Winds Push Smoke From Canadian Wildfires South Into US and Compromise Air Quality
By COREY WILLIAMS and SARAH RAZA Associated Press Air quality in some parts of the United States is being compromised as smoke from dozens of wildfires in Canada travels south, pushed by winds high in the atmosphere. Air quality in Arrowhead, Minnesota, is...
Canadian Province of Manitoba Declares State of Emergency Over Wildfires as Thousands Flee
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — The Canadian province of Manitoba has declared a state of emergency over a series of wildfires, and Prime Minister Mark Carney has agreed to send in the military to help. “This is the largest evacuation Manitoba will have seen in most...
Wildfire Damages Civil War-Area Historical Site in NM as Campgrounds Are Evacuated
by MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A wildfire swept through portions of a Civil War-era fort and historical site in southern New Mexico, forcing the evacuations of campgrounds and a horse ranch, authorities said Monday. The fire damaged structures at...
AI-Boosted Smoke-Sniffing Wildfire Sensors Approved for Santa Clara County (CA)
Ethan Baron Bay Area News Group (TNS) With California still reeling after some of its worst wildfires on record ravaged Los Angeles earlier this year, Santa Clara County authorities this week approved artificial-intelligence-equipped, smoke-sniffing sensors to...
NEWS
Winds Push Smoke From Canadian Wildfires South Into US and Compromise Air Quality
By COREY WILLIAMS and SARAH RAZA Associated Press Air quality in some parts of the United States is being compromised as smoke from dozens of wildfires in Canada travels south, pushed by winds high in the atmosphere. Air quality in Arrowhead, Minnesota, is...
As CO Wildfires Worsen, Sen. John Hickenlooper’s Bill Aims to Reduce Risks. But It Worries Some Environmentalists.
Elise Schmelzer - The Denver Post A wildfire prevention bill championed by western U.S. senators — including Colorado’s John Hickenlooper — aims to fast-track some logging projects to reduce fire risk. But several environmental groups say the bill would sideline the...
WA Wildfire Season May Be Unpredictable After Federal Budget Slashing Hits Supplies, Support Staff, Crews Say
Alexandra Duggan - The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash. May 15—Fuel for chainsaws. Food and water for Pulaski-toting firefighters doing the exhaustive work of digging fire lines. Ample first aid kits with spendy epi-pens in case a wildland firefighter steps on a...
Where Are the MN Wildfires? See Maps Where Three Fires Are Growing in Arrowhead Region
Mark Boswell, C.J. Sinner - Star Tribune Three wildfires in northern Minnesota’s Arrowhead region have grown quickly from a few hundred acres to several thousand, with new evacuations and reports of destroyed buildings increasing by the day. Red flag weather warnings,...
Three Wildfires Break out in Northern MN
Jim Harlow Star Tribune (TNS) Three wildfires continue to burn and grow across St. Louis County north of Duluth, where more than 40 buildings have been destroyed. A red flag warning was in effect across 65 counties in Minnesota Tuesday morning as hot, dry and windy...
Product News
Waterax at the Wildland Urban Interface Conference March 26 – 28, 2024 Peppermill Resort, Reno, NV
Join WATERAX’s wildland dealers at this year’s Wildland Urban Interface Conference, March 26 to 28, in Reno, Nevada. The event is the premier gathering for firefighters and industry and community members to explore issues centred on the minimization and management of...
Perimeter Solutions Hires Forest Service, NASF Veteran Jim Karels As Agency Liaison
Karels brings 45+ years of wildland fire and forest management experience to the role Clayton, MO 30 January 2024 – Perimeter Solutions (NYSE: PRM), a leading global manufacturer of high-quality fire retardant, announced today that it has hired Jim Karels as its new...
FOL-DA-TANK®, LLC: Introduces “DA-EV Tank”
Milan, Illinois – FOL-DA-TANK®, LLC, announced their new, patent pending product “DA-EV Tank” today. This innovative new product is designed to address an increasing problem in the firefighting community, electric vehicle (EV) fires. As EVs have become more popular,...
Hero of PHOS-CHEK Ron Raley Looks Back on His 50+ Years in Fire Safety
Perimeter Solutions is celebrating the 60th anniversary of PHOS-CHEK® long-term fire retardant, which was first approved by the US Forest Service in 1963. PHOS-CHEK has protected thousands of properties from destruction and saved countless lives in the decades since...
Neptune Aviation To Offer Garmin Avionics Conversion Services
Decades of Experience and Full Range of Services Ensure Compliance, Safety and Can Minimize Aircraft Downtime Missoula, MT 2 October 2023 – Neptune Aviation, a leader in aerial firefighting and aviation services, is now an authorized Garmin dealer and can offer its...
Wildland Fires
View a full map of active U.S. wildfires and related articles.
VIEW MAP »Product Articles
Aspen, CO Type III Wildland Pumper
A new wildland rig for the Aspen Fire Protection District SVI Trucks - Aspen's new Type 3 Wildland Pumper features a 12' aluminum SVI-body mounted on an International 7500 SFA 4x4 chassis, which houses a Cummins L9 380EV HP engine. The apparatus has the...
Prescribed and Controlled Burns Often Kick Off by Drip Torch Use
Designed to withstand the rough treatment that drip torches often endure Controlled burns, prescribed burns, and backfires are all similar terms for a wildland fire that is intentionally lit to create a natural firebreak in front of a main fire front, to...
Introducing the VPO-1X Vinyl Backpack Fire Pump
All the right specs, in all the right places It’s time to gear up! As we head from spring into summer, fire agencies are starting to plan for summer operations. Wildland firefighting requires durable, light and powerful equipment, and firefighters...
Are You Ready for Fire Season?
DON’T GET CAUGHT WITH YOUR PUMPS DOWN! A pump failure at a critical time out in the field can result in devastating losses. Consequently, WATERAX is tirelessly dedicated to providing the highest quality Genuine pump parts. The care and precision taken in...
FoxFury Responds to Camp Fire in Butte County, CA
FoxFury forensic lights aid in search for human remains BUTTE COUNTY, California -A team from FoxFury Lighting Solutions arrived in Butte County, California yesterday as part of a massive effort to locate the remains of those missing and dead from the...
Introducing the WATERAX VPO-1X
Vinyl Backpack with Brass Hand Pump The new VPO-1X is the latest backpack hand pump to join the WATERAX BACKPAX series. Its collapsible 5 US Gal (19 L) bag is constructed of heavy duty yet lightweight polyester fabric which is encased in vinyl for...
Aviation
Two Killed in Plane Crash Responding to AZ Wildfire
WIKIEUP, Ariz. (AP) — Federal authorities on Sunday were at the scene of the crash of a small plane that killed two crew members responding to a wildfire in northwestern Arizona. Both people aboard the Beechcraft King Air C-90 aircraft died in Saturday’s crash. The...
More Help Sought for Montana Wildfires
Firefighting aircraft return to work BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s firefighting aircraft returned to duty Friday as officials sought even more personnel and aircraft ahead of a shift in the weather that could stir up a large blaze on the Wyoming...
Southern California Receives Two Large Firefighting Helicopters
Boeing Chinook helitankers already at work over Ventura County By AMY TAXIN Associated Press LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. (AP) — Southern California fire agencies are getting two large-scale helicopters that can each carry up to 3,000 gallons (11.356 liters) of...
Alaska Smokejumpers First Jump of the 2021 Fire Season
Smokejumpers head out to the Pilot Point Fire BLM Alaska Alaska Smokejumpers loading up for the first fire jump of the 2021 Alaska fire season was caught on video on May 24, 2021. The 12 BLM Alaska Fire Service smokejumpers flew 599 miles to the Pilot...
Test with Chinook Helps Upgrade California Helicopter Fill Site
Malibu site can now hold more water MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — A water fill-up station in the mountains above Malibu is increasing capacity to handle larger firefighting helicopters that are being contracted to bolster Southern California fleets. The upgrade...
Four Dead in Florida Firefighting Helicopter Crash
Helicopter crashed during training in Leesburg LEESBURG, Fla. (AP) — A firefighting helicopter with four people on board crashed Tuesday near an airport in central Florida, killing at least one person, officials said. The helicopter crashed into a marsh...
Close Call at California Wildfire
Burnover avoided in El Dorado County Max McGregor Salmon Fire, El Dorado County At approximately 12:15 PM on Saturday, May 1, CalFire Amador-El Dorado Units responded to reports of a wildland fire in the area of Salmon Falls Road and Gallagher Road near...
Global SuperTanker May Be Sold as Freight Carrier
Revenue from firefighting contracts made little profit By PATTY NIEBERG Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — As Western states prepare for this year’s wildfire season, the world’s largest firefighting plane has been grounded and could be...
Videos
Meet The Wildland Firefighters of Hawaii – ‘Different But the Same’
https://vimeo.com/651279616 Meet the Hawaii Wildland firefighters. Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources presents this video look at the men and women who are the first responders for the state's 3 million acres of forest land. Like most places, wild fire...
Pilot Killed Attempting Nighttime Air Drop Fighting Estes Park (CO) Fire
A pilot attempting a first-ever nighttime air drop in Colorado to fight the Kruger Rock wildfire in Estes Park has died. News 9 spoke with the pilot before take off. He was excited to attempt the nighttime drop, after five years of planning, in the hope it would make...
Video: Residents Thank Firefighters in Lake Tahoe, California
This video from the U.S. Forest Service shows local residents thanking firefighters as they depart from the lines after a ferocious battle against the Caldor Fire in late summer 2021.
Vacaville, CA Prescribed Burn
Controlled burn and training Solana NewsNet May 26, 2021: Crews from the Vacaville Fire Department and nearby allied agencies set fire to dry vegetation on Callen Hill near Allison Drive on Wednesday as part of a controlled burn and training event ahead...
Southern California Receives Two Large Firefighting Helicopters
Boeing Chinook helitankers already at work over Ventura County By AMY TAXIN Associated Press LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. (AP) — Southern California fire agencies are getting two large-scale helicopters that can each carry up to 3,000 gallons (11.356 liters) of...
Fallen Wyoming Smokejumper Honored by Fellow Wildland Firefighters
“My son died, but not in vain and not for nothing.” CODY, Wyo. (AP) — Fellow wildland firefighters, U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon paid tribute during a weekend memorial for Tim Hart, a 36-year-old smokejumper...
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Bobbie on Fire
Bobbie Scopa started her career as a seasonal firefighter in 1974. After graduating from Arizona State University, she went on to work in fire and natural resource management. Eventually she left the wildand agencies to work full time for a structure fire department. She finished her Masters in Forestry at NC State then went back to the US Forest Service and BLM eventually becoming the Assistant Regional Fire Director in Region 6. Bobbie has spent many years working as a type 1 and 2 Operations Section Chief. You can listen to Bobbie tell audio stories from her long career at BobbieOnFire.com. She has also recently completed her memoir titled “Both Sides Of The Fire Line”. It will be available through Chicago Review Press late summer of 2022.
Habituation to Risk
Here we are during the time of year where we remember our lost friends and coworkers. Those we...
Questions Aren’t a Threat, They’re the Answer
Awhile back, I was honored to speak at two different U.S. Forest Service fire leadership sessions....
“Oh Hell, a Prius!” – Powering Crew Performance
Years ago, I worked at a fire department where most of the firefighters were either hunters or...
Wildland Firefighting
NC Wildfires: ‘Things Have Been Brought to Our Door’
Sara Gregory The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS) TRYON, N.C. — The downed power line that sparked a wildfire here that ultimately burned more than 600 acres in western North Carolina fell a couple hundred feet from where U.S. 176 has abruptly ended since Hurricane...
Rain Helps Los Angeles Firefighters but Sends Ash and Mud Flowing Down Hillsides
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rain eased on Monday after Southern California's first significant storm of the season brought weekend downpours that aided firefighters but caused ash, mud and debris to flow across streets in wildfire-burned areas. Less than an inch of rain fell...
Features
First Woman Smokejumper Tells Her Story
Steven Mayer The Bakersfield Californian (TNS) Oct. 28—The physical training was rigorous, fighting fires in remote wilderness was dangerous, and jumping out of perfectly good airplanes in the vicinity of burning forest and brush fires may have been a tad crazy. But...
Human Factors in the Wildland Urban Interface
By Thomas W. Aurnhammer Although safety is always a major concern in structural and wildland firefighting, the wildland community took a unique approach to the subject and started examining the human dimensions of wildland firefighting. The emphasis was on the people,...
New Service Allows Wildfires in WV to Be Tracked Online
Charles Boothe - Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va. Apr. 14—A new service by the West Virginia Division of Forestry will allow residents to access a website to find and keep up with any forest fires across the state. Gov. Jim Justice made the announcement during his...
The West’s Forests Increasingly Struggle to Recover From Wildfires – Altering How Fires Burn Could Boost Their Chances
Kimberley Davis United States Forest Service Guidelines on use of articles from The Conversation can be found at http://bit.ly/TCUSinfo or contact us-republish@theconversation.com. Images, graphics and shortened text may also be available from The Conversation. (The...
