In California's Mountain fire, lessons of Yarnell tragedy are everywhere

“Safety is always our first responsibility and goal – both for the public and firefighters, so that will not change,” says Mike Ferris, a spokesman for the US Forest Service.

But he and others say that lessons from Yarnell need to be translated into action not just by firefighters, but by homeowners.

“The owners of these properties and communities need to create a defensible space, and if they haven’t done that, they have not aided the firefighters at all, but made the situation worse,” says Mr. Ferris.

Creating defensible space includes removing brush, using fire-retardant roofs and siding, installing attic vents that don’t create unnecessary indrafts for burning embers, and avoiding wood for porches and trash enclosures.

But it's inevitable that Yarnell will have an effect on firefighting – at least in the near term, says Professor Miller of Pomona College. The Mountain fire and all the other fires currently burning the West will be fought much more cautiously.

“That’s from the bottom to the top. Crews will take fewer risks, and they will be asked to take fewer risks. Safety first is always the No. 1 goal, but now everyone on the fire lines are being hyper conscious,” Miller says. “This may be especially true of fires like the Mountain blaze.... The strategy will be to encourage the fire to move away from structures as is possible via water and retardant drops; there will be no frontal assaults.”

In some ways, firefighters don't need to wait for a report to internalize the lessons of Yarnell, says Don Smurthwaite, a spokesman for Bureau of Land Management.

“Whenever there is a serious injury or fatality on a fire, it serves as a somber reminder to firefighters everywhere that their profession is risky by nature,” says Smurthwaite. "In the wake of such tragedies, all firefighters seem to increase their situational awareness and take steps to mitigate risk.”

“What happened at Yarnell Hill will have reverberations among firefighters for years to come,” he adds.

When the investigation is concluded, he says, there may be findings and recommendations that affect some aspect of wildland firefighting. “But it's too early to say what, if any, of those recommendations are. That's part of the investigation team's responsibilities, and any followup that comes after.” 

According to meteorologist Ken Clark of Accuweather.com: “Humidity levels are likely to increase substantially over the weekend and could allow spotty pop-up thunderstorms.”

“The higher humidity and any rainfall would greatly assist firefighting efforts,” says a release from Accuweather.com. “However, while some of the storms can bring isolated rainfall, most storms will bring the risk of igniting new blazes due to lightning strikes with little or no rain.”

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