Firefighter Fatality

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatality:

Name: Chris Seelye

Rank: Firefighter

Age: Pending

Gender: Male

Status: Wildland Contract

Years of Service: Pending

Date of Incident: 09/17/2012

Time of Incident: Pending

Date of Death: 09/17/2012

Fire Department: USDA Forest Service

Address: Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest Headquarters, 215 Melody Lane, Wenatchee, WA 98801

Fire Department Chief: Forest Supervisor Rebecca Heath

Incident Description: Firefighter Chris Seelye, under contract with the USDA Forest Service, suffered a medical emergency while battling the Wenatchee Complex Fire.  Firefighter Seelye was treated by incident medical personnel and rushed to a nearly hospital where he passed away later that evening.

Incident Location: Wenatchee Complex Fire north of Entiat, WA

Funeral Arrangements: Pending

Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Chris Seelye at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fireservice/fatalities/

To date, 59 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2012. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online @ http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fireservice/fatalities/statistics/ff_stats.shtm

Federal Partners Continue to Support Response to Western Fires

USDA, DOI, FEMA Provide Firefighters, Aircraft, and Federal Grants to Support Local Partners Combating Fires

WASHINGTON— Federal partners are working closely with first responders and firefighters from local, state, and tribal agencies to combat and monitor wildfires in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming as well as other states. Through the National Interagency Fire Center, which coordinates resources from the US Forest Service, Department of the Interior and other federal agencies, firefighters, incident management teams, airtankers, helicopters, fire engines and other resources are being provided to supplement state and local resources as teams continue to respond to fires across the West.

Today, 19 active large fires are burning in nine states, including one of the largest wildfire in New Mexico history and one of the largest wildfires in Colorado history. To help fight these damaging fires, federal agencies have made approximately 4,500 firefighters available to aid in efforts to suppress and contain the fires.

Yesterday, the Forest Service announced the agency has mobilized eight additional aircraft to its firefighting fleet to ensure that an adequate number of airtankers are available for wildland firefighting efforts. With these additional airtankers, the Forest Service has 16 large airtankers and one very large airtanker available immediately for wildfire suppression. The Forest Service has the capability to mobilize an additional 11 large airtankers, should circumstances require it.

Additionally, the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior fire agencies can mobilize hundreds of helicopters and dozens of smaller aircraft, called “single-engine airtankers.”

To ensure states have the financial support they need, FEMA has provided Fire Management Assistance Grants to states with active large fires. These grants help cover eligible costs, on a 75 percent cost share basis, and can reimburse state and local costs associated with personnel and equipment used to combat fires. On Saturday June 9th, FEMA authorized the use of federal funds, through the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program (FMAG), to help with eligible firefighting costs for the High Park Fire located in Larimer County, Colorado and the Little Bear Fire located in Lincoln County, New Mexico. On May 26, an FMAG was approved for the Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire located in New Mexico.

While extremely serious fires are burning in several states, to date the season has been below average, meaning that additional resources remain available should they be necessary.

“We continue to support our state, local, and tribal partners as they work to contain and suppress the wildfires burning in the West,” said Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. “Our fire managers are bringing extensive resources to bear to respond vigorously to those wildfires threatening lives, communities, and cultural and natural resources, and we stand ready to provide additional eligible resources as necessary.”

“We’re bringing the full range of our federal, tribal, state, local and non-governmental resources together to manage these wildland fires and reduce risk to communities,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “We remain vigilant and continue to do all we can to ensure the safety of all firefighters in this challenging wildlife season.”

“FEMA continues to closely monitor the fires in several southwestern states, and is providing financial support through our Fire Management Assistance Grant program to assist efforts, led by firefighters, public safety officers, and emergency personnel, to fight and mitigate the volatile wildfire conditions,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

On average the USDA Forest Service and the Department of the Interior bureaus respond to more than 20,000 wildfires per year. Federal firefighters, aircraft, and ground equipment are strategically assigned to parts of the country as the fire season shifts across the nation. Firefighting experts will continuously monitor conditions and move these assets as necessary to be best positioned and increase initial attack capabilities. In addition, federal agencies are conducting accelerated restoration activities nationwide that will result in healthier forests and will lessen fire risks in years to come.

Federal land managers are also helping communities prepare for wildfire. Federal partnerships with tribal, state, and local agencies strengthen preparedness programs, such as Firewise http://www.firewise.org/ and Ready Set Go! http://www.iafc.org/readySetGo that help families and communities prepare for and survive wildfire. You can also visit FEMA’s Ready.gov http://www.ready.gov, to learn more about steps you and your family can take now to be prepared for an emergency.

For more information, visit www.ready.gov.

Departments of Homeland Security, Interior, and Agriculture Collaborate on Operation Trident

Tucson, Ariz. – Federal law enforcement officers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Interior, and Department of Agriculture are teaming up to counter illegal cross-border activity on federal public lands in Arizona.

Operation Trident is a collaborative enforcement approach that leverages the capabilities and resources of these three federal agencies to counter the threats posed by transnational criminal organizations, protect public lands from environmental damage, and deter violations of cultural and environmental laws.

“Our partnerships with federal law enforcement partners are critical to our ability to secure our communities from smuggling organizations,” said Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent Randy Hill. “As a result of Operation Trident, we are reducing criminal activity along the Arizona/Mexico border while protecting public lands from environmental degradation.”

More than 80 percent of the Tucson Sector area of responsibility falls within public lands managed by DOI and USDA. On Feb. 9, the U.S. Border Patrol began conducting joint operations with representatives from the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service to counter criminal activity on these lands – particularly smuggling.

Operation Trident is just one of many ways in which DHS is working with its law enforcement partners to more effectively counter the threats posed by transnational criminal organizations in Arizona.

On Feb. 8, CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge for Arizona Matthew Allen announced the results to date from the Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats (ACTT), a collaborative enforcement effort put in place in September 2009 to leverage the capabilities and resources of more than 60 federal, state, local and tribal agencies in Arizona and from the Government of Mexico to combat individuals and criminal organizations that pose a threat to communities on both sides of the border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.