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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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Webinar Series - Fueling Discovery with USGS Wildland Fire Science

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Friday's Findings - May 19 2023

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USGS Firelight - Vol. 2 | Issue 1

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Publications

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
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

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
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Douglas J. Shinneman, Eva Strand, Mike Pellant, John T. Abatzoglou, Mark W. Brunson, Nancy Glenn, Julie A. Heinrichs, Mojtaba Sadegh, Nicole Vaillant
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Plant community trajectories following livestock exclusion for conservation vary and hinge on initial invasion and soil-biocrust conditions in shrub steppe

Adjustments or complete withdrawal of livestock grazing are among the most common conservation actions in semiarid uplands, but outcomes can vary considerably with ecological context. Invasion by exotic annual grasses and the excessive wildfire they promote are increasing threats to semiarid shrub-steppe, and plant-community response to livestock exclusion in these areas may be complicated by the
Authors
Matthew J. Germino, Chad Raymond Kluender, Christopher R. Anthony
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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Science

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College Peak wildfire in the Perilla Mountains of Arizona

Water Quality After Wildfire

Wildfires pose a substantial risk to water supplies because they can lead to severe flooding, erosion, and delivery of sediment, nutrients, and metals to rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. The USGS works with federal and state land managers and local water providers to monitor and assess water quality after wildfires in order to help protect our Nation’s water resources.
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Water Resources Mission Area
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Water Quality After Wildfire

Wildfires pose a substantial risk to water supplies because they can lead to severe flooding, erosion, and delivery of sediment, nutrients, and metals to rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. The USGS works with federal and state land managers and local water providers to monitor and assess water quality after wildfires in order to help protect our Nation’s water resources.
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Vegetation patterns affect both soil moisture and the amount of sunlight that reaches the soil.

Forest Ecology

In various universities, many of our Units are situated in schools, divisions, or colleges of forestry, ecology, natural resources, and life sciences. Forest ecology is the study of plants, animals, and ecosystems, and the interconnected processes in forests. Our forest ecologists lead research and teach courses on prescribed fire, chronic wasting disease in deer, white-nose syndrome in bats...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Fire Danger Forecast
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Forest Ecology

In various universities, many of our Units are situated in schools, divisions, or colleges of forestry, ecology, natural resources, and life sciences. Forest ecology is the study of plants, animals, and ecosystems, and the interconnected processes in forests. Our forest ecologists lead research and teach courses on prescribed fire, chronic wasting disease in deer, white-nose syndrome in bats...
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Acronym WFTT stands for Wildland Fire Trends Tool over a background of flames

Wildland Fire Trends Tool

The Wildland Fire Trends Tool (WFTT) is a data visualization and analysis tool that calculates and displays wildfire trends and patterns for the western U.S. based on user-defined regions of interest, time periods, and ecosystem types. Users can use the tool to easily generate a variety of maps, graphs, and tabular data products that are informative for all levels of expertise. The WFTT provides...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
link

Wildland Fire Trends Tool

The Wildland Fire Trends Tool (WFTT) is a data visualization and analysis tool that calculates and displays wildfire trends and patterns for the western U.S. based on user-defined regions of interest, time periods, and ecosystem types. Users can use the tool to easily generate a variety of maps, graphs, and tabular data products that are informative for all levels of expertise. The WFTT provides...
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