Pacific Northwest Wildfire Coordinating Group
Operations Working Team (OWT)
February 16, 2012
Operations Working Team: John Szulc (BIA), Dave Lentz (BLM), Dave Quinn (NWCC), Brian Gales (USFWS),
Bobby Scopa (USFS), Randy Johnson (WA Fire Service), Larry Nickey (NPS), Albert Kassel (WADNR), Doug Grafe
(ODF), Carla Schamber (USFS, Facilitator)
Via conference call: Robert Madden (OR Fire Service)
Absent: John Ketchum (OR Fire Marshall’s),
Guests: Don Moritz (ODF) for crew contract
Agenda Items
Old Business:
Successional Plan – for both T1 & T2 teams – Task order from Steering –
Action Item – Larry will finalize letter and spreadsheet and will send out to IC council. Have a March response
deadline for PNWCG Steering.
Incident within the Incident – OWT is trying to continue to standardize the basic incident within the incident plan
between all teams in the PNW.
Action Item – Finalized letter and will send out to IC council to determine which teams are not using the PNW
incident within an incident plan and ask why they are not standardizing.
S520/620 (update) – Assign trainee mentorship to each team.
Action Item – Letter finalized during meeting and will be sent to selectees
Draft Task Order – PNWCG Steering would like the OWT to work out a schedule to place the PNW Type 1
teams on a 1 year commitment, with IC’s serving a 3 year commitment.
Action Item - Finalized letter and will send to PNWCG steering.
Will need to advertise for new IC and a deputy, as Mike will be able to fill in for this summer, but most likely not be
able to continue in the position past this year. Deputy IC Hoff is an AD and an attempt to locate a replacement
should be made. OWT members to contact those qualified or current trainees to confirm interest in filling Mike’s slot
in 2013. May need to follow up with official memo. Currently no applications were submitted when IC and Deputy
IC positions were re-advertised. Joe Stutler willing to serve as a mentor, should the need arise to have a fill in for
Mike on an assignment.
Alaska sister team support proposal – Draft letter completed and will be sent to PNWCG Steering.
Action Item- Larry to draft memo for review. Randy will get hold of Nolls and Whitmer in Alaska to discuss.
PNWCG Presentation – John represented OWT at the meeting with Steering. Larry, as outgoing chair, did not
attend due to travel restrictions. Discussion of OR GEO board and how they are proceeding. John will send out
the final working team reports once he gets them from Pat Kelly. Dave Summer’s asked about the Alaska
proposal. While a response had been provided to Ken Snell, no formal response had been documented. OWT to
work on response at today’s meeting. Reviewed Steerings program of work with some topics that will affect
OWT that include successional planning, Alaska sister team proposal. Some discussion on reprioritizing
workloads and strategies due to continued staff reduction and other workloads, with possibly only picking 3-5
topics/projects, verses numerous projects. Discussion of the national successional planning process and the
management of the teams. Steering also discussed how to celebrate to those that carry the water get recognized.
New Business
OR GEO Board – Bobby briefed OWT – Recent meeting to work on team selection of current vacancies (total of
12 opening on teams). After this rotation, the teams will go to a one year rotation. Some teams are utilizing
heavily on AD’s. Currently not adequate number of LTAN and FBAN’s available. There are a number of people
who go out for S-590, but do not work on fires as LTAN and FBANS. There are some people that are taking 590
to improve skills on writing burn plans and management of local fires, as well as potentially to meet future IFPM
standards, so need to look at tapping more of these people. Discussed OR interagency team meetings. OR teams
will now be numbered verses name, status of fire department employees into teams and their status (a fire
department employee verses a supplemental employee). The OR teams will be put into a rotation vs. utilizing the
teams as more of geographic team. CA sits on the OR GEO board and will order OR teams that is next in order,
verses always using the previously called ORCA team.
Discussion of where notes from GEO boards are posted. As decisions are made, there is currently not a place to
gather this information. A suggestion to centralize the OR interagency, OR state and WA interagency GEO
Boards note on one site. Two suggested locations would either be the NWCC or PNWCG site. Preference would
be on NWCC site, but insure that the PNWCG site has WA and OR GEO board link.
Action item: Bobbie to research and/or assign person to make this happen.
OR IMT#4 has an IC Vacancy; Brian Goff will not be able to serve as IC. Pam Ensley has agreed to go with team
4 to take Brian Watts out on assignment to complete his task book.
WA GEO Board – Current discussion of lower draw down level from 3 to 2 teams, but DNR has some concerns.
WA teams will now fill short team orders with the first team up if a short team is requested.
Best Value Points System on crew the contract – on second and last extension of contract. 2012 solicitation will be
awarded so that there is overlap so that current contract will be in place while solicitation is out. Number of
crews may look at a sliding scale to adjust numbers during projected slow season and increasing on projected
busy season but around 150 crews. Sustainability – with slow fire season, some crews are not able to remain
viable. All hazard – looking at putting in an all hazard clause for WA and OR. Looking at dispatch
methodology: a couple of issues came up this year so will be looking at cleaning up those issues. Currently 200
points are in Best Value 65 points technical (vehicles count 15 pints), 65 past performance, 60 points pricing, 5
points safety and 5 for training: Recommendations - Put vehicles and license under support. Pull ten points out
of past performances. Prequalification’s – want to send two evaluators one Fed and one State to evaluate
locations. Require vehicle dispatch locations and then assign best value points if vehicles are kept at their
dispatch location, as sometimes vehicles are over two hours away from dispatch location. Recommend to
reallocate best value point system to 50 past performance, 80 technical, 60 price, 0 vehicles (since those are
already licensed), 5 safety and 5 training. Contract group will be meeting at end of Feb. to work further on
process.
Action item: Don to send a copy of the proposed rating criteria to Doug and Doug will pass on to the OWT.
Comments can be looked at and finalized during March 15 OWT meeting.
BLM RAWS Program – Dave Lentz briefed that BLM will cut 10 OR and 1 in WA RAWS stations
USFS Hiring – Bobbie Scopa briefed OWT on current USFS budget. Looking at an analysis outside of FPA to
determine where to spread the smaller funding allocations. Reduction of 9-16% in fire funding per unit. May be
down as many as 350 fire personnel from a target of just over 1,700 plus. Looking at units to take up to 15% risk
on P-code savings. Shot crews will need 65 days on fire, while jumper and rappelers will be around 35% P-code
savings. New direction on diversity of seasonal workforce. May be down another 15% funding over the next two
years.
Other agencies: FWS service has cut 20% of FTE, BIA is flat but may have 13% next year, BLM is flat, NPS
losing 6-9% per unit. ODF remains same, DNR lost a couple of engines but mainly pretty much status quo (their
big cut was a couple of years ago).
Round Robin updates
Program of work for 2012
Presentation for PNWCG Steering - PNWCG Annual workshop - need to complete power point/presentation topics
in Feb. Larry will draft letter of talking points for review by OWT.
S520/620 –
Incident within Incident follow up
Successional Planning spreadsheet
T1/T2 Team Successional Planning task order 1111-12
IMT Type 1 team member tenure task order 1104-01
Alaska Share Task Order 1009-04
Re-advertise for the national teams – in the fall
OWT member to mobilize with Type 1 team
Review Best Value Determination for Crew Contract
Agenda items for next meeting:
Review program of work and get electronic version
Get 3 focus areas an let PNWCG steering
Finalize the three Steering Task Orders
Review Best Value Proposal and Evaluation from Don Moritz. Review and Decision needed back to Moritz.
Discuss ICAP process, timing and collaboration with Type 2 team GEOC boards. Invite GEO board chair.
ICAPS – changes, updates (separate Type 1 from Oregon)
Follow up on all memos and program of work
Upcoming meetings of interest:
OWT Liaisons to other PNWCG working teams
Training WT – John Szulc
Contract WT – Albert Kassel
Aviation WT – Larry Nickey
Health and Safety WT – Brian Gales
OWT Schedule of remaining 2012 (0900-1530 approximate times) at Gifford Pinchot NF Supervisors Office
unless otherwise noted:
February 16
March 15
April 19 (TBA, not GP)
May 17
June 21
July – NO MEETING - attempt to have OWT rep go out with Type 1 team if on assignment
August - NO MEETING – attempt to have OWT rep go out with Type 1 team if on assignment
September - 20
October - 18
November - 16
December – TBA if needed
OPERATIONS WORKING TEAM MEMBER ADDRESSES
2012 Operations Working Team (OWT) member contact numbers and email addresses (Names listed in
order of which agency is next chairperson).
John Szulc – BIA representative (Chairperson)
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Northwest Regional Office
Dave Lentz – BLM representative (Vice-Chairperson)
USDI-Bureau of Land Management, OR/WA State Office
Fire and Aviation Management
Robert Madden - OR Fire Service representative
Bend Fire Department
Albert Kassel – DNR representative
Department of Natural Resources, Resource Protection Division
Brian Gales – USFWS representative
US Fish and Wildlife
Doug Grafe – ODF representative
Oregon Department of Forestry
Bobbie R. Scopa – USFS representative
USDA-Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region
Fire and Aviation Management
Randy Johnson – WA Fire Service representative
Spokane County Fire District 4
Larry Nickey – NPS representative
Olympic National Park
John Ketchum – Ad Hoc member
Oregon State Fire Marshall’s Office
Vacant - Vice Ken Snell – PNWCG Steering Liaison
USDA-Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region
Carla Schamber – facilitator
Siuslaw National Forest
Dave Quinn – Dispatch Rep.
NW Coordination Center