Deadly Wildfires in Chile

Direct link to January 21st Al Jazeera English video on YouTube

Thanks to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page and Mike Archer of Wildfire News of the Day I know about the deadly wildfire season in Chile. According to a January 19th article on Reuters about the wildfires in Chile, at least nineteen people have died and 325 homes have been destroyed in 30 heat and wind driven wildfires and a state of emergency has been declared. Wildfire Today wrote a January 20th post about the wildfires in Chile.

The image below of smoke from wildfires in Chile was captured on January 18, 2026 by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites. Obtained on January 21st from https://www.eumetsat.int/image-week-smoke-chilean-wildfires

Coulson Aviation: Aerial firefighting from start to finish

On  Monday morning on the day we celebrate Martin Luther Kings birthday is the morning after a weekend of two moderate snowfalls here in New Jersey and adjoining states. I suspect but am not quite certain that the snowfall may put a damper on any existing wildfires and perhaps may deter any wildfires from starting? 

I pause on this holiday to share a Facebook video from Coulson Aviation on aerial firefighting from start to finish.

Direct link to video from Coulson Aviation on Facebook

Firefighting Aerial Operations in Florida

Direct link to December 2025 video from Vertical Magazine

For reasons I won't get into here, I have had a special interest in the Florida environment, in particular the Everglades, for over twenty-five years. During a trip to Florida about 12 years ago, I spent a couple of days in and near the Everglades. I can not adequately describe how special it was when I got to visit the Everglades  that I had loved for so long and continue to love. 

Every so often I like to take the opportunity to focus a blog post on wildfires in Florida. In this case it is how State of Florida aerial resources are used to aid wildfire detection, prescribed burning and to assist the wildland firefighters on the ground fight wildfires. In the video that I am sharing the focus is on the Eagle Single helicopter. Their fixed-wing aircraft are the eyes on the sky for the helicopters and the crews on the ground. There are other areas in Florida besides the Everglades where wildfires have burned.

Prescribed burns in northern California the week of January 12th

I continue to reflect on what I learned when I read When it All Burns by Jordan Thomas. Mr. Thomas spent some time talking about conducting prescribed burns in California. It has been on my mind to try to keep an eye for information on prescribed burns in California as I read Mike Archer's (of Archer Copywriting) five day a week e-mail, Wildfire News of the Day (link to subscribe to Mr. Archer's newsletter may be found here. Thanks to two recent e-mail newsletters from Wildfire News of the Day, I found two links to prescribed burns in northern California about prescribed burns that were being conducted this week. 

The first link is to Shasta-Trinity National Forest where they are referencing prescribed burns that are happening the week of January 12, 2026. As you can see, there are multiple prescribed burns and they are notifying the public that these areas may be closed and for nearby residents to be aware of smoke emanating from these prescribed burns.

The second link is from KRCR for a January 12, 2026 report on a prescribed burn happening near the area burned by the 2018 Paradise Fire. At least some of these prescribed burns involve burning what they call machine piles (of wood).

2025 U.S.A. Wildfire Season: Summary Figures for Year by Category

I am always interested in knowing the number of wildfire incidents and the like for the past year for the United States. However, I admit that until now I did not know where to look for these figures. I again owe a debt of gratitude to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page who recently shared a graphical file from the Wildfire Lessons Learned Center called "Numbers and Lessons" Collected from 2025 Incident Reports. The Numbers and Lessons file is a summary of 2025 incidents that I think will be replaced later by a complete report for 2025 incidents, go to Annual Incident Review Summaries for more information. Please note that at some point you will not see the 2025 Numbers and Lessons report but will see instead a complete report of 2025 incidents. I do note that with the incident numbers by category (entrapment, UTV, chainsaw cuts, driving related. and hit by tree) that there were only 12 fatalities and six of them were from medical causes.

A very brief introduction to the Helena-Lewis Clark National Forest (Montana) and Fuel Management

I just finished reading Fury and the Beast by Dave Scott where he writes about his 27 year career as a wildland firefighter. For the last few years of his service was a Manager in the Lincoln Ranger District, one of the districts in the Helena-Lewis Clark National Forest. 

Obtained on January 9, 2026 from The Helena-Lewis Clark National Forest

I enjoyed learning about the forests and mountains in western Montana as I read Mr. Scott’s book. He had many pictures and maps in the book which gave me useful visual images about what I was reading. He also spent a lot of time describing the different kinds of prescribed burns in the forests of western Montana. I was very fortunate to find two videos that I am sharing with you below to give you a glimpse into the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest where the Lincoln District is one of the districts. 

The first video that I embed below features a tour of the eastern half of the Helena-Lewis Clark National Forest (  ) from More Than Just Parks. This video is labeled part 1, unfortunately I can not find part 2 perhaps it has not ready for dissemination yet or maybe I was unable to find it on YouTube.

Direct link to September 2023 video from More Than Just Parks on YouTube

In the second and final video, you will learn about a draft 2025 plan for wildfire fuels reduction in the Helena-Lewis Clark National Forest. I do not know if these plans were actually implemented, I hope that these plans were implemented. I liked the video because they talk about risks in the Forest and how fuel management in the Forest can mitigate these risks. Unfortunately I cannot embed the video here, but please go to this link from KPAX-TV (July 2025) to learn about this draft plan

Los Angeles County Wildfires (Jan 7, 2025)

One year ago today tragic wildfires burned in Los Angeles County, California. Over 37,000 acres burned and thirty-one people died. Scores of residences, businesses, and schools were destroyed. Rebuilding in the aftermath of these fires is still going on. I am sharing three videos of these fires one year later.

Direct link to January 6, 2026 video from ABC10 on YouTube

Direct link to January 6, 2026 video from ABC News on YouTube

Direct link to January 5, 2026 video from CBS LA on YouTube

Fire Shelter Deployment

Direct link to July 2013 video from The Bulletin on YouTube

I am in the process of reading another book on wildland firefighting, Fury and the Beast by Dave Scott, Mr. Scott chronicles his 27 year career as a wildland firefighter. He also provides photos and maps of wildfires. I am currently reading his account of the 1996 Shepard Mountain Fire in Montana where wildland firefighters had to deploy shelters as their only option to stay safe. Only one firefighter was injured with second degree burns, no firefighter died. About one hundred residents were evacuated. Thirty-five residences and forty out buildings were destroyed. I do not know the exact date of when this fire was brought under control, but I know from this September 8, 1996 Associated Press Article in the Spokane Review that the fire had burned 18,500 acres.

In their Six Minutes for Safety Section, The National Wildlife Coordinating Group (NWCG) has an article on deploying fire shelters, go here to read the NWCG article on deploying fire shelters. The NWCG says that "Firefighters must never rely on fire shelters. Instead, they depend on well-defined and pre-located escape routes and safety zones. However, if the need for shelter deployment should ever arise, it is imperative that firefighters know how to deploy and use the fire shelter." They go onto discuss several points regarding the deployment of fire shelters, I learned about fire shelter deployment from reading this article, they say in part:

• Do not think of your fire shelter as a tactical tool.
• Recognize when deployment is your only option. When considering escape, remember that you can hold your breath for only about 15 seconds while running through flames or superheated air.
• If time runs out while attempting to escape, get on the ground before the flame front arrives and finish deploying on the ground. Death is almost certain if the fire catches a person upright (the optimal survival zone with or without a shelter is within a foot of the ground). Once entrapped, the highest priority is to protect the lungs and airways.

Being Safe While Flying in or Near a Wildfire

The video that I share today on airspace over fires focuses on California. Living in the Mid-Atlantic area of the U.S.A. and having written the blog for over fifteen years,I am aware that wildfires in my area are often quite different than wildfires in CA and other areas of the western U.S.A. However, in my area, aircraft are used to aid the wildland firefighters on the ground fight wildfires. I am aware of the differences  I am sharing this video because as someone who lives in the Mid-Atlantic USA, I learned something about the airspace over wildfires that I think applies to my area. I am not a pilot, but in years past I have been on scenic rides that were near wildfires, so I am writing from the point of view of flying an airplane or helicopter. 

1. If you see smoke, stay several miles away. Wildfire officials are likely to already know about the wildfire, but if you are not sure, a pilot can report the smoke.

2. Not all wildfires will be under a temporary flight restriction (TFRs).  aThe video point out that it may take a few hours to get a TFR over a wildfire and some smaller fires will be contained in under a few hours.

3. If you are flying an aircraft, you probably know about TFRs on your route, including ones that may be there because of a wildfire. Not only should you stay out of the TFR, don’t fly on the edges of the TFR, stay several miles away.

4. Don’t fly drones in or near wildfires. A drone striking an aircraft of any size can cripple or in the worst case bring down an airplane.

The video is about eleven minutes long and is worth watching. This video did pop up as I was looking on YouTube for videos focusing on aerial resources to help wildland firefighters on the ground. But I learned about this video in mid-August of 2025 when the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page shared the video in their daily videos section of their webpage

Direct link to August 2025 video from Airborne Firefighters on YouTube

Happy New Year 2026

Direct link to December 31st video from the Associated Press

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year as we usher in 2026. The video that I am sharing above was shot in New Zealand