Linear fuel treatments, Fuel Break Networks, are widely implemented in California, USA fuel types to improve firefighter safety and facilitate fire containment. Despite frequent construction, landscape scale evaluations of their effectiveness with fire modeling remain limited in this region.
During periods of heightened wildland fire activity in the United States, multiagency coordinating groups must prioritize among multiple on-going fires to allocate scarce suppression resources.
Background
Wildfire suppression is shaped by a complex interplay of environmental conditions, resource allocation and management strategies.
Aims
Wildland firefighters (WLFFs) face significant brain health risks due to prolonged exposure to smoke, extreme heat, dehydration, physical exertion and irregular sleep patterns. Here, the literature is presented as a narrative review on studies that inform our knowledge on WLFF brain health.
The James M. Inhofe National Defence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 established that certain illnesses and diseases are to be deemed as proximately caused by employment in federal fire protection activities. However, cancers affecting female wildland firefighters were not included on this list and are recommended for further evaluation.
Background
Barriers are the landscape features that firefighters leverage to stop wildfire spread. In the United States, decision-makers discuss barrier availability in a framework called the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS).
Aims
This study analyzes WFDSS text from 6630 large wildfires and examines the barriers identified.
Background
Wildland firefighting requires exposure to long shifts and poor sleep, which may pose a risk to worker safety due to impaired cognitive function.
Aims
We investigated the associations between sleep, shift characteristics, and cognitive function in wildland firefighters.
Methods
Background: Wildfire policy has evolved rapidly over the past three decades, necessitating repeated shifts in management and communication strategies for US land management agencies. One growing focus considers the use of “other than full suppression” (OTFS) strategies, where managers use natural ignitions to achieve management objectives when conditions allow.
Wildfire activity in the western United States has been on the rise since the mid-1980s, with longer, higher-risk fire seasons projected for the future. Prescribed burning mitigates the risk of extreme wildfire events, but such treatments are currently underutilized. Fire managers have cited lack of firefighter availability as a key barrier to prescribed burning.