National Greening Fire Team Quarterly Bulletin - Spring 2019; Volume 2

Can you provide some background about NREL and the support they provide to the Greening Fire Team? (continued)

In 2016 and 2017, NREL staff, in conjunction with USFS staff, visited wildfire incidents to understand the complicated logistical operations at fire camps.  Also, NREL gathered additional data while attempting to identify operational efficiencies that could be implemented to reduce energy or water use and waste generation.

NREL has proposed findings of its fire camp visits in a report, entitled “Opportunities for Energy, Water, and Waste Reduction at U.S. Forest Service Fire Camps,” hopefully to be published this spring (see the “New Report” story below for more details). NREL will continue to work with the Greening Fire Team in the future, with near-term plans to support the development of a Fire Support Guide to provide steps necessary to adopt sustainable business practices in fire management support. 

To read the entire article click on the link under Related Content in the left-hand column.

Briefly describe your first experience visiting a fire camp for energy assessment.

The first fire I visited was in 2016, the Cold Springs Fire west of Boulder, Colorado. I was so impressed by the efficiency of operations, all of the players and pieces coming together so smoothly. It was amazing to witness the effectiveness achieved in such a large, inter-agency, multi-organizational operation and to see how many people are behind the scenes supporting the firefighters with logistics such as meal preparation and ensuring that there's a reliable power supply to the camp.

The logistics blew me away! My amazement relates not to just those associated with what I was there to evaluate – energy, water, waste associated with the fire camp operations – but also to actual wildfire fighting logistics that are coordinated and facilitated and managed in these operations. It was fascinating, and I am grateful to be involved in this project.

What is your opinion on why integration of sustainable business practices at fire camps is so essential?

The Forest Service has an ongoing effort to reduce its environmental footprint in every activity, including firefighting. In 2015, the federal cost of fighting fires topped $2.1 billion, with $1.7 billion funded by Forest Service and the rest from the Department of the Interior. Although the number of fires—68,151—wasn't a record, the amount spent to manage them was.

There certainly is an incentive to reducing costs associated with energy, water, and waste disposal for fire camp operations. Also, there’s an added benefit of resilience for some of these measures too. Perhaps grid-power isn’t available in the ideal location for a fire camp, but a portable PV system could provide sufficient power to enable the camp to function.

What are some of the challenges (barriers) to implementing sustainability practices at incidents?

The primary objective of the fire camp operations is to support the firefighter, and sustainable operations best management practices are often an afterthought. Identifying methods to incorporate sustainable practices into the everyday operations, in a way that is seamless and engrained in operational practices, will enable sustainability to become commonplace without adding burden or distraction to Incident Management Teams (IMTs).

Can you highlight a few sustainable efforts currently under way at fire camps that you observed?

There are many best practices already in place! Here are three examples:

• The Mobile Food Services Contract requires that national catering contractors provide bio-based/bio-preferred utensils, plates, and cups, and collect these items and food wastes in bio-based/bio-preferred liners. This is an effective first step in implementing composting in fire camp operations.

• Many incidents had comprehensive recycling options, including cardboard, plastics, glass, and even batteries. One incident contracted these services out to a vendor, resulting in a large increase in recycled materials and minimizing the burden to USFS staff associated with coordinating recycling efforts.

• The use of canteens, or cubies, is broadly encouraged and often adopted. Potable water taps are provided on all fires, and the use of cubies helps reduce the plastic waste generated from plastic bottle use.

Does NREL have any best management practices to recommend?

NREL is currently finalizing a report summarizing findings and suggested best practices based on our fire camp visits. That report categorizes suggestions into the following categories: coordination, energy reduction, water reduction, and waste management and reduction.

Some best practice suggestions included deploying a Sustainable Operations Coordinator on every incident, standardizing data collection of energy, water, and waste related metrics, utilizing small, portable renewable energy systems (such as PV-powered light towers), and recycling and using rechargeable battery use on every fire.

Suggestions in the NREL report will be vetted by USFS staff, combined with existing best practices, and bundled together in a Fire Support Guide.