Andrew Avitt
Pacific Southwest Region
September 27, 2023
Team Awareness Kit from USDA Forest Service on Vimeo.
Damian Guilliani, situation unit leader, and Darrick Rosetti, firefighter with California Incident Management Team 4, compare the Tactical Awareness Kit application with a large paper map. (USDA Forest Service photo by Andrew Avitt)
The nature of wildfires has changed. A warmer, drier climate. Denser forests. Dead and dying trees from invasive species and disease. All have contributed to wildfires that burn hotter, longer, at all times of year, causing more damage.
The information we use to fight fire has changed as well. One hundred years ago wildland firefighters were lucky if they had a map.
Damian Guilliani, a situation unit leader with California Incident Management Team 4, hasn’t been around that long. But in his 22 years in wildland fire, he has seen some great operational and technological advancements in the industry.
 
Nick Bunch, operations section chief, gives an operational brief during a planning meeting on the evening of Sept. 20, 2023, for the Smith River Complex Fires. (USDA Forest Service photo by Andrew Avitt)
“Early in my wildland firefighting career I was a field observer, out in the weeds, looking out from ridgetops, gathering information on fire behavior, fire line perimeters, new fire starts. In those days we tried to get that information out in 12-24 hours.”
However, in a fast-paced, dynamic wildfire response, there’s always room for improvement, said Guilliani. “Fast forward to 2023, you’re seeing real-time information being pushed out to firefighters in the field in as little as 15 minutes.”
Guilliani is currently positioned on the Smith River Complex Fires in Northern California near Crescent City. His group serves as a hub for intelligence — filtering, capturing, compiling and disseminating that intelligence to 900 and 1,000 fire personnel on the incident, the public, and partners. 
The Tactical Awareness Kit application currently being tested could be a one-stop shop for firefighters out in the field. (USDA Forest Service photo by Andrew Avitt)
There’s An App for That
He said that within the last the last five years, there’s been a dramatic and ever-increasing role of technology in wildland suppression efforts. Live data can be disseminated and streamed to firefighters on their smartphones out on the fire line, through a program called Team Awareness Kit.
“It’s an app that you can put on your phone, tablet or computer. Basically, it’s a hub for all the information, so the firefighters can just open up a phone and go; everything’s right there.” 
The Tactical Awareness Kit application can also be used by fire managers to inform evacuation plans and fire suppression activities. (Photo courtesy of Damian Guilliani)
Although currently in beta testing, the Team Awareness Kit or something similar will be a game changer for incident managers and firefighters out on the fire line, informing decisions on anything from evacuation plans to suppression strategy and tactics.
That information comes in many forms. Maps, infrared data, live videos from unmanned aerial systems or aircraft, locations of increased wildfire activity, active air resources, and units around the fire.
“We’re always trying to plan ahead for the next operational period,” said Guilliani. “So the idea is to collect all this data and have it ready for the firefighters in the morning. So when they open up their phones, they basically see everything we’ve collected overnight and then we can update that information throughout the day.” 
Kerri Williamson, operations section chief with California Incident Management Team 4, compares the Tactical Awareness Kit application with a large paper map during a planning meeting September 19, 2023.(Photo courtesy of Damian Guilliani)
“Every fire we go to, we try and make the process a little better. So on the Smith River Complex Fires, it was the first time that we built a process to where we had UAS (uncrewed aerial system), infrared data, our legacy map products and then also updating all at once in the morning.”
Nick Bunch works with Guilliani on the California Incident Management Team 4. As an operations section chief, Bunch also recalls the evolution of wildland firefighting from his earlier years.
“It’s pretty funny. I’m finally at an age in my career where I get to talk about the old days,” said Bunch, who has spent the last 25 years suppressing wildfires across the country. “GPS didn’t exist when I started, so when we would get a smoke report, we would go out in the forest and walk in a wide circle, trying to find it. That doesn’t happen anymore.” 
Aerial photo of low intensity, burnout operations on the northern perimeter of the Smith River Fire Complex. (USDA Forest Service photo Karen Scholl)
On the Smith River Complex Fires, Bunch said the data is extremely helpful and gives incident managers and firefighters a look at hard-to-reach areas.
“This part of Northern California is challenging for firefighters. There are many areas that are really hard to access — the roads are narrow, the vegetation is dense, and the slopes are steep. So we have to be really wise with how we deploy our resources,” said Bunch. “Firefighters can use this intelligence pull it out of their pocket on the fireline, to see through the smoke, or into a canyon, when visibility is low.”
That critical information can be used to act, but it can also be used to know when not to engage.
 
Mad River hotshots on the Smith River Complex Fire August 30. (USDA Forest Service photo)
“Knowing when we do not need to hike down into a drainage or up to a ridgetop, can help our firefighters, save their knees, ankles, conserve their energy to fight fire smarter.
“It’s still a hard job, and we’ll still have some tough tasks, but this timely information will allow the firefighters on the fire line, division leaders, and the incident commander to make the best decision with the best data,” said Bunch.
When it first came out ,the technology was clunky and connectivity was a challenge. Now it’s pocket sized and reliable. The next step will be identifying the process of how to use it to benefit firefighters across an incident and to assist incident management teams across the country.
“A need for timely information, that’s never going to go away,” said Guilliani. “It helps us make good decisions, so that we can go and engage safely. It tells us when we can go in and be successful, and when it’s simply unsafe.”