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United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
I started one of these several years ago, but it looks like it petered out and was lost in one of the periodic file purges.
The United States Forest Service was founded in 1905, and currently protects 193 million acres of public forest and grassland. It is divided into 9 regions numbered 1-10 (Region 7 was eliminated in 1965 and its forests added to Regions 8 & 9). The regions have a fair amount of autonomy and tend to develop their own style of apparatus based on budgets, fire occurance, water availablity and fuel type.
Regions tend to follow geography and fuel types and do not strictly follow state lines, so some states are in more than one region. Each region manages 15-20 National Forests / Grasslands.
Region 1 - Northern region Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota
Region 2 - Rocky Mountain region Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas
Region 3 - Southwest region Arizona, New Mexico, Texas
Region 4 - Intermountain region Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming
Region 5 - Pacific Southwest California, Hawaii / Pacific islands
Region 6 - Pacific Northwest Oregon, Washington
Region 7 - Was the Eastern region, eliminated in 1965
Region 8 - Southern region Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Puerto Rico
Region 9 - Eastern region (Lake States Region until 1965) Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusettes, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine
Region 10 - Alaska region Alaska
Traditionally Regions 3,5 and 6 have the most active fire seasons and the largest fire organizations.
Regions 1 and 2 have smaller organizations, due to the remoteness and rugged terrain there is a large reliance on aircraft (air tankers, helicopters and smokejumpers).
Regions 8 and 9 are smaller younger forests close to populated areas. Most of these forests were created through the Weeks act of 1911 and are reclaimed land heavily cut over and developed by the end of the 19th century. The fire organizations in these regions are small. Unlike the other regions that have developed their own apparatus these two regions tend to buy "off the shelf", mostly small slip on pumper units.
Region 10 is Alaska which has its own unique issues. Fire engines are rare, firefighting is mostly done by crews who are transported by boats, and aircraft.
This is a subject close to me so I'm happy to try and answer any questions. I have a lot of photos so I'll be dribbling these out a few at a time. I hope to see others add some of their own.
I'll start with one of the earliest known pieces of USFS fire apparatus. In 1915 the Sierra National put a 1915 Model T speeder in service to patrol the logging railroads in the mountains east of Fresno.
Credit Sierra National Forest Archives
United States Forest Service - Monrovia1 - 04-17-2011
![[Image: IMG_4018.jpg]](http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h155/Seagrave7/US%20Forest%20Service/LPNF/IMG_4018.jpg)
Los Padres NF Battalion 72.
United States Forest Service - Monrovia1 - 04-17-2011
![[Image: fc741172.jpg]](http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h155/Seagrave7/US%20Forest%20Service/Air%20Ops/fc741172.jpg)
Fire Oberservation aircraft.
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
Chippewa NF Patrol truck
Credit Chippewa National Forest Archives
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
1946 Jeep pickup patrol truck, Angeles National Forest
Credit Angeles National Forest Archives
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
Restored Model T, used by the San Bernardino National Forest for public education. This was once used as a District Rangers car.
Photo by Aaron Woods
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
1938 Ford "tanker truck" Angeles National Forest
Until the late 1980s the USFS called its engines Tanker trucks.
Credit Angeles National Forest archives
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
An engine being tested on the tilt table for rollover resistance at the USFS research facility in San Dimas, CA (Near Los Angeles).
The USFS created two forest research labs in the 1940s. One in Missoula Montana, and one in Arcadia, CA. In 1965 the Arcadia facility was moved a few miles away to a larger location in San Dimas. The San Dimas lab is responsible for testing and developing wildland fire equipment for the USFS.
Photo by Aaron Woods
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
Shasta National Forest crew truck
Credit Shasta-Trinity National Forest archives
United States Forest Service - Monrovia1 - 04-17-2011
[quote name='Aaronw' timestamp='1303020430' post='435035']
An engine being tested on the tilt table for rollover resistance at the USFS research facility in San Dimas, CA (Near Los Angeles).
The USFS created two forest research labs in the 1940s. One in Missoula Montana, and one in Arcadia, CA. In 1965 the Arcadia facility was moved a few miles away to a larger location in San Dimas. The San Dimas lab is responsible for testing and developing wildland fire equipment for the USFS.
Photo by Aaron Woods
[/quote]
Whats the current facillity in Arcadia on Santa Anita just off of the 210 used for?.
United States Forest Service - Guest - 04-17-2011
[quote name='Aaronw' timestamp='1303019296' post='435031']
Chippewa NF Patrol truck
Credit Chippewa National Forest Archives
[/quote]
Would this be the one near or in Michigan?
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
[quote name='Monrovia1' timestamp='1303020660' post='435037']
Whats the current facillity in Arcadia on Santa Anita just off of the 210 used for?.
[/quote]
That is probably the Angeles National Forest Supervisors Office.
The Forest Service has a Washington Office (WO) planning at at the national level and dealing doirectly with congress. Each region has a Regional Office (RO) that deals with larger regional issues (R5's in in Vallejo, at the old Mare Island Navy base). Then individual forests have a Supervisor's Office which is usually located in a nearby city. The SO deals with local community issues and forest wide issues. The forests are then broken down into districts (usually 2-6) each with a District Office, the district office may be close to the forest in town, or on forest land. This is the level you start to find the field going employees. Finally there are the work centers / fire stations distributed around the forest close to the work.
Very small units like the Tahoe Basin Management Unit (at Lake Tahoe) will combine the staff from the Supervisor's Office and District Office into one. The basin used to be managed by the Eldorado National Forest, but due to the high profile of the lake and the politics surrounding it, a seperate management unit was created to deal with its specific needs in the 1970s.
[quote name='Abbott Shaull' timestamp='1303025763' post='435038']
Would this be the one near or in Michigan?
[/quote]
Yes
United States Forest Service - hank - 04-17-2011
Good photos of the antiques.
tHANKs
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
Thanks, Hank, I've gotten pretty good with a scanner. I have surprised a few people when I ask if I can scan a few photos. The word yes is barely out of their mouth when my lap top and scanner are set up on a handy table. <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/fireman.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' /> I also have a small network of like minded USFS guys to swap stuff with and a few of the forests have finally started to put some old photos online too which has helped a lot for the stuff from out of my area. Palomar Hotshots. This is a typical module set up, with two 10 person buggies and a superintendant's truck. Some crews use 3 smaller 6 person buggies instead of the large 10 person buggies.
Photo by Aaron Woods
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
Sawtooth Hotshots, this is an example of the smaller style crew buggy.
Photo by Aaron Woods
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
Plumas National Forest 1930(ish) Moreland fire engine.
Credit Plumas National Forest archives
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
San Bernardino National Forest mobile repair truck.
Photo by Aaron Woods
United States Forest Service - countryboy88 - 04-17-2011
Region 9 - Eastern region (Lake States Region until 1965) Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine
Is there a reason Pennsylvania is not listed? Are they handled by a different agency or was it remitted by mistake? <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/shrug.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' /> <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/shrug.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
[quote name='countryboy88' timestamp='1303086441' post='435206']
Region 9 - Eastern region (Lake States Region until 1965) Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine
Is there a reason Pennsylvania is not listed? Are they handled by a different agency or was it remitted by mistake? <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/shrug.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' /> <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/shrug.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />[/quote]
Typo, I just missed it.
United States Forest Service - Aaronw - 04-17-2011
In the 1950s, the USFS attempted to bring some uniformity to its fire apparatus with the Model 1,2 and 3, which were all slip on pumpers. These were followed by the Model 50 and 56. The Model 50 was a flatbed pumper that could be easily converted between a pumper and a flatbed work truck for areas with low fire occurance. The Model 56 was a full time pumper that over time evolved into the Model 60, 61 and 62 which is still the current type 3 engine in California.
Model numbers do have some organization, although there are exceptions (including the initial Model 56) with leads me to believe Model organization was an afterthought.
Model 10s, 20s and 30s are small slip on units, 40s are small-medium PTO pumpers, 50s are based on a flatbed truck, 60s and 70s are large PTO pumpers, 80s have large (1000 gallon) tanks.
In 2010, the USFS adopted a new 3 digit model numbering system, the first number being the type (Type 3, Type 4 etc), the second is a 2 or a 4 based on 2wd or 4wd, the third digit gives the tank size in hundreds of gallons. So the new Model 346 is a type 3 engine, 4x4 chassis with a 600 gallon tank.
San Bernardino Model 56, 1959 Chevrolet
260 gpm PTO pump, 300 gallon tank, crew 5 (2 in the cab, 3 on the bench behind the cab)
Credit San Bernardino National Forest archives