Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

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Recent articles posted in Advances In Fire Practice:

On-line Course Announcement: Issues in Fire Management

This on-line course will be offered through Mesa State College this Spring and will serve as 3 upper division credit hours for those in the 401 series. The course is mostly a discussion course- there will be 8 weeks of on-line discussions over selected papers in fire management, a term paper, and a final comprehensive exam. The course begins Feb 1, but if you are interested in taking it please contact the instructor Deborah Kennard at dkennard@mesastate.edu by this Friday (January 8th).

Risk
The Emergence and Potential of New Wildfire Risk Assessment Tools

Economics

The Economics of Wildland Fire Risk Management

AFP VIDEO
Black Saturday Bushfires

STAY OR GO
WEBINAR: International Perspectives on Australia's "Stay or Go" Program

Video - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

The last 25 postings on the Lessons Learned Center Web site are listed below:

FS Health Screening Questionnaire
(48KB pdf posted 2/8/2010)
Updated in 2009, this is the Health Screening Questionnaire used by the Forest Service.

Informed Consent Form
(81KB pdf posted 2/8/2010)
Updated in 2009, this is the Informed Consent form used by the Forest Service.

Twin Prescribed Fire Escaped Fire Review
(1MB pdf posted 2/4/2010)
"On Thursday October 1, 2009, the Twin Prescribed Fire was ignited southwest of the town of Williams, AZ. Several spots occurred outside of the burn unit that afternoon. The next morning more spots were found east of the burn unit in heavy fuels and relatively inaccessible terrain. One of these spots became established beyond the capacity for control by ground forces resulting in an escape and a subsequent conversion to wildfire."

Loss of Fire Engine 3662 During High Water Crossing of Gila River-Accident Investigation Factual Report
(818KB pdf posted 2/4/2010)
"On Sunday September 6, 2009, Engine 3662 (3662) a type 6 engine from the Colorado River District stationed in the Yuma Field Office was involved in an accident while attempting to cross a flooded portion of the Gila River North of Yuma. As a result a large portion of 3662 was submerged in four to five feet of water for approximately one hour. The accident was caused as 3662 attempted to make a high water crossing of a normally passable river ford. Heavy rains from the day before had left the river well above its normal levels and the engine was submerged in the Gila River to the bottom of the windshield. There were no injuries to the crew. Damage to the engine is still being ascertained."

Hazmat Release and Exposure Incident CA- LPF
(221KB pdf posted 2/1/2010)
On January 18, 2010 five firefighters from the USDA Forest Service were transported to local emergency room for examination due to inhalation of an unknown hazardous material which caused some of them to react with hacking and coughing.

Blank CWPP in Access
(4MB cdb posted 2/1/2010)
This is a blank CWPP in Microsoft Access.

Why we need CWPPs
(14KB ocx posted 1/29/2010)
Why do we need CWPPs? There are many reasons, including increased awareness. CwPPs are a plan that can be used for almost all large incidents. The information collected on these plans is intended to be integrated into DFR GIS projects.

Preparedness Planning Training Outline
(27KB ocx posted 1/29/2010)
Preparedness planning is a key element for successful decision making. This document is a Lesson Outline using a streamlined Preparedness Planning Model to increase decision making space and risk management success.

Preparedness Planning Checklist
(21KB ocx posted 1/29/2010)
Items to consider in Preparedness Planning: A Potential Checklist

Role of a CWPP
( pdf posted 1/29/2010)
CWPPs provide communities with opportunities to influence where and how federal agencies implement fuel reduction projects on federal lands and how additional federal funds may be distributed for projects on non-federal lands. This document outlines 8 steps for conducting a CWPP.

Starting and Finalizing a CWPP
(332KB pdf posted 1/29/2010)
After a fire district is selected for beginning a CWPP, some information will need to be collected. This document outlines online resources and those involved in making maps for CWPPs.

Indian Fire WFDSS
(604KB pdf posted 1/29/2010)
This PowerPoint presents a case study of the Indian Fire and what the Wildland Fire Decision Support System would look like for this incident.

Indian Fire WFDSS Handout
(21KB ocx posted 1/29/2010)
This handout supports the PowerPoint presentation on a case study of the Indian Fire and what the WFDSS would look like on that incident.

Print out of CWPP Database
(106KB pdf posted 1/29/2010)
This document is a pdf print out of the Access Database for Community Wildfire Protection Plans. Review this document before beginning to enter data in the CWPP database.

Filling out Access CWPP
(1003KB pdf posted 1/29/2010)
Before opening the CWPP database, Macros must be enabled for the Access program. This document provides step by step instructions for enabling the macros and filling out the database.

CWPP Database to GIS Link Instructions
(151KB ocx posted 1/29/2010)
Using the export tools provided in the CWPP database is a nice way to get the CWPP data out of CWPP and onto a map for display. This document provides step by step instructions to create these links.

Stakeholder Analysis
(505KB ocx posted 1/29/2010)
This document describes the steps in identifying stakeholders, determining their key concerns and analyzing where stakeholders will most likely influence a situation.

Stakeholder Planning
(23KB ocx posted 1/29/2010)
This document builds on the previous article on Stakeholder Analysis. This stage is to plan communications so that you can build understanding and trust for your projects.

Stakeholder Communications Spreadsheet
(21KB lsx posted 1/29/2010)
Identified in the Stakeholder Planning document, this spreadsheet is a tool designed to assist you in identifying stakeholders and establishing a path for engaging those stakeholders.

Stakeholder Engagement
(131KB pdf posted 1/29/2010)
This PowerPoint presentation is a visual aid in support of the three documents: Stakeholder Analysis, Stakeholder Planning and Stakeholder Communications.

Preparedness Websites
(23KB ocx posted 1/29/2010)
This document is a list of websites that provide elements of support in preparedness planning and execution.

Websites of interest
(11KB ocx posted 1/29/2010)
This is a list of websites with material pertaining to preparedness planning.

Lessons Learned - Icy Road vs. Forest Service Vehicle, Equals Rollover
(388KB pdf posted 1/20/2010)
"Forest Service Employee, working for the Supervisors Office, Lassen National Forest was involved in a single Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA). Vehicle was a full size Chevrolet 4X4 Truck. This accident occurred on January 14, 2010, at approximately 0930 hours. Employee was traveling Westbound on Highway 36 approximately twelve (12) miles west of Susanville California, in Lassen County."

Terra Torch Burn Incident
(106KB pdf posted 1/20/2010)
"On January 6, 2010, a fire fighter suffered burns to his left forearm area while operating a terra torch during a prescribed burn operation. Below is a brief summary of the incident:"

Woody Ridge Prescribed Fire APA
(1MB pdf posted 1/19/2010)
"The Woody Ridge Prescribed Fire was ignited Tuesday, September 22, 2009 on the Coconino National Forest. The 650-acre project area lies outside Flagstaff, Arizona, on state and National Forest System land. The Woody Ridge Prescribed Fire was one component of the 31,000-acre Woody Ridge Forest Restoration Project designed to reduce fuels and improve wildlife habitat in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) around Flagstaff. The ponderosa pine overstory had been heavily thinned. Slash piles were burned in the winter under snow. Residual fuels were fairly light. The effect of the larger project would be to significantly reduce wildfire intensity in the WUI." APA Team Members:Greg Burch,Jason Clawson, Helen Graham,Steve Holdsambeck, Jerry Ingersoll, Mary Zabinski.

Disclaimer: Information is provided with the intent to share knowledge to improve safety, performance, efficiency and organizational learning throughout the entire wildland fire community. However, no warranties or guarantees are implied because much of the data provided is beyond the control of the Center. No endorsement of any company or product is given or implied.