Tim Kiehl, owner of Remote Transport Services in North Pole, said he has been leasing his Nodwell Flextrack to the forestry service for use on Alaska wildfires since 2002, but in recent years has been beat out by competition from the Lower 48.
“Three years ago the Soft Tracks showed up. They just flood everything and nobody else gets to work,” said Kiehl. “It’s not just me that it’s happened to, it’s happened to all the other vendors with Nodwells.”
A Nodwell is a tracked vehicle used to access remote locations and is frequently used to fight forest fires. Kiehl said there are four other vendors in the Fairbanks area that have Nodwells available for lease.
The Soft Track is a tracked vehicle that has been modified for firefighting with the addition of water cannons and other specialized gear. Those used on the Hastings Fire as well as on other fires throughout the state in the past several years are supplied by a Montana company called Soft Track Attack.
Therein lies the rub.
“I don’t have a problem with other contractors making money, I just don’t like it when people come up from the states, take business away from us and then go back to where they came from. I’ve got kids to take care of and taxes to pay,” said Kiehl.
Equipment used on a fire is leased at a daily rate that includes the machine and its operator. Kiehl said that while he had been getting $1,900 per day for his Nodwells, Soft Track Attack employees told people on his crew their machines, with an operator, were leasing for $2,400 per day.
Tom Kurth, chief of fire and aviation for the forestry division, said he was unsure of what the lease agreement was for the Soft Tracks. He said the vehicles were moved to the Hastings Fire from the Moose Mountain Fire and the forest service was told the machines and their operators were from Kenai.
“Oftentimes our logistical people are dealing with time limits — we try to do the best we can, but the fire dictates our schedule,” said Kurth. “Obviously it’s big business and there’s a lot at stake, but there was never a plan to use out-of-state resources and deprive locals of their jobs.”
A search of the State of Alaska Department of Commerce website found an Alaska business license issued to Soft Track Attack Inc., with an address in Troy, Mont.
When reached for comment, Larry Covey, owner of Soft Track Attack, said his company is based in Montana but also has offices in New Mexico, Washington and Alaska. The Alaska office is run out of his nephew’s home in Kenai and two Soft Track vehicles are kept there for use on Alaska fires, said Covey.
The Soft Track Attack website does not contain information about an Alaska office, though it does list phone numbers for the other offices Covey mentioned.
Covey stated he has five sons and a daughter who work for him and the sons are the only operators he allows on the Soft Tracks.
“I do try to utilize folks if I have a need, but when it comes down to operating my heavy equipment, it’s something that’s specialized and so I use people who already now how to operate that,” said Covey.
Covey’s sons live in Montana.
Kiehl, the owner of the Nodwell machines, contacted Kurth about his concerns earlier this week. Along with his issues about local hire, Kiehl feels Nodwells do less damage to the forest floor, especially in areas of permafrost. Kiehl’s “determination to get his point across,” said Kurth, merits a closer examination of equipment leasing practices.
“We don’t always get it perfect. Whether the Soft Tracks are exactly what we need out there is open to discussion,” said Kurth.
Kurth plans to sit down with Kiehl and other local equipment suppliers in the near future.
“We’ll work with our local contractors who have all been part of the dedicated fire fighting effort here. I want to make sure that we have their concerns and interests at heart here, and make sure we have the equipment we need. If we need specific kinds of equipment in the future then maybe they (the local equipment suppliers) can build it for us, if we give them the specs,” said Kurth.
For his part, Kiehl is happy he pursued the issue.
“I feel the situation now is very good, and I do believe that he (Kurth) just didn’t have the information that he needed,” said Kiehl. “The best thing he told me is that he wanted to meet with us and see what we have and what we can do. I think it was just a communication deal.”
I don't see anywhere in this article that the soft track equipment is superior - quite the contrary. I believe it says it did major damage. So what... It has water cannons.
Grizcty wants trained professionals and the proper equipment - and you believe the fellas from Montana know Alaska better than our contractors that have lived here all or most of their life?
Tim Kiehl was the only contractor who was willing to pursue an issue that has a devastating financial affect to ALL business owners in this town! The Kiehl family has been in the interior for 40 years and are often called upon by people or organizations who may otherwise not be able to accomplish what they need to in the remote parts of Alaska. For example, Tim's business was one key factor to the success of the recent motion picture many of you may remember that took place down in the park. He knows the business and is only out there for the best interest of Alaska!
Now back to this taking money out of Alaska... Are the Montana boys downtown spending their money at local shops? Heck are they even buying their replacement engine locally?! That daily rate so many of you have complained about ends right back in your pockets by the way of local business and creating jobs when it is spent locally. By the way, Henry gets it... Buying the equipment isn't the expensive part of a Nodwell - operating it, insuring it and maintaining it is what's expensive.
Hats off to you Tim for stepping up when no one else had the guts to and thank you to Forestry for listening to what he has to say.
To me, the Soft Tracks make more sense.
As they were built to fight fires.
A Nodwell is a great machine.
And can be modified for many applications.
For only $500.00 more, INCLUDING the operator.
If I was hiring the services of someone.
I would want the trained operators & correct equipment. Lot less chance for the the equipment to be abused and taken out of service during a fire.
As for the tundra damage remarks.
They BOTH use the same type of track system.
EXCEPT the Soft Tracks have road pads. Which means they do LESS damage, then Steal grousers!
Here are pictures from Soft Tracks site.
Anyone have pictures of Kiehl's Nodwells?
http://www.coveyville.com/sta/photos/DSC03093.JPG
http://www.coveyville.com/sta/photos/IMG_0217.jpg
These guys did not work for very long. They were called up and released from the fire when their work was complete. They also suffered a blown engine, which they replaced and did not claim as a loss.
I believe in local hire and fairness. If we left firefighting to business, men like invictus would choose whether to mine or help put out the fire. Likely, business would choose to make the better profit. We would suffer with smoke and structure loss.
Anyway kudos to the firefighters. Nature rained it mostly away, so thanks to mother nature too.
You'd think that Forestry could simply buy some of these rigs (they get used hard every season) and save a bundle. Oh well.
Big time.
Teach a man to stay competitive, he will stay in business forever.
(Maybe the chamber will help their members stay competitive?)
I hear the damage they did to our land is unbelievable and will cost this state an astronomical amount of money to reclamate and fix the damage they have done.
If you did ask, they'd tell you about how they used to go out and set the fires so they could then get paid by the state to go fight the fire. There is a very real, very valid reason why local villagers don't get called to go fight fires.
As for the article, it certainly appears that someone came along with a better piece of equipment to fight fires. One designed to actually fight fires.
Forestry is in the business of fighting forest fires, not paying Mr. Kiehls bills and taxes. His equipment is second best for the job it should always be chosen after the best equipment. This is the real world Mr. Kiehl, either adapt your business or close your doors.
The backstory not mentioned in the article is not just about the money and the competition but also the dispatch reliability of the equipment provided in this case by our homegrown vendors. $500/day is a small price to pay to have a machine that is actually working more than half the time. dig a little deeper Newsminer.
1900 per day is armed robery any way you look at it Tim should keep his mouth shut and retire to Mexico, local retirement aint for us..
Kiehl is making a "Kiehlling" off of taxpayers.
Apparently, Kiehl is not aware that his federal taxes are paid on income.... ergo, less income - less taxes. His statement is uninformed.