Category: Wildfire

August 16, 2023 Land Use, Wildfire Post a Comment

UH wildfire expert: Invasive grasses growing in the abandoned plantations fueled wildfires on Maui and Hawaii Island

Spectrum News
BY MICHELLE BRODER VAN DYKE

Invasive grasses growing in the abandoned plantations on Maui and Hawaii Island fueled the ongoing wildfires, according to a University of Hawaii at Manoa wildfire expert.

Clay Trauernicht, an Assistant Specialist at UH Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, said land management is necessary to prevent future wildfires in Hawaii.

Wildfires on Hawaii Island and Maui, fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Dore, which is passing south of the state, have burned through the land. On Maui, the historic town of Lahaina was destroyed, with 1,700 buildings burned. At least 55 people have been killed in the fires, but Gov. Josh Green has said the number of dead was likely to rise.

In Hawaii over the past three decades, many sugar plantations, pineapple farms and ranches shuttered. Flammable grasses grew densely in the untended land.

Hot, dry and windy conditions all lined up over the last week, making the invasive grasslands “incredibly prone to burning,” said Trauernicht. “Weather conditions really contributed to the explosive behavior that we saw.”

Dry air sucks the moisture out of the grasses, making them burn swiftly and spreading the wildfire faster.

Lahaina was especially vulnerable because the slopes above it were grasslands. These invasive grasses grow right up to the edge of the community.

There are “thousands of acres of uninterrupted grasslands” in Hawaii, said Trauernicht.

Along with problems created by the grasses, he noted the abandoned plantations rarely have properly maintained resources that firefighters can use to fight fires: roads and water.

Long before the fire started, Trauernicht said private landowners and government agencies needed to work together to reduce the amount of “fuels” for the fire. This includes turning abandoned plantation land back into agricultural land, planting forests with trees that will shade out the grass, and grazing with sheep, cattle or goats.

“If you had those kinds of practices being implemented across larger portions of the landscape … the footprints of these fires would be much, much smaller,” said Trauernicht. “Firefighters would have much better odds at containing them. It would be less risky for them.”

August 16, 2023 General Ag News and Notes, Pigs, Wildfire Post a Comment

Feral Hogs and the Deadly 2023 Hawaii Fire?

City Watch – Politics. Perspectives. Participation.
by PHYLLIS M DAUGHERTY

CLIMATE CHANGE NOT AN EXCUSE FOR INACTION

Climate change is a normal part of evolution but has become the most-recent politically correct term for inaction and to dismiss responsibility but is highly conducive to obtaining grants and/or a bigger budget for more studies.

Studies regarding nature must relate to reality and the assimilation of noted variances in improving life or protecting it, because—in reality–we have little control over the evolution of the universe.

“Climate change” also cannot excuse failure to have all emergency response systems at peak efficiency 24-hours a day on the islands to protect both residents and visitors.

The reported availability of only three fire units and 65 emergency responders during the current massive Maui tragedy is unforgivable.

CNN reported on August 13, “On Maui, the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, there are 80 outdoor sirens to alert residents to tsunamis and other natural disasters. They sat silent as people fled for their lives.”

“In fact, the state’s vaunted integrated outdoor siren warning system – the largest in the world, with about 400 alarms – was not activated during the fires,” according to Hawaii Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Adam Weintraub.

…

Thousands of feral pigs—which are not native to Hawaii–populate the islands, dig up the soil, allowing invasive highly combustible growth to kill native plants and create dry brush conditions that flourish and are ignored.

This is not a new issue, but one that has been easy to ignore because there is little interest in feral pigs/wild boars; however, the government’s lack of preparation and excusing its failure to respond and attributing the losses in property and lives to “climate change” must stop when there is evidence of gross human error and the need to manage an important problem.

CityWatch is LA’s opinion, news and information website and newsletter.

August 16, 2023 Wildfire Post a Comment

Wildfires Are Becoming Increasingly Devastating in Hawaii

By Emma Marris, Nature magazine on August 15, 2023

Wildfires are not new to Hawaii. Although outsiders tend to think of the Pacific archipelago as a place of lush tropical vegetation, each island has a drier leeward side that is sheltered from the wind — this is where tourism tends to be concentrated, because of the sunny weather. Lahaina, where the most lethal fire broke out on 8 August, means ‘cruel sun’ in Hawaiian; this part of Maui has always been hot and dry.

What’s more, Hawaiian fires are getting worse and more frequent. “We’ve been seeing a pretty steady increase, and in the last few decades, an exponential increase in the amount of area that burns in Hawaii every year,” says climatologist Abby Frazier at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

…

FIRE’S CAUSES
The three main ingredients of a wildfire are fuel, dryness and an ignition source. Hawaii’s key fuel is grass, which proliferated in former agricultural areas as the economy shifted from ranching and sugar and pineapple cultivation to tourism. When dry grasses burn, they can carry fire to forested areas, which tend to become grasslands after the fire, in a self-perpetuating cycle.

August 16, 2023 Climate Change, Wildfire Post a Comment

USAJOBS – Fire Management Specialist (Prescribed Fire and Fuels)

USAJOBS – Fire Management Specialist (Prescribed Fire and Fuels)

Duties

  • Individual will be a part of a research team investigating barriers to implementation of the wildfire crisis strategy.
  • Provides program management oversight for a high complexity fire/fuels management program, based on the IFPM complexity analysis rating factors.
  • Provides professional expertise in the development and implementation of multiple resource objectives. Evaluates individual fuels treatments, effectiveness of the overall program and makes recommendations for improvement.
  • Implements and administers prescribed fire activities, wildland fire use, and fuels management activities.
  • evelops fuels treatment alternatives adhering to applicable laws, regulations, policies, and guidelines.
  • Serves as a member of an interdisciplinary team planning, developing, and implementing land management plans, compliance documents, and agreements.
  • Performs fiscal analysis, formulates the annual fuels management budget, and tracks program expenditures.
  • Ensures welfare and safety in all aspects of project implementation and identifies training needs in fire and fuels management.
  • Participates in preparedness reviews, proficiency checks and drills, safety sessions, and after action reviews.
  • Coordinates multi-disciplinary field studies related to fuels management program issues to determine effectiveness of treatments.
  • Coordinates with the next higher organizational level, other agencies, cooperators, and stakeholders to develop interagency fuels strategies and represents the organization in multi-agency fuels management activities.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
  • Must be 18 years of age.
  • This is a Test Designated Position. You will be tested for illegal drugs prior to appointment and randomly thereafter. Appointment and continued employment is conditional on negative results.
  • Must pass the Work Capacity Test for certain Interagency Fire Program Management or Fire Program Management positions.
  • Minimum of 90 days of wildland firefighting experience is required.
  • Willing to live/work in remote locations (volatile/unpredictable).
  • Some Fire positions may have Conditions of Employment such as: a valid state driver’s license; a commercial driver’s license (CDL); pre-appointment and random drug testing; or a physical or medical examination.
  • There may be additional Conditions of Employment not listed here, however applicants will be notified of any specific requirements at the time a tentative job offer is made.

Qualifications
In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management’s General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Basic Requirement:

Degree: Biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources management, chemistry or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

-OR-

Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major course of study in biological sciences, agriculture or natural resources management, chemistry or at least 24 semester hours in biological sciences, natural resources, wildland fire management, forestry, or agriculture equivalent to a major field of study, plus appropriate experience or additional education that is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in the biological sciences, agriculture, or natural resources.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Specialized Experience Requirement:

GS-12: Applicants must display one year specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level. Examples of specialized experience are: Reviewing and evaluating fire management plans for ecological soundness and technical adequacy; conducting field inspections before and after prescribed or wildland fires to determine if resource objectives were achieved and/or to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken; and developing analyses on the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management.

Selective Placement Factors:

A minimum 90 days experience performing on-the-line (Primary/Rigorous) wildland fire suppression duties as a member of an organized fire suppression crew or comparable unit that utilized knowledge of wildland fire suppression, containment or control techniques and practices under various conditions. This experience must be documented with specific dates in the online application or resume.

FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENT COVERAGE: This is a secondary position covered under the special retirement provisions of 5 USC 8336(c) for the Civil Service Retirement System and of 5 USC 8412(d) for the Federal Employees Retirement System.

WORK CAPACITY TEST (WCT) for Wildland Firefighters: This position participates in wildland firefighting activities. Based on the type of work performed, TAKING and PASSING the WCT at the ARDUOUS, MODERATE, or LIGHT level is a condition of employment.

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Additional information
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary and term employees the opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years and the last temporary or term appointment must have been with the Forest Service. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Part-time and intermittent service will be credited only for time actually worked. Non-pay status such as leave without pay is credited for up to six months in a calendar year; anything beyond six months is not credited. Applicants are responsible for providing sufficient information/documentation to determine if the 24 month criteria is met.

The duty station for this position will be considered REMOTE and will be confirmed at time of selection. Salary range as shown is the locality pay Rest of U.S. (RUS). Pay rates vary by location. Please visit the Office of Personnel Management’s website for additional information on pay rates.

This is a Detail/Temporary Promotion not-to-exceed (NTE) 1 year but may be extended additional 2 years for a total of 3 years, or may end earlier due to lack of work or funds, or at the discretion of the Hiring Manager. The employee will be returned to a position that is comparable to his or her permanent position (i.e., same series, grade, and duty location) and your salary will be adjusted to the grade level and step that you would normally have been in had you remained in your position.
This position is eligible for telework.

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Forest Service daycare facilities and Government Housing are not available.