Hahhahaha. So. Remember my last post about the Pipeline/Haywire/Double fires? And how excited I was that monsoonal rains had hit Flagstaff because it meant that fire season was over?
JOKE IS ON ME!
I spent alllll of last week working on the Committee Fire, a relatively small (acreage-wise) fire that was highly visible from Sedona.
This fire was actually really weird to work on in that… it wasn’t a Type 1?! We’ve been absolutely inundated with Type 1 fires on our forest this season and last. This year we had the Pipeline and the Tunnel, last year we had the Rafael and the Backbone.
My very first fire — last year’s Slate Fire — was a Type 3 fire. (As a reminder: I have a handy dandy little guide to fire types and terminology here.)
It’s been so long since I’ve worked on a Type 3 fire that I forgot what it was like!
There wasn’t a team called in since most people on our forest are qualified to manage Type 3 incidents. We didn’t have to set up a separate Incident Command Post (on fires like these, we usually just work out of an existing facility, like a ranger station), and because our staffing levels were fairly low (we hovered around 100-150 each day), we didn’t have to pull in mobile showers, catering trucks, etc.
My days were still long — I had to be up at 4:30 most mornings to commute down to Sedona for our 7 a.m. morning briefing, and stay at the ranger station until 7 p.m. most nights — but the work was a lot slower-paced and thorough.
I even got my task book signed off! This is super exciting because it means that I’m one step closer to being qualified as a Type 3 Public Information Officer — which means I can serve as the lead PIO on Type 3 incidents.
It’s actually kind of funny. When the team was putting in orders for resources (reminder: I am a resource that can be ordered to work on a fire), there was a bit of confusion because I’ve worked on SO many Type 1, 2 AND 3 fires on-forest at this point, half of my coworkers didn’t realize I’m not formally qualified as a Type 3 PIO. Yet.
I stayed on as the lead PIO, but the forest did order a Type 1 PIO to come in and work with my team to help mentor us and sign off on my task book.
Because this fire was slower-paced and I wasn’t delegating or answering media calls 24/7 like I normally would on a Type 1 fire, I had time to actually learn things.
I got to sit down with our planning team and watch them compile an ICS 209 form, which the public info team relies on a lot to create news releases and social posts.
I also got to work on developing some new products for trap lines and info boards.
It’s a little funny. On most fires, the priorities in the PIO shop are answering media calls, answering calls from the public, updating social media and websites, issuing news releases and organizing both media briefings and community meetings.
Because this fire was so visible from such a huge tourist area, our priority was actually trap lines. We sent handfuls of PIOs out to prominent Sedona locations with maps, fire facts, photos, road and trail closures and QR codes, and let them inform tourists about the visible smoke.
And — I FINALLY got to work on a fire with my coworker Jane!
Not only is Jane a really awesome coworker: She’s also a close friend. (Fun fact: She was my only friend here in Flag for about six months at the height of the pandemic before things opened up and we both made more friends.)
She’s been trying to get fire experience for years, but her day job makes it really hard because she’s such an integral part of our front-of-house operations, it’s hard for her to sneak away from her desk and do stuff like this.
So, I’m really glad she finally got to spend a few days at ICP and get some PIO experience. She’s also a really cool person to work with and hang out with.
And, that was it. After about 10 days, the Type 3 team transitioned the fire back to the forest level, (so, essentially, from my perspective, I transferred it back to myself) and the formal fire management came to an end.
After three fires on my forest, I’m seriously ready for our local fire season to be done. It’s been unusual! I’m also still hoping to get some off-season fire experience and go off-forest with one of the Incident Management Teams I’ve worked with in the past, but at this rate? I’m not sure I can set foot off the Coc without another incident springing up!
My views are mine alone and don’t represent those of my employer, agency or the United States government. All photos were taken by me and/or credited photographer unless otherwise noted. You can read more on my disclosure and privacy policy page.
