By Seth Taylor

Initial attack (IA) wildfire assignments are complex events requiring operational flexibility, situational awareness, and motivated personnel with clear direction to successfully overcome them. During IA wildfire events, personnel often work in isolated areas with limited resources. In addition, personnel may work with personnel from other agencies with a variety of skill sets and experience. Beginning with the incident commander, “Leader’s Intent” must be conveyed. Due to the nature of these events, setting initial goals and guidance to incoming personnel is essential to keeping operations on track. Ideally, this is a face-to-face briefing. From that point, the mid-level leaders and their tactics will play a significant role in the outcome of the incident (photo 1).

1. An engine strike team staged between assignments. (Photos by author.)

As a boss (engine boss, crew boss, strike team leader, or task force leader), understanding your assignment and then clearly defining the role of your unit and end goals for your personnel is essential. Once that is done, crew members can make critical decisions to help achieve desired results. Clearly defining your leader’s intent empowers personnel during times of limited communications and demanding situations to keep clear goals and expectations. By providing objectives, purpose of operations, acceptable tactics, and end goals, a boss will build trust and confidence and be able to measure unit performance. In addition, setting “trigger points” to disengage and reassess allows for a work group to reset and evaluate to ensure goals are achievable and safe. When applied, these principles allow successful outcomes by small, motivated groups.

Challenges Initial Attack Personnel Face During Wildfires

The wildfire front over the past three decades has become increasingly challenging. With severely dried fuels, extreme weather, and residences and occupancies located in the direct line of threat, firefighters must understand realistic time frames and have reasonable expectations. Observed fire behavior is the first part of building a successful attack. Additionally, firefighters and bosses must understand what future fire behavior will look like and what is threatened. Individuals must have the ability to understand fire behavior changes and recognize changing conditions to extreme fire behavior.

Local departments responding to “another grass or brush fire” (IA) can lose this perspective of changing conditions. This happens as the fire season worsens and tactics remain the same. Applying the same fire tactics that have been effective during marginal conditions (for example, 30 days of no rain with thick, waist-high dry grass and a temperature of 90⁰F with RH 25% and 15 mph sustained winds gusting to 25 mph) usually is not effective during extreme conditions (for example, 100-plus days with no rain, thick waist-high dead grass, and a temperature of 97⁰F with RH 12% and 35 mph sustained winds gusting to 50 mph). Using the tactics that work with conditions in the first example will often leave local resources chasing the fire instead of defending structures and infrastructure. The clues are present but initial responders can overlook them. Small changes in weather and fuels can have a drastic effect on fire behavior. Recognizing these changing conditions and adjusting fire tactics will lead to success, but the altered tactics must be relayed down through the chain of command and used by boots on the ground.

One of the benefits of moving across the state (or states) beefing up wildfire response is that deployed IA crews often expect extreme behavior. On marginal days, the wildfire behavior can be slightly less active and allow IA crews to make big gains and slow or stop a potentially devastating fire. The other advantage deployed crews bring is the ability to surge and stay with the response as conditions improve. This often helps crews gain the upper hand (photo 2).

2. A backfire operation by the Willow City Volunteer Fire Department and supported by an IA engine strike team in Texas Hill Country during more favorable conditions.

En Route and Arriving on Initial Attack

En route is a time to go over actual conditions vs. previously predicted conditions. Deployed crews may travel many hours for response and have drastic changes in weather, fuels, and terrain during that response. Dialed-in firefighters have looked at regional and local predicted weather and conditions changes (i.e., frontal passages, extreme winds, thunderstorm potential, extreme relative humidity-RH drops, no overnight RH recovery, extreme fuel drying). With experience, firefighters should have an idea of expected and observed fire behaviors. Regional and local weather should be covered daily in a morning briefing/roll call (photos 3 & 4). Local weather may be covered during a long response for deployed IA personnel. For local response, if wildfire conditions develop, crews/personnel should consider the prior listed conditions and understand what the differences in fire behavior will look like with any (or all) of those conditions.

3 & 4. An IA engine strike team at an initial briefing and equipment capability on Day 1 of the assignment.

Size-up. On arrival, size up the fire. Identify immediate threats, beginning with life safety and then property. If the response is to a rural area, road access may be limited and confusing. Locating structures and infrastructure can often be done face to face with local crews. If no local crews have made it to an area with occupied structures, quick assessments are warranted. Engines may remain at directly threatened locations or ensure no life hazards and keep moving to the next occupancy if there is limited threat (or nondefensible space). Once life hazards and structures are identified, some engines can begin limited fire engagement while others may perform additional recon and begin to identify problem areas, natural breaks, and access points or remain near threatened structures.

Brief personnel of goals, hazards, and trigger points to ensure all units are working toward a common goal. One note about engaging the fire: Do not overcommit when facing extreme fire behavior. Engines may be responsible for an area that requires them to spread out and work alone. Having clearly defined goals and trigger points creates guidelines for personnel.

Steep topography, heavy brush, and forests can make it difficult to get eyes on a fire for size-up. Vast grasslands can also be challenging because of expanses of mostly rolling terrain with few roads or tracks available. Current electronic (or paper) maps can be very helpful in assessing where the future threats are likely to be (photos 5 & 6). Heavy equipment can play a significant role in catching a wildfire, but it most often needs to be supported by engines and personnel. When briefing personnel about an assignment, ensure they are familiar with safe working distances and their role in supporting heavy equipment operations.

5 & 6. Active fire and torching in brushy and steep terrain.

For local crews, these are the same tools that should be used for size-up. Size up the fire and the threatened area. If this is an area that burns regularly, responders will be familiar with it and its threats. Departments with young personnel often have difficulty changing tactics and recognizing extreme behavior. Personnel must be able to recognize components (humidity, fuel, winds) that increase fire behavior and use appropriate tactics as conditions change from routine to critical to extreme. Local crews who witness fire behavior become extreme must ensure personnel aren’t cutting corners on their fire attack and tactics. Both local response and deployed IA crews should develop an action plan that doesn’t overcommit limited response early, recognize the truly threatened targets, and request adequate resources to the scene.

The Action Plan and Engaging the Fire

In light fuels and brush (and certainly timber), a good rule of thumb is not to chase fire. If the conditions allow the fire to move that fast, back off and look for immediately threatened persons or structures and identify natural breaks to achieve a better outcome. Occasionally, a well-placed engine with a water supply can anchor and catch a flanking fire using roadways or other natural breaks. This can often be done with very limited water. Not overextending resources and realizing when to regroup can prove challenging for some. Recognizing when conditions are going to overwhelm resources is the key to success (photo 7).

7. An IA response to a brush fire in Texas Hill Country with several structures already lost.

During IA with enhanced or critical fire behavior (not extreme), using at least some of an IA strike team as scouts can be a great benefit. This helps you to start developing an attack plan and request additional resources if available. Getting engines comfortable operating as limited units also tends to help protect from overcommitting to tasks. As this information is relayed to the strike team, consider additional available resources. Don’t commit to equipment coming until that resource is there (i.e., aircraft, heavy equipment, engines, hand crews). Too often, these resources get redirected or may have a mechanical failure pull them offline.

One common problem is when an early arriving engine begins chasing (and possibly gaining) on a fast-moving light fuel fire. (Anchor, flank, and pinch is still the standard.) These crews often believe they are making a significant impact. However, during extreme conditions, these crews must disengage and get more water. When this engine leaves, the fire develops two heads (“Let’s knock the head fire out first”) or outflanks the area that was originally knocked down but not extinguished and grows significantly before any additional resources become available. During the turnaround time to refill with water, the scene loses 20 percent of our equipment on a strike team. Refilling for local response maybe loses 50 percent or even all equipment that can make a difference during that time. Recognizing when we can make a lasting effect and choosing when to engage the fire can make a significant difference. Chasing a head fire without a true anchor point and extinguished flanks is always a gamble. Defending structures with minimal water as the fire front (or head) passes is an acceptable tactic.

Becoming comfortable with limited fire engagement until primary threats are protected, behavior moderates, and adequate resources arrive requires patience. As conditions moderate and fire behavior lessens, engage with an anchor point and begin extinguishing while ensuring truly threatened areas are protected. This may include a good bit of patrolling and looking for smoldering fires around structures while other engines work on actual extinguishment.

Know what the citizens value. In farm and ranch communities, equipment, livestock, and maybe even the dead standing grass may be the most valuable assets for the farm. If you can protect them, do so.

Examples of limited engagement with trigger points include the following:

• Holding a fire at a natural fire line or fuel break with a trigger point to disengage if a spot occurs across that break.
• Scratching line around a defensible structure to limit exposure and allow fire to pass around a structure.
• In light fuels, watching the flaming front pass threatened structures and then knocking down flanking fire and moving to the next area (this area will require patrol sooner rather than later).
• Holding off fire attack in overgrown light fuels and attacking in areas that are overgrazed, are mowed, or have reduced fuel loading, ensuring there is a safe passage and adequate safe zone.

Local Resources

When responding on a deployment IA assignment to rural areas, working with local resources is essential. Supporting their initial operations often builds trust and working relationships. These resources can be invaluable when it comes to local recon (finding water or contacting other resources like local farms, ranches, and industry that may have heavy equipment and be willing to help).

Engaging these resources and ensuring a solid plan will often help firm up their commitment and result in a coordinated effort. If local fire resources are underutilized, they may move on. Occasionally, these units may have been engaged in IA for a long period and are ready to hand it over to arriving relief crews (photos 8 & 9). These resources may begin working back to 911 response and may reduce their role as the incident grows into a larger Type 3 incident or they may be integrated into your group to help become a larger, more effective team.

8. Aircraft supporting a local response in North Texas.

9. A firefighter working on a trouble area in Central Texas.

As the final part of the plan, ensure structures are patrolled by diligent personnel. Historically, significant structure losses have occurred long after the flaming front and head fire pass. Crews get too involved in trying to catch wind-driven, fast-moving, light fuel fires only to burn down multiple structures with nonthreatening low-flame-length flanking fires that were never checked. The other part of patrolling involves checking flowerbeds, decks, and other ember cast areas where small fires can hide and eventually burn down structures.

I am not saying don’t extinguish the fire. If you face losing conditions and extreme fire behavior, then recognize that and don’t commit to a losing proposition. Be patient, be smart, and recognize where you and your personnel can make a significant impact, save lives, and minimize property loss. A clearly defined leader’s intent and a solid flexible plan are musts when responding to IA fires in the wildland urban interface (photos 10 & 11).

10 & 11. Backfire, burnout, and holding operations by local and state resources during favorable conditions.

By developing thought processes and expectations at the firefighter, engine boss, and strike team leader level, IA crews can have immediate and long-term effects on the initial response. In turn, after gathering intelligence, a small group of resources can influence positive outcomes as conditions and weather improve and as locations allow.

Seth Taylor is a 32-year veteran of the Lewisville (TX) Fire Department, assigned to Truck 6. He is a qualified sawyer and engine strike team leader (STEN) for the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS).