United States Department of Agriculture

Forest Service

Washington Office

1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20250

File Code: 5100/6220 (7811811) Date: September 4, 2013 The Honorable Mark Udall United States Senate 730 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Udall: Thank you for your letter of July 22, 2013, to Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell and General Charles Jacoby of the U.S. Northern Command, extending your gratitude for the work done by interagency firefighters and the U.S. Northern Command to manage destructive wildfires in Colorado. Chief Tidwell has asked me to respond. I apologize for the delayed response. Many discussions were held prior to, during, and after the Black Forest incident on how to improve the interactions between the wildland fire community and the Department of Defense (DOD). With regard to the development of a formal interagency wildfire response plan, formal plans and agreements are now in place at the National, Regional, and local levels. As with all plans or agreements that outline collective business processes, they need to be evaluated and updated continually based on lessons learned. While we saw improvements in the response at the local level this year from the lessons learned last year, a complete after action review will be necessary to glean the lessons learned from this year to improve our response for future incidents. You requested information regarding the decision-making and approval processes for mobilizing military equipment and personnel to fight wildfire. As outlined in the National Response Framework, all incidents start and end locally. In the wildland fire community, a bottom-up approach is used to determine what type of assets and what quantity of each type are needed. This determination is made by on-scene incident commanders and their staffs. The decision to use military assets starts with local plans and agreements, which may include mutual aid agreements. As an incident escalates and additional assets are brought in from outside the immediate area through local, Statewide, or regional agreements, the need for military assets may be lessened or the military assets may be released to return to their normal duties. If it is determined that military assets are still needed, then other parts of the local, regional, or National agreements are put into play. Depending on which jurisdiction has the responsibility (including fiscal) to manage the incident, the approval process may have a different set of steps. Some decisions can be made locally, while others need to be made at the State, Regional, or National level. You also asked how current laws, regulations, and interagency processes affect mobilization of military and Federal assets. The Forest Service and its interagency partners are able to work effectively and efficiently within the parameters set forth by current laws, regulations, and processes. With regard to cooperative agreements between the Forest Service and DOD, we are not now aware of any changes that need to be made at the National level. At the Regional level, adjustments may be needed over time based on lessons learned.

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The Honorable Mark Udall

You also requested information on procedural changes that have occurred to improve operations. Several meetings, after action reviews, training sessions, and communications at all levels took place after the Waldo Canyon incident. The culmination of these efforts was the tabletop exercise held in April 2013. Following the tabletop exercise, further discussions have taken place based on observations and lessons learned from the exercise. Each time we have the opportunity to use any part of the response plan, regardless of the level where the plan is activated, we continue the process of learning and improving how we do business. A key factor in the Black Forest incident was the ability of local civil authorities to access DOD assets through either their local mutual aid agreements or by having a base commander exercise authority to mobilize assets to assist. The 72 hour exception was not a factor in the initial phases of the incident. Having DOD assets respond quickly and get into the fire fight early allowed local fire managers the time to order replacement assets, so that the DOD assets could be relieved to return to their base for normal duty. The 72 hour timeframe is a benchmark to allow base commanders, local civil authorities, fire managers, and DOD to develop plans for taking over the vital role the DOD assets are filling or for negotiating terms for the assets to stay longer. Again, thank you for your letter. Please be assured that we will continue to work with our DOD partners, as well as our State and local partners, to apply the lessons we have learned to improve preparation, response, and recovery from wildfire. Sincerely, /s/ T.C. Harbour TOM HARBOUR Director, Fire and Aviation Management cc: Stephen A Gage, Robert A Baird

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