The Big Blowup of 1910

(Mouth of tunnel where Ranger Edward Pulaski sheltered his men during the Big Blowup, photo taken September 1910. Photo credit: US. Forest Service History)

In August of 1910 on the Coeur d’Alene National Forest, a group of timber cutters, miners, and assorted individuals looking to make a dollar, found themselves running for their lives down a steep canyon to an unknown end. Ed Pulaski, the Forest Ranger in charge of this group of hastily collected firefighters knew he had some quick decisions to make.

Conditions across the west had been unseasonably dry with below average rainfall since April. Fires, both lightening and human caused, had started in the spring and reached a crescendo in July and again in late August. The group behind the effort to suppress these fires was an organization in its infancy, the newly created United States Forest Service. Forest Supervisors in Idaho and Montana did their best to control the blazes with the resources they had; a handful of recent Forestry graduates, Forest Guards hired from the local populace, and whatever labor could be gathered from the mines, timber camps, and bars throughout the west.

By the time the fires peaked and reached the point known as “The Blowup” on August 20-21, approximately 3 million acres burned across Idaho and into Montana with several towns burned and an estimated 85 people killed both firefighters and public. The impact of this event shaped fire policy and direction within the U.S. Forest Service for decades to come and strongly influenced the public perception of the role of federal agencies in fire suppression and the role of fire within the landscape.

Making a Collective Impact

(Photo credit: i3solutions)

All around the nation, individuals are coming together to make a difference in the communities in which they live and serve. Unity of effort is a component of our command philosophy. We have made a concerted effort to bring community and fire leaders together "to find common ground and act in the best interests of those responding to the incident, the public, and our natural resources." (Leading in the Wildland Fire Service, pp. 15-16).

Ben Hecht, Harvard Business Review Blog Network contributor, shared his perspective on collaboration in "Collaboration Is the New Competition." He suggests five lesson for driving large-scale social changes through collaboration:

• Clearly define what you can do together.
• Transcend parochialism.
• Adapt to data.
• Feed the field.
• Support the backbone.

The Wildland Fire Leadership Campaign was created with these lessons in mind.

Clearly Define What You Can Do Together

The purposes of the campaign are:

• To foster a cohesive effort to promote leadership across the wildland fire service.
• To provide a template that can be used to encourage leadership development at the local level.
• To provide a mechanism to collect leadership best practices and share throughout the wildland fire service.

With budgetary cutbacks and limited resources, the wildland fire service has to become more efficient at developing our leaders. The best efforts of one unit can be shared with those who may not have the resources or ability to produce leadership development tools.

Transcend Parochialism

The campaign is designed to transcend leadership levels and agency affiliation. All members of the fire service are encouraged to participate and come together to make a difference in the communities for the great good of all. Each participant/unit is encouraged to put aside their interests and focus on the bigger picture.

Adapt to Data

Due to the interagency nature of the fire service, not to mention our involvement in all-hazard response, a one-size-fits all approach is unlikely. What works for one unit/area may not work for another. However, by collecting best practices, individuals can adapt the information to best suit their needs.

Feed the Field

The end state of the campaign is "creation of a wildland fire service culture that willingly shares leadership best practices in order to maintain superior service-wide leadership." Participants should should not only take from the campaign but also give back through the IGNITE the Spark for Leadership - From the Field for the Field contest. Using the spirit of healthy collaboration (competition) among wildland fire crews and personnel, the contest is intended to be one of the mechanisms used to collect leadership best practices to be shared throughout the wildland fire service.

Support the Backbone

The backbone of wildland fire leadership is the Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program.

Our history is deeply rooted in products developed by the field for the field. The campaign revitalizes the success of the grassroots effort that began over 10 years ago and keeps the program moving forward.

Reading - A Magic Portal

(Photo credit: Books Direct)

“There comes a day when you realize turning the page is the best feeling in the world, because you realize there's so much more to the book than the page you were stuck on.” - Zayn Malik

Lana Winter-Herbert shares 10 Benefits of Reading: Why You Should Read Every Day:

1. Mental Stimulation
2. Stress Reduction
3. Knowledge
4. Vocabulary Expansion
5. Memory Improvement
6. Stronger Analytical Thinking Skills
7. Improved Focus and Concentration
8. Better Writing Skills
9. Tranquility
10. Free Entertainment

Additional Resource:

"Is there a Leadership Fire in Your Belly? by Chery Gegelman, Giana Consulting

A Message from BLM Leadership on the 2013 Fire Season

Photo credit: Northwest Fires, Colockum Tarps fire (July 2013)

The western fire season traditionally peaks in mid-August, and it appears that 2013 will follow that trend. The forecast from BLM’s Predictive Services unit reinforces that we could still experience a high level of fire activity over the next month, and perhaps, extend well into the fall.

We acknowledge the professionalism and hard work of our fire crews, and their peers in other agencies. The work they do is nothing short of amazing. They’re a point of pride for our entire organization. Yet it’s the time of summer when our firefighters may begin to feel the effects of a long season. Fatigue may become an issue. Situational awareness could decline.

It’s a critical time of the year. More than ever in this fire season, we need to be alert, aware of risk, watch out for others, speak up when something seems wrong, get the rest we need, and follow the proper safety protocols. The season may be inching toward its conclusion, but we cannot let our guard down. That’s often when tragedy strikes.

It’s been a tragic and devastating fire year in terms of safety. As of this writing, 30 people have died in the line of duty. Please, let’s join together and recommit to making the remainder of this fire season as safe as possible and ensure, to the best of our ability, that there are no more serious injuries, no more fatalities, and that all of our firefighters and field personnel safely return to their families and friends when the fire season finally comes to an end.

Neil and I both consider the safety of all our employees to be the Bureau's highest priority. We appreciate the remarkable work you do each and every day in support of the BLM. Thank you for your special attention to this important matter.

Steve Ellis, Acting Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management

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All agencies are encouraged to share their messages. Send them to BLM_FA_Leadership_Feedback@blm.gov for posting.

Focusing Risk Managment Efforts Using Historical Wildland Fire Accident Trends

August 3, 2013

To:          Geographic Area Coordinating Group Chairs

From:        National Multi Agency Coordinating Group

NMAC Correspondence #2013-06

Subject:    Focusing Risk Management Efforts Using Historical Wildland Fire Accident Trends

Data analysis is an important component of risk management.  Trends identified through data analysis provide a sound foundation for making risk management decisions.  Over the past one hundred years, 90% of wildland fire fatalities can be attributed to five general causes:

•   Low level flight operations
•   Vehicle accidents
•   Entrapments/burnovers
•   Snags/felling operations
•   Heart attacks

There is a high probability that most future fatalities will continue to share these causes.  Having experienced 28 fatalities in the fire community to date in in 2013, NMAC is encouraging leaders, managers and everyone throughout the wildland fire community to make every day a training day with an emphasis on our historical accident trends.  This can be achieved through the Six Minutes for Safety program (http://www.wildfirelessons.net/uploads/6mfs/home.html),  with the following resources addressing the 5 primary wildland fire serious accident causes:

• Low level fight operations, reference: 
  http://www.wildfirelessons.net/documents/6MFS_AviationWatchoutSituations.pdf
• Vehicle accidents:
  http://www.wildfirelessons.net/documents/6MFS_DrivingSafety.pdf
• Burn overs:
  http://www.wildfirelessons.net/documents/6MFS_SafetyZones1.pdf
• Snags/felling operations:
  http://www.wildfirelessons.net/documents/6MFS_HazardTreeRiskManagement.pdf
• Heart attacks:
  http://www.wildfirelessons.net/documents/6MFS_TopicOfChoiceFireFit.pdf

Wildland firefighting continues to become more complex, but the primary causes of fatalities and serious accidents have not changed.   Please use this information to continue to focus your proactive efforts and situational awareness.  

/s/ John Segar
Chair, NMAC

(UPDATE since memo's release: 30 deaths to date)

Jenna Berkerman - A WOW Spotlight

Firefighting and the BLM are Family Traditions for the Beckermans 
By: Dennis Godfrey, BLM-Arizona

Jenna Beckerman was reflecting on what it means to be part of the wildland fire community. "Fire is really a close-knit family, that's for sure," she said recently, while working a detail at the Phoenix Interagency Fire Center. She mentioned the so-called 6 degrees of separation that connects humanity. "It seems like in fire, if you know one person, you know the rest of the whole community." The fire family connection is even closer for Jenna than most, and it extends to the Bureau of Land Management. That's because her dad, Dale Beckerman, is part of the fire family and a career BLM employee. In addition, Jenna's grandmother (and Dale's mother-in-law) Garnet Sophocles also worked for the BLM. That makes Jenna a third-generation BLMer…

In 2007, Jenna was a member of the Craig Hotshots and is shown here working on a fire in Montana.

Jenna is an initial attack dispatcher for Craig Interagency Dispatch in Colorado. Dale also works in Craig, as a fire management specialist. "It's pretty cool having your daughter right there," Dale said of the family connection in fire, the BLM and in Craig.

Dale and Jenna Berkerman enjoy a number of outdoor activities together, including distance running.

Dale was a seasonal firefighter for the BLM in northern California when he met the woman who became his wife. Her mother was working for the BLM Colorado State Office as an administrative assistant. "

When my parents got married they were living in California because he was fighting fire out there. My grandmother just hated that they were so far away," Jenna said. Grandma Garnet heard of a job in Colorado and helped Dale get it."

They've been in Craig ever since and I've just followed in my dad's footsteps," Jenna said. She has worked on hotshot crews and initial attack crews, much like her dad. She is in her second year of fire dispatch.

"I'm not even quite sure how that happened," Dale said of his daughter's career choice. "I definitely didn't encourage it. She did it all on her own."

Grandma Garnet worked about 15 years for the BLM in the Colorado State Office, retiring in 1984. She has since passed away.

Jenna has a degree in anthropology from Fort Lewis College, and she's considered pursuing a career in that field. "But so far it has worked out that I stay in fire," she said.

The larger fire family connection was drawn closer to home for Jenna with the deaths of the 19 in the Yarnell Hill Fire. "The Granite Mountain Hotshot thing has been really close to home, for sure," she said. "When I was on the Craig Hotshots, we actually did a fuels reduction project all around the community of Yarnell in 2006. I can just totally picture where those guys were."

For Dale, he is happy that Jenna is following the family tradition in the BLM and in fire. "I am definitely very proud of her," he said.

_________________________________
Reprinted with permission. Article from The BLM Daily, 7/18/2013

Convergence on Hillary Step

(Photo credit: USAF7Summits.com)

I recently wrote a blog on listening inspired by a presentation from mountain climber Roger Snyder. In May 2013, Roger became one of highly-determined individuals that can legitimately claim he conquered the summit of Mount Everest. Roger's experience of the gridlock on Hillary Step inspired this blog.

The Roman Empire in the First Century - Order from Chaos

If you know much about the Roman Empire, you are well aware of Augustus Caesar. This leader transformed the Roman Republic into an empire that spanned many years with many leaders. Augustus was loved by his people--given god-like status. A Leadership in Cinema (LinC) lesson plan is available for your use in studying his transformational leadership. The first episode of PBS's "The Roman Empire in the First Century - Order from Chaos" video series and LinC lesson plan takes an in-depth look at the leadership legacy of Augustus Caesar.

Feel free to use the Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program's Facebook page to discuss the movie and promote discussion across the program.

If you would like to create a lesson plan for the program, visit the Leadership in Cinema website.

Are You "All-In"?

(Photo credit: Zazzle.com)

Unlike playing poker where insufficient resources to cover the ante and blinds due means you have no choice but to go "all-in" in order to keep playing, leaders have a choice when they go "all-in." When leaders go "all-in," they give of themselves to ensure a positive difference is made in the lives of their subordinates.
Resources are abundant for the leader. When they effectively go "all-in," there is never a bad hand; everyone is a winner.

Check out the Harvard Business Review interview "Get Your Employees Engaged" featuring Doug Conant, former president and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company, and his story of going "all-in"



Video Highlights:

• Trust and employee engagement are important.
• You cannot expect high performance levels unless people are personally engaged.
• People will not be personally engaged unless they genuinely believe you are personally engaged in trying to make their lives better.
• Your people are not mind readers.
• Declare yourself.
• Deliver on your promises.
• Connect with people: send personal handwritten notes and walk around.

Everyday Leadership

Never underestimate the influence and impact you may have on others. Leadership moments occur every day, sometimes when you may not be aware of them.

Drew Dudley, founder of Nuance Leadership Development Services, talks about the unknown influence he had on an under classman in college. He contends that leadership moments are not reserved for only those with legendary leadership status or extensive experience. Rather he dares us all to embrace our roles as leaders and reminds us that leadership moments happen every day by simple acts, many of which we are not aware of, that positively influence the lives of others.

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Thanks to Ted Mason, Safety, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and NWCG Leadership Committee member, for this contribution.