Random Ramblings: Aerial Wildland Firefighting

I have blogged about aerial wildland firefighting since 2009. I am not a firefighter and am not a pilot, just an interested bystander who wants to learn more and share what I learn here. Join me here as I blog on the aircraft and the pilots who fight wildland fires from the air in support of crews on the ground. I also blog on concerns affecting fire crews on the ground as well as other aviation and meteorology issues. Learn what it takes to do jobs that are staffed by the best of the best.

Monday, May 03, 2021

2021 wildfire season: NWS Incident Meteorologist deployments (April 27th)

As I write this National Weather Service Incident Meteorologists (IMETs)are beginning to be deployed to wildfires. Already IMETs have been deployed to three incidents, all were deployed on April 27th:

A meteorologist from the US NWS in Pueblo Colorado was deployed to the San Juan National Forest for the San Juan National Forest Prescribed Burn Program that is being conducted this spring.
A meteorologist from the US NWS in El Paso, Texas was deployed to the Three Rivers Fire burning in the Lincoln National Forest near Alamogordo, NM (7,119 acres)
A meteorologist from the US NWS in Flagstaff, Arizona was deployed to the Flag Fire near Kingman, AZ (1,265 acres)

I want to pause and offer a great article from the National Weather Service called "Eyes in the Sky: A Day in the Life of an Incident Meteorologist (IMET) on the Front Lines of a Wildfire." It is a short article. Long time readers may recognize the article as I have referred to it in prior years. Here is an excerpt.

IMETs are located in numerous NWS offices across the country. Once a large wildfire has started, an IMET is contacted and given orders to travel to the site of the fire as quickly as possible. Ken Simosko, an IMET with the NWS Bismarck Weather Forecast Office (WFO), has worked five fire incidents. “You have to be ready at a moment’s notice. I have my bag ready to go so that when I get the call, I can spend my time getting spun up on the history of the fire, its current and future situation. Usually an IMET is on scene within 24 hours to 48 hours of the initial call. This depends on the mode of travel [car or plane] and how far the IMET is from the wildland fire.”

At the fire site, the IMETs check in at the incident command center. This is usually located relatively near the active wildfire and is either part of a temporary tent or trailer camp that is set up for those who are working the event. “Depending on the size of the fire there can be hundreds of folks involved. Some people bring tents to sleep in. I usually bring a blow-up mattress and sleep in the back of my truck. The command center supplies food and brings in shower and bathroom facilities on a flatbed for all of us who are working the event,” says Simosko.

Each IMET deployment lasts around two weeks, or until the wildfire is considered contained. If a fire lasts more than two weeks, another IMET will be sent to relieve the one who has just completed their two weeks on-site. There is very little “down time” when working a wildfire.

Here is a nice short video that I have posted before. You will hear from NWS IMET Jeremy Wolf in a 2014 video.