Direct link to April 30th video from the Forest Service on YouTube
Enjoy this video about the Operation Sky Hammer program in Colorado where two Skycrane helitankers that can carry up to 2,400 gallons of retardant are used to help the wildland firefighters on the ground fight wildfires.
As someone with a special fondness for the Everglades in Florida, I was saddened to read about a wildfire that is currently burning in the Everglades, see this April 28th Facebook Post from Everglades National Park for more information and a couple of photographs.. As I write this post this wildfire has burned approximately 2,500 acres. US Route 41 aka the Tanami Trail remains open at this time but some parking areas and facilities are closed at this time. Note that I have embedded this post from the Everglades National Park below but depending on your browser you may not be able to view it, in that case refer to the link that I have shared
I was delighted to read an April 25th Facebook post from the New Jersey Fire Service saying that they deployed nine wildland firefighters, three type 4 engines and a pick-up truck to Georgia a couple of days ago to help with their devastating spring wildfire season. I am very proud of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service for taking care of us during the spring wildfire season in New Jersey and the rest of the year.
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| Obtained on April 27 from https://www.facebook.com/NJForestFireService/posts/pfbid028gZz8a4pRnsiPwTKguEdpZu7qmYSmiE8T7Tidni5xAk4CFdN4kdFKJybtcU2Z1r9l |
Please do not fly your plane or your drone in fire zones anywhere in the US and globally. If you fly the wildland firefighters can not fly.
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| Obtained on April 24th from from https://www.facebook.com/FLForestService/posts/pfbid02xRGCguBrw9ccEjHWTDCXWEYyEh1HcJCwJaHAGqWNet5UyQ9eFssKhyxLpPp76R6Gl |
 Obtained on April 22 from https://www.weather.gov/jax/ |
This morning I noticed the NJ Forest Fire Service post about the largest fire in NJ History that broke out on April 20, 1963 in Burlington and Ocean Counties, burning 183,148 acres. This wildfire lead to the creation of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. I have a book about the NJ Pinelands where this fire burned and I have been there several times so I know of this fire. I remember the six people and one firefighter that lost their lives as well as the homes that were destroyed and residents left homeless.
Direct link to 2018 video from Goeff Liesik on YouTube
One of my interests in focusing on aerial and ground wildland firefighting is the role that Incident Meterologists from the National Weather Service have when they are deployed on wildfire incidents, see my July 2025 article for a longer article on Incident Meterologists (IMETs)a As we enter the spring wildfire season in the United States I am sharing a brief 2018 video from an Incident Meteorologist describing what he does
As I do almost daily, I go to Facebook to check the New Jersey Forest Fire Service for wildfire activity and prescribed burns. When I went to their Facebook page this past Saturday afternoon I saw a notice about a wildfire in West Deptford Township in Gloucester County NJ, with a notice that they would post a final update early Saturday evening. When I went back to check I saw that the fire in West Deptford Township had burned 160 acres and was at 100% containment. All roads were reopened. I am embedding the final post from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service on the West Deptford wildfire here, but have summarized the post here and am also sharing a link to the NJFFS Facebook post in case you are unable to see my embedded post.
