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.

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Protecting Cliff Dwellings from Wildfire (www.nps.gov)
A group of people standing in front of prehistoric cliff dwellings
9/4/2019
National Park Service employees and local partners take action to protect prehistoric cliff dwellings from an advancing wildfire at Tonto National Monument.
Interior Transfers Wildland Fire Engine to De Beque Fire Protection District
A group of people standing in front of a wildland fire engine
8/22/2019
The engine was transferred under BLM’s Rural Fire Readiness Program, which is designed to provide equipment to local wildland firefighting partners at no cost.
dotGov Notes: Sampling the Castle Fire (earthobservatory.nasa.gov)
A smoking wildfire seen from a plane
8/22/2019
On August 12-13, researchers flew instrumented aircraft through the smoky skies to learn what chemicals were rising in the plumes and how those compounds evolve and disperse over the course of the fire’s lifespan.
dotGov Notes: FEMA Authorizes Federal Funds to Help Fight Alaska’s McKinley Fire (www.fema.gov)
screenshot from FEMA website
8/20/2019
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the McKinley Fire burning in Alaska’s Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
DOI to Treat More Than 1.2M Acres this Wildfire Season, Resources Mobilized across the Nation
Smoke rises from a distant wildfire
8/16/2019
With peak wildfire activity predicted in the coming months, the Department of the Interior has been working tirelessly to implement preventative measures to limit the size and scope of wildfires, treat current wildfires already underway, and protect wildfire-prone areas to best safeguard people and their communities.
Yosemite National Park Rescue Medic Heather Wonenberg Awarded the 2018 Outstanding Wildfire EMS Individual of the Year (www.nps.gov)
A person standing at the door to a parked helicopter
8/15/2019
National award recognizes outstanding work in the area of emergency medical service for our Nation’s Wildland Firefighters.
dotGov Notes: FEMA Releases the National Mitigation Investment Strategy (www.fema.gov)
FEMA logo
8/14/2019
On August 13, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its federal partners, in close coordination with experts across governmental agencies, academia and non-governmental organizations, released the National Mitigation Investment Strategy.
dotGov Notes: Flying through a Fire Cloud (earthobservatory.nasa.gov)
The setting sun glows orange behind a haze of smoke 30,000 feet above the ground
8/13/2019
On August 8, 2019, a team of atmospheric scientists got a rare look at pyrocumulonimbus clouds as they were forming above a fire in eastern Washington.
dotGov Notes: Multi-agency Effort Goes Deep Inside a Fire (www.usda.gov)
Burning trees in a forest
8/13/2019
Forest fires often reach or exceed temperatures of 2,000° Fahrenheit—that’s equivalent to one-fifth the temperature of the surface of the sun. What is the impact of such high temperatures on the soil and plants of our forests? USDA Forest Service scientists and others with the interagency Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation Experiment (FASMEE) teamed up with the Fishlake National Forest Richfield Ranger District to study a prescribed fire from start to finish.
dotGov Notes: Where there’s fire, there’s smoke — and secrets for science to uncover (www.noaa.gov)
A column of smoke rises from a wildfire
8/9/2019
Hundreds of scientists embark on mission aimed at improving air quality forecasts
In the News: Celebrate Smokey Bear's 75th Birthday (www.smokeybear75th.org)
Smokey Bear's 75th Birthday
8/9/2019
Since 1944, Smokey Bear has taught millions of Americans about their role in preventing wildfires. Seventy-five years later, in 2019, Smokey is celebrating a milestone birthday.
Fighting fire with fire (www.fws.gov)
A firefighter carrying a drip torch walk alongside a fire burning in grasses.
8/7/2019
Prescribed burns on refuges improve wildlife habitat, reduce wildfire risk
In the News: Alaska Fire Service Drone Footage Provides Bird's-Eye View of Firefighters Extinguishing Hot Spot (akfireinfo.com)
A view from a drone of firefighters putting out a spot fire
8/7/2019
Alaska wildland firefighters pioneered the use of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, on fires across the country during the summer of 2017 to help provide fire crew support, hot spot detection and mapping.
Fire, Topography, and Climate Drive Variation in Alaska's Boreal Forests (www.nps.gov)
Red and yellow-leaved bushes below a stand of evergreen trees
8/7/2019
How is fire, topography, and climate, driving variation in Alaska's boreal forests? Researchers compared forest survey data from Denali National Park and Preserve and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.
Remote wildfire spotted on eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park (www.nps.gov)
A small fire burning in a forest
8/7/2019
On the evening of August 3, Yellowstone’s Mount Washburn fire lookout detected a wildfire near the eastern boundary of the park likely caused by lightning. That area has received substantial lightning over the past two weeks.

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