>>> IN THE PAST, SPRINGTIME WAS USUALLY CONSIDERED WILDFIRE
SEASON, LARGELY BECAUSE THE TREES WEREN'T LEAF-FILLED YET
AND THE FOREST FLOOR WAS PARTICULARLY DRY.
BUT TODAY THE NATIONAL FIRE SERVICE CONSIDERS WILDFIRE
SEASON A YEAR-LONG EVENT.
WHY?
BECAUSE SOMEWHERE IN THE COUNTRY THERE'S A WILDFIRE THREAT AT ALL
TIMES.
HERE IN MASSACHUSETTS, AN AGE-OLD SYSTEM IS STILL IN PLACE
TO HELP SPOT FOREST FIRES BEFORE THEY GET OUT OF CONTROL.
PRODUCER DAVE FRASER BRINGS US THE STORY.
>> ER INBEGAN HER CAREER IN THE FIRE SERVICE OUT WEST AFTER
WITNESSING A WILDFIRE DESTROY HUNDREDS OF HOMES NEAR WHERE SHE
WAS WORKING AS A BAR TENDER IN COLORADO SPRINGS.
>> FIRE BLEW UP AND DID SOME THINGS THAT FIRES ARE DON'T
NORMALLY DO, AND IT ACTUALLY WENT INTO A NEIGHBORHOOD AND
BURNED LIKE 500 HOUSES.
SO ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WERE SITTING AT MY BAR WERE PEOPLE
WHO HAD WATCHED THEIR HOURSES BLOW UP AS THEY WERE DRIVING
AWAY.
BEFORE THAT, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WANTED TO DO WHEN I GREW UP.
BUT AFTER THAT NIGHT I DECIDED THAT THAT'S WHERE I WANTED TO
BE.
>> TODAY SHE WORKS FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF
CONSERVATION AND RECREATION IN ITS FIREFIGHTING CONTROL UNIT.
SHE ON THE LOOKOUT TOWER.
>> WE COME UP HERE AND WORK FRUCIAL 10:00 A.M.
TO 6:00 P.M.
WE'RE UP HERE JUST KEEPING WATCH OVER THE LANDSCAPE, ALL THE
THINGS WE CAN SEE, AND ALSO IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE PEOPLE
WHO ARE STAFFING OTHER TOWERS.
BECAUSE NOT ONLY AM IT WATCHING OUT FOR FIRES IN MY OWN
DISTRICT, BUT IF TOWERS IN OTHER AREAS HAVE FIRES WHERE THEY NEED
A LOCATION, I'M HERE TO DO THAT TOO.
>> MASSACHUSETTS IS ONE OF THE FEW STATES THAT STILL MAINTAINS
AN ACTIVE TOWER WATCH SYSTEM.
THERE ARE 42 TOWERS THAT CAN BE ACTIVATED.
>> THEY DON'T ALL OPERATE AT ONCE, BECAUSE OF OUR STAFFING
LEVELINGS AND FIRE OCCURRENCE.
BUT ON HIGH FIRE DANGER DAYS WE CAN GET AS MANY AS 25 OF THOSE
KEY TOWERS UP WHICH GIVES US REALLY GOOD COVERAGE ACROSS THE
STATE THE BEAUTY OF OUR FIRE TOWER
NETWORK AND THE REASON IT STILL SURVIVES IS BECAUSE WE CAN CATCH
THESE FIRES WHEN THEY'RE SMALL.
IN 2016 WAS A GREAT EXAMPLE, WE WERE IN DROUGHT, WE HAD FIRES
ALL YEAR LONG, AND IN MANY CASES OUR FIRE TOWER OPERATORS CAUGHT
THOSE FIRES WHILE THEY WERE SMALL, BECAUSE THEY HAD THE
OBSERVATION GOING.
>> I AM SEEING WHITE SMOKE, 2665, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ON
THAT?
>> STAND BY.
>> AS SHE SCANS SCANS THE HORIZA LIGHT HAZE WAS VISIBLED,
DETERMINED TO BE SMOKE FROM A FIRE IN QUEBEC.
A PROCESS BEGINS BETWEEN OTHER FIRE TOWERS AND WITH THE USE OF
A MAP, RADIO AND THEY CAN PINPOINT THE LOCATION OF THE
FIRE.
>> IT'S A LOW TECH BUT HIGHLY EFFECTIVE WAY TO PINPOINT THE
LOCATION OF A FIRE.
BECAUSE IT'S NOT LIKE A STRUCTURE FIRE WHERE DISPATCH IS
GOING TO GIVE YOU AN ADDRESS.
MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, YOU'RE GOING TO END UP WITH LIKE A
SQUARE ON A MAP AND YOU HAVE TO GO FIND IT.
SO THE MORE ACCURATE THAT WE CAN BE IN
PINPOINTING WHERE TO LOOK FOR THESE FIRES, IT'S A LOT MORE
EFFICIENT AND A LOT SAFER FOR PEOPLE ON THE GROUND.
>> WILD LAND FIRES ARE ALL RELATED TO WEATHER, FUEL
CONDITIONS AND DROUGHT.
AND ALTHOUGH THERE HAVEN'T BEEN THE MASSIVE WILDFIRES LOCALLY
THAT ARE CURRENTLY HAPPENING OUT WEST, HISTORY SHOWS THAT WIND
LAND FIRE PATTERNS ARE CYCLICAL.
>> EVEN IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 1900'S UP THROUGH THE 1970'S, IT
WAS NOT UNCOMMON FOR MASSACHUSETTS TO HAVE A THOUSAND
ACRE OR 5,000-ACRE FIRE.
AND THAT'S THE KIND OF FIRE BEHAVIOR WE'RE SEEING CURRENTLY
IN THE WESTERN STATES.
WE'VE HAD MUCH MORE OF A WET WEATHER PATTERN.
BUT ALSO OUR CULTURE HAS CHANGED, OUR FOREST TYPE HAS
CHANGED, OUR TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED SO WE'RE ABLE TO JUMP ON
THESE FIRES QUICKER THAN WE, SAY, WOULD HAVE BACK IN THE
1920'S.
>> DESPITE ADVANCEMENTS IN FIRE DETECTION AND SUPPRESSION,
NATIONWIDE A VAST MAJORITY OF WILDFIRES ARE STILL CAUSED BY
HUMANS.
BUT IN MASSACHUSETTS IN THE SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND STATES, WE
CAN SAY BY STATISTICS AND SUPPORTED BY STATISTICS THAT 98,
99% OF OUR FIRES ARE HUMAN CAUSED.
SO WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE COOPERATION OF THE PUBLIC,
ESPECIALLY AROUND THOSE DRY HOLIDAY SEASONS LIKE FOURTH OF
JULY, AND TO COOPERATE WITH THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES, ESPECIALLY
UNDER THESE CONDITIONS, BECAUSE IT CAN BE A SAFETY ISSUE, IT CAN
BE EXPENSIVE.
AND IT CAN COST PROPERTY AND IN SOME CASES LIVES.