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The original item was published from 8/11/2017 5:50:00 AM to 8/11/2017 10:45:11 AM.

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FCAM - Bureau of Forest Fire Control

Posted on: August 4, 2017

[ARCHIVED] 10 August update on Mass. Wildfire Crew deployed to British Columbia

  Please see the attached Wildfire Crew Update for 8-10-17.  Yesterday proved to be a challenging, but rewarding day for the crew, as they faced very active fire behavior along their division south of Clinton.  They worked with crews from Australia, New Zealand and Ottawa to keep the fire in check and continue to protect the village of Clinton.  The crew is healthy and yesterdays challenge with their new friends from Australia and New Zealand made for a good energizing experience.   

 

Stouts Creek Fire.jpgMassachusetts Dept of Conservation and Recreation

Out of State Wildland Fire Mobilization Briefing

Friday 8-8-17

 

There is currently 1 mobilization ongoing from Massachusetts to British Columbia, Canada. 

Massachusetts Wildfire Crew- MA#1- Wildfire  Hand Crew

20 Person Hand crew:  14 DCR, 2 DFW, 4 New Hampshire (NHS)

Crew Boss:          Alan Smith, NHS (State)

                                Roy Liard, MAS-DCR (Crew Boss Trainee)

 

Assignment:                      NE Compact Assistance to BC Canada

Text Box: Dozer line firebreak Location:                             ELEPHANT HILL FIRE

Size:                                      117,170 hectares:  292,925 Acres estimated

2015_08_01-10_10_55_514-CDT.jpgContainment:                    30% estimated 

Total Personnel :               580 Firefighters               92 Support Staff

                                                26 Helicopters                   105 Pieces of Heavy Equipment

Weather:            Sunny, widespread smoke, 86°F, 15% Relative Humidity with NW 6 mi/h winds.  **Fire Managers are concerned for a predicted wind event on Friday.

 

Incident Information:    Fire was discovered on July 6th. Fire fighters, heavy equipment, helicopters, and water bomber air tankers continue their efforts focusing on homes and infrastructure. Unpredictable winds and extremely dry conditions are creating some volatile fire behavior and challenging firefighting efforts. A number of communities remain threatened.  Over 600 personnel including night shifts are working to ensure firefighter safety, ensuring public safety and protecting homes and infrastructure.

Text Box: Fire behavior encountered by crew 8-9-17

BC Fire Map 8-4-17.jpgCrew Information:  International Effort:   MAS#1 with NH firefighters combined efforts yesterday with crews from Australia, New Zealand and Ottawa to keep the fire in check along their Division Dozer line perimeter under very active fire behavior conditions.  Crew leadership reports that all 4 country’s worked very well together to keep the fire in check and from threatening the village of Clinton.    By all accounts, overhead staff is happy with their work, especially bringing burnout experience to the assignment.

 

The crew was mobilized on 8-3-17 and mustered at Hopkinton State Park Headquarters where gear was checked, weighed and prepared for transportation to Quebec City, Canada.  The Mobilization is facilitated through the Northeast Forest Fire Compact, of which Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Quebec have been strong participating member for over 60 years. 

Text Box: Crews from 4 nations, including U.S. MA/NH working together for common objective.Current Fire Situation:  There are over 126 large fire burning within the interior portion of BC totaling over 1 million acres.  Fire activity is being driven by extremely dry fuel conditions resulting from little to no precipitation over the last few months combined with abnormally high temperatures reaching the upper 90’s this past week.  Little to no precipitation is expected over the next 2 weeks. 


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Please see the attached Wildfire Crew Update for 8-8-17.  The crew is doing very well, and melding into the British Columbia fire management system.  They are working the West Division of the Fire outside the village of Clinton, which has been evacuated.  Due to their assignment location, the crew was moved to a camp in Clinton, closer to their assignment.  Everyone is healthy, doing good work and representing us very well.  


Massachusetts Dept of Conservation and Recreation


Out of State Wildland Fire Mobilization Briefing


Friday 8-8-17


 


There is currently 1 mobilization ongoing from Massachusetts to British Columbia, Canada.  


Massachusetts Wildfire Crew- MA#1- Wildfire  Hand Crew 


20 Person Hand crew:  14 DCR, 2 DFW, 4 New Hampshire (NHS)


Crew Boss:          Alan Smith, NHS (State)


                                Roy Liard, MAS-DCR (Crew Boss Trainee)


 


Assignment:                      NE Compact Assistance to BC Canada


Location:                             ELEPHANT HILL FIRE


Size:                                      117,170 hectares:  292,925 Acres estimated


Containment:                    30% estimated  


Total Personnel :               580 Firefighters               92 Support Staff


                                                22 Helicopters                   105 Pieces of Heavy Equipment


Weather:             Sunny, widespread smoke, 86°F, 15% Relative Humidity  with NW                             6 mi/h winds. There’s so much smoke, the sun never comes out. 


 


Incident Information:    Fire was discovered on July 6th. Fire fighters, heavy equipment, helicopters, and water bomber air tankers continue their efforts focusing on homes and infrastructure. Unpredictable winds and extremely dry conditions are creating some volatile fire behavior and challenging firefighting efforts.  Numerous homes are threatened within the area and evacuations are in effect. Over 600 personnel including night shifts are working to ensure firefighter safety, ensuring public safety and protecting homes and infrastructure.


 


Crew Information:  MAS#1 is working on a Division outside of Clinton, securing control lines with hose lines and burnout operations.  The crew the 99 Mile Fire Camp and to Clinton’s Fire Camp. The village is still evacuated and the only store open in town is the Shell gas station. The crew has done well working into a system with some differences to operations typically found on U.S. Federal assignments.  By all accounts, overhead staff is happy with their work, especially bringing burnout experience to the assignment.


 


The crew was mobilized on 8-3-17 and mustered at Hopkinton State Park Headquarters where gear was checked, weighed and prepared for transportation to Quebec City, Canada.  The Mobilization is facilitated through the Northeast Forest Fire Compact, of which Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Quebec have been strong participating member for over 60 years.  


Current Fire Situation:  There are over 110 large fire burning within the interior portion of BC totaling over 1 million acres.  Fire activity is being driven by extremely dry fuel conditions resulting from little to no precipitation over the last few months combined with abnormally high temperatures reaching the upper 90’s this past week.  Little to no precipitation is expected over the next 2 weeks.  


 



 


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Massachusetts Dept of Conservation and Recreation


Out of State Wildland Fire Mobilization Briefing


Friday 8-6-1

 

There is currently 1 mobilization ongoing from Massachusetts to British Columbia, Canada.  


Massachusetts Wildfire Crew- MA#1- Wildfire  Hand Crew 


20 Person Hand crew:  14 DCR, 2 DFW, 4 New Hampshire (NHS)


Crew Boss:          Alan Smith, NHS (State)


                                Roy Liard, MAS-DCR (Crew Boss Trainee)


 


Assignment:                      NE Compact Assistance to BC Canada


Location:                             ELEPHANT HILL FIRE


Size:                                      110,236.0 hectares:  272,399 Acres estimated


Containment:                    30% estimated  


Total Personnel :               600


Incident Information:    Fire was discovered on July 6th. Fire fighters, heavy equipment, helicopters, and water bomber air tankers continue their efforts focusing on homes and infrastructure. Unpredictable winds and extremely dry conditions are creating some volatile fire behavior and challenging firefighting efforts. The fire perimeter to the north has crossed the Bonaparte River. Guard lines (fire lines) have been constructed along the north flank and controlled burns took place Friday afternoon.  Numerous homes are threatened within the area and evacuations are in effect. Over 600 personnel including night shifts are working to ensure firefighter safety, ensuring public safety and protecting homes and infrastructure.


 


Crew Information:  MAS#1 went through a mandatory provincial briefing on fire operations on Saturday and were assigned to the Elephant Hill Fire and the 99 Mile Fire Camp.  The crew is set up in camp and working on the fire today, assigned to the North Branch of the fire plumbing in water systems, securing dozer lines, and preparing for potential burn out operations.


 


The crew was mobilized on 8-3-17 and mustered at Hopkinton State Park Headquarters where gear was checked, weighed and prepared for transportation to Quebec City, Canada.  The Mobilization is facilitated through the Northeast Forest Fire Compact, of which Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Quebec have been strong participating member for over 60 years.  


Current Fire Situation:  There are over 110 large fire burning within the interior portion of BC totaling over 1 million acres.  Fire activity is being driven by extremely dry fuel conditions resulting from little to no precipitation over the last few months combined with abnormally high temperatures reaching the upper 90’s this past week.  Little to no precipitation is expected over the next 2 weeks.  




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ORIGINAL POST

FYI.  The Wildfire Crew is well on their way to British Columbia for a two week assignment with two crews from Quebec to assist with heavy wildfire activity throughout the interior portion of the province. Massachusetts firefighters are comprised of 14 from Mass DCR and 2 from Mass DFW.   Crew leadership reports the crew has performed excellent through the first phase of the mobilization.  They are energized and excited to get assigned to one of the 110 large fires currently burning and represent Massachusetts, the United States and the Northeast Forest Fire Compact in the highest regard. 






Massachusetts Dept of Conservation and Recreation


Out of State Wildland Fire Mobilization Briefing


Friday 8-4-17


 


There is currently 1 mobilization ongoing from Massachusetts to British Columbia, Canada.  


Massachusetts Wildfire Crew- MA#1- Wildfire  Hand Crew 


20 Person Hand crew:  14 DCR, 2 DFW, 4 New Hampshire (NHS)


Crew Boss:          Alan Smith, NHS (State)


                                Roy Liard, MAS-DCR (Crew BossTrainee)


 


Assignment:                      NE Compact Assistance to BC Canada


Location:                             Interior BC (No specific Fire Assigned yet)


Size:                                      


Containment:                    


Total Personnel :               


Incident Information:    


 


The MAS#1 Crew was mobilized on 8-3-17 and mustered at Hopkinton State Park Headquarters where gear was checked, weighed and prepared for transportation to Quebec City, Canada.  Crew loaded a bus at 0900.  First stop was New Hampshire to pick up 4 NHS firefighters, including the qualified crew boss to make up a full 20 person handcrew (standard size).   Crew successfully crossed the border with no issues and arrived in Quebec, where they have linked up with the Quebec SOPFEU Forest Fire Agency.  They will link up with 2 Quebec Wildfire Handcrews for the final flight to British Columbia this morning.  A Quebec Liaison will be assigned to MAS#1 for the duration of the assignment.  


Destination is Prince George, where there is a large fire camp to support crews.  They will be embedded and in briefed on the British Columbia fire system and the fire issues facing then over the next 14 days.  


 


The Mobilization is facilitated through the Northeast Forest Fire Compact, of which Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Quebec have been strong participating member for over 60 years.  


 


Current Situation:  There are over 110 large fire burning within the interior portion of BC totaling over 1 million acres.  Resources from Mexico have also been tapped through an international agreement.  Fire activity is being driven by extremely dry fuel conditions resulting from little to no precipitation over the last few months combined with abnormally high temperatures reaching the upper 90’s this past week.  Little to no precipitation is expected over the next 2 weeks.  


 


 


 

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