After examining all the factors influencing the costs of wildfire suppression in its September 2002 report, Wildfire Suppression: Strategies for Containing Costs, the Academy’s Wildfire Panel found that one of the few opportunities to reduce suppression costs during a fire was to make better use of local firefighters. When properly trained, these forces can be used more fully for initial action and extended attack, for mop-up and emergency rehabilitation, and for smoothing transitions between management teams.
Yet the 2002 study revealed that, in more cases than not, local resources were not being effectively used to fight wildfires when they came under federal control. It also showed that firefighting could be organized more effectively and efficiently. All too often, local firefighters were not federally qualified or recognized, so Type 1 and Type 2 Incident Management Teams used on large fires rejected them. Some local forces were not willing to participate in unified commands. Local dispatch centers were not always linked to state and federal dispatch centers, and communications were not interoperable.
The result was increased suppression costs.
When local forces were federally trained and qualified, as well as willing and able to operate with and as part of unified commands, wildfire suppression activities were more effective and efficient.
The result was decreased suppression costs.
The Panel believes that developing dedicated Type 3 teams and using local firefighters more extensively could reduce costs in a variety of ways:
In recognition of these potential cost savings, and their ability to increase the safety of fire personnel and affected communities, the Panel developed a proposal this year to encourage:
To receive feedback on this proposal, the Panel held day-and-a-half workshops in the spring and summer of 2003 in four communities: Flagstaff, Arizona; Boulder, Colorado; Bend, Oregon; and Palm Coast, Florida. Based on the workshop findings and additional background research, the Panel makes the following findings and recommendations on ways to increase the availability of local firefighting forces for wildfires, integrate local firefighting resources into wildfire suppression activities, and facilitate federal aid to local fire departments.
As the Panel completed its workshops, a National Association of State Foresters (NASF) Steering Group[1] submitted a report to Congress, The Changing Role of Local, Rural, and Volunteer Fire Departments in the Wildland-Urban Interface: Recommended Actions for Implementing the 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy. The Panel believes that its vision and recommendations are consistent with the NASF Steering Group report.
Increase Availability of Local Firefighting Forces for Wildfires
The Panel believes that developing local Type 3 Incident Management Teams in wildfire-prone communities not only would enhance firefighting preparedness and response, but would also reduce the costs of suppressing large wildfires. In addition, qualifying local firefighters to serve in crew and other capacities under Type 1 and 2 federal teams would have similar benefits. However, a significant amount of local resources will be necessary to establish these Type 3 teams and qualify local firefighters for use on federally administered fires, and these resources are currently unavailable in many places. Local firefighters are often unable to qualify because they do not have access to wildfire training and are unable to meet standards established by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG). The nation needs a better way of tapping these local resources without, of course, compromising firefighter safety or effectiveness.
The urgency of taking such action was highlighted in the fall of 2003 when 125 ignitions caused nine massive wildfires in Southern California as the Panel was nearing completion of this report. Those fires caused the loss of 22 lives, over 3,500 buildings, and other properties. No place in the United States illustrates the introduction of human development into wildfire-prone landscapes more than Southern California. But this is a growing challenge throughout the West and in other parts of the nation.
Action to reduce wildfire hazards are addressed in another report by this Panel, to be released in January 2004, but actions to more fully utilize local firefighting resources to control wildfires is equally urgent.
In order to increase the availability of local firefighting forces, the Panel recommends that the Wildland Fire Leadership Council (WFLC):
In addition, the Panel recommends that elected officials and senior administrators in local governments be actively engaged in increasing training opportunities and promoting the development of local Type 3 teams. Without strong local leadership at these high levels, the needed utilization of local forces will be much less likely to occur.
Integrate Local Firefighting Forces into Wildfire Response
Making greater use of properly trained and equipped local fire departments can save money. An effective local department should be prepared to act alone and in cooperation with others to suppress fires before they spread to state or federal jurisdictions; attack and contain fires on adjacent state and federal land, often before state and federal forces arrive; and provide much needed assistance on large state and federal wildfires. Too often, local fire engines sit idle—because of lack of training, qualification, and coordination—while federal agencies bring in more costly resources such as contract engines and crews, firefighters from other states and nations, National Guard resources, and active duty military battalions. At the same time, federal engines are frequently moved long distances—with considerable delays and costs—when local engines could respond much faster and less expensively. Even utilizing the more costly resources mentioned above, the nation has a critical shortage of resources during severe fire seasons.
In order to integrate local forces into wildfire fighting more fully, the Panel recommends that the Wildland Fire Leadership Council establish specific guidance for more fully utilizing local firefighting resources. The guidance should address local, state, and federal mutual-aid agreements to obtain as much consistency as statutory requirements allow; provide sample annual operating plans that are comprehensive and complete; resolve the pay issues currently causing problems in the field; establish equitable cost-share arrangements that share suppression costs proportionately based on jurisdictional responsibilities and values protected; require federal fire managers in the field to fully coordinate with state and local fire departments on all phases of wildland fire suppression; and establish a schedule for sponsoring at least one workshop on federal-local cooperation each year in each of the 11 Geographic Area Coordinating Group areas.
In addition, the Panel recommends that the Council develop a comprehensive strategy to provide incentives for local firefighters to become qualified to participate in federally managed wildfires. The Panel believes that increasing access to wildland fire training by reducing current barriers, as recommended in this report, would provide a significant incentive.
Facilitate Federal Aid to Local Wildfire Response Forces
Federal fire grants have been a vital source of support for local fire departments, but significant difficulties have arisen with grant administration. The level of federal aid they receive is unpredictable from year to year; small departments are especially hard-pressed to access and utilize the grant system; and program guidance is often too rigid, resulting in a lack of flexibility for grant recipients.
The Panel believes that the current federal-aid system supporting wildfire programs—not just grants to local fire departments, but all the grants available for fuels reduction, fire planning, communities-at-risk, training, equipment, and so on—needs significant improvement in order to become more accessible and helpful to states and communities. The Panel’s recommendation to respond to those needs will be published in the January 2004 report, Containing Wildland Fire Costs: Enhancing Hazard Mitigation Capacity. Among other things, the strategy will promote the development of one-stop shops and wide use of electronic grants, while still permitting access by low-income rural communities. At the same time, provisions will be included for alternative means of access to federal aid by applicants unable to use electronic means.