COVID-19 concerns change USFS approach to upcoming fire season

With fire season on the horizon, the Lincoln Ranger District is preparing to tackle wildfires in a different way.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the large fire camps that spring up during fires are generally off the table, as the camp crews that normally manage the camps and feed the fire crews aren't available this year. Likewise, concerns about the potential for coronavirus spread means the district won't bring in fire crews and fire management teams from around the nation to help fight fires.

Instead, individual districts are bolstering the training of their personnel, keeping firefighting assets closer to home and looking to neighboring Forests and districts, and the local community, for the necessary support.

Lincoln District Ranger Michael Stansberry has been reaching out to the community in the last month to let people know what they may be facing this year. Without the camps, the district may have to lean on local businesses and restaurants more than usual to feed and house firefighters if a significant fire flares up.

"The restaurants have always stepped up" he told the BVD. "I remember in 2017, they were amazing. Every year, it seems like during those initial few days, the community was crucial to making sure our firefighters were getting what they needed."

Stansberry said they plan to work out of the ranger station as much as possible, but some crew members, such as those on night shifts, may need to use motel rooms due to the station's location next to the airport. He said the idea of a camp elsewhere may not be entirely off the table, if another team from around the region comes in.

From a firefighting perspective, the lack of access to the nationwide pool of firefighting assets will require more vigilance, flexibility and cooridanton to spot and tamp down fires as fast as possible this year.

Nationally, the approach is referred to as "Rapid Containment," but Lincoln Ranger District Fire Management Officer Jarel Kurtz feels that's probably not the best term for it.

"It's not like we haven't fought fire aggressively every year since I've been here. We're still going to fight fire and provide for firefighter safety," he said. Instead, the concept is more about use of readily available local resources. "The difference might be a better understanding of opening the purse strings, to maybe have a dozer on standby and some of the things that ... historically wouldn't have been as possible."

Stansberry said the concept allows them to focus funding in a different way, and to think outside the box on tools and partnerships.

Kurtz said within the district they have a pool of folks who are fire ready and able to jump in quickly. Of the districts' 45 employees, 40 are "red-card" qualified for firefighting, and 35 have passed the testing to be line-qualified.

"We have some great folks here on the district and in the (Helena-Lewis & Clark National) Forest who can jump in and make a really strong Type 3 team," Stansberry said. Another 40-50 people could be brought in from other areas of the state to support that team.

Lincoln's location also means air resources are nearby in both Helena and Missoula.

"We've see that, year after year, we've been well supported with air resources," Stansberry said. "The assumption is if there isn't something bigger going on somewhere else, they'll be available again this year."

One of the tools they may turn to this year is the Granite Butte Lookout. The renovated lookout has been in the Forest Service cabin rental system since 2016, but if fuel moistures fall to a critical level, it will be brought back online as an active fire lookout.

"Our fuel moistures are good, they're not great," Stansberry said. The moisture in the large thousand-hour fuels are a particular concern. Lower-than-expected levels helped fuel the Lump Gulch Fire near Helena last week. He expects conditions will get to a point where Granite Butte is critical to the rapid containment strategy sometime after mid-July.

Stansberry said Granite Butte will be important because of the fuel load from insect and disease, and all the snags they've got in the area.

In the past, most fires were spotted by the Stonewall Lookout or by fire fighters actively patrolling to look for starts after a lightning storm moved through. Granite Butte could provide a couple extra hours notice on some of those starts.

"I would rather rely on somebody in a fire tower with the ability to discern what truly is a wildfire," Stansberry said. "The satellites aren't 100 percent. We have chased down bad (heat) signatures," he said. Likewise, an experienced person in a tower can help ensure fire crews are chasing actual smoke, rather than "water dogs" that can form after thunderstorms.

Fire crews are also taking a different organizational approach to help limit possible exposure to COVID-19, using a module system that keeps them separate from one another. The trail crew will be separated from the firefighters, and the firefighters will be separated into crew and engine modules.

"You want to have people be effective, which means riding together in a vehicle," Stansberry said. "The module concept is recognition that we can't prevent all exposure, but we can minimize it by making sure those modules are responsible for their own safety, and helping with that by making sure there's less contact with other modules."

Neither Kurtz nor Stansberry expect the changes to affect their cooperation with Lincoln Fire and Rescue or the Montana DNRC, aside from a renewed emphasis on cross communication.

"We blur our response boundaries pretty seamlessly," Kurtz said.

Communication with residents may present challenges, however. At the recent Lump Gulch Fire, Stansberry said the DNRC successfully used Zoom meetings for outreach.

"That's something we're already working through," he said. "Thats how we may be operating this year. I'm not going to guarantee that's going to be the thing, but watching that process, I think it went pretty smoothly."

Nevertheless, he recognizes not everyone is online. "That is actually a conversation we've had with the forest; understanding what individual districts need. I completely recognize there is still need for availability, to ask questions face to face, and look over maps.

"This is weighing heavy on everyone," Kurtz said. "We're putting maximum effort into trying to be prepared for fire season. Sometimes it feels like a daunting task."