During 2012, Idaho spent $189 million state and federal tax dollars on wildfire suppression, and it continues to increase even now. But the actual cost of a bad wildfire season isn’t just about dollars spent on suppression. It’s also about impacts on the environment and public health, loss of life and property, and lost opportunities for improving the lives of our citizens through the economic benefits offered by healthy, actively managed forests and rangelands.
Officials said decreasing daily sunlight, increasing fuel moisture levels, and cooler evening temperatures are allowing them to lift fire restrictions. However, they also added the potential threat for wildfires remains high until the area receives significant moisture this fall.
The Department of Interior has announced that Roy Johnson has been appointed as the new Director for the Department's Office of Wildland Fire as of October 21. Roy has been serving as the Acting Director since early this summer and did a tremendous job leading the agency through a busy fire season. Roy has spent many years in the wildland fire community and values the partnerships with the Interior bureaus, US Forest Service, tribes, state/locals, and many others.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) this week began beta-testing next-generation personal protective equipment (PPE) for wildland firefighters. A thousand wildland firefighters from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the U.S. Forest Service and 11 local California fire departments will be the first to test newly engineered garments in the field.
After Nevada State Forester Pete Anderson told the State Board of Examiners on Tuesday that fires this year have burned 666,000 acres in Nevada, roughly 1,000 square miles, they moved to approve additional funds to cover unexpected costs associated with this year's wildfire season. The board approved $3.9 million in contingency funds to cover expenses from the busy fire season and projected costs through the end of the fiscal year.
Controlled burning of grasslands and forests has been used for thousands of years to stimulate plant germination, replenish the ground with valuable nutrients, thin out trees and burn dry pine needles and tree limbs on the ground.
Available for both Android and Apple smart phones, the County of San Diego has developed an app that can provide the public with information about ongoing emergency incidents that may affect residents and visitors. The “SD Emergency” app has breaking news about incidents, maps of incidents, and the locations of shelters.
Following the most destructive fire in Colorado’s history, representatives from the Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) coalition toured Colorado Springs to analyze the Waldo Canyon Fire’s impacts and learn how the community had prepared itself.
The article explores what the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado can teach us about pre-fire mitigation, and how those lessons can be used by the 70,000 communities nationwide that face the growing threat of wildfire in the wildland urban interface.
NASF, working with an exceptionally broad representation of conservation, recreation, retired agency personnel, sportsmen, timber, and wildlife groups (97 in total) - calling themselves the Fire Suppression Funding Solutions Partner Caucus- submitted a coalition letter requesting $400 million in emergency supplemental funding be directed to the US Forest Service FLAME account for 2012, or provide reimbursement options that recove
