Firebomber Publications Blog

Federal lab cuts could hamper fire forecasting efforts

2026-06-08T11:35:57.214-07:00

Potential further cuts to federal science programs are threatening weather forecasts crucial to predicting wildfire behavior, of concern following an exceptionally dry winter which saw an anemic amount of snowfall across much of the Mountain West.

Federal lab cuts could hamper fire forecasting efforts

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The Most Comprehensive Wildfire Budget Ever: Fully Funds USWFS, Improves Employee Housing, Expands Hazard Pay, Multi-Year Aviation Contracts, Tech, Post Fire, And Tons More.

2026-06-05T11:22:15.871-07:00

The House Committee on Appropriations funding report, which was just released on Thursday, contains many wildfire-related priorities, and underscores the importance of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service across multiple sections.

The Most Comprehensive Wildfire Budget Ever: Fully Funds USWFS, Improves Employee Housing, Expands Hazard Pay, Multi-Year Aviation Contracts, Tech, Post Fire, And Tons More.

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New 2,800-Gallon Helicopter Will Help Fight Wildfires Near Mammoth

2026-06-04T11:10:52.214-07:00

The wildfire suppression toolkit just got bigger in California's Eastern Sierra with the stationing of a CH-47D Chinook helicopter at Mammoth Yosemite Airport, just outside the ski resort town of Mammoth Lakes at Mammoth Yosemite Airport.

New 2,800-Gallon Helicopter Will Help Fight Wildfires Near Mammoth

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Climate change and aerial firefighting technology

2026-06-03T11:44:29.338-07:00

AirMed&Rescue provided an overview of the aerial firefighting industry worldwide as climate change lengthens wildfire seasons across hemispheres and increases outbreak frequency and fire size, exploring what new technologies are being developed to address this growing threat.

Climate change and aerial firefighting technology

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Getting ahead of wildfires: becoming proactive as opposed to reactive

2026-06-02T11:19:20.173-07:00

AirMed&Rescue surveyed air-tanker operators to find out more about how they are trying to become proactive rather than reactive in their wildfire preparations in a year which looks to be a busy one for wildfires in the U.S and beyond.

Getting ahead of wildfires: becoming proactive as opposed to reactive

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NWA June Newsletter

2026-06-01T11:40:14.302-07:00

The National Wildfire Alliance sent along their latest newsletter.

NWA June Newsletter

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The State of Our Nation’s Federal Forests and Outlook for the 2026 Wildfire Year

2026-05-29T11:18:38.089-07:00

The Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold an oversight hearing titled “The State of Our Nation’s Federal Forests and Outlook for the 2026 Wildfire Year” on Wednesday, June 3rd at 10:15 AM, in Room 1324 at the Longworth House Office Building, in Washington, DC.

The State of Our Nation’s Federal Forests and Outlook for the 2026 Wildfire Year

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Map Shows US Areas Most at Risk of Wildfire This Summer

2026-05-28T11:14:42.295-07:00

The National Interagency Fire Center’s seasonal outlook map shows that large swaths of the United States facing heightened wildfire risk this summer, with dry conditions and rising temperatures setting the stage for another dangerous season across multiple regions.

Map Shows US Areas Most at Risk of Wildfire This Summer

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New analysis finds U.S. Forest Service treated 35% fewer acres for wildfire risk in 2025

2026-05-27T11:41:17.810-07:00

A new analysis by the Center for Western Priorities finds that the U.S. Forest Service treated roughly 35% fewer acres of hazardous fuels in 2025 than in 2024, a sharp decline that leaves communities across the West and Southeast more exposed to the risk of catastrophic wildfires.

New analysis finds U.S. Forest Service treated 35% fewer acres for wildfire risk in 2025

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The A-10 Warthog Firefighting Aircraft that never was

2026-05-26T11:46:08.909-07:00

A retrospective takes a look back to 2014, when the USA Firefighting Air Corps (USAFAC) made a presentation to the Colorado legislature’s Wildfire Matters Review Committee urging them to acquire military surplus A-10s and then, through a public-private partnership, convert and operate them as wildland firefighting air-tankers.

The A-10 Warthog Firefighting Aircraft that never was

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The satellite that has been tracking Earth's wildfires for 24 years is running out of fuel to dodge debris — and when it finally can't, the climate record it spent two decades building goes with it

2026-05-22T12:06:28.127-07:00

NASA's Aqua satellite is in trouble, with NASA's Land Data Products Evaluations Assessment showing multiple occasions on which errors occurred in the satellite’s fire-tracking dataset due to it having to maneuver to avoid a collision with incoming space debris, something which diminishing fuel may make impossible in the near future.

The satellite that has been tracking Earth's wildfires for 24 years is running out of fuel to dodge debris — and when it finally can't, the climate record it spent two decades building goes with it

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The Firestorm after the Flames

2026-05-21T11:12:10.093-07:00

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Jim Petersen, Founder and President of the Evergreen Foundation, sent along the latest issue of Evergreen Magazine, in which Wildfire NOTD subscriber Frank Carroll, Partner at Wildfire Pros PFMc, disputes one of the most protected assumptions in today’s federal wildfire policy: that allowing some wildfires to burn under the banner of “managed fire” is a sound restoration strategy.

The Firestorm after the Flames

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Watch: Firefighters take to the sky to save homes from Sandy Fire in Southern California

2026-05-20T11:56:57.921-07:00

Fox News provided video with a bird's-eye view of Ventura County's Sandy Fire from above, shot through the windshield of a firefighting helicopter flying over Southern California neighborhoods choked by smoke from the massive blaze.

Watch: Firefighters take to the sky to save homes from Sandy Fire in Southern California

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Wildfires Burning Across Southern Plains and Southwest Seen in Satellite View

2026-05-19T11:30:00.222-07:00

Satellite imagery captured multiple wildfires burning across New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, and Oklahoma on May 17th, including the Sharpe Fire, which had burned more than 28,000 acres in Oklahoma and Colorado, the 14,000-acre Hungate Fire in the Texas Panhandle, and several active blazes in New Mexico.

Wildfires Burning Across Southern Plains and Southwest Seen in Satellite View

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Wildfire risk to focus across the Southwest, Plains

2026-05-18T11:25:05.104-07:00

AccuWeather meteorologists warned that a storm moving through the Rockies will lead to an increased risk of wildfires starting and rapidly spreading across portions of the Southwest and Plains early this week.

Wildfire risk to focus across the Southwest, Plains

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Multiple wildfires burning in TX & OK panhandles, eastern NM

2026-05-15T11:33:55.207-07:00

Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico are being pummeled by a series of wildfires which have forced evacuations, including the 14,000-acre Hunggate Fire in Randall County, which has been brought to 30% containment.

Multiple wildfires burning in TX & OK panhandles, eastern NM

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USDA Forest Service Pushes Forward On Landmark Disaster Recovery

2026-05-14T11:26:12.906-07:00

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Tom Schultz, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, discussed recovery efforts across national forests and grasslands which continue to progress following damage caused over three years by natural disasters, including wildfires, which are made possible by $6.35 billion in disaster recovery supplemental funding allocated to the agency through the American Relief Act of 2025.

USDA Forest Service Pushes Forward On Landmark Disaster Recovery

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Worst Start to Wildfire Season Raises Alarm as El Niño Threatens

2026-05-13T11:44:39.200-07:00

Record-breaking heat and drought have fueled the world’s worst-ever start to a wildfire year, with more than 150 million hectares burned worldwide, according to satellite estimates from the Global Wildfire Information System - an area nearly the size of Alaska and roughly double the seasonal average for this period.

Worst Start to Wildfire Season Raises Alarm as El Niño Threatens

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VIDEO: Cal Fire air tanker paints CHP motor officer and bike bright red in Templeton

2026-05-12T11:23:11.313-07:00

A California Highway Patrol motorcycle got an unexpected paint job when a CAL FIRE S-2T air-tanker dropped retardant on a wildfire burning near the San Luis Obispo County community of Templeton over the weekend.

VIDEO: Cal Fire air tanker paints CHP motor officer and bike bright red in Templeton

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'We're dry:' The new U.S. Wildland Fire Service prepares for extreme fire season

2026-05-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Brian Fennessy, Director of the US Wildland Fire Service, warned that it's extremely dry across the U.S. and that the agency is facing one of the most severe fire seasons in recent history.

'We're dry:' The new U.S. Wildland Fire Service prepares for extreme fire season

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Every dollar spent on forest fuel treatments saves $3.75 in wildfire damages, study finds

2026-05-08T10:53:25.633-07:00

A new study published in the journal Science by researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that every dollar spent on forest fuel treatments across the western U.S. saves about $3.75 in wildfire damage.

Every dollar spent on forest fuel treatments saves $3.75 in wildfire damages, study finds

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Over Five Years of Aerial Firefighting

2026-05-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

The principal manager of Business Resiliency at Southern California Edison discussed the power utility's continued support for the Quick Reaction Force, a helitanker partnership which gives Southern California counties significant wildfire-fighting assets, including three Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters and a S-76 intelligence aircraft.

Over Five Years of Aerial Firefighting

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The West heads for wildfires unprepared

2026-05-06T11:09:14.813-07:00

As the West heads into what is projected to be a dangerous wildfire season following a dry winter and historically low snowpack, an Op-Ed piece sounded the alarm about the sharp decline in the number of Incident Management Teams expected to ride herd on wildland blazes.

The West heads for wildfires unprepared

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Destructive wildfire types targeted under new US ‘BRUSH Fire Act’

2026-05-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Hunter Bassler, a Journalist at the IAWF's Wildfire Today, reported that the "Building Resiliency and Understanding of Shrublands to Halt Fires Act," or BRUSH Fires Act, which is aimed at improving officials’ understanding of wildfires in ecosystems dominated by small plants, recently cleared its first hurdle in Congress.

Destructive wildfire types targeted under new US ‘BRUSH Fire Act’

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NWA May Newsletter

2026-05-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

The National Wildfire Alliance sent along their latest newsletter.

NWA May Newsletter

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