Wildland Fire: Photo Gallery

Learn more about Wildland Fire! Peer into the world of a wildland firefighter. Photos reveal wildland fire stories and successes. Below you'll find a number of photo galleries. If you're looking for a specific image, try using our site-wide multimedia search tool, where you can search based on location, media type (image, video, etc) and text.

Planned Wildland Fire (Prescri...

41 Images

Prescribed fire is an important management tool for the National Park Service. It is used to meet many objectives, including the reduction of vegetation that could fuel a wildfire (fuels reduction), removal of invasive or non-native plant species, enhancement or restoration of native plant species, enhancement of wildlife habitat, restoration of cultural or historic landscapes, or a combination of any of these.

People: Sharing Fire Informati...

17 Images

When a fire is really kicking, firefighters and managers are very busy, and rarely find the time to communicate about the fire to media, residents, and curious onlookers. Enter: Fire Information. A public information officer’s (PIO) primary responsibility is to communicate, relaying information about wildland fire activity, prevention, response, and suppression activities. Whether speaking about a specific incident or wildland fire in general, PIOs are constantly transmitting information and acting as a liaison for the media, the public, and the fire and land managers.

People: Life at Fire Camp

12 Images

A wildland fire may never rest, but fire personnel need sleep, food, and sometimes medical attention. All of these amenities can be found in fire camp. Varying from a small campsite to a large-scale tent city, fire camps are deployed quickly and efficiently, and change in size as the fire does. Operating as the nucleus of information and civilization, base camp or ICP (incident command post) is a staple in the wildland fire arena. Photos show scenes of life in fire camps.

People: On the Wildland Fireli...

24 Images

People are essential to the fire management process. Their assistance is diverse, and they can be asked to do many things on the fireline, such as digging containment line, backburning, holding and monitoring the line, and deploying hose lays and water.

Wildland Fire Training

27 Images

When the call comes in, firefighters have only hours or minutes to decide and respond. Preparation is very important, making training a huge priority in wildland fire. Classes, physical fitness, drills, and live simulations are all ways fire personnel prepare for fire season. Photos show firefighters training in classrooms and in the field.

Wildfire Burned Area Emergency...

5 Images

BAER (Burned Area Emergency Response) is applied after an extremely hot, destructive fire has occurred. After an assessment, a BAER technician writes a “prescription” that will help to stabilize the soil, prevent erosion and water sedimentation, abate habitat disruption, and mitigate health and safety threats to humans and properties nearby. Used only in extreme cases, this ecological “first-aid” is just one piece of the fire management puzzle, and one more reason to continue to manage fire across the nation's lands.

Wildland Fire Monitoring

8 Images

Monitoring is a simple but important part of the firefighting equation. Recorded observations such as rate of spread, flame length, fuel consumption, and smoke, wind, and weather conditions help inform immediate decisions—like whether to suppress with direct or indirect line, use aircraft or big machinery, or just let it burn. Monitoring contributes to the research of fire science, which can be used to formulate better long-term fire and land management strategies.

Science and Wildland Fire Rese...

9 Images

Although the concept of burning is elementary—fire needs heat, oxygen, and fuel to exist—sophisticated methods, decades of information gathering, and years of education have gone into understanding wildland fire as we know it today. Research on topics such as rates and types of regrowth, habitat changes, and topographic indicators illuminates findings that benefit all aspects of fire management.

Fire and Wildlife

8 Images

For centuries, fire and wildlife have coexisted without human interference; some animals perish, while others successfully escape its wrath, and some even benefit from fire. Regardless of nature’s patterns, land managers still consider animal habitats and migration habits so as to mitigate loss, and take queues from the adapted species and use existing game trails for fireline and reference landmarks.

Yellowstone Fires 1988

21 Images

It's hard to believe it's been 25+ years since the 1988 fires burned 793,880 acres of Yellowstone National Park, 36 percent of total park acreage. These photos taken during that summer are a small window into the past. What have we learned since then? What is the same, and what is different? We hope these photos will help you contemplate these questions.

Wildland Fire Smoke

18 Images

Smoke is an inevitable byproduct of fire, and can negatively affect human and ecological health and safety, as well as fire operations. With decreased visibility, air and road travel risks increase. Smoke irritates eyes and lungs, aggravating sufferers of asthma and other respiratory problems. Sometimes, smoke columns grow to enormous sizes, creating their own fire weather, with increased winds and reduced visibility.

Wildland Fire Weather Readings

4 Images

Weather Readings are taken multiple times and at varying locations daily. Many crews carry their own weather kits, ready to measure temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, and fuel moisture at their exact location. Knowing the weather pattern, prediction, and current activity are extremely important to understanding fire behavior and informing safe decisions.

Wildland Fire at Night

13 Images

The flames of a wildfire can be relentless, often burning 24 hours a day. Fire managers can take advantage of the night's lower temperature and humidity to contain the fire—but with visibility decreased, hazards can increase.

Unplanned Wildland Fire (Wildf...

7 Images

Lightning, abandoned campfires, errant fireworks, a flicked cigarette, lava—these are all causes of unplanned fire. Different from planned, or prescribed, fire. Unplanned fires are always managed after discovery. Management actions may include active suppression, point protection for structures, confining a fire, or monitoring from the ground or air.

Wildland Urban Interface

15 Images

The Wildland Urban Interface or WUI (pronounced 'woo-eee') for short, is a growing problem, as civilization an wilderness continue to increase the borders they share. With proper notice, firefighters can clear vegetation, set up sprinklers and hoses, and even pre-burn around structures to prevent loss. While property is a significant concern, human safety is first, and even though firefighters and managers do what they can to save homes and structures, sometimes a fire's wrath is too much.

Wildland Fire Heavy Machinery

6 Images

Heavy machinery can replace the exhausting or impossible work of human labor, removing vast swathes of foliage and shrubbery and move across difficult terrain faster and more efficiently.

Wildland Fire Aerial Resources

12 Images

Aerial Resources are crucial to wildland fire operations. Helicopters and Air Tankers easily transport people and gear, can quickly survey and monitor fire activity, and keep dangerous flames at bay with water and retardant drops.

Wildland Fire Equipment Engine...

8 Images

Firefighters rely on engines, trucks, & ATVs for transportation regularly. Having the ability to move quickly and constantly is a necessary part of the job.

Wildland Fire Hand Tools

8 Images

Hand Tools are a firefighter's bread and butter—as essential to the job as nutrition and fitness. Different tools are needed for different vegetation and terrain—some suppress a fire while others ignite, fighting fire with fire.

Other Wildland Fire Equipment

7 Images

Water is an obvious and abundant fire suppression technique. Thousands of feet of hose, and portable tanks and pumps are regularly employed to control a blaze.

Prev

• 1
• 2

2