October 15, 2021 3:26 pm Source: https://wildlandfirefighter.com/2021/10/15/podcast-life-with-fire-with-amanda-monthei/ When Amanda Monthei was growing up, she actually thought about becoming an archeologist. She always knew she wanted to write, but becoming a wildland firefighter? That was not on her radar until much later. “I had some girlfriends who’d been doing it and I was like, hey, that looks pretty fun. So,…
October 11, 2021 6:03 pm Source: https://wildlandfirefighter.com/2021/10/11/does-forest-thinning-slow-spread-of-catastrophic-wildfires/ By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters and numerous studies credit intensive forest thinning projects with helping save communities like those recently threatened near Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada, but dissent from some environmental advocacy groups is roiling the scientific community. States in the U.S. West and the…
October 5, 2021 5:29 pm Source: https://wildlandfirefighter.com/2021/10/05/u-s-officials-approve-long-lasting-fire-retardant-for-wildland-firefighting/ By KEITH RIDLER Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. officials on Tuesday approved a long-lasting fire retardant that could significantly aid in fighting increasingly destructive wildfires. The U.S. Forest Service approved Perimeter Solutions’ fire retardant that’s intended to be used as a preventative measure and can last for months It’s similar…
October 1, 2021 7:56 pm Source: https://wildlandfirefighter.com/2021/10/01/waterax-supporting-what-we-believe-in/ This is WATERAX’s third year sponsoring the Wildland Fire Digital Storytelling Micro-Grant, part of the Smokey Generation Wildland Fire Oral History Project. The grants are awarded to deserving writers and creative people, many with frontline experience in wildland firefighting, all passionate about the wildlands, to help them tell stories that explore the social and…
September 20, 2021 12:59 pm Source: https://wildlandfirefighter.com/2021/09/20/aluminum-wrap-used-to-protect-homes-from-ca-wildfires/ By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — Martin Diky said he panicked as a huge wildfire started racing down a slope toward his wooden house near Lake Tahoe. The contractor had enough time to do some quick research and decided to wrap his mountain home with an aluminum protective covering….
September 9, 2021 6:49 pm Source: https://wildlandfirefighter.com/2021/09/09/what-are-some-key-decisions-in-fighting-wildfires/ By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Thousands of wildfires ignite in the U.S. each year, and each one requires firefighters to make quick decisions, often in difficult conditions like high winds and lightning. Crews and managers must determine when to bring in aircraft, what time of day is…
August 30, 2021 12:46 pm Source: https://wildlandfirefighter.com/2021/08/30/alertwildfire-thermal-cameras-show-caldor-fire-spotting-into-tahoe-basin/ University of Nevada, Reno and DigitalPath technicians deploy latest technology onto mountaintop camera platform One of the two thermal cameras in place for the Caldor Fire shows active flames heading into the Lake Tahoe Basin with a dozen or more spot fires already established. “The FLIR (forward-looking infrared) camera located on the…
August 24, 2021 6:13 pm Source: https://wildlandfirefighter.com/2021/08/24/officials-firefighter-dies-while-working-or-wildfire/ OAKRIDGE, Ore. (AP) — A firefighter died Monday while battling a wildfire southeast of Eugene, Oregon, officials said. Bryan Cutchen, Oakridge city administrator and acting fire chief, said the death is suspected to have been caused by a tree falling on the firefighter, The Register-Guard reported. Cutchen said the victim was a young…
August 18, 2021 8:28 pm Source: https://wildlandfirefighter.com/2021/08/18/nists-emberometer-could-gauge-threat-of-wildfire-spreading-embers/ As wildfire fronts advance through landscapes or communities on the ground, they also attack from above, launching volleys of glowing embers into the air. Also known as firebrands, these specks of burning debris can glide for up to 40 kilometers (approximately 24 miles) before landing and can cause up to 90% of home and business fires…
August 9, 2021 1:45 pm Source: https://wildlandfirefighter.com/2021/08/09/lightweight-respirator-on-the-way-for-wildland-firefighters/ Source: USFA Source: USFA Wildland firefighters are exposed to many of the same naturally occurring respiratory hazards as structural firefighters. They are also exposed to many of the same man-made respiratory hazards, especially when fighting fires in or near the wildland urban interface. However, unlike structural firefighters, wildland firefighters are unable to…
