Fire Management Handbook

Fire Management Handbook

The purpose of the Fire Management Handbook is to provide general operational guidance for fire management activities in the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Fire Management Handbook is U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specific information supplemented with the Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations Handbook (Redbook) NFES #2724 and compliments the policies, guidance, and standards for fire management presented in the Department of the Interior Departmental Manual, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Manual, Incident Pocket Response Guide (IRPG) NFES #1077, Fireline Handbook NFES #0065, Wildland Fire Qualifications System Guide NFES #1414, and Interagency Incident Business Management Handbook NFES #2160.  Any inconsistencies with the Departmental and Service Manuals or NWCG standards will be resolved in their favor. 

The format of the Fire Management Handbook was changed in October 1, 2004, to reflect Redbook organization. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specific information is updated annually.  This information provides policy guidance and references technical information for specific management implementation activities.  The FWS Specific Information that expands upon Redbook material is referencel by Chapter-Page-Line Number ( i.e., 11-13-25)

Individual chapter links are portable document format files (pdf) and requires the Acrobat Reader plug-in. A complete portable document format version of the Fire Management Handbook (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specific information plus Redbook) is available for viewing on line, downloading for viewing off line and printing. Each FWS Specific Information chapter can also be viewed on line, printed, or downloaded and saved for viewing off line using the Acrobat Reader save and print functions. 

Links from pdf files to pdf files using Microsoft Internet Explorer may cause an ActiveX security error. Installing and using Firefox or a non-Microsoft browser is recommended.

Useful applications (i.e., forms, plan format outline, etc.) are provided in appropriate application format for downloading.

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.

Historically, an acre was the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in one day. This measures 90% of a football field. There are 640 acres in a square mile.

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