US wildfire sensors didn’t consistently detect fires, audit finds

The US Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General recently conducted an audit of the agency’s wildfire sensors, finding they did not consistently detect fires or alert state and local officials of the danger.

Officials analyzed data from sensors installed by the agency’s Science and Technology Directorate and N5 Sensors, Inc. between 2023 and 2024. The sensors allegedly collected evidence of wildfire conditions and used AI and machine learning to alert wildfire stakeholders of potential anomalies via text and email.

Federal officials and the company deployed 300 sensors to California, Colorado, Hawaii, Tennessee and Canada for a beta test of the technology. The $3 million project’s final report claimed the program was a success, with S&T officials saying it had “developed and tested advanced wildfire detection sensors capable of providing early warnings in real-world conditions.”

The Inspector General’s audit found that while the sensors did detect multiple fires before a 911 caller reported an ignition, they were inconsistent in doing so. The audit found numerous instances where the sensors either didn’t detect fires, declared false fires, or alerted first responders to fires long after they started.

“The wildfire detection sensors could not overcome environmental factors, including wind direction variability,” officials said in the audit. “Some partners detailed examples where sensors located close to a wildfire did not detect the fire because the wind was not blowing smoke toward the sensor. S&T’s wildfire sensor program final report affirms this point, citing instances where fires were not detected due to wind blowing away from sensors.”

S&T’s official report claimed the sensors’ AI algorithms would improve over time, but the audit said if this was true, the sensors would still be dependent on the wind carrying smoke particles to them. The official report also could not determine the number of data hours needed for the sensors’ AI to optimize wildfire detection capabilities.

Despite finding the deficiencies, officials did not make any recommendations in the report. The DHS contract with the sensor provider ended on 31 December 2024 and as at April 2025 the department “…had no plans to further fund wildfire sensor detection technologies.”

Aerial resources shifting north as industry calls for more investment in aircraft across Europe

As Europe and North America get an early taste of wildfire season 2026, the annual south to north migration of aerial firefighting resources is well underway amid European industry calls for more investment in aircraft.

Australia’s McDermott Aviation has started to shift its aerial firefighting fleet to Greece, marking the company’s seventh consecutive year supporting Greek authorities.

A total of 15 helicopters – including 11 Bell 214ST “Super Transporter” aircraft and four Bell 214B “Big Lifter” helitaks – are being mobilised from Australia and the United States, with operations running through to the end of October 2026. At that point, the migration resumes, but in the other direction.

(Photo Credit - Matt Cotter)
Preparing to depart to Greece for wildfire season 2026, McDermott Aviation. (Photo Credit – Matt Cotter)
Preparing to depart to Greece for wildfire season 2026, McDermott Aviation.
Preparing to depart to Greece for wildfire season 2026, McDermott Aviation.

At peak deployment, 14 aircraft will be on contract at any one time, supported by approximately 100 specialist personnel rotating through Greece, alongside additional operational support teams based in Australia and working in partnership with local Greek providers.

Aircraft will be positioned across 11 bases, including key island locations and mainland sites from Araxos in the west to Alexandroupolis in the east, and from Ioannina in the north to Crete and Rhodes in the south.

The fleet will undertake aerial firefighting operations, including water bombing and the transport of ground crews, with additional capability to support evacuation, search and rescue, and broader disaster response activities.

Other aircraft fleets are also active: Coulson Aviation reports on its N561CG currently making the journey back to North America after completing its contract in Australia. Here’s a nice photo in Pago Pago, Samoa at sunset.

A report commissioned by Avincis – the largest provider of aerial services across Europe – concludes that Europe is dangerously unprepared to tackle an increase in wildfires and must expand its aerial firefighting capabilities and investment.

Avincis brought together a group of academics, business leaders and professional firefighters to produce the report, released at the Aerial Fire Fighting Series: Global Conference and Exhibition, in Rome, Italy, in March. This follows a record-breaking wildfire season in 2025, which saw more than 1.03 million hectares burn across the EU – more than any year on record – with 81 per cent of the damage concentrated in just five countries.

The report – ‘Up in flames: The challenges of fighting wildfires from the air in a hotter Europe’ – says the size and age of Europe’s aerial firefighting fleet is the most acute operational vulnerability. The €600 million commitment by the European Parliament in 2024 to procure 22 DHC-515 aircraft – amphibious firefighting aircraft developed by De Havilland Canada – across six countries, with deliveries staggered between 2027 and 2030, is welcomed by the industry but is far from sufficient.             

The fleet shortage is compounded by a shortage of pilots and aircrew with difficult arrangements for foreign crews to assist.

Historic Morrill Fire triggers Nebraska disaster request

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen on Friday requested President Donald Trump to issue a major disaster declaration related to the state’s historic Morrill Fire and other wildfires that burned 821,000 acres across the state between March and April.

Acceptance of the request would unlock federal funding for Nebraska to help repair roads, bridges, and power infrastructure damaged by the Morrill, Cottonwood, Ashby, and Minor fires. State and federal emergency managers have previously estimated that damage costs reached nearly $9.7 million.

“As Nebraska faced historic wildfires, the people of our state came together to jumpstart the recovery process,” Pillen said in a press release on Friday. “I’m submitting my request for a disaster declaration to the White House and FEMA. We appreciate President Trump’s attention to this matter and his long-standing support of our state when we have requested disaster recovery funding.”

An estimated 642,029 acres of the 821,000-acre total were from the Morrill Fire alone, which started on March 12. It went on to trigger numerous evacuations and the activation of agricultural irrigation systems in Morrill County.

The fire may have burned more if it weren’t for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s “Next Generation Fire System,” which was called a “game changer” by wildfire managers due to early warning capabilities and its up-to-the-minute data sharing.

“On March 12, the NGFS detection came in around 1:40 pm MT,” said Watch Duty Manager of Operational Intelligence and Mapping Liam Winstead. “At that stage, we did not have eyes on the ground or radio traffic to monitor. Within 10 minutes, additional NGFS detections showed the heat spreading rapidly in alignment with the wind, providing the confirmation that this was a fast-moving vegetation fire. We posted the incident and alerted the county just 13 minutes after the initial detection.”

The vast majority of the Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge also burned in the Morrill Fire. The refuge is located in the Nebraska Sandhills, which researchers have labeled the world’s most important intact prairie, as one of the last large native prairies that has not been substantially modified or converted to farmland.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Critically important prairie widely burned by Nebraska wildfire

“Since these fires, we’ve been blessed beyond measure to see the outpouring of support – and load after load of hay – cross county and state lines to support ranching families and communities in the Sandhills,” Pillen said. “Nebraskans are tough as nails, and we’ll get through this moment together.”

The Morrill Fire was declared the “largest wildfire in state history” by Gov. Jim Pillen and other local officials after it burned 460,000 acres two days after it started. Numerous news outlets, including Wildfire Today, then amplified the claim, but historians are pushing back against it.

At least one much larger fire burned off a major section of Nebraska and the Great Plains in 1865, and it was deliberately set by the U.S. Army to drive Native Americans out of a valley outside present-day Omaha, according to the Nebraska State Historical Society. 

READ MORE: It was big, but the Morrill Fire isn’t the largest wildfire in Nebraska’s history

El Niño and La Niña predict US wildfire severity up to a year early, NOAA research finds

Recent research published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has found that the most influential climate driver on Earth is also an accurate predictor of wildfire severity up to a year in advance.

The study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, found that the “La Niña” and “El Niño” phases of a fluctuating water temperature climate pattern called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation influence where heightened wildfire activity will occur in specific regions across the United States the following year. The researchers uncovered the pattern by analyzing weather data and burned area records in each of the nine U.S. Geographic Area Coordination Centers from 1984 to 2022.

Researchers found that when the fall months hit a La Niña phase of the climate pattern, the likelihood of drought and high evaporative demand increases across the U.S. during the following winter and spring in southern states, which also increases the amount of land burned in wildfires. Conversely, an autumn El Niño brings wetter conditions to southern states, reducing the risk of extensive burned area.

An example of the phenomenon happened over the past six months. The pattern entered its La Niña phase last fall, and was followed by a historic snow drought and early spring heat wave, creating drier and more flammable fuels.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Unprecedented’ snow drought sets up extreme wildfires for Western US in 2026

“Unfortunately, this year in the West and southern tier, it has been very dry and very warm,” lead author and Physical Sciences Laboratory research meteorologist Andrew Hoell said in a press release. “We’re talking about some historically warm conditions and at the same time below average precipitation. That sets up the land surface to be able to burn.”

The researchers said additional studies on how the phases interact with wind speed, fuel moisture, and vegetation are needed to better understand the link between the climate pattern and wildfires, and to improve fire risk models at the local level.

Click here to read the full study.

Destructive wildfire types targeted under new US ‘BRUSH Fire Act’

A US bill aimed at improving officials’ understanding of wildfires in ecosystems dominated by small plants recently cleared its first congressional hurdle.

The Building Resiliency and Understanding of Shrublands to Halt Fires Act, or BRUSH Fires Act, was introduced by California Rep. Dave Min and seeks to modernize federal wildfire prevention policy, particularly in shrub-dominated regions.

The number of homes destroyed by wildfires has doubled over the past 30 years, with the majority of burned homes near shrublands rather than forests, according to a previous study led by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers. While crown fires in forests have the highest fire intensity and can ignite homes far from a fire front, shrubland fires can easily spread rapidly during strong winds, threatening more homes faster. Fuels in shrublands also recover faster than in forests, meaning areas can reburn within a few years and lessen the impact of infrequent prescribed burning.

Min said his Bill seeks to address that disparity and unseat forests as the main focus of wildfires. The bill specifically requires the Forest Service to conduct a study on its current wildfire mitigation effectiveness in shrublands, including hazardous fuels management, limiting ember ignitions of structures, and administrative factors that impede wildland fire operations. A report on the study must be made publicly available 90 days after it is complete.

“Right now, federal wildfire policy too often treats all fires the same, even as many communities, particularly in Southern California, are increasingly threatened by fast-moving brushfires in chaparral landscapes rather than traditional forest fires,” Min said in a press release. “The bill fills a critical need to reassess prevention strategies for shrubland ecosystems, identify best practices, and ensure that land managers and local fire officials have access to clear science-based guidance.”

This Bill, according to Min, has the support of California fire chiefs and leaders across the fire management community, including The Nature Conservancy, California Fire Chiefs Association, California Chaparral Institute, Endangered Habitats League, and Irvine Ranch Conservancy. 

Click here to read the full bill’s text.

Southern states near peak fire resource allocations as ‘Wildfire Awareness Month’ kicks off

May has historically been the start of wildfire season across the United States, but the signifier rings hollow for numerous communities in southern states facing already strained fire resources.

Friday marked the first day of Wildfire Awareness Month, when federal, state, and local agencies focus on fire prevention, preparedness, and protecting what matters, the National Interagency Fire Center said in a press release on Friday. Saturday was “Wildfire Community Preparedness Day,” when the National Fire Protection Association offered resources to prepare and become “firewise” for the months ahead.

That preparedness came early for communities in the Center’s Southern Area, which runs from Texas as far east as Virginia. Ongoing wildfires in Florida and Georgia have already put the area’s fire resources at Preparedness Level 4 out of 5, meaning national resources are heavily committed and have caused significant resource demand in inactive or low activity geographic areas, according to the Center’s scale.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said during a recent press conference that the state is experiencing its worst drought in over 20 years, meaning fire resources will continue being needed for “quite a while.”

“Our wildfires are already above a five-year average … and we’re under a temporary burn ban statewide,” Kemp said. “It’s a matter of resources … We’ve got equipment coming from Texas, Mississippi, Colorado, and Idaho.”

The fires are likely an omen of what’s to come as the nation moves towards what forecasters expect to be a very active fire season, due to ongoing fire risk in the South and historic snow drought in the West. In the near term, a stalled cold front in the southeast is forecast to bring hot, dry, and breezy conditions across central and southern Florida, raising the ongoing risk of fires in the already resource-strained state.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Unprecedented’ snow drought sets up extreme wildfires for Western US in 2026

Force multipliers – understanding the Forest Service’s Administratively Determined militia

By Michael Scott Hill

While being briefed pre-season on changes to the wildfire staff for U.S. federal resource agencies, I realized that many people don’t understand the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service and Department of Interior AD system.

We’re called ADs but few people realize the acronym stands for Administratively Determined; we’re the hidden resource of federal fire response, the steady backbone that helps to staff federal resource agencies on emergencies year after year. ADs are managed by local federal administrative units but deployed to assist on federal responses to nationwide emergency events.

This article is first published in Wildfire Magazine – read the full edition.

Background

In the early days of the Forest Service’s responses to local wildfires and other emergencies, employees were often required to wear two hats. One of the hats was a person’s primary job, such as being a ranger or forester; the other role was crew boss or fire engine operator.

The Forest Service was young and many of its remote offices were far from each other. At times, extra help would be hired and brought from nearby communities to assist with fire emergencies; the extra personnel were released from employment once the need passed.

This loose emergency-responder militia structure, with its ability to swell by accessing the Forest Service’s professional but non-fire workforce and then bring in contract people quickly afterwards, is unique. Having worked around other international fire agencies and the military in Afghanistan, my sense is that the flexible fire-response militia is a hidden strength for the Forest Service and its related federal agencies with wildfire response commitments.

Neither the US military nor other international fire agencies can deploy such an efficient, low-paid workforce, coiled and ready to respond at a moment’s notice, to the range of wildfire and national emergencies to which the Forest Service’s ADs respond and then quickly fade back into the civilian landscape. Indeed, even US National Guard members do not deploy as frequently as the federal ADs, nor do they face the range or volume of risks that ADs regularly experience.

Who are they?

The idea of an AD workforce that is deployed then quickly released when no longer needed is built on a labor force supply of retired, or separated, federal employees who maintain their federal response qualifications.

Many people believe all ADs are retired employees with full federal retirement benefits; some ADs fit that description. However, others who became ADs had left their federal employment for various reasons then began working as ADs, making annual salaries of only tens of thousands of dollars, with no retirement or other benefits from the Forest Service or its sister federal agencies, while being sent to the front lines of federal emergencies more often than most US military units.

I have been in the AD ranks for years and have helped to save countless communities and lives from wildfires; I’ve also served with US military forces overseas in war zones. I have seen how US military service members are honored for taking sometimes only a fraction of the risks experienced each summer by many ADs and other federal forces, who are on call for the Forest Service, risking their lives and potentially damaging their health during national emergencies.

The official guidance for land management agencies supports AD hiring to:

1. Cope with a sudden and unexpected emergency caused by a fire, or extreme fire potential, flood, storm, or any other all-hazard emergency that threatens damage to federally protected property, has the potential to cause loss of life, serious injury, public health risk, or damage to natural or cultural resources unless brought under immediate control.

2. Provide emergency assistance to states under formalized agreements.

3. Meet mission assignments issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

How are ADs used?

ADs fill in seamlessly at the side of federal and state employees on the front line of federal disaster responses. ADs staff many federal incident management teams organized to provide leadership in emergency response. ADs manage firefighting crews, conduct federal aviation operations, and fill in elsewhere, often having advanced skills and qualifications.

ADs face the flames and other dangers including floodwaters, often right next to the active federal employees but without the security net of retirement benefits, job protections or decent annual salaries, while cumulative health damage takes its toll on the future quality of our lives.

Why do we do it?

Being an AD has its benefits. As temporary on-call federal employees, ADs can feel part of the federal emergency response force while still going about our normal lives and finding regular employment. We are free to take assignments for which we are available, and we have the freedom to decline those for which we are not. We can use and hone skills and qualifications developed during lengthy careers in various aspects of federal emergency response. Many ADs enjoy the comradery of the work, the travel it offers, and the satisfaction of assisting during emergency responses.

Challenges

The Forest Service’s AD world has experienced challenges. In 2017, there was a push at the national level to terminate the ADs hired locally by USFS units, seemingly due to cultural changes as a new generation of management began to fill gaps left by Baby Boomer retirements. In response to this 2017 push, the USFS relationship with its ADs became formalized.

Post 2017, as ADs were a federally deployed national resource, some local AD managers began to view as unnecessary the extra work it took manage the ADs.

In some cases, local AD managers began to prune their AD ranks, even going outside federal polity to do so. As there is no mechanism for ADs to file complaints against their full-time federal managers, many ADs walked away. Because there is minimal employment protection for ADs, their sponsorship can easily be terminated, even after years of service.

During this era, policy was enacted requiring ADs to live in the same geographic location where they were sponsored by an AD unit. The policy, combined with the new management culture, resulted in the loss of many experienced ADs.

In some cases, managers have seemingly put personal projects ahead of long-practiced policy. One example was someone who wanted to make the fire ground safer and championed a formalized medical screening process for ADs to ensure they were fit enough to go to the firelines. In theory this was a great idea that could save lives. However, not all ADs have health insurance, and the screening policy resulted in the loss of many more good ADs.

Where from here?

There is talk within the Forest Service about reorganizations and staffing cuts. My purpose for writing this piece is to ensure ADs are not forgotten as the federal resource agency’s hidden force multipliers. ADs, with their knowledge and federal emergency qualifications, are and have long been a valuable part of the federal work force. I would argue that if the AD role remains during any reorganization of the US federal wildfire efforts, the framework of AD management in place since 2017 should be reviewed.

In my opinion, ADs should be offered some buffer as temporary federal employees so they can activate the federal grievance system if necessary. I also believe the geographic location hiring rule for ADs should be discarded, as ADs are used by the Forest Service at the national level.

Why does it matter?

Wildfire professionals who have given their lives to emergency response work – often at great personal cost – deserve respect, fairness, and procedural integrity. When experienced ADs can be dismissed with no avenue for review, it sends a message that dedication and expertise count for nothing. In an updated AD program that serves our national goals, former ADs who have been removed from the program should be able to have their AD sponsorships reviewed and renewed at a national level, as we are national resources.

In return for their call-when-needed roles, ADs should be provided pay, protections and allowances equal to the risks they undertake. Thus, we should consider the simplest solution – to make the federal AD program national, based under one umbrella, or convert the program from individual ADs into a group of federal contractors who are employed by private companies. Then all the above concerns can be covered within the contract.

The AD system is and has always been of tremendous value to the whole of the Forest Service and related agencies. It’s time this loyal workforce is better understood, recognized and valued.

Michael Hill, a longtime member of the Administratively Determined workforce of the United States federal fire responders and one of Wildfire magazine’s Associate Editors, manages a Chinook in California.

Green fire breaks in New Caledonia – a winning poster

Winners at the 8th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels Conference, Hobart, Tasmania, April 2026.

Congratulations to Vaea Lefeuvre for the winning Poster at our 8th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels conference this week in Hobart, Tasmania.

The judges chose Vaea’s poster for its design and message simplicity on green fire breaks in New Caledonia “Linking Functional Traits to Shoot Flammability”.

The winner poster at the 8th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels Conference, Hobart, Tasmania, April 2026.
The winner poster at the 8th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels Conference, Hobart, Tasmania, April 2026.

The 93 posters on display made it our biggest exhibition. It was inspiring for the 465 delegates to view what fire research and operations are happening beyond the 174 oral talks at the conference.

The popular People’s Choice award went to Aiden Gappin and Grant Reibel from the Country Fire Service on tackling South Australia’s Bushfire Threat.

Highly honourable mentions went to Adam Leavesley and team ACT Parks and Fenner with a poster on fires in the ACT Orroral Valley, and to Mia Callaway Fenner on 3D mapping of fuel moisture.

Congratulations to all our winners at #FBF2026 and thank you to AFAC for sponsoring the poster display.

A winner poster at the 8th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels Conference, Hobart, Tasmania, April 2026.
A winner poster at the 8th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels Conference, Hobart, Tasmania, April 2026.
A winner poster at the 8th International Fire Behaviour and Fuels Conference, Hobart, Tasmania, April 2026.