Cathy Perfect
Kern Valley Sun

Representatives of the U.S. Forest Service gave KRV Chamber of Commerce members a “debriefing” about the Bull fire at their Aug. 11 meeting.

U.S. Forest Service District Ranger Rick Larson, U.S. Forest Service Division Chief Mike Ryan, and U.S. Forest Service Public Information Officer Cody Norris reviewed some of the fire’s statistics: overall cost of fighting the fire is gauged at $11.2 million, including $2.3 million for planes, 16,442 acres burned, eight homes and six outbuildings destroyed, 2,452 fire personnel, 100 percent contained on Tuesday, Aug. 10.

U.S. Forest Service Division Chief Mike Ryan points to the Bull fire’s point of origin in the Bull Run Creek area during his presentation to the Kern River Valley Chamber of Commerce Aug. 11.

Larson described how an incident such as the Bull fire, which began on July 26, is initially managed by local fire departments or fire agencies, but if the fire becomes complex additional resources are called in to address the emergency, and higher levels of management training and capability are required.

“By Wednesday (July 28) we called in a Type I Incident Management Team,” Ryan said. “Type 1 teams are federally or state-certified. They are the most robust IMT with the most training and experience.

Larson explained the, whose-responsible-for-what aspects of managing a wildfire. As noted on the Incident Management Team chart on page A3, tasks and responsibilities are delegated within four separate sections.

“For example,” said Larson, “Operations is responsible for all resources required to fight the fire, while Logistics takes care of coordinating services such as food, medical and other ‘Fire Camp” necessities, Planning oversees land use and other related issues. And finally, Finance/Admin pays the bills.”

When asked about the investigation of the fire’s cause and how it progressing, Larson said, “We leave the investigation to others. We just have to see what they determine.”