High Glade Lookout rebuilt and ready for fire duty
“Temperature is 69 degrees. Relative humidity is 48%. Winds from the south, 2-3 miles per hour. High Glade,” said Annelle Durham as she lowered the radio, a callout eight years in the making.In 2018, the 85-year-old High Glade fire lookout tower burned to the ground in the Ranch Fire. Today, it's back in business, thanks to disaster funding provided to the Forest Service…
#FirePrevention, #FireLookout, #Fire
Fire Toolbox: Reducing Wildfire Severity With Prescribed Fire and Thinning
This Natural Inquirer monograph—the first in the Fire series—discusses research on prescribed fire and thinning and how those treatments impact wildfire severity and behavior. As with all Natural Inquirer monographs, the article is written for middle school students and covers subject matter from published, peer-reviewed Forest Service science.
#Fire, #PrescribedFire, #ResearchAndDevelopment, #Thinning
Celebrating Smokey Bear's 82 years of leadership
On Aug. 9, we celebrate a beloved American icon. Smokey Bear will be marking 82 years of inspiring people across the country to help prevent human-caused wildfires. Since 1944, Smokey’s message has grown into the nation’s longest running public service campaign, and this year brings exciting milestones in…
#Fire, #Education, #SmokeyBear, #SmokeysBirthday
Protecting the land we love: Reducing risk before fires start
Wildfire Prevention Technician Matt Michaliszyn and Smokey Bear pause for a photo while patrolling Arizona Snowbowl and providing wildfire prevention messaging. (Forest Service photo by Coconino National Forest fire prevention education team)
On the Española Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest,…
#Fire, #Education, #Youth, #FirePrevention
From air to algorithm: How drones are training AI models for forest recovery
A Forest Service unmanned aircraft system flies above the Cameron Peak Fire burn area in the Roosevelt National Forest. The Cameron Peak Fire burned over 200,000 acres in northern Colorado beginning in mid-August 2020, the Forest Service is using drones to train artificial intelligence models…
#Drones, #UAS, #AI, #Recovery, #PostFireRecovery, #Fire, #Technology
Caring for the land after the fire
Not long ago, these hillsides were completely blackened. Trees stood scorched. Now early spring grasses cover the ground, bringing new growth to the charred remains of a 2024 wildfire that swept through more than 240,000 acres on the Boise National Forest in Idaho.Why we do this“It was a significant wildfire season for us. During the summer of 2024, we had a total of about 65 total fires. The…