US Fish & Wildlife, Fire Management Banner

International News

Break in Vegetation Aids Firefighters in Puerto Rico
2008

Employees Train Military and International Firefighters
August 2008

Refuge Fire Manager Trains International Firefighters
2008

Service Fire Pros Lend a Hand Down Under
2007

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Helps Fight Wildfires in Australia
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Fire Management - 2007

Preparedness Pays Off for Puerto Rico Refuges
2005

Firefighting Downunder-Style
National Interagency Fire Center - 2004

Refuges Assist Ugandan Firefighters
Mississippi Sandhill Crane and Piedmont National Wildlife Refuges - 2003

International Partnership Promotes Fuels Management
Columbia National Wildlife Refuge - 2003

Back to News Archives

News Headlines

Fires Burn in Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia

Did You Know...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages public land in every U.S. state and territory, including 547 national wildlife refuges and 69 national fish hatcheries.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages 75 million burnable acres, including 24 million acres of forest/brushland and 4 million acres of grassland.

More than 50% of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands in the continental U.S. (and more than 90% in Alaska) include fire-adapted ecosystems with vegetation dependent on periodic fire.

An average of 500 wildfires burn 260,000 acres each year on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands. The Service also burns about 300,000 acres a year using prescribed fire.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service annual fire program budget is approximately $80 million.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employs more than 530 permanent fire professionals, along with 270 seasonal and temporary fire employees during fire season.

More than 3,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees are qualified to assist with wildland fire management on an interagency basis.

The U.S. Fish and Wildland Service Fire Management Program protects more than 700 communities and wildland-urban interface areas.

70 % of lands managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are currently rated as Fire Regime Condition Class 1, meaning they are at low risk of sustaining loss of ecosystem components if a wildfire were to strike.

More than 90% of the hazardous fuels reduction by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is completed using prescribed fire.