National Interagency Fire Center’s Post

Friends in #California, I know many of us are having trouble getting proper homeowner's insurance due to the threat of wildfires---if you can even get it at all. This news clip is from a story about a community using a wildfire defense system from Frontline Wildfire Defense. It looks like a great way to protect your home and family. Just thought I would share it. #bayarea #fireprotection #homeownersinsurance #CaliforniaDepartmentofInsurance

Interesting read

Texas A&M Forest Service has raised the State Wildfire Preparedness Level to Level 4 due to the recent increase in wildfire activity across the state and the growing potential for wildfires to become more severe, making them harder to control. This week, very high to extreme fire danger is forecast for broad regions of the state, including areas along the I-35 corridor between Dallas, Waco, Austin and San Antonio, and extending west to Abilene and Wichita Falls. Regions with increased risk also include areas east of I-45 and south of I-20, near Jacksonville, Center, Lufkin, Crockett, Huntsville, Woodville, Cleveland, Kirbyville and Jasper. It is crucial that everyone in Texas take care to prevent wildfires and be cautious of any outdoor activity that may cause a spark. If a wildfire is spotted, immediately contact local authorities. A quick response can help save lives and property. Read more at: https://bit.ly/3ONVi8a

A Texas inferno fueled by dry, abnormally warm conditions has destroyed as many as 500 structures, scorched more than 1 million acres of land and killed at least two people since igniting in the Texas Panhandle on Monday afternoon, according to state officials. The Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest of the four active wildfires ripping across the region, covers an area greater than the size of Rhode Island, according to the Associated Press. The blaze was 15 percent contained and has spread into Oklahoma, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. It is the largest wildfire on record in Texas. “When you look at the damages that have occurred here, it’s just gone, completely gone,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said during a news conference Friday. “Nothing left but ashes on the ground.” Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 Texas counties on Tuesday, and President Biden, during a Thursday trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, thanked first responders for “risking their lives to save others” and pledged to help “everyone affected by these wildfires.” It is unclear what started the fire, and authorities are investigating. The Smokehouse Creek Fire has burned through about 1,076,000 acres in Texas and Oklahoma, leaving dead cattle, burned crops and charred homes in its wake. It was 15 percent contained at about 3 p.m. local time Saturday. There are three other active wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. As of Saturday afternoon, the Grape Vine Creek Fire covered 30,000 acres and was 60 percent contained. The Windy Deuce Fire covered about 142,000 acres and was 60 percent contained. The Magenta Fire had burned 3,300 acres and was 85 percent contained as of Friday morning. Record-breaking high temperatures coupled with low relative humidity and strong winds have fueled the Panhandle wildfires. Winter temperatures hit 100 degrees in Killeen, 93 degrees in Dallas and 82 degrees in Amarillo on Monday — the day the fires began, according to The Washington Post. (For reference: Amarillo’s Feb. 26 average is 59 degrees.) There was a brief respite Thursday, when lower temperatures and light snow showers slowed the fires and made them easier to fight. However, warm, dry, windy conditions across the Texas Panhandle over the weekend pose a “very high” wildfire threat, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

#NationalFireNews: May 28, 2024: Currently nine large fires have burned 37,502 acres in five states. Arizona has three, Florida and New Mexico have two and California and Colorado each have one. Two complex incident management teams are assigned to the #Blue2Fire and #IndiosFire in New Mexico. About 1,600 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents across the nation. For #FireYear2024, 15,366 wildfires have burned 1,911,995 acres. This continues to be below the 10-year average of 21,388 wildfires and almost double the average acres burned of 1,025,236. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gTj5mZB 📸 Photo from InciWeb of a Roosevelt Interagency Hotshot on the #SpruceCreekFire on USDA Forest Service - San Juan National Forest.

For #NationalPreparednessMonth, we are highlighting the importance of #wildfire preparedness in the South, where more than half of all the nation's wildfires occur, and where more people than ever are living with heightened wildfire risk. Learn More: https://bit.ly/3qKBRUL

𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘: Communities are encouraged to participate in the National Firewise USA program, which educates residents on how to protect homes and neighborhoods in areas at high risk of wildfire. #HighPlainsJournal #HPJ #wildfire #fireprevention #rural

Exploring the intensity of Texas wildfires, with the Smokehouse Creek fire consuming over 850,000 acres and showing the critical need for effective wildfire management strategies https://lnkd.in/eG--jXrB #WildfireManagement #TexasWildfires #FireSafety #EmergencyResponse #WildfirePrevention #CommunitySafety

Wildfires: How Are You Prepared? #wildfire #publicsafety #emergencyresponse #emergencypreparedness #emergencymanagement #lawenforcement #police #ems #emstraining #firefighter #firesafety #firesafetytraining #fireprotection #fireextinguisher https://lnkd.in/e_3cNHBf The wildfires occurring in Hawaii are devastating to the people, ecosystem, and country as a whole. While there is still debate on how the fires started I am more concerned about the people who live(d) there. The last casualty count at the time of this post was 67 souls. Please send support by any means to this region and think about how you can keep you and your loved ones safe from this type of disaster.

US Wildfires Are Getting Bigger and More Complex, Prompting Changes in Firefighting   It’s shaping up to be a long wildfire season, with Texas already seeing its largest blaze in recorded history and firefighters becoming overwhelmed with recent blazes in Virginia   Just in the first three months of the year, more than 2,669 square miles (6,912 square Km) were charred in the United States   With fires growing in size and duration, federal officials in charge of juggling resources and dispatching crews are pivoting to a new business model they describe as the biggest shift in wildfire management in decades   #wildfirecrisis #uswildfires #climatechange #wildfireprevention #firefightertraining #savetheforests #protectourcommunities