Busy airspace
Note: While unauthorized drones in restricted airspace can halt firefighting air operations, the Forest Service is increasingly incorporating uncrewed aerial systems in wildfire operations. From 2019 to 2025 the Forest Service has increased drone flights by 2,483% on active incidents (…
#Drones, #UAS, #UnmannedAircraftSystems, #Safety, #Fire, #Firesafety, #Flying, #Recreation, #Aviation
Putting fire on the ground
Fire personnel monitor the Crystal Reservoir prescribed fire near Colorado Springs, Colorado, on May 16, 2025. (Forest Service photo by Josh Cowden)
In places like the Pike-San Isabel National Forests across the country, fire has shaped the land for thousands of years. Many forests depend on…
#PrescribedFire, #Fire, #ControlledBurn, #FirePrevention, #WildfirePrevention, #WildfireRiskReduction, #PikeNationalForest
Ready for Wildfires
Wildfires are growing bigger, faster and more unpredictable. Drought conditions and years of accumulated dry vegetation continue to raise the stakes, and the U.S. Forest Service is prepared.The Forest Service coordinates the largest and most capable firefighting systems in the world. The mission: keep the public and firefighters safe, protect communities and actively manage forests.A National…
#Priorities, #Recreation, #ForestInventoryAndAnalysis, #Fire, #EmergencyPreparedness, #Wildfire, #EmergencyResponse, #Aviation, #Firefighters, #FirefighterSafety, #Firesafety, #Smokejumpers, #Helicopter
Reducing fuels on steep slopes
Tahoe National Forest’s North Yuba watershed is a highly productive water source for downstream residents and the agricultural industry across northern California. Although it is the largest continuous unburned landscape in the Central Sierras, it is also one of the most difficult forests to keep safe…
#NorthYubaForestPartnership, #Helicopter, #NationalForestFoundation, #HazardousFuels, #Wildfire, #Fire, #TahoeNationalForest
What is ESF #4
Coordination of resources can be complicated during a Presidential declaration of an emergency or a major disaster; however, a process exists to guide such multi-agency interactions. In these cases, the response is coordinated under the National Response Framework (NRF). The NRF identifies the roles and structures of Federal agencies to provide support to States or other agencies through…
#Fire, #Firefighters, #Disasters, #NaturalDisasters, #HurricaneRecovery, #Recovery, #EmergencyResponse, #Flood, #Hazards, #WildfireRecovery
The fire that never starts
When 95% of wildfires are started by humans — especially in a part of the country like Southern California with 25 million people — stopping wildfires before they start is a lofty goal.But for Nicole Molinari, an ecologist for the Forest Service, a recent mapping effort contains a compelling insight — nearly two thirds of human-caused fires occur along roadsides in the area…