Lighting the way on the Allegheny National Forest
Rugged terrain, proximity to water, and the bustle of a busy national recreation area made the Tracy Ridge Prescribed Fire one of the Allegheny National Forest’s most complex operations. These factors underscore the skill and coordination required to complete this project.Up to the challengePrescribed fire in such layered, difficult conditions can test even the most experienced fire managers.…
#PrescribedFire, #HazardousFuels, #FuelsTreatment, #Aviation, #Fire, #ControlledBurn, #Helicopter, #FuelReduction
Readiness review during prescribed fire operations
Verde Zone Fire Management Specialist Allison Baker conducts ignitions on the Coconino National Forest's Upper Beaver Creek prescribed fire project on the forest's Red Rock Ranger District. (Forest Service photo by Randi Shaffer)
As the mid-morning sun began warming the rolling landscape of…
#PrescribedFire
Step by step: Forests of the future
Forests in the West used to be a lot more open, so wildfires were much less severe. How do we know? By looking at tree rings! We can actually see scars from old wildfires in cross-sections like this one. By cross-dating fire scars from multiple trees, scientists can reconstruct what past forests looked like including how dense forests were. (Forest Service video by Erika Reiter)Near the community…
#PrescribedFire, #Dendrochronology, #Fire, #FireScience, #Thinning, #WildfirePrevention, #FirePrevention, #Planning, #Wildfire
A forest in motion
Dense, dangerously crowded stands of trees are giving way to healthy, spacious forests across Alabama. This transformation is because active forest management on Alabama’s national forests is moving faster than it has in years, and the efforts are improving forest health and supporting local…
#Alabama, #Thinning, #MechanicalThinning, #Timber, #Forestry, #TimberSales, #GoodNeighborAuthority, #HealthyForests, #PrescribedFire, #ForestRestoration, #HabitatRestoration, #Habitat
Igniting the future: Technology on prescribed fire
Fire managers filling the plastic sphere dispenser in the Alta X on Blackberry Prescribed fire on the Helena Ranger District, Montana. (Forest Service photo by Mariah Leuschen-Lonergan)
Along the foothills of the Big Belt Mountains near York, Montana, it’s unusual to see bare ground above 5,…
#Fire, #PrescribedFire, #ControlledBurn, #UAS, #UnmannedAircraftSystems, #WildfireAwarenessMonth, #HelenaLewisAndClarkNationalForest, #Technology, #Drones
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…