Ron Steffens

Writing on people, places & priorities. Working as a park ranger & firefighter & associate faculty @PrescottCollege. The Earth is calling and we must help.

[Mathias Disney @mathiasdisney]

New piece in @theconversation on work led by @mirodemol and @SylveraCarbon, out now in @CommsEarth, showing that some dry tropical forests may store twice as much aboveground carbon as thought https://t.co/ZWsC2M9Hcz

[The Hotshot Wake Up @HotshotWake]

Incredible scenes coming out of the Elk Fire. #wyfire #wywx #wildfire

The fire impacted homes in the local community but an incredible fight was put up to save as many as they possibly could. At 1:30 AM crews were forced to finally evacuate out of the subdivision along HWY 14 due to the extreme fire behavior.

Firefighters including Hotshot crews, Engines, heavy equipment, and water tenders quickly fired off county road 144 to stop the spread of the fire into another subdivision. Just an insane night if firefighting in Wyoming.

Thanks to the subscribers who sent in these incredible scenes from last nights fight. Solid work all around in the toughest conditions out there.

[The Hotshot Wake Up @HotshotWake]

Incredible footage of a fire whirl on the Warner Peak Fire in Oregon, captured by the UAS module working on the fire.
#wildfire #orfire #orex
The drone’s IR camera captured the event, and you can see the rate of spread increase drastically as the whirl develops. Amazing capture. The Warner Peak Fire burned 82,000 acres of the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in northern Lake County and is now 100 percent contained.

Thanks to the Substack subscriber who shared this incredible footage from the new wildfire tech now flying on many incidents. 🙏

[The Hotshot Wake Up @HotshotWake]

A helicopter on Mars…. I mean, Stanley, Idaho.

#wildfire #idfire #idwx #wapitifire

[The Hotshot Wake Up @HotshotWake]

Wyoming: A look at the lightning caused Fish Creek Fire this afternoon from the top of Grand Teton.
#wyfire #wywx #wildfire
Tactical Firing operations were planned for the east and northeast part of fire. There are 9 Hand Crews; 21 Engines; 1 Dozer; 12 Heavy Equipment; and 5 Helicopters assigned.

Thanks to the subscriber who sent in this view from their hike up Grand Teton.

[Copernicus EMS @CopernicusEMS]

#DYK that #wildfires burnt over 1,000 km² of land in #Spain 🇪🇸 in 2023 ❓

The largest fire 🔥 affected over 120 km² of land in #Tenerife, in which our #MappingTeam was activated to support the emergency response

Read more in our latest #EFFIS report 👇
https://t.co/8SuVG5vtQB

[IAWF @IAWF]

The latest issue Wildfire Magazine is out now! Click here to access the digital issue. https://t.co/R3m3pcQHlk

[National Interagency Fire Center @NIFC_Fire]

Today is #InternationalFirefightersDay and we share our heartfelt and sincere appreciation for all the wildland firefighters across the country. We cannot thank them enough for the strenuous, yet momentous work they do.

Give a wildland firefighter a shoutout in the comments!

[Mike Flannigan @mikeflannigan]

Lots of hot spots from overwintering fires in NERN BC showing up on the firms site this afternoon. This could be a problem as a vigorous and dry cold front passes through the area on friday. https://t.co/YNeV3ya6Y9

[Kylie Mohr @thatsMohrlikeit]

I'm thrilled to announce that I'm an inaugural Artists-In-Fire resident. 🔥 I'm joining nine other fabulous artists and writers throughout the West to be boots-on-the-ground participants in prescribed fire and share our experiences with our communities. https://t.co/ki6RwU2vDj

[Kylie Mohr @thatsMohrlikeit]

My latest for @highcountrynews will make your palms sweat, your heart race, and your mind wonder — what would you do if you were trapped by a wildfire? https://t.co/ZPPZ1577FN

[National Interagency Fire Center @NIFC_Fire]

🇺🇸 On #VeteransDay, we honor the brave women & men who answered a higher call of service to the nation. Thank you for your service, commitment, & sacrifices. 📸 @BLM_MTDKs Billings #VeteransFireCrew. #VetsInFire

[The Hotshot Wake Up @HotshotWake]

Take a drive through a wildfire in Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Quebec. The firefighters that traveled across an ocean from Portugal shared this video with me.
#wildfire #canada
They were very pleased to have worked with Hotshot crews from the United States and found the experience to be rewarding.

Cheers to them. 🙏🍻

[The Hotshot Wake Up @HotshotWake]

Let’s talk about it: (please share)

It is well known by now, the folks that have left the wildfire industry in the last few years have been your experienced overhead staff.
#wildfire #congress

I talked about this on the last podcast episode. This can ultimately cause the younger folks coming into the industry to be more exposed to unknown dangers and hazards. Massive archives of situational awareness “slides” walking out the door with millions of dollars in training.

This is not confined to the United States. Canada has also said retention and recruitment of overhead and supervisory positions with incredible amounts of wildfire knowledge are leaving. Tragically, in Canada, two young firefighters died on the line just this last week.

If you lose 2 Squadies, you just lost 26 years of fire-line experience. If you lose a Supt and 2 Squadies, you just lost 50+ years of high functioning operational experience. Multiply that by 10 crews and you’ve lost 500 years of highly specialized wildfire knowledge and experience…

This is happening. It is a massive safety issue waiting to happen.
I love wildfire, I love the people in it, they don’t want to leave. It’s actually the hardest thing to do.

But when they see wage legislation lingering, and politicians and agency heads claiming “budgets” are the reason they cannot get them the raises they want… they get bitter because our government spends money like it’s going out of style while claiming “there’s none left for you.”

Everyone in wildfire deserves a raise, it’s long overdue. But the higher you work your way up the chain with the new legislation, the less there is for the folks with experience and knowledge of the industry.

They have also said portal to portal is on the table but they put a $9k cap on it.

“Wages for work life balance, but not too much.”

Congress and agency heads need to grow a pair and give these folks what they deserve. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SUPPORT IT. Some of the wildfire supervisors essentially will still take a pay cut after the wages are “adjusted.”

If more overhead folks leave, expect more lessons learned documents and 48 hour incident reports. Agencies said they are on a “safety journey” this year. Well, no better way to increase safety then retain the literal thousands of years of experience that you currently have.

$200B is unaccounted for from the pandemic relief payments, enough to fund the wildfire raises for 100+ years. But Congress can’t give firefighters what they deserve because “budgets.”

The Hotshot Wake Up: Thank you to all the subscribers.

Thanks to @Hotshot_Movie for the footage. 🙏

[The Hotshot Wake Up @HotshotWake]

Firefighters from New Zealand were working with the Mesa Hotshots in Canada and posed for a photo.

Kiwis and Shots.
Is this a new summer drink?!
#canada #wildfire

[FUSEE 🔥 @fuseefire]

How do we live safely and sustainably in a new age of fire? Stop making war on wildfire and start working with it. Start more prescribed fires and steer all wildfires rather than stomp on all blazes. The fires we should stop burning are fossil fuels!
https://t.co/5MM2MPTv9e

[Mark Parrington @m_parrington]

Perspective on the scale of #CanadaWildfires with #CopernicusAtmosphere GFAS data https://t.co/qjv1hJerdd showing the fire locations/intensity across the country & the incredibly steep increase in emissions since 1 May (up to 9 June) compared to 2003-2022 #wildfire #IIFF

[The Hotshot Wake Up @HotshotWake]

Michigan: A look at operations on the wildfire near Grayling, Michigan. Estimated at over 3,600 acres.

The Eastern Area has moved to a preparedness level 3. The Alta Hotshots are headed to Wisconsin for IA support. #mifire #miwx #wifire #wiwx

[Colin McCarthy @US_Stormwatch]

Canada's unprecedented start to wildfire season continues as a massive wildfire outbreak explodes across Quebec this evening.

Just in May, nearly 7,000,000 acres of land were scorched by wildfires across Canada.

[Mike Flannigan @mikeflannigan]

Yikes! Now, Quebec is on fire. Numerous wildfires seen on GOES East mid-ir band 7 below - bright white area very active wildfires. GOES East Geocolor also attached, and you can see all the smoke plumes associated with the fires.