PINOS ALTOS VOLUNTEER FIRE RESCUE

VOLUME V FOURTH QUARTER OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 2012

VOLUNTEER NEWS

Published by the Friends of the Fire and Rescue Volunteers,

PO Box 4012 Silver City, NM 88062 Pinos Altos Volunteer Fire Rescue Officers Lucy Whitmarsh -Chief Ernie Booth - Battalion Chief Frank Ferrara -Battalion Chief Marc Levesque -Battalion Chief Harvey Bates -1st Lieutenant Ryan Coleman –1st Lieutenant Bruce Fahrlender -1st Lieutenant Mike Moorman - 1st Lieutenant Susan Austin - 2nd Lieutenant David Montz - 2nd Lieutenant Steve White - 2nd Lieutenant Tami Bates -Secretary Ellen Cline -Treasurer Newsletter Editor, Lucy Whitmarsh Contributor, Ellen Brown GNF

ALERT! There has been a report of an attempted telephone solicitation for donations for Pinos Altos Volunteer Fire Rescue by phone. The department does not make solicitations calls for donations.

Please notify the District Attorney if you are contacted by phone by anyone solic-iting donations for Pinos Altos Volun-teer Fire Rescue.

Thanks to all for a successful 2012 October Fiesta! The Annual October Fiesta on October 6 on Main Street in Pinos Altos was well attended and featured a variety of food and entertainment. Pinos Altos Volunteer Fire Rescue is very thankful to all of the volunteers who helped make the event a success.

After October Fiesta the winning tickets for the raffle items were drawn and the gifts distributed. The winners are: Karen Muench-$100 from First New Mex-ico Bank, Nadine Mattew-$50 from Western Bank, Susan Porter-$25 Gift Cer-tificate for Tre Rosat Café, Barbara Salars-$50 Gift Certificate for the Buckhorn Saloon, Mark Gwinn-$100 Gift Certificate Manzanita Ridge, Lee Wilson-$25 Gift Certificate Wrangler’s Bar and Grill, Nikki O’Connell-$25 Gift Certifi-cate, Lenore Purington-One night stay at the Palace Hotel, Charlie LeBlanc-One night stay at the Bear Creek Cabins, Gail Willow-Two Months of Dance Lessons at the Conservatory of Dance, Max Adams-Brunch for Two At the Bear Mountain Lodge, Gina Gregg-Full Service at In-n-Out Lube, Mary Soule-$25 Gift Certificate from the Royal Scepter, Lynda Bosworth-$50 Gift Certificate from Isaac’s Bar and Grille, Don Kejr-Two Meals at the Country Kitchen, Jim Redford-Bialetti Espresso Maker donated by Curious Cumquat, Sue Schiowitz-Hair Cut at Curl Up and Dye, Rich Mattews-$50 from R&L Service Station, David Rinsch-$25 Gift Certificate at the Gold Rush Café, Doug Dexter-Dinner for Two at 1zero6 and Randy McCowan-AMBank 15th Anniversary Gift Bag.

October Fiesta Raffle Drawing

Carol Lutz, Lucy Whitmarsh and Gina Gregg

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National Fire Prevention Week, Observed October 7th-13th, 2012 On Sunday, October 7th, firefighters across the country began commemorating National Fire Prevention Week. The National Fire Prevention Week was established in 1922 on the 40th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of October 8, 1871, which killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures, and burned more that 2,000 acres. The cause of the Great Chicago Fire is still unknown.

Another well-known fire during that time was the Peshtigo Fire, the most devastating forest fire in American history. Also igniting on October 8th, the Peshtigo Fire burned 16 towns, killing 1,152 people and scorching 1.2 million acres. The Peshtigo Fire is thought to be the result of many small fires burning in northeastern Wisconsin and throughout the mid-west. That summer in Wisconsin had been extremely dry, making the cedar swamps and peat bogs dry up and caus-ing extensive needle loss on the evergreens. That year hardwood trees shed their leaves prematurely creating a thick car-pet of tinder-dry fuel on the forest floor. Timber production was the leading industry and stacked log decks surrounded most villages. Fires were commonplace, often caused by large bonfires from sawmill waste and land clearing efforts as well as campfires left smoldering. On the day of the fire, a cold front moved in from the west, bringing strong winds that fanned small area fires into one massive conflagration. Witnesses reported winds strong enough to throw rail cars and small buildings into the air. The firestorm, estimated at a mile high and five miles wide, traveled 90 to 100 miles per hour and was hot enough to turn sand into glass. Survivors of the fire recall fire “whipping through the area like a tor-nado.”

The National Fire Prevention Week founders, the International Fire Marshals Association, decided that the week should not be marked with festivities, but should be a time for members of all fire services to remind the public of the importance of fire prevention practices.

The Gila National Forest encourages safe fire practices while in or near all wildland areas. Campfires are synonymous with autumn camping. If you enjoy an evening campfire, have a shovel and water available to extinguish it before you go to bed. Never build a fire near tall grass and low over-hanging branches. A cold-out fire is one in which you can put your hand. When smoking outside, clear an area and grind out your cigarette in the dirt and pocket the butt. If your home is in the urban interface, surrounded by vegetation, take time to learn the principles of reducing your risk to wild-fire. Clear dead vegetation out from around your home and keep tall grass mowed. Avoid storing firewood on decks, porches, or areas close to your house as wood piles can ignite quickly from falling embers.

Please visit www.FireWise.org and www.wildlandfireRSG.org and www.nfpa.org for tips on making your home and property more defendable against wildfire. For additional information, please contact Ellen Brown, Fire Prevention, at 575-388-8262 or email ellenbrown@fs.fed.us

Pinos Altos Volunteer Fire Rescue Department

Members Training for

Large Animal Emergency Rescue

Mike Moorman and Marc Levesque practicing with a “rescue noodle” used to guide the leg of a horse during a simulated res-cue. Some of the other skills that were learned were applying an emergency halter, towel blindfold and lead and quick re-lease. Participants learned how to capture, halter and tie a horse.

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At left, Instructor Vicki Schmidt demonstrates how items carried on fire trucks can be used in large animal emergency rescue.

On Saturday, September 15 and Sunday, Septem-ber 16 eight members of the Pinos Altos Volunteer Fire Rescue learned about Large Animal Emer-gency Rescue. Visiting Maine State Fire Instructor Vicki Schmidt provided hands on and classroom instruction for the department members and com-munity partners, the Gila Chapter of the Back Country Horsemen. Schmidt’s area of expertise is with horses, and she is very passionate about horses since she is also a horse owner. Many of the same principles that apply to emergency rescue of horses also apply to other large domestic animals.

Horse owners can help by training their horses to be “Rescue Ready.” Horses should be trained to trust strangers, be desensitized to flashing lights, accept a blindfold, accept a halter, and being lead

from the left or the right. Owner identification and contact information should also be attached to the horse and provided in the trailer when horses are being transported.

The primary goal of the Large Animal Emergency Rescue training is to develop a fundamental understanding of large ani-mal behavior. In addition, participants learned how accidents and fires impact animal behavior, what the basic medical needs are, and the handling of large animals in rescue situations. Likely incidents that the fire department would be re-sponding to that might require Large Animal Emergency Rescue are motor vehicle accidents where livestock is being trans-ported and fires in areas where large domestic animals are housed or pastured. The expected outcome of a large animal rescue is that the animals would be rescued without further injury and without any injury to the rescuer.

When a 9-1-1 call is made and the person reporting the incident has observed that there are large animals involved, the caller must communicate the information to Central Dispatch. The advisory to emergency responders should be to not use emergency lights and sirens when approaching the scene, as the noise and lights could cause additional stress to the large animals involved.

Being able to read an animal is important for the emergency responder. A large animal’s usual reaction to an unfamiliar situation is “flight or fight” Horses will follow a leader but without a leader there can be confusion and panic so, if the leader is lost or injured, the emergency rescuer can become the leader by offering grain or hay.

Horses’ senses are different than human senses, and it is important to know what the differences are when approaching a horse. Always remain calm because horses can sense agitation and will become agitated. Horses also dislike the color yel-low, so clothing that is yellow should be covered or removed if practical. When approaching a horse, talk to the horse in a calm voice.

Animals do not think or reason, they react. Horses are very fearful of the smell of smoke but will run into a burning barn if they are more comfortable being in the barn than being outside. If horses are trained to be comfortable in outside areas, they will be safer if there is a barn fire.

The Fire This Time

The Fire This Time, a panel discussion, was presented as part of the Gila River Festival on Friday, September 14 at the Silco Theater. The panel included Gila National Forest Supervisor Kelly Russell, The Nature Conservancy’s Martha Cooper, Jim Brooks with New Mexico Game and Fish and Gila National Forest biologist Jerry Monzingo. The discussion was moderated by Philip Connors, author of “Fire Season”. The focus of the discussion covered two major topics. What were the effects of the Whitewater-Baldy Fire and should we expect more mega-fires in the future?

Cooper asked the audience, how do we value our watershed and rivers? She said, “We need to think carefully about management.” The Gila National Forest is recognized as having a long history of good forestry management prac-tices. The scale of the Whitewater-Baldy fire was larger than what we are historically used to. The fire did burn in the tree canopy in areas of the fire. There were also areas where previous recent fires prevented the Whitewater- Baldy fire from being as severe as it was in other areas that had not burned as recently. Cooper said, “Research shows that man-aged fires are the most effective way to reduce fuel load in the wilderness.” Managed fires create a healthy environment.

Brooks reported that fish recovery began the first week in June. Four different species of native trout were af-fected by the Whitewater-Baldy Fire watershed area. In streams that have accumulated run off from the burn scar areas the native fish were removed and relocated to similar habitats in other locations or taken to fish hatcheries where the fish can be bread for future restocking. The area affected by the Whitewater-Baldy Fire has reduced the fish habitat in the Gila National Forest by one third. In the fish rescue program helicopters are used to evacuate the fish. When the rains start and wash the ash and debris into the waterways not only are the fish smothered but the insects that the fish feed on are also wiped out. We don’t know how long it will take for the waterways to recover so that the native fish can be brought back to the affected streams. For the short term the best fishing is on West Fork of the Gila. Game and Fish has backed off on stocking upper portions of the river until the habitat improves.

When asked if the Whitewater-Baldy Fire was a good fire or a bad fire, Russell responded that it was both. Parts of the wilderness were severely burned and other parts were not. The human aspect also has to be considered. There was an affect on tourism and the use of the forest by visitors and locals. The Catwalks remain closed because there continues to be a treat of flooding. Glenwood has been affected the most, but as yet has not experienced severe flooding. There has been a change to the Whitewater-Baldy burn area, which is hard for people to accept, but the forest will come back. Lightning caused fires can’t be prevented. For the Whitewater-Baldy Fire because of the remote loca-tion and the drought conditions it was managed and extinguished as expediently as possible. Because it was early in the fire season resources were available and the air support that was needed due to the remote location of the fire was sup-plied.

Monzingo believes that the Whitewater-Baldy Fire helped the functionality of the wilderness. The management of the fire was in keeping with policies that have been in place since the 1970’s. He believes that the fire does benefit the vegetation in the long run. The present standard is that fires are burning hotter. The hotter fires are a result of dry-ing trend that includes less snow fall and the continuing drought conditions. The recovery process is very complex. Re-source specialists evaluate the damage and make recommendations. We won’t see recovery in the Whitewater-Baldy burn area for a long time. Some areas have been seeded to prevent soil from washing into the waterways. The seed mix used included barley, though not native, it is fast growing and short lived since it does not reseed. The reseeding will stabilize the soil and allow native vegetation to develop. There is an opportunity to do research in the area on burn area restoration but the project may not be funded.