Smokejumper Spotter Academy: Training leaders in the sky
Pick your favorite theme song and imagine it hits the loudspeakers. You suit up, load up and head out to the plane. After a 20-minute flight you are briefed about the jump spot and the fire behavior. A tap on the back tells you to hone your focus and remember every day of training you’ve had as you free fall into the atmosphere. Five seconds, a tug and tranquility follows the rush of adrenaline…
#Smokejumpers, #Wildfire, #WildlandFire, #WildlandFirefighters, #Aviation, #FireAndAviationManagement, #Fire, #Firefighters
Ready for wildfire
The warning signs flashed early this year. After a dismal winter snowpack across many western high elevations, forests are drying faster and by midsummer may be ripe for extreme fire conditions. Communities face mounting risk, but federal fire leaders are keeping the nation’s wildfire response system ready.“All of our predictive models point to a challenging summer,” says Deputy Chief Sarah…
#Fire, #Wildfire, #Firefighters
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…