OSHA Inspection: FOREST SERVICE, NEZ PERCE-CLEARWATER NATIONAL FOREST, NORTH FORK RANGER DISTRICT

Issued

2013-02-07 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-03-06 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1960.8(a):     The agency did not furnish employees employment and a place of employment free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm, in that employees were exposed to the hazards of entrapment, burns and other hazards associated with wildland firefighting:     a. Steep Corner fire: On or about August 10, 11, and 12, 2012, Seven of the Ten Standard Firefighting Orders from the Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations (2012) were violated as follows:    Fire Order #1. Keep informed on fire weather conditions and forecasts. A spot weather forecast was not requested or received for August 10 or August 11, 2012, nor were fire weather observations taken by any crew members.    Fire Order# 2. Know what your fire is doing at all times. On or about August 10, 11 and 12, 2012, Agency crews were not kept informed of the status of the fire including spot fires and active fire burning on other parts of the fire.    Fire Order #4. Identify escape routes and safety zones and make them known. The escape routes and safety zones were only identified as ?down and out? or ?back into the black.?  Down and out was understood to be down the slope towards Beaver Creek Road in very steep and heavily timbered terrain and fuels where roll-outs and spot fires were occurring. Back into the black consisted of going into where the fire had been but unburned fuels and hazard trees remained present.    Fire Order # 5.  Post Lookouts when there is possible danger. Lookouts with clear vantage points of the fire, crew, escape and safety locations were not posted on August 10 or 11, 2012.      Fire Order # 7. Maintain prompt communications with your forces, your supervisor, and adjoining forces. On or about August 10, 11, and 12 2012, ground personnel were sharing only two frequencies with regular interruptions.  The organization with control over the fire was using numbers to identify each other adding to the confusion.  Strategy and tactics of the incident commander and other forces were not communicated.  Helicopter bucket drops were occurring without communicating to crews on the ground and ensuring the area was clear of personnel.    Fire Order #8.  Give clear instructions and insure they are understood. On or about August 10 and 11, 2012, Agency crews were constructing fireline without instructions to account for large gaps in the line around identified hazard trees.    Fire Order #10.  Fight fire aggressively, having provided for safety first. On or about August 10 and 11, 2012, the strategy and tactics implemented lacked critical safety procedures, including adequate escape routes and safety zones, posting lookouts, and basing actions on the hazards and fire conditions present at the time.  Large gaps in the fireline around hazard trees were allowed where the fire could break through and flank crews creating an entrapment situation.  Hand crews were working to construct fire line in areas within 1 to 2 tree lengths of identified hazard trees.      b. Steep Corner fire: On or about August 10, 11 and 12, 2012, Forest Service managers and supervisory personnel at the Steep Corner Fire did not take immediate actions to mitigate 9 of the 18 Situations That Shout Watch Out listed in the Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations 2012. Those which were present and not mitigated included the following:    Watch Out #3. Safety zones and escape routes not identified. Verbal instructions for Safety zones and escape routes were only unofficially stated as ?down and out? or ?back into the black.?  There was no incident action plan for August 10 or 11, 2012 addressing safety zones or escape routes.    Watch Out #5. Uninformed on strategy, tactics, and hazards. Forest Service personnel working on the fire line were not informed on the tactics associated with the gaps left in the control line around hazard trees.    Watch Out #6. Instructions and assignments not clear. Instructions for Forest Service personnel engaged in direct attack did not have clear instructions on how to deal with large gaps in the fireline around hazard trees.    Watch Out #8. Constructing fire line without a safe anchor point. Crews were working on August 10, 11 and 12, 2012 to construct fire line without establishing a safe anchor point and continuous fire line.    Watch Out #9. Building fire line downhill with fire below. Crews were constructing a fire line to an area above the active fire in rugged terrain and heavy fuel loads without taken additional steps to mitigate the hazard.    Watch Out #11. Unburned fuel between you and fire. Crews were working to construct fire line in heavy slash, felled timber and dense timber stands with large amounts of unburned fuel.    Watch Out #13. On a hillside where rolling material can ignite fuel below. The crews were working in a steep terrain including felled timber, standing hazard trees, loose root wads and rolling rocks. Roll-outs and burning hazard trees occurred throughout the Steep Corner fire.    Watch Out #14. Weather is getting hotter and drier. The crews worked from mid-morning into the afternoon with temperatures at the Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) predicted to increase to near 95 degrees F and relative humidity decreasing to between 17 to 27 percent and a Haines index of 5 moderate.      Watch Out #17. Terrain and fuels make escape to safety zones difficult. Steep terrain and heavy fuels made foot travel slow and hazardous.    Note: Abatement certification and documentation are required for this item.

Issued

2013-02-07 00:00:00

Abate by

2013-03-06 00:00:00

Penalty

Initial $0.00 · Current $0.00

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1960.8(a):     The head of each agency did not furnish to each employee employment and a place of employment which was free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm from falling hazard trees:     a) On or about August 11 and 12, 2012, Agency employees engaged in wildland firefighting were exposed to being struck-by hazard trees while constructing fireline on steep and densely wooded slopes.  A significant number of hazard trees had already fallen in the areas where they were working during the first two days of fire activity.  Standing hazard trees consisted of snags, burned or burning trees, and/or old growth cedar with a known propensity for center rot and a shallow root system, as found in the Steep Creek riparian area. Helicopter operations were also occurring and there was the potential for trees to domino where crew members were within 1 to 2 tree lengths of the hazard trees.    Note: Abatement certification and documentation are required for this item.     Forest Service was previously cited for a violation of this Occupational Safety and Health standard or its equivalent 1960.8(a) which was contained in OSHA inspection 312391188, Citation 01, Item 004(a), and was affirmed as a final order on 2/23/2010 with respect to a workplace located in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, OR.