Wildfires

"The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), located in Boise, Idaho, is the nation's support center for wildland firefighting. Eight different agencies and organizations are part of NIFC. Decisions are made using the interagency cooperation concept because NIFC has no single director or manager." The website includes information about fire management, prevention, and education, as well as up to date situation reports and news releases.

"The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) is made up of the USDA Forest Service; four Department of the Interior agencies: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS); and State forestry agencies through the National Association of State Foresters. The purpose of NWCG is to coordinate programs of the participating wildfire management agencies so as to avoid wasteful duplication and to provide a means of constructively working together. Its goal is to provide more effective execution of each agency's fire management program. The group provides a formalized system to agree upon standards of training, equipment, qualifications, and other operational functions. The people who originally made up the group were then, and are today, basically staff leaders in agency programs. They are not line officers. In most cases these leaders are the people who have a large influence on the policy and funding of an agency program. Agreed-upon policies, standards, and procedures are implemented directly through regular agency channels. The NWCG elected to operate through 'Working Teams,' a rather nondescript term that doesn't do justice to a tremendous effort. The working team concept has had the greatest effect of NWCG in that it has provided a means for the exchange of knowledge about all dimensions of fire management. Originally, there were 13 working teams. The number of Working Teams and Advisory Groups have been changed to reflect the current NWCG emphasis."

"Large, intense wildland fires have become more frequent across the United States in recent decades. Risks to responders and citizens, property losses, response and recovery costs, and threats to communities and landscapes have increased significantly as a result. In order to address these formidable challenges, more-effective Federal agency coordination is needed among both wildland fire scientists and also between those who produce and those who use the science relevant to wildfire mitigation, response, and recovery. To address this need, a Wildland Fire Science and Technology Task Force was chartered under the National Science and Technology Council's Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction. The Task Force analyzed the missions, portfolios, and existing coordination and application mechanisms employed by the relevant Federal agencies with respect to wildland fire science and technology, and assessed progress on the strategic actions set forth in the Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction's Grand Challenges for Disaster Reduction Wildland Fire Implementation Plan. From this examination, the Task Force identified several topics for high-priority attention and action on the part of the Federal fire research community and proposed mechanisms to improve coordination between fire science producers and the community of users of fire science. The Task Force recommends that a standing Federal Fire Science Coordination Council be established to: ensure regular exchange among the leaders of those Federal organizations that either produce or use fire science; strengthen coordination and collaboration among the organizations that produce wildland-fire science and technology; establish mechanisms to systematically assess user needs and priorities for science, research, and technology support; and define national-level needs for Federal fire science in support of the fire-management community."

"The Active Fire Mapping Program is an operational, satellite-based fire detection and monitoring program managed by the USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC) located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Active Fire Mapping program provides near real-time detection and characterization of wildland fire conditions in a geospatial context for the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii and Canada. Detectable fire activity across all administrative ownerships in the United States and Canada are mapped and characterized by the program."

"The Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group or GeoMAC, is an internet-based mapping application originally designed for fire managers to access online maps of current fire locations and perimeters in the conterminous 48 States and Alaska. Using a standard web browser, fire personnel can view this information to pinpoint the affected areas. With the growing concern of western wildland fires in the summer of 2000, this application has also become available to the public. We hope that you find this important information both timely and helpful."

U.S. Census Bureau data for disasters, natural hazards, and weather events. "OnTheMap for Emergency Management provides real-time access to a range of detailed U.S. Census Bureau data about the people living and working in areas being affected by hurricanes, floods, wildfires, winter storms, and federal disaster declaration areas. Statistical data sources include 2010 Decennial Census data, 2008-2012 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) estimates, and 2011 LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES)."

"WFAS, the Wildland Fire Assessment System, is an internet-based information system. The current implementation provides a national view of weather and fire potential, including national fire danger and weather maps and satellite-derived 'Greenness' maps (Burgan and others 1997). Development is continuing. See News for current information. WFAS was first made available in 1994. In 1999 operation was transferred from the Fire Sciences Laboratory (FS Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula MT) to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC, Boise, ID). WFAS was redesigned in 2002 to provide easier access to products and vastly improve the archival process. The archives now provide real-time access to past map images including fire danger, heavy fuel moisture, Haines Index, and greenness. The navigation bar on the left organizes products by category. Selection provides access to links along with a description of the product. The Quick Links table provides direct access to products, which are categorized as Current conditions Forecast Image archive (just pictures) Data archive Archives are selected from a calendar. Variables available for each day are listed. Pop ups from wfas.net should be allowed. Maps/Data are loaded into seperate [sic] windows so different dates/maps can be compared."

This web page, provided by the National Institutes of Health Specialized Information Services, features information on fires and wildfires. Information and links are categorized in the following manner: Overview; Preparing for Wildfire; Air Quality; First Responders; Environmental Cleanup and Recovery; Resources from the National Library of Medicine; Información en español; State Information; Animals in Disasters; and Disclaimer. Also included on the page is a "Featured Site".

"Congress continues to face questions about forestry practices, funding levels, and the federal role in wildfire protection. Recent fire seasons have been, by most standards, among the worst in the past half century. National attention began to focus on wildfires when a prescribed burn in May 2000 escaped control and burned 239 homes in Los Alamos, NM. President Clinton responded by requesting a doubling of wildfire management funds, and Congress enacted much of this proposal in the FY2001 Interior appropriations act (P.L. 106-291). […] Many factors contribute to the threat of wildfire damages. Two major factors are the decline in forest and rangeland health and the expansion of residential areas into wildlands--the wildland-urban interface. Over the past century, aggressive wildfire suppression, as well as past grazing and logging practices, have altered many ecosystems, especially those where light, surface fires were frequent. Many areas now have unnaturally high fuel loads (e.g., dead trees and dense thickets) and an historically unnatural mix of plant species (e.g., exotic invaders). Fuel treatments have been proposed to reduce the wildfire threats. […] Treatments can often be more effective if combined (e.g., prescribed burning after thinning). However, some fuel treatments are very expensive, and the benefit of treatments for reducing wildfire threats depends on many factors. It should also be recognized that, as long as biomass, drought, lightning, and high winds exist, catastrophic wildfires will occur. Only about 1% of wildfires become conflagrations, but which fires will 'blow up' into crown wildfires is unpredictable. […] Federal, state, and local governments can and do assist by protecting their own lands, by providing financial and technical assistance, and by providing relief after the fire."

"Destruction of homes and businesses from Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) fires has been steadily escalating as have the fire suppression costs associated with them. Since 2000, in the United States, over 3,000 homes per year are lost to WUI fires. This is compared to about 900 homes in the 1990s, and 400 homes in the 1970s. In 2011, in Texas alone, over 2,000 homes were destroyed during WUI fires. The WUI fire problem affects both existing communities and new construction. In the U.S, the problem is most acute in the western and southern states; however, WUI fires have also recently destroyed homes in the Mid-Atlantic States and the Pacific Northwest. One of the fundamental issues driving the destruction of homes at the interface is the very limited coupling between building codes and standards and potential fire and ember exposure. The limited exposure information currently available does not address the full range of realistic WUI exposures and offers little context for the design of ignition resistant landscapes and buildings. While the principles of ignition and fire spread at the WUI have been known, actual exposure quantification has been very limited. The resulting gap between exposure and structure ignition has therefore resulted in a lack of tested and implementable hazard mitigation solutions. […] A WUI fire and ember exposure scale (WUI-scale) needs to be created to help consistently quantify the expected severity of WUI fire events based on measures, or scales, of expected ember and fire exposure. Once established, these technically based ember and fire exposures for the WUI can form the technical foundation for the development of a set of performance based building codes aimed at providing a level of structure ignition protection commensurate with the expected fire and/or ember exposure."

This 2008 version of the "Glossary of Wildland Fire Terminology provides a comprehensive listing of terms and definitions used by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) community. This document contains terms commonly used by NWCG in the areas of wildland fire and fire use and is not intended to list all terms used by NWCG members and users. To ensure the information contained within the Glossary is current and meeting user needs, a thorough review, covering a two-year period, was undertaken. Participants in this review included all NWCG Working Teams and the National Interagency Coordination Center. Through the efforts of the NWCG Program Management Office, the glossary entries are now presented in a standard format, allowing for improved definition cross-referencing and access. This Glossary is now available electronically. In this format, information contained will be current when the Glossary is accessed. The NWCG has approved this glossary for use by the NWCG and its Working Teams. The NWCG has directed that all NWCG glossaries will be based upon the Glossary of Wildland Fire Terminology for the purpose of maintaining definition consistency and clarity among documents."

This is a testimony compilation of the November 17, 2015 "Hearing to Review Past Wildfire Seasons and Improve Future Federal Wildland Fire Management Strategies," held before the Full Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. From the opening statement of Chairman Lisa Murkowski: "We spent $2.1 billion fighting fires this season and $4.2 billion in total on wildfire management, and it's not even clear where the money was spent and whether those dollars were well spent. That's due in part to the fact that the agencies don't bother to conduct reviews of the large, expensive fires. The Forest Service has claimed that the wildfire problem is a budget problem, but that's probably an oversimplification. We all agree that Congress must end the practice of fire borrowing, but we can't just throw money at this problem. In the Interior Appropriations subcommittee, where I serve as chairman, we provide, in the Interior Appropriations bill, a fiscally responsible approach to end fire borrowing. It would budget for 100 percent of the ten-year average for fire suppression and provide a limited emergency reserve or contingency fund for firefighting in above average years. I think that's part of the solution. But the wildfire problem is not just a budgeting problem -- it's also a management problem. And we have failed to appropriately manage our fire-dependent forests and fire-prone landscapes, and that has predisposed our forests to megafires. We must work with our state agencies, our local communities, and the public to increase community preparedness and make our forests healthy again." Statements, letters, and other materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Anne-Marie Fennel, John Masich, William Wallace Covington, Richard B. Zerkel, Mike Burnett, and Jon Wyss.

"Wildfires are getting more severe, with more acres and houses burned and more people at risk. This results from excess biomass in the forests, due to past logging and grazing and a century of fire suppression, combined with an expanding wildland-urban interface--more people and houses in and near the forests--and climate change, exacerbating drought and insect and disease problems. Some assert that current efforts to protect houses and to reduce biomass (through fuel treatments, such as thinning) are inadequate, and that public objections to some of these activities on federal lands raise costs and delay action. Others counter that proposals for federal lands allow timber harvesting with substantial environmental damage and little fire protection. Congress is addressing these issues through various legislative proposals and through funding for protection programs. Wildfires are inevitable--biomass, dry conditions, and lightning create fires. […] Homes can be ignited by direct contact with fire, by radiative heating, and by 'firebrands' (burning materials lifted by the wind or the fire's own convection column). Protection of homes must address all three. […] Wildland and resource damages from fire vary widely, depending on the nature of the ecosystem as well as on site-specific conditions. […] Prescribed burning (intentional fires) and mechanical treatments (cutting and removing some trees) can reduce resource damages caused by wildfires in some ecosystems. However, prescribed fires are risky, mechanical treatments can cause other ecological damages, and both are expensive. Proponents of more treatment advocate expedited processes for environmental and public review of projects to hasten action and cut costs, but others caution that inadequate review can allow unintended damages with few fire protection benefits."

"Recent fire seasons have been getting more severe, with more acres burned and more damage to property and resources. More acres burned in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, and 2012 than in any other years since record-keeping began in 1960. Many assert that the threat of severe wildfires and the cost of suppressing fires have grown because many forests have unnaturally high amounts of biomass to fuel the fires, as well as because of climate change and the increasing numbers of homes in and near forests (the 'wildland-urban interface'). Further, many believe that federal efforts to reduce biomass accumulations to historically natural levels have been hindered by public concerns about the impacts; others contend that some proposed activities will lead to commercial timber harvests with little or no fire protection benefits. Congress is considering proposals to authorize and/or fund various activities to reduce biomass fuels and to alter the public review processes for some of those actions (e.g., H.R. 1345). This report examines wildfire biomass fuels. It begins with a discussion of fuel characteristics and their relation to wildfire intensity and spread. This is followed with a description of actions proposed to reduce biomass fuel levels, their effectiveness for protecting property and resources from wildfires, and their impacts on other resource values. It concludes with an examination of the federal authorities for fuel reduction activities on federal and nonfederal lands, together with data on the funding provided under each of these authorities."

"Congressional interest in funding to protect against wildfire threats has focused on communities in and near forests, an area known as the 'wildland-urban interface' (WUI). The WUI is expanding in size and population, leading to increased concern for life and property that could potentially be damaged by wildfires. Approximately 10% of all land in the lower 48 states is classified as WUI. A significant concentration lies along the East Coast, although western states have the highest proportions of homes in the WUI. Federal funding for wildfire protection has increased over the last decade. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) receive the bulk of funding to prevent and suppress wildfires. In 2014, approximately 56% of the USFS budget (discretionary funding) was allocated for wildfire management. A portion of this funding is spent on WUI efforts. Wildfire, whether in a WUI community or not, occurs primarily as a surface fire or a crown fire. A 'surface fire' burns the needles or leaves, grass, and other small biomass within a foot or so of the ground and quickly moves on. A 'crown fire' burns biomass at all levels, from the surface through the tops of the trees."

"Wildland fires have become increasingly damaging and costly. To deal with fire's threats, the five federal wildland fire agencies-the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture and four agencies in the Department of the Interior (Interior)-rely on thousands of firefighters, fire engines, and other assets. To ensure acquisition of the best mix of these assets, the agencies in 2002 began developing a new interagency budget tool known as fire program analysis (FPA). FPA underwent major changes in 2006, raising questions about its ability to meet its original objectives. GAO was asked to examine FPA's development to date, including the 2006 changes, and the extent to which FPA will meet its objectives. To do so, GAO reviewed agency policies and FPA documentation and interviewed agency officials. GAO is recommending, among other things, that the agencies develop a strategic plan for the continued development of FPA and provide Congress with annual updates on their progress in completing the steps outlined in that plan and how they used FPA in developing their budgets. Interior disagreed with the need to develop a strategic plan. In response to Forest Service and Interior comments on GAO findings on FPA's cost-effectiveness approach, GAO's recommendation to develop a strategic plan was revised to provide more flexibility. The agencies generally concurred with the other recommendations."

"The wildland-urban interface (WUI) encompasses housing and other structures that are either co-located or abut wildland vegetation and forest. WUI communities are especially susceptible to destruction from wildland fires. Several causes of WUI fires include the upsurge of structures in the WUI, long-term drought, climate change, and build-up of wildland fuel. In the last 100 years, 6 of the top 10 fire loss incidents occurred in WUI areas (5 of the 6 occurred in California). In the United States, more than 45 million homes in 70000 communities are at risk of WUI fires--which have destroyed an average of 3000 structures annually over the last decade--and this risk is rapidly increasing. WUI fires can also generate huge response and recovery costs. For example, the 1991 Oakland and 2007 Witch Creek fires in California resulted in property losses of $2.7 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively. Federal funding for suppression and wildland fuel treatment has also risen significantly. In the period from 1996 to 2000 to the period from 2001 to 2005, this funding increased from $1.3 billion annually to $3.1 billion annually. In addition, an average of 70 % more area was burned from 2000 to 2005 as compared to the 1990s. Recent increases in funding, area burned, and fire occurrences in WUI communities imply an intensification of the WUI fire dilemma and require a review of the approaches to mitigating the issue."

"This publication focuses on the thought processes and considerations surrounding a risk management process for decision making on wildfires. The publication introduces a six element risk management cycle designed to encourage sound risk-informed decision making in accordance with Federal wildland fire policy, although the process is equally applicable to non-Federal fire managers and partners. The process describes the assessment and control of identified risks, the analysis of benefits and costs, and the risk decision at multiple scales. Decision makers can apply principles from this publication to specific decision documentation structures such as the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS) or other wildland fire decision documentation systems."

"The past two decades have seen a rapid escalation of severe fire behavior, home and property losses, higher costs, increased threats to communities and worsening conditions on the land. These trends call for a broad-based, collaborative and cohesive response to better address the mounting challenges. Congress, the fire community, and the public have recognized a need for a new strategy, a new path forward and perhaps, a new way of thinking about wildland fire, recognizing a one-size-fits-all approach does not work across the Nation. The challenges of fire management are formidable and growing more complex. The Nation has diverse landscapes, demographics, and social values; and because of this, a national strategy must address these differences. It will take a united, comprehensive effort to successfully address these issues. The key to a cohesive strategy is its inclusiveness. A national strategy must be just that -- one that has applicability and relevance across the board from the small, rural fire department in Maine, to a large city in California, to a state forestry department in North Carolina or a tribal community in the Midwest, as well as to the Federal agencies. Simply including all stakeholders is not enough. A strategy, shaped by a shared vision, requires building new relationships among those stakeholders. Skepticism and issues of trust must be recognized and overcome; all voices must be acknowledged and heard."

"The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (Cohesive Strategy) is a collaborative effort to identify, define, and address wildland fire management problems and opportunities for successful wildland fire management in the three regions of the United States: the Northeast, the Southeast, and the West. The Cohesive Strategy is being built both from the top down and from the bottom up. At the national level, the Wildland Fire Leadership Council (WFLC)--an intergovernmental council of Federal, state, tribal, county, and municipal government officials--is the executive leadership body that charts the path and direction for the Cohesive Strategy effort and ensures that the work and activities align with the spirit of the Federal Land Assistance and Enhancement Act (FLAME Act) and other key collaborative wildland fire management documents. The WFLC's fundamental role is to provide strategic oversight to the regions through efficiency improvements, to fully utilize existing authorities to accomplish the three national goals, and to provide the necessary resources and investments to implement identified current successful regional actions. […] In Phase II, Regional Strategy Committees (RSCs) were brought together using a holistic approach to create a unified regional strategy, not just for wildland fire suppression, but to explore issues of natural resource management and the social and economic implications of landscape and wildland fire management. It is a goal of this effort to develop the national strategy with regional alternatives. Therefore, RSCs were formed to identify regional challenges, improve communication among partners, and identify proposed strategies and opportunities for improvement. Regional and local stakeholders have been involved--they've had a seat at the table--and their valued perspectives brought the national wildland fire management decisionmaking process to a new level."