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WILDFIRE:
Before, During, and After January
18, 2004 By
James C. Biggers http://www.prescott-forest-truth.org
Pyronautics
Fire Technologies In
the 2002 and 2003 fire seasons, we have suffered terrible devastation in
many parts of the U.S. The direct losses in property and businesses have
been in billions of dollars. The costs of fighting the fires have been
extremely high, including loss of life by firefighters and several
firefighting aircraft. Furthermore, the pollution created is huge and
long-lasting. Wildfires emit thousands of tons of toxic substances,
which are then spread by the fires windstorms. The timber burned in
2002 and now useless was valued at up to $1.4 trillion! The
nation can no longer afford to continue business as usual. There are
many things that can be done to reduce this destruction. A focused
effort on things to do before the fires start, during the fires, and
after the fires will result in a national plan for much greater
effectiveness and lower overall costs. The
information presented here will not surprise those who have been
following recent wildfire developments. It should not surprise the
federal, state, and local agencies responsible for fighting wildfires.
This is an integrated overview of the important aspects of wildfires,
before they start, while fighting them, and some ideas for what to do
after a fire. BEFORE
the fires, we must
Reduce
the fire danger. First, the
forests and woodlands must be thinned. The only arguments against this
are specious, with no concern for the unintended consequences. Arguing
for protection of certain animals, groups file protests and appeals to
prevent such work. Then a wildfire destroys all the things that were to
be preserved. Many objective analysts see that some thinning can greatly
reduce the intensity of wildfires, while actually preserving the rest of
the forests. (refs). Based
on the past two years, some groups are now admitting the need for
thinning, but want such actions limited to the areas near houses and
businesses. This is the obvious place to start, but the rest of the
forests are also unhealthy with dead and dying trees and extreme
undergrowth. A fire that starts well away from town can send burning
coals for many miles, potentially starting fires in the middle of towns. Create
small forest-based businesses.
For the thinning process to succeed, it must be profitable. Many small
businesses can be based on continuous thinning, maintaining the forests
year by year. This requires a capitol infrastructure and a recognition
by the banks that this is a long-term, viable business idea. An
excellent discussion of this is given in Reference 2. There
are many small industries that can profit from maintaining forests,
including small diameter tree products, bio-energy, production of mulch,
wood chips, and other items. A full- spectrum examination of the
opportunities would show large potential for profit. Prepare
for more effective firefighting.
Preparation is a key element of effective firefighting. The National
Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) is working diligently at this process,
but is handicapped by budget and staff restrictions. Adequate
preparation required looking at the entire problem with all its
elements, as suggested in reference 3. One difficulty is prioritizing
the efforts. An excellent tool for this is Expert Choice. This is
an implementation of the Analytic Hierarchy Process, developed by Dr.
Thomas Saaty of Wharton Business School (reference x).
Pre-Position
Equipment. Since we cannot
predict when and where a wildfire will start, we must be ready for it
whenever and wherever it may occur. This requires pre-positioning
firefighting assets and equipment. For example, with six small
firefighting aircraft located at six existing airfields in Arizona,
almost any point in the forest lands of that state can be reached in ten
minutes or less. The California Department of Forestry has a similar
approach. Other equipment can be pre-positioned, such as large tanker
trucks, flatbed trucks, or tracked vehicles as suggested in reference 3
and discussed herein. Set
up Regional Fire Centers.
Regional fire centers can store vast amounts of supplies and ancillary
equipment. The same regional sites can be used to set up command and
control centers, with multi-spectral communications and displays. NASA
now has an unmanned aircraft capable of taking multi-spectral images,
geo-rectifying them, and sending them to ground centers for display on
standard USGS maps. The center should be able to communicate with all
firefighting elements, perhaps using communications relays via the
sensing aircraft. See reference 3. Arrange
better access to firelands.
Many years of initiatives have greatly reduced access to lands likely to
be burning. The Roadless plans have made it almost impossible
to reach some critical areas. Although these plans may have been
well-meant, the unintended consequences have been wildfires becoming
inaccessible in many cases. Also, better access is needed for emergency
egress, where residents are often trapped by wildfires. Increase
Inter-Agency cooperation.
Recent efforts by various federal agencies have begun to have a positive
impact on this area. See extensive information at the site noted in
reference 4. However, in the fires of 2002, qualified operators of
scrapers and back-hoes were not allowed in some areas because they did
not hold special permits by some agency. Thus, the fires became worse,
and more homes were burned. Much more cooperation is required between
the numerous agencies, including U.S. Forestry Service (USFS), Bureau of
Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) plus the various
state and local agencies and local fire departments. Develop
more effective equipment for fighting wildfires.
It is becoming clear that many of our firefighting tools are inadequate
for the fast-moving, intense wildfires of today. A focused effort could
identify the most serious shortfalls and allow budget priorities to
address these items. These items are noted in reference 3. For example,
surplus military tracked vehicles can easily be adapted for fighting
wildfires in terrain unsuitable for wheeled vehicles. Better extraction
methods can be developed for removing smoke-jumpers and other
firefighters from areas suddenly threatened by fire. Newer firefighting
aircraft are needed, combined with better planning and pre-positioning.
Better control and integration of all types of firefighting aircraft is
badly needed. Integrated communications would solve many problems of
operation and safety. DURING
a fire, we should
Fight
the fire like we fight a war.
Recent wildfires have been so intense, so fast, and so broad that the
old ways of fighting them no longer work. We must take a broad-spectrum,
strategic systems approach to this new type of war. This is discussed in
reference 3, and has been presented to various federal agencies for
their consideration. It is presently being considered by staff at the
National Interagency Fire Center. Implement
early detection and early attack.
For the past few years, NASA and industry have been developing tools for
fire surveillance. Some of this effort is described in reference 6.
Satellite sensors are not sensitive enough to detect and track small
fires from space, so aircraft are also required. The problem is
detecting and tracking fires during daylight, when the firefighters are
active and need detailed information. NASA is now operating an unmanned
air vehicle (UAV) carrying sensors, and an experimental system has been
developed that can take the sensor image and geo-rectify it and overlay
it onto electronic maps from the USGS. The objective is to detect a new
fire as small as say, three campfires, during daylight, through a cloud
cover. Once a fire is detected, it can be evaluated for its danger. If
we have distributed aerial firefighting assets, the fire can be
immediately attacked by air, followed by ground attack for backup and
final disposition. Bring
to bear the full spectrum of firefighting tools.
Using the strategic systems approach, utilize and control all the
elements of firefighting.
Integrate
control of all firefighting assets through modern command and control
centers. To effectively fight
wildfires today, we must integrate all the firefighting elements, just
as we do warfighting elements. This requires modern command and control
centers, where all current information is displayed and the elements can
be controlled in a coordinated manner. It also requires excellent,
reliable communication between the control center and the elements.
During the 2002 fires, ground troops reported that communication was
impossible from the bottoms of canyons. The walkie-talkies could not
reach over the intervening hills to others. Some teams were able to make
contact using cellular phones. Although creating these command and
control centers will be expensive, we cannot afford not to do it. Constantly
track the fires and all firefighting assets.
Fighting large, fast-moving wildfires requires constant information flow
on the position and progress of the fire and the position of all
firefighting assets. Several times in recent fires, firefighters and
even residents have been overwhelmed by the fire. These fires often make
quick changes in direction and speed, so constant tracking is important.
Knowing where the fires are and where they are going, the control center
can direct the assets to the best advantage. Also, people can be warned
when fire is approaching so they can evacuate. AFTER
the fires, we MUST
Remediate
the land to prevent floods and mudslides.
Damage due to the recent wildfires in Southern California is truly
devastating. Areas that were beautiful now look like moonscapes. Huge
areas have been stripped of any vegetation and the land is vulnerable to
floods and mudslides. On Christmas day, a mudslide wiped out two camping
areas and killed several children and adults. Rains came, there was no
warning, and the slides took out everything including homes, vehicles,
and trailers. New efforts are needed to find ways to quickly remediate
the land to prevent these disasters. Restore
forests and wildlife. For
years, environmental activists prevented foresters from remediating the
forests to reduce the danger of wildfire. Their actions were supposedly
based on preserving wildlife. The unintended consequence was to allow
fire to destroy virtually everything in the forest lands. Now we must
find ways to restore the forests. Obviously, it will take years for
trees to grow and for animals to find places to live. There is a need
for research in this topic. How does one restore a forest that has been
growing for many decades? Where do we start? What things should be
planted now, and what things later? Can certain chemicals be put down to
speed up growth, or would those result in long-term harm? References:
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