Forest Service releases prescribed burn policy recommendations
The U.S. Forest Service issued recommendations Thursday for changing how it approaches prescribed burns to avoid the missteps that led to two such blazes going awry earlier this year and merging into the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history.
A 107-page report recommends a more rigorous review process with added safeguards when igniting the prescribed burns intended to reduce the risk of megafires in overgrown forests that have become more flammable in a hotter, drier climate.
These recommendations follow a scathing review released in June that faulted agency officials for using outdated guidelines and incomplete weather information amid a prolonged drought while not considering climate change as a factor nor adequately estimating the risk of a controlled fire escaping.
“We can never guarantee that prescribed fires won’t escape because there are risks when we use this tool,” Forest Service Chief Randy Moore wrote in the plan’s foreword. “What we can and will do is learn from them to minimize the risks of escapes and remain committed to doing this work safely and effectively.”
In April, a prescribed burn blew out of control and turned into the Hermits Peak Fire northwest of Las Vegas, N.M. That blaze later melded with the Calf Canyon Fire, which ignited from a “sleeper fire” that had smoldered underground for months after a January pile burn.
The resulting inferno destroyed hundreds of homes and scorched a 530-square-mile area of Northern New Mexico, creating an immense burn scar that has caused flash flooding and contaminated waterways with ashy debris during summer storms.
In May, Moore ordered a nationwide pause in the agency’s prescribed burn program while the policies and methods were examined. These controlled burns will resume on condition that the agency follow the recommendations outlined in the report, he wrote.
The recommendations include the following:
• Each Forest Service unit will review all prescribed fire plans and associated complexity analyses to ensure the plans reflect current conditions before the fires are lit.
• Prescribed fires will be conducted only after they receive an updated approval by a technical reviewer and are certified by the appropriate agency administrator.
• Briefings done before igniting the fires will be standardized to ensure consistent communication and understanding on key points.
• Instead of authorizing a set window for a planned fire ahead of time, agency administrators will approve ignitions on the day of the burn while assessing conditions. For prescribed fires requiring multi-day ignitions, agency administrators will authorize the fire on each day.
• Before igniting a fire, the burn boss will survey whether conditions are still suitable and evaluate human factors such as how tired, under stress and experienced the crew members are.
• Administrators in charge of approving fires will be present for all high-complexity burns, while line officers will be present for 30 percent to 40 percent of burns with moderate complexity.
• The agency chief will designate a specific Forest Service point of contact at the national level to oversee and report on how these and other recommendations are being carried out.
“These actions will ensure prescribed fire plans are up to date with the most recent science, that key factors and conditions are closely evaluated the day of a prescribed burn,” Moore wrote. “And that decision makers are engaged in those burns in real time to determine whether a prescribed burn should be implemented.”
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was among the state’s political leaders who lambasted the agency for starting the enormous wildfire. She has criticized the agency for not updating its original plan for the prescribed burn area near Gallinas, despite years of drought, and is pushing for the federal government to bear all the costs for the fire damage and recovery.
Nora Meyers Sackett, the governor’s spokeswoman, wrote in an email Thursday that they are reviewing the new report.
“We appreciate that it appears to be a thorough review,” Sackett wrote. “We hope the Forest Service understands that it will take actions, not just words, to earn back the trust of New Mexicans.”
Aside from the recommendations, the report offers a detailed critique of the agency’s shortcomings that can contribute to flawed handling of prescribed burns.
They include not fully using available technology; incorrect analyses of flammable forest debris, or fuels; a push to get the work done even when conditions are wrong; employees afraid to contradict their bosses; and crews not considering the impacts of a prolonged drought.
The report echoes the June review’s criticism that there are no crews dedicated to conducting prescribed burns, creating pressure to light fires when staff members are available.
Moore notes the new plan calls for establishing crews whose main focus will be reducing hazardous forest fuels, including through prescribed burns.
The agency also will develop an improved training program for doing these types of fires and a national strategic plan for conducting the burns, Moore wrote.
The Forest Service lights about 4,500 prescribed burns a year, and 99.84 percent of them go as planned, Moore wrote. However, the Calf Canyon–Hermits Peak Fire showed how devastating the rare runaway fires can be — and why they must be avoided, he added.
“We must continuously learn and adapt to changing conditions so we can be at our best to protect communities and care for the lands and natural resources we manage on behalf of the public,” Moore wrote.
Owen Burney, director of the John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center at New Mexico State University, told the Associated Press the Forest Service could instill greater trust in prescribed burns with independent oversight from outside the agency.
“I don’t think the Forest Service should be self-serving,” Harrington said. “What they need to have is external advisers.”
Las Vegas, N.M., resident Elmo Baca, a movie theater owner and chairman of a community foundation overseeing wildfire relief funds, said people with a lifetime of knowledge about local forests and weather conditions feel left out of decisions on prescribed burns.
“I would hope that going forward that the Forest Service would be more sensitive and cognizant of local people and their knowledge of the land,” he said. “I like the idea of them training people outside of the Forest Service.”