Mackenzie Fire Shelter Deployment – June 1, 1994

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?

To learn more about this incident read See You on the Other Side.

Incident Summary

On May 31, 1994, the Mackenzie Fire was reported 40 miles south of Kingman, AZ in the Hualapai Mountains. The next day, three members of the Prescott Interagency Hotshot Crew deployed their shelters in a boulder field and survived a high intensity burnover with minor injuries. Two of them, Prescott’s Foreman, and Squad Boss, were very close friends who had full and unlimited trust in the other’s leadership and judgment. This account includes the reflections of Curtis Heaton, who deployed that day, and asks readers to examine the role of trust in their organization.

Standard Tactics

Prescott Hotshots arrived on scene and after an aerial recon decided to work the head of the fire toward Pleasant Valley Hotshots who were to anchor from the fire’s heel. The fire was 100 acres of grass/chaparral in steep terrain, held in check by a retardant line. Prescott’s foreman and one Helitack crew member flew into an agreed upon landing zone (LZ) in the black. The pilot declined landing in the black and selected a new LZ (H2) in the green ahead of the fire’s right flank. From there, crew personnel planned to hike to the fire’s edge and construct direct line. Prescott’s foreman and the Helitack crew member unloaded at H2 while two Prescott crewmembers shuttled in on the next flight to join their foreman and begin the assignment.

Keeping Silent

As Prescott Squad Boss Curtis flew into the fire, he noticed turbulence in flight and a significant increase in fire behavior from just minutes prior. Something didn’t feel right. It was June in Arizona and 2 p.m. “Why the hell are we landing here?”, Curtis recalls thinking as the helicopter descended into the green at H2. Looking out the helicopter window he tried to read his foreman’s face. He paused. He could key his mic and turn down the assignment. But Curtis knew his foreman well, trusted his fire expertise, and trusted his judgment immensely. So, despite not liking the situation, Curtis stepped out of the ship, answering his own question: “If it needed to be shut down, he would have done it.” From H2 the three hotshots made note of a wind change in direction and started moving together away from the head of the fire. Yet within a few minutes, the fire had flanked into alignment with the canyon previously identified as their escape route. The flank quickly became a head fire cutting off all egress, and the three hotshots deployed in the boulder field moments before the flame front arrived.

Discussion Questions:

Curtis explains that trust contributed to the acceptance of tremendous risk that day, yet it is the same trust that saved their lives. Define trust in your organization. How does the kind of trust you aim to develop look and perform?
Days after the deployment, Curtis asked his foreman why he chose that location for a LZ. His response: “Why didn’t you say something?” Working in a high-risk environment requires high-risk discussions across ranks, why do we often view questioning someone or having genuine curiosity as a lack of trust?
If you have a mutual trust relationship, wouldn't questions and curiosity be welcomed by both parties?
Training opportunity: Build a tactical decision game where two or more parties have limited information and must question each other to fully understand the situation. Establish a trigger word such as "Unclear" or "Uncertain" that alerts both parties the conversation must go further to reach understanding. This informs everyone that it is not about trusting the sender but about acknowledging the complexity of what is occurring.
What systems (like trigger words) can you employ to encourage raising questions at key decision making points? How do you practice questioning each other so that it becomes a part of your crew’s culture?

References:

Mackenzie Fire, Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center
See You On The Other Side, Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center
Curtis Heaton, personal communication, January 15, 2024
Recommended Reading: Schein, E. H., Schein, P. A. (2021). Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling (2nd ed.).

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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.

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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.

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References:

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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.

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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.

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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

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6MFS

Mackenzie Fire Shelter Deployment – June 1, 1994

Incident Summary

Standard Tactics

Keeping Silent

Discussion Questions:

References:

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