Defense Logistics Agency Continues Critical Support to Wildland Firefighting, Working With State, Federal, Local Partners
By
As of early July, 46 large wildfires across
Fighting these fires requires thousands of personnel from multiple federal, state and local agencies. And they often need critical equipment delivered in short order to remote locations -- a tall order for many agencies and jurisdictions.
Fortunately, the
DLA does this by supporting the
"Right now is peak fire season," said
He said the number and intensity of fires can vary greatly based on the summer heat, the amount of rainfall and the presence of potential fuel, for wildfires, such as fallen leaves or pine needles and dead branches.
Hill has been with the program since its inception. "We took over management of the
The task previously fell to the
When the program transferred, there were 296 items being managed. The program has grown and now includes 344 firefighting items for the
"A month into the position as division chief, you begin to realize quickly you're supporting a customer who is literally saving lives on a daily basis," he said. "This is a mission DLA needs to support as a critical interagency partner."
Dubernas was struck by the challenge inherent in the smoke jumpers' mission.
"Firefighters actually jump into [areas threatened by fires] from aerial platforms to cut fuel away ... to try to stop the fire from burning over homes and doing more damage," he observed.
The NIFC supports state and local firefighters who work to protect infrastructures all over the country.
"We work very closely with them to maintain their critical reorder point levels on fire equipment," Dubernas said.
Hill added, "We participate in a daily
DLA provides the materials through a system of 10 interagency support caches, which are the
At the end of each year, DLA and the
Then throughout the year, DLA monitors and responds to support to
The level is influenced by the number of fires in a particular region, the number of fire-suppression crews deployed to manage those fires and the severity of the fire itself.
"Right now, we are Level 4 nationally," Hill said.
As regional fires continue to spread, they have a distinct impact on the national preparedness level. And as they intensify, they require different levels of management and different suppression methods, Hill explained.
In the most severe fires, "evacuations are taking place, there's structural damage and homes are being threatened," he said.
The fire type also determines the types of incident-management teams that will deploy to help. Teams are rated as 1, 2 or 3, based on the level of help they'll provide and how long they plan to deploy.
"For initial fires, a Type 3 team deploys and stays on site about 12 hours," Hill said. "They make assessments, coordinate fire and containment efforts and then turn [operations] over to the next-higher level, beyond that 12- to 16-hour mark."
The Type 2 team has more training and more access to resources than the Type 3 team. The Type 1 team has the highest level of expertise, Hill said.
"They are very well-trained with movement of on-site materials, personnel, equipment to containment areas and fire-suppression efforts," he said. "And that team will generally consists of 27 personnel, with the ability to increase by 15 more."
Two
On
"I have access to
Because Hill keeps such a close watch on the changing data, he's constantly engaged and ready to help DLA mobilize needed materials.
"I get a daily update that is an actual fire map; I can see how many critical fires are on there," he said. "I will generally reach out to the cache managers in the area where we're seeing a large spread of fires in a very short period, and we will intervene to help expedite materials going to them as needed."
Hill said when preparedness levels reach 4 and 5, he sometimes must travel to the area to help on site.
"That involves the full array of looking at materials, reaching out to the various PLFAs, working with our distribution centers, being involved with the transportation aspects," he said.
The
"The Detwiler fire grew by 900 percent overnight. It went from 2,500 acres to 45,000 acres in 24 hours," Hill said.
That's when the
"The
Although 8,000 people in and around the Detwiler fire were evacuated, there was no loss of life, and reported fire-related injuries were minor.
"The focus continuously shifts," Hill said. "So while we're having all these very severe fires in
While not all fires are Type 1; there are enough Type 2 fires to warrant the presence more crews and equipment. When a fire has been suppressed, the resources are brought back into the interagency support system, cleaned up and dispersed to the next most severe fire.
Once a fire is contained, the
"It's a matter of prioritizing their resources in the right way to support or suppress the most critical fires across the
Dubernas agreed there's room for improvement in DLA support, specifically by honing the critical-items list and increasing inventory levels when necessary.
"That's something we're going to work on with the
That requires management at all levels; and while Hill manages the program at the federal level,
"Tracy works with those state and local fire departments that do not always gain the credit our federal firefighters get," he said. "They play a very vital role in the fire suppression teams and what happens within their individual states -- and Tracy champions those efforts."
Both rely heavily on the PLFAs for support of this critical mission. Hill likens the work of all the firefighters to the warfighters DLA supports.
"They also put their lives on the line -- protecting people, federal lands and government entities across the board," he said.
Both Dubernas and Hill touted the importance of the program and its growing mission, a priority for the new DLA director.
Dubernas noted DLA's support to wildland firefighting is just one way the agency partners with its sister federal agencies to help with disaster relief across the nation.
"Other agencies that have heard of us have not always know what our capability was," Hill said. "We're proud of what we've done to this point and for the program being seen for what it truly is."
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