PLANNING FOR SUPPRESSION REPAIR How to estimate the amount of Suppression Repair work and design your strategy to complete it.

Planning Suppression Repair - Unit Outline n Get Briefing u IC and Unit contact n Needs Assessment n Collect field information n Coordinate with other Players n Use of Specialists n The FLSR Plan n Organizational Structure

Arriving at the Incident… Get Briefing n Briefing Sources u Incident Commander u Plans Section Chief u Line officer (Unit Chief) u Unit Foresters

Who is Responsible (for suppression repair) ? n IC n Plans Section Chief n Operations Section Chief n Situation Unit Leader n Fire Line Suppression Repair (FLSR) Group Supervisor / FLSR Tech Spec (you) n Remember! You work for PLANS!

Needs Assessment Phase n size and location of incident n sensitive resources (DG-soils, archaeology, domestic water, anadromous fish) n political issues (ESA) n jurisdiction (state, federal, parks, Tahoe Basin) Get the “message” out early to communicate basics: Report information back to FSR; trash; road care; waterbars and berms.

Size and Location

photo of dozer line

Political Issues (Listed Species, Anadromous Fisheries Watershed) n Northern Goshawk

Jurisdiction

Other considerations n past history of large fires n land ownership

Collect field information n Observations from the field n Prepare a fix-it list u Organize by Division  Estimate time  Resource needs u Note any “special needs” or priorities  Specialist  Political  Timing

Sources of information n Field Observers / Situation Unit n Line Personnel u Division Supervisors u Strike team leaders u Dozer operators u Safety Officers n Landowners n Local Unit personnel n Damage Assessment Staff / Comp Claims n BAER Team

Coordination with Other Players n Ongoing incident operations take priority n Suppression repair operations must not interfere  Start with secondary fire lines  Work when mop-up is completed

Your Suppression Repair Plan n Should incorporate the concerns of your stakeholders u Incident Commander u Line Officer u Public Information Officer (PIO) u County Leaders u Landowners u Interest Groups

Use of Specialists n May be part of your FLSR Team n May be available for Plan review n May develop portions of FLSR plan n May be on-call

Sources of Specialists n Local foresters / Unit Forester n Cal Fire archaeologist, biologist n Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) u soil scientist u range conservationist n Fish and Game n University / Farm Advisor n County Public Works n BAER Team

Cal Fire / DFG n Joint Policy on Pre, During, and Post Fire Activities and Wildlife Habitat n adopted by Board of Forestry May 4, 1994

Cal Fire /DFG Joint Policy n Established 1994 n DFG review of impacts to wildlife from suppression and fire n DFG personnel assigned as technical specialists n DFG fire training n Ordering DFG personnel

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) n Does CEQA apply? n Emergencies are exempt n When does an incident become a “project”?

What is a Project ? n The whole of an action n which has a potential to result in a physical change in the environment n undertaken by any public agency

Exempt from CEQA n emergency projects, repair and maintenance, minor alterations, actions taken to protect the environment. n Exceptions to Exemptions u sensitive environments, significant effect (listed species, erosive DG soils, experts disagree)

The Suppression Repair Plan n Each Plan will contain the following u 1. General Repair Policy u 2. Range of Activities u 3. Standards of Practice u 4. Staffing and Responsibilities (organizational structure) u 5. Cooperators / Contributors u 6. Signatures: IC, PSC, Unit Chief, preparer Don’t let this delay getting a “basic” plan in the IAP See ftp://frap.cdf.ca.gov/pub/incoming/fire_repair/

Organizational Structure for Suppression Repair (options) n Repair Group can have incident- wide responsibility u Can break Repair Grp. Into Divisions, Task Force, etc u Have a “Repair Ops” n Division Sup can have division responsibility n Task Force Leader can have project responsibility

Assignments for Suppression Repair in the IAP n Documentation on a ICS-204 u Familiar Format for line personnel u Justification for Finance (use of 00900) u Documentation for FEMA u Supports decisions not to provide repairs u Documentation of accidents

sample ICS-204 “Suppression Repair” a distinct group

sample ICS-204 Repair operations described

sample ICS-204 showing task force assignment

Meeting the Need for Suppression Repair n Complexity of the FLSR Plan reflects the scope of the incident n Level of coordination with other stakeholders reflects the resources at risk and political environment n Organizational structure represents the complexity of the incident

Summary n Get Briefing n Never too early to get FSR message out n Needs Assessment n Collect field information n Coordinate with other Players n Use of Specialists n The FLSR Plan n Organizational Structure