Strong National Support for Alaska: Over 25 States Assist in 2025 Wildfire Season

Midwest Regional Office staff supporting fires in Alaska. Left to right: Patrick Pearson, Regional Fire Management Officer (FMO); Morgan Voss, Fire Planner; April Stowell, Fire Budget Analyst; J. Mike Johnson, Fire Communication/Education Specialist; Jay Mickey, Deputy FMO; Erin Yeoman, Fire Planner

Jason Devcich, NPS

As Alaska reached Preparedness Level (PL) 5 on July 5, 2025, in response to a season that has seen just over 1,000,000 acres burned, the National Park Service and partnering agencies mobilized a broad and diverse national response. With lower fire activity across the contiguous United States at the time Alaska was at PL5, over 25 states provided support to Alaska fire operations—demonstrating the strength and flexibility of the interagency fire community.

Resource Commitment by Role

From the frontlines to logistics, planning, and aviation, NPS staff filled a wide variety of roles. The most common positions included Firefighters (FFT2 and FFT1), GIS Specialists, Helicopter Managers, and Public Information Officers. Here’s a snapshot of the most frequently filled positions:

Position	Individuals Assigned
Firefighter Type 2 (FFT2)	76
Firefighter Type 1 (FFT1)	54
GIS Specialist (GISS)	14
Helicopter Manager (HMGB)	10
Technical Specialist (THSP)	10
Public Information Officer Type 3 (PIO3)	10
Crew Boss (CRWB)	10
Helicopter Crewmember (HECM)	9
Division/Group Supervisor (DIVS)	8
UAS Pilot (UASP)	7

In total, nearly 50 different position types were represented, highlighting the wide-ranging expertise within NPS and interagency teams.

Statewide Participation

Support came from across the country, with over 180 unit identifiers representing more than 25 different states and the District of Columbia. Here are the top contributing states by number of unique units:

State	Units Represented	Count
Alaska	Eastern and Western Area Fire Management and Alaska Regional Office	63
South Dakota	Wind Cave and Badlands National Parks	39
Washington	Olympic and North Cascades National Parks	33
Hawaii	Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park	14
Florida	Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Gulf Islands National Seashore	13
Nebraska	Midwest Regional Office	11
West Virginia	New River Gorge National Park and Preserve	10
California	Lassen Volcanic National Park, Yosemite National Park, Mojave National Preserve, and Pacific West Regional Office	10

From Hawaii to Maine, and Florida to Alaska, this interregional support demonstrates the depth of national commitment to wildland fire response and the critical value of enabling staff to participate in assignments beyond their home units.

Jacob McLaughlin from Denali National Park & Preserve supporting the statewide 2025 Alaska Fire Season as a Public Information Officer.

NPS

Why This Matters

Allowing fire-funded and collateral-duty staff to support interagency fire operations:

• enhances NPS readiness and national response capacity
• provides critical field experience and professional development
• strengthens collaborative relationships between regions and agencies
• helps protect public lands, communities, and cultural resources

Thank You!

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who mobilized for Alaska’s fire season—from firefighters to planners, helicopter crews to incident commanders. Your dedication and teamwork reflect the best of NPS fire management and make a meaningful difference on the ground.