One topic that I am not hearing folks talk about, and which I think may be a serious danger is the interaction between the dust, smoke, and the Covid virus. Dust, smoke, and crowded fire camps often yields Camp Crud, a deep bronchitis. Adding Covid to the Crud should be a real concern.
It is a topic that is being looked at. The 3 Area Command Teams were all activated a couple of months ago with the task at looking at these issues. Each Team is working with 2 of the GACCâs to develop plans that work in each of those areas. At this point the only documentation I have seen comes from Region 6 (Oregon & Washington). See it below.
COVID 19 NW GACC PlanâŚpdf (213.1 KB)
I am sure every jurisdiction is working on similar projects. This will defiantly prove an interesting challenge this season on top of emerging drought issues in Regionâs 5 & 6.
Smoke impacts especially on the public are being considered.
Ruh RohâŚ
Page 5
âUse MREs, freeze dried, single-serve sack or boxed meals instead of food lines.â
That may help camp folks but how about civilians needed to evacuate? Big shelters arenât going to work.
If I recall, isnât fire only interested in immediate evac and safety of citizens? Wouldnât it be up to the local governments and community to define short and long term shelter solutions?
Itâd be interesting if ICPâs, bases and camps all split up into multiple facility locations, if they start impacting community pre-defined shelter locations. Naturally those locations could identify as the ânext best thingâ for segmented incident facilities, further limiting shelters.