Fire Origin and Cause Investigations on State Responsibility Area lands within BLM Direct Protection Area
August 26, 2019
In Reply Refer To:
9200 (933) P
9260 (WO-120) P
EMS TRANSMISSION 08/27/2019
Instruction Memorandum No. CA-2019-011
Expires: 09/30/2020
To: California District Managers, Fire Management Officers, Law Enforcement Supervisors, and
Wildland Fire Investigators
From: Acting State Director
Subject: Fire Origin and Cause Investigations on State Responsibility Area lands within BLM Direct
Protection Area
Program Area: Fire and Law Enforcement
Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum provides clarification and direction for BLM Fire and Law Enforcement Program Managers and Wildland Fire Investigators regarding origin and cause determination activities on State Responsibility Area (SRA) lands within BLM’s Direct Protection Area (DPA).
Policy/Action: Pursuant to 43 USC 1733, 40 USC 3112, and Law Enforcement General Order 3, this IM is issued for the limited purpose of providing clarification and direction to managers regarding BLM Wildland Fire Investigator roles and responsibilities when a wildland fire has a suspected origin on State Responsibility Area within a BLM Direct Protection Area (DPA). The goal is to ensure jurisdictional integrity of the resultant investigative product for any administrative, civil, or criminal proceedings.
As codified in Exhibit I: Fire Prevention and Law Enforcement of the current California Cooperative Fire Management Agreement (CFMA), Federal and State agencies are responsible for the costs of the origin and cause determination investigation within their respective DPAs. The CFMA is posted online at https://gacc.nifc.gov/oscc/cwcg/cfma.php. Agencies are responsible for ordering the appropriate investigators through their respective resource ordering points and requesting a qualified investigator who has jurisdiction to conduct the origin and cause investigation.
When a fire is suspected to originate on SRA within BLM DPAs, the BLM Agency Administrator or Incident Commander is responsible for ordering the appropriate Wildland Fire Investigator (INVF). This is best determined by assessing whether a wildland fire has, based on local expertise, a direct forward path that affects, threatens or endangers BLM lands during the estimated duration of the fire.
Scenario 1: For wildland fires originating on SRA within a BLM DPA that affect, threaten or endanger BLM lands, the appropriate investigator for an origin and cause determination is a qualified Wildland Fire Investigator (INVF) from the following sources:
- CAL FIRE; or
- State Peace Officer assigned by the sheriff or chief of police; or
- BLM Law Enforcement Officer or qualified non-sworn BLM personnel with Volunteer Fire Warden Authority.
- When a fire is categorized as ‘controlled’ or ‘out’ BLM non-sworn INVFs will cease the origin and cause determination and turn the investigation over to a qualified investigator as outlined in scenario 2.
Scenario 2: For wildland fires originating on SRA within a BLM DPA that do not or no longer affect, threaten, or endanger BLM lands, the appropriate fire investigator for an origin and cause determination is a qualified INVF from the following sources:
- CAL FIRE; or
- State Peace Officer assigned by the Sheriff or Chief of Police; or
- BLM Law Enforcement Officer with Voluntary Fire Warden Authority who has been requested by the local sheriff of a county in whose jurisdiction the BLM has a current written agreement for State Peace Officer designation pursuant to section 830.8(b) of the California Penal Code.
As a reminder per the CFMA, Agency Administrators may decide that a joint investigation is appropriate for fire incident(s) affecting multiple jurisdictions. In addition, after consulting with one other, Agency Administrators will determine whether the agency with original jurisdiction should assume the full responsibility for the fire investigation.
BLM districts will assess whether the above clarification and direction is a change to the current annual operating plan process and notify dispatch centers, interagency partners, incident management teams and their county sheriff departments, as appropriate.
BLM districts will assess the Voluntary Fire Warden status of their fire investigators (both non-sworn and law enforcement) and notify the State Office if, and when, they are experiencing obstacles to obtaining this designation from CAL FIRE through the local annual operating plan process.
Timeframe: Effective immediately.
Budget Impact: No change in budget. Both State and Federal agencies are responsible for the costs of the origin and cause investigation within their respective DPAs.
Background: According to Exhibit I of the 2018 CFMA, the agency with DPA responsibility may conduct origin and cause fire investigation activities on SRA located therein provided such activities are within delegated authority and jurisdiction. This IM provides guidance to managers, supervisors, and field personnel when conducting such activities to address the appropriate role of BLM Wildland Fire Investigators.
Coordination: This policy development was coordinated with fire and law enforcement field personnel, supervisors, and managers.
Contact: If you have questions about this IM and or CFMA Exhibit I, please contact Miriam Morrill, State Fire Mitigation & Education Specialist, at (916) 978-4680 or mmmorrill@blm.gov. For Law Enforcement program related questions contact Salvador Nieblas, State Chief Ranger, at (916) 978-4454, snieblas@blm.gov.
For questions at the District please contact the District Fire Management Officer: Walter Herzog, NorCal DFMO, (530) 224-2151, wherzog@blm.gov; Elizabeth (Betsy) Schenk, CenCal DFMO, (916) 941-3123, eschenk@blm.gov; Paul Gibbs, CDD DFMO, (951) 697-5355, pgibbs@blm.gov.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Joseph Stout Larry Weitzel
Acting State Director GIS/Applications Mgmt Branch, CA-946