NPS Gears Up For 2009 Fire Season

The warm, frequently dry, and always thundery months of the year have arrived, bringing with them the prospect and probability of fires in our national parks and on other public lands, some of them significant.

According to forecasters at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, both the number and size of fires that have so far occurred this year are running well ahead of year-to-date averages for the past decade, and the prospects are that there will be above normal fire potential this summer in parts of Washington and California. There will also be an increased risk of fires in the western Great Lakes region during June.

Forecasters attribute this increased potential in the far west to drought conditions that persist or are intensifying over portions of the West, especially in California, Nevada, and portions of the Northwest, and to a below normal winter snowpack in north-central Washington and northern California, coupled with forecasted warmer and drier than normal mid- to late summer conditions

On the positive side, some areas of the country – portions of Nevada, Colorado, and the Southwest and Southeast – will see below normal fire potential due to above normal precipitation.

The National Park Service, with a number of major parks in California and Washington, is closely monitoring fire conditions and taking the necessary steps – both nationally and locally – to be ready for any wildland fires that don’t contribute to meeting of park resource management goals or present risks to either visitors or park neighbors.

“As of this moment, it looks like the parks most likely to see activity are areas like Joshua Tree NP in California, which has already had a large fire this year, and North Cascades NP in Washington,” says Bill Kaage, chief of the Service’s Branch of Wildland Fire, who has primary responsibility for the agency’s response to wildland fire. “The desert Southwest is also an area we’re keeping an eye on, parks like the Grand Canyon. There are a couple of fires burning there right now.”

Despite the increased fire activity in some corners of the country so far this year – the totals for both the number of fires and the number of acres through June were running about 125% of average – the national fire preparedness level over the past few weeks has remained at its lowest level, Preparedness Level 1 (PL 1), out of five possible levels.

Kaage notes that this is not entirely unusual, as the preparedness level on June 1st has been at PL 1 during seven of the past 20 years, and no higher than PL 2 (12 times) or PL 3 (once) during the remaining 13 years. But fire managers remain on their guard and attentive to evolving conditions because history also shows that the situation can and often does change very quickly.

During those 20 years, NIFC bumped the preparedness level substantially by July 1st – PL 3 on seven occasions and PL 5, the highest possible level, on two occasions (once in 2002 and once last year).

Of even more consequence is the overall trend toward reaching higher levels earlier and earlier during the summer months. During the 1990s, the preparedness level was usually at PL 2 and never higher than PL 3 as of the third week of July; during the nine years since 2000, it reached PL 4 three times and PL 5 another three times.

The trend is clearly toward increasingly intense fire seasons, accelerating at ever earlier dates. At PL 5, the fire community’s ability to respond to fires is sorely taxed – and in late July there’s several months of the active fire season still left to go.

“We’re finding ourselves in a new situation, with increasing fire severity and a more rapid onset of higher preparedness levels,” says Kaage. “That means we’re dealing with more intense and longer seasons. We’re in a long distance race and we therefore have to pace ourselves in our response, making sure that our firefighters don’t become overly fatigued and thereby increase safety risks.”

Kaage adds that the public also needs to be aware of these changing conditions, as fires may break out at unexpected times, behave more erratically, burn with increased intensity, and last longer. All these present serious challenges to fire managers intent on keeping blazes away from communities and park visitors. The public also has to be prepared to deal with related issues, such as increased smoke and prolonged area closures.

Keeping both forecast and history in mind, National Park Service fire managers in the parks and their overseeing regional offices have undertaken assessments of local conditions and how they might change and are well underway in preparing for possible developments.

Kaage also points out, however, that the National Park Service’s mission is not just fire suppression, as fire remains a very important and natural tool in managing park ecosystems. Prescribed fires – fires that are set under optimal conditions and in accord with well-developed plans and are closely managed by firefighters – will continue where feasible and weather and fuel conditions permit.

“Fire has helped shape our wildlands for thousands of years and is important for the survival of many plants and animals,” he says. “Fire reduces the accumulation of vegetation that can inhibit new plant growth and it is essential to other plants and animals for their very survival – periodic fire simulates growth, reproduction of plants, and provides wildlife habitat.”

Whether managing fires for the benefit of parks and their wildlife or actively suppressing those that don’t meet those goals or constitute risks to persons or property, the National Park Service is prepared this season and in coming years to deal with both wildland fire threats – and wildland fire opportunities.

More Information

Here are some web sites where you can learn more:

National Park Service fires – You can learn more about wildland fires underway in parks by going to the National Park Service’s fire management site at http://www.nps.gov/fire/index.cfm .

Reports on individual major fires for all agencies – Updates on major wildland fires on all federal and state lands can be found at http://www.inciweb.org/

Daily fire summaries – A PDF file containing the National Interagency Fire Center’s summary report on fires nationwide can be found at http://www.nifc.gov/nicc/sitreprt.pdf