FORESTRY COMMISSION WILDLAND FIRE

Douglas E. Wood

Any forest fire, brush fire, grass fire, or any other outdoor fire that is not controlled and supervised is considered a wildfire. These fires cause damage to the forest resource as well as to wildlife habitat, water quality, and air quality. State forestry agencies are the leads for wildfire suppression on millions of acres of forested and agricultural land in the Carolinas. To protect public safety and valuable forest resource, these agencies use highly trained wildland firefighters and specialized equipment and techniques. In cooperation with local fire departments, they suppress many thousands of fires every year. Although structural firefighters and their wildland counterparts work in different “offices” and employ very different tactics, they are nonetheless brothers (and sisters) in arms, their bonds forged by the shared experience of and commitment to preventing and suppressing fire. The firefighters who occupy the ranks of state forestry (and other natural resourcerelated) agencies know all too well the importance of their structure-centered brethren, especially in the South, as smaller local (often volunteer) fire departments are usually among the first on the scene to many of the region’s wildfires, large and small. In the southeast, response to wildland fires accounts for 25% or more of the total call volume for many rural fire departments. The proliferation of local fire departments over the past 35 years, which naturally results in their closer proximity to the ignition points of most fires, wildland or not, has dramatically reduced the number and severity of wildfires in the same time frame. The number of all-career or mostly career departments, for example, increased 75 percent between 1986 and 2019.1 Likewise, while more than 6,700 wildfires burned nearly 40,000 acres in South Carolina alone in 1986, the state only experienced 1,361 wildfires that burned fewer than 8,000 acres in 2019. Moreover, the Palmetto State has only had more than 2,000 wildfires in a single year once since 2011.2 Despite their special training in rugged, usually forested, terrain, wildland firefighters dispatched to wildfire calls are many times greeted by local fire department personnel who are already on the scene. This is a fortunate development, one that has resulted in fewer structures damaged, fewer acres burned, and fewer lives lost. It has also naturally led to increased interaction between structural and wildland departments and personnel, creating opportunities for interdisciplinary training. Fire Management Officers

with the South Carolina Forestry Commission, for example, are available to conduct wildland fire-focused training for local fire departments, instructing them in wildland fire safety protocols, acreage estimation, and size-up, initial attack conventions, unified command protocol, and other integral aspects of working under the incident command system (ICS) framework. In fact, local fire departments can request wildland fire training like this by contacting their state forestry agency or by making a formal request through the state fire marshal’s office.

WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE

While the last 30+ years of statistics bear out the otherwise positive trend of fewer wildfires, the danger from wildfire, especially in the Carolinas, has not abated. The population in the mountainous and coastal regions of both states continues to surge, creating new threats in a new frontier, the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Although national headlines tend to feature wildfires threatening homes in California and other hot spots in the western United States, the WUI problem they describe is not exclusively a western phenomenon. The wildland-urban interface is defined as any area where homes and other development meet what was previously “wild land,” and there is a continuously growing contingent of people in the Carolinas who make their homes in this danger zone. Booming growth in coastal communities and expansive urban sprawl in other metropolitan areas create more WUI land across the US South’s coastal plain, Piedmont and Blue Ridge regions every year. North Carolina, in fact, ranks No. 1 with respect to acres of WUI; more than 13 million of its 33.7 million acres of forested land are in this critical danger zone. The Tarheel State also ranks No. 4 in both the number of homes (52 percent) and the number of people (51 percent) within its WUI areas.3 Fire departments across the country are increasingly being called upon to respond to WUI fires, including brush, grass, and forest fires; the National Fire Protection Association reports that 46 million residences in 70,000 communities across the United States are at risk for WUI fires.4 When houses are built close to forests or other types of natural vegetation, they pose two problems related to wildfires. First, there will be more wildfires simply because of human ignitions, mistakenly or not. Second, these wildfires will pose a greater risk to lives and homes, they will be hard to fight, and letting natural fires burn is not typically an available option. Wildfires in developed areas are tough to control, partly due to access and other issues. As development increases, lives and property are threatened as never before. All of this makes wildfire response in WUI areas more complex and requires

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constant communication between fire departments, forestry agencies, and other first responders. The state forestry agencies in the southeast, along with the USDA Forest Service, worked to create an online tool that fire departments can use to visualize wildfire risk in their protected area. This free tool, called the Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal (SouthWRAP), uses maps, fuels data, and other information to illustrate areas within an area that have high, moderate, or low wildfire risk, allowing users to pre-plan for a response, determine where to target fire prevention efforts, and to support budget and grant requests. Local fire departments across the South are encouraged to access this valuable resource. Visit https:// southernwildfirerisk.com and request access to the Professional Viewer.

VOLUNTEER FIRE ASSISTANCE GRANTS

While the importance of local fire departments making it a priority to know and interact with their wildland counterparts cannot be overstated in terms of fighting a fire, there can be material benefits associated with forging relationships with state forestry agencies as well. Both the North Carolina Forest Service and the South Carolina Forestry Commission administer the USDA Forest Service’s Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) grants program. The VFA program offers 50/50 matching-fund grants to local fire departments that want to increase their firefighting capacity, especially for those departments serving communities in the wildland-urban interface. Fire departments serving rural communities with a population of 10,000 or fewer residents are eligible for VFA grants. The intent of the VFA grant is to help the rural volunteer fire departments meet the WUI challenge. Through financial assistance in purchasing wildland firefighting equipment and making necessary training available, rural volunteer fire departments can more effectively and safely assist their state’s forestry agency in dealing with wildland fires that threaten the rural developments and communities they serve.

HOW STATE FORESTRY AGENCIES FIGHT FIRE Suppression tactics and equipment

With a statewide computer-aided dispatch system, the South Carolina Forestry Commission, like other state forestry agencies, mobilizes specially equipped firefighting bulldozers, wildland fire engines, and even hand crews to fight wildfires. Since most wildfires occur in remote areas and are often far from water sources, the primary way wildfires are suppressed is by the creation of firebreaks – removing vegetation and debris to expose bare mineral soil. The width of the break depends on the type of fuel in which the fire is burning and the weather conditions. The primary tool to create firebreaks is a tractor plow unit, consisting of a modified bulldozer that is equipped with a fire plow and blade. These units allow firefighters to rapidly create firebreaks near the fire while protecting the firefighter from direct contact with the heat and flames. In mountainous areas where tractor plow units cannot operate, specially trained hand crews of 10-20 firefighters use tools such as fire rakes, pulaskis, and shovels to construct firebreaks. In wet areas, low ground pressure equipment, including fire tracks, is used to deliver water. Drip torches are also used to widen firebreaks by burning out fuels between the break and the oncoming fire.

Dispatch operations

Forestry dispatchers locate and dispatch the closest available resource(s) to respond to wildfires. These agency's computer-aided dispatch centers manage astounding volumes of communications traffic as they not only coordinate the closest available resources (firefighters, equipment, and other personnel) in response to wildland fires but also field tens of thousands of calls from the public every year for everything from arson reporting to prescribed burning approvals.

Air operations

Aircraft are used to help locate wildfires and are also used as an eye in the sky to improve safety when firefighters are working. SCFC pilots relay important information to firefighters about fire behavior, fuels, obstacles, and structures threatened. When special situations arise, aerial tankers and helicopters are available from other sources to assist by dropping water on fires.

ONLINE WILDFIRE/BURNING RESOURCES IN SOUTH CAROLINA Wildfire viewer

The South Carolina Forestry Commission is one of the few state forestry agencies to offer a real-time, interactive map of all the current wildfires in the state. Integrating live-feed dispatch data into a Geographic Information System (GIS) viewer, the map allows visitors to click on any fire to see the exact location and acreage of, as well as the number of responders to, all current fires. Visit https:// scfc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/029f238b11e147149f783e6c9d9c447c to use this free tool.

Prescribed burn viewer

The South Carolina Forestry Commission also leverages its GIS capabilities into a similar map that shows all the prescribed burns throughout the state. Clicking the location icon of a prescribed burn on the map shows the location of the burn and its planned acreage. Please visit https://scfc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/075290ae991b45b3a8a9d2015202008f.

Mobile wildfire app

SCFC has a mobile wildfire app as well. Simply search “South Carolina Forestry Commission” in either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. When users first open the app, they can choose to accept “push notifications” when prompted; these notifications will alert users about current burning bans, Red Flag fire alerts, and other warnings. Notifications will never consist of ads or promotional messages.

The easy-to-use interface lets users:

• See all the wildfires in the state • See all the debris burns and prescribed burns around the state • See the day’s fire weather • Watch our videos on how to conduct legal debris burns, including making notification to the Forestry Commission and taking the proper precautions • Report a wildfire or arson

Pinch-zoom on any fire to see:

• Its location • Its size • Its containment status Fire departments can also use the app to apply for Volunteer Fire Assistance grants, keep up with the agency’s Federal Excess Property programs, and learn about wildfires in their area.

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Priority is given to departments that are:

• applying for the first time

• purchasing a skid (slip-in) unit for a brush truck

• purchasing wildland personal protective equipment (PPE: Nomex shirts, Nomex pants, Nomex coveralls, etc.)

• purchasing VHF radios (UHF / not 800)

• installing and maintaining dry hydrants • needing to purchase equipment to outfit their federal excess equipment loaned or provided by the state forestry agency. Learn more about the South Carolina Forestry Commission’s VFA grants program at scfc.gov/ protection/other-programs/vfavfaprograms-and-grants/. The North Carolina Forest Service offers details of its program at www. ncforestservice.gov/fire_control/ fc_vfap.htm.

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FEDERAL EXCESS PROPERTY PROGRAMS – FEPP AND FFP

Most state forestry agencies also administer a variety of federal excess programs to help fire departments acquire firefighting equipment and vehicles to enhance their rural firefighting capacity and response. The SCFC and NCFS both offer the Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) Program in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service to loan federal excess property to fire departments statewide for use in their fire prevention and suppression programs. This property can be provided on a long-term loan to qualifying fire departments statewide; however, once the fire department is no longer using the loaned property, they must return it to the Forestry Commission. The Firefighter Property (FFP) Program is administered in cooperation with the Department of Defense and the USDA Forest Service to issue federal excess property to fire departments statewide for use in their fire suppression, fire prevention, and emergency response programs. This property will become the fire department’s property once all program requirements for operability are met. Learn more about the South Carolina Forestry Commission’s excess property programs at scfc. gov/protection/other-programs/ federal-excess-property-programs/. The North Carolina Forest Service offers details of its program at https://www.ncforestservice.gov/ fire_control/fc_fepp.htm.

REFERENCES

US Fire Department Profile 2019; Fahy, Evarts and Stein; December 2021 https://www.nfpa. org/-/media/files/News-and-Research/Firestatistics-and-reports/Emergency-responders/ osfdprofile.pdf

South Carolina Forestry Commission Archives: Historical Wildfire Information By Year And Month https://www.scfc.gov/wp-content/ uploads/2021/03/historical-wildfire-informationby-year-and-month.pdf

U Resist Wildfire North Carolina website: https://www.resistwildfirenc.org

National Fire Protection Association’s "Pathways for Building Fire Spread at the Wildland Urban Interface." https://www.nfpa.