California Fires

For those that might care, in follow up to the previous post, KFS Engine 61 is at the Piute Fire NW of Bakersfield, CA, and the Mid Plains Interagency Hand Crew, of which KFS is a sponsoring agency and provides some of the staff, including Rodney as a founding crew boss, is at the Basin Complex near Big Sur - the one that's in all the news reports, and their pics have been on some of them.

Staff out during July

As I type this, 2 of our Manhattan office fire staff are in California, assisting with the fires, and I'll be leaving Weds, and Rodney probably soon. KFS staff participate in responses to major fires around the country, partly to assist our state and federal partners in other areas, but also to gain valuable experience we can bring back to Kansas, and to both save and generate revenue to support our activities. Many are unaware, but KFS' budget is 80% or so federal grant money, with very minimal budget support from the State. Federal grants are changing, leaving us in a real pinch unless things change, but when we go out of state, our salaries are reimbursed by the agency responsible for the fire, and we get paid an hourly rate for our engine that can bring in over $15K in a 2 week trip, which directly supports the programs we provide to local fire departments - training, equipment, etc. It will be inconvenient for us and some of you having most or all of us gone at once, and we apologize in advance, but trust you will understand that by maintaining adequate support for our programs, it will benefit all in the long run.
-Eric

Trucks gone

The trucks that have been advertised here and on our EDP page are all claimed. There may be more to come later, but these have been issued or donated to departments that needed them, from far southeast through central Kansas. Those still in need of vehicles can contact Ken at the shops to discuss options through the Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) program, which currently has trucks issued to hundreds of KS fire departments.

Rangeland Fire Danger Changes

NWS is changing how and what they produce for the Rangeland Fire Danger Index, for several good reasons....go to http://www.crh.noaa.gov/top/?n=newrfd for an explanation of the changes.

fire engine available

The Equipment Donation Program received its first fire engine today. It is a mid sized 750 gpm pumper with a 300 gallon tank, good solid body, 1972 model. Unlike the Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) trucks, this will transfer title to the receiving department, and become their property. For a fact sheet and more information, contact eward@ksu.edu and I can e-mail you details, photos, etc.

Red Flag Warning

today (11/14/2007) much of Kansas is under a Red Flag Warning. Do you know what this means? Go to http://www.kansasforests.org/pubs/fire/redflagwarning.pdf to learn more about this important fire weather information, and to learn how to stay abreast on local fire weather information.

Media report

The Collegian, KSU's student newspaper, has a front page article on KFS fire programs and a wildfire class offered at KSU at http://media.www.kstatecollegian.com/media/storage/paper1022/news/2007/10/03/TodaysNews/Students.State.Employees.Learn.To.Fight.Wildfires-3008524.shtml

Fire Weather Forecasting Arrives

Fire Weather Forecasting Arrives in KS

Starting 10/3/2006, all NWS Forecasts offices in or serving Kansas will start producing full fire weather forecasts early each morning. You can find these two ways. http://fire.boi.noaa.gov/ is the national fire weather page, and you can click on the link for your NWS forecast office. You can also go directly to the page by typing in http://www.crh.noaa.gov/top/?n=fire for Topeka, and changing the “top” to “ict” for Wichita, gld for Goodland, gid for Hastings/Grand Island, ddc for Dodge City, or eax for Pleasant Hill/KC. On the left of these pages there is a link to Fire Weather. Each has a little different format, but will include a daily planning forecast and breakdowns for counties. There will also be Red Flag Warnings issued when fuel conditions, wind, and humidity make a great potential for extreme/dangerous fire conditions, and Fire Weather Watches when it’s not yet a Red Flag, but getting there. Start watching these forecasts now, so when fire season comes you’ll be comfortable with them, and watch the KSFFA Firewire for an article with more detailed information. Hint: on the top of the fire weather planning forecast page you can “glossary on” and it will help define some terms that may not be familiar.