Fire is a natural and essential component of many ecosystems. When managed properly, it serves as an effective tool for maintaining and restoring ecological balance. By integrating fire into land management practices, we’re supporting biodiversity and sustaining resilient ecosystems for wildlife and people.
What We Do
Our Services
Approximately 55 percent (50 million acres) of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands—including marshes, forests, and prairies—have evolved with fire and benefit from periodic fire to maintain their health and productivity. Low intensity fire, like prescribed fire, help to prevent the buildup of combustible materials, which in turn reduces wildfire risk to communities, and promotes the growth of native vegetation, and enhance habitats for wildlife.
Nationally, across Service lands:
- 370,000 acres burn in wildfires annually (10-year average)
- 342,845 acres are treated with prescribed fire annually (10-year average)
- 498 FWS fire management professionals
- Fire-adapted vegetation supports habitat for key species, including threatened and endangered species
Latest Stories and Topics
Stories
Emergency Management
On Aug. 5, a lightning strike started the fire that quickly spread to over 65,000 acres – nearly 24% of the refuge. Beginning Sept. 2, visitors will have access to 186,000 acres of the refuge.
Emergency Management
Brandon Williams, a USFWS wildland firefighter apprentice at San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex in California, took on the challenge of becoming a helitack crewmember — a firefighter specialized in wildland fire helicopter response.
Emergency Management
To reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire, in May 2024 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) fire managers joined other federal and state wildland fire personnel in conducting what may be the largest prescribed fire in Montana history. Funding for the prescribed fire came from the Bipartisan...
Our People
Andy Schell, Montana Fire Zone Assistant Fire Management Officer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, assists with wildfire management work in Madagascar through the U.S. Forest Service’s International Programs and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This year Andy...
Emergency Management
Hi! My name is Agustin Rodriguez, but my friends call me Jaime. I’m an Engine Captain at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in California. I grew up in a Spanish speaking household, and because of that I am fluent in Spanish and English. Being bilingual has provided me with some incredible...
Emergency Management
Life's journey often leads us down unexpected paths. One moment, you're entrenched in a career as a biological technician, the next, you find yourself amidst the flames as a wildland fire apprentice. Join us as we look at this apprentice’s journey into the world of wildland fire, exploring the...