FIRESCOPE

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A wildland fire engine associated with FIRESCOPE mopping up a hotspot during the Railroad Fire in 2017 2017 09 08-21.15.36.044-CDT.jpg
A wildland fire engine associated with FIRESCOPE mopping up a hotspot during the Railroad Fire in 2017

FIRESCOPE (backronym: Firefighting Resources of Southern California Organized for Potential Emergencies) is a system for efficient interagency resource coordination system for fire and other emergencies in the southern California region of the United States. It was developed after a bout of massive wildfires in southern California in 1970 that burned for days and involved multiple jurisdictions. [1]

Contents

Major wildland fires are a common annual occurrence in Southern California with its warm climate which typically gives the area four to six months of almost total drought. In addition, the region is threatened with infrequent, but potentially disastrous, urban emergencies precipitated by flooding, earthquake, and fire. FIRESCOPE is directed towards improving the effectiveness and cooperation of fire services in response to a major incident. A major component of the program was the design and development of the Incident Command System, which has been adopted by FEMA for the management of all that agency's emergency activities. [2]

The design of the program, as well as its initial development and testing was begun in 1972 by a specially chartered research development and application (RD&A) program at the United States Forest Service Forest Fire Laboratory in Riverside, California. Funding for the five-year RD&A program was provided by a special appropriation from the United States Congress in response to concerns raised by disastrous southern California wildfires in 1970 which burned more than a half million acres, destroying 700 structures and taking 16 lives. [3]

See also

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This glossary of wildfire terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to wildfires and wildland firefighting. Except where noted, terms have largely been sourced from a 1998 Fireline Handbook transcribed for a Conflict 21 counter-terrorism studies website by the Air National Guard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection</span> Agency in California

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various areas under state responsibility totaling 31 million acres, as well as the administration of the state's private and public forests. In addition, the department provides varied emergency services in 36 of the state's 58 counties via contracts with local governments. The department's current director is Joe Tyler, who was appointed March 4, 2022, by Governor of California Gavin Newsom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotshot crew</span> Elite force of 20-22 wildland firefighters

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildfire suppression</span> Firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Interagency Fire Center</span> Federal government building

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In wildland fire suppression in the United States, S-130/S-190 refers to the basic wildland fire training course required of all firefighters before they can work on the firelines.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helitack</span> Helicopter used to transport firefighters to fire zones

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 California wildfires</span> Wildfire season

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Wildfire suppression in the United States has had a long and varied history. For most of the 20th century, any form of wildland fire, whether it was naturally caused or otherwise, was quickly suppressed for fear of uncontrollable and destructive conflagrations such as the Peshtigo Fire in 1871 and the Great Fire of 1910. In the 1960s, policies governing wildfire suppression changed due to ecological studies that recognized fire as a natural process necessary for new growth. Today, policies advocating complete fire suppression have been exchanged for those who encourage wildland fire use, or the allowing of fire to act as a tool, such as the case with controlled burns.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 California wildfires</span> Wildfire season

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InciWeb is an interagency all-risk incident web information management system provided by the United States Forest Service released in 2004. It was originally developed for wildland fire emergencies, but can be also used for other emergency incidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thirtymile Fire</span> 2001 fire in the Okanogan National Forest, Washington state

The Thirtymile Fire was first reported on July 9, 2001 in the Okanogan National Forest, approximately 30 miles (48 km) north of Winthrop, Washington, United States. The wildfire had been caused by an unattended campfire that spread rapidly in the hot and dry weather in the Pacific Northwest. Four firefighters were killed when the fire cut off their only escape route out of the narrow canyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildfire emergency management</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey Forest Fire Service</span> New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection agency

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildfires in the United States</span> Wildfires that occur in the United States


Wildfires can happen in many places in the United States, especially during droughts, but are most common in the Western United States and Florida. They may be triggered naturally, most commonly by lightning, or by human activity like unextinguished smoking materials, faulty electrical equipment, overheating automobiles, or arson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobcat Fire</span> 2020 wildfire in Southern California

The Bobcat Fire was a large wildfire in Los Angeles County and one of the major incidents of the 2020 California wildfire season. The fire ignited on September 6, 2020, and burned 115,997 acres (46,942 ha) before it was fully contained by November 27. The Bobcat Fire primarily burned in the central San Gabriel Mountains, in and around the Angeles National Forest, and is one of the largest fires on record in Los Angeles County to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 California wildfires</span> An overview of major wildfires in California during the year 2022

The 2022 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires throughout the U.S. state of California. By the end of the year, a total of 7,667 fires had been recorded, totaling approximately 363,939 acres across the state. Wildfires killed nine people in California in 2022, destroyed 772 structures, and damaged another 104. The 2022 season followed the 2020 and 2021 California wildfire seasons, which had the highest and second-highest (respectively) numbers of acres burned in the historical record, with a sharp drop in acreage burned.

References

  1. Fire Officer Principles and Practices: Second Edition, p. 287
  2. "FIRESCOPE: a new concept in multi-agency fire suppression coordination" Archived 2011-10-18 at the Wayback Machine . Richard Chase, USDA Forest Service General Technical Report PSW-040, 17 pp. 1980.
  3. California aflame! September 22-October 4, 1970. Clinton B. Phillips. State of Calif. Dept. of Conservation, Div. of For. Sacramento, Calif. 73 p. 1971.