U.S. wildfire managers have raised the national preparedness level to its highest designation for the first time in five years. They say it reflects a very high level of fire activity.
Officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise say nearly 32,000 wildfires have burned 3.4 million acres this year. That might sound like a lot, but it’s only 60 percent of the country’s 10-year average.
As of Monday, nearly 580,000 acres, or 905 square miles, have burned in Idaho wildfires so far this year. That's second only to the more than 1.2 million acres burned so far in Alaska.
The announcement comes after a big jump in fire activity over the last two weeks. Hundreds of new fires are burning in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and California.
The Preparedness Level Five designation signals that firefighting resources are being stretched thin. It also means additional military and international resources could be called on to help.
A combination of federal and state fire managers regularly assess the national preparedness level. As of Tuesday morning, they felt the following pre-determined criteria had been met, thus prompting the change.
Geographic Areas are experiencing major incidents which have the potential to exhaust all agency fire resources. 80 percent of Type 1 and 2 IMTs and crews are committed, as well as the majority of other national resources. -National Interagency Fire Center
You can read about each of the threat levels here.
“The decision to move to Preparedness Level 5 reflects the complexity facing our federal and non-federal fire managers,” said U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. She calls this year's fire season "difficult and tragic".
The summer of 2008 was the last time the nation reached the highest preparedness level. It stayed there for three weeks.
Here's the full release:
The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) today increased the national fire Preparedness Level (PL) to its highest point, PL-5. The PL ranges from one, indicating minimal activity, to five, which signals very high activity. NMAC, which consists of top federal and state fire managers, sets the national PL. The raised level reflects a high degree of wildfire activity, a major commitment of fire resources, and the probability that severe conditions will continue for at least a few days. To date, 31,986 wildfires have burned 3.4 million acres in the United States this year. While both of those figures roughly represent only about 60% of the ten-year average, wildfire activity has escalated in recent days after thunderstorms, many with little or no moisture, moved across parts of California, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, sparking hundreds of new fires. “The decision to move to Preparedness Level 5 reflects the complexity facing our federal and non-federal fire managers,” said Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. “This has been a difficult and tragic season, including the loss of 30 of our nation’s firefighters. We have an experienced and skilled group of national, regional and local fire managers who will make the tough decisions necessary to respond to the current workload. We depend on everyone to do their part to make our communities and homes defensible against fire and to follow the instructions of local authorities.” This is the fifth time that PL-5 has been reached in the last ten years. PL-5 indicates fire suppression resources are becoming scarce, but Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said cooperation among agencies helps ease the strain. “During periods of high wildfire activity, when assets are stretched thin, federal, tribal, state and local partners work together to prioritize wildfires so that those threatening life, property and valuable natural and cultural resources receive assets as quickly as possible,” he said. “Professional wildfire managers adapt their strategies and tactics based on the assets that they receive and do the very best they can to suppress unwanted wildfires effectively and efficiently.” During PL-5, further assistance from the military, beyond what is already in use, and international resources may be considered and requested, but no decisions have been made concerning those steps. The fire forecast for most of the West shows a general continuation of hot and dry weather into the fall.
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