Report scorches crew's 'complacent' response to Mill Flat Fire

A crew monitoring a wildfire in Washington County last summer waited too long to summon help, according to a review of the Mill Flat Fire made public recently by the U.S. Forest Service. But that was just one problem in how the fire was handled. The wildfire, sparked by lightning in a wilderness area in July 2009, crested a ridge and raced down two canyons into the residential community of New Harmony on Aug. 29. That night the fire destroyed three houses, heavily damaged three others and burned seven other outbuildings and corrals, leaving residents frustrated and angry the fire was not suppressed earlier. Former town clerk Valene Scobel did not lose property, but was evacuated along with 150 residents that night. "They let it burn way too long and it got out of hand," said Scobel. "They mishandled it big time." But after letting the fire burn for weeks to clear out old growth, the fire crew had become "complacent." A more aggressive containment approach should have been launched much sooner, the report said. "Personnel new to the incident viewed the same situation with a much greater sense of urgency and recommended additional resources and more aggressive approach," the document says. "Fire managers thought they had more time before the fire reached New Harmony." The fire stated in wilderness area on July 25, and was allowed to burn because it met criteria in the Forest Service's land management plan for the area. The agency hoped the fire would eventually help re-establish aspen forests. A model projecting how much the fire could potentially spread in four weeks was completed in the early stages but was not updated after the fire grew significantly in August. "Other fire behavior prediction tools may have shown a greater potential for the fire reaching New Harmony, but were not used," says the review, adding that a fire behavior analyst was not assigned to the fire. Residents also expressed frustration. Some said they "were made to feel silly" by fire officials for being concerned and felt they were fed "propaganda" about the benefits of the fire...more