Small Airtanker Used in Arizona During 2025 Wildfire Season

Direct link to May 2025 video from KGUN9 on YouTube

I saw the video that I am sharing here about how Arizona used small airtankers during their 2025 wildfire season. I enjoyed the video because it gave me an upclose look at the airtanker while hearing the pilot being interviewed.

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.

2025 Wildfire Season: Alaska Wildfire Season Highlights

Direct link to Nov 14th video from Alaska DNRDOF on YouTube 

I have never been to Alaska and don't know if I will ever get there. However, for reason that I won't get into here I have a special interest in Alaska including but not limited to the challenges posed by wildfires. I am grateful to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildfire Page for sharing this video  from Alaska DNRDOF summarizing the 2025 Alaska wildfire season. The video is over 13 minutes and I enjoyed watching the wildland firefighters working fire in Alaska along with images of aerial support.

2025 Wildfire Season: Brownell Mt Brushfire Contained

On October 6th I wrote about the small wildfire on Brownell Mountain near Williston VT (ChittendenCounty) I was not able to find information about the containment of this brushfire. I was very happy that a large firefighting helicopter was based in Lebanon NH, just across the border from VT that aided wildland firefighters in fighting the brushfire. If you are interested in more information about this brushfire you might want to checkout this October 5th  facebook post from Northern/Central VT Fire Alerts, you will see information and comments while the brushfire was being fought, there is no containment information in that post. The good news is that the fire has been contained according to this October 6th article from The Hinesburg Record; according to this article

The fire covered an acre or so on top of the mountain. Steep terrain and waning daylight prompted a special request for a firefighting helicopter which was staged in Lebanon, NH.

Vermont Wildland Fire Specialist Devin Healy said that the helicopter, which dumped 2,000 gallons of water at a time, was unable to extinguish the fire but was essential in keeping it from spreading.

At the time that article was written no one could say for sure how the brushfire on Brownell Mountain was started but it may have been started by humans. 

2025 Wildfire Season: Small Brushfire on Brownell MT (Williston VT)

Direct link to October 5th video from WCAX Channel 3 News on YouTube

Obtained from Google Earth on October 6th.

I was very interested in the video that my friends at the B10 NJ Wildfire Page shared on their website earlier today, thank-you! Being somewhat familiar with Vermont though less familiar with the area where this small brushfire burned on Brownell Mountain in Williston VT, I wanted to share the video with you. Brownell Mountain is 850 feet in elevation. 

If you have watched this short video then you know that the fire is about an acre in size and was started sometime on Saturday, October 4th. I was pleased to know from the video that the large firefighting helicopter, a SkyCrane, that is based in Lebanon NH to help northern New England during a very dry summer. Expectations were that the fire would be fully contained by Sunday evening, October 5th, I have not been able to ascertain if this brushfire is indeed contained. As the brushfire is in a hard to reach area on Brownell Mountain, the assistance of the Skycrane made a huge difference in assisting the firefighters on the ground work the brushfire. In addition, see this October 5th news report from WCAX. Kudos to the all the firefighters who are working this brushfire to keep everyone safe.

US Forest Service: temporary assignment of helicopter to New Hampshire

Direct link to September 29th video from WMUR TV on YouTube

Obtained from Google Earth on October 1st.

Obtained on October 3rd from https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

I noted this September 19th report in the Concord Monitor that after weeks of drought in New Hampshire that the National Weather Service designated the State of New Hampshire as being in high risk of wildfires. As someone who used to vacation in northern New England, I am familiar with the White Mountains having done some day hikes on Mt. Washington in my younger days. I am also interested in when the U.S. Forest Service assigns helicopters or air tankers to the eastern United States. So when I noted that the U.S. Forest Service has temporarily assigned a fire fighting helicopter to New Hampshire I knew that I had to write this post. The helicopter will be based at Lebanon Municipal Airport until drought conditions improve and there is no longer a high risk of wildfires.

2025 Wildfire Season: British Columiba Wildfires (Sept. 10th)

Direct link to September 9th video from CTV News on YouTube

I have been hearing about the bad wildfire season in British Columbia Canada for several days now so perhaps somewhat belatedly I want to make this post focusing on these wildfires. 

According to the September 9th Dashboard from the British Columbia Wildfire Service (updated daily so you may see something different), there are 152 active wildfires with 48 out of control wildfires. Campfire restrictions are currently in place. There are evacuation orders in place for some wildfires. There are 125 aerial resources assigned to work British Columbia Wildfires. You will also see a listing of other resources

They also have a map view and a list view with a list of all the wildfires, these pages are updated daily so what I am sharing here may be different from what you will see if you visit these pages. If you are interested in a specific wildfire, go to the map view and zoom in to the area you are interested and click on the dot representing a specific wildfire and you may find more information about that fire. To give you an overview of the wildfire situation in British Columbia I am inserting a screen shot I took of the current map view.

Obtained on 09102025 from https://wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca/map

The BC Wildfire Service also has a blog, account on Facebook that you should be able to access without an account, as well as an account on YouTube.

My thoughts are wish all who are affected by these wildfires, wildland firefighters, aerial support, and support teams working these fires, 

2025 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Buckabear Wildfire Final Update

Direct link to Sept 6th, 9:20 PM, post from the NJ Forest Fire Service on Facebook

As of Sept 6th the fire was at 90 percent containment at 200 acres burned. A road closure and boat ramp closure was still in effect.

2025 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Buckabear Wildfire Update #4

Direct link to Sept 6th, 10:50 AM post from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service on Facebook

The Buckabear Fire remains to 200 acres burned, containment is now at 80 percent. A road closure remains in effect. In addition a boat ramp is closed at a reservoir near the fire.

2025 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Buckabear Fire Update # 3

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Direct link to the Facebook post from the NJ Forest Fire Service at 10:30AM post on Sept 5th. 

The Buckabear wildfire continues to burn in West Milford Township in Passaic County NJ. As I write this at 11:50 AM, according to the  10:30AM update from the NJ Forest Fire Service on Facebook 200 acres have burned and the fire is at 60 percent containment. Acreage burned has increased slightly from 185 acres that the  NJ Forest Fire Service reported last night and containment has remained the same. A road closure remains in effect and no structures are threatened and a boat launch at a reservoir near the fire is closed. I will make another update tomorrow morning unless there is a significant change in the status of this wildfire.

There was rainfall in northern New Jersey last night, and I hope that this rainfall helped the wildland firefighters. The NJ Forest Fire Service will be assessing the impact the rainfall had on the fire and hopefully the containment percentage will increase

2025 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Buckabear Fire Update # 2

Direct link to the Facebook post from the NJ Forest Fire Service at 9:25 AM post on Sept 4th. 

The Buckabear wildfire continues to burn in West Milford Township in Passaic County NJ. As I write this at 10:10 AM, according to the 9AM update from the NJ Forest Fire Service on Facebook 160 acres have burned and the fire is at 50 percent containment. The good news is that there is no increase in acreage burned from what the NJ Forest Fire Service reported last night and containment has increased from 40 to 50 percent. A road closure remains in effect and no structures are threatened. I will make another update tomorrow morning unless there is a significant change in the status of this wildfire.

Eastern Area Wildfire Crew Deployments (Sept 2nd)

I would like to thank my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page for sharing this on their website. After reading this presentation on their website, I knew that I had to share this with you.

I am always interested in deployments of eastern area wildfire crews to fires in other parts of the country. this report from the Eastern Area Coordination Center Predictive Services reports on the latest deployments with a map, pictures, and commentary. I like this report because they provide an easy way to read updates on where Eastern Area crews are deployed and the fires they are working on.

Thank-you to all wildfire crews from the Eastern Area working on fires in other parts of the United States. Stay safe. 

Note: scroll down to see the content, the map may not display in the Chrome Browser.

2025 Wildfire Season: West Dalhousie/Long Lake Wildfire Nova Scotia Canada

Direct link to August 26th video from CBC News Nova Scotia

Thanks to  a friend in eastern Canada who told me about the West Dalhousie/Long Lake Wildfire that is currently burning in Nova Scotia. The latest information is that this wildfire has burned  8,278 hectare (20,455 acres) with approximately 1,000 people being evacuated due to this wildfire that was first reported on August 13th. The fire is categorized as being out of control. For more information see this August 27th (9:31 AM) article from CBC Nova Scotia with photos and a video. Another media report on this fire may be found on Global News (dated on or about August 26th. You may also want to see the Interactive Map from Canada's Natural Resources that I accessed a couple of hours ago, the fire name is "06-007-2025"

According to the latest updates from Nova Scotia DNR posted on X (formerly Twitter) that I am unable to embed but you can find the information about this fire at the Nova Scotia DNR post to X (formerly Twitter) at 10:10 AM on August 27th (note that you may not be able to access the link without an account on X). To review what the Nova Scotia DNR said this morning: "The Long Lake Wildfires Complex is now estimated at 8,278 hectares. ... no new reports of damage to homes. ... Air resources: 6 helicopters, 6 planes plus bird dogs." 

2025 Canadian Wildfires: More on Newfoundland & Labrador Wildfires

 

Direct link to August 19th video from CBC on YouTube

I continue to monitor the wildfires in Newfoundland and am now including Labrador. I just went to the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website to check out the information (including a map)accessed on August 20th at 10 AM. Note that I am unable to access the Wildfire Dashboard on Chrome on my Mac, but the link works in Firefox and Safari.

By far the largest of the three out of control wildfires burning in Newfoundland and Labrador is the Kingston Fire in eastern Newfoundland, first reported on August 3rd, that has burned 10,708 hectares or 26,440 acres. and is still out of control. This is over double the hectares burned (5,236) that I wrote about in my August 11th post. According the CBC August 19th report that includes excerpts from a press conference by John Hogan, the Newfoundland  & Labrador Premier the fire has burned 107 square kilometers due to better and more accurate fire mapping. For reference, 107 square kilometers is 10,700 hectares. He reports that an estimated 203 structures have been lost and some of these structures are not residences but may be sheds, a school and the like. Finally he reported that water bombers and five heavy helicopters worked the fire on August 19th.

Other wildfires burning in Newfoundland & Labrador as of August 19th are two other fires that are out of control:

• Martin Lake Fire also in eastern Newfoundland that I last reported on August 5, has burned 1,770 hectares or 4,374 acres, an increase of over 1,100 hectares burned that I wrote about on August 11th.
• Udjuktok Bay Fire in Labrador, first reported on August 8th, has burned 571 hectares or 1,411 acres.

The Holyrood Fire in eastern Newfoundland, first reported on August 4th is under control at 22 hectares or 54 acres.

Finally the Paddy's Pond Fire, first reported on August 11th is being held at 318 hectares or 786 acres.

Definitions from the Wildfire Dashboard:

• Out of Control: A wildfire not responding or only responding on a limited basis to suppression action such that the perimeter spread is not being contained.
• Being Held: With currently committed resources, sufficient action has been taken to prevent fire spread beyond existing or predetermined boundaries on a percentage of the fire based on prevailing and forecasted conditions
• Under Control: A wildfire having received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further spread of the fire.

All of Canada is having a severe wildfires season. For the latest information on wildfires in all of Canada go to this interactive map from Canada's Natural Resources, click on overlay and you can select various overlay options including but not limited to active wildfires. For example, there is a 3,210 hectare out of control fire burning in Nova Scotia and several out of control fires in New Brunswick.

2025 Wildfire Season: Canadian Wildfire Season 2nd Worse Fire Season

Direct link to August 13h YouTube video from CHCH News

I have a couple of friends who live in Canada and are deeply concerned about the wildfires burning in their province. I also have a couple of friends who live in the northern United States not far from the Canadian border. As someone who writes about aerial wildland firefighting and related issues, I want to express my concern for the severe wildfire season across all of Canada, the second worst season in Canada to date. I want to thank my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page for sharing this video the other day, it is possible that I may not have found this video on my own. I wish all in Canada living hear wildfires my prayers for their safety. I hope that you heed any evacuation orders. I understand that structures including residences have been destroyed. I pray for the safety of all wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air as well as their support teams. I understand that aerial resources have been deployed to some of the the wildfires burning in Canada.

For the latest information on wildfires in all of Canada go to this interactive map from Canada's Natural Resources, click on overlay and you can select various overlay options, e.g. active wildfires. If you click on the circular icon for a wildfire of interest to you, you should be able to get information on that fire.

NWS Incident Meteorologist at Dragon Bravo Fire (No Rim Grand Canyon)

I want to start by reminding my readers about the important work that National Weather Service (NWS) Incident Meteorologists (IMETs) do. IMETs are NWS meteorologists that receive special training to go onsite to wildfires to provide weather forecasts for the particular incident they are assigned to. They will do daily briefings and more if necessary. The goal is to keep wildland firefighters and others on site safe from harm from wildfires. IMETs may also be deployed to other disasters such as hurricanes, and flooding. For more information about what IMETs do, please go to Eyes on the Sky: A Day in the Life of an Incident Meteorolgists on the Front LInes of a Fire to read more about what IMETs do and what a typical day is like for an IMET assigned to a fire.. In addition to you may want to go my July 30th post where I shared a 12 minute video from NOAA Boulder .

Direct link to Aug 12th Facebook post by the US National Weather Service IMET where they shared this post on the Dragon Bravo Fire

I have been aware of the Dragon Bravo Wildfire  that was first reported on July 4th, caused by lightning.  As I write this post on Aug 13th at 2 PM, 144,432 acres have burned and it is 44 percent contained. Evacuations, restrictions and closures remain in effect. I am glad to know that an IMET is assigned to this fire.

2025 Canadian Wildfire Season: Kingston Wildfire, eastern Newfoundland

Direct link to Aug 9th video from The Candian Press on YouTube

On August 6th I wrote about wildfires burning in eastern Newfoundland with updated information on August 7th and 9th. I am focusing today on the Kingston Wildfire in eastern Newfoundland. I went to the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website to check out the information (including a map) they have on wildfires in Newfoundland (accessed on Aug 11th at 12:30 PM) Before a discuss the Kingston Wildfire, a brief update. The Holyrood Wildfire in eastern NF is now under control at 22 hectares or 54 acres burned. The Martin Lake Wildfire in central NF is still out of control with a slight increase in acreage burned of 265 hectares or 655 acres burned, up from 150 hectares that I reported on August 6th. 

All of Canada is seeing a lot of wildfires, for the latest information on wildfires in all of Canada go to this interactive map from Canada's Natural Resources, click on overlay and you can select various overlay options, e.g. active wildfires and fire danger. For example a friend told me about wildfires in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

Moving to the Kingston Wildfire that has burned 5,236 hectares or 12,938 acres, up from 721 hectares on August 6th.  According to the Canadian Press video evacuation remain in place and new orders have been placed due to extreme wildfire behavior ground crews were removed because of safety considerations. The government declared a state of emergency on August 9th covering the areas in Newfoundland affected by recent wildfires.

I found an August 10th report on the Kingston Fire on CBC that may be here. They say that more structures are threatened but due to the extreme fire behavior they have not been able to confirm if more structures have been destroyed. In addition, they report that there are airtankers and helicopters, including at least one high capacity helicopter, and a bird dog aircraft working this wildfire in support of the ground crews.

2025 Wildfires: Gifford Wildfire in CA Among Largest of 2025

As I write this on August 8th at 11:45 AM, the Gifford Wildfire has burned 99,232 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties in California. The fire is at 15 percent containment. Evacuations are in place and there are some road closures in the fire area. The fire was first reported on August 1st. See this Inciweb report on the Gifford Wildfire (updated at least daily while fire is active, you can find photographs and videos on Inciweb. High temperatures, low humidity and high winds are challenging the firefighters. There is aerial support. 

Please take a couple of minutes to watch this August 7th video from KSBY on YouTube from a Santa Barbara County official on the Gifford Fire. I am sorry that I am uable to embed this video here to share with you, but I liked this brief update.

In the map below you can see the progression of this wildfire. 

2025 Eastern Canada Wildfire Season: early August

August 6. 9:40 AM

Direct link to August 5th video from Global News on YouTube

Thanks to my friend in eastern Canada who told me yesterday about more fires in Newfoundland and sent me the video that I am sharing with you. 

 I just went to the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website to check out the information (including a map) they have on wildfires in Newfoundland. According to the information that I saw as I posted this article (9:30 AM EDT on Aug 6) there are three out of control wildfires in eastern and central Newfoundland:

• Kingston Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 3rd with 721 hectares or 1,782 acres burned
• Holyrood Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 4th with 22 hectares or 54 acres burned
• Martin Lake Wildfire (central NF), reported on August 5th with 150 hectares or 371 acres burned

If hectares burned in any of these three fires changes, I will update this post below, just scroll down.

The Wildfire Dashboard defines an out of control fire as "a wildfire not responding or only responding on a limited basis to suppression action such that the perimeter of spread is not being contained."

A map of current and past wildfires in Nova Scotia may be found on this webpage

I understand from the video that Nova Scotia is on heightened alert for possible wildfire starts. Both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have banned outdoor wildfires. Information on Nova Scotia burn bans may be found here. More information about wildfire season in Newfoundland may be found on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website.

Aug 7, 6:15 AM

I made a serious error in my Aug 6th entry where I did not refer to hectares burned. I corrected that entry to refer to hectares burned with a conversion to acres burned for readers in the U.S. 

Latest figures from the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website. The Kingston Wildfire has doubled in size and the Martin Lake Wildfire has a minor increase in size.

• Kingston Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 3rd with 1,432 hectares or 3,539 acres burned
• Holyrood Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 4th with 22 hectares or 54 acres burned
• Martin Lake Wildfire (central NF), reported on August 5th with 210 hectares or 519 acres burned

August 9, 6:51 PM

Latest figures from the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website. The Kingston Wildfire has again doubled in size  and the Martin Lake Wildfire has a minor increase in size. 

The Wildfire Dashboard defines being held as follows: "With currently committed resources, sufficient action has been taken to prevent fire spread beyond existing or predetermined boundaries on a percentage of the fire based on prevailing and forecasted conditions."

• Kingston Wildfire (eastern NF) remains out of control, reported on August 3rd with 3,001 hectares or 7,416 acres burned.
• Holyrood Wildfire (eastern NF), reported on August 4th with 22 hectares or 54 acres burned is now reported as being held.
• Martin Lake Wildfire (central NF) remains out of control, reported on August 5th with 245 hectares or 605. acres burned.

2025 Canadian Wildfire Season: Final update, Musgrave Harbor and Chance Harbour Wildfires

 I just went to the Wildfire Dashboard on the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Website to check the size of the Chance Harbour (1800 hectares) and the Ragged Harbour (1,660 hectares) Wildfires. I wrote about these wildfires on July 21st  and July 23rd I am pretty certain, but I could be wrong, that the Chance Harbour Wildfire is what is also referred to as the Musgrave Harbour Wildfire as it does appear to be burning near Musgrave Harbor.

The good news is that the Chance Harbour Wildfire is under control at 1,820 hectares (4,497 acres). According to the Wildfire Dashboard under control means "A wildfire having received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further spread of the fire."

The Ragged Harbour Wildfire is being held at 1,589 hectares (3,927 acres). According to the Wildfire Dashboard being held means "With currently committed resources, sufficient action has been taken to prevent fire spread beyond existing or predetermined boundaries on a percentage of the fire based on prevailing and forecasted conditions"