One of the things that is unique about the A&M System is that several of our agencies have the awesome responsibility of being “first responders” to various disasters, whether they be environmental or manmade. I was reminded of that again earlier this month when I stood on the podium with James Hull, director of the Texas Forest Service (TFS), when he was honored during the Special Legislative Session in Austin.
(Back
row from left) Rep. Robby Cook, Eagle Lake; me; Rep. Rick Hardcastle,
Vernon; Rep. Jim McReynolds, Lufkin; Rep. Tommy Merritt, Longview (Front
row from left) Rep. Warren Chisum, Pampa; TFS Director James Hull;
Rep. Tom Craddick, Speaker of the House, Midland.
Jim was recognized on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives for his efforts and those of his staff at the TFS during the state’s recent fire siege.
Jim also briefed interested legislators on the wildfire situation at the invitation of Rep. Rick Hardcastle, chairman of the House Agriculture and Livestock Committee. Jim gave a presentation to the committee last month, and Rep. Hardcastle believed that his message was important enough to share with the entire membership.
As you may recall from the March issue of Systemwide, wildfires have had a great impact on Texas this year. By March, TFS had already responded to nearly 1,400 wildfires that burned 1.3 million acres—more than were burned in all of 2005 and by far the worst that Jim has seen in his 40-year career.
The Panhandle wildfire siege from March 12 to 16, when 906,000 acres burned and 11 lives were lost, was the largest and most deadly in the state’s history.
That’s a lot of responsibility for an agency with statewide wildfire protection and suppression duties and only 162 firefighters. Jim was quick to point out that it is his dedicated employees who deserve recognition, as well as a much-needed rest.
Jim’s message to the legislators was clear. The only way the state is going to be able to manage a sustained wildfire response over the next 15 to 20 years is to prevent fires from starting in the first place by mitigating the situations that cause fires.
The agency’s firefighting resources simply are not sufficient to adequately protect our huge state. For example, the western range region, which covers 2.7 million Texans in 93 million acres, has only 13 personnel.
Jim presented the Texas Wildfire Protection Plan which, if funded, would build a solid wildfire protection infrastructure for Texas leading to decreased fire occurrences, while increasing the state’s capacity to handle protection and suppression at a fraction of the cost of a national mobilization. The current fire bill (what the state owes the federal government for fire-fighting assistance) is $55.4 million (Dec. 1, 2005, to May 10, 2006).
By making a moderate investment in the state’s wildfire protection (from 4.6 cents to 17 cents per acre), he estimates we can reduce wildfire losses by at least 80 percent. During the past 12 months Texans have lost over $500 million to wildfires.
Local fire departments play a major role in wildfire suppression as they are the first responders. But, with only brush and tanker trucks and a limited number of available firefighters, local departments cannot be expected to carry the state’s wildfire suppression responsibilities for multiple large fires or for long periods of time.
Typically, TFS is the state’s fire “buster” for the really big fires and those that exceed local capabilities. TFS has the big dozers and trained dozer crews, as well as access to firefighting aircraft, one of the only suppression tools that can handle the intensity of fast-moving wildfires like those that occurred in the Panhandle in March.
Did you know that there are nearly 12 million acres of forestland in East Texas alone? That is equivalent to 12 million Kyle Fields. The Texas lumber industry produces all kinds of products, including flooring, paneling, shingles, posts, furniture, paper, fencing—even Christmas trees.
Trees benefit our cities, too—and not just because they’re pretty to look at and provide a perch for songbirds. They muffle noise, slow water runoff, reduce erosion and provide shade, which reduces energy costs. Not to mention they increase property values, reduce air pollution and provide habitat for wildlife.
It’s clear that Texas trees receive their share of TLC from our own Texas Forest Service—which, in 2003, received the Gold Smokey Bear award, the most prestigious national fire prevention award given in forestry. Now that’s a tree branch worth hanging your hat on.
I’m proud to say, at the A&M System, we see the value of the forest and the trees. Next time you see a nice tree, you don’t have to hug it, but you might want to appreciate it, as well as the work of the Texas Forest Service.
From
January 2005 to May 3, 2006, local fire departments responded to 17,522
fires that burned 5,039 acres with an average fire size of about 22 acres.
During the same period, Texas Forest Service responded to 3,485 fires for
1,433,291 acres, with an average fire size of 411 acres. TFS’ involvement
represents 17 percent of the fires and 79 percent of the acreage.
