Don't Fly Drones Near Wildfires

Direct link to August 2025 video on YouTube from Airborne Firefighters

You will hear Chief Krussow, CAL Fire Battalion Chief and Air Tactical Group Supervisor. discuss why flying drones and airplanes near wildfires is dangerous. As you will see in the video, there are temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) over some wildfires but it takes some time to get a TFR over a wildfire so many wildfires don't have TFRs. If you are flying a drone or a general aviation airplane you should heed any TFRs you see as you plan your flights. However, you may see smoke when there is not a TFR and you should keep your drone at least 15 miles from any smoke, the same holds for airplanes. Maintaining a 15 mile distance from wildfires will avoid a mid-air collision that could cost lives in the air and on the on ground.  

While the focus of this video is on CAL FIRE's operations in California, some of what Chief Krussow discusses in the video, such as aerial aircraft flight levels over a fire, the role of air attack, as well as not flying over a wildfire applies across the country and globally. For example, in New Jersey when airtankers are deployed over a wildfire there is a NJ Forest Fire Service helicopter that is flying over the fire with one of their roles being to direct firefighting aircraft over the wildfire.

Many years ago when I was on a flight in a small airplane as a passenger, we saw smoke in the distance as well as signs of fire on the ground. The pilot stayed away and while it was likely that the wildfire we saw had already been reported the pilot reported the fire just to be on the safe side. 

Wildfires: 10 Standard Orders & 18 Watch Out Situations

Time for a review of how wildland firefighters stay safe while fighting wildfires. I am posting two short videos, one on the Ten Standard Fire Fighting Orders and the second on the Eighteen Watchout Situations.

Ten Standard Fire Fighting Orders

Direct link to March 2019 video from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group on YouTube

Eighteen Watch Out Situations

Direct link to March 2019 video from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group on YouTube

Drone Safety Near Fire Zones

Direct link to August 2025 video from the National Interagency Fire Center 

There are lot of good and safe uses for drones, and the FAA has regulations for flying drones including when drone owners must register their drones, for more information see this FAA website on unmanned aircraft systems (aka drones). In addition the Forest Service under the USDA has a nice webpage on the safe recreational use of drones that may be found here,  one of their bullet points focuses on operations near wildfires: "Never fly your UAS over or in close proximity to any fire operation (wildfire or prescribed).  UAS flights over fire operations disrupt aerial firefighting operations and create hazardous situations." I have nothing against drones, I have seen good drone footage and am aware that agencies and the media and individuals safely operate drones and follow FAA regulations in their drone operationms

The FAA has a pdf file that they call "Drones & Wildfires Digital Toolkit", they talk about flight restrictions that are often in place over wildfires, penalties for illegally flying drones near wildfires and how to report illegal drone activity near a wildfire. They also refer to how first responders can get approval to fly drones near a wildfire. They include a paragraph on why it is dangerous to fly drones near wildfires:

The US Forest Service states: 

Firefighting aircraft fly at very low altitudes, typically just a couple of hundred feet above the ground, the same altitude as drones flown by members of the public and others. This creates the potential for a mid-air collision or pilot distraction that could result in a serious or fatal accident. In addition, an unauthorized UAS that loses its communication link could fall from the sky, causing serious injuries or deaths of firefighters or members of the public on the ground. Unauthorized UAS flights could lead fire managers to suspend aerial wildfire suppression operations – such as airtankers dropping fire retardant and helicopters dropping water – until the UAS has left the airspace and they are confident it won’t return.

Please fly your drone safely and legally and please stay away from the airspace over wildfires.

Firefighting Helicopter near miss with a drone in Texas

Direct link to video from KBTX News on YouTube

This story from KBTX News illustrates the dangers in flying drones in fire zones. Last Friday a helicopter was flying a small fire in Caldwell County Texas when a drone came within several feet of colliding with the helicopter. The helicopter pilot had no way of knowing that the drone was near by. Please, no drones in fire zones. Thanks to Mike Archer from Wildfire News of the Day for pointing me to this article in his August 23 Wildfire News of the Day e-mail (go here for more information and to subscribe). 

Updated on August 25th: I only just saw a very good article by Kelly Anderson of Fire Aviation written on August 23rd titled 'PLEASE ground your drone, PLEASE'. He writes about the near miss of a drone and helicopter in Caldwell County Texas and about the importance of grounding drones over a wildfire.

Air tanker training (Oregon) with groundcrews

Training of airtanker pilots and new wildfire fighters along with recurrent training is crucial to safety and good fire fighting techniques. Communications are crucial wildland firefighting including but nor not necessarily limited to safety, weather, resource positioning and firefighting strategy  to name a few. When airtankers and or helicopters of any size are working a wildline fire communications between the tanker and the firefighters on the ground is important. In the video below from KOIN6 in Oregon you will get a birdseye view of Air Tractor Fire Boss training with wildland fire ground crews to practice good communications on the fireline. Thanks to my friends at NJFFS Section B10 who recently shared this video on their website.

Direct link to video from KOIN6 on YouTube

wildland fire fighting: 10 standard orders and 18 watchout situations

According to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group the 10 Standard Firefighting Orders and the 18 Watchout Situations 

provide wildland firefighters with a set of consistent best practices and a series of situations to be mindful of when responding to a wildland fire.

The 10 Standard Firefighting Orders are organized in a deliberate and sequential way to be implemented systematically and applied to all fire situations.

The 18 Watch Out Situations are more specific and cautionary, describing situations that expand the 10 Standard Firefighting Orders with the intent that if firefighters follow the Standard Firefighting Orders and are alerted to the 18 Watch Out Situations, much of the risk of firefighting can be reduced. (obtained on June 13, 2022 from The 10 Standard Firefighting Orders, PMS 110 from the Wildfire Coordinating Group

Please take a few moments to watch these two videos that discuss the the 10 Standard Firefighting Orders and the 18 Watchout Situations. I like to share these every so often and I think it has been awhile since I have done so.

Direct link to video from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (10 Standard Orders) on Youtube

Direct link to video from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (18 Watchout Situations) on YouTube

reflections on wildland firefighting

If you have read the about me page of my blog then you know that I am not nor have I ever been a wildland firefighter or any other kind of firefighter, nor am I licensed pilot. However, my interest in wildland firefighting whether it be on the ground or in the air is genuine. I am aware of the dangers involved in wildland firefighting on the ground and in the air. There is a reason why the wildland firefighters on the ground (aka groundpounders) where protective equipment, are trained in how to be safe, and carry and are trained in when and how to deploy fire shelters. There is also the importance of exercising safety precautions when using chain saws, and having an escape route. In spite of all that, accidents happen. Firefighters are injured and sometimes killed. 

In thinking about the dangers faced by groundpounders, I don't know about you, but I sometimes watch fire footage. Footage included structures burned, while depressing, shows the reality of what groundpounders assigned to some wildfires face. Whole towns can and have come close to being wiped out. Then there is the footage of close calls faced by ground pounders in engines or residents escaping a wildfire down a road with the raging fire on both sides, at times coming across the road. I am sure that many of you have seen such footage. I am not interested in that footage today. 

I am interested in raw wildfire footage, that is not too long, showing ground pounders with air support going about the business of fighting a wildfire and hopefully staying safe from the danger that surrounds them. I found some raw wildfire footage from KPIX CBS in San Francisco shot in July of this year of the River Fire that was then burning in Yosemite National Forest. The River Fire ultimately burned  9,656 acres and destroyed at 12 homes, see this article from the Visalia Times for more information. To the best of my knowledge, no firefighters were injured or killed on this fires, nor were any civilians injured or killed. The cause of the fire was under investigation

So I watched just under four minutes of footage of ground pounders working this fire a day or so after it was first reported. The lens of the camera allowed me to watch as an observer from the safety of my study. I get an extremely small taste of what it is like to watch ground pounders in action. But it is the best that I can do. 

I have oodles of respect for all ground pounders and for the pilots and crews working the fire from the air to support the ground pounders.  Thank-you ground pounders for all that you do in your efforts to keep us safe from wildfires. Sometimes you can not save our homes, that has to be hard. Sometimes you have to escape a dangerous situation to stay safe. And sometimes you mourn when ground pounders working the same fire die. I hope that my respect for you comes across in this post. There are times like this when I feel like my words are wholly inadequate, but my feelings and concern are genuine. In my own way, I pray daily for all of you.

Direct link to video from KPIX on Youtube

wildland firefighters: work capacity tests

Not too long after I began writing this blog on aerial wildland firefighting, I heard about the annual "pack test"  that wildland firefighters must pass before they can work on a wildfire crew fighting wildfires. The Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations (aka the Red Book) has chapter on Firefighter Training and Qualifications (Chapter 13 in the 2021 Red Book) where the pack test is called the "work capacity test. There are three levels of a work capacity tests depending on the job that the firefighter has as shown in this screenshot from The Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations (aka the Red Book), Chapter 13, p. 290)

The Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations (aka the Red Book), Chapter 13, p. 290)

The video that I am sharing with you about the work capacity test is from the National Interagency Fire Center. It is on the long side, over 12 minutes. It goes quickly. You will learn about the different types of Work Capacity Tests (shown in the image above), how fire fighters train for the work capacity test, and how the test is administered.

Direct link to video from National Interagency Fire Center uploaded by Ken Virden

Wildland firefighters: a look at one firefighter's "line pack"

I was shared a video on February 17th about what one engine crew carried in 2014 when his engine was deployed to work a fire. I got curious about what a wildland firefighter on a hand crew (with possibly longer deployments) might carry. While I am not wildland firefighter, I know enough to know that there are certain gear that most wildland firefighters on a hand crew will carry in the pack they take with them on the line(water, first aid kit, extra batteries, fire shelter to name a few). I believe that this pack is called a "line pack." Of course, each crew is responsible for taking items that they will need on the line such as prescription medications, vitamins and supplements, personal hygiene items, snacks, etc. 

I want to be clear, I am curious and am taking you along on my journey. Nothing more, nothing less. I have watched a few videos, each is different. I chose this one to share because it is short and to the point. This is what one wildland firefighter from the Bureau of Land Management in the Pacific Northwest put in his line pack in 2013.

Direct link to video from BLM Oregon

Wildland firefighters: PPE for an engine crew

Knowing that in many parts of the United States crews are starting to do their annual refresher training, I thought that I'd spend sometime (with the help of videos) looking at the gear they carry, a little about their annual refresher training, and other safety concerns. 

I spent some time looking at some videos about the gear that wildland firefighters carry and I liked this two part video (2014) by WranglerStar about the gear he carried while driving an engine. I liked this because he explained the reasoning behind the gear, and he is easy to listen to. Allow about ten minutes minutes for each video. It is a little long, but the time passed quickly and I learned. 

Direct link to video (part 1) by WranglerStar

Direct link to video (part 2) by WranglerStar

wildland firefighter safety: weather

I started writing about wildland firefighter safety last month, see this article for a synopsis including links to earlier articles in this series. One of the important considerations for wildland firefighter safety is weather. I am embedding another video from the WFSTAR series from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. My understanding is that the WFSTAR series of videos are used in wildland firefighter training, initial and/or refresher training. I have embedded WFSTAR videos in some of my earlier articles in this series.

Today's video is called Weather and Wind Warnings. In the video, you will hear Heath Hockenberry, National Fire Weather Program Leader, discuss weather and wind warnings and how to stay weather aware. While perhaps aimed at wildland firefighters, I think that anyone interested in wildland firefighting and how wildland firefighters stay safe will enjoy this video. And any weather geeks, like me, will also enjoy the video. In addition to discussing weather and wind warnings, Heath refers to Incident Meteorologists (IMETs) when these specially training National Weather Service Meteorologists are deployed to wildfires. I learned how wildland firefighters stay weather aware whether or not an IMET is deployed to their fire.

If a wildfire does not have an IMET deployed to their wildfire, incident commanders, supervisors and and others will be in touch with the local National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office for forecasts and as appropriate spot forecasts specific to the area where the wildfire is. The forecasts will be relayed to wildland firefighters in assembled briefings and/or over the radio.

After I saw Heath's video on weather and wind warnings, I wrote my friends at the IMET Office telling them what I was doing and asking Heath the following question:

Random Ramblings: Heath, what is one thing that you would like my readers to take away from this video?

Heath: I would say one of the key items found in the video is the section on personal responsibility. Your meteorologist's forecast can take you 90% of the way in understanding the type of conditions you can expect on a fire line. The last 10% of the way consists of watching for cumulus buildups, or watching the tops of the trees, or being aware of subtle changes in wind speeds and/or directions. Weather in complex terrain is highly variable and your IMET is there to provide the fire environment foundation. The actual experience of the weather rests upon that foundation, and personal situational assessment is key to minimize fire fighting dangers related to weather.

Allow just under thirteen minutes to watch the video. I don't know about, you I watched the video a couple of times.


Direct link to Weather and Wind Warnings from Youtube

I am still thinking about and doing background research for other articles in this series on wildland firefighter safety. Stay tuned.

wildland firefighter safety: synopsis and what is coming up

I recently wrote a few articles about wildland firefighter safety. Here is a listing of those recent articles for your convenience. These articles are only possible because of some excellent videos that I embed in each post as well other relevant materials that I have found on the internet.

June 12, 2019. 2019 wildfire seasons: reflections on being safe
June 14, 2019. wildland firefighter safety: 10 standard fire orders
June 17, 2019. wildland firefighter safety: 18 situations that shout watch out
June 21, 2019. wildland firefighter safety L.C.E.S.
June 24, 2019. wildland firefighter safety: personal protective equipment
June 26, 2019. wildland firefighter safety: fire shelters
June 28, 2019. wildland firefighter safety: training

I do plan to write additional articles about wildland firefighter safety, both on the ground and in the air. I am working on an article about weather that I hope to post in a week or so. As some of my long-time readers know, I have written about the safety of air operations over wildfires. Yes, I have written several articles about the danger that unmanned aircraft systems (aka drones) pose to aerial operations over wildfires (and to airports). But there are other aspects of aviation safety over wildfires that I have written about in the past and want to revisit, and possibly update including but not limited to: checklists, emergency retardant drops. temporary flight restrictions, winds, and smoke. At the very least, I want to spend some time reviewing the articles that I have written in the past before posting a link to those articles. 

wildland firefighter safety: training

Among the important things that I have learned in the ten years that I have been writing this blog on aerial wildland firefighting is the importance of training. All new wildland firefighters, whether they be entirely ground based, smokejumpers, tanker and helicopter pilots, ground-based support go through training when they first sign on. Often there is annual refresher training each year, for example an established crew may devote some time at the beginning of their season to any refresher training in addition to physical and endurance training in preparation for the fire season.

I have the utmost respect for any and all wildland firefighters whether they be ground-based or pilots or ground support staff. As I was reflecting on what I, someone who is not any kind of firefighter can say about training, I thought about a friend who was an airtanker pilot told me years ago about flying tankers, he said "see, I told you it is complicated." I thought about that phrase this week as I spent a few hours looking around for appropriate videos that I might share with you. Training, whether it be annual or refresher, is somewhat complicated. I feel that there is no way that I can adequately try to write about wildland firefighter training because it is not something that I have been through. Further, I quickly found that there is a lot of information out there, too much for one blog post, or even a series., I might well get in over my head if I am not careful.

But I did find a couple of videos in my wonderings on the internet this week that I am sharing with you to give us, who are not wildland firefighters, a very small taste of how new wildland firefighting recruits are trained. Perhaps the training will be different for your State agency or your nearby federal agency, but I think that you will get the idea. 

The first video is from the South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership summarizing a week long training for new wildland firefighter recruits in a 2018 Carmen Thomas Memorial Guard School. For more information on what you will see in the video below, go to the Guard School 2018: Wildland Firefighter Training Youtube Video and click the about tab, which says in part: 

Among other subjects, the course covered classes on safety, personal protective equipment, medical, mutual respect, fire behavior, weather impacts on fire, safety equipment usage, firefighting equipment usage, wildland urban interface concerns, hazardous materials awareness, transportation safety, communications, map reading and fire investigations. Training culminated with a live fire exercise where students demonstrated their proficiency by combatting a prescribed fire initiated in a controlled environment by school cadre.

The second video is from KTVB 7, a news feature showing training of new wildland firefighters in Idaho.

direct link to video on Youtube from KTVB 7

wildland firefighter safety: fire shelters

Perhaps the most important piece of protective equipment that each wildland firefighter carries is her or his fire shelter. Deploying a fire shelter is a last resort when wildland firefighters are in danger of a burn over and are not near a safe zone. My purpose here is to refer to this piece of equipment, showing through a couple of videos how the shelter is deployed and also some survival stories.

Deploying a fire shelter, the fire shelter in the video is a demonstration model. A real fire shelter can only be deployed once. Learning how to deploy a fire shelter and practice doing so is a part of the annual and refresher training that wildland firefighters go through. 

Direct link to video from from The Bulletin on deploying a fire shelter

In the next video, one of thirteen videos from Wildland Fire LLC that Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today shared in April of this year, you will hear wildland firefighters who have deployed their fireshelters talk about their shelter deployment stories.

Fireshelter Deployment Stories from Wildland Fire LLC

Wildland firefighter safety: personal protective equipment

Those of you reading this who are not wildland firefighters have probably seen images or pictures of wildland firefighters wearing special clothing, boots, hard hats, etc and other personal protective equipment designed to keep wildland firefighters safe from burn and other injuries while on the fireline. The yellow flame resistant shirt (sometimes known as nomex and the flame resistant trousers, usually a dark color are likely familiar to many of you. I write about personal protective equipment (PPE) because wearing or carrying this PPE is very important for the safety of the wildland firefighters. I believe that many support personal on a wildfire will also wear PPE. It is not enough to wear the PPE, but as the video that I am sharing below points out, the PPE must be used safely.

I wanted to provide a list in this article of what PPE is, While I understand that there may be some variation within the United States and Internationally, I believe that this list will give you an idea of what PPE is. This comes from the 2019 edition of the Red Book: Interagency Standards for fire and Aviation Operations, Chapter 7 on Safety and Risk Management, pages 169-70, accessed from The National Interagency Fire Center on June 24, 2019.

Wildland Fire Field AttirePolyester, polypropylene, and nylon materials are not to be worn, because most synthetic fibers melt when exposed to flame or extreme radiant heat. Personnel should wear only undergarments made of 100 percent or the highest possiblecontent of natural fibers, aramid, or other flame-resistant materials. 

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) All personnel are required to use personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriate for their duties and/or as identified in JHAs/RAs. Employees must be trained to use safety equipment effectively.
Flame resistant clothing should be cleaned or replaced whenever soiled,especially when soiled with petroleum products. Flame resistant clothing will be replaced when the fabric is so worn as to reduce the protection capability of the garment or is so faded as to significantly reduce the desired visibility qualities. 

Required Fireline PPE•Wildland fire boots5
•Fire shelter (M-2002)
•Helmet with chinstrap
•Goggles/safety glasses (as identified by JHAs/RAs) •Ear plugs/hearing protection
•National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1977 compliant long-sleeved flame resistant shirt (yellow recommended)
•NFPA 1977 compliant flame resistant trousers
•Leather or leather/flame resistant combination gloves. Flame resistant flight gloves or NFPA 1977 compliant Driving Gloves can be used by heavy equipment operators, drivers and fireline supervisors when not using fireline hand tools.
•Additional PPE as identified by local conditions, Safety Data Sheet (SDS), or JHA/RA18 ○FS – Shirt, trousers, and gloves used by USFS personnel must meet Forest Service specification 5100-91 (shirt), 5100-92 (trousers), 6170-20 5 (gloves), or be NFPA 1977 compliant.

Wildland Fire Boot StandardPersonnel assigned to wildland fires must wear a minimum of 8-inch high, lace-type exterior leather work boots with lug melt-resistant soles. The 8-inch height requirement is measured from the bottom of the boot’s heel to the top of the 25 boot. Alaska is exempt from the lug sole requirement. All boots that meet the wildland fire boot standard as described above are required for firefighting and fireline visits, considered non-specialized PPE, and will be purchased by the employee (including AD/EFF) prior to employment. The agencies have authorized payment of a boot stipend. See agency specific guidance for implementation.

I am including a link to a webpage from Minnesota DNR on PPE because they add some things not included in the Red Book such as wearing all cotton garments under the shirt and pants, the types of socks to wear and wearing a flame resistant brush jacket. And they have a cool picture of a wildland firefighter.

Updated on December 20, 2020: The video that I linked to in the original article is no longer available.

Wildland firefighter safety: L.C.E.S.

I have been writing about wildland firefighter safety recently, for those who are interested see my June 14th article on the 10 Standard Fire Orders and my June 17th article on the 18 Situations that Shout Watch Out. Both articles include short videos that you can watch.

I continue with wildland firefighter safety with L.C.E.S.
Lookouts
Communications
Escape Routes
Safety Zones

According to the video you will see below, L.C.E.S. does not replace the 10 Standard Fire Orders and the 18 Situations that Shout Watchout (aka the 10 and 18). Rather L.C.E.S helps to reinforce and focus on important aspects of wildland firefighter safety.


Direct link to video from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group

I will be writing more about wildland firefighter safety in the coming days. I am still developing the rest of the articles in this series, please stay tuned. Also, the timing of the remaining articles in this series will depend on what else is going on as we move into the summer wildfire season.

Wildland firefighter safety: 18 Situations that Shout Watch Out

I wrote about the 10 Standard Firefighting Orders on June 14th, today I will write about the 18 Situations that Shout Watch Out. According to an article from the National Park Service which lists both the 10 Standard Firefighting Orders and the 18 Situations that Shout Watch Out:

These 18 situations are more specific and cautionary than the Standard Firefighting Orders. If firefighters follow the 10 Standard Firefighting Orders and are alerted to the 18 Watch-Out Situations, much of the risk of firefighting can be reduced.

The 18 Situations that Shout Watch Out are:

    1.   Fire not scouted and sized up.
    2.   In country not seen in daylight.
    3.   Safety zones and escape routes not identified.
    4.   Unfamiliar with weather and local factors influencing fire behavior.
    5.   Uninformed on strategy, tactics, and hazards.
    6.   Instructions and assignments not clear.
    7.   No communication link with crew members or supervisor.
    8.   Constructing line without safe anchor point.
    9.   Building fireline downhill with fire below.
    10. Attempting frontal assault on fire.
    11. Unburned fuel between you and fire.
    12. Cannot see main fire; not in contact with someone who can.
    13. On a hillside where rolling material can ignite fuel below.
    14. Weather becoming hotter and drier.
    15. Wind increases and/or changes direction.
    16. Getting frequent spot fires across line.
    17. Terrain and fuels make escape to safety zones difficult.
    18. Taking a nap near fireline.

Here is a short video about the 18 Situations that Shout Watch Out from the National Wildfire Coordination Group, Wildfire Safety Training Annual Refresher. It is just over six minutes.


Direct link to video

wildland firefighter safety: 10 standard fire orders

I have been reflecting on staying safe during wildfires recently so I decided to revisit the written tools that wildfire fighters use and commit to memory in order to be safe. The are the 10 standard fire orders, 18 watch out situations and L.A.C.E.S. in three articles, the first one being today on the 10 standard fire orders. I know that these written lists are used in the United States, I do not know if they are used internationally but I'd imagine that other countries have similar lists. I will then follow up on those three articles by looking at other ways wildland firefighters stay safe such as the use of fire shelters and the personal protective equipment that they wear.

10 Standard Fire Orders

These fire orders are grouped as follows: fire behavior, fireline safety, and organizational control. The National Wildfire Coordinating Agency has a nice short webpage listing the 10 Standard Fire Orders. The 10 Standard Fire Orders are:

Fire Behavior
1. Keep informed of fire weather conditions and forecasts.
2. Know what the fire is doing at all times.
3. Base all actions on current and expected behavior of the fire.
Fireline Safety
4. Identify escape routes and safety zones and make them known.
5. Post lookouts when there is possible danger.
6. Be alert. Keep calm. Think clearly. Act decisively.
Organizational Control
7. Maintain prompt communications with your forces, your supervisor, and adjoining forces.
8. Give clear instructions and be sure they are understood.
9. Maintain control of your forces at all times.
If 1-9 are considered, then...
10. Fight fire aggressively, having provided for safety first.

Here is a short video from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, Wildfire Safety Training and Annual Refresher (WFSTAR) it is under five minutes.



Direct link to video from National Wildfire Coordinating Group

Lightning safety for wildland firefighters

When I first wrote this post in February 2019 I had shared a nice video about lightning safety for wildland firefighters. Unfortunately, it is no longer available.

About Rhabdomyolysis and Wildland Firefighters

I hope that I never stop learning about wildfires and the risks that wildland firefighters take to protect us from wildfires. Several days ago, thanks to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildfire Page who shared a video from the Wildland Fire LLC, I learned about a medical condition known as Rhabdomyolysis and how Rhabdo (as it commonly called) affects wildland firefighters. Rhabdo can affect kidney function and sometimes leads to death. Before I share the video, Wildland Fire Lesson Learned has some materials on Rhabdomyolysis on their website that those of you who want to learn more may want to read. Wildland crew supervisors are encouraged to carry this one-pager that describes symptoms of Rhabdo that they and their crew should watch for, see the image below. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has written about Rhabdomyolysis (tagged posts), I point you to the article that he posted on May 17, 2016 about an analysis by the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center of May 2, 2016 Rhabdo injury.

obtained on June 2, 2017 from the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

Direct link to video by Wildland Fire LLC (about 21 minutes)