Fire Friday #191: Watershed Resilience to Wildland Fire

Hello Greater Santa Fe readers,

The Frijoles Fire burning on the rugged and relatively inaccessible western slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains is 15,000 acres as of Friday morning (8/21/26). With 780 fire personnel responding, firefighter and public safety are the number 1 objective and the fire is being handled as a full suppression incident (inciweb.wildfire.gov). The namesake of this fire is the Rio Frijoles, near where the fire ignited. This cold snowmelt-fed river descends out of the Pecos Wilderness Area of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, flowing roughly 13 miles before emptying into Santa Cruz Lake near Chimayo. The Frijoles Fire is an important reminder that forest health and water health are deeply connected. This week’s newsletter touches on watershed resilience to fire as we consider the impacts on this scarce desert resource.

This Fire Friday features:

Be well,
Rachel

The Connection Between Fire and Water

The basics

Healthy forests help protect our water. Trees, vegetation, roots, and healthy soils slow rainfall, hold soil in place, reduce erosion, and help water soak into the ground. After a wildfire, that protective layer can be lost. When heavy rain arrives, water can move quickly across burned landscapes, carrying ash, sediment, and debris into streams, rivers, riparian areas, and reservoirs. The effects don't stop at the edge of the burn scar. Increased erosion and sediment can affect water quality and wildlife habitat downstream. The good news is that watersheds can recover. Restoring vegetation, stabilizing soils, slowing runoff, and protecting waterways can all help landscapes heal over time (Santa Fe Watershed Association).

The importance of water to New Mexico cannot be overstated. The water that flows from our forested headwaters irrigates our fields and sustains our communities - surface water is the source of just over 50% of water use in the state and rural communities often rely almost entirely on ground water. Our communities have grown from settlements and villages built near reliable water sources. Maintaining this connection to a clean and dependable water supply is vital to the future of all New Mexicans.

Why watersheds are at risk

A changing climate, wildfire, and other hazards threaten our water resources. Rising temperatures increase demand and prolong droughts, while wildfires threaten the water quality and supply, and post fire debris flows threaten diversions and other water infrastructure. Wildfire alters vegetation and soil properties that then alter watershed function. Soils in severely burned areas often have different hydrologic properties (including hydrophobicity) that negatively impact infrastructure relied on by water users. Hydrophobic soils are subject to extreme erosion, producing large quantities of sediment and increasing the potential for post-fire debris flows. These debris flows and erosion increase sediment loads that can obstruct stream channels and water diversion and conveyance structures, disrupting transmission and use of surface water. Flash floods are the deadliest precipitation-driven hazard, and burned areas produce flows that are significantly more intense and damaging than floods produced during comparable pre-fire precipitation events (2020 New Mexico Forest Action Plan).

Part of the challenge is that the headwaters of our many watersheds often begin in high-elevation mixed conifer forests. When fire enters these decadent systems, it tends to burn very hot and move very quickly, leading to high tree mortality and severe soil impacts. This can interrupt the ability of these headwaters to accumulate snow and allow for water percolation into the soil, the beginning process of feeding downstream rivers and reservoirs. Degradation in the headwaters can also lead to erosion and post-fire debris flows which move downslope, impacting the lower reaches of the watershed as well.

Even when fires burn in lower elevation ponderosa pine or piñon-juniper forests, as the Frijoles Fire is, if they burn during hot and windy weather the associated mortality and other consequences can still be extreme, impacting the soils and function of the middle portions of watersheds and once again impacting downstream flow, water availability, and water quality.

Learn about how land managers in northern New Mexico have been working to protect the Santa Fe Watershed through forest thinning and prescribed burning.

How Watersheds are Impacted and What We Can Do

The impacts of fire on our water

Water quality can be compromised by wildfires both during active burning and for months and years afterward. Burned watersheds are prone to increased flooding and erosion, which can negatively affect water-supply reservoirs, water quality, and drinking-water treatment processes. Runoff from burned areas contains ash, which may have significant effects on the chemistry of receiving waters such as lakes, wetlands, reservoirs, and rivers. It also produces higher nitrate, organic carbon, and sediment levels, warmer temperatures, and more unpredictable streamflows.

Debris flows can overfill riverbeds and drainages, tear out trees and move boulders, and destroy homes, businesses, and entire towns in a slurry. They can also fill reservoirs with a heavy load of sediment, taking the reservoir off-line in the short-term and forcing municipal water suppliers to rely on a secondary water source for residents, shortening the reservoir lifetime, increasing maintenance costs, and potentially rendering reservoirs unusable for storage or potability.

Learn more about the impacts by looking back at Wildfire Wednesday #75.

What we can do to protect our watersheds

Watershed work before wildfire

Restoration ecology is broadly defined as the branch of ecology concerned with how human intervention in multi-species, biotic-abiotic assemblages can mitigate damaged or destroyed ecosystems. The general understanding is that damage has been done, and that some function or component of an ecosystem might be restored in function, or even existence. Another pathway, not entirely new but worthy of renewed attention given emergent threats today, considers the value of pre-emptively intervening in systems prior to the potentially destructive effects of fire, such as soil and species loss, and permanently reduced ecosystem function.

Installation of a rock structure in arid grasslands works to retain moisture in an ephemeral creek. These types of structures have shown to reduce wildfire severity. From 250513_Watershed-Restoration-White-Paper-2.pdf
Photo credit: US Geological Survey.

Through this approach and perspective, restorative work is proactive rather than reactive, and positions practitioners to avoid some of the “uh-oh” effects of large and small-scale environmental disruptions. Pre-restoration deliberately arranges the interactions of hydrology, vegetation, and fire to increase a system’s resilience to the threats of fire and flood (Techniques for increasing watershed resilience to wildland fire, 2025). In order to maintain a stable watershed, we need fire-resistant forests. That is, forests with an ecologically-appropriate amount of fuel which will ultimately create a sustainable forest system - one that is not irreparably damaged by fire and other disturbances (Audubon, 2023). In fire-adapted ecosystems, this means thinning overly-dense forests and reintroducing fire to the system, as well as preparing drainages and downstream communities for the potential impacts of a high-severity fire. The goal is to retain watershed function, even if the watershed form is changed by fire.

While experience with post-fire flooding and watershed recovery tools is increasingly common, there is a critical need to explore proactive measures in fire-prone areas before the flames ignite. Post-fire mitigation is not only expensive, but watersheds may never fully recover. By emphasizing foresight, planning, and leveraging decision support tools, land managers can proactively strengthen watersheds against future wildfire risks. Yet, a significant knowledge gap exists regarding actionable steps and potential barriers for preemptive measures to reduce the severity of post-fire floods and preserve watershed function. The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Resources Hub from NMFWRI provides recommendations, guides, and resources for pre-fire mitigation work, both within our communities and in our watersheds.

Watershed work after wildfire

The post-fire effects within a watershed can last decades. For the first few years after a high-severity burn, the slopes and soils upstream will be unstable and we can expect impacts such as debris flows to occur regularly during this time. This is the most challenging window since any in-stream restoration work meant to mitigate erosion and flooding is at risk of being washed away. This is a good time to focus on protecting downstream residents and water users and to survey the watershed, identifying the areas which have been most severely impacted (learn about the new federal post fire recovery environmental assessment). Land managers may find it most effective to begin earnestly working on watershed restoration after several years have passed and soils in the burned area have begun to stabilize. The main goals in this type of restoration are:

  • Slow water down

  • Catch ash and sediment before it moves downstream

  • Reduce erosion

  • Assist with revegetation to improve soil stabilization and water filtration

Mud- to boulder-sized sediment fill a channel in the 2024 South Fork Fire burn area.  The sediment was deposited by flooding and debris flows during rain events following the summer wildfire.
Source: US Geological Survey

Erosion and runoff can increase dramatically postfire in the Southwest when high burn severity, high rainfall intensity, and steep slopes converge. After a fire burns through a watershed, the most common impacts include sever loss of vegetation and resulting soil destabilization, debris flows, hillslope and channel erosion, and downstream impacts such as road and reservoir damage. Selecting the right treatment is a complex decision, but understanding the treatment costs, implementation methods, and ecological impacts can help inform that decision. Working Paper 44: Mitigating Postfire Runoff and Erosion in the Southwest using Hillslope and Channel Treatments from the Ecological Restoration Institute offers detailed land management recommendations and treatment implications as well as examples of lessons learned and trade-offs among methods.

Following the HP/CC Fire, a coalition of place-based land stewardship organizations published a field guide on post-fire watershed restoration. This landowner-focused guide features lower-cost and -impact techniques using low-tech nature based solutions using the rocks, logs, and other materials already present on the landscape. It includes instructions on how to build various erosion control and water-slowing structures, as well as when each structure would be the appropriate choice. It is available as a PDF or may be purchased in print.

Emergency flood insurance following a fire

Emergency workers build flood protection in the South Fork Fire burn scar June 24, 2024.
Photo courtesy of the Lincoln County Office of Emergency Services.

Over and again in New Mexico, homeowners find themselves in an area which is newly at risk of flooding due to a fire upstream or upslope (NYT, 2024). New flood insurance policies have a 30-day waiting period; however, coverage can start sooner if flooding is caused by post-wildfire conditions. This is because of a special rule from the Biggert-Waters Act of 2012, known as the Post-Wildfire Exception. Under this Exception, the usual waiting period may not apply to new policies (or added coverage) when the following conditions are met:

  • The insured property is privately owned (i.e., property not owned by a federal, state, local, territorial or tribal government);

  • Flooding is caused or worsened by a wildfire on federal land; and

  • The policyholder purchased the new, additional or increased coverage either on or before the fire was contained, or within 60 days of containment. 

How to Apply

  1. Reach out to your current auto or home insurance agent, or find a participating provider using the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Provider Locator.

  2. Tell your agent you are applying under the post-wildfire exception. They will help verify if the burn scar originates on federal land and submit the policy request immediately.

  3. If your agent is unsure or you need direct assistance, call the NFIP call center at 877-336-2627.

Learn more about applying for insurance on an emergency basis.

Additional Resources

Webinars

Tuesday, October 6th at 12:00pm MDT: Fire deficit across North American forests

Rapid increases in wildfire area burned across North American forests pose novel challenges for natural resource managers and society at large. Increasing area burned raises questions about whether, and to what degree, contemporary fire regimes (1984–2022) are still departed from historical fire regimes (pre-1880). This webinar presentation asks and answers whether there is a contemporary fire surplus or fire deficit, and whether recent fire years are unprecedented relative to historical fire regimes.

Register to attend

Upcoming events

Art show opening weekend, August 28th: Disturbance: the Art of Ecology and Change

Wildfire is rapidly reshaping ecosystems and communities across Northern New Mexico, the Southwest, and beyond. Once an integral cycle of renewal, fire has become increasingly destructive due to climate change, forest mismanagement, and expanding human settlement in fire-prone landscapes. Disturbance resists simplified narratives of catastrophe, instead inviting artists and audiences to grapple with fire as a complex system—one that holds grief, adaptation, resilience, and transformation in tension.

This interdisciplinary project by The Paseo Project, Del Fuego, and the Forest Stewards Guild brings together artists, scientists, and community members to examine wildfire as both a destabilizing force and a generative ecological process. Join us for a community exhibition opening August 28, 2026 and keep an eye out for announcements of artist-led workshops, public conversations, youth-focused engagements, educational partnerships, and additional events designed to invite reflection, dialogue, and shared learning throughout the fall.

Fire Friday #190: Understanding Wildfire Community Archetypes

Happy Friday Santa Fe,

Professionals working to reduce wildfire risk often emphasize the importance of place-based solutions and community-informed strategies. However, it is difficult to develop effective programs and outreach without first understanding the communities they are intended to serve. Every community has its own unique history, values, and relationships, but communities also share common characteristics that can help practitioners better understand how residents are likely to respond to wildfire risk and mitigation efforts.

In today's Fire Friday, we break down a social science study that identified four distinct community archetypes across the wildland-urban interface (WUI). The study explores how differences in local values, communication networks, relationships, and community characteristics influence wildfire preparedness and response.

This Fire Friday features:

Hoping you and your loved ones are staying safe and cool,
Megan

Categorizing the Social Context of the Wildland Urban Interface: Adaptive Capacity for Wildfire and Community Archetypes

In their study, Categorizing the Social Context of the Wildland Urban Interface: Adaptive Capacity for Wildfire and Community Archetypes, researchers Tavis Paveglio, Cassandra Moseley, Matthew Carroll, Daniel Williams, Emily Jane Davis, and Paige Fischer explored whether communities could be grouped according to shared social characteristics. Their goal was to identify patterns that could help practitioners with a potential strategy to be more effective collaborating with diverse populations at risk from wildfire and designing tailored messages related to wildfire risk mitigation. Their analysis uncovered four consistent community archetypes.

WUI Communities

The study summarized below recognizes that the WUI is not geographically continuous and contains diverse sets of individuals. It also recognizes that there is a distinct social identity of rural and WUI communities based on the diversities of perspectives, uses of, and values for the landscape. Other previous wildfire social science has shown that a community's ability to prepare for and respond to wildfire depends on far more than fuels and fire behavior. Factors such as perceived wildfire risk, trust in government, community leadership, place attachment, financial resources, willingness to collaborate, previous wildfire experience, and local knowledge all shape how communities approach wildfire adaptation.

How the Research Was Conducted

This research synthesized findings from 18 case studies of community wildfire planning, mitigation, and recovery across the western United States. The researchers explored two main questions: (1) Are there patterns of influences on wildfire risk management that can be identified across case studies? and (2) does the evidence suggest that communities exhibiting similar patterns constitute distinct “archetypes” that approach wildfire risk differently from others?

By comparing communities across multiple case studies, the researchers found that documenting a community's local social context, such as its history, values, relationships, resources, and communication networks, can help better identify archetypes of communities to explain commonalities among diverse places.

Systematically documenting how a community's local context influences its ability to prepare for and respond to wildfire provides several benefits. It helps identify the social, economic, and cultural factors that shape wildfire mitigation efforts, documents the existing knowledge, skills, and resources communities bring to wildfire preparedness, and allows practitioners to more quickly recognize barriers to mitigation.

This study highlights the importance of tailoring policies, programs, and communication strategies to the unique characteristics of each community. Ultimately, the researchers sought to identify common patterns among diverse wildfire-prone communities to better understand the different pathways communities might pursue toward becoming Fire Adapted Communities. This work supports efforts to “segment” communities in order to develop messages or outreach strategies that resonate to specific local needs, circumstances, and risk perceptions.

Community Archetypes

This comparison of case studies suggests there are four WUI community archetypes. The four archetypes were named in ways that reflect primary elements of their local social context, including: (1) formalized suburban communities; (2) high amenity, high resource communities; (3) rural life style communities; and (4) working landscape/resource dependent communities.

Formalized Suburban Communities

Formal suburban residents are mostly professionals, suburbanites, or transplants who display less diversity in local skills to support wildfire risk reduction. Residents of formal suburban communities tend to place a high level of trust in government agencies working on wildfire mitigation and are generally willing to collaborate with them on preparedness efforts. They also rely more heavily on outside services and nonlocal businesses for fuels reduction work. Rather than completing mitigation themselves, residents are more likely to hire contractors due to limited knowledge, equipment, skills, or physical ability to reduce fuels. In many cases, they have the financial resources to pay for these services.

In formal suburban communities, place attachment is often tied to recreational opportunities and the amenities the community offers. In communities such as Auburn Lake Trails and Rancho Santa Fe, California, residents' sense of community was closely linked to the exclusivity of living there, creating a strong group identity.

Because many formal suburban communities are organized around distinct, and often gated, neighborhoods, wildfire mitigation efforts tend to focus on protecting individual subdivisions rather than the surrounding landscape. As a result, these communities place less emphasis on landscape-scale conservation. Wildfire mitigation efforts in formal suburban communities are also more likely to be formalized through local policies, homeowner association requirements, or regulations that can be enforced.

High-Amenity, High-Resource Communities

High amenity, high resource community residents have more diversity in skills needed for wildfire adaptation, particularly related to professionals with applicable experience such as grant writing or emergency management, who also possess leadership and higher organizational capacity. Place attachment among high-amenity, high-resource communities, such as Leavenworth, Washington, and Whitefish, Montana, is often closely tied to exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities and the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape.

Like formal suburban communities, high-amenity, high-resource communities also tend to rely on outside services and nonlocal businesses for fuels reduction work. Residents are more likely to hire contractors because they lack some resource, like equipment or skill, needed to complete the work themselves. In addition, these communities generally have the financial resources to pay for professional mitigation services.

Wildfire mitigation efforts in high-amenity, high-resource communities are often planned at a regional or community-wide scale, requiring coordination and collective action among many partners. Residents are more likely to view wildfire management as an opportunity to restore forest health while also protecting the scenic landscapes and recreational opportunities that make their communities attractive places to live and visit.

Rural Lifestyle Communities

Rural lifestyle residents tend to have a higher diversity of skills that pertain to local ecological and wildfire knowledge and an ability to reduce fuels. Rural lifestyle communities often include residents who prefer to do wildfire mitigation work themselves or work together with neighbors to complete projects such as forest thinning. Place attachment in these types of communities, such as Woodland Park, Colorado, and Grizzly Flats, California, is closely tied to their rural character, limited development, and proximity to surrounding wildlands. In these communities, seen in North Fork, Montana, community attachment is also strengthened by a culture of neighbors helping one another with everyday challenges—such as road maintenance, chores, or erosion issues—and supporting each other with money or resources following a wildfire.

Residents of rural lifestyle communities generally value local independence and recognize the high wildfire risk where they live. At the same time, they place importance on maintaining the health of nearby forests and wildlands for traditional uses such as hunting, fishing, and gathering non-timber forest products.

Wildfire mitigation efforts in rural lifestyle communities are typically planned at the community or dispersed subdivision scale. These communities often emphasize neighborhood-level fuels reduction projects while also supporting broader landscape conservation efforts to maintain healthy forests and reduce wildfire risk over the long term.

Working Landscape and Resource-Dependent Communities

The people in working landscape communities are predominantly characterized by those in resource extraction professions such as forestry and mining or those related to agriculture and ranching. Like rural lifestyle communities, working landscape and resource-dependent communities often include residents who prefer to do wildfire mitigation work themselves or help their neighbors complete projects such as forest thinning. Place attachment in communities such as Hayfork, California, and Entiat, Washington, is closely tied to "working the land" and deep, often intergenerational, connections to the area. Strong family ties and long-standing relationships within the community also play an important role in fostering a sense of community and motivating residents to work together.

Wildfire mitigation efforts in working landscape and resource-dependent communities are often focused on individual properties or a small group of neighboring parcels. These communities generally place less emphasis on landscape-scale conservation and are less likely to support management decisions based on restoring historical ecological conditions.

Policies and regulations related to wildfire mitigation and prevention are often less acceptable in working landscape and resource-dependent communities. This is influenced by a greater distrust of government, a preference for organizing and managing wildfire risk locally, and less support for codes and standards. Instead, residents are more likely to rely on trusted local sources, such as firefighters, respected agency professionals, and other community leaders, for information and guidance. They often apply this information using their own traditional skills, local knowledge, and long-standing land management practices.

Key Takeaways

Overall, findings from this study demonstrate that communities with different social context are likely to establish different strategies for planning, mitigating, and recovering from wildfire. Characterizing the diversity of WUI communities into more manageable archetype classifications allows for needed differentiation without having to assume that every place is totally unique, something that is much needed when developing policy and specific adaptation strategies.

Recognizing community archetypes can potentially help develop tailored communication or outreach strategies. For instance, programs that foster grassroots organizing efforts with local leaders and use informal communication networks would be more effective in rural lifestyle WUI communities when compared to formal suburban communities. In formal suburban WUI communities, formal communication programs led by firefighting or emergency management professionals are a better communication strategy because those populations respond well to and are more apt to take advice from those with formal expertise.

Efforts to work with populations in fostering wildfire adaptation will require different communication strategies that correspond with the capacities local people have, need to develop, or already apply to risk reduction.

To read the entire study, with much more detail, view Categorizing the Social Context of the Wildland Urban Interface: Adaptive Capacity for Wildfire and Community Archetype

Additional Opportunities and Resources

PUBLICATION:

“A thank you to New Mexico's wildland firefighters” by Laura McCarthy

Published in the Santa Fe New Mexican, State Forester Laura McCarthy wrote a thank you to every firefighter, dispatcher and support person who dedicated their time this wildfire season. “Since the last week of March, crews from the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department’s Forestry Division and wildland firefighters from municipal, county and volunteer fire departments have worked without pause.”

  • By early July, there had been 524 wildfires in the state, substantially more than NM’s five-year average of 321 wildfires by that point in the year.

  • 73% of the wildfires were controlled before they reached 10 acres in size. Only 2% grew past 1,000 acres.

However, New Mexico did not avoid catastrophic wildfire this year by luck. The state was proactive in keeping fires small and positioned people and equipment to move fast and respond within minutes of a smoke report. Our state forester reminds us to say thank you to wildland fire crews who have worked tirelessly this summer to keep us safe from wildfire.

Read the article to find out more about policy changes that increased response capacity across NM.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES:

Angel Fire Wildfire Ambassador Coordinator

The Wildfire Ambassador Coordinator for Village of Angel Fire will play a critical role in advancing community wildfire preparedness, hazard mitigation, and homeowner education across the Village. The position will lead the Defensible Space Ordinance Home Assessment program, support implementation and continued improvement of the Defensible Space Ordinance, and provide direct support to residents working to reduce wildfire risk on their properties.

The position is open until filled. View more information about the position and apply online: Jobs • Fuels Management Wildlife Ambassador Coordinator

Forest Stewards Youth Corps - Santa Fe and Mountainair

The fall Forest Stewards Youth Corps (FSYC) program creates employment, education, and training opportunities for recent high school and college graduates (18-25). The Forest Stewards Guild has crew members for three Fire & Fuels crews based out of the Jemez Pueblo Natural Resources Department and the Mountainair and Espanola (based in Santa Fe) U.S. Forest Service Ranger Districts.

Crews complete natural resource management projects and participate in prescribed fire operations when conditions and weather permit. The program runs from August 19th - November 13th, and hiring is still open for positions in Mountainair and Santa Fe.

Contact Andrew Pearson (apearson@forestguild.org) with any questions. View the application to share with family and friends: Forest Stewards Youth Corps 2026 Fire & Fuels Crew Member Application: FALL.

WORKSHOPS:

Women in the Field: Chainsaw Safety and Skills Workshop

The Forest Stewards Guild is partnering with the Wildfire Resiliency Training Center to offer a Women's Chainsaw Operation and Safety Workshop. This Women Owning Woodlands (WOW) sponsored event is coming up on September 19 at Luna Community College.

This full-day, hands-on workshop is designed specifically for women and provides a welcoming, supportive environment to build confidence and develop practical chainsaw operation and safety skills. Whether you're interested in maintaining your property, reducing wildfire risk, or simply learning a new skill, this course is a great opportunity.

No prior chainsaw experience is required and all experience levels are welcome. Join for a day of learning, skill-building, and connecting with other women from across New Mexico!

 

New Mexico Wildland Urban Fire Summit

New Mexico's Wildland Urban Fire Summit (NM WUFS) is coming this fall, October 14–16, in Silver City, New Mexico. The Summit brings together community leaders, fire service professionals, nonprofit organizations, land managers, and federal, state, Tribal, and local government partners to share knowledge, strengthen partnerships, and advance wildfire resilience across the state.

This year's program will feature sessions on codes and standards for wildfire-adapted communities, youth engagement and workforce development, emerging technologies that support fire adaptation, and forest treatment and management strategies, along with many other timely topics.

Registration will open soon, and there is still time to submit a presentation proposal for the Summit's flash presentation session. If you have a project, partnership, or innovative effort related to this year's theme, "Adapting Together in a Changing Fire Ecosystem," consider sharing your work with attendees. See the call for presentations below for more information.

Fire Friday #189: Planning Your Exit: Egress Routes for Fire Safety

Happy Fire Friday!

The Ready, Set, Go! guide is a well-known resource for disaster preparedness. However, knowing where to go and how to get there is an often-overlooked part of evacuation planning. Residents knowing the local egress routes enables everyone to evacuate in a fast and orderly manner, ensuring that all members of the community get to safety. Today’s newsletter dives deep into community-scale egress and evacuation route planning.

This Wildfire Wednesday features:

Be well and stay cool,
Rachel

Evacuation and Egress Basics

What is egress?

Emergency exit planning refers to the creation of clear and accessible routes that can be used to evacuate a building in case of an emergency. Egress planning extends the concept to the entire community, focusing on the ability of all individuals, including those with assistance needs or disabilities, to evacuate safely and efficiently during a disaster. Proper planning for household and community evacuation during a wildfire involves ensuring that exit routes are clear, signage is visible, and safety procedures are well-communicated and understood by everyone. A successful evacuation is one where everyone at risk safely and efficiently vacates the hazardous area without injury or loss of life.

How does egress planning for wildfires differ from planning for other disasters?

When a wildfire is approaching a community and triggers evacuation warnings, conditions on the ground are often different - and more chaotic - than they would be in day-to-day life. Smoke from the oncoming fire can darken the sky to nighttime-like conditions and make it harder to see or drive. Embers can travel miles ahead of the flaming front and start spot fires close to the area being evacuated. Conditions change rapidly as the fire grows, winds shift, cars clog roads, and emergency responders need to access the area. Evacuating livestock or large animals compounds the challenge since animals may be frightened and unresponsive; hooking up a trailer in smokey conditions is time-consuming; and trailers in the flow of traffic make for a more complex evacuation. Vehicle accidents become more likely and trees or powerlines may blow down in strong winds, potentially blocking evacuation routes. An approaching fire can also make it so that residents can only evacuate in one direction (away from the fire), cutting off some roundabout egress options.

Photo from Eno Fire Department.

Communities that are most frequently threatened or impacted by fires, such as those in the wildland urban interface, are often relatively rural or isolated. They may have fewer roads into and out of the community because of landscape constraints (e.g. houses in a steep river valley where the terrain only allows for roads that parallel the river) or because they have less infrastructure overall. There is a much higher probability of something going wrong during evacuation for communities with only one road in and out. Proactive evacuation planning ahead of time by experts, community leaders, and residents is therefore critical.

Why is it important?

If an evacuation does not happen quickly and go smoothly, flame, ember, and smoke exposures (burnover conditions) can overtake evacuating residents or cut off egress routes. These burnovers during egress can result in injuries or fatalities. The 153,000-acre 2018 Camp Fire destroyed more than 18,000 structures and caused 85 fatalities; most of the damage happened and most lives were lost within the first four hours of this extremely fast-moving fire as the rapid fire spread affected evacuation routes, gridlocked roads, blocked-off exits, and eventually overtook evacuating residents (2018 Camp Fire After Action Report).

Planning for multiple, passable, well-marked exit routes and backup evacuation options before a fire happens can save lives. Residents who know the egress plan for their community are empowered to respond to an evacuation notice quickly and safely.

How to Improve Egress Routes

Building familiarity, forming a personalized plan

Click to View a comprehensive guidance document from FEMA for preparing for evacuation.

Improving your community’s egress routes starts with knowing the current community evacuation plan and building your own evacuation procedures around it.

  • Become familiar with what your community’s emergency notification and evacuation plans are. Identify several pre-planned routes away from your home and out of your community in different directions in case the first route is closed or threatened. In most cases, you will be evacuating away from a fire, storm, or disaster that will be blocking travel in specific directions, so have alternatives.

  • Know the evacuation plans for locations where household members regularly are, such as workplaces, schools and commuter routes. Decide who will pick up children and pets. Ask the staff at your children’s schools and other organized activities what their evacuation and parent reunification plans are and include them in your personal evacuation plan.

    • Many cities and towns now include pet shelters in their emergency management plans. At most pet shelters, you will need to provide your pet’s own supplies, such as food, cages, bedding, toys, and medications.

  • Figure out how you will receive warnings on all home phones, cellphones, and other devices. Sign up local emergency notifications through your city or county’s emergency management office. In Albuquerque, for example, the Office of Emergency Management coordinates flexible evacuation plans depending on the situation, rather than having fixed routes for every hazard.

  • Maintain roads and bridges on your property (and in your community, if you are responsible for them).

    • Make sure everyone who needs to can open gated roads.

    • Build or replace culverts with materials that won’t melt. You can also prepare for post-fire impacts to roads by replacing or upgrading culverts to be able to accommodate post-fire flooding and debris flows (Post-Fire Treatments - A Primer for New Mexico Communities, page 29).

    • Improve roads to make them wide enough for emergency vehicles.

  • Locate several places you could go if you are evacuated, including homes of relatives or trusted friends in other communities. This will serve as a final destination for you and your family to go until it is safe to return home. You can use the FEMA app to find open shelters during an active disaster.

  • Know where livestock can be taken during an evacuation and when they should be evacuated. Fairgrounds, rodeo grounds, and equestrian centers are common sheltering locations for large animals. Evacuate your livestock early, as large animals require significantly more time to load and transport. Do not wait until a mandatory evacuation is ordered.

    • When voluntary evacuations are called, begin loading and transporting your animals immediately. Livestock can sense smoke and stress, which often causes them to resist loading.

    • If a fire is moving quickly and you are unable to evacuate your livestock, prioritize your own life and safety. Turn your animals out into a large, heavily grazed or irrigated pasture. Remove all halters and do not lock them in wooden barns, which are highly flammable.

  • Work with local leaders to regularly organize and hold community wildfire evacuation exercises. These community drills help educate residents on evacuation procedures and egress routes and prepare them for what an evacuation will feel like. They can also help local emergency responders understand how long it will actually take for residents to evacuate (Drilling for Disaster Preparedness, 2026).

Improving egress and exit options

Improving existing roads

Residents can work with their neighbors and community leaders to improve the condition of their existing roads. Widen narrow roads and remove low-hanging tree branches or other obstructions to ensure that emergency vehicles can access the area. Ensure that roads are safe for evacuation by reducing the potential for open flames along key egress routes and travel arteries. Hardening of evacuation routes can be accomplished by reducing the amount of flammable material along these roadways (also called fuels management) so that evacuating vehicles will not be exposed to direct flames, maintaining tenability of the egress routes and allow evacuees to remain in their vehicles and exit to safety.

  • Create horizontal clearance by removing (cutting) hazardous vegetation, brush, and trees at least 10 feet out from the edge of the road.

  • Prune tree limbs up 3-4 feet off the ground along the roadside to prevent ground fires from climbing into the tree crowns (reduce ladder fuels).

  • Mow tall grasses, especially invasive non-natives, growing along roadsides.

  • Access routes should be an all-weather packed surface capable of supporting the weight of fire apparatus (up to 75,000lbs). Vegetation should be removed or pruned to provide at least 13.5 feet of vertical clearance above road surface to allow for fire response vehicle passage.

Building new roads

Functional road redundancy refers to the design of a road network so that if one route is blocked or damaged, alternative routes remain available to maintain or restore transportation and evacuation capabilities during disasters. Access/egress routes should also be spaced sufficiently so that both routes are not blocked during a wildfire emergency event.
Figure is from Best Practices for Wildfire-Resilient Subdivision Planning, page 21.

Improving your functional road redundancy saves lives. A recent study out of UC Santa Barbara found that one of the strongest predictors of wildfire fatalities may be the number of roads out of a community, with fatalities dropping sharply as communities gain more outward road access. “There are 17 million Americans living in communities [with poor road infrastructure] that are not designed survive a fast-moving wildfire… If you know you’re in an egress-limited community, you should have conversations with your family, your neighbors, your community, [and your city planners] about what the evacuation plan is.” This interactive map shows communities across the nation with a combination of high fire risk and six or fewer functional exits (Six Exits to Safety, 2026).

“Current building codes and standards are primarily focused on mitigating interior building fires for single parcels or buildings. However, access and egress requirements to safely manage people (e.g., number, separation of, and capacity of exits) are aimed at getting people out of buildings. There currently is not an equivalent fire safety code, standard, or consensus document that requires provisions for people management during wildfire events at neighborhood-, community- or regional-scales. This means that most existing and new developments may not have a sufficient number, arrangement, or capacity of egress routes to evacuate all residents to a relative place of safety during a major wildfire incident or allow for sufficient access for first responders” (Best Practices for Wildfire Resilient Subdivision Planning, 2025).

Identifying additional evacuation routes

If constructing additional exit routes is not a feasible solution for your community, identify nearby unimproved roads which can serve as tertiary evacuation routes. For WUI communities, there may be roads on nearby public land (such as Forest Service roads) that lead away from the area and can serve as critical secondary evacuation routes or safety corridors. though they pose specific challenges. Because these dirt or gravel roads can be narrow and rocky, local planners and residents should use official tools to map their egress, such as the Wildfire Risk to Communities Map and local USDA Motor Vehicle Use Maps.

A gated entrance to a Forest Service road. Photo from Wikipedia.

Work with the relevant entity (e.g. the US Forest Service Forest Supervisor) to identify specific roads as designated egress routes, improve the road condition by grading or rocking the surface, and perform road hardening by removing roadside vegetation to make them safer for evacuation. For roads which are usually closed to the public but have been identified as potential egress routes to be used in case of an evacuation, request that standard closure gates be replaced with breakaway gates, also called crash gates. These structures prevent unauthorized daily access but are designed to collapse safely upon heavy impact and may be bypassed during evacuation. Read about how these structures are being utilized in evacuation planning for the community of Placitas.

Road-building alone is not a complete solution – steep terrain, ecological constraints, and cost make new roads impractical in many places. Instead, consider these three complementary approaches:

  1. expanding egress infrastructure where feasible,

  2. improving early warning systems and evacuation behavior, and

  3. investing in pre-planned shelter-in-place options like temporary refuge areas for when evacuation fails.

Building egress into development design

As new developments are proposed or planned, work alongside local fire departments and your Fire Chief to talk to your city council, city planners, and elected officials. Help them understand that evacuation route diversification is an essential safety consideration and multiple routes of egress must be included in development design from the beginning. Updates may be made to local building ordinances to ensure that multiple exit routes are required. Conversely, city councils should involve fire professionals and integrate fire-related concerns at an early stage in strategic planning processes.

Schematic illustrating scale differences critical for holistic wildfire resiliency planning (adapted from UCANR 2020). Learn more: Best Practices for Wildfire-Resilient Subdivision Planning

The biggest takeaways

Road improvement and construction is an important piece of evacuation planning. However, much of the impetus for staying safe comes back to this core lesson: you are responsible for your own safety. Be prepared with your go bag, sign up for emergency notification alerts, have an evacuation plan and personalized procedures in place, and ensure that you have clear egress on your own property which allows for you to safely evacuate and for emergency response vehicles to access your home.

  • Have an evacuation plan in place

    • Have your go bag packed and ready at all times. Know where other items you will want to take with you, such as photo albums or medications, are located.

    • If you need assistance evacuating, have a plan for who will help you leave. This could be a family member, friend, neighbor, or a home health professional.

    • Know the exits from your community, including tertiary evacuation routes (such as Forest Service roads which are not utilized as a usual means of travel).

  • Evacuate early

    • Fires are moving faster and populations are growing, especially in previously rural areas. This means that when a wildfire approaches, more people are trying to evacuate in a shorter time period. Plan to evacuate early, especially if you are a member of a vulnerable population (those with mobility limitations, medical devices, young children, sensitive to smoke).

      • Individuals with assistance needs or who are part of a vulnerable population can register with their fire department ahead of time.

    • Regardless of the number of evacuation routes available in your community, being prepared with a go bag and leaving early can help reduce road congestion.

  • Evacuate according to the guidance of local emergency responders.

    • Official evacuation alerts on your mobile device or on the radio include specific instructions about what communities need to evacuate and where they should go.

  • Know how you are going to get in touch with your family or members of your household once you have evacuated.

    • Identify a common contact - this should be someone who lives in another community and who everyone in the family will independently get ahold of to check in.

    • Determine multiple agreed-upon meeting places. Know where you will gather depending on the direction from which the fire is approaching.

Additional Resources

Upcoming webinars

August 5, 11am-12pm: Better Together: The Power of Relationships in Fire Management
The solutions to obstacles in improving fire management are nuanced and local, but united by a common theme – the need to work together. This webinar will cover case studies from around the Fire Learning Network that show how focusing first on building trust and relationships leads to authentic, sustained partnerships that are capable of making fundamental change for the better in how we live and work with fire.

Learn more

August 6, 12-1pm: 2025 New Mexico Forest Health Conditions - A View from Above
Each year the New Mexico Forestry Division partners with the United State Forest Service - Aerial Survey Program to conduct aerial detection surveys (ADS) of approximately 14 million acres of forests and woodlands in New Mexico. Through ADS, surveyors can observe and digitally map forest health conditions. Join FACNM and Forestry Division for this upcoming webinar to learn more about the conditions observed in 2025.

Learn more

Fire Friday #188: Not Every Wildfire Starts with Lightning

Happy Friday Greater Santa Fe Fireshed friends ,

This summer, lightning-caused wildfires have already burned more than 23,000 acres across New Mexico. As the early monsoon season arrives, increased lightning activity, combined with dry fuels and erratic, gusty winds, creates ideal conditions for wildfire ignitions and rapid fire growth. Although monsoon rains can eventually help reduce fire danger, the first storms of the season often produce abundant lightning with little rainfall reaching the ground. These "dry thunderstorms" can ignite forest fuels, while strong, shifting winds make fires more difficult for firefighters to contain. While these naturally occurring ignitions are an expected part of New Mexico's fire-adapted landscapes and cannot be prevented, many wildfire ignitions are caused by human activities and unlike lightning, these fires are largely avoidable.

Since 2020, human-caused wildfires have burned more than 2 million acres across Arizona and New Mexico. Every year, preventable ignitions, from equipment use to unattended campfires, power lines, and target shooting spark fires that threaten communities and landscapes. Because these ignitions are avoidable, education and awareness are some of the most effective tools for reducing the number and size of destructive wildfires.

In this week's Wildfire Wednesday, we highlight research conducted here in New Mexico on human-caused wildfire ignitions and take a closer look at one preventable source in particular: target shooting.

This Wildfire Wednesday features:

Wishing you all the best,
Megan

Human-Caused Ignitions in the Southwest

Statistics

People start wildfires in a wide variety of ways. Vehicle exhaust pipes, cigarette butts, and poorly extinguished campfires are all common causes for wildfires. On average across the US, human-caused wildfires are responsible for over half of the total acres burned in a given year. Some years the percentage of acres burned by human-caused wildfires is much greater; for example, 82 percent in 2020. Specifically in New Mexico, humans have ignited nearly half (48%) of the wildfires since 1990, and these fires accounted for half (51%) of the acres burned by wildfire in the state during this period (SWCC 2026).

Source: Southwest Coordination Center

Human-caused wildfire ignitions often align with key access points to public lands including trails, campsites and roads that are typically embedded in fire prone vegetation and terrain, with many of these ignitions introduced by people engaged in recreational activities (Devenport and Edgeley 2025). Recreation-related ignitions can be caused by an array of accidental, intentional, or negligent human actions ranging from abandoned campfires and cigarettes to improper vehicle or firearm use. On average since 2001, abandoned campfires have started 44% of the human-ignited wildfires in the Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas). In this region, abandoned campfires are the most common single source of human ignitions, and 80 percent of wildfires started by campfires are within a quarter mile of a road (Evans 2018). Unattended campfires are a problem too. According to a report published in 2018, over Memorial Day weekend in 2017, Santa Fe National Forest staff found 41 unattended campfires.

Campfire and road ignitions often drive larger fires because of their locations. In contrast to lightning, which may be more likely on a ridge (and then burn down slope), human ignitions are often linked to roads and recreation sites in valleys. Fires that start in valleys or lower slopes can burn up slope easily and hence grow faster. Additionally, some the country’s most devastating and costly wildfires have been started by campfires. For example, the 2016 Soberanes Fire in California was started by an illegal campfire and cost at least $229 million dollars to suppress, and the 2011 Wallow Fire in Arizona burned more than half a million acres after it was ignited by an abandoned campfire. The acres burned in that single fire alone were more than the average number of acres burned by human-ignited wildfires across the early 2000s.

Campfires and other recreation-related activities are well-known sources of human-caused wildfires, but in New Mexico, agricultural and debris burning is the leading causes of unintentional wildfire ignitions. During periods of elevated fire danger, counties and municipalities often implement burn bans to reduce the risk of escaped fires. However, when people choose to burn despite dry, windy conditions and highly flammable vegetation, a single escaped fire can quickly grow into a large wildfire.

Shooting Range Accidental Ignitions

Photograph showing smoldering ignition from a hot bullet fragment as first detected in peat. Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Research Station

Target shooting is an often-overlooked source of human-caused wildfire ignitions, yet accidental fires caused by firearms occur across the western United States every year. In fact, the frequency of target shooting-related wildfires has increased substantially over the past 15 to 20 years. Fires can start when a bullet strikes a rock or metal object, producing sparks or hot metal fragments that land in dry vegetation. Under hot, dry, and windy conditions, those fragments can provide enough heat to ignite fine fuels, allowing a small ignition to quickly grow into a wildfire.

Research has confirmed that this risk is real. A 2013 study by the Rocky Mountain Research Station found that bullets can reliably ignite dry fuels, particularly ammunition containing steel components (such as a steel core or jacket) and solid copper bullets. In the study, researchers fired bullets at a steel target, directing the resulting fragments into oven-dried peat moss to evaluate ignition potential. While all types of ammunition have the potential to start fires under the right conditions, steel- and copper-based bullets fragmented more frequently, increasing the likelihood of ignition. Although these fragments cool rapidly, they can still ignite very dry, fine organic material when it is close to the impact site.

Accidental target shooting ignitions occur throughout the West, and although comprehensive historical records are limited, land managers recognize the growing need to reduce this source of ignition risk. One promising approach is the development of managed shooting areas that are designed to minimize ignition risk. A case study featured by the Southwest Fire Science Consortium highlights how the Bureau of Land Management's Phoenix District has reduced wildfire risk by constructing and maintaining developed shooting ranges in the Sonoran Desert. By providing safer locations for recreational shooting, these facilities help reduce accidental ignitions, protect surrounding landscapes, and improve safety for both the public and firefighters. This example demonstrates how proactive prevention strategies can reduce human-caused wildfires while still supporting recreational opportunities.

Prevention

Fire prevention focuses on stopping unwanted wildfires before they start, in essence, addressing the cause rather than the consequences. Because humans are responsible for the vast majority of wildfire ignitions in the United States, prevention efforts target the most common sources of accidental fire starts. While no single strategy can eliminate all human-caused wildfires, small, targeted actions can make a meaningful difference. Research has shown that prevention education can reduce wildfires caused by escaped campfires, smoking, equipment use, and other preventable human activities. Many people are already familiar with common fire prevention practices, such as avoiding spark-producing equipment on high fire danger days, securing tow chains, never driving or parking on dry grass, keeping burn piles attended, and remembering to "drown, stir, and feel" before leaving a campfire.

While these messages are widely shared through signs, public service announcements, and educational materials, they are often delivered in a one-way format. To make wildfire prevention education more engaging and interactive, the Columbus College of Art & Design partnered with Smokey Bear to develop Smokey's Scouts, a mobile matching game for kids, teens, and adults. Players join Smokey Bear and a team of animal scouts on a hike, identifying and removing fire hazards along the trail to prevent unwanted wildfires. As they play, users learn about Smokey Bear's history, practice recognizing wildfire risks, and earn badges and bear tokens as they progress through scout training. By turning prevention lessons into an interactive experience, the game helps reinforce fire-safe behaviors in a fun way.

Interactive tools are just one way to expand wildfire prevention outreach. Another opportunity is to incorporate prevention messaging into existing programs such as Firewise USA® and Fire Adapted Communities, which already engage homeowners and neighborhoods in reducing wildfire risk. By connecting human-caused ignitions to the risks faced by communities in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), these programs can help residents better understand how everyday decisions influence wildfire outcomes. Integrating prevention education into community wildfire preparedness efforts can also strengthen local advocates for fire-safe practices and reduce preventable ignitions. Since people cause many wildfires, we also have the power to prevent them.

Additional Resources and Upcoming Opportunities

NM Wildland Urban Fire Summit Call for Presentations

Interested in sharing during a flash round of project presentations at this year's New Mexico Wildland Urban Fire Summit (NM WUFS)? See the call below and come share a project from the WUI that showcases one or more of the three pillars of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy: Fire Adapted Communities, Resilient Landscapes, and Safe & Effective Wildfire Response.

Otherwise, please save the date for our 2026 conference in Silver City, NM October 14 – 16.

NEW RESOURCE:
After Wildfire New Mexico StoryMap

After Wildfire New Mexico is a resource created to help New Mexico communities, homeowners, landowners, and local governments navigate the critical period following a wildfire. Whether you are returning home, seeking recovery assistance, or organizing a community response, the After Wildfire Guide provides clear steps and reliable resources to help you stay safe and begin recovery with confidence.

The Guide was updated in Spring 2026 by a large group of partners from across the state, and New Mexico Forestry Division subsequently developed an interactive StoryMap version of After Wildfire. The StoryMap features easy-to-navigate sections, clickable links, and embedded resources, making it easier to quickly find the information and tools you need. Click this link for full-screen viewing of the StoryMap: https://arcg.is/1zXGPC4 or visit After Wildfire Guide — Fire Adapted NM. Sections of the Guide included in the StoryMap are:

A PDF version of After Wildfire New Mexico will be available for download later this summer.

FUNDING:
FACNM Fall Microgrant Application Now Open

FACNM Leaders and Members are eligible to apply for grants awards of up to $2,000 to provide financial assistance for:

  • convening wildfire preparedness events,

  • enabling on-the-ground community fire risk mitigation work, or

  • developing grant proposals for the sustainable longevity of their Fire Adapted Community endeavor.

Applications with be accepted through August 3, 2026.
*Select applications with strong justification may be considered for awards over $2,000. Fall 2026 projects will have a reporting deadline of January 15, 2027.

Apply Now

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT:
Forest Stewards Youth Corps’ Fire and Fuels Program Now Hiring

The Forest Stewards Youth Corps’ Fall Program is now hiring Crew Members and Crew Leaders ages 18-25 with Mountainair and Espanola/Santa Fe US Forest Service Districts, and Jemez Pueblo Natural Resource Department! Crews gain natural resource management experience, CPR and First Aid certifications, wildland firefighting and chainsaw certifications, and participate in prescribed burns when possible. The 13-week program will run from August 19th through November 13th. Crew Leads will begin the program a week earlier on August 13th.

Complete an online application through the flyer’s QR codes and find out more at Forest Stewards Youth Corps - Fall Fire and Fuels

Email apearson@forestguild.org or call (505) 795-2551 with any questions.

click here to view the full position description

PRESS RELEASE:
U.S. Forest Service adds long-sought protections to limit health risks for wildland firefighters

On June 24, 2026, the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior announced new measures to better protect federal wildland firefighters from smoke and hazardous particulate exposure during the 2026 fire season. Federal wildland firefighters were authorized to use N95 respirators on the fireline after receiving formal training on their safe use in the wildland fire environment and standardized decontamination practices are being implemented such as gear cleaning, showers, and clean-air recovery. While no respirator currently meets OSHA standards for wildland firefighting, these interim measures aim to reduce immediate and long-term health risks caused by smoke and poor air quality. The announcement reinforces a commitment to improving firefighter health and safety, both now and for the long-term.

See the NIFC Health and Wellbeing program “Tools to Minimize Occupational Hazards” page for a link to the training, as well as discussion of how and when respirators should be used—or not used.

WEBINAR:
Accelerating losses: Multi-scale simulations primarily project bird population losses with climate change

Join the Southwest Fire Science Consortium tomorrow July 9 at 12PM MDT to learn about a new multi-scale bird population modeling framework based on climate signals through vegetation which indicates that avian species across the Kaibab National Forest are expected to experience population decline across climate scenarios.

To register, click this link: Accelerating Losses -Meeting Registration

Fire Friday #187: Honoring, Celebrating, and Remembering Wildland Firefighters

June 26, 2026

Fire Friday #187: Honoring, Celebrating, and Remembering Wildland Firefighters

Happy Friday FACNM community,

Next Thursday, July 2nd, marks National Wildland Firefighter Day which takes place during the annual Wildland Firefighter Week of Remembrance. This day is “an opportunity to honor wildland firefighters and fire support personnel, whose contributions to public safety and the safeguarding of natural resources are often unseen by the public” (National Interagency Fire Center). In the somber context of Week of Remembrance, when wildland firefighters remember lives lost and review lessons learned from fatality fires, National Wildland Firefighter Day reminds us to appreciate those who risk their lives to protect our landscapes and communities. This Wildfire Wednesday is not only an opportunity to thank dedicated wildland firefighters and support staff, but also a chance to share ways that your community can celebrate their service protecting the people and places we love and remember those who are no longer with us.

This Wildfire Wednesday features:

Wishing you a happy solstice and official start of summer!

Week of Remembrance - June 30 through July 6

Wildland Firefighter Week of Remembrance, observed annually from June 30 to July 6, is a time for the wildland fire community and the public to honor wildland firefighters who have lost their lives protecting our communities from wildfire. It is also a time to acknowledge the risks they face in the line of duty, including extreme heat, rapidly changing fire conditions, dangerous terrain, smoke inhalation, and more that contribute to both short- and long-term impacts. Longer term mental health and stress impacts are also increasingly being recognized as a risk faced by those on the fire line.

Wildland Firefighter Week of Remembrance begins on June 30, the anniversary of the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona, where 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots lost their lives when extreme fire behavior cut off their escape route. The week concludes on July 6, the anniversary of the 1994 Storm King Mountain Fire in Colorado, which claimed the lives of 14 firefighters. Week of Remembrance provides agencies across the nation with an opportunity to reflect on the lessons learned from past fatality fires, honor the sacrifices of fallen firefighters, and recommit to the safety practices that help protect those who serve. It is also a time for all of us to remember those individuals who never returned home to their families and thank those who continue to answer the call to protect.

Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

Observance of Week of Remembrance honors the fallen through learning and reinforces the importance of safety, training, and preparedness in wildfire response. The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center is a reflection of the wildland fire community’s commitment to this “honor through learning” principle. The Center operates as a national, interagency, federally-funded organization to promote learning in wildland fire by providing useful products and services that help reveal the complexity and risk in the wildland fire environment.

The Center provides an annual incident review that summarizes incidents from the past year and provides a comprehensive look at resulting wildland fire-based lessons. Their Data Points publication summarizes events that have similar circumstances and provides a specific call to action, empowering fire leaders at all levels to take proactive measures based on the experience of others. The Center also runs a podcast and quarterly publication, Two More Chains, dedicated to sharing relevant lessons, unique perspectives, and features from the wildland fire community.

Listen to the podcast on apple podcasts
Listen to the podcast on spotify

Honoring the Granite Mountain Hotshots

If you have spent any time in in the wildfire community of the Southwest, you have likely heard of “the 19,” which references the tragedy of the 19 men lost during the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire. The Yarnell Hill Fire was a wildfire near Yarnell, Arizona, ignited by lightning on June 28, 2013. On June 30, it overran and killed 19 of the 20 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of firefighters within the Prescott Fire Department. The Yarnell Hill Fire forced vital discussions about wildland firefighting strategies and tactics, ultimately resulting in a comprehensive report after the State of Arizona convened an investigation team to review the conditions and events leading to the circumstances of the entrapment and deaths of the members of Granite Mountain Hotshots.

download the yarnell hill serious accident investigation report

Following memorial services, the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park was dedicated in 2016 as a place to remember the 19 fallen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. The park includes a 7-mile roundtrip hike - an opportunity to pay respects to the 19 firefighters and better understand the experience and landscape in which they lost their lives. The Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Learning and Tribute Center opened in 2018; the center is described as a “one-of-a kind wildland fire learning center that honors the legacy of the Granite Mountain Hotshots by educating, inspiring and motivating visitors to adopt behaviors that prevent wildland fires, resulting in fewer fire-related fatalities.”

The tragedy of the Yarnell Hill Fire has also been the subject of extensive reflection and storytelling in the years since the incident. Several books have chronicled the experiences of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and the events surrounding the fire, helping to preserve the lessons learned and honor those who were lost. In 2017, the feature film Only the Brave brought their story to a wider audience, providing an opportunity for the public to reflect on the sacrifices of wildland firefighters and gain a deeper understanding of the risks they face in the line of duty.

  • McDonough authored the 2017 book “Granite Mountain: The Firsthand Account of a Tragic Wildfire, Its Lone Survivor, and the Firefighters Who Made the Ultimate Sacrifice.”

  • Fernanda Santos, who covers Arizona and New Mexico as the Phoenix bureau chief for The New York Times, penned the 2017 book “The Fire Line: The Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots.”

  • Kyle Dickman wrote “On the Burning Edge: A Fateful Fire and the Men Who Fought It,” in 2015.

National Wildland Firefighter Day - July 2

In 2022, National Wildland Firefighter Day was founded to recognize all federal, state, and local wildland firefighters and support staff who coordinate their efforts to protect the nation's wildlands.

The individuals who work to save lives, property, infrastructure, and precious natural and cultural resources every year deserve incredible gratitude for their professional skills and efforts. Past National Wildland Firefighter Day events have included in-person and virtual Fireline 5Ks, representation at professional sporting events, proclamations by state officials, and more. If you are looking for ways to celebrate National Wildland Firefighter Day in your community, the National Interagency Fire Center has provided many tools and templates to support and share.

  • National Wildland Firefighter Day Toolkit

    • NWFFD Toolkit PowerPoint has campaign instructions, ready-made and customizable graphics for social media, and downloadable virtual meeting backgrounds. National Wildland Firefighter Day | National Interagency Fire Center also has short video clips that highlight wildland firefighters and support personnel from federal, state, and local agencies across the country to share on social media.

    • Use #NationalWildlandFirefighterDay, #NWFFD, and #ThankAFirefighter when posting on social media.

  • NWFFD Activity Book

  • Enhance Firefighter Safety Through Prevention Best Practices

    • Wildfires require three key elements to burn: heat, oxygen, and fuel. Firefighters work to suppress fires by removing or limiting these elements, particularly available fuel. You can help reduce wildfire risk and support firefighter safety by taking proactive steps to protect your home and community. Create and maintain defensible space around your home by removing excess vegetation and other combustible materials. Consider hardening your home with fire-resistant materials. Encourage your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers to take similar precautions.

    • Always fully extinguish campfires, fire pits, and outdoor fires before leaving the area, and never leave a fire unattended. If you observe an unattended fire, report it immediately by calling 911.

    • Never throw lit cigarettes or smoking materials from a vehicle. Even a small ember can ignite dry grass or vegetation and quickly start a wildfire.

    • Follow all local burn bans, fire restrictions, and public safety warnings. During periods of hot, dry, or windy weather, extra caution is essential to prevent accidental ignitions.

    • When traveling in areas affected by wildfire or smoke, stay informed by monitoring local alerts, road conditions, and emergency announcements. If you operate a drone or other aircraft, never fly near a wildfire. Unauthorized aircraft in the area can force firefighting aircraft to be grounded, delaying critical suppression efforts and putting firefighters and communities at greater risk.

Remember to thank a wildland firefighter, support staff member, or contractor for their dedication to protecting lives, property, and our natural and cultural resources. While their service deserves recognition every day, July 2 provides a dedicated opportunity to express your gratitude, especially during one of the busiest and most demanding periods of the fire year.

Additional Resources and Upcoming Opportunities

Job Opportunities

Project Forester with the NM Forestry Division - Chama District

New Mexico Forestry Division is hiring a Forester for the Chama District (San Juan County, Rio Arriba County and western half of Taos County) to develop and coordinate collaborative, cross-boundary forest restoration projects. This position is responsible for programs such as the Commercial Timber Harvest Program and assists the District Forester with Wildland - Urban Interface (WUI) projects. Duties include:

  • writing stewardship plans,

  • drafting and releasing requests for proposal (RFP),

  • issuing commercial timber harvest permits, and

  • reviewing commercial timber harvest applications.

Apply by June 30. To learn more about the position and apply, visit Careers.

Volunteer Fire Assistance Coordinator with the NM Forestry Division

New Mexico Forestry Division is hiring a volunteer fire assistance coordinator to provide assistance to local departments and increase their wildland fire suppression capabilities. This position will manage the Federal Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant Program and assist the Resource Protection Bureau and Assistant State and State Fire Management Officer by providing current information about fires within the state, including coordination and mobilization of both Division and local fire department resources in-state and out-of-state for wildland fire suppression activity.

Apply by June 30. To learn more about the position and apply, visit Careers.

 

Continuing Education: The Fire Department Exchange (FDX) Program

The Fire Department Exchange (FDX) Program facilitates in-person exchanges for fire departments facing wildland-urban interface (WUI) challenges. The 3-day, in‑person information exchange will focus on real-world wildfire mitigation, preparedness, and response in the WUI. Led by experienced wildfire subject matter experts, the exchange emphasizes candid dialogue, shared experience, and practical application rather than traditional lectures.

Apply by June 25th to send two fire service personnel to the next Fire Department Exchange in Red Lodge, Montana, September 21 – 25, 2026!

Reforestation Resources: Conservation Seedling Program Distribution Opening Soon

New Mexico Forestry Division provides low‑cost seedlings for planting projects that support forest and watershed health in New Mexico. Ordering for the Conservation Seedling Program's fall distribution will open on July 6th, 2026 through the online ordering platform. Seedlings ordered during this window will be distributed in October, 2026. Seedlings may be used for ecological restoration, wind protection, erosion control, wood products, tree farms, and planting or up-potting for urban or community forestry needs.

Note: Forestry Division does not anticipate offering seedlings for the Spring 2027 distribution but are accepting order requests for Fall 2027 and Spring 2028 distribution.

  • Early requests help Forestry Division source the species and quantities needed to support your conservation goals.

  • Share your needs using the advance request form: Seedling Request Form

To learn more about seedling selection and ordering, visit Conservation Seedling Program - Forestry.

Article: Rising Wildfire Costs Are Straining State Finances

In recent years, states across the West have experienced wildfire seasons that far exceeded budgets originally allocated for firefighting efforts. This growing financial strain is concerning to many, especially as ongoing drought conditions and reduced snowpack will contribute to increasingly severe fire seasons that may require at least twice the available funding. Read this article to learn how states across the West are seeking to address these challenges, including funding for wildfire-specific accounts and identifying new sources of revenue to support firefighting and prevention efforts, with examples from Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah.

Webinar: Accelerating Losses - Multi-Scale Simulations Primarily Project Bird Population Losses with Climate Change

Join the Southwest Fire Science Consortium to learn about a new multi-scale modelling framework that produces future projections for bird populations based on climate signals through vegetation for five climate scenarios. Attendees will learn that of 18 focal species present on the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona, USA, 11 are projected to decline by mid-century. Population simulations which only looked at fire as a disturbance factor produced markedly smaller bird population effects, demonstrating that climate-driven vegetation type shifts, not altered fire regimes alone, are the dominant driver of projected losses.

Register Now
The GSFFC is a coalition of public and private organizations. The GSFFC is not a subdivision of the State of New Mexico, as defined in the state’s Open Meetings Act, §§ 10-15-1 to 10-15-4 NMSA 1978. Although federal agencies participate in the GSFFC, the Coalition is not a federal advisory board and was not created by a federal agency, as defined by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5.U.S.C. app. 2, §§ 1 to 16 (2012). The GSFFC operates informally to support its partners, and is not incorporated as a non-profit, 501(C)(3), partnership, or other legal status.