This file was created by scanning the printed publication.
Errors identified by the software have been corrected;
however, some errors may remain.
Appropriate Suppression
Response on the Gila
National Forest 1
Stephan H. Servis and Janet F. Hurley2
Prior to the revision of the fire policy in 1979, the Forest Service direction was to control wildfires at ten
acres or less by 10 a.m. the next day.
This is called the 10 a.m. policy.
The 10 a.m. policy was revised to
the present one, requiring a timely
response for each wildfire ignition.
Each fire is managed using a suppression strategy based upon local
conditions of terrain and weather,
established fire management direction, and cost efficiency. Suppression
strategies direction may range from
direct control, with minimum acreage burned, to more indirect methods of containment and confinement.
In all cases, suppression strategy is
designed to avoid unacceptable resource losses.
The Gila National Forest is using
the appropriate suppression response not only within the wilderness, but throughout the entire Forest. All three suppression strategies
are being used and are based on the
Forest's Land and Resource Management Plan direction.
we have gained much support from
various publics. However, there has
been no evaluation to date of the cost
effectiveness of the revised policy.
We will answer this by comparing
similar fire seasons under both policies, with a case study of a 1986 fire.
The 1985 fire season (appropriate
suppression response policy) was
compared to the 1974 fire season (10
a.m,. policy). These two seasons were
v~ry similar in fire weather and total
numbers of fires. The 1974 Fire Fighting Fund (FFF) dollars were inflated
to the 1985 values so we could compare average per acre costs for the
two policies.
1974 1985 Appropriate
10 a.m.
suppression
response
policy
Total fires
556
Total acres
31,013
Total FFF $3,920,075
Aver. cost
per acre
$126
406
22,805
$1,416,478
$62
Thus, the comparison of the two
seasons shows a reduction of over
50% in the average per acre cost of
fire suppression.
Discussion
The Forest first implemented the
revised policy in 1985. In doing so
1Poster paper presented at the conference. Effects of Rre in Management of
Southwestern Natural Resources (Tucson.
AZ. November 14-17, 1988).
2Servis is Forest Rre Management Officer,
U.S. Forest Service, Gila National Forest, Silver City, NM.: Hurley, District Ranger. Wilderness Ranger District. Gila National Forest.
Silver City, NM.
Case Study: the Granite Fire
The Granite Peak area of the Gila
Wilderness has had 10 fires since
1909, with some parts burning four
- times in the last 79 years. All of these
fires have been caused by lightning
and occurred during the fire season.
During the 1986 fire season, the
Granite fire was discovered on April
244
17, at 1605 MT. The District Fire
Management Officer flew the fire to
observe fire behavior and topographic characteristics. The fire was
creeping down slope from the ridgetop, and natural barriers, including
previous bums, existed to confine the
fire to 1500 acres.
These two factors influenced the
decision made under the Escaped
Fire Situation Analysis (EFSA) to use
the appropriate response of confinement, even though winds were 30 to
35mph.
On May 8, the strategy was
changed to containment. The change
in response was due to continued
high winds, increasing daytime temperatures, low humidity, and a forecast for these conditions to continue.
The fire was also approaching the
natural barriers. Twelve firefighters
were then used to ensure that this
fire remained contained within the
natural barriers. The suppression
cost was $3000, and the final size was
1350 acres.
Had this same fire occurred under
the old 10 a.m. policy, the following
would have taken place. We would
have dispatched a minimum of two
crews and used retardant. These
crews would have had to be flown in
with a helicopter and supported either with the helicopter or pack
stock.
Estimated time to control and
mop up the Granite Fire at 40 acres
would be three days. Estimated
costs, based on Incident Command
System 209 forms are as follows:
Two crews@ 3200/day
for 2 days
One crew@ 3200/day
for 1 day
Two airtankers four trips
Four loads of retardant
@1400/load
One lead plane
Five helitack crewpersons
@$255/day for 3 days
(until fire was out)
Flight time on Helicopter 308
@$228/hr. for 10 hrs.
Total
=$6400
= $3200
=$3146
=$5600
=$416
= $3825
=$2280
= $24,867
In this scenario, we would have
controlled the fire at 40 acres for a
cost of $24,867. The use of appropriate suppression response for this fire
realized a saving of $21,867. This is
just one of many examples where the
·appropriate suppression response
has saved money.
Conclusion
Review of the last 4 years of appropriate suppression response on
the Gila National Forest shows that
the policy is cost-effective, while preventing unacceptable resource losses.
Implementing this policy when fire
behavior can be extreme tested the
skills and knowledge of our fire managers. Lightning-caused fires are increasingly allowed to return to their
natural role in the wilderness, under
the prescribed natural fire program.
These past burns, together with the
EFSA process, have given our managers the tools to utilize the appropriate suppression response strategies.
245