North Star & Tunk Block

FiresColville Tribes General Membership Meeting

October 10, 2015

Tunk Block FireAugust 18, 2015

North Star FireAugust 13, 2015

Two Large Fires on the Colville Reservation

NORTHEAST WASHINGTON FIRES 8.29.2015

NINETEEN FIRES BURNING

1. Public Safety/Firefighter Safety2. Residences/Public Infrastructure3. Natural Resources

TUNK BLOCK FIREAcres 81,977 (165,947)12 Homes Burned

NORTH STAR FIREAcres170,934 (218,138)1 Abandon Cabin Burned

2015 Historical Fire Event

The perimeter of both fires equal 600 miles.

Omak Lake Owhi Lake

COLVILLE INDIAN RESERVATION BORDER

Fire Environment • Fire Landscape – Rough, Rocky, Logging Slash, Limited

Access• Red Flag Warnings – 12 Red Flag Warnings for winds (10-

25, Gusts up to 50)• Smoke Inversions (Grounded Air Resources) Complexities • Evacuations, Road Closures, Fire Training, Fire

Investigation, Initial Attack, Incident Coordination (NMAC, Area Command, Northwest Regional Office, National Interagency Fire Center, Fire Agencies, Overhead Team, 2 Overhead Teams), Incident Information, etc….

Current/Future• Burned Area Rehabilitation• Grass Seeding, Fence Repair, Tree Planting, Cultural

Plants, etc…..

Fire Sizes and Fire Resources

• 8/14/15 – Local Type 3 Team• Fire Size – 1200 acres• Firefighters - 50

• 8/17/15 – Southwest Type 2 Team• Fire Size – 25,00 acres• Firefighters – 118

• 8/29/15 – Northwest Type I Team• Fire Size – 200,593 acres• Firefighters – 943

• 9/10/15 – Calfornia Type 1 Team• Fire Size -210,115 acres• Firefighters – 1317

• 9/13/15 – California Type 1 Team• Fire Size – 218,138• Firefighters - 1434

Overwhelming appreciation for the firefighters