(upbeat music)
(fire blazing)
- [Narrator] The 2020 fire year begin with the U.S.
assisting Australia.
Through a cooperative agreement with Australia
the United States deployed
a total of 362 fire suppression specialists
from December, 2019 through March of 2020
when the last group returned to the U.S.
Nationally, the number of fires
and total acreage burned in 2020
were well over the number of fires
and total acreage burned in 2019.
A large proportion of the burned acreage
occurred in California,
accounting for 38% of the nation's total burned acres.
The nation spent 44 days at the highest level
of wildfire preparedness.
A record 32,727 firefighters were deployed on a single day
in late summer to support firefighting efforts.
2020 resulted in 15 Wildland Fire related fatalities,
six more than 2019.
These fatalities included nine aviation related,
four medical, and two entrapments.
Aviation fatalities included three Americans
who died in an air tanker crash in Australia
on January 22nd.
Civilian lives were lost in wildfires
particularly in California and the Northwest.
Fast moving large wildfire incidents
affected thousands of homes and displaced homeowners.
Most of these structures were in California and Oregon.
This is well above the annual average.
2020 saw the first reported million acre wildfire incident,
the August Complex in Northern California.
Numerous large fires resulting in fatalities
and significant property losses occurred in Oregon,
Washington, California, and Colorado.
Colorado experienced the three largest wildfires
in the state's history,
Cameron Peak, East Troublesome and Pine Gulch.
An unusually extended fire season
occurred in the Southwest due to a late monsoon.
By mid August, Wildland firefighting resources
were stretched thin.
International agreements facilitated support
from Canada and Mexico.
Additionally, federal and state firefighting efforts
were aided by state National Guard and active duty military
deployed to wildfires in California and throughout the West.
Overall, the 2020 fire year reinforced
what many Wildland Fire agencies have experienced
for more than 20 years.
Wildland Fire activity starts earlier in the spring,
last longer into the fall
and involves more intense, difficult to control fires.
(upbeat music)
- So I think it's important to start off with
how well we did last year, addressing COVID-19
and how everyone pulled together and how much work was done.
Some of the biggest accomplishments
from last year were the way that we engineered distance
within our camp.
We saw less sick people in camp.
We fed people differently.
We use spike camps more.
We were able to pull on expertise by using virtual positions
that we probably couldn't have done before.
I think a lot of the virtual capacity
that was built last year will continue to be built
and we'll continue to perfect that because we saw the value
in that moving forward even beyond COVID.
We also developed this informal COVID lead position
and that became crucial for incident management teams
to take the burden of COVID off of the incident
and allow the incident management teams
to focus on fighting fire.
There are a few key pieces that are new
for this year that we want everyone to be aware of.
One is getting a better understanding
out there about the Module As One concept.
The focus on Module As One this year
is really about being able to insulate your module,
your crew, and really stick together
and assure people that come into that module are healthy
and that you stick together
and you don't go outside of that module,
or you limit any outside exposure.
And as we all know, that's very hard to do.
It can be done, but we just want people to know
what the limitations are with Module As One.
The other takeaway from that is that Module As One
cannot be used with IMT members.
IMT members often travel from various locations,
are not able to quarantine ahead of assignment
and often interact with the public.
And so they just can't achieve that true Module As One
as defined.
So that's a big change for this year
that we would need to make sure people understand.
The other big change for this year
is we have a federal mandate
that requires face coverings in the workplace.
The bottom line there is that
everyone will wear face coverings at all times
when they can't maintain six feet of distance
unless they're engaged in arduous activity.
And probably the biggest change,
a component that we did not have last year
was the development of the COVID 19 vaccine.
There are two vaccines that are 95% effective
and this is the most important way
that you can help protect yourself and others from COVID-19.
And so the medical and public health advisory team
is recommending that all fire personnel get vaccinated
before they go out this year.
Even with the vaccine,
there are a lot of questions out there
on whether or not folks will continue to have
to wear their face mask or practice the mitigations
that have been put in place.
And the answer to that is yes.
Even with the vaccine,
there's still a federal mandate for face coverings,
and these mitigations that have been put in place
are still very important.
The vaccine is just another layer of protection
and the more layers you have of protection,
the more effective they are.
And that's the goal that we're trying to reach this year
with vaccine and all of the mitigation
so that we can put an end to the spread of COVID-19
within our Wildland Fire community.
Another major takeaway from last year is the information
with COVID changes rapidly.
So it's important that everyone stays in tune
with the NWCG coronavirus webpage
along with the Centers for Disease Control webpage
to ensure that they have the most up-to-date information.
My advice for this year is to stay positive and be flexible
and do everything that you can do to protect yourself
and help protect others.
And that includes being vaccinated,
taking the mitigation seriously, and doing your part.
- [Narrator] We are all students of fire.
We study, observe, and practice to become experts
on fire behavior, suppression tactics,
and new technology on our local unit
in our geographic area and across our country.
But even the best students are lost without teachers,
At the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center
experts collect, refine, and distribute data
for the benefit of all Wildland firefighters.
The LLC website is a single point source
where firefighters can both seek and share knowledge
to improve safe work performance
and expand operational learning.
You may be familiar with some of their products.
Others may be new to you.
Incident reviews, rapid lesson sharing,
connected community forums, newsletters, blogs,
and even podcasts.
LLC publishes an annual incident review summary.
This product collects lessons from the previous fire year
and condenses them into manageable chunks of information
paired with actionable follow-up exercises.
Just because your chaps are on
does not mean your legs are protected.
Your chaps need to be snug.
2020 is the third year in a row
where a saw cut a firefighter,
when loose chaps were pulled aside by a spinning chain.
Do you always tighten leg straps so your chaps are snug?
Do you drill on how to deal with a chainsaw cut?
If not, take action.
(upbeat music)
In 2020, the Lessons Learned Center
recorded six incidents where vehicles caught fire.
Four incidents occurred during active fire operations.
A tractor caught fire on a fuels reduction project.
An engine burned while parked in a bay.
Do you check and spray down your parking area in the black?
Do you inspect your AED
during preventative maintenance checks?
Do you regularly clear combustible debris
from hard to reach spaces on your rig?
If not, take action.
The Lessons Learned Center
periodically releases infographics
to rapidly share lessons with the field.
These infographics are a visual reminder
of significant incidents and trends,
lessons we can learn, and actions we must take
to prevent becoming a statistic.
Study them, print them out,
hang them in your ready room as a daily reminder.
Aggressive initial attack
and a surge in firefighting aircraft
helped ensure the safety of firefighters and the public
while reducing wildfire size and intensity in 2020.
While the COVID-19 pandemic
continues to challenge fire suppression
and preparedness activities,
Wildland Fire agencies work together to implement tactics,
guidance, and other regulations
to greatly reduce virus spread potential among employees.
As we enter another potentially active fire year
it is up to you to stay safe,
stay informed, and look out for each other.
(upbeat music)