The IC made the decision to risk a lot (the Forest Patrol) to save a lot (82 people, including 60 children).

Transcription

1 Event Type: 82 People Shelter-in-Place Date: July 8, 2017 Location: Whittier Fire, Los Padres National Forest The IC made the decision to risk a lot (the Forest Patrol) to save a lot (82 people, including 60 children). Team Safety Officer LEFT Fire behavior looking from State Highway 154 toward the Circle V Ranch Camp where 60 children and 22 counselors are forced to shelter-in-place. TOP -- Looking up the canyon toward the Circle V Ranch Camp. A Forest Patrol is assigned to try to drive through the fire on the only primitive access road to reach the camp. The IC knew that travel up the road was dangerous. But he also knew that without experienced fire personnel at the camp there could be panic or decisions made by the civilians there who had no transportation capability to try and walk out. NARRATIVE A fire is reported along State Highway 154 (Santa Barbara to Santa Ynez/Solvang) on July 8 at The fire starts running southwest from the highway. Approximately one mile east on the highway from this fire s original location, a second fire started by a vehicle also ignites. (Both fires will grow together and become known as the Whittier Fire.) Would you have gone up the road to reach the stranded church camp people under those conditions? See the follow-up discussion questions surrounding this incident on page 6. 1

2 The Circle V Ranch Camp, operated by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Council of Los Angeles, and Camp Whittier, operated by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Santa Barbara, is located between these two fires. Both camps are situated at the end of the only access in, the primitive Forest Service Road 6N04. At this time, Camp Whittier is occupied by 100 children and various adults. The Circle V Ranch Camp has a total of 60 children and 22 counselors and teachers. Initiate Immediate Evacuation During Initial Attack, the Division Chief requests Dispatch to contact Law Enforcement and initiate immediate evacuation of these two camps as well as the residences adjacent to Highway 154, and to close the highway to all vehicular traffic. The Division Chief becomes the fire s Incident Commander. He assigns the evacuation and Law Enforcement duties to the Santa Barbara County Fire Marshal. For the next four hours, the IC and the Fire Marshal work back-to-back sharing information about: the fire, evacuations, shelter-in-place, and fire management. Los Padres National Forest Circle V Ranch Camp We ve worked together for over ten years, the Fire Marshal would explain. We have a relationship and strong trust with each other. I ran the evacuations with Law Enforcement and the IC managed the fire. There was now fire coming from Highway 154 on both flanks of the Circle V Ranch Camp. The fire was heading directly for this church camp. Ultimately, there would be no escape from this facility. The Fire Marshal has a radio that can communicate with the Sheriff s Office Deputies. The IC does not have this communication link. The Fire Marshal directs Law Enforcement to go to both camps to start the evacuation. Within the next hour, 100 children and assorted adults self-evacuate out of Camp Whittier. However, there is no transportation available to evacuate the 60 children and 22 counselors and teachers who remain at the Circle V Ranch Camp. Intense Fire Behavior Turns Deputies Back Two different times, Sheriff Deputies try to drive up the narrow 6N04 Road to reach the camp. But due to the intense fire behavior beside The Whittier Fire running on July 8 when it threatened the 82 people stranded at the Circle V Ranch Camp. the road, they must turn around. These turn-backs are reported though the Fire Marshal to the Incident Commander. 2

3 Photos taken post fire. Top photo shows the primitive road into the Circle V Ranch Camp one-half mile in from the highway. Photo on right shows the road into the camp ¾ mile in. Total distance from the highway to the camp is one mile. The IC knew that travel up the road was dangerous. But he also knew that without experienced fire personnel at the camp there could be panic or decisions made by the civilians there to try and walk out. There was now fire coming from Highway 154 on both flanks of the Circle V Ranch Camp. The fire was heading directly for this church camp. Ultimately, there would be no escape from this facility. Forest Patrol Attempts Drive into Camp The IC talks with the Fire Marshal. They decide to ask one of the Forest s Patrols if he could try to reach the Circle V Ranch Camp and make an assessment. He had been to this camp before. He knew the road and the camp s layout. I knew we had to get fire personnel to the camp so the people there wouldn t panic, says the IC. There wasn t enough time to transport them out of there before the fire hit the camp. I made a calculated risk decision to ask and send the Patrol into the camp. I knew we had kids and people trapped in there, says the Fire Marshal. I asked the Patrol to go to the camp and assess the situation. I talked to the Patrol face-to-face and made sure he understood the situation and the risk. The Forest Patrol proceeds up the road in his vehicle. He passes a Deputy Sheriff parked in the green. As the Forest Patrol passes him, the Deputy Sheriff follows. There is fire burning on both sides of this narrow, primitive road. The Deputy Sheriff soon stops and turns around. The Forest Patrol continues up the road toward the Circle V Ranch Camp. 3

4 This one-minute video shows the Forest Patrol attempting to drive into the Circle V Ranch Camp through the fire with the Deputy Sheriff following and eventually turning around. There were times I couldn t see the hood of my truck from the smoke. But then the fire pulsed, pulled away, and I could go a little farther. I knew I had safe black behind me and thought several times that I could back up and into it if I had to. Forest Patrol Decision Made to Shelter-in-Place in Dining Hall The Forest Patrol arrives at the Circle V Ranch Camp at approximately After talking with the Camp Manager he decides that everyone 82 total individuals will shelter-in-place in the dining hall. The Forest Patrol radios the Fire Marshal and assures him that they are in a safe location and will shelter-inplace. Next, the Forest Patrol and camp counselors help move propane tanks away from structures and continue to wet-down the dining hall with garden hoses and water from the Forest Patrol s vehicle. Air Attack Needed to Stop Approaching Fire Spread If the fire is allowed to move with its current intensity and speed, it poses a serious threat to these 82 people including the 60 children at the Circle V Ranch Camp. 4

5 At first, the Camp Manager asked the Forest Patrol if they could leave. The Patrol explained that they would stay there where it was safe. He communicated with the Fire Marshal: I told him we were in a safe place and could wait it out. They all shelteredin-place in the camp s dining hall (shown on left). I called the Fire Marshal and told him that the fire was coming down the ridges and we needed air tankers. The Aerial Supervision Module and the Air Attack Group Supervisor believe that the only chance of helping reduce this risk is to slow and minimize the force and severity of the fire behavior and to do so from the air. Ninety-foot flames are on top of the ridge above the camp when the first Air Tanker appears on site at A Battalion Chief drops a GPS pin on the dining hall where everyone at the camp is now located and sends it to the Air Attack Group Supervisor. Aviation resources now know what building in the camp needs protection. Forest Patrol The Whittier Fire as it approaches the Circle V Ranch Camp located in the smoke just above the red retardant strip. 5

6 Structures Lost; No Human Injuries At approximately 1630, County Dozer 1 arrives at the camp having cleared the road going into the camp and starts to build line around the structures. At the same time, Air Tankers and Heavy Helicopters slow the fire and reduce its intensity as it nears the camp. At 1800, after three hours sheltered-in-place, Sheriff s Deputies and fire personnel arrive at the Circle V Ranch Camp and escort everyone out. Several camp structures are lost. There are no human injuries. (Ironically, the Forest s Division Chief who became the Initial Attack Incident Commander is also the IC on the Type 1 Incident Management Team that is assigned to the fire.) A building located on the east side of the dining hall burns to the ground. Photo shows where the fire burned directly behind the dining hall. 6

7 Incident Time Line ( times are approximate) 1343 Whittier Fire starts Forest Patrol drives up the road to the Circle V Ranch Camp Patrol arrives at the camp (moves propane tanks and wets shelter-in-place dining hall building) Air Tankers and Helicopters start dropping water and retardant County dozer arrives at camp Sheriff Deputies and fire suppression personnel arrive at camp. Everyone there is evacuated. LESSONS Discussion Questions There were two additional locations in the camp that were considered as shelter-in-place options. Both were outside: the tennis courts or beside the swimming pool. However, the tennis courts have a synthetic surface matting that is flammable. The swimming pool is surrounded by heavy grass, brush, and oak trees. Would either of these locations have been appropriate for sheltering-in-place? Would you have gone up the road to that church camp under those conditions? Did the Patrol have any options? What were the risk decisions? Who made the decision? What was the benefit? What were the consequences? What were the unknowns? Knowns? The Patrol didn t know the Fire Marshal, but he did know the IC and the relationship that the IC had with the Fire Marshal. Did that make a difference? How? How do we develop trust? Is communication important in situations like this? In fire management? Suppression activities at the Circle V Ranch Camp after the evacuation. 7

8 This RLS was submitted by: The Pacific Southwest Region - Risk Management and Linda Ferguson, Fuels Specialist, Tahoe National Forest; and Tony Sandrini, Captain, Vista Grande Interagency Hotshot Crew Do you have a Rapid Lesson to share? Click this button: Share Your Lessons 8