Prescribed Fire Escape - Six Rivers National Forest
Wildfires are already a hot button in California, following on the heels of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in the State’s history just last year. Governor Brown holds up the wildfire impact as a certain indicator of climate change in the State’s suit against the U.S. Government headed by climate denier-in chief, President Trump. Local governments are joining in the fray. 2018 looks to be no different.The Grape Fire was an escaped prescribed fire being jointly conducted by the Six Rivers and Shasta-Trinity National Forests at the end of last month. According to the Redding Interagency Command Center WildCAD records, the Sims burn was converted from a prescribed fire to a wildfire and renamed as the Grape Fire at 4:59pm on April 24th. Fortuna Interagency Command Center records the first order for suppression resources to respond to the Grape Fire at 6:18pm. The Redding dispatch center serves the Shasta-Trinity National Forest (SHF), while Fortuna serves the Six Rivers National Forest (SRF).
Fig. 1 Official Grape Fire incident map with an insert showing the nearest structures just ½ mile east of the fire perimeter.
An unnamed fire official working on the Six Rivers reported that the two Forests were conducting separate operations with separate Burn Bosses “on either side of the ridge.” This individual also reported that the fire never left the designated project area, for which a NEPA analysis had been conducted, and SHF officials did not attempt to contact the SRF Duty Officer, prior to making the conversion to a wildfire. The official map below seems to suggest that the fire left the project area, but these were only the units being burned at this time. The Sims Fire Restoration project area is much larger and covers the entire landscape with a variety of treatments. This official suggested the only reason the fire was converted was the additional expense of aircraft and the need to order CalFire crews that will not work non-wildfire projects like prescribed fires unless a local agreement to exchange funds is in place. In the absence of that, CalFire crews can only be activated through the statewide interagency agreement covering wildfires.
The InciWeb site for the Grape Fire, administered by a Shasta-Trinity flack states, “The most recent prescribed burn was on the Six Rivers National Forest, however the Shasta-Trinity National Forest is taking the lead on the wildfire response due to the larger number of acres on the Shasta-Trinity.” There seems to be a need to point fingers at the SRF and point out that the SHF was saving the day. Clearly, someone on the SHF side took strong offense to the escape starting on the SRF side of the hill, but let’s be real. While there was checkerboard ownership in the fire area with structures and private land within a mile of the fire area, the response does not seem commensurate with the values at risk. There seems to be ample roads in the fire area and the nearest structure appears amenable to a point protection strategy.
InciWeb continues the finger pointing by offering the following narrative:
The last time that prescribed burning was initiated was on April 19, 2018. The fire was staffed every day for the following five days. At 3 p.m. on April 24, crews from the Six Rivers National Forest monitoring the fire observed very little to no heat or smoke showing in the prescribed fire area and returned to their station. This observation was similar to those of the previous four days. At 4:59 p.m. that same day the Shasta-Trinity National Forest responded to the report of smoke and initiated a wildfire response.
The first spot weather forecast requested from the National Weather Service in Eureka at 2pm on April 25th called for “chance of showers Friday through Sunday.” By the 26th the forecast called for “cooler temperatures accompanied by showers will spread across the region during Friday. Additional showers are expected during Saturday.” Knowing this on the 26th it begs the question why the incident ramped up from 150 folks to 218, forcing crews to build direct line in a dangerous snag patch with slick surfaces underfoot in the rain? As soon as wetting rain coated the fine fuels, rapid rates of spread are impossible. Heavy fuels may continue to burn down, but smoldering and creeping are the only spread vectors, not torching and spotting.
By April 28th InciWeb showed as many as 218 personnel committed to the incident, including six crews, eleven engines, two dozers and a helicopter. All for what? What were the values at risk to warrant such a robust response, when significant rain was predicted. In fact, the nearest weather station began to receive trace amounts of precipitation by the morning of Friday, April 27th. Rain continued all day on Saturday and into Sunday leaving 0.4 to 0.8 inches of accumulated rain across the fire area, with a greater accumulation and longer duration closer to the coast. Sadly, the least rain fell on the offices of the SHF in Big Bar and Hayfork, likely influencing the risk decision made from the dry side of the mountains. One has to ask how much unnecessary dozer line was constructed with all the associate negative impacts? Perhaps the SHF was too wrapped around the axle for losing some recently planted trees. Asking firefighters to build direct line through a snag patch in the rain smacks of overkill and poor risk decision-making.
Table 1 Rainfall amounts at nearby weather stations for the period April 27-29 (from Mesowest)
This prescribed fire was being conducted as part of the multi-million-dollar Sims Fire Restoration Project, funded by the huge settlement against PG&E awarded to the U.S. after the electrical power behemoth was found to have been negligent in the 2004 Sims Fire. The Sims Fire started, allegedly, when a “100-foot-tall Douglas-fir tree broke and struck a PG&E transmission line.” The power company ended up paying more millions in settlements to private entities, as did the sub-contractor doing the tree work. The theme of power infrastructure, built to endure 40 mph winds, being overcome by violent storm winds will be a recurring theme under a climate change regime. Longer seasons of burning, more lightning, more violent storms, more wind – all expected in the near future. It’s no accident that power companies butcher vegetation near their transmission lines. PG&E will be embroiled in litigation for years after last year’s fires around Santa Rosa.
On the Lower Trinity District of the SRF, fire managers should be applauded for going out and getting the less glamorous, but still risky, work of fuel reduction done. Fewer and fewer young firefighters find an interest in being a Burn Boss, perceiving more professional risk and a risk averse management posture. Frankly, the increasingly insular California wildland firefighting culture is less and less willing to engage in any activity that might invite public scorn, preferring the eternal gratitude showered on those embracing the pure suppression mentality. There will often be criticism, however misplaced, of any land management activity embarked upon by Federal officials. The anti-government sentiment stirred up by conservative think tanks has made land managers easy targets, especially when the unexpected occurs. But the Sims Prescribed Fire Burn Boss should understand there is no dishonor and no shame. No private property was damaged and the fire stayed in the project area.
The Six Rivers National Forest is hurting right now with a Forest Supervisor, Forest Fire Chief, Fire Planner and Fire Program Support positions recently vacated. Another Chief is transferring to the SHF soon, and it begs the question, “Who is mentoring and shielding the Burn Boss from an overly aggressive smear campaign from a neighboring Forest?” A review of the incident is scheduled, and there are questions to be asked, like the following:
Should the incident have been rated Type 2 rather than Type 3 in complexity?
Why weren’t spot weather forecasts requested before April 25th?
Was there adequate coordination between the two Forests?
Should there have been a single Burn Boss for the entire project, irrespective of Forest boundaries?
And most importantly, was the firefighter risk exposure during the suppression effort, cost and damage to resources commensurate with the values at risk, especially considering the weather forecast?
Was retardant used in the Grapevine Creek drainage, a retardant avoidance area and likely domestic water source for nearby homeowners?
In no way should this prescribed fire be a programmatic setback. Learn and move on. FUSEE supports and honors those willing to return fire to the landscape, and they should be applauded in the same way as those who extinguish fires. Let’s place the microscope on the suppression response, instead.