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Image shows wildfire burning in a forest with white text overlaid, reading: "THE FOREST SERVICE'S WILDFIRE FORCE, PREPARED AND READY"

Ready for wildfire

Forest Service ramps up for expected busy wildfire season

The warning signs flashed early this year. After a dismal winter snowpack across many western high elevations, forests are drying faster and by midsummer may be ripe for extreme fire conditions. Communities face mounting risk, but federal fire leaders are keeping the nation’s wildfire response system ready. “All of our predictive models point to a challenging summer,” says Deputy Chief Sarah Fisher, head of Fire and Aviation Management for the U.S. Forest Service. “But we have an incredible...

  • Bulldozers of fire

    April 30,2026

    A fire dozer parked along side a dirt road in a pinyon forest while smoke from a large wildfire rises into the sky in the background.
    The Heavy Equipment of Firefighting Wildland firefighting is a coordinated effort. Like players on a sports team or musicians in an orchestra, hand crews, smokejumpers, water tenders, fire engines
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    Wildfire and Safety

  • Operation Sky Hammer: fighting fire in the rockies

    April 30,2026

    A wildland firefighter skycrane helicopter on the ground with a semi-truck and tank trailer in the background.
    When smoke begins to rise across the Rocky Mountains, a unique firefighting force lifts off—fast. Operation Sky Hammer was designed to improve success during initial attack on wildfires. The effort
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    Wildfire and Safety

  • Smokejumper Spotter Academy: Training Leaders in the Sky

    April 30,2026

    A smokejumper kneels beside an aircraft to do final checks before boarding. Two people stand near the aircraft doorway talking.
    Pick your favorite theme song and imagine it hits the loudspeakers. You suit up, load up and head out to the plane. After a 20-minute flight you are briefed about the jump spot and the fire behavior
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    Wildfire and Safety

  • Ready for wildfire

    April 30,2026

    Image shows wildfire burning in a forest with white text overlaid, reading: "THE FOREST SERVICE'S WILDFIRE FORCE, PREPARED AND READY"
    The warning signs flashed early this year. After a dismal winter snowpack across many western high elevations, forests are drying faster and by midsummer may be ripe for extreme fire conditions
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    Wildfire and Safety

  • Guardians on the volcano

    April 28,2026

    Image shows a helicopter flying above a backpacker on an ice-covered plain with mountains rising in the background.
    High above Northern California, where tree line gives way to rock, snow, and exposure, the work of the U.S. Forest Service takes on a different form. There are no roads, no engines, and no easy access
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    Recreation and Benefits

  • Busy airspace

    April 23,2026

    A drone on a launch pad while a large forest fire burns in the background.
    Drones, also referred to as uncrewed aerial systems or UAS, have been increasingly complicating airspace around wildfires since the first consumer models came to market in 2013. These mechanical
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    Wildfire and Safety

  • The forest needs a hand

    April 21,2026

    Image shows a bunch of small seedlings.
    From seed to forest, recovery doesn’t happen on its own. Across the country, the Forest Service works with state, local and other partners to reduce wildfire risk, restore landscapes and grow the next
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    Tribal Relations and Partnerships

  • Water in the West is life

    April 16,2026

    An aerial view of rivers flowing through the mountains of western Colorado.
    On Colorado’s Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison national forests, water for the region begins as snow in high-elevation locations before flowing down to creeks, reservoirs and irrigation systems
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    Recreation and Benefits

  • Putting fire on the ground

    April 14,2026

    Image shows a firefighter squatting down applying prescribed fire while several other firefighters look on in a forest setting.
    In places like the Pike-San Isabel National Forests across the country, fire has shaped the land for thousands of years. Many forests depend on fire to stay healthy. Fire cleans out old needles
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    Wildfire and Safety
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