# MOUNT TOLMAN FIRE CENTER

> Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more.

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Aconfederated_colville%3Add2ea01a2e2cbe39

## Record

- **Collection:** Tribal code
- **Document type:** Tribal code

## Text

MOUNT TOLMAN FIRE CENTER
WILDLAND FIRE
PREVENTION PLAN
2016-2025

Photo taken by Brandon Sutton
Devil’s Elbow Complex Fire 2014

1

age
Preparer:
____________________________________
Prevention Assistant

Date

Colville Agency Approval:
____________________________________
Fire Management Officer

Date

_________________________________
___
Forest Manager

_

Date

_________________________________
Date

Superintendent

Tribal Concurrence:
___________________________________
Chairman

Date

Reviewed for Policy Compliance:
___________________________________
Regional Prevention Specialist

Recommended for Approval:

Date

________________________________
Regional Forester
Regional Director

2

Date
Date

TABLE OF CONTENTS
FIGURES LIST..............................................................................................................................4
TABLES LIST……………………………………………………………….….…..…………….5
APPENDICES………………………………………………………………….……...………….6
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY…………………………………………………….………......…….7
I.

II.

III.

Introduction………………………………………………………………………..……8
A. Purpose and Scope………………………………………………………………8
B. Management Goals and Objectives………………………………………..……8
C. Collaborative Process……………………………………………………….…..8
Situational Analysis……………………………………………………………….….…9
A. Description of Area………………………………………………………..….…9
B. Description of Fire History……………..……………………………………....10
C. History of Prevention Efforts……………………………………………..…….12
D. Prevention Strategy…………………………………………………………......14
E. Fire Management Unit (FMU) Assessment……...………………….……….…14
F. Community Assessment………...……………………………………………...15
G. Fuels Assessment…………………………………………………………........16
H. Fiscal Analysis…………………………………………………………….........19
1. Prevention Options…………..………...……………………………….......19
2. Workload Analysis……………...…………………………………….…....19
3. Effectiveness Analysis…………………………….…………………..…...21
4. Budget Development………………………………….……………..…….24
5. Benefit-Cost Analysis……………………………………………………...25
Implementation………………………………………………………………………...26
A. Program Policy Requirements…………………………………………..……..26
B. General Action Descriptions………….………………………………………..27
C. Specific Action Descriptions…….…………………………….……………….31
D. Community Action Descriptions…………………………………………........35
E. Structural Ignitability Mitigation Options……………………………………..35
F. Prioritized Hazardous Fuels Reduction Areas..…………………………..…...36
G. Annual Planning Calendar……………………………………………………..37
H. Supporting Plans……………………………………………………………….38
I. Accountability………………………………………………………………….38
J. Supporting Appendices…..……………………………………………………..39

3

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Colville Reservation FMZ
Map………………….………………………….…18

4

LIST OF TABLES

Table #1Fire History by Cause
Category.……………….…………………..……..……..11
Table #2Composite FMU Assessment
Rating……….……………………………………15
Table #3Composite Community Assessment
Rating..……………………………………15
Table #4Prevention Workload
Analysis…………………………………….…………….21
Table #5Effectiveness
Table……………………………………………………………....22
Table #6Budget
Summary……...…………………………………………………………23
Table #7Expense
Items……………………………………………………………………24
Table #9General
Actions…….…………………………..………………………………..29
Table #10Specific
Actions……………………………………..………………………...…33
Table #12Structural
Ignitability..………………………...…………………………………35

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APPENDICES

Appendix A

Documentation of Program Support

Appendix B

Documentation of Tribal Support

Appendix C

LEO SOP

Appendix D

RAMS MDB File on CD and/or Printouts Including Tables

Appendix E

Preparedness Plan

Appendix F

Burn Permit System

Appendix G

INVF Policies and Procedures

Appendix H

Community Assistance Information

Appendix I

Smokey Bear Guidelines

Appendix J

Accomplishment Reporting Forms

Appendix K

Inspection Forms

Appendix L

Communications Plan

Appendix M Patrol Plan
Appendix N

Sign Plan

Appendix O

Annual Planning Calendar

Appendix P

Recommended Position Description

Appendix Q

Electronic Cop of WFPP (PDF and Word processing formats)

6

Executive Summary
The last Wildfire Prevention Plan (WFPP) for the Colville Tribes was prepared in 2010. As
a five-year plan, it was scheduled for revision in 2016. This revision is tiered to the current
Colville Tribes Fire Management Plan (FMP), and meets the current Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) equivalency standards for a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). This
process involves collaboration with several stakeholders, community risk assessment, fuels
treatment analysis, and addresses structural ignitability.
Risk Assessment Mitigation Strategies (RAMS) software was used to conduct risk
assessments, develop workloads, and estimate effectiveness of the various options
considered. The result of the RAMS workload analysis indicates a sufficient workload exists
one full-time Prevention Officer and one full-time Prevention Assistant.
Both the WFPP and FMP identify human causes as the primary source of ignition for
wildfires within the boundaries of the Colville Reservation. Both plans also identify the
close partnership with the rural fire departments from the interior and exterior boundaries of
the reservation for prevention, detection, and suppression of wildfires across the reservation.
It should be noted that the Colville Tribes has compacted the functions of the BIA for
preparedness including wildfire prevention under Self Governance.
The primary objective of any wildfire prevention plan is to reduce unwanted human caused
ignitions. Currently, the Colville Tribes experiences an estimated annual average of 69
human caused fires a year. Each year approximately 10,809 acres of Trust and restricted title
lands are burned within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Colville Reservation. The
numbers of fires and acres burned annually have been derived from the Department of
Interior’s (DOI) official reporting system, Wildland Fire Management Information System or
WFMI.
Since the last plan was written in 2010, there has been an over-all reduction in human caused
fires on the Colville Reservation. Previously there was an average annual of 85 wildland
fires per year on the Colville Reservation. That number has dramatically been reduced to
approximately 69 fires per year. This shows that the Prevention Program at Mount Tolman
Fire Center has played a vital role in over-all the reduction of wildland fires on the Colville
Reservation.
This WFPP is a basis for funding a Prevention Officer and Prevention Technician. Base
salary, employee benefit cost, support, and indirect cost for both positions are $204,660.
The 2016-2025 WFPP will target human caused incendiary ignitions by using various
prevention activities from the Wildfire Prevention Strategies PMS455/NFES1572, March
1998 as recommended by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

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I.

Introduction

A.

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this Wildland Fire Prevention Plan (WFPP) is to further define the Prevention
and Education Strategy contained in the Colville Indian Reservation Wildland Fire
Management Plan, approved June 3, 2002. This WFPP is being written for the period of
2016-2025. This document will provide direction and guidance for the implementation of
wildland fire prevention and hazard mitigation strategies for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA), Colville Agency within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Colville Indian
Reservation. This document also meets the requirements under 90 IAM 1.4C (6)-H Wildland
Fire Management Policies and Responsibilities (Chapter 1.1) for agency superintendents and
as directed in 620 DM 1, Section 1.6 A-2 Wildland Fire Management Strategies and Section
1.8- Education and Prevention.

B.

Management Goals and Objectives

The following management goals have been identified by the Colville Agency Wildland Fire
Prevention Plan:
1. Provide for firefighter and public safety.
2. Reduce the danger of wildfire to people as well as structural damage in the Wildland
Urban Interface (WUI).
3. Reduce unintentional human caused ignitions by ten percent (10%) within the
jurisdictional boundaries of the Colville Confederated Tribes Reservation over the
next ten years.
4. Attend district meetings and general membership meetings of the Colville Tribes to
keep the membership informed.
Changes have been made to the management and goals from the previous WFPP 2011-2015.
Previously, there were a total of 6 goals and this plan reduced that number to 4, to help make
the goals more attainable.

C.

Collaborative Process

This revision was developed collaboratively with input from: the Fire Prevention staff, the
Fuels Planning staff, dispatch, and the Fire Management Officer at Mount Tolman Fire
Center. We also attained valuable input from the BIA Colville Agency Staff, and the Colville
Tribes’ Land and Property Director. We also had the help of the Colville Tribal Police
Department and the Regional WUI/Prevention Specialist.

8

II. Situational Analysis
A.

Description of Unit

The Colville Indian Reservation land base covers approximately 1.4 million acres or 2,100
square miles located in North Central Washington in Okanogan and Ferry counties. The
reservation consists of tribally owned lands held in federal trust status for the Confederated
Tribes, land owned by individual Colville tribal members, most of which is held in federal
trust status, and land owned by others, described as fee property and taxable by counties.
The Reservation, the largest in the State of Washington, measures approximately 35 miles
north to south and 80 miles east to west. About 610,000 acres of the Reservation are in
Okanogan County and 782,000 acres in Ferry County. More specifically, the Reservation is
bounded on the east and south by the Columbia River, on the west by the Okanogan River
and on the north by the township line common to Townships 34 and 35 North, Willamette
Meridian. Much of the Reservation is mountainous covered by conifer forest, but lands
bordering the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers are arid and naturally covered with vegetation
of steppe environments. About 1,023,700 acres of the Reservation are in tribal trust and the
remaining lands are in a non-trust status (owned by private individuals or corporations). The
Colville Reservation’s Fire Management has initial attack responsibility over all the land
within the bounds of the reservation. Colville Reservation lands are diverse with natural
resources including standing timber, streams, rivers, lakes, minerals, varied terrain, native
plants and wildlife.
The larger population centers on the Colville Reservation include: Nespelem, Keller, Elmer
City and Coulee Dam in the central portion, Inchelium on the eastern portion and East Omak
on the western boundary. In addition to Reservation communities, a large number of people
live in more rural locations throughout the Reservation. This wildland urban interface (WUI)
continues to increase each year.
Most fee lands are owned by non-Indians, while some fee lands are owned both by the tribes
and individual tribal members. Small amounts of land within the Reservation are owned by,
or held in easement by, the U.S. Government, State of Washington, Ferry County or
Okanogan County. These publicly owned lands are mostly rights-of-way associated with
highway and road construction or dams and developments. The total trust land amounts to
approximately 1,063,200 acres, of which 1,023,700 acres are tribal lands and 39,500 acres,
are allotted lands. Fee land acreage is approximately 321,886 acres. The amount of lands
under tribal ownership is continuing to increase with the tribal policy of buying fee and
allotted land (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 1979).

9

B. Description of the Fire History
As with most of the BIA fire programs across the United States the Colville Agency uses
Form DI-1202 to document fires occurring on the reservation. Consistent report
documentation of fires stretches back to the 1950s. For the ten-year period (2005-2014) the
primary, human-caused fires came from incendiary use. Incendiary fires are caused from:
trash burning, field burning, slash burning, grudge fires, recurrent fires, employment fires,
blasting, and fireworks.
For the last five-year period (2010-2014) the human caused fire categories have changed
slightly from the previous ten-year period (2005-2014). The three major types of human
caused wildfires on the Colville Reservation include: incendiary, fire use, and equipment.
The category of fire use includes: trash burning, burning dump, field burning, land clearing,
slash burning, right-of-way, and resource management. The last main category is equipment
which includes fires that are caused by: aircrafts, vehicles, exhaust, brakes, blasting, and
power lines.
On the eastern half of the Colville Reservation the main human caused fire type is fire use,
with a secondary fire type, which is equipment. On the western half of the Colville
Reservation the main fire type is incendiary fires. However, equipment fires still pose a
threat on the western half.
Human caused fires totaled 108,096 acres during the past ten years with an average of 10,809
acres per year. The number of human caused fires in the last ten years is 686 with an average
annual of 69 human caused fires per year. The trend is going downward in the number of
human caused fires per year. From 2000-2010, the average number of fires per year was
approximately 85 human caused fires.
As seen in Table 1 the major causes of fire on the Colville Indian Reservation are human
caused. It is nearly a 2:1 relationship to natural caused fires. Incendiary is the leading cause
of fires across the entire Colville Reservation. Fire use is second leading human cause
category for the Reservation. Equipment is third leading human cause fire type on the
Reservation.

10

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C. History of Prevention Efforts
The Colville Confederated Tribes has partaken in a wildfire prevention program for many
years prior to this plan revision. The prevention program at Mount Tolman Fire Center
(MTFC) laid an excellent foundation for continued success in the future for wildland fire
prevention. The WFPP will be reviewed annually by the prevention staff at the MTFC.
When the new plan (2016-2025) is approved at the regional level, it will replace the 20112015 WFPP.
A Prevention Program Review was conducted by the Northwest Regional Office (NWRO) in
February 2015. The following summary was provided by the NWRO WUI/Prevention
Specialist: The last WFPP placed an emphasis on juvenile fire setting. This was incorrect and
prevention efforts were, in turn, misguided away from incendiary, equipment and fire use
causes. This will be corrected in the 2016 WFPP Revision. Staffing the Wildfire Prevention
Program has been unstable. This has led to poor record keeping and a lack of prevention
skills in the prevention program. The current staff is doing a remarkable job when
considering the lack of prevention background and disarray of files. The lead position is
currently advertised and only time will tell if stability occurs. The burn permit system is well
managed. The prevention program works with the Tribal Council to ensure fireworks are
safely sold & used without detracting from the economic benefits of Tribal members. There
was confusion on the inclusion of prevention line items within severity requests. Past
prevention severity requests had been denied. This should not occur in the future and the
Colville prevention staff will notify the NWRO WUI/Prevention Specialist prior to a severity
request so that approval process can be coordinated. A copy of the review has been included
in Appendix J.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs-Branch of Wildland Fire Management at the National
Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) has established policies for Wildland Fire Prevention.
Wildland Fire Prevention Plans are essential to secure long-term prevention program funds.
It is also the BIA-NIFC policy for a Wildland Fire Prevention Program to address the
required elements listed below.
Wildland Fire Management Plan: The Colville Agency’s Fire Management Plan was last
updated and signed in 2002 and is not due for change or review until the Integrated
Resources Management Plan for the Colville Reservation is reviewed. A copy of the
Signature page approving the WFMP can be found in Appendix B.
Program Support: The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have supported the
Fire Prevention Program since its inception, and continue to do so today. The newest Colville
Tribal resolution supporting the Fire Prevention Program can be found in Appendix A.
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Program support from the Colville Tribe is necessary to the Prevention Program at Mount
Tolman Fire Center.
Fire Investigation Policy and Procedures: A system for investigating and documenting
cause and origin of all ignitions in place and will be adopted upon approval. Appendix G
includes the policy and procedures along with CCT Tribal Codes and legal citations. The Fire
Investigation Policy is adopted for the CCT with the approval of the 2016 CCT Wildfire
Prevention Plan Revision.
Law Enforcement SOP: The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been adopted by the
CCT for coordinating wildfire investigations with law enforcement. This SOP describes the
authority and actions to be taken by wildfire investigator when working with tribal police and
BIA Office of Justice Services. A copy of the SOP is provided in Appendix C.
Burn Permit System:
The prevention program issues burn permits in accordance with tribal codes. Enforcement of
the burn permit regulations are the responsibility of the Colville Tribal Police Department.
Historical Accomplishments: Historical data consists of the last ten year period from 20052014. During this time a Prevention Workload Analysis was completed and it showed that a
full time Prevention Officer and seasonal assistant were needed for the Prevention Program.
Planned accomplishments for 2009-2015
The majority hours for the prevention program were planned for fire danger rating, burn
permits, patrolling, and fire investigations. This includes making contact with those who are
maintaining fire danger ratings, issuing burn permits, patrolling the Colville Reservation
according to the guidelines in Appendix M, and conducting fire investigations during
summer months as necessary.
Other significant hours were planned for school programs, public utilities management,
prevention committee, residential inspections and follow up inspections, and individual
public contact. This includes presenting safety messages to local schools, coordinating with
public utility providers, participating in prevention meetings, inspecting burn pits and
following up with another inspection, and making contact with individuals in the course of
doing daily work, such as patrols.

13

D. Prevention Strategy
The Colville Reservation plays an important role in wildland fire prevention with its partners
– local cooperators and surrounding communities. Many opportunities exist for the Colville
Confederated Tribes to join forces with the surrounding co-operators in event activities and
training to present a consistent wildfire prevention message to the public on and off the
reservation. A wildfire prevention strategy has been developed for the Colville Confederated
Tribes using the National Wildfire Coordinating Group Publication Wildfire Prevention
Strategies, (NFES 1572) March 1998. This strategy also specifically addresses the criteria
required by BIA Wildfire Prevention Policy.
The strategy used in the previous plan (2010-2014) was fairly effective in mitigating and
reducing human caused fires on the Colville Reservation. According to the WFMI data, the
number one cause of fires during 2005-2014 was related to incendiary starts, while
equipment and fire use are the next most common causes. The best way to tackle this
problem is by mass media in a variety of methods including: radio, written, television,
general, and world wide web. Another effective approach involves high visibility patrol and
fire prevention. Furthermore, there will be an increase in target accomplishment hours for
public education, printed materials, and specific campaign development.
Cultural awareness continues to be a hallmark of the Colville Reservation’s Fire Prevention.
Sensitivity and respect for the traditional values are the success of any prevention, education,
or community activity. Fire Management will continue to coordinate all prevention and
education activities to respect the traditional values of the Colville Confederated Tribes and
its individual bands.

E. Fire Management Unit (FMU) Assessment
The CCT fire management plan describes 4 Fire Management Zones (FMZ). Since there will
be no differences of activities within those FMZ’s all the FMZ’s are now one FMZ for
RAMS and this WFPP. A description of the 4 FMZ’s is included, even though they are not
singled out.
The original WFPP was written with Fire Management Zones (FMZ). These FMZs are the
different fuel types across the Colville Reservation. For the evaluation of fuels and expected
fire behavior, the Reservation has been divided into four Fire Management Zones (FMZ’s).
The FMZs are separated into the following categories: FMZ 1 Low elevation grass, FMZ 2
Low elevation timber, FMZ 3 Mid elevation timber, FMZ 4 High elevation Timber.
Prevention actions apply to the entire Colville Reservation and because of this the analysis
led to designating one compartment for the entire reservation.

14

Table 2 - Composite FMU Assessment Summary
Fire Management Zone

Fire Prevention
Planning Unit.
Representative
Location or Prevention
Compartment
Compartment #1

Colville Reservation

Risk Ranking

High

F. Community Assessment
There are 16 viable communities within the Colville Confederated Tribes Fire
Management initial attack boundary. They are ranked high to low in Table 3 below.
The National Fire Plan identifies the need to work with local communities to provide
assistance regarding hazard mitigation, public education, develop community action
plans and applying prevention techniques. In order to identify the communities
needing assistance, each state along with their federal partners were tasked with
evaluating their communities and ranking them as to their relative risk to wildland
fire. Washington State formed an Interagency Coordinating Group to accomplish this
task. Communities were selected and evaluated, based on, location within a fire
department district, and the danger to that community to damage from wildfire. From
the evaluation, a list was generated and forwarded on to identify communities, which
were to be placed in to the Federal Register under a “Communities at Risk” category.
The communities included in this assessment which are located within the Colville
Reservation were selected based on four criteria: 1) listed in the Federal Register as a
Community at Risk from wildland fire, 2) a subdivision or housing development in
which many Native Americans live, 3) a community of interest to the BIA and/or
Colville Tribes, 4) a subdivision or housing development in which FIREWISE
principles are not being implemented. Those communities meeting these criteria are
listed in Table 3.
Table 3 - Composite Community Assessment Ranking
High
#13 Roger's Bar
#10 Keller*
#14 Kewa
#12 Inchelium*
#5 Disautel*
#6 Nespelem*

Moderate
#7 Colville Agency
#15 Twin Lakes*
#3 Okanogan*
#11 West Fork
#16 Coulee Dam
#2 Omak*
15

Low
#9 Elmer City
#8 Belvedere

#1Malott*
#4 Ft.Okanogan
“*” Denotes communities listed on the 2001 Federal Register of Communities at Risk.

G. Fuels Assessment
For the evaluation of fuels and expected fire behavior, the Reservation has been divided into
four FMZ’s. The FMZ’s are separated in the following: FMZ 1 low elevation grass, FMZ 2
low elevation timber, FMZ 3 mid elevation timber, FMZ 4 high elevation Timber. All of
these FMZ’s have a mixture of terrain features that will make suppression complex. These
FMZ’s have terrain that varies from flat to 100%.
The highest priority areas include the FMZ 1 because the fuel types make the fire spread
faster than other FMZ’s. FMZ 2 is the next priority especially near WUI areas which are
common on the reservation.
FMZ 1 is low elevation grass and is predominant on the western portion of the reservation.
The vegetative fuels consist of Sage Brush, Bitter Brush and Grass with scattered pockets of
timber in valleys and creek bottoms.
Recommended treatments include but not limit to mechanical thinning, hand thinning,
mechanized-piling, hand piling, and prescribed burning. Fuels treatments in this FMZ can
have widely variable duration of impact, depending on the local conditions.
FMZ 2 is low elevation timber and is scattered throughout the southern and eastern portions
of the reservation. This is a transition zone between the FMZ 1 low elevation steppe and
FMZ 3 mid elevation timber. The vegetative fuels consist of timber over story and grass,
sage brush, woody debris, and understory.
Recommended treatments include but not limit to mechanical thinning, hand thinning,
mechanized-piling, hand-piling, and prescribed burning. Fuels treatments in this FMZ can
have widely variable duration of impact, depending on the local conditions.
FMZ 3 is mid elevation timber. This FMZ predominately covers the reservation where the
overstory consists of a mixture of Ponderosa Pine and Douglas-fir. The under story is a mix
of brush, grass, and downed woody debris.
Recommended treatments include but not limit to mechanical thinning, hand thinning,
mechanized-piling, hand-piling, and prescribed burning. Fuels treatments in this FMZ can
have widely variable duration of impact, depending on the local conditions.
FMZ 4 is considered the high elevation timber region. This region is where the overstory
includes more of the Fir specie with scattered Pine and Western Larch. The vegetation
consists mostly of downed woody debris, needle litter, and grass.
16

Recommended treatments include but not limit to mechanical thinning, hand thinning,
mechanized-piling, hand-piling, and prescribed burning. Fuels treatments in this FMZ can
have widely variable duration of impact, depending on the local conditions.
WUI, although, this is not identified as a separate FMZ, it is a component of the first three
FMZ’s and is characterized by homes intermixed or adjacent to wildland areas. This
component is scattered across the reservation. It is predominantly found in or on the bottom
1/3 of the slope or valley bottoms. The vegetative fuels consist of a mixture of the FMZ’z
plus house hold trash, vehicles, wood piles, and anything else a homeowner may collect
around their homes.
Recommended treatments include but not limit to mechanical thinning, hand thinning,
mechanized-piling, hand piling, and prescribed burning. Fuels treatments in this FMZ can
have widely variable duration of impact, depending on the local conditions.
The Fire Prevention Fire Management Zones presented here coincide with Fire Management
Unit (FMU) Boundaries.
An important goal of the Colville Confederated Tribes is to manage the Tribe’s natural
resources holistically through the development and implementation of the Integrated
Resources Management Plan 2000-2014 that was approved by the Colville Business Council
Resolution 2001-248. The Colville reservation establishes a list of fifteen socio-economic,
ecosystem enhancement, and protection goals to be achieved on the Colville Indian
Reservation. In order to accomplish these goals under direction of the Federal Wildland and
Prescribed Fire Policy and Fire Management Planning Analysis, fire management specific
goals along with standards and guidelines have been established. The Fire Management Plan
objectives for fuels are very comprehensive (See Wildland Fire Management Plan April
2002).
Project level fuels treatment plans will need to be developed for all fuels projects selected for
implementation. Several factors must be evaluated before a project is selected for
implementation including, but not limit to, tribal priorities, current and predicted weather
conditions, availability of qualified staff to conduct any given project, support resource
availability, funding, environmental/cultural constraints, and fuel conditions. The Colville
Confederated Tribes recognize the importance of treating areas around Communities at Risk.

17

Figure 2 - Colville Reservation Fire Management Zone Map

FMZ 1
FMZ 2
FMZ 3
FMZ 4

FMZ 1- Low elevation grass
FMZ 2- Low elevation timber
FMZ 3- Mid elevation timber
FMZ 4- High elevation timber

18

H. Fiscal Analysis
1. Prevention Options
Option A-Historical Option: This option consists of the years prior to 2005. For the
purpose of this analysis zero hours were used as a comparison value.
Option B-Proposed Planned Option: This is the proposed plan of prevention activities for
the next ten years from 2016-2025. This option was developed using the strategies described
in pages 71-81 of the Wildfire Prevention Strategies (NFES 1572). Based on the Wildland
Fire Management Data (WFMI), most of human caused fires during the past ten years stem
from incendiary use, equipment, and fire use. The proposed strategies are determined to be
the most effective and address the needs of the reservation.
Option C-Increase of 20% in Actions: This shows a 20% increase in actions of
proposed plan.
Option D-Decrease of 20% in Actions: This shows a 20% decrease in actions of proposed
plan.
Option E-Previous Plan (2011-2015): This is the accomplishment hours planned during the
time frame 2011-2015. The Wildfire Prevention Strategies (NFES 1572) helped determine
where to focus accomplishment hours.
Option F-Average Accomplishments for 2010-2014:
These are the average
accomplishment hours of the five year period. These hours helped conclude where to focus
accomplishment hours for the current planning period 2016-2025.
2. Workload Analysis
The RAMS software has been adopted by BIA-NIFC as national standard software for
developing fire prevention plans.
Rams, WFMI, and fire cost data determine the number of personnel and program dollars
needed to establish an effective fire prevention program. The process consists of an inventory
of the fire prevention actions that are implemented to mitigate damages that result from
human caused fires. These activities include: education, engineering, enforcement and
administration which are outlined in the Colville Reservation Fire Management Plan. These
general approaches are considered by all wildland fire managers when developing a fire
prevention plan.
In the workload analysis, fire prevention activities have been grouped into areas of general or
specific actions. This grouping allows activities to be inventoried by where they occur and
best utilized.
19

General Actions include activities that affect the entire planning unit (i.e. Reservation).
Examples of these activities include public relations programs aimed at reaching the
population at large, planning, training, etc. General Actions are grouped into categories in the
following areas: education, enforcement, engineering, and administration.
Specific actions include activities that affect a specific geographical area, such as a single
compartment or community. These activities are targeted programs developed for fire
problems identified in the assessment process. Examples of specific actions are cause
specific signing, inspections, individual contacts, patrol, etc. Specific Action activities are
grouped into the following areas: patrol, signs, law enforcement, hazards, public contact,
inspections, and administration.
Community actions were not included in this analysis and the community action hours have
been distributed to like activities in General and Specific Actions. Therefore, community
actions are not included in the RAMS analysis.
Work standards and workload factors have been developed to standardize the outputs for
each of these prevention categories. The work standard is the activity to be performed and
the workload factor is the average time that it would take to accomplish the activity. The
work standards and the workload factors used in this document are based on the past five and
five year period of prevention activity on the Colville Reservation.
Some of the tasks in a specific location may require more or less time than is indicated by the
workload factor.
The workload analysis is used to calculate the total prevention workload for various
geographical areas including: fire management units (FMU), fire management zones (FMZ),
and over all reservation coverage. This is how the prevention program has traditionally
carried out tasks within the Colville Reservation.

20

Table 4 - Prevention Workload Analysis
Prevention
Category

Option
A

Specific Actions
Patrol
Signs
Law
Enforcement
Hazards
Public Contact
Inspections
Administration

Option
B

Option
C

Hours

Needed

Option
D

Option E

Option F

0
0

980
84

1176
120

784
60

980
84

720
60

0
0
0
0
0

920
0
162
80
0

1112
0
195
99
0

756
0
129
60
0

700
0
50
8
0

468
0
44
3
0

General Actions

0

1377

1651

1021

1374

1721

Totals

0

3603

4353

2810

3196

3016

3. Effectiveness Analysis
The Central Office BIA, BIA-NIFC, has established prevention program performance
standards. These standards are measured by analyzing the expected efficiency of each
prevention option. The current option proved to be both efficient and cost effective at
reducing ignitions. All of the options for the Colville Agency were compared against the preprogram option, which is option A.
Since the effectiveness of all five options is 13.02 %, there is no difference in the
effectiveness of the options. This is due to the maturity of the program. The actions selected
for these options all represent actions that have proven effective and practicable.

21

These estimates are then used to assess program effectiveness. It is BIA policy that a
program must produce an equivalent of savings to costs in order to implement strategies. In
other words it must have a benefit/cost ratio of greater than one to one (1:1).
The railroad cause data will be excluded from the analysis because there has only been one
fire caused from railroads in the past 10 years. This will create a better representation of the
overall effectiveness.

22

23

4. Budget Development
The workload analysis developed from RAMS indicates 3603 hours are needed to implement
the current planned option. This indicates that there is a need for two full-time personnel.
There have been no changes in personnel needed from the previous WFPP 2011-2015. There
are no significant changes in the budget from the previous WFPP.
Personnel Costs:
Personnel costs necessary to implement the planned option were calculated using the
following figures:

Table 6 - Proposed Annual Budget Summary

Lead
2nd
position
Annual
Program
Budget

Base
Salary

EBC
Rate
at 47.5%

$57,304

Recurring
Support
Funding

**IDC
36.59%

$27,219

$10,000

$20,968

*Estimated
Total
Funding
Needed
$115,491.00

$36,296

$17,241

$2,500

$13,281

$69,318.00

$93,600

$44,460

$12,500

$34,249

$184,809.00

*rounded to the nearest hundred
** CCT negotiated IDC rate is a
negotiated salary based rate. This
calculation is based on salary
only.

24

Table 7 – Program Support Items
Recurring Expenses

Non-Recurring Items

Item
GSA Vehicle Lease (Pickup)

Item

COE Education Materials

Prevention Trailer

Training and Travel

Prevention/Education Supplies

Smokey Bear Education Items

New technology items

Public Service Announcements

Radios

Cell Phone Service

ATV

AV Equipment (Computer, Software,
Printer, Projector)

Office Supplies
Overtime
Copying/Printing
Lease Space

5. Benefit-Cost Analysis
Table 8 has been omitted from this WFPP revision and as a result a new benefit-cost ratio
was not generated. The previous WFPP benefit-cost ratio is 1.34:1. The CCT Prevention
Program has reduced the number of human caused fires by approximately 50% from the
beginning of the implementation of last WFPP. In addition, the number of acres burned
annually fluctuates, but the overall numbers show a downward trend.

25

III. Implementation Plan
The following sections provide the details of policy requirements for obtaining funding for a
wildfire prevention program. The Colville Confederated Tribes is currently in compliance
with all of these requirements.

A. Policy Requirements
1.

Documented Program Support
The Chairman’s signature on the WFPP satisfies this requirement. In addition, a
Tribal resolution supporting the prevention program was passed in July 2010.
Another acceptable form is passage of Tribal council resolutions. The Colville
Confederated Tribes has one of these, clearly indicating their support for a fire
prevention program. The Tribal Council passed a resolution approving the Fire
Management Plan to which this plan is tiered in February 2000. Please refer to
Appendix A and B for more information.

2.

Documented Fire Investigation Policies and Procedures
This policy and procedure is needed to establish the guidance for fire
investigations within the boundaries of the Colville Confederated Tribes. The
Colville Confederated Tribes has adopted a fire investigation policy, a copy is
found in Appendix G. This policy will be reviewed annually to determine its
adequacy. The damage (fines) code appears in Appendix G.

3.

Documented SOP for Investigating Wildfires
The Colville Confederated Tribes has adopted an SOP for law enforcement and
fire investigations. A copy is included in Appendix C. This SOP is need of
revision based on a more current understanding of the role of cause and origin
investigations. These SOPs will be superseded when the new National SOP for
Fire Investigations is approved.

4.

Documented Burn Permit System
The Colville Tribe has a burn permit system in place and the general population is
well aware of it. The burn permit system is supported by CCT Tribal Codes. The
CCT Police Department and CCT Parks and Recreation Department enforce the
burn permit regulations. A reference of the burn permits system and burn permit
regulations are in Appendix F.

26

5.

Administrative Requirements

This plan was developed for the Colville Confederated Tribes based on the following
assumptions:
i. The plan will be implemented as written. Signing the plan
constitutes acceptance of the plan and the provisions it
contains. Once signed and approved by the Regional
Director, any substantial modifications to the plan will also
need to be approved through the same process.
ii. The Colville Confederated Tribes will need to devote two full
time employees to implement this plan. This plan was
designed to be implemented by employees performing at the
GS-7 level and GS-9 level. A copy of the job descriptions for
a Prevention Technician (Tribal) and a Prevention Officer
(Tribal) are included in Appendix P.
iii. Should either position become vacant, funding will be
reduced for the time the position is vacant.
iv. Funding for implementing this plan will not be diverted to
other programs.
v. The person assigned to this position will be supported in
achieving the goals and objectives of this plan. BIA policy
requires: “For a position to be eligible for full funding
from the wildland fire prevention program funds, 80% or
more of the duties must be directly related to prevention
activities. This includes wildland fire investigation. ” [90
IAM 3.2.A (1)].

B. General Actions Descriptions
General Actions refer to those prevention activities/actions that are general in nature
and provide awareness to the general public about preventing all unwanted humancaused wildland fires. The general action which applies to the entire reservation
would be:
-

Maintain the Sign Plan (Appendix N).
Update fire danger rating signs and notify cooperators as needed.
Make 64 contacts to newspapers (including CCT newspaper), radio, and
television stations to update contact information or provide approved press
releases on fire danger, burn permits, Ready-Set-Go, Firewise, WeTIP, or
other relevant wildfire topics.
27

-

-

-

Provide FI-110 (Origin Protection) training annually to Rural Fire
Departments in an area where investigation are needed.
Conduct 8 public education programs each year.
Conduct 5 school presentations each year.
Staff a booth at fairs, pow wows, and other similar events once a year.
Conduct 1 sports activity for prevention each year.
Design 1 prevention printed material each year.
Place 1 exhibit each year at locations where the target audience can see them.
Conduct 3 Smokey Bear character appearances each year.
Establish public contact with groups 5 times each year.
Develop and maintain 10 key contacts (regional and tribal emergency
managers, rural fire coordinators, CCT councilmen, and tribal elders) each
year.
Coordinate fire prevention activities with 4 other government agencies and
public utilities annually on fire prevention (includes tribal governments,
municipal, county, and state agencies, and other federal agencies).
Properly issue approximately 1000 burn permits annually.
Train employees to issue permits annually if necessary.
Prepare general restriction/closure plans as needed.
Train employees to inspect spark arrestors each year.
Review 25 special use permits for fire prevention each year.
Review 1 contract for fire prevention language.
Review and update 1 patrol plan each year.
Review and update the prevention plan every year.
Review and update the early warning system also known as the preparedness
plan.
Plan and coordinate activities with corporate sponsorship or involvement once
a year.
Plan and coordinate in conjunction with the Colville Tribe for the safe use of
fireworks and related activities.

Table 9 on the following pages specifically lists the general actions to be
implemented within the boundaries of the Colville Confederated Tribes and the
person hours needed to implement those actions.

28

29

30

C. Specific Actions Descriptions
Specific actions refer to those prevention activities that target specific fire causes reservation
wide. These actions are more focused and the results are easier to see and quantify than
general actions. The specific actions identified in this plan concentrate on major cause
categories: incendiary, equipment, and fire use. Incendiary determinations are often selected
as a cause when it is difficult to establish a finding. In contrast, fire use is sufficiently
specific so that an effective prevention program can mitigate the number of unwanted fires.
All of these cause categories can be reduced through adequate utilization of the following
education and enforcement strategies:
1. Provide appropriate information regarding prescribed burning precautions
to tribal members, tribal government, local governments, local cooperators, and the
general public. Convey to the population through public service announcements,
personal contacts, newspaper articles, signing, and other means about MTFC’s
philosophy, timing, location, and reasons for prescribed burning.
2. Explain to burn permit applicants burning precautions, restrictions,
weather conditions, and safe burning practices.
3. Generate fire prevention materials illustrating proper open-burning
precautions and distribute with the burning permits.
4. The fire prevention staff conducts on-site inspections of equipment used
on trust and restricted title lands. This helps to reduce the occurrence of equipment
caused wildfire.
5. An increase of engine and prevention patrols in high occurrence areas
during periods of elevated debris burning and/or high fire danger levels.
The additional prevention activities needed to reduce the amount of wildfire activity are
shown in “Table 10 – Specific Actions.” Since only one compartment was defined for CCT,
Table 10 does not require an overall “summary table.” The actions listed in Table 10 are
bullets with no details. More detailed descriptions follow.
-

Patrol 245 days each year. Combine patrol with other fire prevention activities to
improve efficiency.
Maintain 10 signs each year by vegetation control, fresh paint, fresh posters, fresh
repairs, and updating information.
Construct 2 more Smokey Bear signs for the Colville Reservation.
Conduct approximately 48 formal investigations of wildfires at the unit where no
responsible party is identified.
Make 600 casual contacts made in the course of doing daily work such as patrol,
where fire prevention was discussed.
31

-

-

-

-

-

Make contact with 3 groups in a local area or to discuss specific fire prevention and
services offered. Examples of groups include scouting organizations, churches, off
road vehicle clubs, equestrian associations, cattlemen associations, logging
contractors and homeowners associations.
Conduct 120 initial residential inspections. These inspections are conducted for the
purpose of reducing risk from wildfires.
Conduct 60 follow-up residential inspections. These inspections are conducted for
the purpose of reducing risk from wildfires.
Conduct 13 inspections on improved campgrounds. An improved campground has
electric connections, parking pads, picnic tables, and other facilities. These
inspections are conducted for the purpose of reducing risk from wildfires.
Conduct 60 inspections on unimproved campgrounds. An unimproved campground
can be anything from hunting camps to organized camp sites. These inspections
should be limited to trust and restricted title lands. When making them “unimproved”
is the lack of facilities such as restrooms, electric connections, etc.
Conduct 15 initial inspections for timber sales on trust or restricted title lands. These
inspections should be limited to trust and restricted title lands.
Conduct 12 follow-up inspections for timber sales on trust or restricted title lands.
These inspections should be limited to trust and restricted title lands.
Conduct 4 dump site inspections each year. These inspections should be limited to
sites actually on trust and restricted title lands. Dump sites can be legal or illegal.
“Green box” sites are also reported here. Report only inspections conducted for the
purpose of reducing wildfires.
Conduct 9 inspections of spark arrestors each year. These inspections should be
limited to equipment being actually operated on trust and restricted title lands.
Conduct 264 burn permit site inspections. Conduct 1 inspection of formal target
ranges. These inspections should be limited to trust and restricted title lands.
Recruit, train, and/or supervise volunteers.

In addition to the actions described above, extra prevention measures will aid in the reduction
of escaped debris burning, incendiary fires, and fire use. The specific actions in Table 10
summary were selected based on the Wildfire Prevention Strategies Guide (NFES 1572).

32

33

34

D. Community Actions Descriptions
The community action hours have been distributed to like activities in General and Specific
Actions. Therefore, community actions are not included in the RAMS analysis.
Table 11 is omitted.

E. Structural Ignitability Mitigation Options
In the process of assessing community risk, special attention will paid to the factors affecting
structural ignitability according to Firewise. Overall, the level of Firewise compliance throughout the
Colville Reservation is very good. The factors to be assessed are:
Roofing -

Type of materials

Siding-

Type of materials

Landscaping-

Type and location of materials

Roof Hygiene-

Amount of debris

Landscape Hygiene-

Maintenance of yards

Structural Hygiene-

Maintenance of buildings

Flammables-

Location of flammables

Table 12 - Structural Ignitability
Compliance
Rating
Evaluation Factors

High

Moderate

Low

Percentages
Overall Firewise Compliance

15

25

60

Roofing Material

55

20

25

Siding

5

10

85

Landscaping

20

50

30

Roof Hygiene

15

60

25

Landscape Hygiene

10

10

80

35

Structural Hygiene

10

10

80

Flammables

10

15

75

Note: percentages rounded to the nearest 5 percent.

The majority of the general actions and specific actions will be conducted around the
communities at risk. Because of past prevention efforts, fires that have occurred adjacent to
the communities at risk have not experienced any loss. Through prevention efforts people
understand life in the wildland urban interface.
Due to size and complexity of the Colville Reservation, any structural ignitability assessment
number will be approximate. The definitions for high, moderate, and low are determined by
how much a structure is in compliance with Firewise suggestions. High means that the
structure has a fair amount of Firewise techniques applied to it. Moderate indicates that a
structure has some Firewise techniques applied. Low shows little or no compliance with
Firewise techniques. The percentages vary because of Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)
situations and the number of out-buildings typically in the rural setting.
The following issues should be addressed through the general, specific and community
actions identified in this plan.
A. Develop exhibit themes concerning the increased risk from the choices of
siding, landscaping hygiene, structural hygiene, and the location of
flammables.
B. Discuss Firewise and fire safety and build these topics into talks, power
points, presentations, and other methods of displaying information.
C. Prepare news releases that deliberate the hazards presented by poorly
maintained landscaping and location of stored flammables.
D. Discuss these topics with key contacts throughout the year.
E. Collaborate with other Colville Confederated Tribal Programs regarding
Firewise materials and compliance issues.

F. Prioritized Hazardous Fuels Reduction Areas
The fuels management program at the Mount Tolman Fire Center currently manages fuels
treatments on 1.4 million acres of the Colville Reservation. Our program implements fuels
treatment on both Tribal trust land as well as Fee land located within the bounds of the
Colville Reservation. The following goals are outlined in The Wildland Fire Management
Plan of the Colville Reservation April 2002:
36

•

Reduce the potential of resource damage from destructive wildland fires.

•

Assist land managers by protecting, maintaining, or enhancing other resources
through treatment of forest fuels.

•

Maintenance of fire dependent ecosystems.

•

Develop, maintain, and/or enhance a program of fuels management and prescribed
fire that will effectively reduce the fire hazard of accumulated fuels, achieve multiple
resource objectives, and provide for a natural role of fire in the ecosystem.

•

Provide opportunities for wildland fire to be used for resource benefits and implement
when conditions permit.

Fuel treatment methods typically used on the Colville Reservation consist of both mechanical
and prescribed fire. Some of the mechanical methods include hand cutting of precommercial sized trees, shrubs and brush. In areas further from the communities, excavators
are used to pull brush and pre-commercial sized trees from the ground. The waste from these
treatments is then piled and burned at a later date when sufficient time has passed to allow
the piles to dry enough to burn cleanly. Excavators are also equipped with a mulching head
and some of the areas are masticated to a height of less than 1 foot from the ground. The
waste from these masticated areas become very compact over time and is left to deteriorate.
Wildland Urban Interface Hazard Reduction Workload
There are currently 16 Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas identified on the Colville
Reservation spanning over all three planning districts. These areas were identified by the
density of structures. These communities were then given a 1.5 mile buffer to create areas
around the communities to concentrate fuels treatment priorities.
A variety of hazardous fuel reduction treatments which include thinning, piling, and
prescribed burning have taken place around the communities at risk (identified in the 2001
Federal Register). This is a result of a cooperative effort between prevention and fuels
management.

G. Annual Calendar
An annual calendar is prepared that details fire prevention planning with major actions listed
by month and is subject to change as necessary. Not all prevention actions are included in
this calendar, because some of them will occur throughout the year, and/or are minor in terms
of time commitment. However, many actions are seasonal and can be planned. The annual
calendar can be found in Appendix O and when updated will be replaced within this
document.

37

H. Supporting Plans
Sign Plan- The Sign Plan for the Colville Reservation describes the sign locations, changing
of the fire danger level signs, and maintenance. A map of the sign locations has been
excluded from the plan because the MTFC personnel and locales are well aware of the
locations of the signs. Refer to Appendix N.
Patrol Plan-The Patrol Plan describes the different patrol zones as well as the definition for
patrolling. It also has a map that contains the different patrol routes that should be taken.
The patrol requires certain items that should always be kept on-hand while on patrol,
including investigation kits, necessary tools, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Refer
to Appendix M.
Communication Plan- This part of the plan is in Appendix L.
Preparedness/Readiness Plan- This plan describes the preparedness level actions and what
time of year those occur. It also describes the seasonal risk analysis. It describes the
Prevention Program’s role in fire prevention and mitigation for different seasons of the year.
It also describes the preparedness level recommendations. The Preparedness/Readiness Plan
can be found in Appendix E.

I. Accountability
The Northwest Region has reduced the number of site visits in the past 3 years. Because of
the reduced amount of travel by the NWRO staff, program reviews are conducted on a
limited basis. In order to meet WFPP revision standards a program review was conducted
via phone interview. This was done February 2015 and the program review is included in
Appendix J.
To date, readiness reviews in the Northwest Region are conducted every other year. A
readiness review was conducted in 2015. In the future, readiness reviews will be conducted
approximately every three years. The reason why the change in the readiness review
schedule is due to limited review personnel and competing priorities. This is a decision made
by the NWRO.
There are a few different ways to document activities and report accomplishments to
maintain accountability. There are accomplishment reports that will be filled out on a
weekly basis, every Friday and an additional one if there are events. This ensures that
accomplishment hours will be completed successfully and documented to ensure accuracy.
Each year by October 31st accomplishment reports will be sent into the NWRO. This will
show accountability for the Prevention Program on a yearly basis.

38

J. Supporting Appendices

A. Documentation of program support
B. Documentation of tribal support
C. LEO SOP
D. RAMS MDB file on CD and/or printouts including tables
E. Preparedness Plan
F. Burn Permit System
G. INVF Policies and Procedures
H. Community Assistance Information
I. Smokey Bear Guidelines
J. Accomplishment Reporting Forms
K. Inspection Forms
L. Communication Plan
M. Patrol Plan
N. Sign Plan
O. Annual Planning Calendar
P. Recommended Position Description
Q. Electronic Copies of FPP in Word processing format and Portable
Document Format (PDF)

39

40

41

COLVILLE INDIAN RESERVATION
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for
Wildland Fire Investigation

Definitions

INVF – Wildland Fire Investigator
TPO – Tribal Police Officer of the Colville Confederated Tribes
TPRRO – Tribal Parks and Recreation Resource Officer of the Colville Confederated Tribes
BIA-OLES – Bureau of Indian Affairs-Office of Law Enforcement
BIA-CA – Bureau of Indian Affairs-Colville Agency
MTFC – Mount Tolman Fire Center
Law Enforcement – a TPO, TPRRO, BIA-OLES Agent, deputy sheriff, or other qualified law
enforcement agent
Purpose
The intent of this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is to guide participating INVFs, TPOs,
TPRROs, and BIA-OLES agents in making rational and defensible decisions about jurisdictions,
authorities, responsibilities, case handling, communications, scene processing, questioning of
witnesses, collection and transfer of evidence, disposition/copying of case files, and in sorting out the
appropriate actions to take in various ownership situations for wildland fire investigations on the
Colville Indian Reservation.
Jurisdiction
Guiding Principles – Jurisdiction is established by the ownership where the specific point of origin
(crime) is located or suspected to be located. When ownership is restricted Indian Land or “Trust”,
the Tribes and BIA have jurisdiction to investigate wildfires for origin and cause determination. If a
major crime such as Arson is suspected or identified as the cause of a wildfire, contact Fire
management (MTFC) and request a certified INVF immediately.
Indian Land – includes tribal trust, individual allotments and restricted Indian lands and any other
lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. BIA and Tribal INVFs have authority to
investigate wildland fires originating on Indian lands. Other federal, tribal and state fire investigators
42

qualified under National Wildfire Coordination Group (NWCG) guidelines may also investigate
wildland fires upon request by a competent BIA official.
Non-Indian lands – includes fee lands, non-Indian lands, tribal fee lands, State, County or other
federal lands. INVFs have no independent authority to enter to investigate non-Indian lands without
landowner permission. INVFs will cooperate with a local jurisdictional authority or State investigator
to legitimize the investigation. If the fire originates on non-Indian jurisdiction, but burns across
Indian land; the BIA will request an investigation by the jurisdictional authority. A BIA INVF may
assist with any wildland fire investigation within a non-BIA jurisdictional area if requested to do so
by a competent jurisdictional authority.
All investigations will follow the BIA standards for wildland fire investigations, which includes the
National Wildfire Coordination Group (NWCG) FI-210 Origin and Cause Determination and the
National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) 921 Standard for Fire Investigations.
Case Handling
The Initial Attack Incident Commander (IC) shall perform, or shall direct the performance of, the
preliminary cause and origin determination and determine whether or not a more thorough
investigation is needed based on the amount of damage done by the fire, potential to recover costs,
injuries, fatalities, and suspicious circumstances surrounding the cause and origin or evidence of other
criminal activity at the scene.
When the INVF is requested, the IC will first protect and secure the general origin area, the evidence
collection area and establish a chain of custody at the scene. Then the INVF will begin to process the
scene. Upon the recognition that the incident may involve any major crimes as described in The
General Crimes Act – 18 U.S.C., serious injury or fatality, the BIA-CA will be notified immediately.
Otherwise the INVF will continue to process the scene using the systematic methodology described in
the FI-210 and NFPA 921.
Large scale fire investigations/Arson Task Forces: Notify the BIA-CA and have Team Leader
conduct a short face-to-face briefing to review roles and expectations upon arrival. Also, the BIA-CA
or INVF will notify any other affected local jurisdictions. Such arson teams/task forces at the
Colville Reservation are typically comprised of INVFs, TPOs, TPRROs, BIA-OLES agents, and
other cooperators as available.
To increase efficiency and probability of success, certified INVFs should be teamed with, and should
actively conduct investigations side-by-side with law enforcement (a TPO, TPRRO, BIA-OLES
Agent, deputy sheriff, etc.), forming 2-person or larger teams, during large scale fire investigations
/Arson Task Force assignments.
Roles
Standard Fire Investigation – These are cases where the fire is the only incident to be investigated
and no evidence of other criminal activity is found. This would also include serial wildland arson
incidents.
•

Role of INVF: To take the lead in processing the scene according to the NFPA-921,
interviewing witnesses, collecting and securing evidence and preparing the final report.
43

•

Role of the TPO, TPRRO, and BIA-OLES Agent: to assist the INVF with scene control,
evidence collection/chain of custody, interviewing of witnesses/persons of interest/suspects
and collaborating with INVF to develop the case.

Fire combined with other criminal activity that requires a BIA-OLES response:
•

•

Role of the BIA-OLES Agent: to take the lead in managing and processing the overall scene,
conducting the overall investigation, collecting and securing evidence, interviewing and
preparing the final report.
Role of INVF: To assist during the investigation as directed/requested in processing the fire
scene according to the NFPA-921, to assist as needed with fire-related evidence collection
and to provide a written supplemental report to the Officer in Charge of the investigation.

Fire combined with criminal activity that requires a response by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI):
•

•

Role of the TPO, TPRRO, or BIA-OLES Agent: To make the decision to involve the FBI, to
secure the scene and direct the activities of any INVF personnel on the scene. The Officer in
Charge remains in charge of the scene and investigation until relieved by the FBI.
Role of INVF: To follow the direction of the TPO, TPRRO, or BIA-OLES Agent in
protecting the scene, to remain available for questioning and witness statements as needed,
and to assist BIA-OLES or FBI Agent with processing the FIRE scene if requested.

Collection and Transfer of Evidence
It is highly preferable for the INVF to have physical evidence at wildland fire scenes collected
directly by law enforcement officials (TPO, TPRRO, or BIA-OLES Agent) to shorten the chain of
custody. However, in many situations law enforcement will be unavailable and the INVF must
collect and later transfer evidence to law enforcement.
On Indian land:
When the cause is criminal, and no injury or fatality occurs or real property is damaged, or when the
cause is non-criminal, then the INVF should mark, identify, photograph, protect, collect, and catalog
all evidence and then transfer it to a TPO or TPRRO for evidence storage. The INVF should retain a
copy of the evidence description form and chain of custody transfer form.
When the cause is criminal, and there is an injury, fatality or real property damage (including timber
loss), the INVF should contact the MTFC and BIA-CA and should mark, identify, photograph,
protect, collect, and catalog all evidence and then transfer it to an evidence storage facility as directed
by BIA-CA. The INVF should retain a copy of the evidence description form and chain of custody
transfer form.
On non-Indian land:
Mark, identify, photograph, protect all evidence and contact the authority having legal jurisdiction
prior to collecting any evidence on these cases. If cleared by the authority having legal jurisdiction,
44

the INVF will collect and catalog the evidence. This evidence will be transferred to the authority
having legal jurisdiction.

Perception of Threat
If the INVF is not law enforcement qualified, then it is highly preferable for the INVF to work side by
side with law enforcement (a TPO, TPRRO, or BIA-OLES Agent) when meeting with affected
landowners and when interviewing person(s) on-scene.
If the INVF is threatened or intimidated in the course of a legitimate jurisdictional investigation, the
INVF should withdraw and contact a TPO, TPRRO, BIA-OLES Agent or other law enforcement
entity such as the FBI or DEA, for assistance as appropriate.
Questioning of Witnesses, Persons of Interest, and Suspects
If it is deemed safe to do so, on-scene homeowners, renters, landowners, allotees, witnesses,
bystanders, and children may be interviewed by law enforcement officers who are law enforcement
qualified.
Tracking down and locating “persons of interest” or “suspects” for questioning is the role of law
enforcement, but the non-law enforcement qualified INVF may assist as a team member with law
enforcement in these activities and may assist during the interviewing/interrogation of such persons.
If possible, interrogation of suspects should be recorded using a video camera for the protection of the
suspect, as well as questioners.
Disposition of Case Files
Original Files:
In a criminal wildland fire investigation on Indian land, original case files will remain with the lead
fire investigator and the copies are left with the local units.
Copies:
All INVF reports are considered to be law enforcement sensitive documents and shall be exempt from
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
For criminal and non-criminal investigations, a copy of the original file should be kept by the
reporting INVF. For criminal investigations, Tribal Police or Tribal Parks and Recreation
Enforcement (whichever receives the original file) should send a copy to the other department. All
copies should be clearly marked COPY.

45

In cases involving negligence, where property damage occurred on trust lands, regardless of the
ownership of the point of origin, a clean copy of the original file will be submitted to the BIA-CA
Superintendent for potential use in pursuit of damage claims.
Communications with Law Enforcement
-Henry Hix, Program Director

P.O. Box 150
Nespelem, WA 99150
Tribal Parks and Recreation
(509) 634-3145 office
-Mike Henry, Police Chief
P.O. Box 150
Nespelem, WA 99155
Colville Tribal Police Department
(509) 634-2472 office
-Bureau of Indian Affairs

Mailing Address:
Bureau of Indian Affairs
MS-4606-MIB
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20240
Telephone: (202) 208-5116
Telefax: (202) 208-6334

For Wildland Fire Investigations Contact
-Isaac Cawston, Fire Management Officer
P.O. Box 188
Keller, WA 99140
Mount Tolman Fire Center
(509) 634-3109 office
Training
BIA Fire Management, through the MTFC, will advise MTFC employees, Tribal Emergency
Services, Tribal Parks and Recreation, and Tribal Police of training opportunities in wildland fire
investigation.

46

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Appropriate PPE will be worn by red-carded individuals on any uncontrolled wildfire under the IC.
Persons without a red-card will not be allowed to work in “hot” areas.
MTFC warehouse will issue wildland fire shirts, pants, hardhats, gloves, safety glasses/goggles, and a
fire shelter to all personnel and cooperators involved in wildfire investigations. Unless the fire has
been designated “controlled,” persons without red-cards must receive fire shelter deployment
instruction from a qualified instructor before entering burned areas or any areas potentially threatened
by wildland fire.

______________________________________
Isaac Cawston, Fire Management Officer

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

The Preparedness Plan is tierd to the 2013 Wildland Fire Annual Operating Plan for the
Colville Agency, WA. This is the most current Operating Plan for the Colville Tribe, and
there is a 2015 version which is waiting for signatures and is not in place yet.
58

1. The Preparedness Plan
PREPAREDNESS LEVEL 1:

Normal Operating Procedure

Office Hours - 0730 to 1600 Monday through Friday.
Normal staffing, Initial Attack response is provided by Fire Management and
Prescribed Fire Personnel.
Normal period of operation - October 1 through May 31 of each year.
PREPAREDNESS LEVEL 2:

Fire Season Operations

Office Hours - 0730 to 1800 7 days per week.
Additional seasonal staffing provided to man engines, lookouts and heavy
equipment as specified in the FMPA.
Normal period of operation - June 1 through September 30 of each year.
PREPAREDNESS LEVEL 3:

Extended Operations

Office Hours - 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
All full time and seasonal staff will work 6 day, 12 hour per day schedule,
forestry and other department staff will be brought on to assist in maintaining
required staffing levels.
This level is only implemented during incidents or periods of extreme fire
danger or abnormal occurrence such as arson or red flag warnings for
lightning.
PREPAREDNESS LEVEL 4:

Reservation Closure

Implement Reservation Closure Plan
Closure of the Colville Indian Reservation is a rare occurrence. A Closure Plan will only
be implemented as a part of a general area shutdown, in cooperation with adjoining
agencies or as a result of a combination of occurrences such as extended periods of
drought and abnormal man caused fire or extended periods of drought and visibility less
than three miles at our lookouts.

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Action
number

fire incident level
action
1

1

Fire Management, Natural
Resources Department and
Tribal Enforcement
personnel will implement
closure, post signs and
perform daily patrols.

2

Fire Management Office
will be operated 24 hours
per day and night patrols
will be utilized to insure
compliance with closure.

3*

Place contractor equipment
and personnel on stand-by at
designated locations, with
necessary overhead
available to provide a fast
efficient initial attack force.
These forces will be
stationed at designated
locations within the
reservation.

2

3

3H

4

5

O

O

M

O

Y

O

Action 3 can only be implemented after notifying the BIA Portland Area Office of current
conditions. It may be necessary to request severity funding to justify the expenditure of
funds.

Fire Prevention/Mitigation
Fire prevention programs, which effectively reduce human-caused ignitions, target
“average” weather conditions, historical fire occurrence, normal fire behavior, and
historical human activity. Prior to periods of “above average” fire conditions, human
activities, or fire severity, local/regional preparedness planning must appropriately “step
up” prevention program activities to deal with the increased risk and threat of humancaused ignitions and mitigation that reduce losses when fires are not preventable.

60

When Seasonal Risk Analysis indicates an increased potential for fire behavior and/or
human-caused ignitions, the predicted situation and current prevention and mitigation
must be reviewed to determine and obtain the additional resources required to meet the
expected situation.
An inclusive fire severity request includes a “proactive” human prevention and mitigation
component developed through interagency preparedness planning, which identifies and
activates needed resources to reduce the number of wildland fire ignitions, reduce the
threat to communities and decrease exposure to firefighters, as risk of severe wildland
fires increase.
Prevention, mitigation, and outreach resources should be addressed by the following:
•

•

Conducting local/regional interagency needs assessment to determine the
appropriate prevention, mitigation, and other outreach resources, and then
obtaining these resources through details, and severity requests.
Mobilizing a “fire prevention/education team” to plan and implement immediate
prevention, mitigation and outreach strategies during periods of abnormal
wildland fire risk or activity.

The Fire Prevention Strategy for the Colville Reservation is to reduce the number of personcaused fires and to reduce the damage caused by all fires.
The Wildfire Prevention Analysis and Plan identifies the Risks, Hazards and Values on the
Colville Reservation.
The Plan also identifies priority areas, specific action and
responsibilities consistent with the Colville Reservation Integrated Resources Management
Planning Goals.
Wildfire prevention activities generally fall within one of the four broad categories.
1. Education
Education is aimed at changing people’s behavior by awareness and knowledge. This
can be done through printed materials, mass media, one-on-one contacts or group
presentations. Information can also be delivered through signs, displays, fairs,
parades, etc.
2. Engineering
Engineering is an activity designed to shield an ignition source or remove the fuel that
could ignite from a spark or firebrand. Fuel management and hazard reduction
addressed in another section of this plan will also assist in attaining the objective of
reduction of resource loss.
3. Enforcement
Enforcement is used to gain compliance with fire regulations and ordinances.
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4. Administration
Administration includes those activities such as planning, budgeting, training, etc.
Specific Items that Warrant Special Mention
Fire (Burning) Permit System
The burning permit system is outlined in the Prevention Specific Manning and Action Guide
Shown in Table VII – 1. Burning permits are required from March 1 through November 30.
Public Information and Education
As mentioned above Public Information and Education is accomplished using a variety of
methods. This is the area of emphasis that can establish and maintain support for the Fire
Management Program as a whole. By keeping the public informed of what and why you are
doing something gains support for the entire program. Don’t forget to say THANK YOU at
the end of the season for the help provided in reducing the number of fires. For detailed
tasks and assigned responsibility for accomplishment see “Wildfire Prevention Analysis &
Plan.”

62

63

Closures/Restrictions
The Colville Reservation and woods closure restrictions will be incompliance with the
Industrial Fire Precaution levels compiled from fire weather data gathered by the State of
Washington, Department of Natural Resources Fire Weather Office.
The Mount Tolman Fire Center will coordinate closure or control logging operations or other
activities pertaining to weather zones within the Reservation boundaries. This coordination
will be direct agency-district headquarters to assure maximum coordination of the effort.
At such time the fire precaution levels are activated, the requirements affect ALL
Reservation programs. The fire dispatch will keep all personnel informed of the current
precaution level in effect by two-way radio, signs, public information releases, and direct
communications with program managers.
During periods of extreme fire danger, the public will be made aware of the situation through
news release, by posting and distributing fire danger notices and some access road closures
into high-hazard areas. At these times all unnecessary wood’s activity should be curtailed.
Closures/Restrictions are never desired, however, there are times when the fire danger
warrants restricting the general public and members of the Colville Confederated Tribes.
For description of the Fire Precaution Levels see the Colville Reservation Forest and Range
Fire Operations Plan 2000 (BIA 2000), and “Chapter VI – Mobilization Strategy” within this
document.
Trespass/Arson Investigation
Current fire investigation is done by fire management personnel or qualified enforcement
officers employed by the Tribe. This investigation determines cause.
Enforcement
The Colville Tribal Police Department enforces laws and regulations on the Colville Tribal
Reservation.
Hazard Abatement
Hazard abatement relating to fuels management is a fire management task and is identified
with responsibility assigned in the “Wildfire Prevention Analysis & Plan”. The task is
accomplished through cooperation with Timber, Range, Wildlife, Lands and other resource
managers in accordance with the Plan for Integrated Resources Management Plan standards
and guidelines. Also see Chapter IX “Fuel Management/Hazard Reduction Strategy” of this
document for further discussion on this topic.
Timber sales can be planned in areas of high fuel hazard accomplishing the target for lumber
and revenue while reducing the fuels. Range and Wildlife projects can be planned for those
areas that have a high fire occurrence, reducing the fire hazard and improving the range
64

conditions and wildlife habitat. Fuels in and around developed areas can be treated to reduce
the risk to both the developments and also the surrounding lands.
Firework Policy
The fireworks policy on the Colville Reservation is as follows:
•
•
•

Fireworks can only be sold two weeks prior to the 4th of July
Fireworks can only be set off in designated areas on the day of the July 4th.
Fireworks may be set off during Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Public Information and Education
Information
It is beneficial to the fire management program to keep the public well informed on the
current events. Prior to fire season provide information regarding fire prevention, burning
permits, potential fire danger, training, cooperator involvement, etc. During the fire season it
may be necessary to inform the local residents of the current fire danger, current fire activity,
any fire restrictions, road/trail closures, etc.
Prior to prescribed fire activity it is helpful to conduct public meetings to let the local
residents know what is planned and why. On the day of ignition anyone within the
immediate area should be contacted to make sure they are aware of the burn and that you are
concerned for their safety.
At the end of each fire season a “Thank You” message to the public should be prepared for
their assistance. Include the statistics on what did occur for that fire season including: how
many fires on the Colville Reservation, number of firefighters brought in, number of
firefighters sent off Reservation to help others, amount of acres prescribed burned and for
what reasons.
Education
It is necessary to include an education effort as a part of the fire prevention program.
Education may also be necessary if there is a planned fire prevention of fuel project that may
have outspoken critics.
An integral part of public education is the dispersion of current fire danger information
through signs illustrating current fire danger, press releases, and other public announcements.
It is important that the residents are made aware of current fire danger levels, and if sighs are
utilized they should be updated on a regular basis. Signing during prescribed fires can be
both a useful safety tool as well as an aid in educating the public on fire. Raising the public
awareness on both the subjects of fire management and fire suppression may provide benefits
in reducing arson caused fires and increased public cooperation with fire related law
enforcement.
65

Public Safety Measures
Public safety concerns will be specifically addressed in each Wildland Fire Situation
Analysis (WFSA) and each prescribed fire plan. The following public safety measures will
be taken:
•
•
•

•

Public safety messages should be developed as required and incorporated into the
process of fire information dissemination.
Trail and unimproved roads in the vicinity of wildfires and prescribed fires will be
closed if potentially hazardous conditions are present.
Traffic control measures, including smoke warning signs, flashing signal lights,
traffic cones, and either fire or law enforcement personnel should be situated on
roads where smoke intrusion incidents are anticipated to occur.
Patrols will be assigned to keep spectators at a safe distance from prescribed fires.

Fire Critique
A fire critique should be accomplished and documented after each major wildland fire and
after a multiple wildland fire event. The critique should identify what went right and what
didn’t. The critique should not fix blame but identify areas that can be improved upon
through training, change in procedure, improved communication, etc. Special recognition
should be given to those that put forward extra effort to accomplish their duties. Also any
cooperators should be recognized. Any changes in procedure should be made immediately
and broadcast to all those that may be involved. Training deficiency should be corrected as
soon as required training is available.
Annual Summary Report
The FMO will be responsible for completing an annual Wildland Fire Summary Report. The
report will contain the number of fires by type, acres burned by fuel type, cost summary,
personnel utilized, hours of aircraft use, and fire effects.
Fire causes should be reviewed annually and appropriate revisions made to the Fire
Prevention Plan directing action toward reducing the top three causes of unwanted wildfire.
Annual Fire Management Plan Review
The Fire Management Plan (WFMP) will be reviewed annually by the FMO and the AFMO.
Necessary updates or changes will be accomplished prior to the next fire season. Any
additions, deletions, or changes will be reviewed by the Natural Resources Director to
determine if such alterations warrant revalidation of the plan by the Superintendent and the
Regional FMO.

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The Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT) has a burn permit system and the general population
on the Colville Reservation is well informed of this. Mount Tolman Fire Center (MTFC)
makes it known, by placing signage on the main entrance highways into the Colville
Reservation. During open burning period from December 1st through March 1st there is no
need to obtain a burn permit for burning. From March 1st- November 30th everyone must
have a burn permit on-hand in order to burn. There are four types of burning that MTFC
allows: Burn Barrel, Recreational, Debris Pile, and Traditional.
Burn Barrel requirements:
-Clear the ground 4 feet around the barrel.
-Cover the top of the barrel with wire screen ¼ inch mesh- 14 gauge or heavier.
Allow at least 4 inches of overlap beyond the barrel edge.
-You attend the fire until it is dead out.
-You have a bucket full of water or charged garden hose available at the site.
Recreational and Traditional requirements (campfires, meat drying, sweat lodge, traditional
cooking):
-The fire is less than 6 feet in diameter.
-You have a shovel, axe, and bucket full of water or a charged garden hose at the burn
site.
-You are the landowner or have landowner permission prior to burning.
-You attend the fire until it is dead out.
-You clear a sufficient are of flammable materials. A minimum of 4 feet is advised
unless the fire danger is considered high, than 4 feet is required.
-During period of Very High or Extreme fire danger, burning may be restricted upon
approval of the CCT Business Council.
-The fire is not within 50 feet of any structure.
Debris Pile requirements (yard waste, hand piles of slash, scrap lumber, etc.):
-The fire is less than 12 feet in diameter.
-You have a shovel, axe, and a bucket full of water or charged hose at the burn site.
-You are the landowner or have landowner permission prior to burning.
-You attend the fire until it is dead out.
-You clear a sufficient area of flammable materials. A minimum of 4 feet is required.
-During periods of High, Very High, and Extreme fire danger, this type of burning
will be restricted.
-The fire is not within 50 feet of any structure.
There is no burn permit required for campfires at designated camp grounds that are
maintained by CCT Parks and Recreation Department. Parks and Recreation Department
will have established fire pits in place.
The following requirements apply to all types of burning on the CCT Reservation.

67

MTFC does not allow burning of rubber products, plastics, asphalt, garbage, dead animals,
petroleum products, paints, or any similar materials that emit dense smoke or create offensive
odors when burned.
Check the weather forecast prior to burning.
Do not burn when the wind is above 5 miles per hour or predicted to be above 5 miles per
hour.
Cancellation or restriction of all types of permits issued by MTFC will be considered as
the fire danger level rises and changes.
Debris Pile fires will be restricted after May 1st every year and reinstated in the fall once the
fire danger level returns to a Low. Each person must call in to MTFC to reinstate this type of
burn permit.
When the Fire Danger level shows:
Low- MTFC allows these types of permits;
-Debris Pile permits (restricted after May1st regardless of what fire danger level is)
-Recreational campfires
-Traditional fires
-Burn Barrels
-Random campfires
Moderate- MTFC allows these types of burn permits:
-Recreational campfires
-Burn Barrels
-Traditional Fires
High- MTFC allows these types of burn permits:
-Traditional
-Campfires at designated pits only
Very High or Extreme- MTFC does not allow any type of burning during these fire danger
levels.
How to obtain a burn permit on the Colville Reservation.
There is no cost to obtain a burn permit because MTFC does not charge a fee. The permittee
does not need to be CCT member, but lives within the jurisdictional boundaries of the
Colville Reservation.
The most common way that people ask for a burn permit, is by phone. The permittee calls,
and MTFC gets some basic information from them including: name, phone number, mailing
address, physical address (where the burning will take place), the type of burn permit that is
needed, which district the permittee lives in, and how the permittee wants to receive the burn
permit (email, fax, in person, or by mail, and hand delivery if possible). When requested by
68

phone, the permittee must sign the burn permit when he/she gets it in hand. All burn permits
must be signed when the permittee receives it. There is no burning allowed until the
permittee has the burn permit on-hand. A copy of the burn permit regulations are attached
with every burn permit.

Pictured below is a view of the screen available to the Prevention staff
when preparing an individual’s burn permit.

The permittee ID is automatic inserted and the rest is filled in with the permittees
information.
The drop down arrow under TYPE will fill in what type of burn permit that is being
requested. The drop down arrow under COUNTY will tell which county the burn
permit is being issued to. Multiple types of burn permits can be issued to the same
person at the same time. The types of burn permits issued under this system are: Camp
fire, Debris pile, Burn Barrel, Recreational, and Traditional. There is a field burning
permit system in place however, it is not under the Fire Management program.

69

The following CCT Tribal Codes apply to everyone that burns regardless if the person
has a burn permit or not. It is up to CCT Police Department and CCT Parks and
Recreation Department to enforce the burn permit regulations. The Prevention staff at
MTFC does not have the authority to enforce these regulations. If there is a violation of
the burn permit regulations, the CCT Police Department or CCT Parks and Recreation
is notified.

FIRE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT
CHAPTER 4-19 FIRE MANAGEMENT
LIQUIDATED DAMAGE SCHEDULE
Suppression costs can and will be added to all amounts on this schedule, If any cost is
associated with the violation(s) in question.
BURNING PERMITS
4-19-30 Burning Permits
(a) Fire without a permit:
First
offense..........................................................................................................................
...$100
Second
offense..........................................................................................................................
.300
Third
offense..........................................................................................................................
..$500
Fourth
offense.......................................................................................................................$
1,000
(b) Burning outside fire permit or burn plan
requirements........................................................500
(1) Unattended
fire...................................................................................................................$250
(2) Burning during a restricted
period......................................................................................$500
FIRE DANGER/HAZARDS
4-19-31 Closed to Entry—Designation
(c) Entry into a closed
area.......................................................................................................$100
4-19-32 Suspension of Burning Permits/Privilege
(a) Burning during a restricted
period.......................................................................................$500
(b) Burning with suspended
privileges...................................................................................$1,000
4-19-33 Closure of Forest Operations or Forestlands
(a) Operation of logging equipment during a closed
period...................................................$1,000
(b) Entry into a closed
area........................................................................................................$100
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4-19-34 Spark-Emitting Equipment or Device
Operating spark emitting equipment without a spark arrest
device........................................$1,000
4-19-35 Work Stoppage Notice—Penalty for Violations
(a) Operation in violation of a work stoppage
notice..............................................................$1,000
4-19-36 Deposit of Fire or Live Coals
Deposit of fire or live
coals........................................................................................................$500
4-19-37 Report of Fire
(b) Permitting spread of
fire.......................................................................................................$500
(c) Failure to report a
fire............................................................................................................$500
4-19-38 Lighted Material—Vehicles, Public Transportation or Equipment in Operation
(a) Permitting spread of
fire........................................................................................................$500
(b) Firing timber, grasslands or other department protected
land............................................$1,000
4-19-39 Escaped Slash, Grass and Debris Burns—Obligations
(a) Permitting spread of
fire........................................................................................................$500
(b) Firing timber, grasslands or other department protected
land............................................$1,000
(c) Burning outside fire permit of burn plan
requirements.........................................................$500
4-19-40 Negligent Starting of Fires—Allowance of Extreme Fire Hazards or Debris—Liability—
Recovery of
Reasonable Expenses—Lien
Allowing fire to spread onto department protected
land(s).......................................................................$1,000
EXTREME FIRE HAZARDS; PROHIBITED ACTS
4-19-62 Failure to Extinguish Campfire
(a) Failure to extinguish
campfire...............................................................................................$250
(b) Burning outside fire permit or burn plan
requirements.........................................................$500
4-19-63 Willful Setting of Fire
Willful or careless setting of
fires...............................................................................................$500
4-19-64 Removal of Notices
Removal of
notices......................................................................................................................$2
00
4-19-65 Negligent Fire—Spread
(a) Allowing fire to spread onto department protected land(s)
................................................$1,000
(b) Burning outside fire permit or burn plan
requirements..........................................................$500
(c) Permitting spread of
fire.........................................................................................................$500
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(Adopted 4/15/04, Resolution 2004-261)

Colville Confederated Tribes
Wildfire Investigation Policy
Background:
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) – Branch of Wildland Fire Management has long had a
policy to appropriately investigate all wildland fires occurring on lands held in trust, to
determine the specific cause and origin. This policy is necessary since it is the duty of the
BIA to protect lands ands and the natural resources they support from destruction from a
wildfire. The location of the origin is important in determining who is responsible for
suppression and possible damages. The determination of cause may lead to criminal charges
or civil or administrative actions. Since the Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT) has
compacted fire preparedness, including prevention, it has the responsibility for the initial
determination of cause and origin. Therefore, the CCT adopts this policy through inclusion
in the 2014 Wildfire Prevention Plan. To fulfill this policy, at least one person at the CCT
will need to possess or have the ability to gain the Fire Job Qualification of Wildland Fire
Investigator (INVF).
Policy Statements:
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1. All wildfires occurring on trust and restricted title lands where at least one of
the following has occurred must be investigated by a certified INVF. It is the
responsibility of the Initial Attack IC to recognize that one of these has
occurred; or, if not, to make the cause and origin determination. The criteria
for making this request are any of the following:
•
•
•
•
•

Economic loss has occurred to property, forest, or agricultural
resources.
Juvenile fire setting is suspected.
A history of serial arson is present or is suspected.
Other criminal activity is involved.
Personal injury has been sustained (including fatalities).

2. All investigations will follow the policies established in 90 IAM 1.4C (10).
Additional guidance includes the NWCG Handbook 1 (PMS 412-1), NWCG
FI -210 and the NFPA 921.
3. All reports will be made utilizing the most current official field forms of the
BIA for wildfire investigations. (Current copies are on the Appendix Disk to
the 2016 CCT WFPP.) The minimum standard for a report consist of the Field
Data Sheets, Photos and Log, General Origin Area Sketch Map, the
Confidentiality cover and a Statement of Cause and Origin Determination.
The standard for any of the circumstances identified in policy statement # 1, is
for a full written report as identified in the Wildfire Investigation Handbook
[90 IAM 1.4C (10)].
4. The CCT Wildfire Prevention Program investigates wildfires for cause and
origin, not people. If a responsible party is identified in the process, the
wildfire investigators will work closely with law enforcement to support their
investigation. Wildfire Investigators in the CCT will work closely with tribal
police on all wildland fire cause determinations where arson is suspected.
5. Cause data for wildfires will be updated in the Wildland Fire Management
Information System (WFMI) based on results of investigations conducted by
the INVF.
6. Whenever negligent or criminal behavior results in a wildfire on trust or
restricted title lands, and a responsible party is identified; the CCT will pursue
a) trespass damage claims, (provided qualifying damages occurred); b)
suppression costs recovery; and/or c) criminal charges. This may require
coordination and cooperation with the Northwest Regional Office (NWRO).

Procedures:
Initial attack firefighters throughout the CCT need training in basic fire cause determination.
73

The FI-110 “Wildland Fire Observations & Origin Scene Protection for First Responders”
provides the training needed to recognize and protect the origin during initial attack. It should
be provided on a regular basis to Tribal fire personnel and fire departments throughout the
CCT.
The initial attack incident commander (local cooperator or Agency Staff) determines the
level of investigation needed and should notify the designated contact (Prevention
Technician) of the need for a qualified investigator. If an investigator is not available, the
incident commander should be notified immediately and appropriate measures should be
taken to preserve the scene and protect evidence until one can be dispatched.
The priorities for wildfire investigations are based on the potential consequences and future
need for documentation. Using these criteria, the order of priority for wildfire investigations
are: fatality wildfires; serious injury wildfires; significant loss wildfires (occupied structures,
natural resources, businesses and livestock); wildfires suspected of being part of a repeated or
serial arson case; minor injury wildfires and all others.
Photographs should be taken at the scene to document the investigation, evidence and
circumstances. The investigator must make every effort to photograph the scene and
evidence as fairly and accurately as possible. All photography will adhere to the policies
established in the 90 IAM 1.4C (10) - Chapter 5.
The fire origin area will be searched in segments (grids) as illustrated in Chapter 3 of the
NWCG Handbook 1, “Wildfire Cause Determination Handbook”. The investigator will also
be responsible for providing the voluntary statement form, consent form for fire scene
examination when appropriate.
When the investigator encounters evidence of criminal activity, the appropriate law
enforcement office will be notified. Ideally, the fire investigator and law enforcement officer
will work together in preparing a case for civil or criminal action. Witnesses on scene may be
interviewed by the INVF or Law Enforcement. Interviewing of witnesses that are not on
scene or questioning of persons of interest will be the responsibility of Law Enforcement.
The BIA has enrolled all of “Indian Country” in the anonymous tipping program WeTIP.
Through this service, a toll free number is provided that is staffed 24 hours a day and seven
days per week. Operators are trained to take tips from the public and to relay that information
to pre-identified contacts across the country. The programmatic contact for CCT is the
NWRO Prevention Specialist. Tips will be forwarded to the Special Agent at the National
Interagency Fire Center for distribution to the appropriate Law Enforcement Agency.
Reluctant witnesses should be encouraged to call WeTIP and provide information
anonymously. The Toll-Free number for WeTIP is 1-800-47-ARSON (or 1-800-472-7766).
WeTIP posters are available from the NWRO Prevention Specialist.
Additional information regarding wildland fire trespass, and the federal laws and regulations
pertaining to such can be found in the BIA – Indian Forest Management Trespass Handbook
(53 IAM 7-H) and in the attached digest of citations concerning fire.
Additional training in arson, technical report writing and juvenile fire setting are also needed
74

for fire investigators.
Access to, and use of, an investigation “kit” is imperative for the fire investigator. Supplies
for evidence collection, securing and processing the crime scene need to be included in the
kit. The fire investigator is responsible for maintaining this kit; it should be fully stocked at
time of dispatch. An itemized list of materials for the kit is included in this appendix. The
minimum requirements for the investigation report and blank copies of the standard forms
are also included in the appendix.
This Fire Investigation Policy is hereby adopted for the CCT with the approval of the 2016
CCT Wildfire Prevention Plan Revision.
4-19-10 Fire Protection Powers and Duties of Department; Enforcement
At Fire Management's discretion, appointment of trained personnel possessing necessary
qualifications to carry out duties and supporting functions of the Department may include
hiring, appointing fire investigators, wardens, and other commissioned law enforcement to
represent Fire Management in fire investigations and court proceedings.
(a) Fire Management shall have direct charge and supervision of all matters pertaining to
wildland fire suppression within the boundaries of the Colville Indian Reservation.
(b) Fire Management shall:
(1) Enforce this Chapter;
(2) Be empowered to take charge of and direct the work in suppressing forest fires;
(3) Investigate the origin and cause of all forest fires to determine whether a criminal
act or a negligent act by person, firm, or corporation caused the start of, or the spread
of, or the existence of a fire.
(4) Furnish notice or information to the public calling attention to forest fire dangers
and penalties for violation of this Chapter.
2 (5) Adopt rules for the prevention, control, and suppression of forest fires considered necessary
including, but not limited to:

(A) fire equipment and materials;
(B) use of personnel; and
(C) fire prevention standards and operating conditions including a provision
for reducing these conditions where justified by local factors such as location
and weather.
4-19-11 Conducting Investigations
(a) Fire Management shall work cooperatively in conducting investigations, to the extent
possible, with utilities, property owners, and other interested parties to identify and preserve
evidence. Fire Management is authorized, without court order, to take possession or control
of relevant evidence found in plain view and belonging to any person, firm, or corporation.
Fire Management shall notify, to the extent possible, the person, firm, or corporation of its
intent to take possession or control of the evidence.
(b) Before Fire Management takes possession or control of evidence, the person, firm, or
corporation shall be afforded reasonable opportunity to view the evidence and shall be
afforded reasonable opportunity to examine, document, and photograph it. If the person,
firm, or corporation objects in writing to Fire Management's taking possession or control of
such evidence, Fire Management must either:
(1) Return the evidence within seven days after the day on which Fire Management is
provided with the written objections; or
75

(2) Obtain a court order authorizing the continued possession or control thereof.
(c) Absent a court order authorizing otherwise:
(1) Fire Management may not take possession or control of evidence over the
objection of the owner of such evidence if:
(A) The evidence is used by the owner in conducting a business or in
providing an electric utility service; and
(B) Fire Management's taking possession or control of the evidence would
substantially and materially interfere with the operation of the business or
provision of electric utility service.
(2) Fire Management may not take possession or control of evidence over the
objection of an electric utility when the evidence is not owned by the utility but has
caused damage to property owned by the utility. However, this subsection does not
apply if Fire Management has notified the utility of its intent to take possession or
control of the evidence and provided the utility with reasonable time to examine,
document, and photograph the evidence.
(d) Only personnel qualified to work on electrical equipment may take possession or control
of evidence owned or controlled by an electric utility.
(e) Fire Management may remove at will or suspend the authority of any investigator,
warden or other authorized law enforcement official to represent Fire Management in fire
investigations who is incompetent or unwilling to properly discharge the duties of such
office.
4-19-12 Wardens—Appointment—Duties
Fire Management may appoint any of its employees as wardens, at such times and in such
localities it considers the public welfare demands, within any area of the reservation
where there are forest lands requiring protection.
3 (a) Wardens shall:

(1) Provide forest fire prevention and protection information to the public;
(2) Investigate discovered or reported fires on forest lands and take appropriate
action;
(3) Patrol assigned areas, visit camp grounds of frequent use and warn campers,
visitors and other users of fire hazards;
(4) Inspect all vehicles, locomotives and all steam internal combustion, devices and
other spark-emitting equipment including chainsaws for spark arresters and adequate
devices which prevent the escape of sparks or fire;
(5) Inspect forest land operations and activities for required fire prevention and
suppression equipment or devices and ensure that protection of forests are enforced.
In addition, wardens who hold federal, state, or tribal law enforcement commissions
verified and approved by the Colville Tribal Police Department shall have the
authority to:
(A) Investigate, arrest, and initiate prosecution of all Tribal Law and Order
Code violators; and
(B) Investigate all forest land fires as assigned by Fire Management, complete
investigation reports, and appear in court as needed on said investigations and
prosecutions.
(b) Wardens shall submit reports which summarize activities for that period, how assigned
areas are visited, expenses incurred, and other information which may be required by Fire
Management, in a format and at a time specified.
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(c) Fire Management may remove at will or revoke the authority of any warden who is
incompetent or unwilling to properly discharge the duties of the office.
(d) Fire Management shall determine the placement and assignment of the wardens and at the
request of the individual districts, may assign additional wardens during times of special
need, or high fire danger.
(e) The authority of the wardens regarding the prevention, suppression, and control of forest
fires, summoning, impressing, employing help, or making arrests for violations of this
Chapter may extend to any part of the reservation.
4-19-13 Wardens—Ex officio Appointments—Compensation
(a) Colville Tribal Police Department commissioned officers, whether a Colville tribal police
officer, a natural resources enforcement officer, a ranger, a cross-commissioned state or
county officer, or other commissioned officer while in their respective jurisdictions may be
deemed ex officio wardens during any emergency regarding the suppression and
extinguishing of any forest land fire.
(b) Employees of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, when recommended by the
forest manager and at the discretion of Fire Management, may be commissioned as wardens
and vested with the powers specified in this Chapter.
(c) A warden shall not create any indebtedness or incur any liability on behalf of the Tribes
and will not receive additional compensation for services, except when employed in
cooperation with the Colville Tribes under the provisions of this Chapter. Warden's engaged
in the prevention, suppression and
4 extinguishing of the spread of fire or for the investigation of wildfire may receive additional
compensation at a rate to be fixed by Fire Management. Other jurisdictions supplying ex officio
wardens may also be compensated for additional costs for supplying officers and equipment.

(d) Fire Management may revoke the authority granted to any ex officio warden under this
Chapter who is incompetent or unwilling to properly discharge the duties of the office.
4-19-14 Service of Notices
Any notice required by law to be served by Fire Management, a warden, an ex officio
warden, or a ranger shall be sufficient if a written or printed copy thereof is delivered,
mailed, telegraphed, or electronically transmitted by Fire Management, warden, ex officio
warden, or ranger to the person to receive the notice, or to his or her responsible agent. If the
name or address of the person or agent is unknown and cannot be obtained by reasonable
diligence, the notice may be served by posting the copy in a conspicuous place upon the
premises affected by the notice.
4-19-15 Arrests Without Warrants
Fire Management employees appointed or commissioned as wardens, and all law
enforcement officers may arrest persons violating this Chapter without a warrant pursuant to
CTC § § 2-1-32 and 2-1-33.
4-19-16 Violations—Penalty
Any person who willfully violates any of the orders or rules adopted under this Chapter
for the protection of forests from fires is guilty of Reckless Burning, Chapter 3-1-201 and subject to
the penalties for committing this crime pursuant to Colville Tribal Law and Order Criminal Code.

77

Digest of legal citations for illegal burning, trespass and penalties
CFRs
25 CFR Ch. 1 Part 11 § 11.315 (Sentencing)
25 CFR Ch. 1 Part 11 § 11.409 (Reckless Burning)
25 CFR Ch. 1 Part 11 § 11.410 (Criminal Mischief)
25 CFR Ch. 1 Part 11 § 11.450 (Max Penalties)
25 CFR Ch. 1 Part 11 §162.101, 102, 103, 106, 108, 239, 255 & 256 (Ag Trespass)
25 CFR Ch 1 Part 11 § 163.1, 163.29 (Forest Trespass)
25 CFR Ch 1 Part 11 § 166. 801 (Agricultural Trespass)
Source: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov
Federal Law
18 USC 1856 (Fires left unattended and Unextinguished)
18 U.S.C. Part 1 Chapter 53 § 1153 ( Major Crimes Act)
18 U.S.C. Part 1 Chapter 5 § 81 (Arson within special jurisdictions)
18 U.S.C. Part 1 Chapter 40 § 842(explosive materials)
18 U.S.C. Part 1 Chapter 40 § 844 (Penalties related to explosive materials)
18 U.S.C. Part 1 Chapter 91 § 1855 (Timber Set Afire)
18 U.SC. Part 1 Chapter 91 §1856 (Fires left unattended and Unextinguished)
Source: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/

78

e-CFR Data is current as of February 23, 2009
Title 25: Indians
PART 11—COURTS OF INDIAN OFFENSES AND LAW AND ORDER CODE
Subpart D—Criminal Offenses

§ 11.409 Reckless burning or exploding.
A person commits a misdemeanor if he or she purposely starts a fire or causes an explosion, whether on his or
her property or another's, and thereby recklessly:
(a) Places another person in danger of death or bodily injury; or
(b) Places a building or occupied structure of another in danger of damage or destruction.

e-CFR Data is current as of February 23, 2009
Title 25: Indians
PART 11—COURTS OF INDIAN OFFENSES AND LAW AND ORDER CODE
Subpart D—Criminal Offenses

§ 11.410 Criminal mischief.
(a) A person is guilty of criminal mischief if he or she:
(1) Damages tangible property of another purposely, recklessly, or by negligence in the employment of fire,
explosives, or other dangerous means; or
(2) Purposely or recklessly tampers with tangible property of another so as to endanger person or property; or
(3) Purposely or recklessly causes another to suffer pecuniary loss by deception or threat.
(b) Criminal mischief is a misdemeanor if the actor purposely causes pecuniary loss in excess of $100, or a petty
misdemeanor if he or she purposely or recklessly causes pecuniary loss in excess of $25. Otherwise, criminal
mischief is a violation.

79

e-CFR Data is current as of February 23, 2009
Title 25: Indians
PART 11—COURTS OF INDIAN OFFENSES AND LAW AND ORDER CODE
Subpart C—Criminal Procedure

§ 11.315 Sentencing.
(a) Any person who has been convicted in a Court of Indian Offenses of a criminal offense under the regulations
of this part may be sentenced to one or a combination of the following penalties:
(1) Imprisonment for a period up to the maximum permitted by the section defining the offense, but in no case for
longer than one year; and
(2) A fine in an amount up to the maximum permitted by the section defining the offense, but in no case greater
than $5,000.
(b) In addition to or in lieu of the penalties provided in paragraph (a) of this section, the court may require a
convicted offender who has inflicted injury upon the person or property of another to make restitution or
compensate the injured person by means of the surrender of property, payment of money damages, or the
performance of any other act for the benefit of the injured party.
(c) If, solely because of indigence, a convicted offender is unable to pay forthwith a money fine assessed under
any applicable section, the court shall allow him or her a reasonable period of time to pay the entire sum or allow
him or her to make reasonable installment payments to the clerk of the court at specified intervals until the entire
sum is paid. If the offender defaults on such payments the court may find him or her in contempt of court and
imprison him or her accordingly.
[58 FR 54411, Oct. 21, 1993, as amended at 73 FR 39861, July 11, 2008]

80

e-CFR Data is current as of February 23, 2009
Title 25: Indians
PART 11—COURTS OF INDIAN OFFENSES AND LAW AND ORDER CODE
Subpart D—Criminal Offenses

§ 11.450 Maximum fines and sentences of imprisonment.
A person convicted of an offense under the regulations in this part may be sentenced as follows:

Type of offense

Maximum allowable sentence

(a) Misdemeanor

Up to 1 year in prison, or a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

(b) Petty misdemeanor

Up to 6 months in prison, or a fine of up to $2,500, or both.

(c) Violation

Up to 3 months in prison, or a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

[73 FR 39861, July 11, 2008]

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Community Assistance Program

The Community Assistance Program (CA) is intended to provide
incentives, technical assistance, and education programs to
communities and tribes to encourage the reduction of hazardous fuels
around homeowner properties.

This program was implemented before the Healthy Forest Restoration
Act (HFRA) identified and defined Community Wildfire Protection Plans
(CWPP/E) as the guiding document for Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and Community Assistance activities.

The national emphasis for the Community Assistance program is to
develop a collaborative, community-based approach to reduce risks to
homes and property by increasing the level of community awareness,
identifying values and risks, developing partnerships among local
governments, and communities and building collaborative mitigation
strategies.

All Community Assistance projects are required to identify the partner(s)
to the project(s) to be eligible for funding. In addition, communities
assisted by the project must also be identified. These can be
Communities at Risk and/or Communities of Interest.

The CA program is divided into three activity areas in which funding can
be requested. These are:

Risk Assessments – The initial summary assessment of life or property
exposure risks associated with wildfire. This includes landscape level
and/or community level assessments. A Risk Assessment usually
precedes a Mitigation Plan. The results of a risk assessment may be
displayed in various data formats including tabular, geographic
information system (GIS) or a written report.
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Fire/Mitigation Plans – A Mitigation Plan is a specific action plan,
usually developed after the completion of the Risk Assessment that
details how hazards identified in the Risk Assessment will be mitigated.
This activity includes Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) and
BIA Wildfire Prevention Plans. A BIA WFPP is a CWPP equivalent, if all
requirements of a CWPP have been met (see BIA Wildfire Prevention
Handbook).

Implementation Actions – A completed Risk Assessment and/or
Mitigation Plan is required to apply for funding under this activity.
Implementation Actions includes the following sub categories:

Community Outreach Event – These cover fire issues in general
targeted to a specific community (homeowner training like Firewise is
covered under training below) and covers many topics like fire history,
the role of fire, general preparation for fire events, chipper days.

Data Collection, Coordination and Distribution – These activities are
separate actions from home evaluations/assessments and monitoring.
These could include activities that gather information regarding fire, fire
ecology, historical use of fire by tribes, before and after surveys of
homeowner opinions/actions, general demographic information
collection.

Home Evaluations/Assessments – the actual evaluation or
assessments of homes. These evaluations may be part of the risk
assessment. Each home evaluation is counted as one unit.

Media and Public Information Event – These are general in nature, or
are in conjunction with other events (Powwows, fairs, parades, etc…)
where homeowner or community fire preparations are one of many
topics addressed in the overall event when the target audience is the
general public where the media may be present or invited.
83

Monitoring – This long term (more than one year) post event monitoring
implementation activities. For example, tracking how many homeowners
implemented and maintained mitigation activities such as FIREWISE
principles, survivable space etc… after a defined number of years.

Signing – This is specific to a fire education sign campaign. It includes
the development and implementation. Examples include interpretive
signs, evacuation route signs, fire education billboard leasing, exhibits,
kiosks, and other visual fire education efforts. Do not count the number
of signs, exhibits or displays, count the number of campaigns.

Training Residents – Those events that are primarily focused on
training residents/homeowners on what to do around their homes and
communities. These would include Firewise type presentations. It would
also include training in home evaluations, and demonstration projects.

Other –This includes things like ad campaigns, teacher education
activities, train the trainer courses, community level training, and other
activities which are designed to reduce or eliminate risks to persons or
property.

Prevention activities are those actions taken to reduce the number of
human caused wildfires. These activities should be funded through
92T00 and should not be captured in NFPORS.

Treatments that result in acres being accomplished through grant
programs. These treatments are entered in Hazardous Fuels module.

Entering the NFPORS Community Assistance Module
84

After logging into NFPORS, select the Community Assistance module
button on the NFPORS module banner at the top of the page (as
displayed below).

Once this module is selected, the main screen will display summary
information for the unit(s) the user has access to within NFPORS. From
this screen, the user can view summary data for the unit(s) related to the
following areas:
• RFA Request Summary
• Risk Assessments
• Community Assistance Partners
• WUI Planning Areas

• Fire/Mitigation Plans
• Implementation Actions
The user also has the ability to view specific, detailed information for the
categories above. Lastly, the user is able to create new items within the
categories above.

85

Customize Portal allows the user to
change if and how the portlets are
displayed.

The web based user manual provides
easy searches.

The PDF version is the best option for
printing the manual.

Out-year plans are not used at a
national evel for any purpose and it is
recommended that users not enter
data here unless it is used locally.

Create a Partner
The foundation of Community Assistance is collaboration with partners;
therefore, any community assistance activity begins with the
identification of partners. Once a partner is created, it is available for any
other community assistance activities.

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Steps
1. Enter Partner Name
2. Select Partner Type
3. Select Predominant State
4. Select Predominant Congressional District
5. Click on the Save Button when completed

Note: RFA and WUI use the same partner list, however, only partners
identified as “Fire Department” are visible in the RFA section.

Create a WUI Planning Area
A WUI Planning Area should relate to a community and its values as
identified in a CWPP/E. Ideally, a WUI Planning Area will correspond to
a project area in the Hazardous Fuels Module

87

Planning Area Name
• This is a user defined field
• Recommendation: Include the
community name
Planning Area Type
• Only county or local plans are
available from the HF module
Predominant State /
Congressional
District
• Select from the drop down lists
Partners
• Select as many partners as
apply
Assisted Communities
• Communities at Risk
o Use the Map to select
communities identified in the
Federal Register
• Enter New Community of Interest if the community isn’t in the CAR
list
o Enter the name of the community
o Once entered, the name can not be edited or deleted so use caution
and ensure the
community doesn’t already exist

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Steps
1. Name WUI Planning Area
2. Select Planning Area Type
3. Select Predominant State
4. Select Predominant Congressional District
5. Check Partners
6. Add Communities at Risk us

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Aconfederated_colville%3Add2ea01a2e2cbe39. Public record. Not legal advice.