{"id":1320095,"date":"2020-05-19T13:37:51","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T19:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=996532"},"modified":"2020-05-19T13:37:51","modified_gmt":"2020-05-19T19:37:51","slug":"pandemic-stands-to-complicate-potentially-bad-fire-season-across-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/pandemic-stands-to-complicate-potentially-bad-fire-season-across-west\/","title":{"rendered":"Pandemic stands to complicate potentially bad fire season across West"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/07\/firefighters-atd-070718-5-7.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/07\/firefighters-atd-070718-5-7.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/07\/firefighters-atd-070718-5-7-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2018\/07\/firefighters-atd-070718-5-7-325x216.jpg 325w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><\/p><figcaption><strong>In this July 2018 file photo, the PatRick Initial Attack firefighters out of Redmond, Oregon set up their tents upon arrival to work the Lake Christine Fire near Basalt.<\/strong><br \/><em>Anna Stonehouse\/Aspen Times file<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>DURANGO, Colo. (AP) \u2014 As if Southwest Colorado\u2019s extreme drought wasn\u2019t enough to raise concerns about a potentially destructive wildfire season, the added complications of the coronavirus have only fueled that anxiety.<\/p>\n<p>The COVID-19 outbreak demands people isolate as much as possible to reduce the spread of the virus, but a typical wildfire response requires firefighters to work in close contact, under stressful conditions and in the presence of hazardous smoke.<\/p>\n<p>In sum, things people should not be doing amid a global pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>So how, exactly, are emergency personnel going to navigate this harrowing juxtaposition, along with other challenges that come with the coronavirus outbreak, should a large wildfire ignite?<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row gspi-donation gspi-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/PI-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/PI-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI think that all of us in the fire service, nationwide, are concerned what it\u2019s going to look like if we get a major event going,\u201d Hal Doughty, chief of Durango Fire Protection District, said recently.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut some community, somewhere, is going to draw the unlucky card and have the big fire of the year. And we need to figure out what we need to do to keep firefighters and the community safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<h4>Conditions already dry<\/h4>\n<p>The risk for a major fire breaking out right now is high.<\/p>\n<p>From October to April, the region saw just 70% of its average precipitation levels. This winter, the ground in the high country froze before snow arrived and was not able to absorb moisture. Lower elevations barely received any snowpack.<\/p>\n<p>More recently, spring has been all but devoid of moisture. Unusually high temperatures have caused snowpack to melt earlier than normal. And soils are incredibly dry, a sign that fuels on the ground are ripe to burn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnless we get some precipitation, we\u2019re going to be fighting a lot of fires,\u201d said Butch Knowlton, director of La Plata County\u2019s Office of Emergency Management.<\/p>\n<p>This week, La Plata County entered Stage 1 fire restrictions.<\/p>\n<h4>Virus complicates response<\/h4>\n<p>The U.S. Forest Service did not respond to a request for comment for this story. However, at a La Plata County meeting earlier this week, Richard Bustamante, fire manager for the San Juan National Forest, said the coronavirus outbreak delayed and complicated planning efforts for the upcoming wildfire season.<\/p>\n<p>In recent weeks, the Forest Service has enacted fire restrictions and started to mobilize its wildfire response teams. But should a fire break out, the risk to firefighters remains a top concern.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs much as we want to have a normal response to any new starts \u2026 it\u2019s going to be harder this year,\u201d Bustamante said.<\/p>\n<p>Firefighters work side-by-side digging fire lines or back burning. They eat together, and sleep in large encampments. While typically made up of young people, fire crews endure significant stress, poor sleep and hygiene, and inhale dangerous smoke and dust.<\/p>\n<p>Bustamante said the Forest Service held virtual trainings in recent weeks to limit human interactions and had crews quarantine before coming on. As of Tuesday, he said there were no reported positive cases of COVID-19 in the ranks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not just everyone in tight quarters looking over a map like it used to be,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are separating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Federal guidelines released last week recommend fire managers use small crews to limit widespread close contact among firefighters, and these crews should stay away from other large groups. The guidelines also recommend avoiding traditional large camps and say everyone should wear masks and other protective equipment when around those outside their immediate crew.<\/p>\n<h4>Keeping fires at bay<\/h4>\n<p>One of the main concerns is a major fire breaking out that requires assistance from firefighters across the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t want anything to grow in size where we need outside resources,\u201d Knowlton said.<\/p>\n<p>John Lee, chief of Fort Lewis Mesa Fire Protection District, said earlier this week La Plata County\u2019s four fire districts have been in close contact to coordinate mutual aid, given this potential complication.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur resources are a little thinner on the federal side right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Knowlton added La Plata County Road and Bridge Department crews are supplying big water trucks so fire districts can concentrate on fighting fires and not worry about securing water to douse a blaze.<\/p>\n<p>And this year, Bustamante said, the Forest Service is in full-suppression mode.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, the Forest Service has been using wildfire as a means of better managing the landscape, allowing blazes to burn to mimic when fires were part of the forest\u2019s natural cycle.<\/p>\n<p>But now, even though it would be hard to keep any fire under relative control given the dry conditions, Bustamante said COVID-19 poses additional risk, not just to firefighters, but also to the general public.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCOVID-19 is a respiratory issue, and smoke in the air does not help,\u201d he said. \u201cDoes that mean we\u2019ll catch everything? No. But we\u2019ll give it our best effort, absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Avoiding the worst<\/h4>\n<p>La Plata County\u2019s Knowlton said managing evacuations and evacuation shelters are yet another challenge.<\/p>\n<p>During past fires that required evacuations, very few people needed an emergency shelter, staying instead with family and friends. But with the COVID-19 outbreak, people may be less willing to house evacuees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s something we all have to think about,\u201d Knowlton said. \u201cMaybe we put people in hotel rooms. It\u2019s a case-by-case scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/pandemic-stands-to-complicate-potentially-bad-fire-season-across-west\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this July 2018 file photo, the PatRick Initial Attack firefighters out of Redmond, Oregon set up their tents upon arrival to work the Lake Christine Fire near Basalt.Anna Stonehouse\/Aspen Times file DURANGO, Colo. (AP) \u2014 As if Southwest Colorado\u2019s extreme drought wasn\u2019t enough to raise concerns about a potentially destructive wildfire season, the added [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1320095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-03 21:54:43","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1320095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1320095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1320095\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1320095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1320095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1320095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}