Evans Road Fire: Response and Lessons Learned

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Evans Road FireResponse and Lessons Learned

• National Air Quality Conference
• March 5, 2009

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Outline

• Background
• Where and how
• Nature of the fire
• Size
• Two stages of burning
• Response
• People
• Monitoring
• Forecasting
• Lessons Learned

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Evans Road Fire Background

• First reported on June 1, several miles south of
  Pocosin Lakes NWR on private land.
• Fire resulted from a lightning strike.
• Broke containment on the 3rd, and reaching the
  NWR land 8,000 acres

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Evans Road Fire Background

• Area had been drained to lower the water level
  and make the ground suitable for growing crops
• This also allow the carbon-rich peat (partially
  decayed vegetation) soil to dry and become fuel
  for a fire.
• Peat was dried even more by prolonged drought
  across the state

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Evans Road Fire Size

• 40,704 acres burned, 60 of the acreage was
  refuge property and the remaining was State or
  private land

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Evans Road Fire Size

• The initial smoke plume from the fire was massive
• Helicopter view shows sheer size of fire (Fox
  News photo)
• Local RADAR actually picked up on the towering
  smoke plume and misinterpreted the fire as a
  Thunderstorm

Fox News June 5, 2008
www.witn.com/home/headlines/19456249.html
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Evans Road Fire Stages of Burning

• The fire was most active from the June 3rd breach
  through the first week of August
• The duration of the fire can be split between two
  fire types that had different implication to
  air quality

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Evans Road Fire Stages of Burning

• Initial stages of the fire involves active fires
  in the tree canopy
• flames seen early in the fire reached 200-feet
  high, and were a mile or more wide
• The first stage had the most impact on health, as
  it also had a large smoke plume that was easily
  advected across the area

USFWS-Vince Carver
NCDFR
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Pictures courtesy of NC DFR
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Evans Road Fire Stages of Burning

• The second stage of the fire was more of a
  smoldering phase
• The peat rich soil would burn for days producing
  low lying smoke, as in the picture to the left
• Actually destroyed soil, and exposed the roots of
  trees

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USFWS Fire Ecologist Sue Wilder is 5' tall. Note
pre-wildfire soil surface level above her head as
she stands in a burned area. Photo Credit USFWS
- Vince Carver
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NCDFR
The residual ground (peat) fire continued for
several months. Final action 12/2008
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Evans Road Response People

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  (National Weather Service)
• National Park Service
• U.S. Fire Administration
• Dare County Emergency Management
• Hyde County Emergency Management
• Hyde County Sheriff's Department
• Hyde County Volunteer Fire Department
• NC Division of Forest Resources
• NC Emergency Management
• NC Wildlife Resources Commissions
• Nimo-phoenix Team
• North Carolina Dept. of Transportation
• Tyrrell County Emergency Management
• Washington County Emergency Management

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Evans Road Response People
Tennessee
Mississippi
Eastern NC Volunteer Firefighters
Virginia
South Carolina
NC Men's Baptist Disaster Relief Team
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Special to the Daily Journal June 11, 2008
USFWS June 11, 2008
USFWS
USFWS
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Evans Road Response Monitoring

• Not a lot of monitors in Eastern North Carolina
• Only TEOM near the fire was Jamesville site
• Plume typically traveled east, and did not affect
  man sites (except on June 12)

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Evans Road Response Monitoring

• On June 12th and 13th the winds came out of the
  east, pushing the plume across the state and the
  bulk of our monitoring network
• This two day span highlighted the need to have
  more monitoring and forecasts for the area

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NCDFR
MODIS Aqua Satellite Image June 12, 2008
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NCDFR
GASP AOD Satellite Image June 12, 2008
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NCDFR
AIRNowTech PM2.5 Concentration Data Plot June
11-15, 2008
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NCDFR
AIRNowTech PM2.5 Concentration Navigator Plot
June 12, 2008
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Evans Road Response Monitoring - eBAMs

• 4 eBAMs arrived in the area courtesy of Forestry
  Service and US Fish Wildlife
• Stationed around the fire perimeter from 6/16
  8/3

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Manteo 6/16 7/27
Columbia 6/18 8/3
Fairfield 6/16 7/31
Belhaven 6/19 7/28
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Evans Road Response Monitoring - eBAMs

• Also deployed two additional eBAMs in the area
• Plymouth,NC
• Washington Regional Office with the MAML

Plymouth, NC
Washington, NC
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NCDFR
AIRNowTech PM2.5 Concentration Data Plot June
18-29, 2008
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NCDFR
AIRNowTech PM2.5 Concentration Navigator Plot
June 20, 2008
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Evans Road Response Monitoring

• Mobile Air Monitoring Laboratory (MAML)
• Run by NC DAQs Air Toxics group. Usually used
  for emergency response to spills and chemical
  fires (i.e. Apex Fire)
• Parked outside our Washington Regional Office for
  bulk of the fire taking CO, VOC, PM10, and PM25
  measurements

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Evans Road Response Monitoring

• IMPROVE monitor in Swanquarter
• Mainly used for post analysis work
• The cloud in the rear of the photo to the left
  is actually the Evans Road Fire Smoke Plume

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Evans Road Response Forecasting

• NC does not typically see large fire events that
  drastically affect air quality across the state
• Initially the need to forecast was questioned due
  precedence (most fires last lt 1 wk, and have
  minimal health impact outside the immediate
  vicinity of the fire), which was, in part,
  corroborated to lack of air quality data in the
  area

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Evans Road Response Forecasting

• Main issue was this area does not receive daily
  forecasts for ozone or particle pollution
• The area primarily impacted by the fire had no
  exposure to the AQI
• Additionally, there was no web site
  infrastructure to carry the forecast

NC Air Quality Forecast Areas
Fire impact area
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Evans Road Response Forecasting

• Initial forecast was a press release on June 4th
  simply stating "Residents should exercise
  particular caution if they live or work in areas
  that are directly within the smoke plume from the
  fire"
• By the 6th, we had better indications of the
  scope of the fire, and it was more of a health
  threat. Wording was strengthened in press
  releases.
• Forecasted the Code Red for most traditional NC
  forecast areas, as the plume was forecasted to
  drift westward for the 12th and 13th.

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Evans Road Response Forecasting

• 6/13 issued a Code Purple for the areas east
  of I-95 and north of U.S. Highway 70, via press
  release
• By 6/17 we had started developing forecast maps
  of the potentially affected areas (Image to right)

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Evans Road Response Forecasting

• Wanted something that was more flexible since sea
  breezes along the coast can fluctuate during the
  day and drastically shift the smoke plume
• Based on experience with past fires, and
  visibility and current AQ readings from Evans
  Road, a Rule of Thumb was developed and
  released 6/17 as well
• If you can smell smoke with no visibility
  impairment, air quality levels are in at least
  the Code Orange range.
• If you can smell smoke with minor visibility
  impairment, air quality levels are in at least
  the Code Red range.
• If you can smell smoke with significant
  visibility impairment, air quality levels are in
  at least the Code Purple range.

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Evans Road Response Forecasting

• As the fire progressed we developed HYSPLIT plume
  estimates
• Incorporated more tools, like GASP imagery, to
  the forecast process to refine forecast maps

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Evans Road Fire Lessons Learned People

• Communication was a big problem
• Initial communication on the scope and severity
  of the fire was lacking.
• Part of the issue was/is DAQ is not on the
  Emergency Responders list (only for Hurricanes).
  DAQ had no previous role in fire response.
• Improved SOP and contact lists are currently
  being developed.
• Once the scope of the fire was evident, everyone
  involved had a how can I help mentality

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Evans Road Fire Lessons Learned Monitoring

• Given the extreme usefulness of the eBAMS
  monitors during the fires, NC DAQ is exploring
  purchasing units solely for emergency response
  purposes.
• Also looking at improving real time monitoring
  website and data upload speed
• MAML and NC DAQ Toxics group were invaluable in
  monitoring set up and facilitation with Incident
  Command

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Evans Road Fire Lessons Learned Forecasting

• HYSPLIT modeling and the Rule of Thumb work
  well during the first stage of the fire
• As it became more of a smoldering fire, modeling
  became less applicable
• Have automated HYSPLIT modeling on all Large
  Incident fires reported by USFS
  (http//activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/)
• NC DAQ Air Quality Forecasting webpage needs to
  overhauled to have PM25 and Ozone forecast on the
  same site, and needs to be more flexible to
  handle emergency situations (in progress)
• Looking at refining the Rule of Thumb for
  future events (directly correlate visibly and AQ
  readings)

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Evans Road Fire Lessons Learned

• More than just people involved . . .
• . . . but the area started to recover quickly

Photos USFWS
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Questions?

• George Bridgers
• NC Division of Air Quality
• George.Bridgers_at_ncmail.net
• (919) 715 6287