Fighting Wildfires Takes More than Water and Axes

Wildfires occur all across the United States. So far this year, over 2.5 million acres have burned during more than 33,000 fire incidents. Putting out wildland fires takes more than amazing Hot Shot fire fighters and water dropped from planes. It takes information! Fire Managers in the Mid-Atlantic look to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) to stay abreast of wildfire occurrences around the country. NIFC provides data that help local managers make decisions to better assist with firefighting efforts everywhere. NIFC is not a single organization, but a collection of various organizations with the same goal: "to ensure wildland fire personnel and other emergency services employees across the nation receive the support and information they need to do their job in a safe, effective, and efficient manner.” Essentially, this agency provides information and support so fire-fighting efforts on the ground are successful. NIFC also helps to develop policy, provide logistical intelligence, and decision support for wildfires and other emergency incidents nationwide.

Now in July, much of the western US is already geared up for a busy wildfire season. NIFC divides the country into 10 Geographic Coordination Areas, in which regional fire-fighting efforts are most easily undertaken. The Great Basin, Northwest, Northern California, and Southern Geographic Area Coordination Centers (a southeastern arc stretching from Virginia through Texas) are predicted to see the greatest potential for wildfires. These predictions are based on climactic events and environmental factors that can influence the chance and rapid spread of wildfire. Drought, wind, high temperatures, low humidity, lightning, dried fuels, and steep topography all influence these predictions. When critical fire weather hits, NIFC often puts out a Red Flag Warning. This warning indicates that temperatures are high, humidity is low, and winds are strong. Red Flag Warnings indicate a ”perfect storm” for rapid wildfire spread.

As the size, frequency, and complexity of fires grow, resources like crews, equipment, and aircraft are stretched thin. Nationally, the U.S. Forest Service’s Preparedness Level (PL) system lets a region know its resource status. A PL1 indicates that local resources are sufficient to handle incidents as they pop up. A PL5 means resources are heavily committed, emergency measures may need to be taken to sustain incident operations, and few resources may remain nationwide. Over a 10-year average, we usually reach PL4 nationwide during August each year. 

NIFC publishes an Incident Management Situation Report daily, which summarizes all large wildfire (100 acres or more) activity nationwide. Large fires are broken down by geographic area. For the largest fires, the U.S. Forest Service provides a synopsis of the previous day’s activity. Each fire’s name is listed followed by the unit responsible for its management, acres, percent containment, crews, equipment, aircraft, and cost to date. This report is the standard for keeping tabs on large fire conditions nationally, the national Preparedness Level, and the status of active resources. You can find a map of the geographic coordination areas, wildfire locations and status across the country, and information about fire behavior and management, freely available at: www.nifc.gov.