stay safe. <iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KgQNeGPJdcQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
That's a lot of perspiration.... <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ORs6C32ivjg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
In Phoenix waiting to fly home. Tough assignment that would have been really difficult emotionally and logistically for just the wildland side to pull off. FDNY muscle was everywhere; as their guys said, repaying the wildland fire community for the help we sent after 9/11. Incredible support from all over the country, including a number of Texas fire departments. LA County FD sent their entire Critical Incident Stress Management team to help all the firefighters deal with the stresses of the last 10 days. Over 300 pipes and drums and honor guard representatives from Canada to San Diego. Our goals were to put the fire out, honor the 19, comfort the families, support the Prescott Fire Department, and make it safe for the people of Yarnell to return. I think we did as well as possible on all of those and the middle three will continue for some time. And we will never stop honoring or remembering the 19.
Today, we went to National Preparedness Level for the first time in over 5 years. What is that you ask? In short, it means that our limited wildland firefighting capability is being spread over wider and wider areas, and obtaining critical shared resources, such as Hot Shot crews, helicopters, and large airtankers will be difficult. It means that over eighty percent of crews are committed, as well as the majority of other National Resources. It also means that the number of available incident management teams to deal with large fires is shrinking. Recently, initial attack activity has increased and a significant amount of large fire activity is ongoing. 10 Type 1 Teams and 21 Type 2 Teams are currently assigned to incidents in the Eastern Great Basin, Northern California, Northwest, Northern Rockies, Southern California, Western Great Basin, Alaska, Rocky Mountain and Southwest Areas. Additional Type 1 Team and Type 2 Team are on order for new and active fires. Fore reference, we have 16 Type I teams and 36 Type II teams across the country. During the rest of August and through September, significant fire potential is predicted to be above normal in all of Oregon, large portions of northern and southern California, northwestern Nevada, central Idaho, and southwestern Montana. This is due to predicted above normal temperatures, below normal precipitation, and continuing drought in many areas. Today is also the 25th Anniversary of "Black Saturday" when the 1988 fires whipped across Yellowstone National Park. <object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/CCqcoF9_H_Q?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/CCqcoF9_H_Q?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> And then there is this video from 2013: <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/72442899?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=1ed869" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/72442899">Prescott Fire Department - Esse Quam Videri</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/tpsc">Traveling Picture Show Company</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
