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Wildland Fire Science Strategy

New USGS Strategy Harnesses State-of-the-Art Science to Tackle Wildfires Before, During and After the Flames

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USGS Wildland Fire Science

Supporting the Nation's Wildland Fire Management Challenges

About Fire Science

USGS Fast Fire Facts

You’ve got questions about USGS fire science. We’ve got answers.

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USGS Emergency Assessment of Post-Fire Debris-Flow Hazards

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How Wildfires Threaten U.S. Water Supplies

The USGS is working to measure and predict post-fire water quality and quantity.

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Wildland Fire Science

USGS Fire Science is fundamental to understanding the causes, consequences, and benefits of wildfire and helps prevent and manage larger, catastrophic events. USGS scientists possess diverse technical capabilities that are used to address a variety of problems posed by wildland fires. Outcomes of USGS science can be used by fire and land managers to respond to fire-related issues when they arise.

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Diverse Fire Science Topics

Large flames from a controlled fire experiment rise into the air as instruments record data

Learn more about the different ways that USGS science is used for wildland fire management.

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Browse USGS Fire Science Publications

Alder Fire in Yellowstone National Park

Get more information about recent scientific publications produced by USGS that deal with wildland fire science.

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Current Wildfire Hazards in the U.S.

Intterra National Fire Situation map August 2020

Use the Intterra National Fire Situation map tool to view current wildfires and related information.

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News

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New "Fueling Discovery" Wildland Fire Science Webinar Slated for October 10, 2023

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Webinar Series - Fueling Discovery with USGS Wildland Fire Science

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Friday's Findings - May 19 2023

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Publications

A retrospective assessment of fuel break effectiveness for containing rangeland wildfires in the sagebrush biome

Escalated wildfire activity within the western U.S. has widespread societal impacts and long-term consequences for the imperiled sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) biome. Shifts from historical fire regimes and the interplay between frequent disturbance and invasive annual grasses may initiate permanent state transitions as wildfire frequency outpaces sagebrush communities’ innate capacity to recover. The
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Cali L. Weise, Brianne E. Brussee, Douglas J. Shinneman, Peter S. Coates, Michele R. Crist, Cameron L. Aldridge, Julie A. Heinrichs, Mark A. Ricca
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wildland Fire Science

Forecasting natural regeneration of sagebrush after wildfires using population models and spatial matching

ContextAddressing ecosystem degradation in the Anthropocene will require ecological restoration across large spatial extents. Identifying areas where natural regeneration will occur without direct resource investment will improve scalability of restoration actions.ObjectivesAn ecoregion in need of large scale restoration is the Great Basin of the Western US, where increasingly large and frequent w
Authors
Andrii Zaiats, Megan E Cattau, David Pilliod, Liu Rongsong, Juan M. Requena-Mullor, Trevor Caughlin
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Wildland Fire Science

Future direction of fuels management in sagebrush rangelands

Sagebrush ecosystems in the United States have been declining since EuroAmerican settlement, largely due to agricultural and urban development, invasive species, and altered fire regimes, resulting in loss of biodiversity and wildlife habitat. To combat continued conversion to undesirable ecological states and loss of habitat to invasive species fueled by frequent fire, a variety of fuel treatment
Authors
Douglas J. Shinneman, Eva Strand, Mike Pellant, John T. Abatzoglou, Mark W. Brunson, Nancy Glenn, Julie A. Heinrichs, Mojtaba Sadegh, Nicole Vaillant
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Wildland Fire Science
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Science

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charred, bare trees on a mountain side

About Wildfires

Over the last several decades, both the incidence of large wildfires and the duration of the wildfire season across much of the United States have increased (Westerling and others, 2006, American Water Works Assn, 2008; Finco and others, 2012). Future wildfire projections based on forecasted climate scenarios indicate both an increase in the expected severity of wildfires, and an expansion of...
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California Water Science Center, Wildland Fire Science
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About Wildfires

Over the last several decades, both the incidence of large wildfires and the duration of the wildfire season across much of the United States have increased (Westerling and others, 2006, American Water Works Assn, 2008; Finco and others, 2012). Future wildfire projections based on forecasted climate scenarios indicate both an increase in the expected severity of wildfires, and an expansion of...
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photo of dirt road cutting through sagebrush habitat, blue partly cloudy skies above

Gunnison Sage-grouse Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET)

In partnership with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and other partners, scientists from USGS Fort Collins Science Center are working to create a suite of prioritization scenarios that will inform adaptive management for Gunnison sage-grouse.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center, Wildland Fire Science
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Gunnison Sage-grouse Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET)

In partnership with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and other partners, scientists from USGS Fort Collins Science Center are working to create a suite of prioritization scenarios that will inform adaptive management for Gunnison sage-grouse.
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A meadow of green grass and shrubs and yellow, orange, and purple wildflowers bordered by pine trees

Using Vegetation Trends and Fire Risk Simulations to Prioritize Management Interventions on National Park Service Lands in Southern Idaho

City of Rocks National Reserve and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve are lands managed by the National Park Service that contain ecologically valuable stands of sagebrush and unique forest communities that are at risk due to wildfire and invasion by exotic annual grasses. We are working to determine the extent of invasion and to provide park managers with wildfire risk assessments...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Wildland Fire Science
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Using Vegetation Trends and Fire Risk Simulations to Prioritize Management Interventions on National Park Service Lands in Southern Idaho

City of Rocks National Reserve and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve are lands managed by the National Park Service that contain ecologically valuable stands of sagebrush and unique forest communities that are at risk due to wildfire and invasion by exotic annual grasses. We are working to determine the extent of invasion and to provide park managers with wildfire risk assessments...
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