| Wildland Fire: Impact and Information | |
Arizona is
Burning (June 22, 2002)
In the midst of a serious drought, wildfires are devastating Arizona. Here is
the information, as well as links to important resources about Arizona's forests
and national parks. Phoenix Guide Judy Hedding provides regular updates.
June 2002 -- looks like Colorado's turn to burn. Could your state, town or hillside be next? While we hear all about the "big" fires, on any given fire season day, Forest Service firefighters battle up to 200 wildland fires nationwide. What do you need to know about wildland fires?
•
On June 17, 2002, an estimated $9,403,000 was spent battling 196 wildland fires that scorched over 51,000 acres of land in parts of 11 states. These fires included the devastating Haymen fire in Colorado and the Cannon fire in California that claimed the lives of three Forest Service pilots in the crash of their C-130A air tanker plane.• In an "average" fire year, 106,400 wildfires burn over 4 million acres of land.
• During 2000, five federal agencies spent a combined $1.36 billion fighting wildfires - an all time record.
• The worst wildland fire in recorded U.S. history occurred during August 1910, when the Great Idaho fire burned 3 million acres of Idaho and Montana, and claimed 85 lives.
• In May 2000, the "Cerro Grande" fire near Los Alamos, New Mexico burned 47,650 acres while destroying 235 structures, many of them family homes.
• During 2001 -- a "close to typical" year according to the Forest Service -- 84,079 fires burned 3.6 million acres of land and destroyed 731 structures. The cost of fighting the fires was $542 million and the lives of sixteen firefighters.
The Hayman
(Colorado) Fire
Latest Forest Service information on the Hayman fire in Colorado. Includes
constantly updated evacuation
and closure information.
Morning Report
– Current Wildland Fire Situation
Status updates on all large fires (over 500 acres) being fought in the
United States.
National Fire Weather Page
Current conditions and Red Flag fire warnings for every region of the U.S.
Forest Service. From NOAA's Boise,
Idaho station.
National Fire Situation and
Condition Maps
A selection of maps and geographic information system products from the National
Interagency Coordination Center, the Forest Service, NOAA, the National Weather
service and more.
Fire Prevention and
Education
Here you will find a number of excellent teaching tools, activities and games,
and links to fire information.
Fire
Prevention & Wildland/Urban Interface
"As more people choose to build homes, operate businesses and recreate in
areas where wildlands border more urban areas, the threat to private property
from wildland fire increases. Creating 'defensible' or 'survivable' space around
structures can make the difference between returning to an intact home or a
smoldering pile of ashes if a wildfire moves through the area."
USDA Forest Service - Fire and
Aviation Management
This is the arm of the Forest Service dedicated to advancing technologies in fire
management and suppression, and improving the mobilization of fire fighting
units.
FireLine - US Wildland Fires
Complete, detailed reports on U.S. fires. Includes daily archives since January
1997. A service of the Center for International
Disaster Information.
