Meet Joe Stutler: Wildland Fire Incident Commander

Joe Stutler's extensive experience in wildland fire management is unparalleled. With 55 years of experience, including 35 years with the US Forest Service and 20 years with Deschutes County, plus degrees in Natural Resources and Forestry, Stutler has done it all. Despite his long career, Stutler is still dedicated to advancing wildland fire management.

His dedication led him to partner with Wildfire Water Solutions (WWS), a high-volume water delivery supply chain designed to be a force multiplier by increasing safety, pace and scale of all attack assets. This system, together with a fully qualified Initial Attack Hand Crew, utilizes 10-inch lay-flat hose and transfer pumps up to 600hp to move water up to 75 miles from source to destination at a rate of 5,000gpm. Continuous on-demand water increases safety and productivity of all assets, whether a crew is punching fireline, mopping up or setting up remote ridgeline helicopter dip-sites closer to the target.

“Now we can lay hoses in terrain where it hasn’t been possible. We can keep water there on the ground which frees up helicopters and other aviation assets where they are needed most,” Stutler explains. “This is the best delivery system I’ve seen in 50 years.”

Claren Nilsson, a Wildfire Operations and Prescribed Fire Burn Boss with 42 years of experience in wildfire suppression, is also the CEO of Lost River Fire Management Service, Inc. Nilsson and her crews are working with WWS to fight fires and develop high-performing Initial Attack Hand Crews with true water delivery specialists for high-volume water conveyance.

 “We’re used to having a 300-gallon Type 6 Engine at most, which might get pulled from you because there’s a greater need for that water,” Nilsson explains. “For our crews to have the right water at the right time is amazing. It enables us to do more and limits what we are breathing in while doing it.”

Automation is another key element. The system has the capability for real-time, 24/7 monitoring, leak detection and precise control over water delivery. Additionally, remote activation is an option for all pumps, flow meters, valves, and water monitors including adjusting elevation, rotation, and droplet pattern. Automation enables greater scale and productivity while ensuring only the amount of water needed is utilized.

Stutler and Nilsson, with WWS, ultimately envision greater tactical flexibility for incident management teams as well as faster response, enhanced mitigation, fewer injuries and decreased risk of property or assets loss.

 Fire Resilient Landscapes
WWS also focuses on prevention by working with communities, municipalities, utilities, agricultural and recreation areas to mitigate fire risks through a wholistic approach that includes the creation and implementation of wildfire plans and vegetation management, as well as pre-positioning storage tanks and automated protective systems that can pre-treat and scale to suppress wildfire. These systems are installed where needed most and are ready if a fire occurs.

 “As people start seeing this in action and words start to travel, I have no doubt this will be a global resource,” Nilsson says.

The End Game
The WWS team is actively sharing this revolutionary technology as fast as they can with others all over the country. Their collective passion for the system is contagious, as is evident by the number of public and private organizations currently asking to learn more.

"Once the industry begins to more broadly deploy these assets, they will find new uses and more ways to enhance," Stutler says.