U.S. Department of the Interior

Bureau of Land Management

BLM Fire

Fire Year 2022 Program Overview
31 Tactical Aircraft

The Bureau of Land Management Wildland Fire Program

All fire suppression resources are 

supported by a three-tier interagency 

network of dispatch and coordination 

centers across the country. The 

national dispatch system’s primary 

mission is the timely, cost effective, and 

efficient coordination, mobilization, and 

demobilization of wildland fire resources. 

Each tier has a unique role in locating and 

dispatching fire suppression resources 

to wildland fire incidents.Local level 

dispatch centers are responsible for initial 

wildfire response and support.

BLM Fire suppression resources

1. The National Interagency Coordination Center 

(NICC) provides national emergency response 

for wildland fire and all-hazard incidents.

2. 10 Geographic Area Coordination Centers 

(GACCs) mobilize wildfire suppression 

resources within specific geographic 

areas of the U.S.

3. Local level dispatch centers are 

responsible for initial wildfire 

response and support.

Resource Mobilization

The Bureau of Land Management Wildland Fire Management 

Program (BLM Fire) is the largest and most complex fire 

program within the Department of the Interior (DOI). The BLM 

represents 61% of DOI’s fire-related workforce and is directly 

responsible for fire management on more than 245 million 

acres of public lands, predominantly in the western United 

States and Alaska; wildfire is prevalent across much of this 

landscape. This land is commonly intermixed with other 

federal, state and local jurisdictions, making partnerships 

and collaborative efforts crucial to the mission of safety 

and fire management. Overall, BLM Fire implements fire 

protection on approximately 650 million acres of public 

land with other fire management agencies and manages 

fuels treatments to reduce wildfire risk and support 

healthy ecosystems across the landscape. 

Note: The number of hotshot crews includes two veterans crews. RFPAs are Rangeland Fire Protection Associations.

21 Dozers

320 Engines 6 Veterans Crews

34 RFPAs 25 Helicopters / 18 Helitack Crews

24 Water Tenders 2 Fire Boats

13 Hotshot Crews

34 SEATs

23 Semi-Tractors

150 Smokejumpers
Most BLM-managed public lands are composed of non-forested shrub and grass 

ecosystems. Invasive weeds, which make landscapes more flammable, are present 

in many of these ecosystems. Cycles of frequent wildfire followed by invasive weeds 

are impacting vast areas of the western U.S., particularly in the sagebrush-steppe 

ecosystem. Because of the fire and invasives cycle, many western ecosystems are 

experiencing too much wildfire compared to historical fire regimes. Suppressing 

wildfires in these ecosystems is costly and puts wildland firefighters at risk. 

The BLM is working to preserve ecosystems that are currently not impacted by 

invasive weeds while restoring ecological balance in other ecosystems where 

invasive weeds are changing the landscape and increasing wildfire risk. This 

work supports healthy public lands, reduces wildfire risk and decreases wildfire 

suppression costs. 

Unique fire management challenges 

of wildfire acres burned in the continental 

U.S. occur on shrublands and grasslands

56%

acres of BLM-managed public lands are at high or very 

high fire risk - much of this is due to invasive weeds

36 million

acre wildfires are now

commonplace across the West

100,000 — 400,000

of rangelands with invasive 

grasses can burn in just one day

25 miles

of grass/shrub lands with invasive grasses 

present can burn in just a couple days

150-500 square miles

wildfires on BLM-managed public lands burned 400,280 acres 

under BLM protection in 2021, which are abnormally low numbers, 

particularly given large fire activity over the last ten years

2,123

BLM manages 72% of all DOI public lands 

that have high or very high fire risk 

72%

of all DOI-managed lands burned by

wildfires are shrublands or grasslands

70%
Fuels Management

The BLM Fuels Management program is 

focused on active management to reduce 

wildfire risk, improve wildfire resiliency, and 

promote fire-adapted communities. This 

effort is critical considering the vast spread 

of wildfire risk throughout the West, as the 

BLM works to address more than 70% of DOI’s 

wildfire risk. To address these fire-invasives 

challenges, the BLM conducts a wide variety of 

fuels treatment projects, including mechanical 

treatments, chemical and biological treatments, 

and prescribed fire. Fuels treatment options 

are limited in areas where invasive weeds are 

present; many of these areas are experiencing 

too much wildfire. Prescribed burning is not an 

effective tool in areas impacted by invasives, 

which is why only 25% of all BLM fuels 

treatments consist of prescribed burning. 

The BLM has outlined a plan to achieve at least 

1 million acres of fuels treatments annually on 

BLM-managed public lands, and to sustain 

that level of treatment for the next five 

years with expected funding increases. 

BLM has developed a national five-year 

wildfire risk assessment and will focus 

treatments in priority areas to protect and 

restore landscapes and to reduce wildfire 

risk near communities. In fiscal year 2022, 

BLM is planning to treat approximately 

898,000 acres and working to increase 

capacity to meet the 1 million acre goal. 

By increasing fuels accomplishments, 

the BLM will improve firefighter and 

public safety; reduce wildfire impacts and 

costs; maintain and restore fire-resilient 

landscapes; and create long-term natural 

resource benefits. This plan will also 

involve adding contracting, grants and 

agreements capacity, as increasing fuels 

projects cannot be achieved without 

investing in these capabilities. 

Large swaths of grasses, brush, or other vegetation provide 

continuous fuels that can lead to catastrophic wildfires.

Fuel breaks thin out or break up the vegetation, which slows the progress and reduces 

the intensity of the wildfire, making it safer and easier for firefighters to control.

Fuel Breaks

BLM Fire uses multiple fuels treatment methods. Fuel breaks reduce hazardous fuels 

and provide wildland firefighters a safe barrier to conduct fire suppression tactics.

The BLM accomplishes 

more than 50% of the DOI’s 

fuel treatments.

50% of DOI total

870,226 acres

In 2021, the BLM treated 870,226 

acres of its planned 772,896 

active management acres, which 

equates to 113% 

of the planned 

target acre 

total. 

of resource benefit 

were achieved in 

wildfires, inching the 

BLM closer to the one 

million acre target.

45,959 acres

The BLM also reduces hazardous 

fuels through fire use by 

allowing some 

wildfires to take 

their natural 

course when they 

can be safely 

and effectively 

managed to 

produce desired results.

Chemical and Biological Treatments Prescribed Fire / Fire Use Treatments Mechanical Treatments

50%

of acres 

accomplished

25%

of acres 

accomplished

25%

of acres 

accomplished
Wildfire activity is becoming more extreme

Currently, the 10-year 

average number of 

acres burned is 

about 6.8 million 

acres per year 

and increasing.

6.8 million

In the last 10 years, more than 

10 million acres have burned 

throughout the country three 

times: in 2020, 2017 and 2015. 

Between 1983-1992, wildfires 

burned an average of 2.7 

million acres.

10 million

10,122,336

2020

10,026,086

2017

10,125,149

2015

Wildfires have destroyed 

more homes and 

communities in recent years: 

from 2018-2021 49,082 

structures were lost in 

wildfires, of those, 30,713 

were primary residences. 

Structures Lost

Fire suppression costs are also increasing, 

for example, suppression costs stayed below 

$1 billion before the year 2000. Since 2010, 

fire suppression costs have risen beyond the 

$1 billion mark consistently every year, with 

a record of more than $3 billion in costs set 

in 2018. While 

the number of 

wildfires and 

acres burned can 

vary, fire years 

are, on average, 

becoming longer, 

costlier, and more 

complicated. 

Rising Costs

Across the West, the first 

wildfires of the year are starting earlier 

and lasting into the fall, making typical 

fire years 75 days longer now than they 

were 40 years ago. 

75 Days

Fire Year

Workforce

Firefighters are required to work 

earlier in the spring and longer 

into the fall than in previous years, causing 

fatigue and burnout issues. The BLM is 

working to shift away from a seasonal 

firefighting workforce because firefighters 

are in demand throughout most of the year. 

Federal wildland fire personnel wages have 

not kept up with inflation and private industry 

pay. In January 2022, the Office of Personnel 

Management implemented President Biden’s 

Executive Order on Protecting the Federal 

Workforce to promote a $15 per hour minimum 

wage for federal employees, which the BLM 

has been working towards for many years. The 

BLM Fire program is working to complete 

these long-term pay increases to offer 

a livable wage commensurate with 

wildland fire employees’ hard work 

and dedication. 

Livable Wages

A more permanent, year-round wildland fire workforce will be better poised 

to meet current wildland fire management demands while also providing 

better job opportunities. In fiscal year 2021, BLM received $13 million for 

workforce transformation:

 new wildland fire management and support personnel

 

The BLM hopes to continue this effort with additional funding. 

Workforce Transformation

76

428 existing seasonal positions converted 

to permanent and/or year-round

The BLM Fire program is working to implement additional funding from the 

Disaster and Bipartisan Infrastructure bills: 

Wildland Fire 

Management 

Funding

Disaster:`

$53

million

Fuels management: $29 million

Burned Area Rehabilitation: $24 million

Infrastructure: 

$230

million

For radio technology, fuels management, 

firefighter pay and workforce. 
BLM Fire

National Interagency Fire Center

3833 S. Development Ave

Boise, ID 83705 

www.nifc.gov

@BLMFire

BLM Wildfire Risk Assessment Map