the organisation of initial attack and prevention in …...the organisation of initial attack and...
TRANSCRIPT
The Organisation of Initial Attack and prevention in
California The Valley Fire, Lake County
Sept. 12th 2015 Battalion Chief Greg Bertelli, CAL FIRE, USA
Station Commander Andy Elliott, Dorset FRS, UK
Content We will cover:
Wildfire Preparedness Fire Danger Rating System Incident Command System – ICS Calfire Resources Fire Safe Councils – South Lake Firewise in Lake County The Valley Fire
Preparedness Situational Awareness
The Fuel
Are known
Fuel, Topography and Weather are key elements in Wildland fire
behaviour The Topography
The Weather is constantly changing and is a key factor in wildfire behaviour
http://www.fireweather.org/blog/2015/9/15/did-tropical-moisture-contribute-to-the-valley-fire-blow-up
Informs Fire personnel and Land Managers on current weather conditions so that they know what to expect in
the way of fire behavior
Fire Danger Rating System
Dispatch Level (DL)
Low: Battalion Chief, 2 Engines, Helicopter Medium: Battalion Chief, 3 Engines, 1 Bulldozer, 2 Hand Crews, 1 Helitack, 1 Helicopter, 2 Air Tankers High: Battalion Chief, 5 Engines, 2 Bulldozers, 2 Hand Crews, 1 Helitack, 1 Helicopter, 3 Air Tankers
The Burning Index is an estimate of the potential difficulty of fire control as a function of how fast and how hot a fire could burn It has been scaled so that the BI value divided by 10 predicts the flame length at the head of a fire. For example, a BI of 75 would predict a flame length of 7.5 feet (2.3 m) Is a function of the Spread Component and the Energy Release Component, and has moderate variability On the day this was predicted at 19.2 feet (5.8m)
Burning Index (BI)
Ignition Component (IC) Displays the probability of a firebrand causing an ignition requiring a suppression action Number associated is based on a percentage Of 100 firebrands landing in a receptive fuel bed, the IC indicates how many would start a new fire On the day the IC was 95 i.e. It was predicted that 95 of every 100 firebrands would start a spot fire!
Displays a value numerically equivalent to the predicted forward rate of spread of a head fire in feet per minute The SC is a function of fuel model characteristics, live fuel moistures, the 0 to 3-inch (76 mm) dead fuel moisture (heavily weighted to the 1-hour time lag fuels), wind speed and slope The SC is highly variable due to the effects of relative humidity, wind and live fuel moisture On the day this was predicted at 79 feet/minute
Spread Component (SC)
Incident Command Structure
IC
Operations
Branch
Division Division
Branch
Division Division
Planning Logistics Finance
Safety Liaison
PIO
Resources
Calfire has six ICS Level 1 Management Teams Calfire Fire Engines 343 Local Government Fire Engines 759 Bulldozers 58 Mobile Kitchen Units 11 Air Tankers 23 Helicopters 12 Firefighters (including seasonal and inmates) 13,750
South Lake Fire Safe Council
Since 2002 the SLFSC has provided; fire safety education, shaded fuel breaks and chipping For $25 residents receive a chipping service to remove excess fuels. This has been used over 1200 times The Konocti Conservation Camp have assisted the LCFSC to create shaded fuel breaks http://southlakefiresafecouncil.org
Firewise in Lake County
The Fire Safe Council is doing great work in Lake County Firewise has not yet taken off with only one community More work is needed with Firewise in the future
Background to the Valley Fire
Northern California was suffering from a four year drought Multiple major fires were happening in the region prior to the start of the Valley Fire Fire Indices were at an all time critical level Resources were positioned throughout the state
Initial Response 13:21 First call to 3 acre vegetation fire, property involved, Valley Road 1 Battalion Chief (+Andy!) 5 Fire Engines 1 Air Attack Supervisor 3 Air Tankers 1 Helitack 2 Hand Crews 2 bulldozers
Initial IC Actions Only a few minutes away TOA 13:32 1 additional helitack requested en route Evacuation of Cobb Mountain ordered Saving life and property were the priorities Additional resources ordered on once in attendance:
First Assistance Message 1 additional Fire Chief 5 Engines, any type 2 Hand Crews 2 Bulldozers 3 Air Tankers A third Helicopter
Resources after 1 hour 1 Staging Area Manager 10 Division Supervisors 50 Engines 24 hand crews 14 Bulldozers 16 Air Tankers 1 Helicopter Attack 3 Type 1 Helicopters 2 Medic Units 2 Medic Helicopters
The Burn Over Helitack crew split to defend properties Crew located top of slope, left flank Main fire burning up slight slope and wind driven from the west Spot fires raced up steep slope from the east Crew trapped between fires – shelters deployed
Fire Shelter Deployment Site
1958 structures destroyed
1280 homes 27 HMOs 66 commercial buildings 585 other structures Including: 3 thermal power stations 7 firefighters homes
76,067 acres (118 mi2)
At 18:00 12/09 the fire was 18,507 acres By 01:00 13/09 the fire was 40,568 acres By 22:00 13/09 the fire was 53,475 acres By 23:00 14/09 the fire was 76,067 acres
The Home of Darlene
Summary/lessons learnt Partnerships such as the Fire Safe Council and Firewise include and prepare the population Some fires are just too big to fight, even with Calfire resources During the burnover some equipment failed LACES saves lives Common terminology Prevention is cheaper and safer than the cure
Any Questions? Four members of the Boggs Mountain Helitack Crew 104 were seriously injured during the Valley Fire in California. Please help us to help them by donating to: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/Helitack-104 Thank you for your support.