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Wildland Fire Use

Fire plays a critical role in wildlands by recycling nutrients, regenerating plants and by reducing high concentrations of fuels that contribute to disastrous wildland fires. Land managers recognize the role that wildland fire plays in ecosystems and through careful planning, can manage naturally occurring fires, such as lightning ignitions, for resource benefits. One way to accomplish this is by using Fire Use Management Teams (FUMTs). Human caused fires are never used for resource benefit and always declared as an unwanted wildland fire to be suppressed using the most cost-effective means to protect lives, property, and the environment.

Smoke Mask

Wildland fire use is the management of naturally ignited wildland fire to accomplish resource management objectives for specific areas. There are three primary objectives for allowing wildland fire use:

  • Provide for the health and safety of firefighters and the public.
  • Maintain the natural ecosystems of a given area and allow fire to play its natural role in those ecosystems.
  • Reduce the risks and consequences of unwanted fire.
   
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 Fire Use Resources
Wildland Fire Situation Analysis - The Wildland Fire Situation Analysis (WFSA) is a software package designed to assist managers in developing and documenting the Wildland Fire Situation Analysis and Wildland Fire Use assessments and plans.
Interagency Wildland Fire Use Management Teams - The Fire Use Management Teams (FUMTs) provide a specialized management organization to fulfill the need for assigned resource support to fire use actions that exceed local units' management capability at activity levels experienced during long duration situations or when preparedness levels are high and high priority fires with protection objectives are requiring large resource commitments.
Fire Use Modules - The Fire Use Module (FUM) Program has developed teams of experienced and trained fire personnel and whose mission is to develop and provide national self-sufficient, multi-skilled fire professionals with a primary commitment to fire use operations and planning.
Fire Use Training Center - The Southwest Fire Use Training Academy (FUTA) is an interagency program uniquely blends classroom and prescribed burning field experience on forests and rangelands throughout the United States.
 

 

 
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