As Firehouse Sees It: It’s No Longer a Wildland Season

July 1, 2019
Firehouse Editor-in-Chief Peter Matthews explains that the explosive number of wildfires has put an end to the traditional wildfire season.

When I first started working at Firehouse, the glossy prints from photographers on the West Coast would arrive in big envelopes and each one was cover worthy. A group of hotshots standing on a ridge with a massive column of smoke behind them, a close-up photo of urban firefighters using hand tools to cut a fire break with a background filled with burning trees or a line of apparatus driving up a hillside with fire burning on both sides. Being from New York, these fires were simply unimaginable in size and scope.

At the time, it seemed that most fires occurred over the summer, or in the early fall. By Thanksgiving, the photos would stop coming in and a wildland cover would have already been selected and published.

As we’ve seen in the last few years, the wildfires are reported year-round. There are no breaks for the crews—whether municipal, federal, contract or if their status is full-time and part-time—they are running from fire to fire, toiling to save historic forests or national parks and communities built along rugged terrain or in areas that were recently undeveloped. 

In December, during a meeting held by the Congressional Fire Services Institute in Washington, D.C., Dr. Shawna Legarza, director of Fire and Aviation for the U.S. Forest Service said her agency is working with the reality that the wildland season is long gone because it is a year-round problem. And it’s not just in the Western United States, it’s all over the country.

Now, living in North Texas, each spring we have days where the sky is smoky from large grass fires that consume thousands of acres of prairie or ranch land. These fires, burning over different topography than the mountainous ranges to the west, require resources from several states to contain. While most fires burn in remote areas, it’s becoming more common that they threaten communities.  

The crews from my area that battled the spring fires around Texas loaded up their equipment in the fall of 2018 and headed west to work side-by-side with firefighters from California as the state’s deadliest and most devastating fires burned across the region.

As we go about our summer activities—whether it’s vacations, cookouts, or days at the beach—let’s pause to remember some of the deadliest wildfires for firefighters during the traditional wildland season.

On June 30, 2013, 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed in Yarnell, AZ. The Rattlesnake Fire that burned through the Mendocino National Forest in Willows, CA, claimed the lives of 15 firefighters on July 6, 1953. Fifteen firefighters were killed on Aug. 21, 1937, as they worked the Blackwater Forest Fire in the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming. The Devil’s Broom Wildland Fire near St. Joe Valley, ID, killed 78 firefighters on Aug. 20, 1910.

Turn to page 46 to learn more about the South Canyon Fire that claimed the lives of 14 firefighters in Colorado 25 years ago on July 6, 1994. And, next month marks the 70th anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire that claimed the lives of 13 firefighters and smokejumpers on Aug. 5, 1949, in the Helena National Forest in Montana.

Firehouse Expo Update

Be sure to turn to pages 36–37 to view the full lineup of preconference and main conference classroom sessions for this year’s Firehouse Expo. The conference at a glance breaks down the sessions by day to help you start planning your schedule for the conference. Be sure you attend this year’s opening ceremonies for Curt Isakson’s keynote address, “It’s Worth the Risk.” Curt will get you fired up and eager to hear the latest tactics, learn from findings of major incidents and better prepare yourself for the next call.

Save the date, next year’s Firehouse Expo will take place in Nashville, July 20–25, 2020.

Voice Your Opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Firehouse, create an account today!