Elk Creek Fire demonstrating high level of competence

You got a whole new screename just to bitch at me didn't you?

Go on now and benefit the community!
Bake a pie or somthing.
Go on....

First, I would like to thank ALL of the firefighters, from ALL of the jurisdictions which have been or will be involved in this incident. for their efforts. They are All appreciated.

While I think that it was both premature and arrogant of Elk Creek Fire Department (ECFD) to pat themselves on the back, by doing so I believe they have opened themselves and the other jurisdictions involved to valid criticism. I also think that it is important that valid criticism is provided, to help all involved to continue to improve.

As has been pointed out Here , the initial administration of this incident left much to be desired. While this is not the time to be pointing fingers at anyone, these issues need to be considered and resolved at the After Action Review (AAR).

I think it is good to have issues posted while they are still fresh in memory so that they can be addressed during the AAR.

Yep.

ElkCreekFireDepartment wrote: You would be correct to say the Lower North Fork Fire was a surprise to everyone. However, if you constantly study the probability of an event, and train to respond to it, even if you don’t know where or when it may happen, you cannot be truly surprised by it.

Elk Creek Fire Department, because of their constant training and vigilance has risen to the occasion, and is now demonstrating an extremely high level of competence and expertise. Elk Creek Officers and Firefighters have been working in cooperation with other departments and agencies to bring this situation under control from the start.

In a disaster it is difficult to find anything to be grateful for, but in this instance; I believe the residents of the Elk Creek Fire Protection District can take pride in the way their Fire Department is conducting its self.

Michael Davis, Elk Creek Firefighter - Public Information Officer

Careful you don't tear your rotator cuff patting yourself on the back like that.....


And lets wait until it's all over before we judge the departments performance

Maybe I have missed it - does anyone know who the IC on the Lower North Fork Fire, JEX-176, has been since Monday afternoon?

I know it is now supposed to be USFS Type 1 Great Basin Team #2, Rich Harvey.

Found part of what I was looking for here - http://www.jeffcosheriff1.blogspot.com/

Elk Creek Fire. Was anything in my post that Jf1acai referenced untrue?

I am happy to wait for a more appropriate time to discuss this....but, I do believe that there needs to be an open and honest discussion at some point.

As I have said before....the guys out there (boots on the ground) are heroes.
God Bless them.

BearMtn...that feed is archived right? (And thank you for providing an invaluable community service to all of us)

edited to add......2, possibly 3 people lost their lives in this fire.
27 families are homeless.
904+ families are displaced indefinately.
4100 acres of pristine land are burned.
The CO Forest Service may or may not pay out 600k to families that lost everything.
They are sorry.

I feel better now. Do you?

The scanner server has the option of archiving everything- I was not recording tuesday night- but I think I will start doing it from here on out.

The county has it archived in their records.

Was that you on TV yesterday? I listen to the scanners on my phone with an app I paid for. Do you get a cut of that? Thanks for the service. I love being able to tune in anywhere in the country when somethings going on.

JEFFERSON COUNTY - The Elk Creek Fire Chief tells 9Wants to Know he couldn't communicate with state fire crews for an hour during the Lower North Fork Fire due to radio problems.

"It was very frustrating it took us a while to really get all the information we needed," Chief Bill McLaughlin said Friday afternoon.

From 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., McLaughlin says the only way to get messages to the incident commander with the Forest Service was to drive to his location and talk to him face to face.

http://www.9news.com/news/local/article ... -early-on-