Incident Management Team - South Carolina

UPDATE:

Good morning everyone!

The Incident Management Team that was deployed to South Carolina will return to Pennsylvania on Monday, October 30. Their last day will be Sunday, October 29.

This year was the first year Pennsylvania has sent IMTs outside of the state. Everyone's efforts were greatly appreciated!

Advantages of Fire

Most of the time when a person hears the word 'fire' they only think of the negatives and the destruction, when sometimes fire can be beneficial to our environment. They can benefit plants: reducing disease spread, releasing nutrients and encouraging growth.

Some coniferous trees have cones that rely on heat to release the seeds. They are called serotinous cones.

Serotinous cones are covered in a resin that must be melted before the cone can open and release the seeds. As the fire moves through a forest and the cones open, the seeds are distributed by the wind. There is a species of pine that grows from Georgia to Pennsylvania that has serotinous cones – Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens). It grows in dry, rocky sites.

Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens) range

Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens) cones.

Another example of fire being beneficial is with the Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), it requires fire to burn off plants surrounding it. Plants compete for nutrients, light, water and space. As a seedling, the Longleaf pine grows a large root system and has very long waxy needles surrounding the buds. They do this because of the frequent ground fires to protect the seedlings while the other plants are burned off – resulting in less competition.

Because of fire suppression and human development the Longleaf pine ecosystem has degraded from an area of approximately 90 million acres to about 2 million acres. Foresters have been using fire to regain the Longleaf pine areas.

Disease and pests that prey on trees are easily destroyed by fire. More trees die each year from pests and diseases than fires. They also help eliminate invasive species such as Japanese knotweed.

Prescribed fire is one of the more important tools that foresters possess to manage our ecosystems. By burning away the loads of fuels, prescribed fires make locations safer for potential future fires. If all fire is suppressed, fuel can add up and allow larger, sometimes uncontrollable, fires to occur. These fires could be so intense that seeds could be destroyed in the soil, which will hinder new growth.

Fire kicks off vital natural processes by breaking down organic matter into nutrients, which are brought back into the soil (usually by rain). This provides a rich seedbed for plants. The process that a forest undergoes after a fire is called ecological succession.

Eastern meadowlarks benefit from fires; the fires help maintain meadowlands which the birds use for food and rest. White-tailed deer benefit from the new growth for food.

If you would like to learn more about how wildfires are affected by fuels, topography and weather you can click here to read more.

Incident Management Team - South Carolina

Update:

Pennsylvania has sent an incident management team out for Hurricane support, combined with members from FEMA, they will be working out of  Charleston, South Carolina.  Their assignment will be to  run a FEMA receiving and distribution center, just as they did in New Jersey. This center will be supporting Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.  Their assignment is for seven days, with the possibility to extend. The team departed Sunday morning at 10:45 and arrived there Sunday evening. Their first operational period was Monday 10/16/2017.

Weather and Fires

Weather and Fires

Weather plays a part in all the stages of a fire’s life. Wind aids in the progress and drought conditions make for favorable fire conditions.

The three parts of weather that can affect fires are:

·         Temperature

·         Wind

·         Moisture

Temperature is one of the key components of the fire triangle because it generates heat. Warmer temperatures allow fuels to ignite and burn faster. Fires tend to rage in the afternoon hours when the temperature is hottest.

Wind has the biggest and most unpredictable impact on fires. It dries fuels more, provides the fire with another pillar from the fire triangle – oxygen, and pushes the fire further.

Large, violent wildfires can create vertical tilted, masses of swirling air generated by the fire’s heat, these phenomena are called fire whirls. They have been known to hurl debris over large distances.

A fire can generate its own winds that can be up to 10 times faster than surrounding winds. Because of the way winds affect them, fires can sometimes seem like they have a mind of their own – throwing embers into the air and creating more fire, in a process called spotting. Wind can also push fires further up, igniting the canopy of trees, creating a crown fire.

We have discussed factors that help fire, there is another aspect of weather than can hinder fires – moisture. Humidity can go both ways to be a help or be a hindrance to fire. If humidity is low there is less moisture in the air, so fires can ignite. However, if the humidity is high, fuels are less likely to ignite. Rain and other precipitation increase the moisture in fuels and as a result suppress potential wildfires.

If you would like to learn more about how wildfires are affected by fuels, topography and weather you can click here to read more.

Fire Tower Friday

Today I would like to share with you a Fire Tower in Pennsylvania that I found to be of interest!

SNOWY MOUNTAIN FIRE TOWER

Fire District 1

The Snowy Mountain tower was built in 1975 by the Aermotor Windmill Company in Franklin county. The tower stands 80 feet above ground level, and while it is not currently manned it could be if required. 

The current tower took the place of the original Aermotor tower built in 1930; On October 29, 1973 vandals cut two of the four legs with hacksaws and felled the tower. They were eventually caught and were charged with replacing the tower at a cost of $45,800 -  that is the tower standing today. 

Snowy Mountain is registered in the National Historic Lookout Register under Registry Number: US 388, PA 9. It was registered on July 1, 2001 after being nominated by Michael Kusko, Jr., District Forester. 

Fall Fire Season

Just a small update that the PA fall fire season is starting to gear up. 

In District 9 alone there were several fires in one day.

Fire Tower Friday

Today I would like to share with you a Fire Tower in Pennsylvania that I found to be of interest!

DRY LAND HILL FIRE TOWER

Fire District 11

Dry Land Hill, Luzerne County, Buck Township

The Dry Land Hill tower was built in 1921 by the Aermotor Windmill Company in Buck township, Luzerne county. The tower stands 60 feet above ground level, and while it is not currently manned, it could be if required. The current tower will be replaced with a more modern tower. On March 30, 1949 the Wilkes-Barre Evening News ran some news about the only woman at the time being a fire tower watcher: "The only woman in the State at present holding such a job, 'Honey' as she is known to residents of Bear Creek, was appointed to the position of fire tower watcher in 1922 by R. Lynn Emmerick, who was at that time district forester for Lackawanna District of Pennsylvania Department of Forest and Water. She was 15 years old at the time."

PAS #8

Update:

PAS #8 will be flying home tomorrow, Sept 16, via commercial airlines, and arrive at approximately 9:00 pm.

They will overnight in Harrisburg and be released to their districts Sunday morning.

Fuel Loads

Let’s talk about fuels and fuel loads today.

A wildfire’s potential to spread is based on the type and amount of fuel it has access to. Fuel can be pretty much anything: trees, underbrush, grassy fields, homes, etc. Fuel loads are the amount of flammable material surrounding the fire and are measured by the amount of fuel per unit area, usually in tons per acre.

Light fuel loads (above) will cause a fire to burn and spread slowly, with low intensity.

Heavy fuel loads (above) will make the fire burn more intensely, causing it to spread faster. The faster the fire heats up the materials around it, the quicker they will ignite.

Dryness of fuels can also affect a fire’s behavior: when fuel is very dry it is consumed much quicker.

There are a few fuel characteristics that decide how a fire is affected:

·         Size and shape

·         Arrangement

·         Moisture content

Flashy fuels, such as dry grass, pine needles, dry leaves, etc. burn faster than large logs or stumps. Different fuels take longer to ignite than others – ignition time is the ratio of the fuel’s total surface area to its volume. The smaller, flashy fuels, have surface areas that aren’t much larger than their volume – resulting in a quicker ignition. Whereas a tree’s surface area is much smaller than its volume, which means it will need more time to ignite.

The heat and smoke from a fire approaching the fuel causes the fuel’s moisture to evaporate - drying out the material faster. Oxygen can reach more spaced out fuels easier, and as a result they will burn faster than the tightly packed fuels. Tightly packed fuels absorb some of the fire’s heat because they retain more moisture than the loosely packed fuels.

If you would like to learn more about how wildfires are affected by fuels, topography and weather you can click here to read more.

Incident Management Team

Update:

The Type 3 Incident Management Team assigned to Fort Dix, New Jersey returned home last night from their assignment. 

We have some personnel on another IMT team with PEMA in Florida.

Operational Leadership Academy

UPDATE:

With the Planning Level being at 5 in the west, and the threat of more hurricanes hitting our coasts  the Division has decided to cancel OLA until next year. The Division has been asking the districts to free up their people to respond to the many incidents across the country and it would not be right for us to hold back people for a training.  OLA is important, but not as important as the impact that we could have on the victims of the fires and storms across the nation.  

Incident Management Team

Good morning everyone! Time for another update:

Late Tuesday night we received a call to put an IMT together to run a receiving and distribution center out of Fort Dix NJ.  The center would be the hub for all commodities going to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, as the hurricane moves through. 

With most of our IMT personnel being deployed to other parts of the country, we were able to pull together 7 IMT personnel from DCNR teams and 3 from PEMA.

The members of the IMT arrived Wednesday and tied in with the FEMA representatives there. 

One member sent in this photo for an update:

IMT at Lakehurst Naval Air Station running a FEMA distribution center.

As of Sunday 9/10/2017 the team processed a total of 64 trailers:36 in and 28 out.   

PAS #7

Update:

PAS #7 arrived back in Pennsylvania last night around 1700 on a Sierra Pacific NICC jet. The heavy rain and thunderstorms at the Harrisburg International Airport made for a slightly delayed flight. The crew members from PA were able to leave for their home districts shortly after arriving at the Mobilization Unit.

The engines also began their trek home from Montana yesterday, so we will be seeing them soon.

Crew Member Photos

A member of the Engine Crews sent in some pretty neat pictures to share!

These are from a burn out that Engines 601 and 604 were helping with on the Sartin Draw Fire in Montana.

This picture was taken as the engines were headed to the line on their last shift. A group of Mule deer, always a nice sight!

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A crew member from PAS 8 sent this awesome photo today!

PAS #8

UPDATE:

Earlier today PAS #8 left on commercial flights for Missoula, Montana. They will receive the location of their assignment upon arrival. We will continue to keep you updated as we learn more.

8/31/2017 1700 (1500 Crew time)

A crew member from PAS #8 sent this picture in with the update that the crew had arrived and was waiting for their assignment.

8/31/2017 2123 (1923 Crew time)

The crew member updated that PAS #8 will be assigned to the Sartin Draw Fire in eastern Montana tomorrow. An eight hour drive from Missoula.

Crew Member Photos

An engine crew member sent in these fantastic photos for submission on the blog. 

Below are some photos of the Engine Crew Members drying their gear after a storm cell blew through while they were assigned to the Mauer Mountain Fire. Unfortunately the rain didn't reach the fire itself, and chose our firefighters to pour on.

Here are some photos from a burn out Engines 604 and 601 did on the Mendenhal Fire

PAS #7

UPDATE:

PAS #7 Departed from Harrisburg on Monday 8/20/2017. For some of them it was their first time on a fire assignment, so that would make for a memorable trip. But even those who have been out before were treated to something to make their trip that much more memorable! Their flight left before the solar eclipse hit it's totality in our part of the world. 

PAS #7 loading onto buses to be transported to the Harrisburg International Airport to board the NICC Jet.

PAS #7 loading their gear into the NICC Jet in preparation for their flight.

The crew arrived safely at their destination and are currently at the Lolo Peak Fire.

Crew Member Photos

Crew members from Engine 601 provided this photo on their last night of their assignment in Miles City, Montana. 

PAS #5 and #6 Update

UPDATE:

PAS #5 and #6 returned home from California last night between 1600 and 2200. They returned on staggered flights. Upon arriving at the Mobilization Center they were fed thanks to the volunteers at the Mobilization Center. After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast, they were released to their districts this morning at 0700.

Tonight, the crew members for PAS #7 will be arriving at the Mobilization Center to check in and receive necessary gear for their assignment in Montana. They will be departing via NICC jet tomorrow afternoon.

Incident Management Situation Update

The National Multi-Agency Coordination Group (NMAC) set the National Preparedness Level to 5 last week.

The NMAC establishes Preparedness Levels through the year to help assure that firefighting resources are ready to respond to new incidents. The levels are dictated by fuel and weather conditions, as well as fire activity and resource availability.

The levels range from 1 to 5 – 5 being the highest. As the levels rise, more federal and state employees become available for mobilization.

Being at Preparedness Level 5 means that national mobilization is heavily committed and measures need to be taken to support Geographic Areas. Active Geographic Areas must take emergency measures to sustain incident operations.

• Full commitment of national resources is ongoing
• Resource orders filled at NICC by specifically coordinating requests with Geographic Area Coordination Centers as resources become available
• Potential for emerging significant wildland fires is high and expected to remain high in multiple geographic areas.

The current situation report from the National Interagency Coordination Center has listed the Active Incident Resource Summary with totals as:

• ·         Fires: 104
• ·         Cumulative Acres: 815,591
• ·         Crews: 508
• ·         Engines: 879
• ·         Helicopters: 171
• ·         Total Personnel: 19,793

This year to date there have been 42,185 fires and 6,350,711 acres across the nation.

Pennsylvania currently has 2 firefighter crews consisting of 20 firefighters (each) assigned to the Minerva 5 Fire in California and 2 engine crews consisting of 4 firefighters (each) assigned to Montana. PA also has one crew listed available to assist in any further operations.

If you would like to reference the National Interagency Fire Center for more information about the Preparedness Levels or see the most current NICC Situation Report click here.

Wildland Fire Crew Update

UPDATE:

PAS#5 and PAS#6 have been reassigned to the Hayfork Ranger District in the Shasta Trinity National Forest. They have been doing some initial attack, supporting burnouts, and mopping up. 

Engines E601 and E604 did a crew swap in Miles City, MT. Extreme drought conditions and gusty winds continue to plague eastern Montana. The engines are part of an initial attack taskforce and they have been fairly busy.

Fire Camp Final Post

Hello again! Today is the final post in the fire camp series. Thank you so much for sticking with me and following along, I appreciate it!

We had completed the final event for the day successfully. Lastly was the long hike and spiking out for camp. Of course, the other lady and myself were collected and put in the vehicle for the way back. It had been a long day for everyone, and I was still tense from my anxiety attack, but I felt accomplished.

Once we made it back to where we were camping for the night it was time to set up. I used the 60 second tent my co-worker lent me, and got it done quick. I then unrolled my sleeping bag and took out the clothes I would need for the morning.

Deciding that I had plenty of time to shower and eat, I started gathering my hygiene kit. One of the females in my crew asked me to go with her in a buddy system and I agreed; another member of our crew walked down with us as well. I took a quick shower and returned to my tent, and having switched over to flip flops to give my feet some air I was fairly content.

I joined the others in the large tent with my MRE (grilled chicken breast and minestrone soup) and listened to the others chatter as they waited for theirs to heat. When I was in boot camp we never used the heaters, in my opinion it doesn’t ever make much of a difference of more than a few degrees. I didn’t bother wasting the time and dug in, ignoring some of the odd looks I was given.

I snickered when I heard our Crew Supervisor make the comment that he regretted wasting the time on the heater.  My co-worker stopped by to ask me about the day, I told him that I was still thoroughly exhausted and looking forward to curling up in my sleeping bag for the night. I finished what was left of my MRE and went to my tent; not long after my head hitting my makeshift blanket I was asleep.

The next morning I was up earlier than planned due to 1. A very loud diesel engine firing up near my tent 2. Someone saying “GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE” to literally everyone who walked by and 3. I was ready for the day to be over already. We were told breakfast was at 8, I had woken up at 6, so that gave me 2 hours to tear down camp and put my gear in the cabin to be picked up, brush my teeth and get to breakfast. I handled the first two things within an hour, and I took a lap around the camp area before deciding to take a chance that we could eat breakfast early.

Strangely enough, the breakfast hall was already open and some members of the other crews were in there eating. It was only 7:10, oh well, I grabbed my food and sat down at a table with people I recognized. I finished eating, but got up for a coffee and joined someone I knew from my crew. I sat and talked with him as he finished his food, and walked out with him to where we were gathering in the tent for our final classes.

The last class was about what to pack when going on an assignment. There are plenty of essentials to pack and then it’s down to personal preference. Of course, one also must remember the weight limit for flying. There are items that you can get once you arrive at your destination.

Once this class was over we got our reviews from our crew bosses and received our certificates of completion. I thought that I had done well for my limitations, and it seemed that my review reflected that as well. We cleaned up common areas that we used over the weekend, and then headed to the last event of the day: a final meeting.

We gathered in the amphitheater for closing remarks, and finally we were done. I had learned a lot this weekend, and it was still kind of spinning around my head in a fervor; but I did feel prepared. I didn’t feel like if I were to be assigned on a fire, that I’d be completely lost.

Speaking from a support point of view, I recommend taking this camp if you’re going to be in a support position. It would really help you to understand what the firefighters are doing and going through while on an assignment. Be prepared for it, don’t go in blind – even if you’re behind the scenes.

-Katie

Wildland Fire Crew Updates

UPDATE:

The Wildland Fire Crew had a pretty eventful week this week; it saw firefighters coming home safe and fresh crews leaving to assist in fires.

PAS#3 and PAS#4 returned from Montana on Tuesday evening, as PAS#5 and PAS#6 were assembling and heading to California for the Minerva 5 Fire. 

Crews 3 and 4 retrieve their gear from the plane.

The fifth and sixth crews to leave Pennsylvania this year were requested to fly commercial, and after two days of cancelled, postponed, and rerouted flights, all crewmembers have finally arrived at the incident. They have been assigned to the night shift.

We’ve also received requests to replace the crews on the two engines that have been assigned to Montana for the past two weeks, and those crews will leave this weekend. These engines are serving as part of a task force performing initial attack in eastern Montana.

Fire Camp Pt. 5

Hello all, we are closing in on the end of my Fire Camp "series." Just one more section after this! I do thank you for sticking with me so far.

Our final event was to learn about medical evacuations while on the fire line. We watched a video about a situation where a firefighter was injured and needed to be evacuated by helicopter. However, it was almost 12 hours before he was removed. The team relied too much on the helicopter coming, but there were many dead ends for the helicopter.

We learned how to carry a crew member out on a litter and how to make one from materials at hand as well. Our group also showed the instructors how to use our Nomex shirts to create a litter; it held light and heavy weight successfully.

Next, we ran a scenario. Our crew was once again split in half for this. We were assisting on a fire where we had to attack from two sides. One had to go up a very steep logging trail to attack the fire, and the other took a slightly less steep trail. I was on the crew on the less steep trail.

We were digging line when it came across the radio that there was a medical situation with a firefighter – she had twisted her ankle severely. We continued to work because the situation was under control. Soon after however, the situation escalated and they needed help getting her from the fire line.

We made our way off the line we had dug and made our way to the other crew. We picked up the litter that was laying at the gathering point and climbed the hill.

Then I had a problem…

My physical limitations wouldn’t have allowed me to safely carry her, myself and my tool down the side of this hill. I had problems getting up it as it were, and when I realized this I had a small anxiety attack. I let my squad leader know what was going on and explained my limitations. I then removed myself from the situation without jeopardizing the safety of myself or others.

I felt terrible that I had to bow out, but, at this point I thought to myself it’s almost over there’s not much I can mess up now. But another part of me was worried that I would fail the camp because I didn’t finish that part.

They brought her down off that steep hill in a safe manner; someone had thought to tie all the tools together and bring them down that way to give the others balance while carrying her. They signaled the helicopter (no, not a real one) in and got her evacuated swiftly.

Next week I will post the conclusion to my series! I hope you stayed tuned!

-Katie

Fire Camp Pt. 4

Hello all, welcome to another addition to my Fire Camp saga! Sit back and enjoy!

The second event for the day was to learn how to run water pumps and lay hose line. I didn’t feel too out of place here since we run pumps at the tanker base and I’ve helped lay 3-inch hose line.

Here our crews were divided in half to complete the exercises. The half I was in were learning about hose while the other half was learning about pumps. We were given the chance to look over a type 6 engine as we were being taught about engine capabilities and safety. Once the instructor was done telling us about the engines he told us he wanted 1000 feet of 1 ½ inch hose laid with perpendicular 1” hose every 200 feet for coverage. Then he gestured to a stack of hose and attachments and told us to get to work.

The hoses were in 100 foot lengths, so we gathered what we could of the 1 ½ inch and began laying them out. Every 200 feet connecting them with a Y to allow for the perpendicular hose. It wasn’t until almost the end that we realized we were 100 feet short of our goal. Our option was to try and use the smaller hose to make the length, but lose the coverage inward. We didn’t think to ask the engine operator if he had any hose that we could borrow to make the length. We assumed that all the equipment was stacked in one spot. Upon realizing this other option, it was called that the line could be rolled back in.

We began to tear down our hose line, while learning how to roll the hose and wrap it “Butterfly.” I understood how to roll the hose, you needed to put the threaded end of the hose to the inside and roll it onto itself like a fruit roll up. The threads to the inside was to protect the threads from being damaged during transport and storage. The butterfly roll was new to me however. Basically, it was using your arms as a holder for the hose and looping the hose around them in a giant figure eight. Kind of a fun process to be honest.

It was then our turn to learn how to use the Mark III pump. Once the instructor was done going over how to set up and start the pump, our crew had to carry it to the nearby creek and get it set up. We had to attach the end of the hose to a shovel to put it in the water and get water. The team set up the pump quickly, I grabbed the hose needed to connect the pump to the engine only to realize that the two ends I had were both male. I needed an adapter to make this work. Luckily, there was one in the pump truck. I got that hose connected and we had successfully set up the pump to the engine.

The last thing we did at this event was to set up sprinklers to save a residence after joining back up with the other half of the crew. We walked around the building making observations about where we would need to focus the water or would have to potentially remove hazards. We also discussed how to handle a situation where the homeowner didn’t want us to help save his home.

With a plan formulated we set up the sprinklers with the best coverage we could manage, then hooked them to the pump waiting for another successful event. One hose wasn’t connected right and came undone from the adapter once we put water through it, but otherwise we saved the home.

The day was close to coming to an end, we only had one event left before the long hike back to camp and dinner.

Only two more posts in this story! I hope you decide to stick with me!

-Katie

PA Crew Updates

UPDATE:

PAS#3 and PAS#4:

After spending a week of hard work on the Corral Creek Fire in Idaho, have been reassigned to the Meyers Fire near Philipsburg, MT. Pennsylvania already has several single resources working with the Incident Management Team on this fire. 

PAS#1 and PAS#2:

Returned to Harrisburg on Sunday afternoon following their two-week assignment.

Engines E601 and E604:

Extreme drought conditions and gusty winds continue to plague eastern Montana. These engines, as part of a seven-engine strike team, were some of the first resources on the Buffalo Fire, which has grown to over 3,000 acres in two days. One other single resource is currently assigned to the Buffalo Fire.

Engines 601 and 604

UPDATE:

Good day all!

Engines 601 and 604 departed from PA Forest District 07 this morning around 1045. They are on their way to Miles City, Montana on a severity assignment

We will continue to keep you all updated on the engines and fire crews as soon as we can!

Fire Camp Pt. 3

Hello again all! Time for another installment in my fire camp posts. I will have 3 more after this one, and I hope you will continue to stick with me for it!

I waited for the rest of my crew at our first exercise point, we were going to be heading into the events with digging fire line. I was a little relieved at that, getting this out of the way before the heat of the day really cranked up seemed like a grand idea to me.

We were divided into 4 squads and had Squad Bosses who were in their own training like us. There were either 2 or 3 students under each Squad Boss, and we reported to those respective leaders. They would then report to our Crew Boss.

Our goal was to dig a 3-foot-wide fire line with a foot in the middle down to mineral soil. We had a selection of tools to accomplish this: Pulaskis, combi-tools and shovels. There would be more types of tools depending on the terrain and fuel type if the crew was on an assignment.

After the crew’s briefing and hiking to the simulated fire area, we all began to dig line. Using something called the one lick method; we’d all take one stroke or so with our tools and move on, all while keeping 10 feet of distance between ourselves. I had been on a prescribed fire recently and it was still in my head to be looking for spot fires, so even hearing the reminders from the instructors I was actively looking around me. I spotted smoke (yes, real smoke) and announced it to the crew.

My squad boss took control of the situation and the other two squad members plus myself followed him. We worked our way through the brush to where the smoke was, spotting two more spot fires on the way in. We quickly dug a line around the respective spots and upon being told by the squad boss, we made our way back to the line to continue digging.

We broke for a while to learn some new things – like how to grid for spot fires and how to use a belt weather kit to determine how close the area was to an ignition point. We all took the extra time to hydrate while we learned, since hydration is another key element for your health on assignment.

Having finished our line digging it was time to grid for spot fires. This is a slow and careful process so that no fires are missed. We all formed a line on the green side of the fire line, and keeping approximately 4 feet between us began our search; our goal was to grid one way and then come back again in the opposite direction. Then someone near my right yelled, “SNAKE!” Shortly it was followed by, “Oh hell, another snake!!” One of the other squad members had almost stepped on one rattlesnake, and when they stepped backwards almost stepped on another one. My first instinct was to run very far and very fast, but I held still.

We finished gridding the first direction, having found a few of the spot fires that were laid out for us. But, having seen the snakes and some time constraints, we ended the gridding. On our way out of the exercise we were to rehabilitate the line. To do this we had to pull all the dirt and leaf litter we removed from the line back onto the line and make it look like nothing had ever happened there.

Leaving the exercise area, I was feeling good about the day. We settled in for our bagged lunch – another high calorie deal – and waited until it was time for our next exercise.

As always, I hope you all stick with me through this! Only a few more to go!

-Katie

Fuels and Fire Behavior Advisory

Great Basin Coordination Center 

Fuels and Fire Behavior Advisory

Updated July 14, 2017

The Great Basin Coordination Center has released a fuels and fire behavior advisory for Central and Northern Nevada, Northern and Western Utah, and

Southern Idaho.

Extraordinary fine fuel loading and very low fuel moisture is contributing to extreme fire behavior and high resistance to control across Central and Northern Nevada, Northern and Western Utah and Southern Idaho.

Fine fuel loadings are 200-300% above average across much of the advisory area. Very hot and dry conditions over the last few weeks have caused live
and dead fuel moisture to rapidly decrease to critical levels. Lightning will increase across Nevada, Utah and Idaho through early next week with the continued pulses of monsoon moisture around the periphery of high pressure bringing drier lightning to these areas. The likelihood of new fire starts
showing rapid growth and extreme fire behavior is high.

Concerns to Firefighters and the Public:

• Anticipate rapid rates-of-spread, even in the absence of slope and wind. 
• Anticipate flashy fine fuels and pinyon-juniper to ignite easily and exhibit advanced rates of spread, elongated flaming fronts and increasing fire brands; expect more long range spotting.
• Anticipate dust devils and fire whirls to develop in hot, dry and unstable conditions, especially in fine flashy fuels, that may jeopardize control lines and contribute to erratic fire behavior.
• Anticipate large areas to be consumed in a short time periods, even in low slope and low wind conditions.
• Expect longer burn periods at mid to higher elevations.
• Fine fuel loadings are dense and continuous and will support extreme rates of spread regardless of fuel heights.
• Thunderstorms may produce strong outflow winds that may rapidly increase fire behavior and change spread direction.
• Fire behavior will burn the fine flashy fuels leaving some shrub components or perennials until the live fuel moisture values drop below critical levels. Watch out for re-burn situations even in grass fuels!

Find the Advisory Here 

**There are 2 other advisories outlined on the map, you will find updates from: Big Horn Basin and Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon Rangelands

PAS #3 and #4

UPDATE:

PA Fire Crews 3 and 4 left Harrisburg Monday morning around 1000. The crews assembled at the mobilization center Sunday at 1700.

They arrived in Missoula, Montana, Monday around 1600. They are being assigned to the Corral Creek Fire in Idaho.

Crews may be assigned to initial attack of new fires, or suppression and rehabilitation of the lands affected by current large fires in the area.

For more information about the incident click here.