Wildland Fire News

A selection of news releases and stories related to wildland fire management. For details about ongoing wildfires, visit the National Interagency Fire Center.

Year

Type

Smoke rising from the Tamarack Fire. Photo by the Forest Service.

Increasing Wildfires Are Causing Greater Air Pollution

05/06/2022

As we recognize National Air Quality Awareness Week, we explore how increasing wildfires are producing a record amount of smoke emissions, impacting the health of people across the country.

Flames rise from the 2021 Ford Corkscrew Fire in Washington State at night. Photo by KS Brooks, USFWS.

In the News: Massive Wildfires Helped Fuel Global Forest Losses in 2021 (www.washingtonpost.com)

05/02/2022

Around the globe, 2021 brought more devastating losses for the world's forests, according to a new survey. Fires accounted for more than a third of the world's tree cover losses last year, the largest share on record.

Silhouetted firefighters. Photo by USDA.

In the News: Department Of Labor Announces Streamlined Claims Process for Federal Firefighters with Certain Occupational Illnesses (www.dol.gov)

04/26/2022

The U.S. Department of Labor issued a policy bulletin announcing changes by its Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs to assist federal firefighters with certain occupational illnesses by making it easier for claimants to file certain claims and improving transparency in how claims are processed.

In the News: President Biden Signs Executive Order to Strengthen America’s Forests, Boost Wildfire Resilience, and Combat Global Deforestation (www.whitehouse.gov)

04/22/2022

On Earth Day, President Biden signed an Executive Order to expand his Administration’s historic and bold efforts to tackle the climate crisis, make our nation more resilient to extreme weather, and strengthen local economies.

In the News: Pacific Northwest Wildfires Alter Air Pollution Patterns Across North America (news.ucar.edu)

04/22/2022

Increasingly large and intense wildfires in the Pacific Northwest are altering the seasonal pattern of air pollution and causing a spike in unhealthy pollutants in August, new research finds. The smoke is undermining clean air gains, posing potential risks to the health of millions of people, according to the study.

A duff workshop offered by the Southern Fire Exchange in 2019. Photo by David Godwin, the Southern Fire Exchange.

Scientists Help Re-introduce Healthy Fire in Florida Forests

04/14/2022

Restoring healthy fire to long-unburned forests is a complex process. When trees began to die after prescribed fires in Florida, research funded by the Joint Fire Science Program identified the cause, and the Southern Fire Exchange Network helped local land managers act on the findings to restore healthy ecosystems.

Firefighters walk through smoke and extinguish flames at the Lava Fire.

Secretary Haaland Highlights Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Wildfire Response Investments in Colorado (www.doi.gov)

04/12/2022

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland visited Colorado, where she and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met with federal wildland fire leadership to discuss local, state, and federal wildland fire preparedness and response that will be bolstered by historic investments through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The glow of the 2020 Inchelium Complex Fire in Washington at night. Photo by KS Brooks, FWS.

In the News: U.S. Fires Quadrupled in Size, Tripled in Frequency in 20 Years (eos.org)

04/11/2022

Throughout the 2000s, fires increased in number, size, and frequency across the contiguous United States compared with the previous two decades, new research has shown. These fire pattern changes, which threaten human and ecosystem health, are attributed to a combination of climate change impacts and human expansion into new and burnable land.

Interior Department Releases Five-Year Monitoring, Maintenance and Treatment Plan to Address Wildfire Risk (www.doi.gov)

04/04/2022

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $1.5 billion to the Department of the Interior’s Wildland Fire Management Program to address wildfire risk and prepare communities and ecosystems against the threat of wildfire by making historic investments in forest restoration, hazardous fuels management and post-wildfire restoration. Today, the Department released a roadmap for achieving these objectives in coordination with federal, non-federal, and Tribal partners.

NPS national fire planner Melissa Forder.

Opening Doors for Women in Fire with Melissa Forder

03/31/2022

March is Women’s History Month. This year, we’re highlighting some of the trailblazing women that are improving wildland fire management. Meet the national fire planner for the National Park Service, Melissa Forder. 

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