Anyone know why Team 16 is going? North Ops website shows Team 13 on 2hr.
I would think because they only needed a short team, probably for logistical needs
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I think team 16, although in the rotation, may be used more for these types of fires which need logistical support but may not last a long time.
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This is exactly why the short team gets pulled. Its intent is to bolster a local unit’s resources and bridge the gap between a type 3 and type 2 organization. Seems perfect for this incident. The short team is on a 24/7/365 rotation, so it’s not unreasonable they get a shot at this.
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Also makes sense because, correct me if I’m wrong, but 16 was initially one of the two NorCal teams so they are in the north already.
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But they could have ordered team 13 as a short team. second fire this years north forests have appeared to manipulate the system
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Might be me, but were getting out side the lanes of this thread.
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Correct. Former nor cal team that is just a short team and not in rotation. Used when only a type 2 short is requested.
It’s somewhat different, but one of a few changes this year by Cwcg.
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So you’re saying if the short team not in rotation now needs a full team (long) will they get from the rotation or will they grab the short teams additional folks?
So is the REAL rotation; on all fires they will request the short team first, then the long team will fellow later? This makes it real hard to schedule other life events.
Well,
I’m slightly confused about all this short, long, manipulation of teams.
Is this the wave of the federal IMT future? I missed the memo on this one.
Be safe this weekend all. It’s getting a bit nutty out there already this morning.
Nobody is manipulating the system, South Ops hasn’t had any fires but if they had and a short team was requested then 16 would get the call just the same. The short team does not have additional folks to build it out. So if a full team was required it would be requested. One of the reasons for the formation of this team is because of the shortage of qualified individuals in all capacities of the ICS structure. Too many people working on OPS and not enough in plans and logs. It’s basically consolidation to fill as many teams as possible and what they had left was a short team. Which to be honest is working out well because we haven’t had that significantly extended incident that would require not only the mobilization of a significant amount of resources but also the cost of those resources. This is a good thing, I understand we all want to get out there but take a moment to enjoy the time that we’ve traditionally lost in seasons past, instead of criticism and questioning that the system is rigged.
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Very well said. I think it’s easy for all of us to get caught up in the rut of not going out and always think something is being manipulated. For those of us on Ca type 2 teams, it was explained to us as to why there were now 5 teams in the rotation with a 6th team being a short team. There is some flexibility with that short team to handle fires that may fall in between the type 2/3 gap. With this new rotation, I think there will be some issues, mostly because, and this is just my opinion, it’s hard to justify teams hopscotching possibly 4 closer teams to get to a fire. Just have to trust the new rotation and I believe in the long run, it will all work out for everyone.
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No manipulating the system.?
This is the second time this season that this has happen with the rotation. Team 13 could have been punched out as a “Short Team”
Well Strike Teams of engines have gone north before the lightning storms to support the North Ops, just as simple to Pre Position the Top Rotation Team to North Ops as the Rotation was Originally Indicated.
My thoughts exactly. I’m on Team 13 and we have been pre-postioned numerous times in No. Cal for these types of events in the past. It will be interesting if our Santa Ana winds surface this year and a “No. Cal Team” is on 2 hr and we break a fire? I’m not sure how the decision was made behind the “curtain” for this event. Just my thoughts on the subject…
So here’s the thing. This is, so far, anyway an extremely slow Fire Season. CalFire has only had 149 fires over 10 acres and a total of 54,505 acres. The really critical aspect of this year is that only 28 structures have been damaged or destroyed and there has been 0 fatalities. At this point, there is very little reason to suspect that the remaining 4 months are going to drastically change those numbers. It is highly likely that not everyone will get to participate in anything meaningful this year, whether on a Team or even on an engine. There are years like this one and after the past few years of being very busy, it makes years like this even more painful.
There may be things going on behind the curtain so to speak with who gets called up for a Team assignment. I don’t know and even if I did, there probably isn’t much I could do about it anyway.
Let’s focus on the things we can do, which is making sure that we are all in top physical and mental shape in the event that things do drastically change this year so that we will be able to safely and aggressively perform the tasks we are assigned to do when it does happen.
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The Cwcg website may have more information on the future of teams, the rotation changes and team 16.
I do know that Cwcg wants to move all fed Type 2 teams to type 1 teams. Of course that process will take years as people complete type 1 PTB’s and with attrition rates as they’re, they may never get there.
I don’t know if Team 16 was planned to be just a short team this year or if it was decided on due to a lack of imt applications.
Of course any team can mob short, however as I heard, not verified, that team 16 would be used first if a short was requested.
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Oh, I remember the lovely days at McClellan for pre-positioning. Spent 8 days there a few years back and on the day we were supposed to be released, picked up a fire up north.
Team 16 was intended, from the spring planning, to be a short team for the bridge between type 2 and type 3 incidents. It was also the intent that this team be “non-rotational” and it be pulled for each request that a host unit made for a short team. CWCG explained it in a memo that was circulated to all the teams. This was also discussed at the team meetings in McClellan in April. It wasn’t done behind a curtain.
That being said, it’s important to remember that a short team is specifically that, short. So the ordering unit might be selecting the tool or resource they believe is most suited to the incident they have. This reduces costs for the hosting unit which in this day and age is a real concern for those Agency Administrators. It also has resulted in a short team that is always on call. A previous poster indicated that these changes make it hard to plan the rest of life, but I would argue that being on call 24/7/365 is at least as disruptive.
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