EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article has been contributedby Jeffrey A. Berino CFEI, CCFI, B.S., AAS, Deputy Chiefwith Colorado's Lake Dillon Fire District, and a senior fireinvestigator for Pie Consulting & Engineering.

Virtually every federal, state and forest service agency acrossthe nation is forecasting that 2012 is very likely to become arecord year for extreme wildfire activity in the western andsouthwestern U.S., with the future heralding ayear-round state of danger. Currently wildfires are burning innine U.S. states, already inflicting heavy property damage.

Weather pattern influences, including last winter's dry, lowsnowpack season and abnormally high temperatures contribute to theimpending danger. Another contributing factor is that thisyear's wildfires began before Wildfire Season officially commencedon May 21. In fact, before the end of February a call camein for the first wildfire of the year, which was caused by alightning strike in the Southwest. Although most of us are lookingforward to the monsoons in July for the relief of moisture, we alsoneed to be aware that this rainy season produces hundreds oflightning strikes a day, at least some of which are powerful enoughto act as an incendiary for new blazes.

For claims involving fire disasters, it is beneficialto enlist the expertise of a fire investigationprofessionals in order to process the claim efficiently andexpediently.

According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, nearly allof Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah havedrought conditions that should persist through at least June/Julyof this year. Portions of the central Rockies are reportingonly five to eight percent of residual snowpack as ofmid-June. With wildfires already occurring all across the westernU.S., that leaves continually less resources and fewer firefightersto combat the latest breaking firestorms.

“Unfortunately wildfires in Colorado and New Mexico are alreadyreaching historic proportions—burning thousands of acres andhundreds of homes,” says Carole Walker, executive director of theRocky Mountain Insurance Information Association (RMIIA). “With this tremendous potential fire risk throughout the U.S., itis essential for the insurance industry to continue to workhand-in-hand with fire officials and investigators who can help usbetter understand wildfire risk—both in terms of prevention andwhat ignites catastrophic wildfires.”

The Congressional Research Service also affirms that wildfiresare getting more severe, with more acreage and structures burnedand more people at risk. This is a result of excess biomass in theforests, which results from past logging and grazing, as well as acentury of fire suppression, combined with an expandingwildland-urban interface, meaning more people, homes and otherstructures in and near the forests. Also liable are climatefluctuations, exacerbating drought, and insect and diseaseproblems. Generally speaking, I see one of two events in oldgrowth, mature forests: they either burn or the bugs get them. In many areas of the west both of these events are occurring,which has a synergistic effect on wildfires and their growthpotential.

Significant wildfire potential is defined as the likelihood thata wildland fire event will require mobilization of additionalresources from outside the area in which the fire situationoriginates. With such a potential at hand for this anticipatedmassive wildfire season, savvy claims adjusters should beinformed about the differences between the two main types of firedisaster insurance claims: wildfire and structural fire; both ofwhich require origin and cause investigations.

Determining Origin and Cause

When dealing with a wildfire claim, I encourage insuranceprofessionals and attorneys to work with an investigator who hasexpert wildfire investigation experience, as there are severalspecific differences in conducting an investigation of a wildlandfire compared to a structural fire. The methodology employedin the case of a wildfire investigation is to begin the study withthe areas of the most damage, and progress to the areas of leastdamage. The opposite is true in a structural fire.

Experienced wildfire investigators will use a variety of methodsto determine the origin and cause of a blaze. The fire is brokendown into both “general and specific” areas of origin. Advancingpatterns, where the fire made a forward run, are marked with redflagging. Lateral patterns near the sides of an advancingfire are marked with yellow flagging, and in cases where the firebacked against the wind or topography, blue flagging isutilized.

Once a specific area of origin is determined via analysis of theflagging, a detailed and often painstaking grid search is conductedusing a magnifying glass for close examination of “micro-patterns”. In many cases, I also use a magnet in the grid search. Duringthe site examination the investigator not only needs toscientifically rule out many potential causes, but to the extentpossible, endeavor to find the exact cause, and prove that itstarted the fire utilizing this scientific method.

There are also advantages of a team approach to handlingwildfire claims and potential subrogation. Analysis of externalfactors such as multiple ignitions, first responder actions,building code issues, weather influences, code compliance, andpotential spoliation are involved, as well as the relevance of RAWS(Remote Automated Weather Station) data and the use of LIDAR(Light Detection and Ranging) technology as it relates to wildfireorigin and cause. While it's often important forthe investigator of an origin and cause claim to get to the sceneof a wildfire soon after its burn, there is also what is called a“cold case” which may be several months old. With a cold case,there can be enough evidence still available that can helpattorneys and adjusters produce a substantial argument or defense.Pattern analysis and in particular, “Macro Patterns” such asstaining, char effects on larger fuels and beveling/cupping of somefuel types are still present for many months after awildfire.

Cold Cases

Other factors that can be looked at in cold cases includereviewing weather records, searching for the presence of a varietyof viable ignition sources, studying the moisture content in thefuel package, examining the wind speeds and the direction it mayhave taken the fire, determining the relative humidity at the timeof the ignition, and even evaluating the activities of peopleattempting to suppress it. I have found that cold caseinvestigations, while they present certain challenges, can besuccessfully conducted, and can turn out to be very beneficial toattorneys, insurance adjusters and subrogation specialists.

It is vital for professionals in this field to gain anunderstanding of the latest information and cutting edgetechnologies being used in today's wildfireinvestigations. The National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA) states “During the January-December 2011period, 8.7 million acres burned across the U.S. — the third mostin the 12-year period of record.” Large wildfire claims caninvolve hundreds if not thousands of parties including multiplepublic agencies. Unlike most large scale catastrophic events(hurricanes, tornados, hail, tsunamis, floods and earthquakes),wildfires may not be natural occurrences. Because of the vastscope, complexity and exposure of large wildfires, an innovativeteam approach is necessary to properly handle these events.

During recent years, the dollars at risk on single events can bein the hundreds of millions. Public sector budget short-fallsare putting increased pressure on resources for fire mitigation andwildfire suppression. This has resulted in public agenciesseeking suppression costs from at-fault parties on largerwildfires. Additionally, some have argued that fewerresources for battling and prevention have resulted in theincreased number and magnitude of wildland fire occurrences.

I've often been asked if there is any gratification in mywildfire investigation career, and I have to say that some aspectsare particularly rewarding. One is being able to pinpoint thearea where the burn started, and even more importantly, the causeof the fire. That is especially significant for futurereference in helping to educate all of us to keep from replicatingthese types of incidences. Hopefully we can use our findingsas tools of prevention to avoid future disasters.

At the time of this writing there are multiple major incidentwildfires burning in the western U.S. In 2011, Arizonaexperienced the largest recorded wildfire in its history while inJune, 2012, New Mexico experienced the largest recorded wildfire inits history. The third largest wildfire on record in Colorado,including the largest fire on record in Larimer Co. Colorado, hastaken one life and destroyed more than 189 structures. Over 60,000acres have been burned by this High Park Fire, according to theLarimer County Sheriff's Office, and is the costliest fire inColorado's history. This wildfire, which was caused by alightning strike, may take weeks to contain and may not be declaredofficially “out” until the snow flies next fall.

A professional investigator with specific experience in wildfireinvestigation can be an important asset in a team approach to thesecomplex fires. Determining the origin and cause can be adaunting task at best. The utilization of the correctmethodology combined with hands-on experience can often lead to asuccessful outcome for subrogation issues as well as theprosecution and defense positions in a criminal case.

Jeff Berino has been involved in the wildfire arena for 32years, garnering degrees in Fire Science and Business Management.As a certified fire investigator and incident commander, he hasinspected, examined and combated hundreds of wildfires across NorthAmerica during the past 28 years. This on-the-ground experience hasenabled him to see firsthand the nature and behavior ofwildfires. Berino is a Deputy Chief with Colorado's LakeDillon Fire District, and works as a senior fire investigator forPie Consulting & Engineering.

Mr. Berino is a court-certified expert in the area ofwildfire suppression and cause. He has assisted in the prosecutionof criminal cases and has worked for plaintiff and defensecounsels, and claims and subrogation staff on major wildfiresacross the U.S. Contact him at [email protected]or at 866-552-5246.