Fire Timeline - Text Version
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Wildland Fire Operations
Lewis, Clark & Sacagawea. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.
1804
Lewis & Clark's Journals
Lewis & Clark's journals noted the frequency and occasionally the magnitude of praririe fires as they entered the Great Plains. Fires were ecologically important wherever grass growth was abundant to prevent secondary growth. They were set by lightning or accidentally by humans or often Indians set fires purposely for signaling or for improving grazing. The party noted those different types of fires and understood their purpose.
Watercolor of two Indians hunting buffalo. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.
SEPTEMBER 16, 1804
Lewis & Clark Journal Entry
"These extensive planes had been lately birnt and the grass had sprung up and was about three inches high. Vast herds of Buffaloe deer Elk and Antilopes were seen feeding in every direction as far as the eye of the observer could reach."
Blue sky with smoke rising from prairie. Courtesy of National Park Service.
MARCH 6, 1805
Lewis & Clark Journal Entry
"a cloudy morning & smokey all Day from the burning of the plains, which was set on fire by the Minetarries for an early crop of Grass as an endusement for the Buffalow to feed on..."
Smoke column rising from prairie fire. Courtesy of National Park Service.
MARCH 30, 1805
Lewis & Clark Journal Entry
"The plains are on fire in view of the fort on both sides of the river, it is said to be common for the Indians to burn the plains near their villages every spring for the benefit of the horse and to induce the Buffalow to come near them."
Flames and smoke from burning prairie grass. Courtesy of National Park Service.
APRIL 28, 1805
Lewis & Clark Journal Entry
"...the air was turbid in the forenoon and appeared to be filled with smoke; we supposed it to proceed from the burning of the plains, which we are informed are frequently set on fire by the Snake Indians to compel the antelopes to resort to the woody and mountainous country which they inhabit..."
Fire burning on forest floor. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1821
Timothy Dwight
Timothy Dwight, Travels in New England and New York, wrote:"The aborigines of New England customarily fired the forest that they might pursue their hunting with advantage ....The grounds which were covered with oak, chestnut, etc., or with pitch pines were selected for this purpose because they alone were in ordinary years sufficiently dry."
Flames burning logs on ground. Courtesy of National Park Service.
AUGUST 19, 1825
David Douglas
David Douglas, Scottish botanist for whom the Douglas fir is named, described while traveling through the Willamette Valley the Indian practice of burning areas of downed wood to cultivate tobacco in the ashes.
Southern pines and palmetto. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1849
Charles Lyell
Scottish geologist Charles Lyell commented:"These hills were covered with longleaf pines and the large proportion they bear to hardwoods is said to have been increased by the Indian practice of burning the grass; the bark of the oaks and other kinds of hardwoods being more combustible, and more easily injured by fire, than most of the fir tribe. Everywhere the seedlings of the longleaved pine were coming up in such numbers that one might have supposed the ground to have been sown by them."
1875
John Muir
John Muir's (1901) detailed observations of an 1875 fire in the sequoia forests of the southern Sierra Nevada provide a particularly vivid account of the patchiness of pre-settlement fire behavior. "The fire came racing up the steep chaparral-covered slopes ...in a broad cataract of flames ...But as soon as the deep forest was reached, the ungovernable flood became calm like a torrent entering a lake, creeping and spreading beneath the trees ...There was no danger of being chased and hemmed in, for in the main forest belt of the Sierra, even when swift winds are blowing, fires seldom or never sweep over the trees in broad all-embracing sheets as they do in the dense Rocky Mountain woods and in those of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington. Here they creep from tree to tree ...allowing close observation..."
U.S. Cavalry on horseback in Yellowstone National Park. Courtesy of National Park Service.
AUGUST 20, 1886
Captain Moses Harris
Captain Moses Harris, Troop M, First Cavalry assumes command of Yellowstone National Park. Their charge was the protection and administration of the park. The Cavalry remained in the park for the next 32 years. Within days of arriving at Yellowstone, soldiers began fighting wildfires throughout the park and were in reality the nation's first paid wildland fire fighters. Orders that set forth the regulations the soldiers would enforce included "Camping parties will only build fires when actually necessary."
REFERENCE ITEMS
How the U.S. Cavalry Saved Our National Parks, H. Duane Hampton, Indiana University Press, 1971
Men camped by lake. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1889
Designated Campgrounds
In an attempt to reduce wildfires, Captain Boutelle ordered that camping in Yellowstone be allowed only in designated areas. This led to the system of designated campgrounds now common on public lands.
REFERENCE ITEMS
How the U.S. Cavalry Saved Our National Parks, H. Duane Hampton, Indiana University Press, 1971
U.S. Cavalry on horseback in Yellowstone National Park. Courtesy of National Park Service.
JUNE 2, 1889
Captain F.A. Boutelle
Captain F.A. Boutelle relieves Captain Harris at Yellowstone and requests from the Secretary of the Interior "funds for the purchase of twenty axes and twenty rubber buckets" for firefighting. His troops put out 61 separate fires that year.
REFERENCE ITEMS
How the U.S. Cavalry Saved Our National Parks, H. Duane Hampton, Indiana University Press, 1971
Smoke rising from fires in pines and palmetto. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1889
Ellen Call Long
Ellen Call Long, daughter of the Territorial Governor of Florida, observed:"The annual burning of the wooded regions of the South is the prime cause and preserver of the grand forests of Pinus palustris [longleaf pine] to be found there; but for the effects of these burnings ...the maritime pine belt would soon disappear and give place to a jungle of hardwood and deciduous trees."
Burning grass and lone pine tree. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1890
Warren Vaughn
Warren Vaughn, Tillamook County, Siuslaw National Forest west of Eugene, Oregon wrote:"At the time, there was not a bush or a tree to be seen on all those hills, for the Indians kept it burned over every spring, but when the whites came, they stopped the fires for it destroyed the grass, and then the young spruces sprung up and grew as we now see them."
Fire burning pine needles and pinecones. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1902
Value of Light Burning
California newspapers debated the value of light burning in maintaining forests and to prevent large, devastating wildfires.August, 1910
Sunset Magazine Publishes Article By G.L. Hoxie
Sunset Magazine publishes article by G.L. Hoxie entitled How Fire Helps Forestry: The Practical vs. the Federal Government's Theoretical Ideas that stated "...forest fire is a name of terror to all who love trees and who recognize the economic importance of forests...it will surprise the majority of readers to learn that prevention of fire may be made so complete as to menace the forests with greater danger than they now incur..." "Why not by practical forestry keep the supply of flammable matter on the forest cover or carpet so limited by timely burning as to deprive even the lightning fires of sufficient fuel..." "...fires to the forest are as necessary as are crematories and cemeteries to our cities and towns; this is Nature's process for removing the dead of the forest family and for bettering conditions for the living."
REFERENCE ITEMS
Sunset 34 (August 1910)
Smoke rising from fires in pines and palmetto. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1911
Using Fire To Reduce Hazardous Fuels
Forest administrator in Florida National Forest, I.F. Eldridge, broke with convention by using fire to reduce hazardous fuels in longleaf pine stands.
Modern female firefighter carrying a pulaski. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
1915
First Women Firefighters
Mrs. Durham, wife of one of the pioneer rangers on what was then known as the California National Forest, and her friend, Ms. Kloppenburg, were the first women firefighters. The California National Forest is now known as the Mendocino National Forest.
Man leaning against weather station. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1916
Weather Forecasts
U.S. Weather Bureau, a part of the Department of Agriculture, began providing weather forecasts specific to wildland fire.
Woman fire lookout standing by an Osborne Fire Finder. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1918
Osborne Fire Finder
Fire towers begin using table maps and the Osborne Fire Finder to more accurately pinpoint fire locations.
Man leaning against weather station. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1923
Fire Weather Warning Service
The Fire Weather Warning Service was established by the U.S. Weather Bureau and was headquartered in San Francisco.
Fire burning on ground by pines. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1924
Aldo Leopold
Journal of Forestry publishes Aldo Leopold's article, Grass, Brush, Timber, and Fire in Southern Arizona in which he discusses the role of fire and grazing in the spread of brush across the state.
Man leaning against weather station. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1926
First Daily Reporting
The first daily reporting of local fire weather data was transmitted to the Weather Bureau from Forest Service field stations.
Two men building fireline on smoky forest hillside. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1926
Colonel John White
Sequoia-Kings Canyon Superintendent Colonel John White orders his rangers to conduct a number of controlled burns to reduce ground fuels even though this was against policy.
Men working on burning sawgrass in Everglades National Park. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1927
First Recorded Prescribed Burn
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife biologists conduct first recorded prescribed burn by the agency on what became St. Mark's NWR.
Two men building fireline on smoky forest hillside. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
August, 1928
Colonel John White
Sequoia-Kings Canyon Superintendent Colonel John White wrote an open letter to the Los Angeles Times that congratulated the paper for limiting publicity about the impact of a fire that burned across national forest, national park, and state lands. The state of California suppressed the fire in the park after three weeks, their work was complicated by a backfire White and his men set. White trumpeted the instance as a positive example of light burning.
Smoke rising from fires in pines and palmetto. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1931
Herbert L. Stoddard
Ornithologist Herbert L. Stoddard published a classic in wildlife management: The Bobwhite Quail, its Habitats, Preservation, and Increase following 4 years of field work. Stoddard determined that quail populations in the South depended on a complex mix of land management practices and that fire may well be the most important single area.
Harry T. Gisborne standing by chart. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1931
Harry T. Gisborne
Harry T. Gisborne developed what he later called "my major research contribution" - a Fire Danger Meter that measured fire danger and administrative action needed to cope with prevailing or probably fire danger.
Man recording weather. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1932
Fire Danger Stations Established
Eighteen fire danger stations had been established around the Intermountain West, including Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks.
Osborne Photo Recording Transit used in panoramic photography. Courtesy of firetower.org.
1932
Osborne Photo Recording Transit
W.B. Osborne designed his Osborne Photo Recording transit, a swing lens panoramic camera made by Lupold-Volpel of Portland, OR. It was used by the USDA Forest Service and turned out 120-degree 4" x 6" photographs.
Fire burning on forest floor. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1933
Aldo Leopold
Aldo Leopold recognized prescribed fire as essential to the management of wildlife habitat; he stated in the preface to his book Game Management that "the five critical tools of game management are the ax, the match, the cow, the plow, and the gun."
View of firefighters parachuting into smoky fire. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1934
Smokejumping
Smokejumping was first proposed by T.V. Pearson, the Forest Service Intermountain Regional Forester, as a means to quickly provide initial attack on forest fires. By parachuting in, self-sufficient firefighters could arrive fresh and ready for the strenuous work of fighting fires in rugged terrain.
Pilot in cockpit holding parachute. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1935
Airplane Tests Began
Tests began on using airplanes to drop fire retardants. It was not until 1947 that a formal aerial bombing project began, with the christening of a B-29 bomber called the Rocky Mountain Ranger.
Harry Gisborne using visiblity meter he helped design. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1935
Harry T. Gisborne
Harry Gisborne and his staff at the Priest River Experiment Station designed the visibility meter to help gauge fire danger. Gisborne's fire-danger meter incorporated multiple components to estimate fire hazard, visibility combined with factors such as relative humidity, hours of sunshine, wind speed, and fuel moisture to create a unified rating. Using Gisborne's model, greater visibility corresponded to heightened fire danger.
Five men digging fireline on steep slope. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1935
10 A.M. Policy Adopted
10 A.M. Policy adopted by US Forest Service which stipulated that a fire was to be contained and controlled by 10 A.M. following the report of a fire, or failing that goal, control by 10 A.M. the next day and so on. this policy is implemented on a national scale and marked a high point in wildfire suppression.
View of firefighters parachuting into smoky fire. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1939
Smokejumper Program
The smokejumper program was initiated as an experiment in the USFS Pacific Northwest Region and was partly designed to reduce the time it took for crews to reach a wildland fire after incidents such as the 1937 Blackwater Fire.
Two parachutists silhouetted against clouds. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1940
First Fire Jump
The first fire jump was made on Idaho's Nez Perce National Forest in the Northern Region.
Smoky fire in forest. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1940
Small-scale Burns For Research Purposes
U.S. Forest Service Southeastern Forest Experimental Station in Asheville, NC conducted some small-scale burns for research purposes.
Fire burning on ground by pines. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1942
Harold Weaver
Harold Weaver, Bureau of Indian Affairs forester, began prescribed burning on the Colville Reservation in Washington. Broadcast burning in dense stand of Ponderosa pine saplings reduced thickets from 2,430 stems per acre to 690, and "crop trees" responded to the reduced competition with greater diameter growth than in unthinned stands.
REFERENCE ITEMS
Journal of Forestry 41, January 1943.
Man lighting fire in palmetto and pines using driptorch. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1943
Lyle Watts
After viewing extensive fires in Florida that resulted from years of fire exclusion, Lyle Watts, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service gave national forests permission on a case-by-case basis, to use prescribed fire for the reduction of unnaturally high fuel accumulations. This policy change gave tacit recognition to the wisdom of managing the landscape with fire as practiced during the previous several thousand years by Native Americans and the European settlers who replaced them.
Ford Tri-motor airplane and smokejumpers at McCall, ID Smokejumper Base in 1948. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
AUGUST 14, 1943
First Fire Jump
The first fire jump out of the McCall Smokejumper base was made by John Furguson and Lester Gohler at the head of Captain John Creek. The McCall Smokejumper Base was started in 1943 when five jumpers, who were trained in Missoula, Montana, were stationed in McCall.1945
California Controlled Burns
State of California reported that 253 controlled burns treated 81,913 acres and that an additional 16,012 were burned in escaped fires. "The method most used is burning and is often used alone. It has given rise to great controversy as to where, when and how it should be used. Some advocate extensive use of fire; others believe there should be no use of fire. Generally, informed opinion lays somewhere between these extremes. The United States Forest Service is the prime objector to the present use of controlled burning, because of a belief that there is not enough known about burning and its results, and the public interests involved are too great to be risked to mistreatment. Its use without further land treatment is also questioned because many of the shrubs have the capacity to sprout from their roots and to germinate from seed in the burn. This persistence often results in more dense stands of brush a few years after the fire than there were prior to it."
1958 view of plane dropping fire retardant on fire. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1947
Aerial Bombing
The Northern Rocky Mountain Station published results of experiments with the Army Air Force in aerial bombing of forest fires, and published the results of investigations of aerial seeding of burned over timberlands.
Back view of six firefighters with tools. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
1948
First Hotshot Crew
The first hotshot crew, the Los Padres Hotshots, was established on the Los Padres National Forest.
Modern California inmate fire crew marching. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1949
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) first implemented fire crews using adult male inmates when a tent camp operation was established at the Minewawa Camp in southern San Diego County.
Smoke rising from valley in Sequoia National Park. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1950
Kaweah Basin
Superintendent E.T. Scoyen of Sequoia, one of the most venerated NPS leaders and a man of considerable vision, supported the designation of the Kaweah Basin as a research area that would not be subjected to fire suppression. Scoyen asked to retain authority to intervene if fire there threatened other areas of the park.
REFERENCE ITEMS
E. Lowell Sumner, "The Kaweah Basin Research Reserve: An Untouched Area for the Future;" Regional Director to Director, February 6, 1950, Sequoia National Park, FR 1950, 1970-1976, Ma-U, Box 327, F317, Sequoia National Park Archives.
Smoke rising from fires in pines and palmetto. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1950
U.S. Forest Service Southeastern Forest Research Station Annual Report
U.S. Forest Service Southeastern Forest Research Station Annual Report stated "Fire is now recognized as a valuable tool in the management of southern pines. It can be used for the control of brownspot disease in longleaf pine seedlings, as well as for hazard reduction, seedbed preparation, reducing hardwood competition, and for improving forage conditions and wildlife habitats. When properly used fire can serve all of these purposes with very little or no damage to the stand. However, there are cases where severe damage has resulted when prescribed fires burned with greater intensity than was intended. We still do not know nearly as much as we should about when to burn and how to burn.
Firefighter lighting grass using a drip torch. Courtesy of National Park Service.
March, 1950
Pipestone National Monument
Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota conducted its first controlled burn.
Man with hardhat fighting fire using a backpack pump. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1952
Hardhats
Some Forest Service wildland firefighters begin wearing hardhats.
Smokejumpers preparing to board plane. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1953
The U.S. Forest Service Missoula Aerial Equipment Development Center
The U.S. Forest Service Missoula Aerial Equipment Development Center was established largely because of the Northern Region's success in the use of aircraft for fighting forest fires. This center's mission was to develop equipment for air operations throughout the Forest Service.
Men with hose fighting fire in brush. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1953
Principles of Organization for Fighting Fires
Principles of Organization for Fighting Fires issued by the U.S. Forest Service.
1958 view of plane dropping fire retardant on fire. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
AUGUST 12, 1955
First Air Tanker Drop
First Air Tanker Drop on a wildfire was made on the Mendonhall Fire, on the Mendocino National Forest. Vance Nolta was the pilot.
1950's view of helicopter at Yosemite National Park. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1956
First Drops of Water and Chemicals onto Wildfires
The first practical drops of water and chemicals onto wildfires began, and helicopters began to assist with firefighting in the 1950's.
Men standing near smoky fire in forest. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1957
Ten Standard Fire Orders
U.S. Forest Service convenes a special task force to study fires where firefighter fatalities occurred, and devise safety guidelines; among other recommendations, the Ten Standard Fire Orders (SFO) are implemented modeled after U.S. Marine Corps general orders. In addition to the SFO, this report marks the origin of the 18 Watchout Situations and of the research into and use of fire behavior knowledge in wildland firefighting. It was also a milestone in the development of both National Advanced Resources Training Center and the Incident Command System (ICS).
Man igniting fire in grass using drip torch. Courtesy of National Park Service.
APRIL 28, 1958
Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park ignites its first prescribed burn on Long Pine Key.
Old pickup truck parked near trailer and airplanes. Courtesy of National Park Service.
MARCH 1, 1962
Appalachian Air Tanker Project
Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee National Forest join forces to establish the "Appalachian Air Tanker Project." This collaboration evolved into what is now the Southern Appalachian Air Attack Base - Knoxville Tanker Base. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee National Forest have enjoyed this relationship for 40 years and continue to enjoy this partnership to this present day.
Grizzly bear with three cubs by river. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1963
Wildlife Management in the National Parks: Leopold Report
Wildlife Management in the National Parks: Leopold Report, released and set the course for future management of national parklands by recommending "...that the biotic associations within each park be maintained, or where necessary recreated, as nearly as possible in the condition that prevailed when the area was first visited by the white man. A national park should represent a vignette of primitive America."
Smoke rising near Sequoia trees. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1964
Harold Biswell
Harold Biswell began using fire in Giant Sequoia restoration studies on 320 acres in Whittaker's Forest owned by the University of California near King's Canyon National Park.
Students practicing use of fire shelters. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1966
Missoula Equipment Development Center
U.S. Forest Service Missoula Equipment Development Center (MEDC) adapts A-shaped fire shelter using aluminum foil/glass laminate with a kraft paper barrier inner liner.
View of Fire Shelter case. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1967
6000 Fire Shelters Ordered
Missoula Equipment Development Center orders 6000 fire shelters that include instruction sheet and carrying case. This is essentially the same shelter that remains in use until the M-2002 shelter is developed.
Smoke rising from mountain in Glacier National Park. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1967
Prescribed Fires
National Park Service fire policy revised to allow "prescribed natural fires" in areas with approved fire plans.
Smoke rising from mountain in Glacier National Park. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1968
Administrative Policies for Natural Areas of the National Park System
Administrative Policies for Natural Areas of the National Park System was released and stated "The presence or absence of natural fire within a given habitat is recognized as one of the ecological factors contributing to the perpetuation of plants and animals native to that habitat." This was a major shift in the Service's approach to fire, from one of suppressing all fires in national parks to that of managing fire. The new policy permitted the use of prescribed burning and allowed lightning fires to burn to help accomplish approved management objectives.
Smoke rising from valley in Sequoia National Park. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1968
First Prescribed Natural Fire Program
The first prescribed natural fire program (allowing lightning fires to burn under prescribed conditions) was approved in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Two fires burned 8 acres the first year. In 1969, 129,331 acres were designated as "let burn" areas where natural fires would be allowed to run their course.
Smoke rising from valley in Sequoia National Park. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1968
First Prescribed Burn
The first prescribed burn in western national parks was conducted on a 1,100 acre plot alon Rattlesnake Creek in Kings Canyon National Park.
Smokejumper landing. Courtesy of National Park Service.
JULY 2, 1968
West Yellowstone Interagency Air Operations Center
West Yellowstone Interagency Air Operations Center was activated and smokejumpers make 14 jumps on five fires in the park the first year. The only NPS smokejumper is still stationed here.1971
Firefighting Resources of California Organized for Potential Emergencies
Firefighting Resources of California Organized for Potential Emergencies (FIRESCOPE) formed to create and implement new applications in fire service management, technology and coordination, with an emphasis on incident command and multi-agency coordination. FIRESCOPE identified several recurring problems involving multi-agency responses, such as: Nonstandard terminology among responding agencies; Lack of capability to expand and contract as required by the situation; Nonstandard and nonintegrated communications; Lack of consolidated action plans; Lack of designated facilities.Efforts to address these difficulties resulted in the development of the original Incident Command System model for effective incident management of wildland fires. The system has been expanded to address any type of incident (wildland fire, search & rescue, structural fire, special events, storms, etc.). It consists of procedures for controlling personnel, facilities, equipment and communications.
Forest shrouded in smoke. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
1971
U.S. Forest Service
U.S. Forest Service modified its suppression policy and begins initiating natural fire experiments.
Smoke billowing up from brush and trees. Courtesy of National Park Service.
July, 1972
Moccasin Mesa Fire
Mesa Verde National ParkA lightning caused fire, burned a total of 2,680 acres in Mesa Verde National Park and on Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Lands. The Park failed to recognize the potential for cultural resource damage from fire suppression activities. Fire suppression activities (primarily dozers) resulted in the destruction of numerous archeological sites. A post-fire review and investigation resulted in the establishment of a national policy to include cultural resource oversight in the management of wildland fires on all federal lands.
Lake in Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
1972
First Wilderness Fire Management Plan
First U.S. Forest Service wilderness fire management plan written for the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area. If weather and fuel conditions permitted, wildfires would be allowed to burn in the shrub fields and open ponderosa pines at 3,000 feet, along the breaks of the Selway River, and in alpine larch at 8,500 feet.
Crew of firefighters with tools. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
1975
5-minute Step Test
Federal agencies begin using a 5-minute step test and an alternative 1.5-mile run to screen candidates for wildland firefighting.
Modern female firefighter carrying a pulaski. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
1976
First Woman Hotshot
Deanne Shulman joined the Los Prietos Hotshots as the first woman hotshot in Region 5.
View of Fire Shelter case. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1977
Mandatory Fire Shelters
US Forest Service makes it mandatory that all Forest Service firefighters carry a fire shelter.
Regrowth from the Ouzel fire - 2004. Courtesy of National Park Service.
SEPTEMBER 15, 1978
Ouzel Fire
Ouzel Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park threatens nearby community of Allenspark, Colorado. Initially managed for resource benefits as a prescribed natural fire, the Ouzel Fire was driven by strong downslope "Chinook" winds toward the park boundary. Winds eventually subsided and the fire was controlled within the park boundary. Recommendations from the fire review further clarified the NPS fire management planning and use of natural fires for resource benefits.
Modern woman smokejumper. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
1981
First Woman Smokejumper
Deanne Shulman became the first woman smokejumper in the nation when she successfully completed the smokejumper training program at the McCall Smokejumper Base in Idaho.
Forest shrouded in smoke. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
1985
U.S. Forest Service Policy Revised
U.S. Forest Service policy revised to clarify wilderness fire management objectives and the use of prescribed fire within wilderness.
Green, brown and burning pine trees. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1987
First Sixteen Years of Yellowstone's Natural Fire Policy
In the first sixteen years of Yellowstone's natural fire policy (1972-1987), 235 fires were allowed to burn 33,759 acres. Only 15 of those fires were larger than 100 acres, and all of the fires were extinguished naturally. Public response to the fires was good, and the program was considered a success.
Aerial view of two smoke plumes. Courtesy of National Park Service.
JULY 15, 1988
8,500 Acres Burned
Only 8,500 acres had burned in the entire greater Yellowstone area. Eleven of the 20 early-season fires went out by themselves, and the rest were being monitored in accordance with the existing fire management plan.
Three firefighters digging fireline on smoke-shrouded slope. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
JULY 21, 1988
Fire Suppression in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Because of continuing dry conditions, the decision was made to suppress all fires in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Within a week, fires within the park alone encompassed nearly 99,000 acres, and by the end of the month, dry fuels and high winds combined to make the larger fires nearly uncontrollable.
Flames towering above trees and store in Yellowstone. Courtesy of National Park Service.
AUGUST 20, 1988
Yellowstone Fires
Tremendous winds pushed fire across more than 150,000 acres of Yellowstone.
Night view of burning pine trees and power pole. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
SEPTEMBER 6, 1988
Canyon Creek Fire
Canyon Creek Fire was a prescribed natural fire that had burned much of the summer in the Scapegoat Wilderness in Montana, on the Helena, Lewis and Clark, and Lolo National Forests. The jet stream surfaced over the fire and the fire ran east over the continental divide and burned over 118,000 acres overnight. It ended up at 249,000 acres.
Smoke and flames in pine forest. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
SEPTEMBER 11, 1988
Snowfall Cools Yellowstone Fires
First snowfall of the season cools the Yellowstone fires that won't be totally extinguished until November.OCTOBER 1, 1988
Yellowstone Fires
A total of 248 fires started in greater Yellowstone in 1988; 50 of those were in Yellowstone National Park. Despite widespread misconceptions that all fires were initially allowed to burn, only 31 or the total were; 28 of these began inside the park. In the end, 7 major fires were responsible for more than 95% of the 1.2 million acres burned. Five of those fires were ignited outside the park, and 3 of them were human-caused fires that firefighters attempted to control from the beginning. Approximately 793,000 (about 36%) of the park’s 2,221,800 acres were burned.Five Type 1 Incident Management Teams, an Area Command Team and nearly 9,000 firefighters at one time were called in to fight the fires. Total suppression costs were estimated at $120 million.
Sun glowing above firefighters working in smoky forest. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
June, 1989
Bush Administration
Bush administration directed the Department of the Interior to fight all fires, regardless of origin or prescription, until each park or management area had revised its fire management plan to reflect the new, tightened policy.OCTOBER 1, 1990
The Florida Prescribed Burning Act
State Statute 590.125(3)This law authorized and promoted the continued use of prescribed burning for ecological, silvicultural, and wildfire management purposes. The statute promoted the use of fire, described the benefits of prescribed fire, the value of public outreach initiatives, and the need for continued prescribed burner training. It also protected prescribed burners for civil liability as long as they or their agents were not found generally negligent as defined in the 1990 Florida Supreme Court ruling Midyette v. Madison, 559 So. 2d 1126 (Fla. 1990). In addition, prescribed burns conducted in accordance with the statute could no longer be terminated because of nuisance complaints.
Since its passage, seven other southern states have passed identical or very similar legislation including Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Fires burning in Southern pine forest. Courtesy of National Park Service.
DECEMBER 5, 1990
General Accounting Office
General Accounting Office issues report titled Federal Fire Management Limited Progress in Restarting the Prescribed Fire Program that found benefits of allowing some fires to burn in controlled situations, progress and constraints on implementing a revamped prescribed fire program, and the need to monitor the program’s implementation.
Numerous wisps of smoke on mountainside. Courtesy of National Park Service.
1994
Howling Fire
Glacier National ParkExperienced problems getting resources to manage the fire as a “prescribed natural fire.” Managers discussed the need for crews to manage these type fires similar to fire fighting crews. This led the National Park Service to create four Fire Use Modules and four Fire Use Management Teams.
Burnt trees silhouetted against colored sky. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
JULY 6, 1994
South Canyon Fire
near Glenwood Springs, Coloradokills 14 firefighters
An interagency team was formed to investigate the fatalities and contributing factors. The subsequent 1995 Federal Wildland Fire Policy and Program Review, signed by both Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior, directed Federal wildland fire agencies to establish fire management qualifications standards to improve firefighter safety and increase professionalism in fire management programs.
Remains of burned house. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
May, 2000
Cerro Grande Fire
Bandelier National MonumentA prescribed fire escaped control and burned over 45,000 acres and destroyed 235 homes in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Department of Agriculture and Interior suspend all prescribed fires west of the 100th Meridian for approximately one year.
Firefighters with water hose suppressing a wildland fire. Courtesy of National Interagency Fire Center.
AUGUST 29, 2000
Fire Stats
There were 28,462 firefighters on duty; 667 crews; 1,294 engines; 226 helicopters; 42 air tankers; 84 fires greater than 100 acres and 1,642,579 acres on fire in 16 states.
Trucks in front of burning forest. Courtesy of USDA Forest Service.
JULY 10, 2001
Thirtymile Fire
Okanogan National Forest, WashingtonErratic fire behavior entraps crew and two civilians. 14 shelters were deployed and four firefighters died.
Firefighters walking on road through smoke. Courtesy of National Park Service.
July, 2001
Thirty Mile Accident Prevention Plan
Following review of the fire, the Thirty Mile Accident Prevention Plan was developed and contained 38 action items, including 28 that are interagency in nature to enhance fire fighter safety and training.JULY 22, 2003
Cramer Fire
Salmon-Challis National Forest, IdahoExperienced a major blow-up causing the deaths of two firefighters. The investigation report cited inadequate management oversight, failure to comply with policy, failure to recognize and adjust fire suppression and tactics, and a shortage and misallocation of resources as situations leading to the fatalities. A separate four-member accident review board reviewed the findings and developed recommendations to prevent similar accidents. The key actions that, when implemented, would best prevent similar mishaps in the future, included strengthening command and control performance of agency administrators and fire managers, and periodically re-certifying fire management leadership positions nationally.
Mark Trail cartoon. Courtesy of North American Syndicate, Inc.
AUGUST 1, 2004
Smokey Bear's 60th Anniversary
Mark Trail comic strip recognizes Smokey Bear's 60th anniversary. Smokey's message included:"...I don't promote the suppression of wildfires or prescribed fires...my message is to prevent CARELESS wildfires! Prescribed fires can be beneficial to plants and animals and to prevent wildfires if they are done under SUPERVISED conditions."
