Low Fire Danger in New Jersey (March 4)

 

NJ Forest Fire Service Fire Danger for March 4, 2026 

Knowing that at least in my area of New Jersey that there is still snow on the ground and the ground may be wet in areas where the snow has recently melted I had a feeling that fire danger in New Jersey is low as you can see from the images I posted. What I suspect but don't know for certain is that the snow on the ground coupled with wet areas where snow has melted might mean a delay in prescribed burning in New Jersey. I suspect that as soon as conditions improve for prescribed burning that the New Jersey Forest Fire Service will start on prescribed burning and fire danger may increase. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service has a dashboard for wildfire conditions and restrictions that may be found here (note I could not access the full features on this site from Chrome but can in Firefox and Safari)

NJ Forest Fire Service Deployed to Texas

 I continue to be aware of the severe wildfire season that have impacted Texas, see my February 25th post. Information on the current wildfire situation in Texas (updated daily) may be found here (note that I am unable to view all of this site on Chrome). I am, as always, very grateful when New Jersey Forest Fire Crews are deployed out of State to help fight wildfires. I was happy to note in a February 25th post on X that a NJ Forest Fire Service Crew has been deployed to Texas to help fight wildfires.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service staff have been deployed to Texas to assist with wildfire suppression as the state experiences elevated wildfire activity. pic.twitter.com/yxNJBzFiIn

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) February 26, 2026

Friday fun: Helicopters Fighting Wildfire (Jan 23, 2026) in Western Australia

Direct link to Jan. 23rd video by Outbacktruckie on YouTube

Obtained from Google Earth on January 23rd, 2026

This is the end of summer in Australia which means that bush fire season may still be ongoing. I wanted to find a video of firefighting aircraft involved in fighting bush fires in Australia. What I found was this video of three helicopters refueling while fighting a bush fire on January 23rd near Boddington, Western Australia. What intrigued me about this video by Outbacktruckie was that he identified the three helicopters that are refueling. In addition, I got a somewhat closeup view of these helicopters while they are refueling. In the video you will see two Sikorsky UH60 helicopters (678. 679) and one Bell 214 helicopter (671). I was not able to find any information about the January 23rd bushfire near Boddington Western Australia on the Western Australia EmergencyWA website. 

2026 Wildfire Season: Oklahoma and Texas (February 23rd)

Direct link to February 23rd post from Bridger Aerospace on Facebook

I have been reading bout the wildfires burning in Texas and Oklahoma of late, see for example these articles:

• ABC7 Amarillo on February 22nd
• KBTX on February 23rd

I knew that airtankers and helicopters were responding to help wildland firefighters on the ground to battle these wildfires. Bridger Aerospace is only one of the responders, deploying two of their super scoopers. See the February 25th Situation Report from Oklahoma Dept of Agriculture, Food, and Forestery (note link might be updated daily), and the current wildfire information from the Texas A&M Forest Service (updated daily, I could not get map to display in Chrome but it worked in Firefox and Safari).

Aerial Firefighting: Getting Ready to Fly Fires in Fire Season

As various airtanker and helicopters companies under contract with State or Federal firefighting agencies two important things must happen, The first is that aircraft undergoes maintenance to be sure that each aircraft in the companies fleet meets various safety and  maintenance requirements. All features in the aircraft are looked at including but not limited to engines, pilot controls. the airframe, etc. See this January 30th Facebook post from Dauntless for more information and pictures about their winter maintenance program.

In addition to maintenance, annual winter/spring training of pilots and crews happens, including training for new pilots and refresher training for pilots who have previously flown fires for the company. The specifics of new and refresher training is usually mandated by the agency who contracts for the aircraft, covering the specifics of flying fires, aircraft safety and the like. See this short February 19th video from Aeroflite Aerial Firefighting on Facebook for a short glimpse into this training.

Friday Fun: 10 Tanker Turns Twenty

Direct link to May 2024 video from 12News on YouTube

My memories of 10 Tanker Air Carrier go back to the early days of my blog in 2009 when I was learning about different types of airtankers and what was involved in flying wildfires. I spent many hours over e-mail and on the phone with my friend Tom Janney, a former air tanker pilot in those days. I have distinct memories of watching many videos of a 10 Tanker working wildfires. 10 Tankers do a lot of good work dropping high volumes of retardant on wildfires. Tom Janney has since passed, and I am forever grateful for all that I learned from him as well as other tanker pilots who helped me out in those days. When I first saw this video from 10 Tanker on Facebook I thought immediately of Tom Janney, thank-you Tom. I share the link to this video in your memory. Unfortunately I am not able to embed the video here, the video is a little over two minutes long, please take a couple of minutes to watch this video.

Bushfire Threats in Victoria Australia Easing Up on February 18th

I continue to follow, as best I can, the bushfire situation in Victoria, Australia, a map of the location of current bushfires burning in Victoria may be found here  The bushfire that I am focusing on is the Trawool bushfire noted by the orange triangle, south of Seymore, on the map I linked to. Please note that this map is probably updated daily and depending on when you are reading this post, the information may be different. I took the liberty of taking a screenshot of this map at the time I am posting this article so that you may see the current map. You will note from the map that I linked to that there are other bushfires burning in Victoria. I am not familiar with exactly how bushfires are classified in Australia so I cannot say for certain if the other bushfires currently burning are of a lower threat condition.

According to a Feb 18th article by ABC News (Australia) a bushfire broke out near Trawool in Victoria Tuesday afternoon. The bushfire had burned about 148 hectares (or 366 acres) with 30 homes threatened and evacuations were in place. A February 17th video report from 7News Australia reports on the  Trawool bushfire may be found here, unfortunately I am not able to embed this video. 

As I write this post today, the latest information (see the screenshot that I copied below) I have on this bushfire is that the threat is reduced and officials continue to monitor and work the bushfire which is not yet under control

Extreme Bushfire Danger on Feb 16th in Victoria Australia

Direct link to February 16th Severe Weather Update from the Bureau of Meteorology

While winter continues in the United States, Australia is in the summer months meaning bushfire season. I have been wondering about bushfire danger in Australia and while I am not in the position to know weather conditions and attendant bushfire danger in all of Australia I do know that Victoria, Australia is experiencing extreme bushfire danger today (February 16 and 17th). According to this February 16th ABC News report and the video I shared above dry fuels and high winds in Victoria mean extreme bushfire danger, however weather conditions may change to lower this extreme fire danger later on.

Friday Fun: A Review of Helicopters and Air Tankers Battling Wildfires

For today's Friday Fun post I am posting a short video on some of air tankers and helicopters that help wildland firefighters on the ground fight wildfires. This video focuses on aircraft used in California.

Direct link to January 2026 from the National Wildfire Tracking Team on YouTube

Snow Drought in Western U.S. Raises Increased Concerns About Wildfire Danger

According to the latest drought monitor New Jersey and surrounding areas are still experiencing a drought, however at least in New Jersey we have had a fair amount of snow this winter. Recently we saw frigid temperatures for several days with temperatures below freezing. But while we in New Jersey and environs are not out of a drought no one has raised concerns, at least not yet, about water shortages. I saw this video on the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page today about a record snow drought in the Western U.S. raising concerns about water shortages and wildfire danger. 

Direct link to February 10th video from the Associated Press

Apologies for being very late in making my Wednesday post. 

Respect for Wildland Firefighters Working in Extreme Weather Conditions

Here in New Jersey we had a major snowstorm a couple of weeks ago followed by cold temperatures, below freezing most days. This past weekend the weather was downright frigid with highs lower than 20F and breezy conditions. The snow from two weeks ago is still present in my area. I am not in the position to speak to if wildfires occur in snow covered terrain. I can say the frigid temperatures that we have experienced the last couple of days made me appreciate that wildland firefighters work fires in all kinds of temperatures from very hot temperatures in the summer to frigid temperatures in the winter. I know enough to know that under their Nomex gear that they will have added layers to protect them from extreme cold. Here in New Jersey we could have had frigid temperatures with no snow on the ground which would have meant that if their was a wildfire, that New Jersey Forest Fire Wildland Firefighters would have been working a fire in frigid temperatures. Of course in other parts of the United States, the extreme cold is not necessarily uncommon in the winter.

The purpose of this short post is to give a shout out to all wildland firefighters both on the ground, in the air, and support personal for working in all extreme temperatures. Thank-you from the bottom of my heart for all you do to keep us safe.

Aerial Firefighting: Helicopter Capabilities and Limitations

I have never been in a helicopter. Perhaps one day I will have the opportunity to ride in one. Nonetheless, I am interested in what goes into flying a helicopter, both for wildland firefighting and other purposes. I suspect that flying a helicopter for wildland firefighting poses a different set of challenges because they are not landing and taking off from airports or heliports. While the video I am sharing on "Helicopter Capabilities and Limitations" from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group is a part of a training course on helicopter operations in wildfires I learned a lot about what goes into flying a helicopter for wildfire operations. I am sharing this eleven-minute video because I learned a lot and I hope that some of you enjoy this video.

Direct link to January 2026 video from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) on YouTube

Wildfire Behaviour: Fire Weather

Direct link to January 2024 video from World of Wildland Fire (WETC) on YouTube

Fuels, topography and weather are the important components in how a wildfire behaves. In a given area fuels and topography won't change but weather, aka fire weather, does change. I believe that this video is probably directed at wildland firefighters, perhaps as a part of their training, however I learned something and have a greater appreciation of what wildland firefighters, on the ground and in the air to keep us safe from wildfires. I hope that you find this video useful.

Wildfire Dozer in Action

I have a lot of respect for all wildland firefighters whether they be on the ground or in the air. Wildland firefighters on the ground may be operating dozers. Dozers are important in wildland firefighting. One of the important roles that dozers play are in clearing large line around a fire to help contain the wildfire. And there are other roles that dozers play in working wildfires. I know that the New Jersey Forest Fire Services operates dozers when needed to work wildfires. 

I enjoyed this twelve minute January 2026 video shot from the point of view of a dozer operator. I always learn something from videos like the one I am sharing with you today. Thanks to all wildland firefighters on the ground (on foot or in dozers) and in the air fighting wildfires. Stay safe.

Direct link to January 2026 video from Wildland_Firefighter on YouTube

Friday Fun: SEAT in Action in July 2025 Flying a Fire in Washington State.

As regular followers know, as circumstances allow I do try to share what I consider fun aerial aviation videos on Friday. Fun for me means that I enjoy the video and learn something at the same time. I checked out Simon Butler Aviation on YouTube, a channel I like to check for his good aviation videos, he shares many interesting videos including but not limited to aerial firefighting. So, I checked out his Youtube Channel today and saw this eleven minute video that I am sharing with you today shot by the pilot of single-engine air tanker (SEAT), the pilot shared this video with Simon Butler Aviation. The video was shot somewhere in the vicinity of Deer Park, WA where you will see the SEAT taking off and landing. The SEAT is a scooper, and you will see the SEAT filling their tanks with water in this video. I too love this video, shot by the pilot showing their point of view, as someone who is not a pilot, I always enjoy these pilot's point of view videos. 

A heads up that you will see a couple of "commercial breaks" in the video.  

You may note the mention of the Wildland Firefighter Foundation in the description of the video, they do good work and I encourage you to check out their site.

   

  Direct link to January 2026 video from Simon Butler Aviation on YouTube 

Prescribed Burns in Winter in U.S. Forest Service Lands

 

As I write this post I have about 9 inches of snow in my yard from a snowfall on January 25th, others areas in New Jersey and environs got more snow, see this page from the Northeast Regional Climate Center  for more information on this storm.  I am not here to report on the winter weather. I was curious about the effects of winter snowfall on wildfire operations, e.g. what sort of operations can happen on snow covered lands in the winter. I did a brief search on line and found that certain kinds of prescribed burns, known as pile burning are very effective on snow covered lands in US Forest Service lands. During warmer weather when US Forest Service crews engage in fuel reductions by removing larger trees, often those that are dead or in the process of dying as well as removing smaller brush. Large logs can be used as building materials. That leaves smaller limbs and brush. Smaller limbs and brush are gathered in piles that are burned in the winter. Burning these piles in the winter is known as pile burning. See this 2023 document from the U.S. Forest Service for more information  In the short video that I am embedding below, you will learn more about pile burning.

   

Direct link to August 2025 U.S. Forest Service video on YouTube 

Prescribed Burning as Fire and Forest Management in Montana and Maine

In the years that I have been writing this blog I have come to see the important role of prescribed burns. Prescribed burns is not new as indigenous peoples have been conducted what we call prescribed burns for decades.

I am sharing two videos from The Nature Conservancy on prescribed burns. The YouTube channel for The Nature Conservancy may be found here.  While the nuances of prescribed burns in different states and other countries in the world may differ, these two videos helped me to learn more about prescribed burns.

The first video highlights prescribed burning in Montana which I found interested because I recently finished reading Fury of the Beast by Dave Scott where among other things he discusses prescribed burns as a tool for forest management in Montana.

Direct link to July 2021 video by the Nature Conservancy on YouTube

The second video discusses training firefighters in conducting prescribed burns and fire management in Maine As I have spent time in northern New England in years past, I was especially interested in this video.

Direct link to December 2025 video by the Nature Conservancy on YouTube

Friday Fun: Valley Helicopters Flying in British Columbia

From Vertical Magazine, a seven minute 2024 video of a visit by a Vertical Magazine reporter to Valley Helicopters in Hope, British Columbia to look at Valley Helicopters operations and a little of their history and types of helicopters they fly and the types of missions their helicopters fly. 

Direct link to September 2024 video from Vertical Magazine on YouTube.

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.

Added on January 23rd, I apologize for the duplicate post of this video. I just realized that I had already shared this video in early December.

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