The new face of fire

Smoldering hotspots creep downhill during the Weber Fire outside Mancos earlier this summer. The fire scorched more than 10,000 acres, adding to the 238,778 acres that burned across the state this year./Photo by Steve Eginoire

Changes to climate, economy spark new look at fire suppression

by Tracy Chamberlin

As the signs of summer fade, so do the worries that came with the 2012 fire season.

Although it turns out this season is hardly uncharacteristic of the past decade, its severity exposed a new normal that has motivated some experts and politicians to seek a new approach to fire suppression.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, this summer’s conditions are consistent with a trend that has been taking shape over the last 10 years.

“Fire seasons have tended to be more active, with larger acreages burned and more severe conditions than any other decade since accurate records were first kept in 1960,” stated an Aug. 22 NIFC memo.

With about two months left in the season, 43,527 fires have burned more than 7 million acres across the country. In Colorado, 1,233 fires scorched 238,778 acres. The most significant fire in the southwest part of the state was the Weber Fire, south of Mancos, which charred more than 10,000 acres.

Over the past decade, seven fire seasons have exceeded the 7-million acre mark, according to the NIFC. In the decade prior, 1992-2001, that happened only once.

As for the remainder of the 2012 season, the NIFC looked at three specific influences in gauging the fire outlook: the influence of El Niño; drought conditions; and potential fuels.

For much of the United States, temperatures have been above normal and drought conditions have persisted throughout the summer. The Climate Prediction Center suggests that trend will continue through November.

Southwest Colorado has been one of the exceptions, enjoying 150 to 400 percent of its normal rainfall. Despite this, La Plata and San Juan counties are still under severe drought, with most of Montezuma County suffering extreme drought.

Jimbo Buickerood, public lands coordinator for the San Juan Citizens Alliance, said the combination of drought, insect epidemics and a century-old suppression policy has left the forest ripe for wildfires. “There’s the recipe right there,” he added.

Money Matters
With an early snowmelt and dry, hot conditions at the start of the 2012 fire season Durangoans were reminded of 2002, the year of the Missionary Ridge and Valley fires.

Firefighters responded immediately and decisively for any blaze that started to burn. It turns out that wasn’t just the goal locally, but nationally, that was the policy.
In a memo sent out May 25, 2012, U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief Jim Hubbard said the upcoming season presented “a unique challenge.”

Expectations were that the fire potential was above average and that meant suppression costs would likely “exceed the 10 year average.”

To that end, Hubbard laid out a specific framework for decision making in the field, attempting to lower risks. He also reinforced the importance of teamwork between incident commanders and agency administrators.

His final point focused on initial attack and fire objectives, remarking that the a “safe, aggressive initial attack is often the best suppression strategy” to keep wildfires and costs down.

Hubbard acknowledged although fire is an essential ecological process and natural change agent, this year’s circumstances 4 were different. “I acknowledge this is not a desirable approach in the long run,” he stated.

Recently, the Forest Service requested $1.97 billion for Wildland Fire Management in its 2013 appropriation request, which accounts for almost half of the Forest Service’s total budget of $4.86 billion.

It is also $3.1 million less than the 2012 budget.

Colorado does receive a portion of these funds. Although, the state does not have specific money set aside for firefighting expenses, through acts like emergency or disaster declarations, federal funds become available, according to Micki Trost, public information officer for the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Also, a state emergency fire fund exists, which 43 counties voluntarily contribute to along with the Denver Water Board. San Juan is the only county west of the Front Range not contributing.

The New Normal
Looking for ways to face wildfires in the future, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., hosted a field hearing on Colorado wildfires for the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Aug. 18 in Colorado Springs.

Buickerood and Hubbard, among others, sat on the expert panel, tasked with offering suggestions on how the lessons learned this season can be applied to future suppression, recovery and mitigation efforts.

“The senator was really looking for solutions,” Buickerood said. “We all know what the problems are; he really wants to move it forward.”

Buickerood, who also represented the Mixed Conifer Working Group, said in his testimony that no additional federal legislation was needed at this time. The National Environmental Protection Act and Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 offered sufficient protections.

Funding and community involvement were the next steps in facing wildfire concerns. He commented on the funding issue, stating in his testimony that the solution “relates directly to where and how we prioritize the resources available to us.”

Buickerood suggested greater community involvement with programs like Firewise and local wildland fire protection plans, which could help raise public awareness, particularly in wildland/urban interface, or WUI, areas.

Buickerood mentioned how Merrill Kaufman, scientist emeritus for the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Montrose and fellow panel member, discussed prioritizing funds available for fire protection efforts.

In his testimony Kaufman said, “we are facing considerable uncertainty regarding how climate shifts mesh with our existing fuel and vegetation management guidelines.”

He focused on the Front Range but, like Buickerood, referred to WUI. These transition points where human development, like homes and businesses, meets wildland areas are where most of the firefighting efforts are concentrated.

For example, one the gauges the NICF used to determine the severity of the fire season was the loss of life and property.

This year, there were 12 firefighter or fire-related fatalities in the United States, compared to 23 in 2002. More than 1,800 homes were lost, 346 destroyed just in the Waldo Canyon Fire, which cost an estimated $17 million, according to InciWeb, an interagency website.

These numbers frame the picture of wildland fires that has dominated the past decade.

Buickerood said he was thankful Udall held the hearing, and hoped he could form a bipartisan caucus on fire issues as one way to face the new normal.

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