Holding, Contingency Planning, and Mop-Up

Primary Objective is tounderstand this:

•Fire inside the unit: GOOD•Fire outside the unit: BAD

Objectives

• Identify the importance and elements of the holding and contingency plan.

• Identify “trigger points” for implementing the contingency plan.

• Address interactions between prescribed fire forces and suppression forces

• Identify how to use an after action review to improve contingency plan.

• Discuss Mop-up procedures

Who is more Important?

Holding Rules of Thumb

• Assign the most experienced staff to holding

• Stage equipment near problem areas• Rotate holding responsibilities to alleviate

fatigue and boredom• “bump” along behind the ignition team• Check all the way back to the point of

ignition periodically.• Begin Mop-up as soon as the burn begins

“Size-up” is the preliminary and continuing appraisal of the overall fire situation for the purposes of determining

control actions.

Before the

Burn

Burn Plan Development

• Size-up begins now!• Contingency Planning for Escape

Fires is a critical step in your Burn Plan development.

• Recognizing areas that may cause you problems during the burn before they happen is an important skill - it will save you from problems in the future!

Size-Up of Your Burn Unit

• Fire History of the Unit• Fuel and Terrain• Access into the Unit• Barriers to Fire Spread• Special Hazards

– Structures, fences, wet areas, roadways

• Weather Conditions• Safety Considerations - LCES

Fire History of the Unit

• When was the last time the unit was burned?

• How did the unit burn? Did any crowning, spotting, or extreme fire behavior occur?

• If the fire spotted, where did it occur?

• If the unit has not been burned in the past, what is the expected fire behavior?

Fuels• Break up and scatter

jackpots of fuels close to the line.

• If unable to break up jackpots, these will create holding and fire behavior related problems that need to be addressed in the plan.

• Reduce the ladder fuels especially near the control line.

• Locate lines in lighter, easier to control fuels.

Topography

• Lines located directly on tops of ridges or near saddles can lead to control problems due to wind.

• If you are unable to move lines off ridgetops or away from saddles expect difficulty at these locations and address in the holding and ignition plan.

Access

• Access will determine what types of suppression resources you can use.

• Access into the site can change based upon the current ground conditions at the site.

• Provide a good address or legal description of the burn site to local fire suppression agencies in case they need to assist.

Barriers to Fire Spread

• Examine the area surrounding your unit for barriers to fire spread such as creeks, wet areas, or roads.

• Note these areas in the plan and utilize them in the suppression of escape fires.

• Identify barriers as primary and secondary places to stop the fire.

• Identify the fire intensity level these barriers should be expected to stop.

Know your area,

be familiar with

barriers e.g., -

canals, creeks

swamps,

streams, etc.

Special Hazards

• Identify structures at risk.• Examine fuels outside of unit and the

expected fire behavior from these fuels– Look at flame lengths– Rate of spread– Probability of Ignition

• Examine the topography outside the unit and note any problem areas– Equipment restrictions– Muck

• Note wet areas with available fuels and access into and/or fuel breaks around these areas.

Weather Conditions

• In planning, examine all the potential weather conditions you may have during the burn.

• Predict the fire behavior of an escaped fire in each scenario to help predict what resources you may need.

Florida Division of Forestry

Fire readiness level as related to fire danger

• FIRE READINESS LEVEL 1= Moderate• FIRE READINESS LEVEL 2= High• FIRE READINESS LEVEL 3= Very High• FIRE READINESS LEVEL 4= Extreme• FIRE READINESS LEVEL 5= Extreme

As Related to the Anticipated Fire Situation

• In consideration of weather, season, recent fire activity and other related factors:

• FIRE READINESS LEVEL 1 Little or no fire activity anticipated.

FIRE READINESS LEVEL 2

• Some "routine" fires anticipated. No more than 50% of resources expected to be needed at any given time. No difficulty in control or mop-up expected.

FIRE READINESS LEVEL 3

• Very active fire day anticipated. Fire occurrence above average and difficulty of control expected. May have to commit 80% of resources at any given time.

FIRE READINESS LEVEL 4

• Fire situation expected to be difficult. May have fires carrying over from the previous day, new fire starting, and experiencing difficulty of control. All resources will probably be committed and assistance from outside the district may be required.

FIRE READINESS LEVEL 5

• Fire situation is extreme and ability to respond will exceed district capability. Fires are numerous, large, and difficult to control and mop up. Outside assistance will be needed beyond a 24-hour period, and an incident command team may be required.

Incorporate the knowledge you gained into your burn plan and develop your

plan with these factors in mind.

• Fire history• Fuel• Topography• Access• Barriers to fire spread• Special hazards• Weather conditions

Review: Before The Burn

Day of Burn

Crew Briefing

• During the crew briefing review contingency plan

• Identify high value and special concern areas.

• Assure understanding of mitigation measures, procedures, secondary lines, etc.

Avoidance of Problems

• Keep current with fuel and weather conditions

• Adequate holding forces• Slopovers maybe expected if burning

during marginal conditions that are required to meet prescription.

• Anticipate potential problem areas identified during plan development.

• Establish good working relationship with local fire suppression organization or fire department.

During the burn

What do you do if you find

yourself

“Out of Prescription”?

Your Options if you are out of Prescription

• Ignore it and continue? • Shut the burn down?

– How?

• Assess the situation (size-up), and make decisions based on:– Current and expected fire behavior

Trigger PointsWhat is it?

• A number (Number of slopovers, etc)• When the ability of the holding forces to

pick-up slopovers is exceeded.• Other issues based upon the burn

objectives and current management policy• Smoke!

– Use markers along roads to use as a measure of visibility

– Complaints

• When the prescription is exceeded.

What Do You Do If It Gets Away?

• Contingency planning answers the questions– What if?– Are there adequate

control forces?– Does everyone

involved know what is expected of them?

– Where are escape routes and safety zones?

Use Your Contingency Plan

• Clearly defined trigger point(s).• Instructions for reporting a escaped

fire.• Notification procedures• Location of values requiring protection• Initial action when fire escapes• Identified containment opportunities

outside the burn unit• Actions to be taken.

Size-up of Escape Fire

• Time of Day• Rate of Spread• Flame Lengths• Fuels ahead of fire• Weather current

and expected• Topography• Time before help

arrives

Decisions to Make

• Where to Attack

• How to Attack• Location of Line• Type of Line• Help Needed• What to do with

the prescribed burn . . . ?

Initial Action When Fire Escapes

• Incident commander should be identified in plan.

• The tactics used and position each person on the holding crew will perform should be determined by the incident commander.

• Interaction between suppression resources and prescribed fire crew.

Original Burn Area, 440 Acres

Bonus 75 Acres (½ hr)

Resources

• Experience of Personnel

• Number and type of resources needed

• Placement during burn

• Condition of resources• Appropriateness of

resources• Availability of

additional resources

Tactics

• Plan your attack!!!• Base actions on expected fire

behavior• Establish anchor points to work

from by using existing natural / man made barriers

• Work from black if possible

Control Line Location• Determine distance in front of fire• Locate this place on the ground.• Avoid dangerous areas • Use areas of easy line construction• Decide where to anchor line (wet

area, creek, road, etc.)

• Know the best access to any area• Know where natural and

manmade barriers are located.• Know all trails and woods roads• Know areas of high fuel buildup

After the Incident

How Do We Improve?• Identify areas of the unit

that caused holding problems and address in an update to the burn plan.

• Review what holding actions were effective and which were not.

• Did the holding crew know what they were supposed to do when a escape occurred?

How Do We Improve?

• Strategy and tactics employed during the suppression. Appropriate, safe, effective?

• How did the burn crew work with the local suppression resources.

• Do the trigger points needed to be reevaluated?

Successful Contingency Planning is the Result of

Proper and Complete….Size-up!

Mop-Up

What is Mop - Up

• Process of making a controlled fire safe

• Process of containing a fire to eliminate escape

• Process of mitigating smoke hazards

What dictates the standards for

mop-up?• Firebreak type• Firebreak width• Current Weather• Forecasted Weather• Fuel type: burn-out

time• Fuel loading• Smoke sensitive

areas

Mop- Up Tasks

• Extinguish fuels that threaten firebreaks– ground fuels,

snags• Extinguish

smoking fuels that contribute to smoke problems

Mop- Up Safety Considerations

• Snags• Hollow or partially burned trees• Green trees with roots

burned away• Smoke inhalation• Fatigue• Complacency

Review

•Fire inside the unit: GOOD•Fire outside the unit: BAD

Comments, Questions?