Little Venus Fire (Wyoming) – July 18, 2006

This Day in History is a brief summary of a powerful learning opportunity and is not intended to second guess or be judgmental of decisions and actions. Put yourself in the following situation as if you do not know the outcome. What are the conditions? What are you thinking? What are YOU doing?

Background

On June 19, 2006, the Little Venus Fire began as a naturally ignited wildland fire on the Shoshone National Forest. The fire was managed for resource benefits under a wildland fire use strategy. Fire behavior and growth responded to the ebb and flow of weather over the first month, but around the middle of July, fire activity steadily increased. On July 17 at 1730, the Unaweep Fire Use Module (FUM) arrived at the Forest Supervisor’s Office in Cody, WY. Unaweep consisted of four regular crewmembers and six long-term and short-term detailers. They received an initial briefing and secured supplies to support remote fire operations in the Washakie Wilderness. During the in-briefing, the module leader was advised that radio communications had been a persistent problem on the incident. Operations believed they would have two portable repeaters fully functional on the incident by July 19 and Unaweep had a satellite phone. July 19 was Unaweep’s planned first operational assignment on the Little Venus Fire. On July 18, the work assignment for Unaweep was to hike eight miles from the Jack Creek Trailhead to the Venus Cabin to replace the Black Hills FUM. Two local, contracted packers would transport food and red bags from Jack Creek trailhead to Little Venus cabin on the morning of July 18.

Fuels

Conifer timber stands with severe bark beetle infestations – approximately 50% stand mortality.

Weather

RED FLAG CONDITIONS. The spot weather forecast predicted: Maximum Temperature: 7682°, Minimum Humidity: 814% , 20 Foot Winds: SW 15-20, gusts to 35, shifting to NW at 1400 hrs, Ridge Top Winds: SW 2025. The Incident Action Plan (IAP) weather forecast also had 20-foot winds: 15, gusts to 30 out of the W. The fire behavior forecast in the IAP underpredicted a significant increase in fire behavior.

Topography

Major canyon, steep slopes with numerous side drainages. Greybull River drainage runs SSW to NNE.

Aerial image of the Deployment sites and escape routes along Greybull River and Anderson Creek during the Little Venus Fire entrapment, 2006.

Outcome

As Unaweep hikes into Venus Cabin, a sharp wind shift fans a fast-moving crown fire with long-range spotting that outpaces the crew’s escape. All ten Unaweep crewmembers experienced a burn over and deployed their shelters at the Greybull River confluence with Anderson Creek. All personnel survived with no significant injuries and no hospitalization; all were safely evacuated from the fire area.

Discussion Questions:

Is hiking into a fire an operational assignment?
How do we safely engage wildfires in dead or dying fuel types or drought stressed fuel types?
How do we adapt operational tactics based upon a forecasted wind shift?
What are some techniques to deal with poor VHF repeater coverage for an incident?
Use of detailers or “fills” on fire resources is even more common today with recruitment and retention challenges. How will you build crew cohesion and trust with crewmembers that are new to your crew’s operational tempo?

Have an idea or feedback?

Share it with the NWCG 6MFS Subcommittee.

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NWCG Latest Announcements

NWCG Equipment Technology Committee Releases New Equipment Bulletins

Date: September 27, 2024
Contact: Equipment Technology Committee

The Equipment Technology Committee (ETC) has released three new Equipment Bulletins:

ETC-EB-24-003 Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) in fuel containers.
ETC-EB-24-004 Two-compartment fuel and oil container (Dolmar) unavailable in the United States (US) and reminders for upkeeping current inventories.
ETC-EB-24-005 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Inspection, Care, and Maintenance.

These bulletins remind field going personnel of important issues related to equipment for wildland firefighting efforts.

References:

NWCG Alerts

ETC-EB-24-003 Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) in fuel containers

ETC-EB-24-004 Two-compartment fuel and oil container (Dolmar) unavailable in the United States (US) and reminders for upkeeping current inventories

ETC-EB-24-005 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Inspection, Care, and Maintenance

The Experiential Learning Subcommittee is looking for your feedback on Staff Rides

Date: September 20, 2024
Contact: Ashleigh D'Antonio and George Risko, Leadership Committee

The Experiential Learning Subcommittee needs to hear from the field about where the greatest need lies regarding staff rides and their accessibility.

Do you have an event you would like to turn into a learning experience?
Do you have a staff ride built, but are struggling to implement the delivery?
Do you need help building capacity?
What other ideas do you have to support experiential leadership training?

Fill out this short survey below to help us help you.

References:

Staff Rides: Feedback

Staff Rides

Updated NWCG Single Resource Casual Hire Information, PMS 934

Date: September 19, 2024
Contact: Incident Business Committee

The Incident Business Committee has updated the NWCG Single Resource Casual Hire Information, PMS 934. This update expands the provisions for hiring emergency personnel.

References:

NWCG Single Resource Casual Hire Information, PMS 934

IBC Memorandum 24-03

NWCG 2024 Spring/Summer Highlights

Date: September 13, 2024

Welcome to our latest highlights from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, where we explore the latest updates, insights, and efforts that develop interoperable wildland fire operations among federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners.

The Performance Support Package, which for ABRO includes the Incident Position Standards and Next Generation Position Task Book were developed through the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. The Performance Support Package will support trainees, those qualified in the position, and evaluators.

NASA JOINS NWCG!

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is officially an associate member of NWCG. As such, NASA is beginning to collaborate with wildland fire management agencies with the goal of increasing collaboration across agencies and leveraging NASA data, technology, and innovation for nation-wide efforts in wildland fire management. NASA has a rich history of research, development, and technology transfer in the areas of Earth science, space technologies, and aeronautics that support the NWCG mission.

WWW.NWCG.GOV HAS A NEW LOOK AND DESIGN

The NWCG web team dedicated the past two years to making a significant upgrade to the www.nwcg.gov site. This upgrade involved a comprehensive redesign of over 7,700 web pages.

The modernization of NWCG’s website involved migrating to Drupal 10, a cutting—edge content management system, and leveraging Amazon Web Service GovCloud for secure and efficient hosting. These upgrades help ensure that the NWCG website remains current in content management practices, offering enhanced customization, improved performance, and an overall superior user experience.

NWCG Leadership Committee

The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program announced the Professional Reading Program’s 2024 list!

The years books include:

Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog by William H. McRaven
The Art of Clear Thinking by Hasard Lee
Emotional Agility by Susan David
Writing to Persuade by Trish Hall

Learn more at the NWCG Leadership Committee

INCIDENT PERFORMANCE AND TRAINING MODERNIZATION

In 2023, NWCG kicked off the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. A training system overhaul focused on developing a performance-based training system designed to shift training to on-the-job when appropriate.

Over the next five years, NWCG intends to analyze all positions within the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1. To date we are currently working on 30 incident positions, and planning for 20+ in calendar year 2025.

Subject Matter Experts from a variety of geographical areas and agencies recently completed the position analysis for 16 positions. From this analysis, Incident Positions Standards and a Next Generation Position Task Book will be developed for each position.

Incident Performance and Training Modernization

NEXT GENERATION POSITION TASK BOOK

In April 2024, NWCG launched the new Next Generation Position Task Book (Next Gen PTB) which is a key component of the IPTM effort. This revised evaluation tool is designed to work in conjunction with the newly developed Incident Position Standards.

Major Next Gen PTB changes:

Structured to improve constructive conversations between evaluators and trainees.
Reference new Incident Position Standards.
Include only tasks required to be evaluated for successful performance.
Trainees will be rated on their performance vs. initialing whether a task was completed.
Must include written feedback when trainee does not meet the standard.
Will be position specific (no combined PTBs).

Screen shot of the Next Gen Position Task Book

Banner image of the Wildland Fire Learning Portal website

NWCG’s training course catalog is now available on the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP).

To access the training course catalog, visit WFLP and either set up an account or login as a guest.

6MFS

Little Venus Fire (Wyoming) – July 18, 2006

Background

Fuels

Weather

Topography

Outcome

Discussion Questions:

Additional Resources

Have an idea or feedback?

Share it with the NWCG 6MFS Subcommittee.

NWCG Latest Announcements

References:

References:

References:

NASA JOINS NWCG!

WWW.NWCG.GOV HAS A NEW LOOK AND DESIGN

NWCG Leadership Committee

INCIDENT PERFORMANCE AND TRAINING MODERNIZATION

NEXT GENERATION POSITION TASK BOOK

NWCG National Wildfire Coordinating Group

NWCG

National Wildfire Coordinating Group