National Fire Year Themes | National Interagency Fire Center

Firefighter and public safety are our highest priority.

Wildland firefighters work to protect lives, property, infrastructure and the environment when responding to wildfires.
With each new fire start, firefighters respond quickly and aggressively to keep wildfires small, reducing threats to life and property.

In January, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service began a phased approach to unifying the four Department of the Interior’s wildland fire management bureaus: National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as the Office of Aviation Services, and the Office of Wildland Fire. The new organization will allow the Interior Department increased efficiencies while strengthening coordination, reducing fragmentation, and improving how resources are prioritized and deployed to wildfires.
The USWFS works in close coordination with the U.S. Forest Service, state and local government agencies, and Tribal communities to provide a comprehensive federal wildland fire management approach that protects communities and natural resources.
The National Interagency Fire Center remains an important location where multiple federal and state agencies come together to work toward a unified wildland fire response.

There are two types of fire: prescribed fire and wildfires. Suppression strategy types have been updated to standardize terminology and reduce confusion, with clearer descriptions of how firefighters are working on the ground to manage them. These updates establish two clear strategies: “Direct Extinguishment” and “Indirect Confinement”.
This update reflects that all wildfire responses are active, deliberate efforts to control fires, protect lives, property, and ecosystems, and ensure firefighter safety. It removes misleading distinctions, reflects operational reality and public expectations, and allows flexibility as strategies shift with fire behavior and conditions.

The U.S. Forest Service, USWFS, and other federal, state, Tribal and local partners, work together to promote public safety and improve emergency response in the wildland-urban interface. Learn how to prepare your home for wildfires: NFPA - Firewise USA®.
These multi-agency partners apply a variety of vegetation treatments (mechanical thinning, prescribed fire, restoration) to reduce the amount of available fuel (vegetation) that promotes the spread of wildfire. By proactively reducing fuels, local communities are better prepared for the potential risk of wildfire.

The USWFS and the U.S. Forest Service are working together to identify the ways in which technology can improve wildfire preparedness, suppression, mitigation, and post-fire recovery.
The use of aircraft systems and remote smoke and camera detection systems are some of the ways the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Wildland Fire Service capitalize on the use of existing technologies. New data and fire spread modeling programs are evolving and will help support fire suppression operations and fuels management efforts.

As a result of wildland fires, air quality can change quickly and for the worse. Know your risk and plan ahead to reduce your exposure to wildfire smoke. For recommended actions, as well as smoke forecasts and current information, visit: www.airnow.gov/wildfires/.
The public plays a critical role in preventing wildfires. On average, 85 percent of all wildfires are human-caused, many occurring near roads, communities, and recreation areas where they threaten public safety. Learn how you can be safe with fire.