Planners in Medford look at the big picture to coordinate the fight against the huge blaze

At first glance, it doesn’t look like much, just folks calmly working the phones around conference tables.

Until you see the strategy maps spread out on the tables and hanging from the walls of three interconnected meeting rooms at the Red Lion Hotel in downtown Medford.

This is the war room for the battle against the 376,492-acre Biscuit fire, sparked by a July 13 lightning storm deep in the Siskiyou National Forest.

Leading the fight is Area Command Team No. 4, one of only four such firefighting coordination teams in the nation.

"What we’re doing here is working with the incident management teams on strategic, long-term objectives," explained Ron Coats, assistant area commander for logistics.

"They are taking care of the day-to-day operations on site," he added during a break. "We don’t get into those details."

With an army of more than 6,100 firefighters from four countries, four incident management zones established and the largest Oregon wildfire in more than a century on their hands, team leaders have plenty to do coordinating the long-term strategy, Coats said.

"We’ve got a lot of resources here," Coats said. "But with something this big, it’s going to take time — a lot of time."

"Our main goal is to help incident commanders," added Bill Waterbury, assistant area commander for planning. "They are focused on a specific piece of real estate.

"We are looking at the big picture and providing strategic direction and making sure their plans mesh together all the way around the fire," he added.

Waterbury is assistant director for fire operations in the Forest Service’s Southwest Region based in Albuquerque.

Coats hails from Atlanta, where he is fire director for the Forest Service’s Southern Region.

The team’s commander is Rex Mann, a veteran firefighter with the agency in Kentucky.

Other core members include a third assistant area commander, risk assessment specialists, flight restriction experts working with the Federal Aviation Administration and an office manager.

This marks the third firefighting effort the team has helped coordinate this year. Last week, the team ended a nearly three-week engagement to close up management of the Toolbox complex fire near Lakeview. Before that it was on the Hayman fire near Pueblo, Colo. Both fires exceeded 130,000 acres.

However, this fire is a unified command with the Oregon Department of Forestry.

The team took charge of the coordinated effort at sunrise Saturday. For the next 14 days, it will coordinate the battle against the stubborn fire.

On one wall is a huge map showing the fire’s growth as well as containment lines already built. Another wall is covered with illustrations of fire weather history in the region.

Across the room, specialists were studying current fire maps and the fire’s behavior to try to understand where the next hot spot will flare up.

A new incident management team about to take over the battle on the California side of the fire was being oriented.

Much of the coordination work includes conference calls with incident commanders on the ground. Incident command teams have full control of tactical operations in their zones, Coats stressed.

"We stay out of their hair — they know what they do best," he said.

Work begins at 6 a.m. with a breakfast meeting to hash over the coordination plans.

While most of the staff leaves around 8 p.m., some specialists, like those working on infrared imagery, continue working well into the night.

While many members of the team are unfamiliar with the region, it is an old friend to Waterbury, who worked in the Illinois Valley and Gold Beach ranger districts early in his career.

"That’s rough, rugged terrain up there," said Waterbury, who had spent time with the Curry County Search and Rescue when he worked in the Gold Beach district.

"I’ve been through a lot of that country, looking for lost hunters and hikers," he added. "That’s real rough country."

It’s also a real tough fire season, one that won’t be over for the team when the fire season ends in the Pacific Northwest, Coats said.

"About the time your season ends, our fall fire season starts down south," Coats said, referring to a dry period after the fall rains in the deep South. "It’s going to be a long season, even after this one is out."

Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at pfattig@mailtribune.com