East Fork Fire & Paramedic Districts October 2011 Volume 9, Issue 4

From the Chief's Desk ...   The past several months have seen the districts respond to several significant incidents both within and outside the district boundaries. This is not to forget the tragic string of fatal accidents that we responded to, nine in total, between April and June of this year. As an organization we continue to demonstrate our ability to get the job done and to do so under some very difficult circumstances. We have also demonstrated, as an organization, it takes a incredible effort by ALL. Whether you happen to be the first responder on a staffed rig, the volunteer operating a water tender or rehabilitation unit, or a staff member on call back working with a volunteer to make up the crew on a rescue I am exceedingly proud of all of you who participated in our most recent events, and

Chief's Desk 1 Prevention Perspectives 3 Training Division 6 Cameron Peek 7

while I don't like to single out any specific group or individual, I must offer commendations to those who responded to the IHOP incident in Carson City. I was extremely proud of each and every one of you. For anyone to ever think that that type of situation can't happen here, a reassessment of your individual security and safety should be a consideration. I know it has been for me. The Ray-May Fire was one of the largest fires we have had in quite a while. In fact, it will be the most expensive fire we have had to pay for in our history. More on that in a minute. The Ray May Fire also was the first fire that I can remember in recent history which was managed by the district (in unified command with BLM) beyond the first operational period. In fact, we maintained incident management for three days. I am particularly pleased with our capability in that regard. While I don’t want to consider our incident management group for this fire as a "Type 3 Team" it certainly represented a strong Type 3 structure. We were able to fill the major positions of a Type 3 organization and in my opinion, successfully. It was only until the number of personnel working the fire (over 600), a couple of injuries, a high number of aircraft being used, and concerns over land rehabilitation, did we (EFFPD and BLM) jointly elect to transfer the management of the incident to a Type 2 Team. Now, as for the cost. We entered into a two party cost share agreement with the BLM. Unlike most fires of this type, we had a significant amount of private "range" land involved, thus driving the burned acre cost to a excessively high number, at least in terms of what we are normally confronted with. The estimated East Fork costs are going to exceed the quarter of a million dollar amount. Fortunately, we do have the funds in our emergency fund. The final adjudication of cost will be a few months down the road. The second "large" fire was of course the Holbrook Fire. We once again were able to assemble a strong Type 3 structure and managed this fire from beginning to end for the most part. Once again, we encountered a significant portion of the fire being on private lands, thus driving the cost. We were fortunate to secure a Fire Management Assistance Grant which will cover 75% of our direct costs. This grant was successful due to the high number of homes at risk. This is something that we did not have in the Ray-May Fire. Once again, some awesome firefighting efforts were exhibited on this fire, especially in the area of Breccia Way once the wind changed direction. The efforts of the ground forces, including the dozer work, were in my opinion responsible for the containment of that aspect of the fire. This incident, like others, demonstrated the fact that it takes the entire organization, both staff and volunteers, working with our mutual aid resources to get the job done. A good job by all. Continued on Page 2

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