Even in our technologically advanced age, most reports of fires are called in by observant folks, often using cellphones. The ubiquity of these devices means an increased ability to detect wildfire more quickly.
But a fair portion of California still has poor or no cellular coverage. Utilities that shut down power as a wildfire-prevention measure in fire-danger zones also render cellphones in many areas unusable as cell towers lose power.
Yet a key firefighting tool that existed in the pre-cellphone era is missing: watchers who were paid to scan the horizon for fires.
At one point, there were more than 9,000 lookout towers in the United States, placed atop hills and mountains where individuals--also referred to as lookouts--worked alone each summer to watch for and report fires. They were adept at recognizing a tiny puff of color against the backdrop of trees, hills or brush for what it can be: the start of what may be the next big fire. An estimated 500 are still staffed across the nation.
California once had about 600 such towers under federal, state and local control, scattered around forest and wildland ridges and high points, placed specifically for the broad field of view each site afforded.
In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a growing belief that air pollution had decreased visibility at some sites, and the creep of suburbia and population into the hills and valleys made these watchers seem less necessary. Then there were the cost savings, however modest.
Enter the volunteers, including me. Each summer day we staff 11 towers in the Angeles, Cleveland and San Bernardino national forests.
We spend thousands of hours each fire season watching over the wildland--and the wildland-urban interface in which many of us live. We constantly scan the landscape with binoculars, watchful humans in constant touch with the dispatcher who can immediately send in the firefighting cavalry.
As I scan for "smokes" I often gaze at the peaks that used to have staffed towers, and calculate how much more land we watchers could help protect.
U.S. Forest Service seasonal lookouts make about $16,000 per summer. By comparison, the valuable Boeing 747 Air Tanker often seen dropping water and fire-retardant substances on devastating fires costs $16,500 an hour to operate.
Many states have ended their lookout programs, but Pennsylvania decided to refurbish its lookout towers and invest in new ones. The state recently built 16 new towers for $6 million, each to be staffed during periods of high danger.
Other detection technologies such as satellite and automated camera systems that might sense a smoke plume could be vital in detecting these seemingly endless fires. But the technology is not infallible.
Lookouts and their towers should not be regarded as a sentimental anachronism. They are a critical tool awaiting renewed investment, and might help reduce the fire-suppression costs. Automation may get to a point where it can more easily detect small fires, but it is not there yet. We still need to rely on old-fashioned human lookouts who are trained to "catch them small."
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Michael Guerin had a 38-year career in public safety and emergency management.
Editorial on 11/11/2019