As fires rage across the country, federal wildfire officials recently raised the national Preparedness Level to 4. If things get more intense, that could mean calling on the military and other countries for help.
The National Preparedness Level – or PL – system is a 1 to 5 scale that indicates how busy a season is. When determining the PL, officials consider fuel and weather conditions, current fire activity and the availability of resources throughout the country to respond.
“When we reach Preparedness Level 3, we usually have several geographic areas that are competing for resources,” Sean Peterson, the manager of the National Interagency Coordination Center in Boise, explained. “And we're usually able to meet most of those resource needs nationally.”
“We're at PL4 right now because our national resources are heavily committed, including our hotshot crews, our air tankers, our helicopters, and those types of resources,” he continued. “And our resources are starting to get stretched thin.”
He said the country reached PL4 this year a little quicker than is typical, but a more active season has been in the forecast for months, which allowed officials to prepare, according to Peterson.
At PL5, which was reached on July 18 last year, things get a bit more intense. That’s when active military can be brought in to assist, along with firefighters from Canada and other international partners. Peterson says nearly 200 soldiers are training at the U.S. Army’s Fort Carson in Colorado in case they are needed. Forecasters expect this season to be heavy through September.
“I am highly confident that – together on an interagency basis – we are well prepared for resources to respond to this wildland fire season across multiple geographic areas,” Peterson said.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.