Download
1 / 88
E N D
This document is contained within the Fire Management Toolbox on Wilderness.net. Since other related resources found in this toolbox may be of interest, you can visit this toolbox by visiting the following URL: http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=toolboxes&sec=fire. All toolboxes are products of the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center.
AMR – WFSA – WFIP“Acronym Central” Wilderness Fire Resource Advisor March 6, 2007 Mike Frary Assistant State Fire Management Officer Fuels & Fire Use USDI - Bureau of Land Management Colorado State Office
Fire Managers have been using the appropriate management response on wildfires for many years, often without knowing it, and almost always without calling it AMR. For example, the “10:00 am” policy was the appropriate response for it’s time, because policy did not allow otherwise.
The appropriate management response is exactly that; taking the actions (suppression or otherwise) that are appropriate given the laws, policy, socio-political situation, and environmental conditions that are in effect at a given point of time.
What Is A Wildland Fire? • “Wildland Fire: Any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland. Three distinct types of wildland fire have been defined and include wildfire, wildland fire use and prescribed fire.” • “Wildland Fire Use (WFU): The application of the appropriate management response to naturally-ignited wildland fires to accomplish specific resource management objectives in predefined designated areas outlined in Fire Management Plans.”
Under current interagency fire policy, there are three types of fire. • Prescribed fire is a planned management action for resource benefit. • WFU and wildfires are both unplanned ignitions managed by the Appropriate Management Response (AMR). The management objective for these naturally ignited fire use fires is resource benefit. The management objective for wildfires regardless of ignition source is suppression. The tactics used for all types of fires may be similar and considered AMR.
Full Perimeter Control This is the most commonly used strategy on wildland fires. Control lines are constructed around the entire perimeter of the fire. Roads, rivers and other barriers can be used in conjunction with constructed lines. In the end a physical barrier exists completely around the fire.
Point Protection This strategy involves protecting specific points from the fire while not actively trying to line the entire fire edge. Points being protected may be communities, individual homes, areas of high resource value, etc.
Large Scale Burnout This strategy involves selecting line locations or barriers that offer the best likelihood of successfully holding a fire, and then burning out the fuels in between the original fire and the planned control line. There are no limitations on the size of a burnout.
Monitoring This strategy may be used for many reasons. Depending on the conditions within the fire environment, the incident commander may determine that no action needs to be taken other than observing the fire spread on a regular basis.
Fuel Breaks Fuel breaks may be totally devoid of vegetation or may be shaded, in which some large over-story trees remain. Fuel breaks are often established prior to a fire season or fire event. The presence of a fuel break may serve as a control line, as part of point protection or as a trigger point in monitoring.
Use of Natural or Artificial Barriers Any type natural (rivers, streams, cliff lines, rock slides, etc.) or artificial (roads, dams agricultural fields, etc) barriers may be used as a component of any of the AMR strategies.
Community Treatments A slight twist on point protection, community treatments may involve actions within a sub-division or community to protect homes without actually building lines or conducting hose lays.
Slowing/Delaying Fire Spread This involves using any of a variety of actions to slow a fire spread and buy additional time in anticipation of a weather change, arrival of resources or other reasons.
Minimum Impact Tactics Any of a wide range of actions to minimize the appearance of fire management tactics. Includes such actions as flush cutting stumps, camouflaging stumps and bucked logs, dragging brush out of site of trails, etc. Several regions have developed guides and these should be utilized for additional assistance and direction.
Wildland Fire Use Managing a wildland fire for resource benefit is the definition of wildland fire use. The management of a Fire Use fire may involve any or all of the tactics previously mentioned. Additional evaluation of suitability for fire use is required within certain time frames of ignition.
DECISION MAKING: Wildland Fire Situation Analysis: WFSA
The WFSA Process: What are the reasons to initiate a WFSA? • Wildland Fire escapes Initial Attack • Wildland Fire Use escapes or exceeds prescription parameters • Prescribed Fire escapes or exceeds prescription parameters
The WFSA Process: • Reasonable alternatives identified, analyzed and evaluated • Evaluation criteria established • Alternatives considered that minimize sum of estimated suppression cost + resource damage • WFSA revisedas conditions change
What are the common complaints about the doing a WFSA? • Occupies key personnel during critical period • Too complicated • Can’t be done in a timely manner • Too much un-needed or repeated documentation • Inputs are “arbitrary and capricious”
What are the common complaints about the doing a WFSA? • Occupies key personnel during critical period (Part of the job, get over it!) • Too complicated (see # 1!) • Can’t be done in a timely manner (Good now is better than perfect later) • Too much un-needed or repeated documentation (Remember who your boss is) • Inputs are “arbitrary and capricious” (Your and the resource staff’s expertise and professional judgment is needed to fill in the gaps and is the best available information at the time)
Why do a WFSA? • It is the document that gives guidance and direction to the Incident Commander from the line officer • It documents the decision thought process, including alternatives analyzed but not selected • It documents incident priorities and constraints • It documents that financial consideration was given in selecting the alternative
Extended Attack Prepare WFSA Implement Action Objectives Met? Revise WFSA No Yes Close Out and/or After Action Review
FEDERAL FIRE & AVIATION OPERATIONS 2004 ACTION PLAN Produce WFSA alternatives that display a full range of appropriate management response options. All alternatives must be developed with strong emphasis on cost accountability based on the values to be protected, with due consideration given to a minimum cost alternative.
Approval and Certification Thresholds USFS Threshold Value District Ranger <= $2M Forest Supervisor >$2M - <$10M, or Forest Supervisor Type 1 Team, or Forest Supervisor Area Command Regional Forester >$10M - <$50M Chief >$50M DOI (NPS - BLM – BIA - FWS) First Level Line Officer <=$2M Regional or State Director >$2M - <$5M Director >$5M
Approval and Certification Timeframes • Initial WFSA must be approved prior to initiation of a new strategy and within 12 hours of a fire escaping initial action. • Chief and Deputy Chiefs, Regional Foresters and Area Director: Certification of the WFSA must be completed with in 24 hours of escape of initial action, unless agreed to otherwise.
Take Home • The WFSA process requires a team effort, build the team prior to the fire • Financial analysis has error, the objective is to make that error consistent in all of the alternatives • Line officers need to be engaged before, during, and after the WFSA process
Why Do We Need Fire Use? • Tool to treat land management objectives • Recognizes the natural role fire plays in an ecosystem • More accurately portrays actual or historic fire intensity and severity • To not do it postpones a future, possibly worse and damaging fire • Reduced risk to firefighters
Federal Fire Policy (FFP) Says: “Wildland fire use, is a direct component of wildland fire management. It is a management action equal to wildfire suppression and thus, constitutes an emergency action. It receives consideration, management attention, and management policies equal to wildfire suppression,….”
WFU “Sideboards” • “Only one management objective will be applied to a wildland fire. Wildland fires will either be managed for resource benefits or suppressed. A wildland fire cannot be managed for both objectives concurrently.” • “If two wildland fires converge, they will be managed as a single wildland fire.”
“Human caused wildland fires will be suppressed in every instance and will not be managed for resource benefits.” • “Once a wildland fire has been managed for suppression objectives, it may never be managed for resource benefit objectives.”
“Wildland fire use is the result of a natural event. The Land/Resource Management Plan, or the Fire Management Plan, will identify areas where the strategy of wildland fire use is suitable.”
“The Wildland Fire Implementation Plan (WFIP) is the tool that examines the available response strategies to determine if a fire is being considered for wildland fire use.”
“When a fire designated for wildland fire use is no longer achieving the intended resource management objectives and/or mitigation actions have failed, the fire will be declared a wildfire. Once a wildfire, it cannot be returned to wildland fire use status.”
WFU IS… • An Appropriate Management Response. • Not a “hands-off” or “let-burn” philosophy. • Not a method to do away with wildland fire suppression actions. • Not a prescribed burn.
Not restricted to the “back 40” or “Wilderness” type setting. • Not implemented “automatically”. The Fire Management Plan sets prescriptive criteria and the Wildland Fire Implementation Plan determines the specific actions to be taken.
Not limited by land ownership or agency boundaries. • Not always the answer to large fire cost containment.
Adequately address policy… Provide resource management direction as it relates to fire… Allow for a full range of management direction… Be broad, and not overly restrictive, more on this later… Be dynamic and adaptable to changing conditions… Be realistic and based upon the best information and science available… The Land Management Plan Must
Be tiered to the LMP… Be designed to implement resource management direction as specified in the LMP… Allow for a full range of fire management options where applicable… Describe a specific set of conditions (prescription/triggers) that determine fire management options… Be dynamic and adaptable to changing conditions… Be understandable and usable by the implementers… The Fire Management Plan Must
Common Pitfalls • Overly restrictive parameters… • Areas or polygons that are too small. No wiggle room… • No qualified personnel on unit… • No up-front education of internal and external partners… • Lack of focus and letting adverse conditions sneak up on you… • Allowing long-term events to “wear you down…”
Inform and educate agency and partners. Start getting folks trained up and get them experience. NOW!!! Ask for assistance from those who have been through the drill. Involve the troops. Don’t be overly aggressive and “bite-off” too much at the start. Really get to know your fuels & fire behavior. Every place is a bit unique. BE PATIENT – WFU is a different mind-set! Tips For Getting Started
Wildland Fire Use “The Implementation Phase!”
The WFU Guide! • Deals Strictly With Wildland Fire Use! • Prescribed Fire Is No Longer Included In The Guide. • Uses the Relative Risk Rating Rather than a Complexity Rating!
