Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Blog

[This is the introduction to the Latest Issue of Two More Chains.] By Kelly Woods, DirectorWildland Fire Lessons Learned Center In this issue of Two More Chains, we wrap-up the series presented over the last few issues exploring and defining the three Pillars of Learning: Inquiry, Opportunity, and Dialogue. These Pillars are described in detai...

[This is the Cover Story featured in the Latest Issue of Two More Chains.] By Erik Apland, Field Operations SpecialistWildland Fire Lessons Learned Center “Erik, come up here.” The Assistant on my Fire Module called me over the crew freq. to come to his location. What Scott wanted I couldn’t really guess. We were on a large fire—my first large fire as a...

[This is the “One of Our Own” feature on Heath Cota that is in the Latest Issue of Two More Chains.] In this rich conversation with Kelly Woods, Heath Cota shares many important insights on a wide range of significant subjects, including: how to turn dialogue into action; the importance of fostering an inquisitive mindset; and his own take on critical thinking. Besides his wildland fire background—that includes h...

[This is the "One of Our Own" feature that appeared in the Summer 2018 Issue of Two More Chains. Jeff Andrews is now the Fire Staff Officer on the Prescott National Forest, temporarily acting in the position of Assistant Director of Fire and Aviation Managem...

The Pole Creek Fire Bucket Extraction took place in September of 2012--ten years ago from the time of this writing. This was a much talked about event. The incident involved a Task Force Leader (TFLD) who was out scouting and directing bucket drops when fire conditions worsened. The pilot performing the bucket work expressed grave concern about the threat of the TFLD being overrun by fire. The pilot suggested the best option was for the TFLD to get in the bucket fo...

The picture above is from an incident in 2019 (Beeskov Fire Vehicle Accident). While driving, the tip of a downed tree along the side of the road broke the driver's side window and came through the cab, narrowly missing the driver's neck. A similar incident recently occurred in 2022 (Cedar Creek Fire Passenger Impaled by Tree):

[This is Travis Dotson's “Ground Truths” column that appeared in the Summer 2022 Issue of Two More Chains.] By Travis Dotson Analyst, Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center Like a lot of us Lower 48ers, I recently spent some time in Alaska—the land of the most formal “things are different here” briefing. I love that briefing. I wish more places would do a versi...

[This article originally appeared in the Summer 2022 Issue of Two More Chains.] By Travis Dotson Analyst, Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center Why is Opportunity a pillar of learning? Because it plays a critical role in supporting our learning culture. If we as a workforce don’t consciously identify and exploit opportu...

Many of the narratives sent to the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center involve serious accidents that result in emergency medical treatment and/or medevac to higher levels of care. We would like to honor the 2021 National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Emergency Medical Service Award Recipients and highlight their achievements for you. Recipients of the 2021 Wildland Fire Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Awards The NWCG Emergency Medical Committee (EMC) annually recognizes individuals and gr...

[This is the “One of Our Own” feature that appeared in the Summer 2022 Issue of Two More Chains.] By Alex Viktora Assistant Director, Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center Alex: George, could you start by telling us a little bit about your background in the world of wildland fire? George: Yes, sir. Thank you, A...