There’s a lot of things you’re not supposed to do that you make exceptions for depending on how close you are/ special circumstances.
Wonder if any of those 28 dozers for the fed mission will actually be “fed dozers”?
1 Like
Anyone know how much of that ST order got filled over night?
1 Like
Dixie Fire maps for 7/20/21 at 2:20 am. White line shows 24 hour growth. Fire was about 10 miles from Prattville. Data source: NIROPS/Courtney Aviation.
NE edge of fire is about 2 miles west of mouth of Rush Creek. This area is harsh serpentine outcrops with very little vegetation.
5 Likes
This morning’s 209 is showing 59,984 acres from the IR. I guess CF or this team has a policy of not putting interpreted acres on any of the IR docs and maps at the FTP site.
1 Like
3 posts were merged into an existing topic: Should we do a better job at explaining why we monitor fires, or suppress them immediately?
From City of Riverside Facebook:
This morning OES is deploying Strike Team 6800A with Riverside City being the Strike Team Leader along with Engine 369 from Station 8 and Engine 353 from Station 11. The Strike Team will be forming up at noon today and once formed up will travel to the Dixie Incident. The strike consist of the following apparatus:
(CDR) Engine 413
(HMT) OES Engine 352
(RIV) OES Engine 353
(COR) OES Engine 354
(RIV) OES Engine 369
2 Likes
I still see 17 orders that are pending in different regions of the state for the Any Type Strike Teams. They really dispersed these orders out early all over the state.
3 Likes
During last night’s incident command briefing, Chief Nick Truax said a significant order had been placed to beef up personnel in Plumas County, and a second incident command team will be established due to the complexities of the fire. In issuing last night’s advisory for the Lake Almanor communities, Sheriff Todd Johns said it wasn’t due to the Dixie Fire advancing, but rather due to the number of lightning strikes coming from the fire that could ignite new fires. And because the smoke is so thick in the Almanor Basin, it is difficult to see any new starts. Those communities will soon see a greater presence of firefighters in the area and Chief Truax said that there are contingency lines in place to protect them.
12 Likes
7/29 0900
15 pending ST orders
All being shopped XBox or OES
2 Likes
Will the new IMT create a new ICP, or use the existing one alongside the current IMT? Will the new IMT be State or Fed?
Strange, there are a lot of LG departments sitting here with no orders.
3 Likes
Can’t address your specific situation T4uCK but EVERY operational area was pinged for availability.
3 Likes
Hopefully both Butte and Plumas Sheriff don’t need to evacuate any more large population areas because that would likely require a larger law mutual aid presence, and communications are severely crippled for that now that the fire has taken all four VTAC channels as fire tacticals. Butte has learned from both Camp and North fires, as well as the Oroville Dam incident, and has both fixed and portable interoperability gateways that seamlessly allow nearly any mutual aid officer’s radio right onto the Butte County radio system and have dispatcher support and situational awareness. That’s useless now with all four VTAC assigned. Not sure on Plumas gateway infrastructure, but CalOES has rolling assets that often fill this role when needed. Again, useless now for this incident.
Out of 37 calfire tacticals, only 5 are assigned (one as A/G). Don’t waste my time explaining not all 37 are available in any given area etc., but there are plenty more than 5 for the incident’s geographical area before they need be desperate enough to grab all the VTAC. All 7 NIFC tacs are on today’s 205, 3 are unassigned. No VFIRE assignments either. 
Is this a COML problem? A CDO problem? A topic for future Firescope comm specialist mtg? (yes, I may be a little passionate about this after fighting it for 8 seasons trying to support law communications on major incidents)
9 Likes
They still have at least 2 vlaw and 9 LE interop channels just on VHF to choose from and vtac 33-38 if they throw a repeater up. The problem lies in that alot of LE agencies have gone to UHF and cannot use the VHF channels any more and do not have a cache of VHF to use for situations like this. CHP used to be able to use their cars as mobile cross band repeaters but I don’t know if that is true any more.
Disclaimer: I work red and blue, on a good day I can’t talk to 1/2 the officers on scene in my own area. And it is only getting worse with encryption because of new privacy laws.
3 Likes
This morning’s public information briefing:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2159448650863506&id=974406452701071
Sounds like many of the strike teams ordered will be used for pre-planning and structure prep of surrounding communities.
5 Likes
Fed IMT 2 Inbrief today 1500 and will be setting up a 2nd ICP in Quincy
2 Likes
Thanks Ehoss84. Appreciated.
1 Like
Indian Ridge is showing some activity… Earlier than in past days maybe?
http://www.alertwildfire.org/shastamodoc/index.html?camera=Axis-IndianRidge
.
It looks on the Maps like the Dixie is following in the Chips fires path? Wonder if the USFS ever pondered if it would have been better to follow its own recommendations on the chips fire now… but that is another topic for another looooong day, really long
5 Likes
That order does not surprise me, I am sure it was based on some very good Intel and the Tactical Engagement Principles. Moving a couple of hundreds of engines to a fire in SoCal is one issue; you will get them in hours and the Command and Control issues and logistics will eat your lunch (and have). In NorCal, moving a couple of hundred engines includes a significant reflex time for the system to work and for them to arrive. That requires a significant amount of forecasting and estimating and then proposing to the C&GS, or letting them know that you will be ordering 40 S/T’s. It isn’t done on a whim and you get the stink eye (at least I did) from some members who realize the logistical, financial, and planning efforts to support that influx and amount of complexity they bring to a Camp. From an operational perspective, the Tactical Engagement Principles require you to do it early. A strike team a day early is only “lost money,” a strike team a day late can be a public perception and operational nightmare. If you understand the principles of Mass, Maneuver, Position, and eventually Reserves, you will understand the importance of timely ordering.
Principle - Description
- Objective: Tactical plans need Objectives to focus effort and clarify the mission.
- Offense: Offensive action is necessary to achieve decisive results.
- Mass: Sufficient firefighting power must be applied to prevail.
- Reserves: Reserves provide flexibility, sustain power, and maintain momentum.
- Maneuver : Tactical plans must provide necessary maneuver time to obtain position.
- Security/Safety: Eliminating unnecessary risks is essential to successful tactical plans.
- Position: Firefighting power should be applied to tactically advantageous points.
- Simplicity: Direct, simple plans and clear concise orders reduce misunderstanding.
Adapted from the Principles of War that are still taught in all services, they make sense.
18 Likes