2020 PA-PAS Wildland Fire Program Annual Report

 We would like to take the time to share with you the 2020 Annual Report from the Pennsylvania Wildland Fire Program. For those of you who don’t know, our program protects 16 million acres of forest lands, 10 million acres of Wildland-Urban Interface, and we have 1,000 volunteer forest fire wardens and 373 fire-qualified employees. The wildland fire program safely and effectively manages wildland fire to enhance and protect life, property, and natural resources for the public benefit within Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania’s 2020 wildfire season kicked off early, with many fires in February. As the spring fire season progressed, weather conditions changed, and numbers dropped. Fall fire season was relatively active, recording over three times the ten-year average. The largest wildfire reported occurred in November and totaled just over 800 acres.

The Seven Pines Wildfire started on November 7, 2020, in Monroe County and burned 812 acres. Personnel from the PA Game Commission, the National Park Service, NJ Forest Fire Service, and local volunteers provided significant assistance. Photo courtesy Matt Reed.

The statistics for 2020 look like this:

·         1,508 wildfires

·         3,021 acres burned

·         99.5% of wildfires were human-caused

·         17 structures destroyed

·         12 injuries, 2 fatalities

·         10-year average: 750 wildfires for 3,500 acres 

We have some nationally-recognized Firewise USA Communities:

·         Big Bass Lake (District 11)

·         Hemlock Farms (District 19)

·         Penn Forest Streams (District 18)

·         Treasure Lake (District 9)

Even though COVID-19 mitigation measures limited the amount of our traditional public contact programs, we were still able to put on 50 wildfire prevention activities/events throughout the year.

Our Type 3 Incident Management Teams did have a busy season with COVID-19:

·         48 DCNR personnel assisted with Community Based Testing Sites from March-June

·         2 testing centers were set up and maintained for several months

·         Several truck loads of supplies were delivered

DCNR staff assisting PA National Guard and others at a Community Based Testing Site in Montgomery County. Photo courtesy John Hecker.

This year 145 volunteer fire organizations were awarded Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Grants totaled $741,735. These grants were for the purchase of wildland firefighting personal protective equipment and firefighting equipment.

Congratulations to Bill Corbin of the Bald Eagle Forest District! He received the 2019 Arthur N. Creelman Memorial Award for his work in wildfire prevention throughout the mid-state area. Great job Bill!

Statistics for the Fire Cache for 2020:

·         100,000 items received

·         70,000 items issued

·         23,000 delivery miles

·         The cache supported mobilization of crews, engines, overhead, and training as well as the attainment and distribution of COVID-19 PPE.

Over 1,000 items valued at $1.5 million were obtained through the federal excess programs for distribution to local fire departments.

Despite significant risks and challenges, all personnel in the Pennsylvania Wildland Fire Crew were able to return safe and sound after providing assistance to our partners in other states:

·         5 Twenty-Person Hand Crews

·         2 Type 6 Wildland Fire Engines

·         71 Single-Resource Overhead Assignments

·         172 Total Resources Assigned

 

Air Operations this year was quiet, but we still flew some (statistics for both tanker bases, and helicopters):

·         7 wildfires supported

·         8,200 gallons dropped

·         19 hours flight time

·         34 hours flown for fire reconnaissance

Wildland Fire Training and Qualifications statistics for 2020:

·         25 classroom training sessions

·         456 students completed classroom courses

·         164 students completed online training courses

·         373 students completed refresher training, RT-130

·         61 position task books issues

·         44 position task books completed

Some updates from DCNR radio: installation of new P25 radio equipment continues; approximately one half of the Department has been converted by the end of 2020, and the entire Department is scheduled to be converted by July 1, 2021.

Our Prescribed Fire Program was shut down in early spring and again in the fall due to COVID-19 safety concerns. Prior to the shutdowns 15 prescribed burns covering 526 acres of DCNR lands were completed.

Prescribed fire on the Tioga State Forest, November 2020. Photo courtesy Brian Plume.

Search and Rescue statistics:

·         26 searches reported in 2020

·         16 individuals located, the other 10 self-extracted

·         DCNR personnel and cooperators invested 1,077 hours in Search and Rescue

·         Zero fatalities!

Congratulations to Jim Stiteler (Forest District 17) on his selection as the 2020 recipient of the PA Wildland Fire Leadership Award. Jim is a Type 2 Planning Section Chief and Burn Boss and a contributor on the national and local level. Great job Jim!

DCNR would like to thank everyone who assisted the wildland fire program in 2020, especially our valuable network of volunteers. We could not succeed without your dedication and service!