Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Blog

The 2021 year-end infographic is out. This simple 2 pager is just a few quickly compiled tallies and a handful of lessons from 2021. As we do a more in-depth analysis and additional reports come in, the numbers might actually shift a bit – and that is OK. The intent of this document is not record keeping – it’s simply a tool to aid training and thinking based on recent events. Here are a few lessons or discussion topics for the items above: Be prepared to treat a chainsaw cut.Wear your seatbelt.Use road guards for fell...

[This article originally appeared as the “Two of Our Own” feature in the Fall 2021 Issue of Two More Chains.] ----------------------------------------------------------- By Travis Dotson, Analyst, and Nick Bohnstedt, Field Operations Specialist (Acting), Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center We’d like you to meet two women from the...

[This article originally appeared as the “Ground Truths” column in the Fall 2021 Issue of Two More Chains.] By Tess McCarville, Analyst (Acting), Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center Why is communication so damn hard? One of the first pieces of feedback I received when transitioning into an office job from the hotshot crew was that my communication style was too blunt....

[This article originally appeared in the Fall 2021 Issue of Two More Chains.] By Nick Bohnstedt, Field Operations Specialist (Acting), Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Earlier in the season, most of our Helitack crew would be pumped to extend an assignme...

By Kelly Woods, Director, Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center How do we live our best life? How do we navigate the delicate balance between being the best employee while also being the best partner, parent, child, friend, or any other important role that we occupy while still saving a few precious moments to focus on our own self? It turns out the answer to this question is tough to pin down. The number of scenarios that result in the optimal work/life balance is exactly equal to the number of individuals ...

By definition, you get one shot at a briefing. Preparation can ensure you nail it. By Peter M. Leschak You could smell rotting meat a quarter-mile away. When Hurricane Ivan’s tidal surge scoured the barrier island of Santa Rosa in September 2004, the damage was catastrophic. A small restaurant that catered to tourists at the Fort Pickens National Monument was flooded and left without power. Reefers and freezers crammed with food quickly morphed into horror chests of putrefaction under the Gulf Coast sun.

[This article originally appeared in the fall 2018 issue of Two More Chains.] By Travis Dotson Brit Rosso is the Director of the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center—but not for long. Brit is retiring in January 2019, and not by choice. This winter Brit gets the old “golden boot”—the federal wildland fire mandatory retirement. This is a big transition. So w...

[This post originally appeared as "One of Our Own" in the 2013 Winter Issue of Two More Chains. In 2013 Ben Goble, the subject of this "One of Our Own", was the acting Supervisor for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources' Ahtanum IA Crew. Today, Ben is Shift Captain with Clark County Fire District #10 in Amboy, Washington.]

By Sara Billings and Shaughn Maxwell Background Fire Season 2021 has forced IMTs to be creative in how they engaged with fires. One of the ways teams have been successful is with the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), informally known as drones. Unmanned Aircraft Systems are now used regularly for commercial, military, public and private applications. Experts suggest that while this technology is already impressive, it is still in its infancy. Some have described the state of...

Many of the lessons sent to the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center involve complex medical incidents that result in emergency medical treatment and/or medevac to higher levels of care. We would like to acknowledge the NWCG Emergency Medical Service Award Recipients for 2020. Thanks to the NWCG Emergency Medical Committee for recognizing these dedicated practitioners! Recipients of the 2020 NWCG Wildland Fire Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Awards These awards annually recognize individuals and groups who have demons...