Forest Service eyes development of improved fire shelter BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The man tapped by the U.S. Forest Service to come up with a better fire shelter once had to get inside one on the side of a burning mountain and listen to flames roar past sounding like a jet airplane taking off. The federal agency worked to improve equipment and strategy after the deaths on Storm King Mountain. Petrilli is the fire shelter project leader for the Forest Service at the Missoula Technology and Development Center hoping to make improvements to the protective gear. The service had planned to start on the project this year, but moved it up a year to in an effort to have new fire shelter available by 2016. Another is having the same weight shelter but increasing protective capabilities.