Unit 6

Scenario:

The Pitchfork Fire started two days ago during a thunderstorm. It has burned almost 10,000 acres and shows little sign of slowing down. Extreme fire behavior is predicted as winds are expected to gust to 35 miles per hour, relative humidity drops into single digits, and temperatures hover in the mid-90s. The fire is located about six miles northwest of Ridgetop, a town of 1,200 people, which depends heavily on summer tourism. Several issues are brewing in Ridgetop and the residents are becoming more vocal about them. The IC is worried that any one of these community concerns could turn into a major issue. He wants to spend more time concentrating on fire strategy and less on dealing with the community. He wants the PIOs to come up with a community relations plan that will resolve as many of these issues as possible.

Group 1 Issues:

• Two grocery stores are in Ridgetop, and the owner of one says all of the fire business is going to his competitor.
  

• The chamber of commerce is very concerned that news of the fire will discourage tourists from coming to town. Pitchfork Creek is one of the best trout fisheries in the state. Summer is the prime tourist season for the town.
  
  Group 2 Issues:

• The weekly newspaper, “The Pitchfork Prong,” ran a story quoting local people looking for work on the fire who weren’t hired. “They’ll bring in crews from another state, but won’t hire locals,” one resident grumbled.
  

• The mayor of Ridgetop called the IC to complain that while he supported the firefighting effort, he was not getting accurate, up-to-date information, putting him at a disadvantage with townspeople. “I can’t answer their questions,” he says.
  

Group 3 Issues:

• Two cabins have been destroyed by the fire. The owner of one says he’s disappointed that a greater effort wasn’t made to protect his cabin. “While my cabin burned, firefighters were sleeping in the city park,” he told TV reporters who were covering the fire.

•  A local conservation group, “Friends of the Pitchfork,” has volunteered to work on firelines in order to help protect habitat for a sensitive plant, the pitchfork livervetch (pitchforkius burnnalotsa).

Group 4 Issues:

• The owner of the local bowling lanes, “The Down and Out Pin,” says he’ll give a 50% discount to anyone who wants to “come in and relax after a shift on the line. Beer will be half price, too.” He wants the IC to get the word to the line.
  

• A dozen people who said they were firefighters stayed at a local motel for two nights, then left without paying. The owner of the motel is furious and wants immediate payment.
  

Group 5 Issues:

• The IC has a message to call Mr. Ronald Fannortner, a cabin owner in the area and the brother-in-law of Congresswoman Betty Lou Fannortner, who was quoted in the paper yesterday as “taking a keen interest in management of the Pitchfork Fire.”

• Rumors are buzzing that the town itself might be in danger if the prevailing wind changes. Privately, the IC says he has a concern, too.

Instructions:

Read the scenario and develop a strategy to address the issues assigned to your group.

Scenario:

The Pitchfork Fire has been burning for five days and only gradual progress is being made. It has burned 12,500 acres. About 800 firefighters are working on it. The weather is still not helping much; high temperatures and low humidity continue, although the wind has calmed down. It looks like another 5-7 days before containment. It has been a busy fire season and crews are showing signs of fatigue.

Group 1 Issues:

A story in the “Pitchfork Prong” newspaper featured a firefighter who had worked 14 days in a row. The story was fine, although the firefighter did complain that “after a while, the food gets pretty bad. Yesterday, the bag lunch contained two sandwiches that must have had a pound of margarine and two scoops of mayonnaise on each of them.” The caterer read the story and is very upset, claiming that the quote will hurt his chance of getting called to other incidents. Privately, you agree with the firefighter – the caterer doesn’t exactly run a four-star kitchen. A local community group has volunteered to provide “supplemental meals” to firefighters who are hungry.

Group 2 Issues:

The north end of the fire is particularly troublesome. Access is limited to helicopters because the terrain is rugged. The operations section chief decided to spike out two crews on that edge of the fire during the second day. Both of the crews are from out of state. Radio contact is the only means of communication. At the morning briefing, you pick up information that the spiked-out crews are feeling isolated from the rest of the fire organization and not getting much news about how fire fighting is progressing. You’ve heard that the spiked crews might be there for another week. What can you do to help the crews in spike camp?

Group 3 Issues:

The Pitchfork Ranger District has assigned an agency representative to the fire, but he doesn’t seem very interested in the job. Both you and the liaison officer are having a hard time tracking him down. In the meantime, the IC has heard from both the district ranger and the forest supervisor that they’d like to be “better informed” about the fire’s progress. The liaison officer is having a difficult time keeping up with just the local non-government interests. At the end of the evening briefing, you hear someone from the district ranger’s staff say, “Well, the IC is from the National Park Service and you know they just don’t do things like we do.” You feel a communication rift is developing between the team and the local jurisdiction, and perhaps, within the fire organization itself. What can you do to address the problem?

Group 4 Issues:

Because of the dangerous weather conditions and the rugged terrain that much of the fire is burning in, injuries are reported every day. The medical unit leader has hired three local EMTs to assist on the fire. Two of the EMTs are doing excellent work, but the third seems to have an attitude problem. He is especially critical of the medical unit leader and will talk about her to almost anyone. Specifically, he accuses her of not responding properly to a firefighter who fell and might have broken an ankle. “She didn’t even know how to tell the difference between a sprain and a break,” he says at lunch. The EMT has even complained to the IC about the medical unit leader, who has 20 years of experience and a good reputation. The EMT lives in Ridgetop and you can only guess what kind of false information he is spreading around town. What steps do you need to take?