daily. A mini side the box. By the end of the day names, no job titles, no home units mum of three regions must be rep Wednesday, we will have gathered are voiced. As they stand up to resented on each team. Teams Forest Service foundational doc share their motivation—often should have a minimum of four trine. On Thursday you will pro heartfelt passion—for being a part and maximum of eight team mem duce a statement and develop clear of this concerted, perhaps mile bers. guidance on how each part of the stone effort, a fierce, sustained doctrine will be used.” upcanyon Wasatch Range wind Conference participants form into symbolically rattles the Pulaski the seven teams. Even though they Second Day – Conference windows. will be working separately in these Monday, June 6 individual groups, ample opportu nity will be provided throughout Participants introduce themselves National Director of Fire and the week for collaborative by first names only. They briefly Aviation Management Tom interteam contributions and discus answer: What’s your motivation for Harbour—who acknowledges this sion. being here? (See sidebar.) No last metaphorical wind—welcomes
Fire Management Today 10 Participant Introductions – “What’s your motivation for being here?” On Wildfire Fatalities make decisions in the heat of bat- Miscellaneous “I’m tired of talking to the family tle. In the fire environment we have “We have drifted. What really is members of deceased firefighters. created, people don’t have time to our focus? This is an opportunity Hopefully we can do something think.” to address this and set a course about that starting this week.” for the future.” “When I heard about the idea for “I had to deal with nine deaths in this conference, I said: ‘Finally!’ I “I’m here after working in fire 1994. I never want to do that abhor the rule-based, fear-based, operations for several years. It again.” nonthinking approach that we’ve seems like this week is a platform developed into.” for positive change. I want to be a “I’m here for Devin, Jessica, part of that.” Karen, and Tom.”* “This is a new beginning. We need to get back to a commonsense “I’m here to empower the GS-3 On the Current Rule- approach—rather than simply line digger to be accountable for Based Suppression checking a rule book.” his or her own personal safety. Emphasis Sense of duty is a personal Addressing the Fear responsibility. In high-risk man “This is timely—if not overdue. of Liability agement, we start by empowering We are experiencing an increased “Many people now believe it’s not the guy on the ground.” preoccupation with people trying worth the risk to be an IC 3 [type 3 to not do wrong—rather than incident commander] anymore. I “This change is much needed. It’s doing what’s right. I hope we can want to remove that barrier.” been talked about in the field for a turn that around.” number of years. Management is “Four-hundred fire leaders met at a finally listening. It reminds me of “I believe that fire suppression is a conference last year in Reno. The one of General Patton’s quotes: ‘If fundamental and critical part of top issue was liability, rules, and everybody’s thinking the same— the Forest Service. We have got to checklists. There was a fear of not somebody’s not thinking.’” unshackle and free up the checking off the box correctly. This Incident Command System to is leading to good people leaving “I’m here for our troopers on the the fire organization. And to people ground.” not wanting to be type 3 ICs. We * The firefighters who perished on the 2001 need to do something about this Thirtymile Fire: Devin Weaver, Jessica Johnson, Karen FitzPatrick, and Tom Craven. fear of liability.”
No easy task. For three long days, members of the seven doctrine teams work all day and into the night. Photo: Gary C. Chancey, USDA Forest Service, Black Hills National Forest, Custer, SD, 2005.
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 11 The seven doctrine work groups Fifth Day – Conference participants have an depart for their individually Thursday, June 9 opportunity to address Harbour assigned work areas. Completely with their comments. This feedback All seven teams submit their doc self-managed, they are on their own includes: trine texts to the production team, for the next 2 days to devise, gener which will compile everything into ate, and create their work inde “I want to thank you, Tom, for put a single doctrine package report to pendently. They are provided a vari ting this exceptional ‘pulaski’ in be presented to Fire and Aviation ety of publications and reference my hand to go forth and chop Management Director Tom materials. Facilitators and confer away at what we know will be a Harbour on the following morning. ence staff are always available to very tough but good fight. The fire give assistance and answer ques fighters on the ground are going to Conference participants reform into tions. see the value of this pulaski. And three new groups to develop: they’re going to pick this tool up All seven doctrine groups work into and they’re going to go ahead and • An action plan for developing the night. anchor line. Continuing this operational doctrine in coopera metaphor, you have a large respon tion with agency partners. Third Day – sibility to sharpen this tool and Tuesday, June 7 take it forth to our government, to The work groups continue develop “When you get this Capitol Hill. And that’s where I’m ing their doctrine areas. afraid you’re going to end up with much intelligence and some ‘underslung line.’ I’m hopeful Besides robust dialoging among passion in a room— that you can avoid the pitfalls and themselves, throughout the day and good things happen.” don’t get too many ‘rollers’ and ‘spots.’ I thank you from the bot night, groups also visit with one –Faye Fentiman, management tom of my heart.” another to explore ideas and to consultant–facilitator challenge each other’s thinking. –Pulaski Conference participant “I came here to tell the story on Once again, all seven of these doc • A system and process for estab trine groups work into the night. behalf of the passion of the 45 inci lishing relationships between dent management team members doctrinal elements linking to Fourth Day – who I’ve interviewed the last 6 vision, mission, training, and months. I saw fear in those inter Wednesday, June 9 operations. views; I saw frustration; I saw Throughout the morning, work • A doctrinal review process for dwindling hope. I heard comments shop participants continue shaping developing and maintaining an like ‘we’re cut to the bone on try their doctrine in the individual infrastructure and organization ing to contain cost—we can’t cut work groups. At 1 p.m., the doc to coordinate and maintain doc anymore.’ I’ve heard about the trine teams all meet together. Each trine. rules that constrain these people to group has 15 minutes to present a the point that they were choking. summary of its proposed doctrine. Sixth Day – And my heart bled for them. I Via an immediate straw poll feed Friday, June 10 promised them that I would tell back system, doctrine teams are The completed Wildland Fire their story. I came here this week matched with people who have fol Suppression: Foundational for the sole purpose of doing that. lowup constructive comments. Doctrine report is handed to Fire And I saw the renewed hope this and Aviation Management Director week. And I think that’s so impor Teams return to their individual Tom Harbour. A 15-minute video tant. Because if we don’t have workplaces to make revisions and presentation produced during the hope—we can’t continue. Tom and further hone their foundational week that summarizes and captures Ed, I admire your courage. And I doctrine. Their completed, final the essence of the Pulaski ask you to go forth and to face the doctrine is due by 8 a.m., on the Conference receives a standing ova tough times in this political cli following morning. Once again, the tion. mate.” doctrine teams work into the night. –Pulaski Conference participant ■
Fire Management Today 12 PUTTING THE PULASKI CONFERENCE IN PERSPECTIVE
Jack Kirkendall
he first Pulaski Conference’s Fire Suppression: Foundational The need for this effort and resulting foundational T Doctrine represents contribu doctrine could not be more timely. tions from a wide array of fire man agement and agency administrator experience and leadership levels. • Decisionmaking and thinking Rules dictate specific courses of processes, and action regardless of conditions or At this unique conference, rank was • The appropriate levels of leader the situation. Rules are less adapt not a factor in: ship and responsibility for all able as future changes in mission actions—or lack of action—up and the fire environment occur. • Driving the process of analyzing and down the line. They are specific must do’s and our current approach to fireline can’t do’s. Sound familiar? decisionmaking, More recently, the aftermath of the • Examining our current rule set Cramer incident, actions by Fundamental Decision for implementing and monitoring Congress, and the still ongoing Framework decisions and actions on the fire- motions surrounding the The doctrine that was created at ground, or the Pulaski Conference expresses a • The development of the founda high degree of reliance on the indi tional doctrine. To allow our efforts and vidual and on the resilience of the the product to languish organization that supports the indi All who participated in the Pulaski vidual. This doctrine is based on Conference expressed a strong would be a fatal flaw in common principles. It is designed desire to ensure that the final prod the process. to provide a fundamental decision uct touched all levels of our agency. framework and action-oriented concepts that will guide our activi Recognized Need Thirtymile Fire have all heightened everyone’s concern over what is ties into the future. One needs to The need for this effort and result appropriate and what isn’t. read the Pulaski Conference doc ing foundational doctrine could not trine with this in mind. be more timely. As far back as the Beyond Rule Set first Human Factors Workshop in It was recognized by all who partic What is doctrine and how does it 1995 and the 1998 TriData-Phase ipated in this conference that to differ from our current rule set? III Wildland Firefighter Awareness allow our efforts and product to Study, there has been a recognized languish would be a fatal flaw in Doctrine is the expression of the need to reshape our approach to the process of changing the way fundamental framework, concepts, fireline actions and firefighter safe we think and do business. There is and principles that guide the plan ty in a way that takes into account still much work that needs to be ning and conduct of operations. It and recognizes: done, including coordination with is authoritative, but flexible. our partners in the wildland fire Doctrine is definitive in order to community and the development guide specific operations, yet adapt of more specific operational doc Jack Kirkendall is the fire management able enough to address diverse and officer for the USDA Forest Service, trine. ■ Bitterroot National Forest, Hamilton, MT. varied situations—like the fire He participated in the Pulaski Conference. environment.
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 13 WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
wo weeks after the first Pulaski step into the possible future of our than ever before. It continues to Conference, its proposed Fire wildland fire suppression program.” change at an unprecedented pace. T Suppression: Foundational Our future is stormy; our case is Doctrine publication was presented At present, no one can know what new. We must discard the old para to the USDA Forest Service’s the future holds. Hollenshead digms and move ahead.” ■ National Leadership Team. The informs us that perhaps Steve team’s members immediately Holdsambeck, fire operations safety Important Updates understood and embraced the officer for the USDA Forest premise. Service’s Intermountain Region, In January 2006, two important Ogden, UT, best sums up the cur Pulaski Conference updates “Most importantly,” says Ed rent situation: occurred. The foundational doc Hollenshead, Pulaski Conference trine that evolved from the first incident commander and national “There are those among us who say Pulaski Conference was adopted fire operations safety officer for the the change to principle-driven fire by the Chief of the Forest USDA Forest Service at the suppression is too great, the pace Service (see story on following National Interagency Fire Center in too quick. Whether caution or page). Rotor and Wing, the sec Boise, ID, “this significant concep timidity drives them, they must be ond Pulaski Conference that tual foundation has been launched assured our fight is for the future. focused on forming aviation doc for consideration—and adoption. The environment in which we do trine, was held in Skamania, WA This, alone, represents one huge this job is fundamentally different (see story on page 16).
Change agents. The Pulaski Conference participants launched a significant conceptual foundation that represents a potential huge step into the future of wildland fire suppression. Photo: Gary C. Chancey, USDA Forest Service, Black Hills National Forest, Custer, SD, 2005.
Fire Management Today 14 CHIEF OF FOREST SERVICE ENDORSES FIRE SUPPRESSION DOCTRINE
Dale N. Bosworth
leadership and will seek to establish (Editor’s Note: In approving the fire suppression foundational doctrine innovative processes to review and that evolved from the first Pulaski Conference, on January 26, 2006, measure their performance. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth sent the following announcement to all of the agency’s regional foresters, station directors, area director, International Institute of Tropical Forestry director, and Washington Beyond Fire Suppression Office staff.) Many of the doctrinal principles go beyond fire suppression. They are relevant to everything we do. In ver the last several months, we making this decision, I am there have been discussing a philoso Implementing this fore committing us to move toward O phy of managing fire suppres approach to our work a point where we anchor our sion called “doctrine,” which focus will take time; it will be actions and decisions to a well- es on the foundational principles understood doctrine. that will guide our fire suppression an ongoing process. activities. Implementing this approach to our I am accepting the principles work will take time. It will be an Our discussions have revealed enclosed with this letter as forming ongoing process. We are not aban much about who we are as an the foundational doctrine for fire doning our current policies, proce agency and what we are about. To suppression in the Forest Service. dures, and measures of success. one degree or another, we have all Externally, we are reaching out to They will not be changed until Fire struggled with the concept of prin our partners and others affected by and Aviation Management has com ciples-driven decisionmaking; our this decision to explain the doctrine pleted the review and the Forest values as an agency have been chal and its meaning. Service Manual is revised. In the lenged. However, our discussions meantime, we can seek to under have provided an opportunity that Our Fire and Aviation Management stand what this doctrinal approach we cannot afford to ignore. program will also start work with means and begin to behave accord our partners to develop an ingly. “By announcing his acceptance “Interagency Operational Doctrine” of this fire suppression doctrine, designed to guide application of the Those who have wrestled with the Chief Dale Bosworth has foundational principles on the fire- implementation and use of doctrine launched an unprecedented line. Internally, Fire and Aviation have discovered three key areas transformation of the Forest Management will begin review and that are necessary for adopting it. Service to an organization driven modification of fire management by mission-centered principles.” policies to meet the intent of the 1. Understanding the Doctrine. foundational principles. We need to understand the doc - Ed Hollenshead, fire operations trine concept as a whole, as well safety officer for the Forest Service at Fire and Aviation Management will as the pieces of doctrine we will the National Interagency Fire Center develop over time. in Boise, ID. Hollenshead served as also begin work with other staff incident commander at the first areas to modify policies associated Understanding begins with Pulaski Conference held in May 2005 with these principles that affect ser Forest Service leadership. I plan in Alta, UT. vicewide operations. Furthermore, to bring our leaders together to Fire and Aviation Management will develop our understanding and embark on a review of current train to arrive at a consensus as to what doctrine is and what it is Dale Bosworth is the Chief of the USDA ing to create new approaches to Forest Service. developing our firefighters and fire supposed to do. We will then
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 15 engage the entire workforce in Aviation Management Doctrine Developed at serious study and tough debate Second Pulaski Conference as part of a healthy living doctri The Rotor and Wing Conference, nal environment. the second in the Pulaski Conference series, was held 2. Validating the Doctrine. We January 22–27, 2006 in Skamania, need to validate the doctrine and WA, to develop doctrine aimed at anchor it to our mission and our aviation management. work. We need a doctrine that is sufficiently flexible yet wholly The conference’s intent: “to applicable to everything we do. assemble doctrine, validate policy, We should constantly reassess its Rotor and Wing. The second Pulaski and display tactics that will begin relevance in view of advances in Conference, held in January 2006, an intellectual and operational knowledge and technology, focused on creating aviation doctrine. renaissance focused on risk man Photo: Gary C. Chancey, USDA Forest changes in national objectives, agement and effectiveness in our Service, Black Hills National Forest, and innovative thinking. Custer, SD, 2006. USDA Forest Service aviation mis Through the way we are organ sion.” ized, we can keep our doctrine attend the conference. They devel fresh and legitimate. oped their proposed aviation doc- Just as with the 2005 Pulaski trine based around: Conference, the Rotor and Wing’s 3. Implementing the Doctrine. final 24-page report of proposed Without implementation, the • Defining the Operational aviation foundational doctrine will doctrine is wholly worthless. The Environment; now be presented to the National general direction provided by • Mission, Operations, and Roles; Leadership Team for endorsement. doctrine should be converted • Leadership and Accountability; into specific directives and trans • Aviation Risk and Risk Each Forest Service Region nomi- lated into concrete action. We Management; nated from six to eight individu need to develop the means to • Training, Qualifications, and als—from senior aviators to synthesize the many elements of Education; and ground flight personnel—to doctrine into something that • Relationships and Partnerships. works. We need to provide cen- tralized direction for the imple mentation processes to ensure I know that this effort is unprece that the procedures themselves I am entirely confident dented and that many of the risks reflect our doctrinal principles— the Forest Service is up are unknown. But I am convinced that they agree, that they to the task. it is the correct path. It is an excit embrace our cooperative rela ing journey, and I am entirely con tionships, and that they address fident the Forest Service is up to ■ the full spectrum of our work— Exciting Journey the task. both for today and for what we anticipate for tomorrow. We Operating within this system need new approaches to training requires that leaders at all levels The complete text of the that emphasize the things that provide clear, unambiguous intent Foundational Doctrine: Guiding will make our workforce capable and that we then release a trained Fire Suppression in the USDA of accepting the responsibility of and capable workforce to exercise Forest Service—that evolved discretionary decisionmaking. its judgment in meeting that from the first Pulaski We need to amend our view of intent. This will not lead to anar Conference and has been accept accountability and measures of chy. There will still be rules that— ed by the Chief of the Forest success to reflect not only out in tandem with guiding princi Service—is available at
Fire Management Today 16 MOVING TOWARD A LEARNING CULTURE
Paul Keller
oes our wildland fire organiza tion have a defined learning D agenda? Does it avoid repeated mistakes? When its key people leave, does it lose critical knowl edge? And does this organization act upon what it knows? “A lesson is truly What Is a “Learning So, just who’s keeping tabs on the learned when we modify Organization?” important answers to such vital our behavior to reflect According to David Garvin, questions? Who is tasked with the what we now know.” Harvard Business School profes hefty chore of providing a central sor and author of Learning in ized knowledge and learning base for –Paula Nasiatka, Center Manager, Action (Garvin 2000), a “learning this country’s extensive community Wildland Fire Lessons Learned organization” is skilled in creat of interagency wildland fire organi Center. ing, acquiring, interpreting, zations? Whom do we count on to transferring, and retaining ensure that our wildland fire com knowledge. In addition, this sub munity continually moves forward as 1. The interagency wildland fire ject-matter expert says that a a true learning organization? community is broad and diverse, “learning organization” purpose involving hundreds of wildland fully modifies its behavior to Meet the Wildland Fire Lessons fire organizations at various field reflect new knowledge and Learned Center. and management levels. insights. 2. The Wildland Firefighter Safety Main Objectives Awareness Study (TriData), com Garvin has been providing guid “Our main objectives are to pleted in the aftermath of the ance to the wildland fire commu improve safe work performance, 1994 South Canyon Fire fatali nity in organizational learning— expand organizational learning, ties, recommended that the wild- mainly through the Wildland share knowledge, and promote land fire community create a Fire Lessons Learned Center— organizational change,” says center program where lessons learned for the past 2 years. manager Paula Nasiatka, a former could be shared extensively with National Park Service Chief Ranger wildland fire professionals. smarter, and is continuously with two decades of interagency 3. The reengineering plan for the improving. Six critical tasks con wildland fire experience. “For the National Advanced Fire and tribute to this developmental wildland fire community to suc Resource Institute, also based in process: cessfully and safely perform its mis Tucson, recommended incorpo sions, it needs to be a learning rating “lessons learned” and 1. Collect intelligence about the organization.” “best practices” into the fire training curriculum. environment, 2. Learn from the best practices of She explains that three primary other organizations, drivers facilitated the need for this Center’s Goal 3. Learn from our own experiences vital interagency resource, estab The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned and past history, lished in Tucson, AZ, in 2002: Center’s goal is to help the wildland fire community become a true 4. Experiment with new approach learning organization by developing es, Paul Keller is the managing editor of Fire a learning culture that works safer, 5. Encourage systematic problem Management Today. solving, and
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 17 6. Transfer knowledge throughout The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center the organization. enables wildland fire professionals to improve their By acquiring, interpreting, transfer- networks and enhance their skills. ring, and retaining wildland fire knowledge, positive organizational The value of the center’s activities The three areas that the wildland change will take place as we act on to community leaders is becoming fire community needs to focus on what we know, Nasiatka notes. Her apparent as these projects align to improve organizational learning center works with both formal and with their organizations’ goals and are: informal parts of the wildland fire priorities. “A strong word-of-mouth community by: reputation is emerging that the 1. Adopting a culture of continuous Wildland Fire Lessons Learned organizational learning, • Cultivating positive relationships Center supports and enables fire 2. Focusing effort on the entire with recognized institutions in professionals to improve their net wildland fire profession, and the wildland fire community; works and enhance their skills,” 3. Expanding the pockets of learn • Demonstrating the center’s value Nasiakta reports. ing to the entire community. as a venue for organized problem solving and as a resource for “Before the wildland fire communi The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned implementing strategies; and ty can fully become a learning Center identifies these three focus • Cultivating “communities of organization, it must first be open areas in its organizational structure practice” from the informal net to becoming a learning culture,” as Collection and Analysis, works of professionals who share says Nasiatka. “If timely, candid Knowledge Retention, and a common concern or passion information generated by knowl Knowledge Transfer. about a topic, and who enhance edgeable people is available and dis their knowledge and expertise in seminated, a learning culture can this area by interacting on a reg evolve.” ular basis.
Learning in the field. Organizational psychologists Dr. Karl Weick (middle) and Dr. Kathleen Sutcliffe, authors of Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity (Weick and Sutcliffe 2001), on the Cerro Grande Prescribed Fire Staff Ride—yet another organizational learning event assisted by the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center. Photo: Tom Iraci, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR, 2004.
Fire Management Today 18 Collection and Analysis Lessons Learned Center’s “After Action Review ‘rollups’ and “Knowledge Transfer Mechanisms” Information Collection Team assignments are the primary tools Websites we use to collect pertinent wildland The Website at
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 19 • Hurricane responses in Georgia, the interagency wildland fire com the wildland fire community Alabama, and Florida; munity, the Lessons Learned become a fully developed and • Wildland fire use events; Center has developed an online dynamic learning organization.” • Alaskan wildland fires; community center at • Lessons and practices from the
Fire Management Today 20 STAFF RIDE TO THE BATTLE OF LITTLE BIGHORN AND MANN GULCH FIRE
Lori Messenger
he longest hike during our Battle of Little Bighorn staff T ride* takes us up to a lookout point a half mile (0.8 km) above Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer’s now-famous “Crow’s Nest.” We are standing in southwest Montana at the final place where Custer hid and rested his troops.
From here, the infamous 7th Cavalry commander stood on that warm June morning in 1876 and tried squinting toward the enor mous throng of Indian ponies where his Crow scouts were point Vantage point. Staff ride participants look out from the very place where Lieutenant ing. But Custer couldn’t see them. Colonel George Armstrong Custer made his fateful operational decisions the morning of These scouts told Custer that, out the Battle of Little Bighorn. Photo: John Grosman, USDA Forest Service, Fire and Aviation Management, Eastern Region. there in the distance, they were also seeing occasional Sioux hunting resentatives; as well as fire staff parties. Custer couldn’t see them Standing here now with from the U.S. Department of the either. my feet, eyes, ears— Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, and The commander questioned his and brain—on the same U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the scouts, trying to learn as much piece of earth that Montana Department of Natural about this enemies’ behavior—and Custer had once Resources; and Los Angeles County. the ground they were gathering on—as he could. He seems to have occupied, I begin to Some participants have never expe sifted through this information and learn in a new way. rienced a staff ride before. During built as complete a situational pic introductions, these novices say ture as he could. Custer then made they hope to learn how this training his decision and communicated it operating procedures in 1876, how tool works. The military began to his subordinates. many of you think Custer made a rational decision at this time?” asks developing staff rides in the early our staff ride facilitator, U.S. Army 1900s and now administers them in Was Custer’s Decision three phases: Rational? Historian Chuck Collins. The U.S. Army Combat Studies Institute is “Taking into account what you have presenting this in-depth battle 1. Preliminary study, learned about the Army’s standard examination. 2. Field study, and 3. Integration. Lori Messenger is a Missoula Smokejumper, USDA Forest Service, Our group is 30 strong, consisting Northern Region, Missoula, MT. of USDA Forest Service Fire In the Northern Region, we began Operations Safety Council regional seriously developing staff rides for * For more information on the staff ride learning tool wildland firefighters in 2003. That’s concept, see Fire Management Today issue on the Dude representatives, fire training leader Fire Staff Ride (62(4). ship, and other Forest Service rep- when we started flying firefighters
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 21 and staff from a variety of agencies Learning in a New Way Part of the staff ride learning phe to the fatal 2001 Thirtymile Fire We stand atop this ponderosa pine- nomenon seems to be that for every site. With this week’s staff ride, we covered hill, on an equally sunny, question answered, three new ques are now adding two more sites to spring morning, looking miles tions arise. Facilitators need to keep our list of events to learn from—the ahead to where we know Custer and the group moving, resist drawing Battle of Little Bighorn and the his troops will be killed. simple conclusions, and be persist Mann Gulch Fire, which we will ent in not allowing anyone to talk visit next. Chuck asks us to think solely about ahead of historical chronology. the intelligence that Custer would The previous evening, our staff ride have had here—without knowing At each stand Chuck follows a simi Incident Commander Jeff Scussel, what would happen next. Once lar pattern: assistant director of Fire and again he asks, “How many of you Aviation Management, USDA Forest think Custer made a rational deci 1. Orient the ground. Show and Service, Northern Region, wel sion?” Most of us grudgingly raise explain what things looked like comed us to this week-long two- our hands. We have to acknowledge before. incident staff ride. He explained our that, from all we had seen and stud 2. Tell the historical story. objectives, to: ied so far, Custer’s orders—at this 3. Analyze what happened before decisive point—seem reasonable. and apply these lessons to how • Further the development of deci we operate now. sionmaking and leadership skills; • Provide case studies in human Being on the Little Chuck also continues asking us to factors (leadership, cohesion, and raise our hands if we think Custer’s communications); Bighorn Battlefield had decision at each new point was a • Review high-risk, low-frequency been eerie, but for a rational one. He explains how Army situations and actions; Missoula Smokejumper, leadership made decisions in the • Study and review key decision this place—Mann late 1800s and how its leaders do so gates leading to fire management now. This provides for interesting actions; Gulch—hits much closer comparisons to our current wild- • Illustrate the value of staff rides as to home. land fire organization. a national wildland fire training tool; Crucial Mistakes We know that frankness and hon • Provide a team-building opportu As the staff ride hours pass, it nity to regional training officers esty are important components to successful staff rides. Many of us becomes more and more clear to us and members of the National Fire that as Custer’s day wore on, he Operations Safety Council; and therefore admit how, when we first arrived here this morning—even started making crucial mistakes. He • Provide selected individuals an failed to see the evidence that the opportunity to understand the though we had been coached to remain open-minded—we were situation he faced was different than staff ride concept and be able to he—or any other Army leader at apply it to their own situations. strongly biased against George Armstrong Custer. For myself, that time—had ever encountered. The Indians were not running. They Our required reading packet standing here now with my feet, eyes, ears—and brain—on the same were aggressively defending their includes battle accounts from both ground. Army soldiers and American piece of earth that Custer once Indians. Local tribal members occupied, I begin to learn in a new way. In our staff ride prestudy informa Marvin Dawes, of the Crow Nation, tion, we learned how Sitting Bull, a and Linwood Tall Bull, of the spiritual leader, had motivated his Northern Cheyenne Tribe, join us to For about 10 minutes, our discus sion percolates. Then Chuck says people to new heights of determina provide further insight from the tion and organization. On the other Indian perspective. In addition, our it’s time to move on. He has secured permission for our group to drive hand, Custer’s situational awareness facilitator Chuck Collins briefs us had narrowed. He became eaten up with background information about through private ranches so that we can better examine Custer’s actions with “Victory Disease.” Poor rela what the Army learned from 1866 tionships with many of his follow to 1876 fighting Indian battles. prior to the final battle.
Fire Management Today 22 ers—and even fellow leaders— Northern Rockies, opens by asking caused his operation to deteriorate. the group to discuss how we might apply to our fire organization the Gradually, as the staff ride contin concepts outlined in Karl E. Weick ues, fewer of us raise our hands to and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe’s book say that Custer is still behaving Managing the Unexpected. rationally. We ask each other: “When have we reached this point We watch a 15-minute video of Bob as fireline leaders and followers?” Sallee, survivor of the Mann Gulch Fire, telling us what kind of young Integration Phase men became smokejumpers back in During integration, the staff ride’s 1949. He reveals what this experi third phase, the discussion bounces ence meant to him. back and forth between our pre reading, the day’s field experience, Next, Dave Turner, retired Helena and challenges faced in the modern National Forest employee, tells us the Mann Gulch Fire story from the Paying respects. At the end of the Mann fire organization. Topics include: Gulch staff ride, participants negotiate the imaginary viewpoint of 1949 USDA steep—fatal—hillside to honor the fallen • The importance of promoting and Forest Service District Ranger Bob firefighters where they died. Photo: John Jansson who was in charge of the Grosman, USDA Forest Service, Fire and maintaining good relationships Aviation Management, Eastern Region. with your coworkers; Canyon Ferry Ranger District where • The need for constant intelligence Mann Gulch is located. For him, the gathering and a willingness to tragedy never seems to have ended. Touching Sacred change plans accordingly; Turner’s presentation sets the tone Ground • Resisting assumptions about what for one of the next day’s assign The history we are coming to study you expect the day’s outcome to ments. We had asked each staff ride took place only 56 years before. I be; and participant to arrive prepared to tell am hopeful we can trace the paths • Admitting defeat for the day and the story of one Mann Gulch fire taken back then by foreman Wag retreating before anyone gets fighter. Dodge and his smokejumper crew killed—especially in fighting wild- well enough to learn our own vital land fires. Thursday dawns gray and misty. lessons. Just before 8 a.m., we drive our car Many also talk about how this staff avan of green vans and “six-pack” As we step off the boat onto a stump ride has allowed them to develop pickups to The Gates of the and down to the river bank, there is more important experience “slides” Mountains boat launch. Paul a sense of touching sacred ground. in their minds—to be used to com Chamberlin, Northern Rockies fire Standing on the Little Bighorn pare to future incidents. One partic operations safety specialist for the Battlefield had been eerie, but for a ipant praises staff rides by proclaim USDA Forest Service, reminds us Missoula Smokejumper, this place ing: “We’re not sending you to the about ticks, snakes, loose rocks, and hits much closer to home. movies; we’re putting you in the steep terrain. He instructs us to movies.” wear our hardhats. We hike a few hundred feet into the mouth of Mann Gulch. Here, Dave Mann Gulch Fire As we motor up the river, the fog Turner briefs us about what the continues to rise—separating and weather and fuel load had been like The next day we travel from Billings dissipating like smoke released from back on August 5, 1949. Several of to a Helena hotel where we gather its nighttime inversion. We pass us pull marauding ticks off our for the final portion of our Mann through deep limestone cliffs. Our arms and legs. We break into two Gulch prestudy work. My role boat operator points to a cave he prearranged groups: “the hares” switches from participant-learner to says contains 1,400-year-old Indian take the lead with facilitator Paul facilitator-learner. Paul Fieldhouse, pictographs. Fieldhouse; I follow more slowly fire suppression and incident man with “the tortoises.” To keep logis agement training specialist for the tics smooth, we send Missoula Bureau of Indian Affairs in the
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 23 Smokejumper Dave Bihr ahead with I invite participants to choose their own route up— a radio to help us locate important just as those 1949 smokejumpers had done once landmarks. Missoula Smokejumper Dan Cottrell brings up the rear, it became apparent that they were running for helping me herd the slower group their lives. and monitoring progress on our planned timeline. 1949 smokejumpers had done once As the formal integration discussion We stop our groups for 30 minutes it became apparent that they were concludes, dusk begins to slip to an hour at each of the four pre running for their lives. around us. Informally, conversa selected stands—all chosen where tions will continue into the days important decisions had been made. Even though the day has turned and weeks ahead. At each, Paul and I (sometimes uti warm, chilly wind gusts buffet us at lizing Dave Turner’s expertise) the top. Our group discusses rescue Change Fire review significant events. We also efforts. We wonder if those men Suppression Safety invite two to three participants to died for any good reason. Then we In a follow-up staff ride report, par tell the story of the “person of inter all wander slowly back down the ticipant John Grosman with the est” they had been assigned. One gulch, each of us stopping in silence Fire and Aviation Management staff creative soul pretends he is a ghost, to pay our respects at the monu in the USDA Forest Service’s providing him the analytical per ments of the fallen firefighters. Eastern Region, writes: spective to say retrospectively what “Understanding the behind-the he thought about the men’s deci Down at the river, we board the scenes energy to investigate, honor, sions and actions on that fateful day. boat a few minutes after 4 p.m. and protect this event and this site From the chatter buzzing around by so many folks gives me a new Leadership Key Topic me, I glean that people feel they admiration for the people involved have learned some things. To give participants practice making in this staff ride—and to those who and communicating decisions, we are working to make it a standard During our hour-long integration learning exercise.” Grosman also had prepared three tactical decision discussion at the boat dock picnic games. Paul and I had also devel talked about the value of the tables, most people agree that the prestudy phase and how real learn oped several questions for each chance to walk the physical ground stand. Many center around whether ing “requires personal investment instilled the lessons more deeply of time.” or not our modern fire organization than any amount of reading alone is adequately preparing people for could do. At the same time, partici the kinds of situations that the his The commander’s intent for this pants also say that the reading Battle of Little Bighorn and Mann torical firefighters and managers helped prepare them to better faced in Mann Gulch. Gulch Fire Staff Ride is that the understand what they saw once they human factors lessons we learned arrived on the steep Mann Gulch will cling tenaciously to us as we We also discuss situational aware slopes. ness, communication, crew cohe advance onto our future fire grounds. We hope that participants sion, risk assessment, moral There is general agreement that we courage, and—always—leadership. can work to change the culture of need to keep working on our tacti fire suppression safety in their We talk about where both Custer cal decision games so that firefight and the smokejumpers had reached respective organizations. We see it ers can be clearer about what they happening already. their point-of-no-return. are supposed to be doing—and why. We talk about the importance of Reference The final stand takes place just communicating the commander’s above the rimrock where Bob Weick, K.; Sutcliffe, K. 2001. Managing the intent, about how we are working at unexpected: Assuring high performance in Sallee, Walter Rumsey, and Bill developing crew cohesion, about an age of complexity. University of Hellman passed through and made how humans respond to life-or Michigan Business School Management their final dash from the flame Series. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass death emergencies, and about how Publishers. ■ front. I invite participants to choose to keep situations from evolving to their own route up—just as those that point.
Fire Management Today 24 IMPROVED DECISION SUPPORT FOR PROACTIVE WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT
Tom Wordell and Rick Ochoa
n the aftermath of the notorious 2000 fire season, the National Predictive Services’ greatest strength is its ability I Fire Plan identified the need for a to distill voluminous amounts of weather, fuels, more proactive approach to antici and fire danger information into short, concise pate fire activity. Specifically, it rec ognized the need to improve how documents that pinpoint problem areas. wildland fire agencies preposition firefighting resources through the and seasonal fire weather–fire specialists, fuels specialists, and integration of fire weather, fire dan danger outlook products; long-term analysts would often be ger, and fuels information and • Anticipate and predict critical fire assembled into regional “fire risk intelligence. weather events; and assessment teams.” These groups • Identify fire threat areas. would be responsible for assessing The concept of “predictive services” the current and projected fuel con was born. Before Predictive ditions and fire activity over a broad geographic area. In 2000, funding was appropriated Services to hire 20 fire weather meteorolo Predictive Services was born out of However, for appropriate decisions gists under the National Fire Plan a need to provide both short- and to be made, these assessments were to team with intelligence specialists long-term decision support infor actually needed before fire activity and wildland fire analysts to form mation to fire managers and fire developed. By the time these teams special “Predictive Services” units fighters. Prior to the 2000 fire sea had assembled, analyzed the data, at the National Interagency son, meteorologists, fire behavior Coordination Center (NICC) in Boise, ID, and within all of the country’s 11 Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACCs).
This coordinated national Predictive Services program now integrates fire weather, fire danger, and resource information for strategic resource allocation and prioritization to:
• Assess fuels and fire danger; • Generate daily, weekly, monthly,
Tom Wordell is a wildland fire analyst for the USDA Forest Service, National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), Boise, ID; and Rick Ochoa is the national fire weather program manager for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, NIFC. Figure 1—The country’s 11 Geographic Area Coordination Centers.
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 25 and finalized their reports, much of These important events join climatologists, fire their information was often outdat managers, and the Predictive Services personnel ed. In addition, these analyses and projections were usually a one-time who coordinate preseason outlooks. effort. Information was not routine ly updated. While fire managers • Forecast confidence and verifica that one must anticipate the loca recognized these inherent prob tion information. tion and time of the battle and lems, the constraints of tight budg preposition the right amount of ets and higher priorities prevented These documents also predict the resources to deal with the threat. pursuing an immediate solution. areas that will likely be showing By prepositioning forces ahead of improvement. dry lightning or high-wind events, Continually Improving fire managers can: Today, through collaborative leader- Many of these products are useful ship—with input from user groups to geographic area managers who • Maximize public and firefighter at all levels—Predictive Services want to proactively allocate safety, strives to continually improve the resources prior to a fire event • Reduce losses, and quality, accuracy, and relevance of occurring. As previously men • Lower costs. decision support products provided tioned, they are also useful to fire through the multiagency coordina fighters traveling to incidents out Seven-Day Outlook tion system to fire managers and side their local area who want to During the summer of 2004, users nationwide. gain situational awareness of Predictive Services units started weather and fuel conditions for developing a new “7-Day This is achieved by the develop where they are going—and even Significant Fire Potential” product. ment and issuance of weekly, fuels and weather information on This “outlook” capability, updated monthly, and seasonal fire weather what to expect at these places daily, provides information about and fire danger outlooks, daily throughout the following week. fire danger, weather triggers, antic briefings, and various wildland fire ipated resource needs, and other resource and intelligence reports. Fire management is somewhat factors for the next 7 days. Fig. 2 While these products and informa analogous to military operations in tion are routinely used to support wildland fire resource allocation decisions, they can also help fire fighters elevate their situational awareness, especially when they move from one assignment to the next—into unfamiliar locations and fuel types. Useful to Managers and Firefighters Perhaps Predictive Services’ great est strength is the program’s ability to distill voluminous amounts of weather, fuels, and fire danger information into short, concise documents that pinpoint problem areas with information on:
• Fuel dryness, • Critical fire weather events, • Location and timing of events, Figure 2—Example of the 7-Day Significant Fire Potential Outlook for southern • Degree of wildfire potential, and California.
Fire Management Today 26 Information Tools Predictive Services meteorologists Fire analysts utilize several sources •
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 27 occurred in the Pacific Northwest during a dry lightning outbreak in August 2001. Four days prior to this lightning event, the Northwest Area Predictive Services Unit warned fire managers about the potential for dry lightning in areas already experiencing very high to extreme fire danger.
This information—including vari ous scenarios, confidence levels, and recommendations—allowed managers to preposition these resources:
• Air tankers; • Contract crews and engines; • Five task forces, each comprised of two crews, five dozers, and a Figure 3—Example of monthly outlook overlaid with large fire occurrence (dots). water tender; and • The staging of two type 2 inci dent management teams. Predictive Services products help fire managers As forecast, the dry lightning did make sound resource allocation and prioritization occur—triggering more than 200 decisions for both short- and long-range fires. Within 3 days, 18 fire com strategies. plexes were scattered throughout Washington and Oregon. But, by prepositioning firefighting both short- and long-range strate mation tools shown in the sidebar resources, fire managers were able gies. on page 25, contact Tom Wordell, to suppress a large number of small National Interagency Fire Center, fires and thus prevent them from As illustrated in the 2001 Pacific Predictive Services Group, 3833 S. becoming large, costly project-sized Northwest example, this vital pro Development Ave., Boise, ID 83705 fires. gram can help improve safety, 5354; tel. 208-387-5816; fax 208 reduce loss, lower suppression 387-5663; e-mail: Presuppression costs, and provide key situational [email protected]. ■ Support wildland fire information to There’s no question that Predictive resources responding to incidents Predictive Services products can Services products help fire man in unfamiliar areas. be obtained at agers make sound resource alloca
Fire Management Today 28 PORTALS: KEY TO SAFETY AWARENESS*
Paul Chamberlin
n science fiction, “portals” are Can you transit the portal without often called core values, with “core” amazing. Pass through an undu personal trauma? Herein lies the meaning all the way to the bone. I lating portal or wormhole—or objective of every safety course ever Your human tendency to rational even Dorothy’s tornado—and you written; the intention of all strategy ize, succumb to peer pressure, or experience altered realities and see and tactics; and the reason why we miss incremental changes is new dimensions. You see the uni promote staff rides, distribute restrained. Oddly enough, produc verse from a whole new perspective. investigative findings, and ask for tion improves. Decisions improve. after-action reports on “lessons Your core values give license for Career wildland firefighters usually learned.” The 10 and 18, the down confident, aggressive firefighting. pass through a portal of sorts: a hill and indirect fireline guidelines, “safety awareness portal” that gives complexity analyses, fire behavior New Understanding them new perspectives, altering Wildland firefighters who have their reality. Transiting the portal is learned these lessons, either often related to traumatic events, Transiting the portal is through personal experience or by such as South Canyon or like a wakeup call. studying momentous events, Thirtymile or a personal, more inti understand the fear that firefighters mate close call. It may have hap can feel. They can visualize a wall pened to you, a coworker, or some pocket cards, LCES (lookouts, com of flames bearing down, and they one you read about. Some people munications, escape routes, and can run many “what-if” scenarios think there is no significant emo safety zones), and other types of in their heads. They will never tional growth without a traumatic safety guidance all have deep per identify safety zones without con experience first. sonal foundations. All were invent sidering such implications. They ed by compassionate individuals intrinsically understand the timing Wakeup Call who have been through the portal and trigger-point elements that are Once you are through the portal, and articulately shared their voy critical for escape routes; they you finally comprehend how veter age. know what a lookout must see, and ans whom you previously consid they intuitively recognize when ered bland and worrisome do However, involvement in a trau communications are compromised. understand the severe implications matic event is no guarantee that of risk. You come to see why they you will pass through the portal. Science fiction writers rarely leave demonstrate an absolute commit Transiting a portal is a deep person their characters out in new dimen ment to safe practices. Transiting al experience, an absolute process; sions. At the last possible moment, the portal is like a wakeup call. it is career changing. When you their heroes make it home. Suddenly, you see the forest as cross this plane, compliance with However, there are no climactic trees that will grow back … build safety guidelines is no longer a escapes back from the “safety ings as things that can be rebuilt struggle. You emerge as a motivat awareness portal.” Once you “get … but each human life as precious ed leader with the courage to do it,” you will never trade tactical and irreplaceable. the right thing. Driving regula objectives for safety. You will never tions, the Interagency Helicopter put firefighters into situations Paul Chamberlin is the fire operations safe Operations Guide, and the 10 and where last-minute heroics are nec ty specialist for the USDA Forest Service, 18 become obvious and automat essary. Northern Rockies Fire Operations, ic—like fastening your seatbelt. Missoula, MT. Such is the altered reality of tran * This article is based on the September 2004 issue of After transiting the portal, compla siting a portal. ■ “Safety Zone,” the newsletter of the USDA Forest cency is buffered by deeper insight, Service’s Fire Operations Safety Council.
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 29 A NATIONAL FITNESS REGIMEN WOULD BENEFIT FIREFIGHTER SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS
Paul Keller
ost people like to gripe about line,” says Livingston, who is now individual and crew firefighter fit the way it is. Others would the wildland fire operations health ness programs. It is a fitness M rather do something about it. and safety specialist for the USDA regime that incorporates cardiovas Meet Bequi Livingston. Forest Service’s Southwestern cular endurance, muscle strength Region. “There is no better time and endurance, and flexibility— In 1984, the former Nike “Body than now to become proactive and while simultaneously emphasizing Elite” representative and Nike- commit to the personal responsibil overall wellness. sponsored runner was working as ity of both personal health and an engine crew member for the wellness.” Off-Season Guidelines Smokey Bear Ranger District in To ensure that firefighters maintain Ruidoso, NM. She realized that a “The intent of the Fireline Fitness an acceptable level of fitness, this well-structured wildland firefighter program is to provide wildland fire unique program also provides fitness program was—unfortunate fighters with the basic information guidelines on how to continue ly—lacking. implementing a fitness regime dur ing the off-season. “This also A multisport athlete, certified aero “Fireline Fitness” is an encourages overall health while bics instructor, and national aero exciting, innovative, and making it easier to transition into bics-fitness consultant, Livingston novel approach to fire season,” says Livingston. “In also knew that physical fitness and physical health and doing so, Fireline Fitness empowers overall wellness are critical to the the firefighter to take personal safety of all fire and aviation man conditioning for wildland responsibility for his or her own fit agement personnel. She wanted to firefighters. ness level.” do something about the obvious need for a coordinated firefighter- Once implemented, she says, the specific fitness program. for empowering them to develop a potential benefits are immediate. fitness regime that is basic and bal Direct savings to the USDA Forest So she did. anced—while still meeting the Service and interagency partners demands of wildland fire,” she occur through: Thanks to Livingston, “Fireline notes. Fitness”—an exciting, innovative, • The decline of Occupational and novel approach to physical Livingston emphasizes that her Workers Compensation claims, health and conditioning for wild- program is all about the basics. “It’s • Minimizing lost time due to land firefighters—was born. nothing fancy. It’s nothing injuries and incidents related to extreme,” she assures. “It basically the Work Capacity Test, and Improve Effectiveness just utilizes good old common • Remedying improper physical fit and Safety sense and moderation.” ness training, and the overuse of “It’s a known fact that physical fit injuries. ness plays an important role in Her Fireline Fitness program has improving firefighter effectiveness continued to evolve over the “It is a proven fact that physically and safety both on and off the fire- years—taking into account valuable fit firefighters have fewer injuries lessons learned from the wildland and illnesses when a proper fitness fire community. Today, it provides program is in place—and support Paul Keller is the managing editor of Fire guidelines to help develop both Management Today. ed,” says Livingston. She points out
Fire Management Today 30 that when a consistent fitness and By promoting a healthy wildland fire workforce, the wellness program is implemented Fireline Fitness program benefits the agency as and supported by management, these benefits also include: well as the individual.
• Lower absenteeism, She adds that she believes Fireline Bottom line: by promoting a • Increased morale, Fitness would also be a beneficial healthy wildland fire workforce, • Crew cohesion, and supplement to the current policies the Fireline Fitness program bene • Improved productivity. and procedures associated with fits the agency as well as the indi work-rest guidelines and driving vidual. ■ Healthy Workforce policies. Other benefits to an established wellness program include fatigue management and mitigation, prop More information on the Fireline Fitness program—including its er hydration, good nutrition, and pretest, weekly workout, and exercise logs—is linked to the USDA stress management. “These are all Forest Service Website
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 31 WANTED: A NATIONAL STANDARDIZED FIREFIGHTER FITNESS PROGRAM
Bequi Livingston
s fire season progresses and In addition, we currently have a multiple assignments and “mish mash” of physical fitness A traveling begin to take their programs developed by various physical toll, so do the physical wildland fire crews across the and mental demands on our fire country. Some promote a well- personnel. balanced fitness program and incorporate wellness. Others, Believe it or not, we currently however, provide inconsistent have no standard guidelines for guidelines that can be conducive developing a consistent, well-bal to injury and over-training. anced, and structured fitness pro gram for our interagency wild- The increasing demands of “all land firefighters that incorporates risk” incidents and implementa wellness and safety together. tion of the Work Capacity Test and Medical Qualifications Furthermore, we have few recom- Standards further the agency’s mendations that promote year- current need for a comprehensive round physical fitness and well- and cohesive national wildland ness during the wildland fire off- firefighter fitness program. season. Fitness guru. Bequi Livingston’s “Fireline Fitness” program offers a novel approach We Have a Solution Recent surveys of wildland fire to physical health and conditioning for Originally developed in 1984, crews reveal a high rate of “over wildland firefighters. Photo: Gary C. “Fireline Fitness,” could be the use” injuries as well as decreased Chancey, USDA Forest Service, Black Hills National Forest, Custer, SD, 2005. solution. This novel approach to productivity due to poorly firefighter fitness has evolved and planned and executed fitness pro- gained support over the years. It grams. The unfortunate results No Cohesive Program is currently being implemented are further exaggerated out on While there are several informative by interagency firefighters the actual fireline—adversely publications currently available nationwide. impacting the overall productivi that address the physical fitness ty of wildland fire crews and com- and training necessary to perform Fireline Fitness is being devel promising health and safety. the job of firefighting, they do not oped into a special Southwest provide comprehensive guidelines Region publication. In addition, or direction for the development of the Federal Fire and Aviation a balanced fitness program that Safety Team is considering incor integrates all the necessary compo- porating this wildland firefighter Bequi Livingston is the fire operations health and safety specialist for the USDA nents of fitness that are applicable fitness program into a national Forest Service’s Southwestern Region. and realistic at the field level. interagency publication. ■
Fire Management Today 32 RAPPEL ACADEMY WINS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
Paul Keller
new approach to training has earned the Pacific Northwest Our goal is to produce rappellers who can support A Regional Rappel Academy the other bases with minimum disruption and lost National Fire Plan annual “group time during high initial-attack activity. award” for Excellence in Firefighting Preparedness, Training, and Safety. cial results were achieved while qualified firefighters on the ground simultaneously graduating rap with minimum risk,” says Jon Assistant Secretary of the U.S. pellers with the appropriate levels Rollens, assistant director for avia Department of the Interior Rebecca of skills, training, and the versatili tion for the Pacific Northwest Watson presented this national ty to operate from multiple rappel Region. “Our academy’s goal is to award to the academy staff in a spe platforms. produce rappellers who are as ver cial ceremony in Albuquerque, NM, satile as possible—rappellers who in February 2005. The academy, The academy has also been a fertile can support other bases with mini located in John Day, OR, was cred environment for new and innova mum disruption and lost time dur ited for enhancing the quality and tive approaches to rappel instruc ing high initial-attack activity.” consistency of firefighter training tion, standardization, equipment, for rappellers throughout the and procedures. “A primary goal of In 2003, the academy’s enlightened Pacific Northwest Region. our rappel training is to put highly training approach resulted in fewer
“We continue to demonstrate our Academy concept. commitment to the high standards Rappellers train of the National Fire Plan,” says ing at the Pacific Northwest Bonnie Wood, National Fire Plan Regional Rappel executive director for the Pacific Academy. The Northwest Region. “This is a high- Academy concept risk program. We are developing came to fruition with the construc and implementing a rappellers’ tion of this rappel training program that provides simulator tower at high-quality, intensive instruction, the USDA Forest Service-leased air mentoring, and coaching—all base in John Day, designed to continually enhance OR. National Fire our program’s safety.” Plan facilities funding in 2001 paid for the con Reducing Risk and Cost struction. Beginning in 2003, efforts to meet standardization goals—along with improved training methods—led the academy cadre to identify tradi tional procedures that could be adjusted and fine-tuned to reduce both risk and costs. These benefi-
Paul Keller is the managing editor of Fire Management Today.
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 33 training rappels and a subsequent the region’s permanent and perma The academy training program pre savings of almost $50,000. These nent-seasonal rappellers attend a pares these aerial-delivered fire training rappels were cut by 540—a “veteran academy” in late March or fighters for working interchange 41-percent decrease over the acade early April. In early June, a “rookie ably between the five regional rap my’s 2002 totals. The net savings to academy” is hosted for the region’s pel bases and several helicopter the 2003 academy for flight time, first-time and returning seasonal platforms. “This enhances pre per diem, salary, and other expens rappellers. paredness and provides a highly es totaled $48,000 saved. mobile response in areas with mul tiple initial-attack fires,” Rollens In 2004, employing this same train Support from the local says. ing plan and adding a Bell 206L–IV John Day community for helicopter to the academy aircraft, the cadre and trainees “Support from the local John Day resulted in an additional reduction community for the cadre and of 180 rappels with an estimated has been a key to the trainees has also been a key to the $59,000 savings over 2002 costs. success of the success of our academy’s approach academy’s approach to to training,” explains executive “In addition to these financial sav training. director Wood. She said that the ings,” adds Rollens, “a noteworthy area’s schools, the county fair benefit is the significant reduction board, and local food service ven in risk exposure to both agency and The academy incorporates initial dors have all provided room and contractor personnel.” training, evaluation, and certifica board for academy participants. tion for rookie rappellers, as well as Required Training refresher training, evaluation, and “This,” Wood points out, “has The rappel academy is required recertification for veteran rap resulted in a much-needed eco training for all of the region’s rap pellers. Evaluation and certification nomic boost for the local resource- ■ pellers. Conducted in two phases, of spotter trainees is also provided. dependent economy.”
Fire Management Today 34 INTEGRATING SOCIAL SCIENCE INTO FORESTRY IN THE WILDLAND/URBAN INTERFACE
Jeffrey J. Brooks, Hannah Brenkert, Judy E. Serby, Joseph G. Champ, Tony Simons, and Daniel R. Williams
different kind of storm—nei ther fire nor wind—brought Forestry practitioners expressed frustration over a A 60 forestry practitioners who lack of concrete solutions from research findings work in wildfire risk prevention and for reaching fuels mitigation mandates. several social science researchers together near Lyons, CO. 2. How can we increase FireWise Larimer County, CO, and the USDA Brainstorm. behaviors at a level higher than Forest Service—had four central This unique retreat—a meeting of one homeowner at a time? objectives: the minds—commingled these two groups to share and tackle ideas Four Central Objectives 1. Reveal obstacles to effective wild- concerning social issues that shape This event—sponsored by the land fire mitigation in Colorado, decisions and behaviors regarding Colorado State Forest Service, 2. Share alternatives among practi wildland fire risk mitigation across tioners facing similar barriers, Colorado’s wildland/urban interface 3. Open lines of communication communities. Key is Communication between practitioners and social and Trust scientists, and The 2-day “Are you FireWise? 4. Provide opportunities to build The success of collaborative Understanding Social Values” agendas for further social sci forestry and wildland fire and retreat began with two general ence research and future work fuels management depends on questions: shops. long-term communication and relationships of trust among 1. We understand the biological sci Four studies were presented that diverse stakeholder groups ence necessitating fuels reduc addressed the human dimensions of (Shindler and Toman 2003; tion in the wildland/urban inter wildland fire and fuels management Wondolleck and Yaffee 2000). face. How can we better under in various parts of Colorado’s Front stand social values so that we are Range. The studies were The 2003 strategic framework more effective working with agency–university collaborative for the USDA Forest Service interface communities? efforts conducted by social scien Rocky Mountain Research tists from Colorado State Jeffrey Brooks is a social science analyst Station described six research University, the University of and Daniel Williams is a research social and development areas of focus, Colorado, and the USDA Forest scientist for the USDA Forest Service, including communicating with Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Service. (These research presenta Collins, CO; Hannah Brenkert is a gradu stakeholders. tions can be viewed at
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 35 challenges that they face in their It appears that the The general consensus seemed to efforts to reach fuels mitigation research needs of be that frames of reference can mandates. Questions of when, affect responses to information where, and for whom practitioners forestry practitioners about possible fuels reduction proj can increase participation in miti are primarily unknown ects. Practitioners now realize that gation projects were not directly or misunderstood by paying attention to how stakehold answered. A “how-to cookbook” or researchers. ers frame wildland fuels issues in “silver bullet” was not provided by their own communities helps them any of the social scientists. to better tailor their interactions developing trust are paramount with community members. Furthermore, some practitioners when working with interface com seemed frustrated by a lack of munities. Some practitioners Some practitioners think that a social science research in their spe described their successes as long case-by-case community-level cific geographical areas. Concern term efforts that involve regular approach can be successful in the was voiced about the differences interactions with communities. long term. They discussed the across communities and counties. importance of learning two-way Statements such as “what works in Important Tool communication skills as they pro Gilpin County won’t work in The researchers and practitioners ceed in their work to build relation Boulder County” were voiced again tended to agree that before educa ships and to develop projects that and again. Thus, to explore the tion programs or fuels projects are fit a community’s needs and values. social and ecological diversity in initiated, it is important to under A second group of practitioners, the State—particularly in western stand the multitude of ways that however, wanted more generalized Colorado—a common desire sur people and communities define the solutions to barriers that might be faced to see these studies conduct problems that affect them. applied across communities. ed in a wider variety of settings. “Framing”—defining the issue based on what is important to a group of Both approaches to the problem Wildland Fire Risk stakeholders—was identified as an were represented in the research Perceptions important tool to help understand presentations. Depending on what Researchers and community practi this problem of definition. question is being addressed, both tioners also shared interest in mindsets can be appropriate. research that describes how individ ual homeowners perceive, process, Key Themes and Lessons and respond to information about wildland fire risk. Participants Key Theme Some of the issues raised by prac learned that age, income, and edu It appears that the research needs titioners are not researchable cation might be less useful for pre of practitioners are primarily questions. And, in some cases, dicting mitigation behaviors than a unknown or misunderstood by findings might exist in the social resident’s familiarity with the infor researchers. This could be due, in science literature but have not yet mation about mitigation. part, to a key theme of the “Are been summarized and made you FireWise? Understanding accessible to practitioners. More research is needed, however, Social Values” retreat that practi to better understand what general tioners appear to be fundamental Key Lesson factors might increase interface ly divided regarding the kind of Forestry practitioners and social sci residents’ FireWise behaviors and social science research that is rel ence researchers need to talk more their management of fuels. evant—case studies of individual and collaborate better about the communities, or studies that iden specific questions and problems In general, the panel and the audi tify solutions and develop tools practitioners are trying to solve ence discussed the importance of that can be applied across differ before the social scientists design collaboration—or partnering—to ing communities. research studies and summarize identify barriers to communication. existing social science findings. Many of the practitioners agreed that relationship building and
Fire Management Today 36 Standard definitions of success, to understanding wildland fire however, presented a problem for risk in communities is based on some participants. Once again, building relationships and trust. practitioners discussed a conflict Therefore, organizations need to between wanting to develop consis redesign project goals to ensure tent goals across administrative that they have the flexibility to agencies and the problem of differ meet community timeframes. ences in ecological, community, Breakout Session. Retreat participants dis and organizational conditions and Aesthetic Values cuss communication barriers to fuels miti values across Colorado. (For related Concern among interface residents gation. Photo: Joseph Champ, Assistant issues and proposed actions, see Professor, Department of Journalism and about the impact of fuels reduction Technical Communication, Colorado State sidebar.) on their private property has been University, 2004. an issue consistently heard by prac Appropriations titioners and researchers. Breakout Sessions Mentality Practitioners are generally aware During the retreat’s second day, Participants identified a tendency that the goals of communities to participants—in smaller group dis to want to solve problems through maintain certain aesthetic features cussions—were instructed to: the allocation of funds as a political often do not match the programs barrier to successful fuels manage that encourage thinning and defen • Discuss how research can benefit ment in communities. This “appro sible space on private property. community projects, priations mindset” operates under Interestingly, there appears to be a • Identify additional research the faulty assumption that allocat fundamental difference of opinion needs, and ing money will fix the wildland/ among practitioners about how to • Develop a list of barriers to urban interface fire problem. address this. implementation, along with pos sible solutions. While adequate funding is impor One set of practitioners feels that tant for solving this problem, partnering and education have Facilitators took notes on flipcharts because management of wildland overcome the aesthetic values and researchers video-recorded fire risk in the interface is uncer issue. They cite evidence from their each session. The notes and videos tain and complicated, it will not be experiences that some residents from all sessions were independent solved solely because funds are tend to appreciate the look and ly studied and discussed by three of appropriated. qualities of their properties even the researchers. Their analyses and more after vegetation thinning. results were summarized and Timelines organized into themes that are illu Timelines for community projects The other group of practitioners minated and discussed in this arti are important on two levels: indicates that, despite increased cle. awareness and partnering, resist 1. The distinction between short- ance by some residents to alter the Common Goals and term and long-term goals needs landscape continues. This group Definitions of Success to be clearly communicated. asserts that they cannot necessarily change the social values of resi The failure to mutually agree on Short-term goals are to reduce dents who insist that the experi goals and to define success before fuels here and now. Long-term ence of living in natural-looking funding fuels projects was identi goals are to develop community forests is worth the risk of wildland fied as one of the most notable bar capacity to sustain fuels mitiga fire. riers to successful implementation tion projects and to foster fire safe decisions as communities of these efforts. For example, why Outreach to spend money to thin timber in evolve—and vegetation contin communities in lodgepole pine ues to grow, residents leave, new Communities forests when evidence exists that residents move in. For forestry and other natural thinning is not effective for that resource practitioners, outreach to vegetation type? 2. Organizations are beginning to communities is difficult, expensive, understand that success related
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 37 and time-consuming. Most practi how to best communicate their over time—as do the products tioners agreed that they do not experiences to others. available to interface residents. have the appropriate tools to help Keeping the public up to date with them effectively identify leadership Rather than sharing with each current county regulations and the and organization in their target other, some practitioners tend to products or options available to communities. look to academic social scientists to address these norms is an enor tell them what works. Such com mous challenge. There was agreement that diagnos munication barriers among practi tic or assessment tools might be tioners can prevent recognition of Barriers important to help practitioners what they already know from expe The primary problem preventing identify community strengths, lead rience. Furthermore, when the communities from properly ers, resources, and readiness to col experiences of practitioners match addressing wildland fire risk is lectively manage fuels. up with those of their peers, their inadequate communication at three levels: Practitioners expressed another concern that attempting to meet Practitioners can start • Organizational, project goals that were determined by honestly telling • Community, and prior to learning about a communi communities that there • Individual homeowner. ty’s capacity and history might be is no guarantee that shortsighted. Some practitioners Common goals and definitions do believe that this shortsightedness enough resources exist not exist among these three groups can stall forward motion or dimin to stop all interface to appropriately address wildland ish the progress communities have fires. fire risk. Barriers to communica already made. tion at the highest organizational levels filter down to the community An important lesson that was confidence is bolstered regarding level. This presents challenges for shared by several participants their own solutions to the chal practitioners and community mem reflected a similar plan or path to lenges they face. bers working together to manage success. This path entailed several the risks on the ground. Finally, an years of relationship building with Another important communication overemphasis on individual home in the communities for proposing issue is the gap between social sci owners is a barrier to effective rela fuel reduction and FireWise pro ence researchers and practitioners. tionship building and collective grams. One successful strategy Differing language and goals are action in communities. described by practitioners is to ini some of the challenges that keep tially share information about basic social science researchers and prac Organizational—Beware forest ecology that is relevant to titioners from effectively working Appropriations Mindset. Several the local context. As interest together. Some practitioners, look organizational issues became emerges, the practitioner can pres ing for the “silver bullet,” expressed apparent during our analysis of the ent more specific risk reduction concern that they had not learned retreat. An appropriations mindset and fuel management plans. anything new from the research has resulted in considerable presented at the retreat. Others, amounts of funding targeted to Communication however, found these studies to be interface communities—without a Dilemmas useful because they confirmed clear understanding of the capacity Practitioners in the field interact some of their assumptions and dis and ownership needed to organize with communities and residents on pelled others. and sustain projects that people a regular basis. Thus, they have regard as successful. accumulated a wide variety of expe A third communication issue riences and insights that are useful involves the length of time it takes Project goals defined under these for accomplishing their goals. It for a message to reach and be broad organizational plans primari appears, however, that they can adopted by the public. This lag time ly measure success through the undervalue their own experiences is problematic because defensible treatment of acres. As long as acres and insights or might not know space and firesafe norms change treated remains the only measure
Fire Management Today 38 of success, the practical goal of The practical goal of treating acres and the true treating acres and the true goal of goal of reducing risk for people living in the reducing risk for people living in the interface will remain at odds. interface will remain at odds.
This problem is further complicat Communities—Establishing Trust. ers with a heightened ability to ed by the fact that practitioners Because communities are the main understand and clearly report on trained in forestry and technical target for outreach efforts, commu realistic community timeframes for natural resource management are nities and practitioners need more success. being asked to reduce fire risk ways to talk about, measure, and through community outreach. Yet, report successes—in addition to A significant challenge to practi problems of community outreach counting acres treated. tioners is the changing composi and organization are not well suit tion of communities and communi ed to concrete technical solutions Because of their lack of clear meas ty leadership. Similarly, job such as thinning acres of trees to ures for success, community pro turnover and organizational produce desired outcomes. Due to grams are often difficult to define changes might lead to several dif their disciplinary training, some and evaluate. This dilemma pres ferent practitioners working within practitioners therefore lack the ents a significant challenge to the same community for short peri skills and knowledge needed for working with communities. On pri ods of time. This could jeopardize making social assessments. vate land, practitioners should con consistent relationship building Furthermore, specific tools do not sider community-defined success as and the establishment of trust exist to evaluate the communities the priority for projects. The among practitioners and communi targeted for fuel reductions and administrative goals should be of ty members. FireWise programs. secondary concern. Community members should be Working with interface communi Differences among communities brought into the research process ties to develop collective manage will continue to make concrete as much as possible. Applied action ment of fuels and to reduce the risk solutions difficult to attain. research principles and techniques of wildland fire is a problem of Community-specific knowledge (Stringer 1996) can be learned by long-term coexistence between peo that is collected by practitioners is practitioners to help them increase ple and fire in the interface. The particularly useful. Time spent with community members’ participation timelines for the accomplishment community members, relationship and strengthen the partnering of tasks must be carefully consid building, and attending community process. One strategy might be to ered. Long- and short-term goals events all constitute locally relevant document and share the process of must be identified and documented. research that is invaluable to the partnering and assessment as it To foster success and sustainability successful implementation of proj unfolds between practitioners and for community wildland fire miti ects. residents in similar places. gation projects, longer timelines should be considered. As practitioners work in communi Individual Homeowners. Aesthetic ties and establish relationships of values are particularly important to Many of these barriers are adminis trust, they will achieve understand individual homeowners. In fact, trative, organizational, and political ing with residents regarding how aesthetic concerns regarding the in nature. They are beyond the the community actually sees its sit impact of fuels treatment on pri influence of many practitioners and uation, above and beyond the vate properties might be more social science researchers. appearance of individual properties. important to some residents than Acknowledging and documenting This perception will allow practi the expense of mitigation when these issues, however, can help tioners to better mold their educa deciding whether to thin trees. clarify barriers to effective commu tion programs and fuels projects to nication and the collective manage more appropriately fit individual A small number of vocal residents ment of wildland fire risk. communities. Furthermore, this could refuse to alter the appearance practice can also provide practition- Continued on page 42
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 39 Issues and Proposed Actions Common Goals and mentality reinforced with agency erations and, thus, take the Definitions of Success funding send conflicting mes appropriate action. sages to interface communities Issue being told that it is their respon Practitioners are concerned Aesthetic Values sibility to help mitigate the risks with a lack of alignment Issue of wildland fire? between generalized goals as It appears that some practitioners defined in the broad funding are narrowly defining social val Proposed Action plans of the organizations and ues in terms of aesthetics. This Directing funds at the the varying, more specific goals frustrates their efforts to engage wildland/urban interface problem that exist within communities. the community in discussing in a community before it has a These often emerge according broader concerns. When practi sense of ownership for a fuels to how a community has tioners define social values only project can complicate the situa framed both the issue and in terms of viewsheds, privacy, tion. Time should be invested to acceptable solutions. and natural appearing forests, foster ownership and responsibili they oversimplify the problem. ty for risk reduction projects Proposed Action before approaching communities Fuels management projects and Proposed Actions with grants. Practitioners can education programs should be Practitioners can discover the start by honestly telling commu evaluated based on what com broader visions of communities nities that there is no guarantee munities consider successful. by learning about and respecting that enough resources exist to While the higher level goals of their residents’ environmental stop all interface fires that might the organizations remain values, opinions, and preferences threaten them. important, community-defined for land management. success stories should be given Responding to how communities equal weight for evaluating Timelines define the problem involves tai community projects. Issue loring fuel reduction messages to Short-term goals often under match these definitions, and Appropriations mine the success of long-term exploring with residents how Mentality goals. Treating acres on 2-year their values and concerns might grant cycles can conflict with the already be compatible with miti Issue goal of sustainable and self- gation plans. Retreat participants discussed a organized communities who con concern that seems to have tinue to make firewise decisions. roots in the history of appropri Outreach to ating money for wildland fire Communities Proposed Actions suppression in the Western Issue Social science studies and longi United States. The apprehen Practitioners want some indica tudinal data are needed to track sion is that a lack of incentive tion or measure of general com whether or not communities that exists for some counties to munity readiness and capability have been considered short-term invest in wildland fire risk miti to partner on fuel reduction proj successes continue to manage gation because of a belief that ects. A primary concern is that fuels over the long term. Federal funds will clean up the without such tools, money that is costs—or simply prevent being allotted to programs will Organizations need to identify destruction by containing large not be well spent. and state their goals according to wildfires. Does a suppression long-term and short-term consid
Fire Management Today 40 and interactive basis. To facilitate Proposed Actions success, organizations should Proposed Actions Social science research is needed also consider the need for long Make the time for researcher to establish how response to risk, term consistency in personnel. and practitioner interactions. partnering, and readiness to man One strategy might be to allow Find a common, jargon-free age differ by: practitioners to work within the language that both groups can • General demographics, same communities for 5 to 7 understand. Outreach social • Level of community organiza years—while adjusting funding scientists with extension experi tion, cycles accordingly. ence need to assist practitioners • Region, and to bridge the divide between the • Amount and type of skills and Communication models, findings, and recom resources in communities. Dilemmas mendations of academic Issue research and actual implemen Issue There are interorganizational tation in communities. Practitioners are concerned that communication barriers that pre predetermined project goals can vent practitioners from relying Issues undermine community work. on each other as resources. Practitioners feel that the basic Lack of consistency between concepts communicated in the community goals and organiza Proposed Actions brochures should be consistent tional goals creates obstacles. To facilitate sharing, FireWise where appropriate, but must and mitigation professionals need also reflect any current differ Proposed action to ensure that project informa ences in ecological and regula Early in the partnering process, tion is accessible in a central tory conditions across the practitioners need to understand location. If documented and State. FireWise publications what communities have accom shared, models of success and and brochures must be current plished in identifying leadership failure can serve as invaluable and contemporary to reflect and resources, how they work tools among practitioners. Short this information. together, and how—as a commu stories of successes or mistakes nity—they define the problem. could be posted on Websites Proposed Actions Social science researchers can maintained by education and Standard FireWise information help through case studies. multimedia specialists. Such developed for certain regions of actions could help to transform the State should be carefully Path to Success the current state of wildfire risk discussed and adapted by practi Issue management into a well-organ tioners and communities to Successful community projects ized community of professional match local project condi depend on long-term relationship practitioners. tions—such as elevation and building and the establishment of forest type. In addition to stan trust between practitioners and Research and dard FireWise brochures, pref community members. erences for types of media and Practitioner Gap multiple media outlets (local Issue Proposed Action newspapers, TV, radio, Internet, An important communication It appears that the best way to and new electronic technolo link is missing between commu build relationships and to per gies) should be reviewed and nity practitioners and social sci form assessments is for practi ence researchers working on the tioners to be present in commu wildland/urban interface fire risk nities on a regular, long-term, problem.
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 41 Integrating Social Science Research and tists will not be able to do that for Into Forestry in the Practitioner practitioners. Wildland/Urban Interface Communication Gaps Continued from page 39 Because they often do not know Practitioners’ what types of information or tools Invaluable Insights of their land. These people might are useful for practitioners, The knowledge and insights of not trust partnering with outsiders. researchers struggle to translate practitioners currently in the field They might never participate. social science research into usable should not be underestimated. tools. Research agendas could Their personal research in commu Solutions for Improving therefore be refocused to work with nities provides invaluable insights. Communication practitioners’ needs. And social sci Practitioners who are open to the possibility could receive training to Communication problems within entists could consider interviewing improve their techniques. Their organizations at higher levels of more community practitioners to insights—and success stories— administration often present frus inform early stages of study devel should be documented and shared trating situations for practitioners opment. among all stakeholders. trying to build effective and appro priate programs for more local lev Social science research has the These insights could be developed els. State, regional, and local levels, potential to contribute new insights into rapid assessment tools or into however, present many opportuni for understanding the human screening tests to determine which ties to develop potentially success dimensions of wildland fire risk communities are ready to begin ful plans to address the interface reduction. Research findings from relationship building. For example, wildland fire mitigation problem. social science studies that could be applied to more than one commu before proposing a community project, a general checklist of key The primary challenge is integrat nity beyond the case study are considerations about a community ing communication, management, sought by practitioners. could be developed and used. and education programs across these hierarchies of organization. It Social scientists can also conduct Furthermore, opportunities also is clear that partnering and sharing program evaluation studies and exist to build collaborative relation information—across organizations, practitioners can document when ships with nontraditional partners, with communities, and between communities feel they have such as: practitioners—have improved. achieved success. However, even These efforts need to remain top when social science is able to con • Environmental groups, priorities when addressing the tribute important findings about • Realtors, interface wildland fire mitigation general demographic characteris • Homebuilders, problem. tics (level of community organiza tion, leadership, etc.), this informa • Natural resource and landscape planners, There is a general need for better tion can only be useful to practi • Insurance company representa communication and partnering tioners if they know something tives, and between practitioners and social about local demographics and com • Retail businesses. science researchers in defining munity organization. research goals. Social science Such a variety of partners could research findings need to be given In other words, practitioners still help update and share information to practitioners more quickly in a have to know their communities to about the various aspects of mitiga centralized location to be used as decide what general findings from tion in the interface. Some particu internal resources. For some stud studies are appropriate for local larly relevant topics would include ies, this means making findings and conditions and values. A key lesson FireWise construction materials practical recommendations avail for practitioners is that research and the development of markets for able in a format that is accessible— findings always need to be inter utilization of small-diameter wood and understandable—to practition preted in the context of their par byproducts. ers, before academic publication. ticular situations. Most social scien
Fire Management Today 42 More Retreats documented for lessons learned— References Recommended similar to the findings of this arti Alexander, M.E. 2003. Technology transfer cle. and wildland fire management/research. Leaders from both the research and Fire Management Today. 63(2): 41–42. management communities who Shindler, B.; Toman, E. 2003. Fuel reduc We must integrate the shared work in wildland fire risk mitiga tion strategies in forest communities: A knowledge of social scientists and longitudinal analysis of public support. tion should consider organizing practitioners to develop summa Journal of Forestry. 101: 8–15. and attending future retreats and rized tutorial themes. Such under Stringer, E.T. 1996. Action research: A workshops to build upon our handbook for practitioners. Thousand takings could be used in training October 2004 retreat. Oaks, CA: Sage. courses and assessment guides to USDA Forest Service. 2003. Strategic help diagnose community capacity framework: Rocky Mountain Research In future meetings, researchers Station. Fort Collins, CO. and barriers to collective risk man could listen to presentations from Wondolleck, J.M.; Yaffee, S.L. 2000. Making agement that is considered both collaboration work: Lessons from innova practitioners about their communi successful and sustainable by all tion in natural resource management. ty projects. The meetings and dis Washington, DC: Island Press. ■ stakeholders. cussions should be analyzed and
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 43 WILDFIRE MONITORING USING WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS
David M. Doolin and Nicholas Sitar
ffectively managing wildland Wildfire-Monitoring are stored in a database, which is fire requires understanding fire System then queried by the client applica behavior well enough for pre tion. E The wildfire-monitoring system is dicting and controlling fire occur comprised of a wireless sensor net rence, rate of spread, combustion of The client application combines the work coupled to visualization client fuel, and other factors. Safely con data with GIS information to dis software running on personal com trolling fires requires both under play the environmental conditions puters. The data collected by standing fire behavior and manag at each mote in near-real time. The instruments in the sensor network ing firefighters and firefighting equipment. Low-power wireless sensor technology can be Recent advances in computer tech nology have spurred the develop successfully deployed in wildland fires to collect ment of small low-power comput local environmental conditions such as ers, 0.8 inches by 2 inches (2 x 5 temperature, relative humidity, and barometric cm) in size, called “motes”. They pressure. host a wide variety of sensors, including:
• Temperature, • Humidity, • Barometric pressure, and • GPS-determined location.
Motes communicate using high-fre quency low-power radios. They may be programmed with applications allowing them to self-organize into wireless networks for reporting data to remote clients.
This article describes the architec ture and field trials of a wildfire- monitoring system built with off- the-shelf sensor mote technology. A set of unique data collected using this system during prescribed burns is also discussed.
David Doolin is an assistant research engi neer and Nicholas Sitar is a professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of Advanced Technology. Sensor mote with Lithium-ion battery and charging system California, Berkeley, CA. mounted on a development chassis.
Fire Management Today 44 network uses hubs to forward sen Testing the system be located far enough apart to allow sor data to a tablet computer base required collaboration estimating rate of spread, while station running packet collection being close enough to a base sta and database interface software and with numerous tion collecting data transmitted a database server. governmental agencies with low-power radios. Vertically, and many rehearsals to motes have to be deployed far Sensor data collection and network ensure the system enough above the fuel to allow applications are written in the nesC worked correctly during radio communication, but not too (Gay and others 2003) program far above the flames to prevent ming language to run in TinyOS, the controlled burn environmental fire data from being the Tiny Operating System (Levis events. collected. and others 2004; Levis and others 2005). The sensor board collects: For NFFL fuel model 1 fuels con sisting of half-meter (1.6-ft) grass • Temperature, The wildfire-monitoring system es, motes were deployed on cedar • Relative humidity, tool chain consists of many stakes approximately 5 feet (1.5 m) • Barometric pressure, commercial off-the-shelf hard from the ground. The estimated • Light intensity, and ware and software components flame length was approximately 5 • A GPS-determined location on an that communicate through cus feet (1.5 m). approximately 2-second sampling tomized interfaces: interval. Controlled Burn Data • Wireless sensor motes. • Stargate hub with base sta Test burns at Point Pinole were Each sensor mote in the network conducted on September 16 and 30, communicates to the base station tion mote. • 802.11b Stargate to PC appli 2004. The passage of the flame mote—possibly using neighboring front across the mote field is clearly motes to forward data packets when cation server. • Application server to Internet shown in the temperature and rela out of direct communication range tive humidity responses. of the base station. Because the link. passage of the flame front can • The monitoring system Web application toolset. The response of motes 2 and 10 quickly destroy a mote, algorithms illustrated how the temperature, for “multihop” data transmission— relative humidity, and barometric to ensure reliable delivery of data— pressure react as the fire progress are under active development. prescribed burns required the authors to earn type 2 wildland es. An upward trend in the temper firefighting certification.) ature during the time interval from More details of the hardware and 11:17 a.m. to 11:19 a.m., followed software developed for this project The burn site at Point Pinole was a by a downward trend from 11:19 are presented in Doolin and others a.m. to 11:21 a.m. was also shown. (2004) and Doolin and Sitar (2005). flat field with primarily annual The system was designed to be sim grasses with sparse poison-oak and coyote bush shrubs, best character Our preliminary interpretation ply operated for fast deployment (Doolin and Sitar 2005) is that the and increased reliability. ized by National Forest Fire Laboratory (NFFL) fuel model 1— initial upward trend results from radiant heat of the flame front, fol Field Testing fuels weighing approximately 1 ton per acre (2.2 t/ha) (Anderson 1982). lowed by local weather conditions Point Pinole Regional Shoreline is Fires in this fuel type are character as indicated by the downward located approximately 15 miles (24 ized by fast rate of spread with rela trend. The relative humidity shows km) northeast of San Francisco on tively short flame lengths. exactly inverse behavior from tem a peninsula extending into San perature. The barometric pressure Pablo Bay. The prescribed burns at Deploying the motes required con data have too much scatter to indi Point Pinole were conducted by the sidering flame length, rate of cate subtle changes in the local East Bay Regional Parks District spread, and radio communication weather conditions. Fire Department. (Participating in range. Horizontally, motes should
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 45 Burn Site. Looking north toward the Point Pinole burn testing area’s annual grasses from approximately 2,000 feet elevation. Image with superimposed latitude and longitude lines courtesy © Google Earth. (The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publica tion 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.)
Future Trends and The small size of the mote package Summary Developments allows deploying motes onto indi Low-power wireless sensor technol vidual firefighters. The simplicity of The following will help calibrate ogy can be successfully deployed in the system permits deploying a net and improve existing fire propaga wildland fires to collect data on work of motes with a team or tion models: local environmental conditions engine. One or more motes could such as temperature, relative also be used as a “lookout” system. • Quantitative data measuring the humidity, and barometric pressure. rate of wildfire propagation, The sensor network was composed For example, Eckert (2004) sug • The local temperature and rela of newly available commercial off- gests that a lookout could have pro tive humidity distributions at the-shelf motes and sensors, as well vided earlier warning for the hot each mote as the flame front trav as publicly available Web and data shot crew forced to deploy fire shel els, and base server applications. Testing the ters during the 1988 Brewer Fire— • The radiant heat produced by the system required collaboration with possibly allowing enough time to fire as it grows in size. numerous government agencies escape. Wireless sensor motes and many rehearsals to ensure that reporting temperature, relative Existing fire propagation models the system worked correctly during humidity, and barometric pressure include BEHAVE (Andrews and the controlled-burn events. can function as unmanned look- Bevins 1999), FARSITE (1999), as outs—reporting dangerous condi well as newer models for simulating Fuel types and topography influ tions to firefighter teams and the wildfire behavior on hectare-scale ence horizontal and vertical deploy incident command simultaneously. areas developed at the University of ment of sensors. In extreme condi California, Berkeley (John Radke, tions, when the physical survival of personal communication). the sensor is unlikely, the termina
Fire Management Today 46 Wireless sensor motes can function as unmanned Doolin, D.M.; Sitar, N. 2005..Wireless sen sors for wildfire monitoring. In: lookouts—reporting dangerous conditions to Proceedings of–SPIE Vol. 5765: firefighter teams and the incident command Symposium on Smart Structures and Materials; 6–10 March 2005; San Diego, simultaneously. CA. Doolin, D.M.; Sitar, N.; Glaser, S. 2004. Software architecture for GPS-enabled wildfire sensorboard. TinyOS Technology tion of data reported from a mote Acknowledgments Exchange Poster. Berkeley, CA: University provides an indication of the loca We thank the National Science of California. [Website tion of the flame front at a particu http://firebug.sourceforge.net/interface Foundation for funding under the poster.pdf] lar time. auspices of Information Technology Eckert, S.A. 2004. Reader comment: Brewer Research grant ITR/IM-0121693. Fire not so mysterious. Fire Management In future tests, we anticipate using Today. 64(2): 56. Many thanks to Chief Dennis Rein, Finney, M.A.; Andrews, P.L. 1999. FAR failure times for an array of sensors Captain Tim August, Lieutenant SITE—A program for fire growth simula to estimate the speed and direction Mike Sweeney, and firefighter Brad tion. Fire Management Notes. 59(2): 13–15. [Website of the hot, fast-moving flame Gallup of the East Bay Regional fronts. Because each unit has GPS http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/fmt/articles Parks District Fire Department for index.html] capability accurate to 5-meter (16 type 2 firefighter training and for Gay, D.; Levis, P.; von Behren, R.; Welsh, ft) resolution, data from arrays of the opportunity to test the system M.; Brewer, E.; Culler, D. 2003.The nesC sensors can help during case stud language: A holistic approach to net during prescribed burns. Thanks worked embedded systems. In ies for reconstruction—supple also to Karthik Dantu for helpful Proceedings, ACM SIGPLAN 2003 menting traditional methods review of this paper. Conference on Programming Language described by Alexander and Thomas Design and Implementation; 9–11 June (2003). 2003; New York, NY.: ACM Press: 1–11. References Levis, P.; Madden, S.; Gay, D.; Polastre, J.; Szewczyk, R.; Woo, A.; Brewer, E.; Culler, Alexander, M.E.; Thomas, D.A. D. 2004.The emergence of networking The data collected from the sensor 2003.Wildland fire behavior case studies abstractions and techniques in tinyOS. In arrays at Point Pinole appear to be and analyses: Other examples, methods, First Symposium on networked system reporting standards, and some practical unique in scope regarding: design and implementation (NSDI04), advice. Fire Management Today. 63(4): March 29-31, San Francisco, California, 4–12. USA, USENIX. pp. 1–14. • Density of sensor coverage, Anderson, H.D. 1982.Aids to determining Levis, P., S. Madden, J. Polastre, R. fuel models for estimating fire • Speed and accuracy of sampling, Szewczyk, K. Whitehouse, A. Woo, D. behavior.Tech. rep. Ogden, UT: USDA • Simplicity and speed of deploy Gay, J. Hill, M. Welsh, E. Brewer, , and D. Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Culler (2005).Tinyos: An operating sys ment, and Range Experiment Station. tem for wireless sensor networks. In Andrews, P.L.; Bevins, C.D. 1999.BEHAVE • Unit cost per data point. Ambient Intelligence. Eds: W. Weber, J.M. fire modeling system: Redesign and Rabaey, and E. Aarts. Springer-Verlag. expansion. Fire Management Notes. 59: Williams, J. 2004. Managing fire-dependent We expect both the quality and 16–19. [Website ecosystems: We need a public lands policy quantity of data collected will http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/fmt/articles debate. Fire Management Today. 64(2): index.html] improve as the technology matures, 6–11. ■ for order of magnitude or more cost reductions.
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 47 MACHINE PROVIDES ACCESS TO WETLANDS
Gerald Vickers
wenty-five years ago, the oil industry needed an off-road Beginning in the mid-1990s, the machines were T vehicle that could carry several used to help suppress large marsh wildfires and people and equipment over land, to assist in prescribed fire operations. water, and marsh inside its Louisiana swamp testing grounds. In 1981, Coast Machinery, Inc., still in use today,” says John Coast, ers, and fire suppression packages delivered its first “Marsh Master” to Coast Machinery president. to support prescribed and wildland an oilfield surveying company in fire operations. Lafayette, LA.* “That machine is The U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife How It Works Gerald Vickers is the regional fire manage Service purchased its first machine The Marsh Master utilizes a rubber ment specialist for the U.S. Department of in the early 1990s. Since then, belted track running on a wheel the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Marsh Masters have become known system that encircles a pontoon. Chesapeake Marshlands National Wildlife for their high-quality engineering Refuge, Cambridge, MD. This track and pontoon system— and high-flotation, low-ground coupled with an all-aluminum * The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this pressure capabilities. frame design—allows for high publication is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official flotation and good stability in open endorsement of any product or service by the U.S. Today, due to its customers’ needs, water. The machine requires very Department of Agriculture. Individual authors are the company has developed three responsible for the technical accuracy of the material low maintenance. presented in Fire Management Today. different models, specialized mow-
Safe space. A Marsh Master provides structure protection during interface prescribed fire operations at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, MD.
Fire Management Today 48 Due to its high-flotation, high Newest Model Proven Record ground-clearance, low-ground Today’s Marsh Master III: Marsh Master IIIs are currently pressure design, the Marsh Master maintained at Wallkill River can traverse various wetland ter • Carries 300 gallons of water in its National Wildlife Refuge, NJ, and rains that would challenge other pontoons for fire suppression; the Great Dismal Swamp National all-terrain vehicles. Thus, Marsh • Has a hydraulic power system Wildlife Refuge, VA, for use Masters have become a valuable used for its drive train, winch, throughout the U.S. Fish and tool supporting various refuge fire suppression pump, and Wildlife Service’s Northeast Region. operations in the U.S. Fish and mower deck—making it easy to Each of these machines is equipped Wildlife Service’s Northeast, South operate and maintain; with a 110-gallon (416-L) fire sup East, and Great Lakes Big Rivers • Is equipped with a 9.5-foot (2.8 pression unit and an easy-loading regions. They are routinely used in: m) custom-built mower for cut tilt-bed trailer that can be towed ting firebreaks through vegeta with a half-ton or larger pickup • Managing wildland fire, tion up to 3 inches (7.6 cm) in truck—without needing oversized • Posting remote refuge bound diameter; permits. aries, • Boasts a production rate of one- • Managing invasive wetland half to 2 acres (0.2–0.8 ha) per Each machine weighs approximate species, and hour—depending on vegetation ly 5,100 pounds (2,300 kg) and has • Assisting in refuge management size and thickness; a 1,500-pound (680-kg) payload and maintenance activities in • Can travel 13 miles per hour (21 capacity. All Marsh Master models sensitive wetland areas. km/h) on land and 2 miles per are designed to carry two people. hour (3 km/h) in open water; “Our machine has over 700 hours Beginning in the mid-1990s, the • Is powered by a 165-horsepower and reports no major breakdowns machines were used to help sup Cummins, 6-cycle, water-cooled, or high maintenance costs in the press large marsh wildfires and to turbo diesel engine that can turn past 9 years,” reports Keith Morris, assist in prescribed fire operations. the mower blades at 1,400 rounds engineering equipment operator, per minute; and Blackwater National Wildlife • Has a payload capacity of 3,000 Refuge, MD. ■ pounds (1,361 kg).
Volume 66 • No. 2 • Spring 2006 49 GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS Editorial Policy Government authors and coauthors must sign land fire terminology that conforms to the lat Fire Management Today (FMT) is an interna a release to allow their work to be in the pub est standards set by the National Wildfire tional quarterly magazine for the wildland fire lic domain and on the World Wide Web. In Coordinating Group under the National community. FMT welcomes unsolicited manu addition, all photos that are not the property Interagency Incident Management System. scripts from readers on any subject related to of the Federal Government require a written FMT uses the spelling, capitalization, hyphen fire management. Because space is a consider release by the photographer. The author and ation, and other styles recommended in the ation, long manuscripts might be abridged by photo release forms are available from United States Government Printing Office the editor, subject to approval by the author; General Manager Melissa Frey. Style Manual, as required by the U.S. FMT does print short pieces of interest to Department of Agriculture. Authors should readers. Logo. Authors who are affiliated should sub use the U.S. system of weight and measure, mit a camera-ready logo for their agency, with equivalent values in the metric system. Submission Guidelines institution, or organization. Your manuscript may be hand-written, typed, Try to keep titles concise and descriptive; sub or word-processed, and you may submit it Electronic files. You may submit your manu headings and bulleted material are useful and either by e-mail or by mail to one of the fol script either by mail or by e-mail. If you are help readability. As a general rule of clear lowing addresses: mailing a word-processed manuscript, submit writing, use the active voice (e.g., write, “Fire it on a 3-1/2 inch, IBM-compatible disk. managers know…” and not, “It is known…”). General manager: Please label all disks carefully with name(s) of Provide spellouts for all abbreviations. Consult USDA Forest Service file(s) and system(s) used. Submit electronic recent issues (at
Release Authorizations. Non-Federal Contributors Wanted We need your fire-related articles and photographs for Fire Management Today! Feature articles should be up to about 2,000 words in length but may be longer. We also take very short items. Subjects of articles published in Fire Management Today include: Aviation Firefighting experiences Communication Incident management Cooperation Information management (including systems) Ecosystem management Personnel Equipment/technology Planning (including budgeting) Fire behavior Preparedness Fire ecology Prevention/Education Fire effects Safety Fire history Suppression Fire science Training Fire use (including prescribed fire) Weather Fuels management Wildland/urban interface To help prepare your submission, see “Guidelines for Contributors” in this issue.
Fire Management Today 50 PHOTO CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT
Fire Management Today (FMT) invites Rules Photo: name, professional affiliation, you to submit your best fire-related • The contest is open to everyone. You town, state, year image captured. images to be judged in our annual may submit an unlimited number of • A panel of judges with photography competition. Judging begins after the entries taken at any time. No photos and publishing experience deter first Friday in March of each year. judged in previous FMT contests may mines the winners. Its decision is be entered. final. Awards • You must have the right to grant the • We will eliminate photos from com All contestants will receive a CD with Forest Service unlimited use of the petition if they are obtained by illegal the images remaining after technical image, and you must agree that the or unauthorized access to restricted and safety reviews. Winning images image will become public domain. areas; lack detailed captions; have will appear in a future issue of FMT Moreover, the image must not have date stamps; show unsafe firefighting and will be publicly displayed at the been previously published. practices (unless that is their express USDA Forest Service’s national office in • We prefer original slides or nega purpose); or are of low technical Washington, DC. Winners in each cate tives; however, we will accept dupli quality (for example, have soft focus gory will receive: cate slides or high-quality prints (for or show camera movement). example, those with good focus, con • You must complete and sign a • 1st place—Camera equipment worth trast level, and depth of field). Note: release statement granting the USDA $300 and a 20- by 24-inch framed We will not return your slides, nega Forest Service rights to use your copy of your image. tives, or prints. image(s). Mail your completed • 2nd place—A 16- by 20-inch framed • We will also accept digital images if release with your entry or fax it to copy of your image. the image was shot at the highest 970-295-5815 at the same time you • 3rd place—An 11- by 14-inch framed resolution using a camera with at e-mail your digital image files. copy of your image. least 2.5 megapixels or if the image • Honorable mention—An 8- by 10 was scanned at 300 lines per inch or Mail entries to: inch framed copy of your image. equivalent with a minimum output USDA Forest Service size of 5 x 7. Digital image files Fire Management Today Photo Contest Categories should be TIFFs or highest quality Karen Mora • Wildland fire JPGs. 2150 Centre Avenue • Prescribed fire • You must indicate only one competi Building E, Suite 008 • Wildland/urban interface fire tion category per image. To ensure Fort Collins, CO 80526 • Aerial resources fair evaluation, we reserve the right or • Ground resources to change the competition category e-mail images and captions to: • Miscellaneous (fire effects; fire for your image.
Sample Photo Release Statement Enclosed is/are (number) image(s) for publication by the USDA Forest Service. For each image submitted, the contest category is indicated and a detailed caption is enclosed. I have the authority to give per mission to the Forest Service to publish the enclosed image(s) and am aware that, if used, it/they will be in the public domain and appear on the World Wide Web.
Contact information: Name Institutional affiliation, if any Home or business address
Telephone number E-mail address
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