Agencies preparing for severe wildfire season
By: Bob Purvis , Special to The Independent 04/23/2004
PHOENIX - State, local and federal officials say that early preparation, coordinated response, and lessons learned from consecutive summers of catastrophic wildfires will put them in a better position to combat another fire season fueled by "critical conditions."
Law enforcement and emergency response officials from across the state gathered in Phoenix Wednesday for the Governor's Wildland Fire Season Executives Meeting to coordinate for the upcoming fire season.
Gov. Janet Napolitano started the meeting by signing a document making Arizona eligible for matching funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that lets the state recover costs of fighting large wildfires.
She also gave $1 million from the state Fire Suppression Revolving Fund to the state Land Department to preposition fire-fighting equipment and fire crews throughout the state in high-risk areas.
Napolitano said much has been done to improve the health of Arizona forests at the state level since the Rodeo-Chediski fire burned more than 450,000 acres, but coordination at all levels will be necessary to minimize the impact of this summer's fires.
"I think we all agree that this was made seemingly important not just for this year but for the upcoming years that we take every step that we can to prepare for wildland fire season," Napolitano said.
Kirk Rowdabaugh, director of the Arizona Land Department's Fire Management Division, told agencies to expect another terrible fire season.
He said although recent rains have given the state temporary reprieve from what looked to be an extremely early fire-season; they weren't enough to remedy the "critical condition" of the state's forests.
One of the lowest snow packs on record, combined with the effects of ongoing drought, warmer temperature predictions and dead tree stands wrought with bark beetle infestation have poised the state's forests for another summer of unnatural wildfires.
"For anybody who thinks that the rains in the last few weeks have gotten us out of a bad situation they haven't," Rowdabaugh said. "They certainly postponed the outset of what could have been a truly remarkable start to fire season."
The start of fire season once wasn't talked about until early June, but as conditions worsen fires spark progressively earlier, Rowdabaugh said.
Experts now say fire season will be in full swing by early- to mid-May, and Rowdabaugh said the season will be above normal in comparison to 2002 and 2003.
"Our idea of what is normal has actually changed quite a bit over the years," Rowdabaugh said.
Based on maps of the location of fires over the last two summers the fires are likely to impact areas all over the state, said Lou Trammell, deputy director of the Arizona Division of Emergency Management.
"Very few parts of the state are not at risk," Trammell said.
Trammell said pre-positioning interoperable communications equipment and mitigating the threat of post-fire flooding are objectives learned from recent fires.
Sheriffs from Northern Arizona said that they are in a better position to fight massive wildfires now than they have ever been.
During the Rodeo-Chediski fire the inability to communicate with people from the nearly 40 different agencies aiding in the efforts caused massive problems.
With the addition of interoperable radio equipment in Navajo and Apache counties interagency coordination should be much easier, said Navajo County Sheriff Gary Butler.
"We feel like we are ready," Butler said. "We learned some big lessons and we feel like we are ready for the next batch of wildfires."
Butler said that while state agencies are learning to better deal with fire prevention and coordination, he worries that the average citizen is still ill prepared for fire season.
In past fires people have refused to leave their homes when being evacuated, and Butler said something must be done to make people realize their stubbornness could be fatal.
"If you wanted to get people to leave you'd probably have to pass a law," Butler said. While this likely won't happen Butler will arrest parents with children refusing to evacuate on charges of child abuse, he said.
In Coconino County efforts will focus on evacuating the Oak Creek Canyon area near Sedona, which when packed with summer tourists is difficult to evacuate safely, said Coconino County Sheriff Joe Richards.
"Oak Creek Canyon has the greatest potential for loss of life in all of Coconino County," Richards said.
Sharing the concerns of the various agencies responsible for dealing with the wildfire season early and planning accordingly is key to being effective when the fires hit, Napolitano said.
"We're dry, we have lots of dead trees and it's hot and that means we are at risk for another bad fire season," Napolitano said. "I think what we can say is hope for the best and prepare for the worst."
Dennis