Update from the Fire Camp
Since the last fire I attended, the Stagecoach Fire near Havilah and southwest of Lake Isabella, the relatively quiet world of wildland fire has turned crazy. I was demobed (our abbreviated term for being demobilized) on Wednesday, August 12 after 6.5 days on the fire. I stopped in Porterville, picked up my dogs, and hurried to the house. We were all glad to get home.
By the time the washing was done, the Apple Fire near Banning was beginning to become an issue. And, as you now know, that was only to be the beginning.
When these new fires began popping up, I watched all the information closely, looking for news that an IMT (Incident Management Team) was being assigned to a particular fire. When the IMT takes control of the management of the fire, the Logistics professional (LOGS) consults with the Ground Support Unit Leader (GSUL) and an order for some number of Type I Pickups (3/4 ton and 1 ton) with Drivers, and sometimes even some Type 2 Pickups (1/2 ton) with Drivers. That’s when I can expect my phone to ring, if it’s going to.
When I got the call from the River Fire, it was about 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 5. They joked they really wanted me there at 8 p.m. that evening, “…but I doubt if you can make that.”
I agreed that wasn’t practical, and was told I needed to be at Fire Camp by noon on Wednesday. That would even allow me time to take my dogs at 8 a.m. for boarding and still be in camp by noon.
Fire Camp was to be in Toro Park, southeast of Salinas. I spent several days in that park when I was assigned to the Soberanes Fire in 2016 so was familiar with the location and how to get there.
By the time I arrived in Salinas, the Carmel Fire had begun along the hills on the west side of Carmel Valley Road. As I stood at the Check-in window, the helicopters were busy shuttling water from a dip-point out to the new fire.
As soon as I got checked in, and made the obligatory stop at Finance to be sure they knew what to pay me and where, I was sent to find Ground Support. I learned finding Ground Support wasn’t an easy task.
The U.S. Army base originally known as Ford Ord, has been taken over by housing and in one area by California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB). Many turns and corners later, I finally arrived at an unused fire station known as Green Tree Fire, which now houses Ground Support. The mechanics who keep the equipment functioning and repair broken engines, work in the bays. The upstairs area behind the windows on the left, provides a waiting place for my group, the Runners (or Drivers) and our trucks.
Main Street, with all the offices for managing an operation of this size, is set up on the lawn in Toro Park. The Briefing area, where the managers assemble to hear the latest in the progress of the fire, and the Kitchen Units where the meals are prepared and distributed share that area. A bit further up the canyon is the area where all the prisoner crews are housed. Their tents and showers are set aside, allowing the Correctional Officers to keep the prisoners separate.
Up one little gully to the east, the Supply area for the entire operation is set up and arranged. Along the road out of the camp, the Communications trailer (COMMS) is set up in the back of a parking lot. The Communications Leader (COML) has his office trailer there. For most of us, we have to know to go to the COMMS trailer so we can get our radios cloned.
Each driver must own a communication radio compatible with the equipment being used on the fire. It’s our responsibility to both know how to operate it, and to keep it properly charged and ready to go out on the fire. Instead of hand entering all the many different frequencies used to separate the communications of all the working units on the fire, we take our radios to COMMS and have them cloned so they contain all the correct frequencies we may need to use.
My tent is set up on the edge of a large parking lot. The showers are about 100 yards south, the laundry is another 30 yards farther, and a bank of porta-potties is at least another 50 yards away. However, I can park my truck right in front of my tent.
As of Sunday morning, I’m sitting with my computer on my lap, writing this column. The Carmel Fire and the River Fire are both still growing, though not rapidly. The Carmel has burned 6,695 acres, and is only 10 percent contained. The River is at 47,773 acres, and 15 percent contained. At 10 percent and 15 percent containment, we’re still quite a few days from being ready to start sending people and equipment home. There will continue to be some growth in burned acreage on both fires as dozer lines are constructed, and the areas behind those lines or along roads or waterways are burned out. Following burn-outs behind contingency lines, the percent of containment should increase dramatically. All these operations will take time however.
The northernmost section of the River Fire extends all the way to Toro Park where the ICP (Incident Command Post) and Fire Camp is set up. When the fire backed down to the edge of the park, there was a great deal of excitement. The folks in camp feared they were in great danger of being burned over. However, the Main Street trailers, the briefing area, and the kitchen trailers, are all parked in the middle of a large green lawn area.