Fighting wildland fires takes big crews. Creating a ready reserve may be next

26 November 2022

Published by: https://www.seattletimes.com

USA – With climate catastrophes reshaping the planet, Washington’s wildland fire season is getting longer.

There are two basic tools to control fires: aircraft and crews.

The state Department of Natural Resources has increased both, as well as adopting aggressive attack strategies to jump on fires early. Agency officials and state lawmakers should be ready to consider even more dramatic steps to increase the numbers of people digging trenches and creating containment lines as this crisis threatens to get worse.

Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz deserves credit for effectively leading and bringing increased resources to the department.

Her top legislative priority, House Bill 1168, passed unanimously last year. The bipartisan legislation commits $125 million every two years over the next four biennial budgets — $500 million in total — to boost wildfire response, accelerate forest restoration, and build community resilience.

About 140,300 acres burned across the state this year, the fewest number of acres scorched in a decade and well below the 10-year average of 470,000 acres. This was no doubt helped by cool temperatures and lots of rain last winter and spring.

In 2021 — the third-worst fire season in the state’s history — there were 1,872 wildland fires, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, which serves as the focal point for wildland fire coordination in Washington and Oregon. DNR was able to keep 94% to below 10 acres — beating its goal of 90%, Franz told the editorial board.

When Franz came into office in 2017, DNR had nine aircraft in its fleet. Now it has 27 under exclusive contract. “That has been key to owning our own destiny so that we aren’t waiting (for federal resources). This is a major significant shift in how we fight fires,” said Franz. She added, “We are seeing that we need increased firefighters.”

DNR will increase the number of full-time firefighters to 155 from 40 by the end of 2023. Expanding firefighting staff was included in HB 1168. Permanent personnel funding is approximately $5 million to $6 million per biennium.

About 700 wildland firefighters were deployed last summer, mostly seasonal crews. Around 100 were inmates at minimum to medium-security prison facilities.

The 10-person inmate crews are supervised as they work on different positions in wildfire suppression, including initial attack, digging fire lines, putting out hot spots and mobile kitchen operations. Incarcerated crew members receive wildland firefighter training which can be used after release to join contract fire crews, DNR, or a local fire service.

Franz wants to encourage local fire districts to train more wildland firefighters, though there is no state funding for that.

Interestingly, DNR has an internal “ready reserve” program where department employees leave their desks and day-jobs in accounting or aquatic leases or information technology and head out to the woods for a few weeks in times of emergency.

These on-call helpers are critical in providing surge forces.

Wildfires are no longer just a concern for rural areas and forestlands. Ignited on Sept. 10, the Bolt Creek fire in the western foothills of the Cascade Range flooded Seattle and the surrounding area with choking, eye-stinging smoke for weeks.

The EPA notes wildfire smoke contributes to severe health problems and premature death.

At some point, DNR and the legislature should consider expanding the department’s “ready reserve” firefighters to other state agencies, and the private sector.

Already, the Washington National Guard deploys in the forests two out of every three years, when the governor declares a statewide wildfire emergency. The Guard provides 10 20-person firefighting hand crews which are trained by DNR, as well as heavy helicopters when needed and available.

DNR does not have an exact answer for how many firefighters it might need in a busy, long fire season.

It’s not too early to consider what it would take to tap into the general public to bring in additional crews to attack multiple fires at once and contain the ecological and health damages to an absolute minimum.

The planet is fast changing. State officials should do some blue sky thinking about increasing firefighting ranks before there are no blue skies to be had.