Wildland Fires
Sensible Land Development Practices in Order to Protect Against Wildfire
1. Create access to adequate water sources.
2. Do not stack firewood next to houses.
3. Do not pile slash (e.g., branches, stumps, logs, and other vegetative residues) on home sites or along access roads.
4. Do not build structures on slopes with unenclosed stilt foundations.
5. Remove trees and shrubs growing next to structures, under eaves, and among stilt foundations.
6. Do not create roads that are steep, narrow, winding, unmapped, unsigned, unnamed, and bordered by slash or dense vegetation because these are prone to be difficult, if not impossible, for fire suppression vehicles to negotiate.
7. Do not place a dwelling or group of dwellings in an area without at least two or more access roads for simultaneous ingress and egress.
8. Do not create roads and bridges without the grade, design, and width to permit simultaneous evacuation by residents and access by firefighters and emergency medical personnel and their equipment.
9. Do not place dwellings and other structures on excessive slopes, within continuous or heavy fuel situations, or in box canyons.
10. Place constructed firebreaks and fuel breaks around home sites and within clusters of dwellings.
11. Be certain to prune, thin, landscape, or otherwise reduce living fuels, vegetation, and litter that readily contribute to spot fire development and fire intensity.
12. Do not construct homes with flammable building materials such as wooden shake shingles.
13. Do not expose propane tanks to the external environment.
14. Create a system that will allow delivery of water effectively before and during passage of a fire front in and around the structure.
Early Warning Signals or Indicators Associated with Extreme Fire Behavior
1. Continuous fine fuels, especially fully cured (dead) grasses
2. Large quantities of medium and heavy fuels (e.g., deep duff layers, dead-down logs)
3. Abundance of bridge or ladder fuels in forest stands (e.g., branches, lichens, suspending needles, flaky or shaggy bark, small conifer trees, tall shrubs extending from the ground surface upward)
4. Tight tree crown spacing in conifer forests
6. Significant amounts of dead material in elevated, shrubland fuel complexes
7. Seasonal changes in vegetation (e.g., frost kill)
8. Fire, meteorologic, or insect and disease impacts (e.g., preheated canopy or crown scorch; snow-, wind-, or ice-damaged stands; drought-stressed vegetation; or mountain pine beetle–killed stands)
Weather
Fire Behavior
1. Many fires that start simultaneously
2. Fire that smolders over a large area
3. Rolling and burning pine cones, agaves, logs, hot rocks, and other debris igniting fuel downslope
4. Frequent spot fires developing and coalescing
5. Spot fires occurring ahead of the main fire early on
6. Individual trees readily candling or torching out
7. Fire whirls that cause spot fires and contribute to erratic burning
8. Vigorous surface burning with flame lengths starting to exceed 1 to 2 m (3.3 to 6.6 ft)
9. Sizable areas of trees or shrubs that begin to readily burn as a “wall of flame”
10. Black or dark, massive smoke columns with rolling, boiling vertical development
Ten Standard Firefighting Orders
1. Keep informed of fire weather conditions, changes, and forecasts and how they may affect the area where you are located.
2. Know what the fire is doing at all times through personal observations, communication systems, or scouts.
3. Base all actions on current and expected behavior of the fire.
4. Determine escape routes and plans for everyone at risk, and make certain that everyone understands routes and plans.
5. Post lookouts to watch the fire if you think there is any danger of being trapped, of increased fire activity, or of erratic fire behavior.
6. Be alert, keep calm, think clearly, and act decisively to avoid panic reactions.
7. Maintain prompt and clear communication with your group, firefighting forces, and command and communication centers.
8. Give clear, concise instructions, and be sure that they are understood.
9. Maintain control of the people in your group at all times.
10. Fight the fire aggressively, but provide for safety first.
“Watch Out!” Situations in the Wildland Fire Environment
1. You are moving downhill toward a fire but must be aware that fire can move swiftly and suddenly uphill. Constantly observe fire behavior, fuels, and escape routes, assessing the fire’s potential to run uphill.
2. You are on a hillside where rolling, burning material can ignite fuel from below. When below a fire, watch for burning materials, especially cones and logs, that can roll downhill and ignite a fire beneath you, trapping you between two coalescing fires.
3. Wind begins to blow, increase, or change direction. Wind strongly influences fire behavior, so be prepared to respond to sudden changes.
4. The weather becomes hotter and drier. Fire activity increases, and its behavior changes more rapidly as ambient temperature rises and relative humidity decreases.
5. Dense vegetation with unburned fuel between you and the fire. The danger in this situation is that unburned fuels can ignite. If the fire is moving away from you, be alert for wind changes or spot fires that may ignite fuels near you. Do not be overconfident if the area has burned once because it can reignite if sufficient fuel remains.
6. You are in an unburned area near the fire where terrain and cover make travel difficult. The combination of fuel and difficult escape makes this dangerous.
7. You are traveling or working in an area you have not seen in daylight. Darkness and unfamiliarity create a dangerous combination.
8. You are unfamiliar with local factors influencing fire behavior. When possible, seek information on what to expect from knowledgeable people, especially those from the area.
9. By necessity, you have to make a frontal assault on a fire with tankers. Any encounter with an active line of fire is dangerous because of proximity to intense heat, smoke, and flames, along with limited escape opportunities.
