NWCG Communicator's Guide for 

Wildland Fire Management Fire Management 

3. 1

National Wildfire Coordinating Group 

Communicator's Guide for Wildland Fire Management: 

Fire Education, Prevention, and Mitigation Practices

3. Fire Management 

3. Fire Management 

A. Wildland Fire Management – Agencies and their 

Roles 

i. National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) 

ii. National Wildfire Coordinating Group 

(NWCG) 

B. History of Humans and Fire 

i. Historical Perspective 

ii. Today’s Societal Influence 

C. Public Perceptions and Attitudes Toward Wildland 

Fire 

i. Motivation and Education 

Included in this chapter is 

an overview of the 

interagency fire 

management network and 

an introduction to the 

history of wildland fire and 

societal influences. 

Fostering communication 

with your audiences 

requires messages that 

address human dimensions 

issues, therefore a section 

on public perceptions and 

attitudes is included. 
NWCG Communicator's Guide for 

Wildland Fire Management Fire Management 

3. 2

For information regarding 

U.S. fire policy, visit the 

References section at 

www.nifc.gov. From this 

site, you can access the 

individual agencies’ sites for 

more information. 

Wildland Fire Management – Agencies and Their Roles 

The National Interagency Fire Center 

The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) is located in Boise, 

Idaho, and coordinates and supports operations for managing 

wildland fire and other natural disasters throughout the United 

States. The fire center also addresses fuel load management and 

public education/outreach. The center is located on a 55-acre site 

administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Operating costs 

and responsibilities are shared by the cooperating agencies listed 

below. 

Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Department of Agriculture

USFS manages national forests and grasslands. USFS also represents state wildland 

fire organizations through the U.S. Forest Service’s Cooperative State and Private 

Forest authorities. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Department of the Interior

FWS manages national wildlife refuges, waterfowl protection areas, and national fish 

hatcheries. The FWS national Branch of Fire Management is headquartered at NIFC. 

National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Department of the Interior 

NPS administers national parks, monuments, historic sites, natural areas, and other 

federal lands. Its national Branch of Fire and Aviation is located at NIFC. 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Department of the Interior

BLM manages and provides fire protection for millions of acres and is the host agency 

at NIFC. BLM’s National Office of Fire and Aviation is headquartered at NIFC. 

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), U.S. Department of the Interior

BIA provides wildland fire protection for Indian reservations and other trust lands. 

BIA’s National Wildland Fire and Aviation staff is headquartered at NIFC. 

National Association of State Foresters (NASF)

The NASF is a non-profit organization that represents the directors of the State 

Forestry agencies from all 50 states, eight U.S. territories, and the District of 

Columbia. A representative of the NASF has a permanent position located at NIFC. 
NWCG Communicator's Guide for 

Wildland Fire Management Fire Management 

3. 3

National Weather Service (NWS), U.S. Department of Commerce

NWS provides vital weather analysis, forecasts, and training to all fire management 

agencies. During fire seasons, NWS provides daily weather briefings to NIFC. 

Office of Aircraft Services (OAS), U.S. Department of the Interior

OAS provides aircraft, and technical and administrative aviation services to 

governmental organizations. OAS, part of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, is 

located at NIFC. 

U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), U.S. Department of Homeland Security

The U.S. Fire Administration is an entity of the Department of Homeland Security 

which coordinates with other federal agencies and partners with fire protection and 

emergency service communities to reduce life and economic losses due to fire and 

related emergencies. The USFA provides public education, training, technology, and 

data initiatives. 

Because wildland fire does not acknowledge jurisdictional boundaries, no single federal, state, local, 

tribal, or volunteer agency alone can handle all wildland fires that may occur in its jurisdiction. These 

groups work together to exchange support, protection responsibilities, information, and training to 

protect lives, property, and natural resources. 

NIFC provides valuable coordination and support for these cooperative firefighting efforts. It also 

provides assistance and support for other natural disasters at the request of the Department of 

Homeland Security - Federal Emergency Management Agency (DHS/FEMA) and the Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission (NRC). In addition, it provides support to Canada through a mutual aid 

agreement and to other foreign countries through the U.S. Department of State, Office of Foreign 

Disaster Assistance. 

NIFC provides: 

• Aerial imagery 

• An air tanker base 

• An equipment and supply cache 

• Equipment development 

• Infrared mapping 

• National contracting 

• National fire information/news 

• National policy and guidelines 

• Telecommunications 

• Remote automatic weather stations 

• Research and education 

• A smokejumper base 

• Technical and scientific expertise 

• Training and consultation 

• Transport aircraft for crews and 

equipment 

NIFC also hosts the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) that is tasked to quickly 

locate and mobilize emergency personnel, equipment, supplies, and aircraft nationwide. 

The National Multi-Agency Coordination (NMAC) group is another program facilitated by NIFC, 

and includes the fire directors from BLM, FWS, NPS, BIA, USFS, NASF, and USFA. When the national 

fire situation becomes severe, the NMAC identifies national or interagency issues and sets priorities 

for allocating resources. When appropriate, representatives from the General Services Administration 

(GSA), a military liaison, and state foresters may be added to the group. 
NWCG Communicator's Guide for 

Wildland Fire Management Fire Management 

3. 4

Insight into how 

the NWCG 

works as well as 

a list of working 

teams and 

advisory groups 

involved with 

the group can 

be found in the 

NWCG Making A 

Difference

brochure. 

This brochure is available 

for purchase at 

www.symbols.gov. 

Responsibilities for mobilizing fire resources are tiered. At the local level, wildland fire is initially 

managed by the local agency that has fire protection responsibility for that area. Engines, ground 

crews, smokejumpers, firefighters, helicopters with water buckets, and air tankers carrying retardant 

may be used for initial suppression. Various local agencies may work together, sharing personnel and 

equipment, to fight new fires and those that escape initial action. 

If a wildland fire grows to the point where 

local personnel and equipment are not 

sufficient, the responsible agency contacts the 

nearest Geographic Area Coordination 

Center (GACC) for help. The GACC locates 

and dispatches additional firefighters and 

support personnel, including incident 

management teams, engines, bulldozers, 

other aircraft, and supplies. The GACC can 

also contract for private goods and services if 

government support is not available. 

During busy fire seasons, fighting wildfires 

may exhaust the supply of state, local, and 

geographic area personnel and equipment. In 

these cases the GACC contacts the National 

Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) at NIFC 

and relays requests from the fire. NIFC locates 

and mobilizes the closest available resources 

throughout the nation. 

National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)

The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) provides a 

formalized system to agree upon standards of training, equipment, 

qualifications, and other operational functions. Its goal is to provide 

more effective execution of each agency’s fire management 

program. 

NWCG is made up of the following: 

• USDA Forest Service 

• Department of the Interior agencies: 

o Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

o National Park Service (NPS) 

o Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 

o Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) 

• State forestry agencies through the National Association of 

State Foresters 

• U.S. Fire Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland 

Security 

• Intertribal Timber Council 
NWCG Communicator's Guide for 

Wildland Fire Management Fire Management 

3. 5

Functions

The people who serve on the NWCG are not line officers, but staff leaders who have much influence 

on the policy and funding of their respective agency program. Agreed-upon policies, standards, and 

procedures are implemented directly through regular channels of each participating agency. 

NWCG Working Teams 

The NWCG operates through interagency "working teams" to provide a means for exchanging 

knowledge about all dimensions of fire management. Individuals or agencies can interface with the 

NWCG to retrieve information, make recommendations, or raise issues by contacting agency 

representatives of the parent group and/or the working teams, the group or working team 

chairpersons, or the executive secretary. 

Other organizations also participate on NWCG working teams, such as International Association of 

Fire Chiefs, National Fire Protection Association, The Nature Conservancy, and others. 

Visit www.nwcg.gov for a list of current working teams and to determine your agency representative. 

NWCG Creed 

• We believe the goal of effective wildfire management is best served 

through coordinating the resources of all fire management agencies, 

irrespective of land jurisdiction. 

• We believe in the concepts of full partnership, trust, and mutual 

assistance among the fire management agencies. 

• We strongly support professionalism in all facets of fire management. 

• We strive to bring the best talent to bear on vital issues in a timely 

manner, irrespective of agency affiliation. 

• We strive for economy, efficiency, and quality in all activities, and practice 

concepts of total mobility, closest forces, and shared resources without 

geographic limitations. 

• We constantly search for areas of agreement to further the effectiveness 

of the wildfire management program. 
NWCG Communicator's Guide for 

Wildland Fire Management Fire Management 

3. 6

History of Humans and Fire 

The agencies above recognize that ecosystem health and 

sustainability are based largely on natural fire regimes. They use 

prescribed fire to maintain or restore fire-adapted ecosystems, 

control invasive species, rejuvenate and manage habitats, and 

reduce hazardous fuels. However, this approach has not always 

been the case in North America. 

North American wildland fire history is sometimes interpreted as events, mostly large wildfires. 

Though it is not all-inclusive, the following timeline highlights several factors that have shaped our 

current fire management landscape. 

Consult Chapter 10 for

recommended reading on 

more detailed fire history.
NWCG Communicator's Guide for 

Wildland Fire Management Fire Management 

3. 7

Historical Perspective

Long before humans arrived in North America, there was fire. It came with the first lightning strike 

and will remain forever as a natural disturbance force affecting and defining ecosystems. Human 

activities also influence ecosystem change. The oral history of Native Americans is rich with stories 

about fire and how fire came to humans and their drawings depict the use of fire for clearing land, 

hunting and gathering activities, and in warfare. European settlers suppressed fire to protect their 

agricultural crops and communities. Land management activities such as clearing land and leaving 

behind logging slash, combined with suppression, often resulted in large conflagrations under drought 

conditions. 

For many years, fire was aggressively excluded to protect both public and private investments and to 

prevent what was considered the destruction of forests, savannahs, shrublands, and grasslands. 

While the destructive, potentially deadly side of fire was obvious and immediate, changes and risks 

resulting from these fire exclusion efforts were difficult to recognize and mounted slowly and 

inconspicuously over many decades. 

Some fire managers advocated the use of prescribed fire in the 1930’s, but it wasn’t until the rise of 

the environmental movement in the 1960s and 1970s that the public became aware that total 

wildland fire suppression may be harmful to ecosystems. During this same time, researchers found 

that people preferred naturalness in wildlands, including naturally occurring woody debris, but 

disliked woody debris created by commercial logging activity (Shelby and Speaker, 1990). To remedy 

this, scientists in the late 1970s recommended prescribed fire as a method of protecting, maintaining, 

and enhancing forest resources while reducing unsightly logging debris. As a result, the benefits of 

re-introducing fire to ecosystems where it had been suppressed became more widely accepted. 

Impact of Fire Exclusion 

The landscape in the left is typical of landscapes throughout the West. Much of the diversity 

(patchiness, structure, and composition) is affected by the exclusion of fire. The picture on the 

right illustrates the affect of mountain pine beetle. Bark beetles through out the country (spruce 

bark beetle in Alaska, mountain pine beetle in the Rockies, and in the Southwest states of 

Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado) are reaching pandemic levels. Bark beetles are a natural 

process, but vegetation and composition resulting from fire exclusion has expanded their impact 

from a small (patch size) scale to landscape levels. 

The impact of fire exclusion on vegetation structure and composition and bark beetles leads to 

fuels that when ignited, burn hotter, spread faster, last longer, and cover more area than they did 

under more natural conditions. 
NWCG Communicator's Guide for 

Wildland Fire Management Fire Management 

3. 8

Only YOU... 

Among the most successful 

public awareness icons in 

history, Smokey Bear is a 

valuable tool for fire 

communicators. Contrary to 

common misconceptions that 

Smokey’s message is one of 

fire exclusion or suppression. 

His message is simply 

preventing unwanted, 

human caused wildfires – an 

extremely important one at 

that. 

This message is as true 

today as it was when 

Smokey first appeared in 

1944. It is important for 

everyone in the fire 

community to understand 

that Smokey’s message does 

not conflict with land 

managers’ parallel need for 

prescribed fire and other fire 

management tactics. 

There is growing recognition that past land use practices, combined with the effects of fire exclusion, 

has resulted in heavy accumulations of dead vegetation, altered fuel arrangement, and changes in 

vegetative structure and composition. When dead fallen material (including tree boles, tree and shrub 

branches, leaves, and decaying organic matter) accumulates on the ground, it increases fuel quantity 

and creates a continuous arrangement of fuel. When this occurs, surface fires may ignite more 

quickly, burn with greater intensity, and spread more rapidly and extensively than in the past. On the 

other hand, uses such as grazing can sometimes reduce fine fuels, precluding periodic surface fires 

that would typically burn these areas. Without fire, encroachment of woody species may occur in 

some savannah and grassland ecosystems. 

Fires in areas of altered vegetation and fuels can adversely affect other important forces within an 

ecosystem, such as insects and disease, wildlife populations, hydrological processes, soil structure 

and mineralogy, and nutrient cycling. Any of these components, if altered greatly by usually severe 

fire, can seriously diminish the long-term sustainability of the land. In addition, effective protection 

from, and control of these large fire events will likely be much more difficult. 

Today’s Societal Influence

Fire is a unique tool that land managers can use to complement 

agency missions and land management objectives. In order to 

successfully integrate fire into natural resource management and 

apply it on an ecosystem-scale, managers, partners, and the public 

must have an understanding of historic fire regimes, as well as 

knowledge of the current conditions of each system. Then all 

parties must work together in the land management planning and 

implementation process according to agreed-upon goals for the 

public welfare and the health of the land. 

Although the basic concept of restoring fire to ecosystems has 

gained broader acceptance, several factors hinder the 

reintroduction of wildland fire on an ecologically significant scale. 

The public is slow to accept fire as a legitimate wildland fire 

management tool, largely due to past programs emphasizing 

complete fire suppression over ecosystem management. In 

addition, sometimes it takes years to reach agreement about 

appropriate treatments and to take action. In some ecosystems, 

little or no information is available about disturbance regimes, 

historical fire patterns, response to past management actions, and 

likely future responses. 

Another constraint is that fire management plans are not in place in 

all areas, thus precluding managers from using wildland fire use as 

a management tool. An additional contributing factor is that our 

landscape is interspersed with fixed human settlements so that fire 

management agencies cannot accommodate fire under a completely 

natural regime. Prescribed fire and wildland fire use may benefit ecosystems, but these fires and the 

smoke generated by them may compromise public health and safety. This is especially true in the 

wildland/urban interface (WUI) where communities meet wildlands and a substantial human 

presence coexists uneasily with areas of fire-prone forest, brush, and grassland vegetation. 

Therefore, today’s land management agencies are committed to balancing fire risks, including the 

risk of escaped fires, to communities with the benefits of fire. 
NWCG Communicator's Guide for 

Wildland Fire Management Fire Management 

3. 9

Educate your audiences that 

the use of prescribed fire can 

ultimately help reduce 

impact of smoke from 

wildfires. 

Due to concerns over fire risk and smoke management and its 

impact on human health, transportation, agriculture, atmospheric 

carbon loading, and global warming, managers may choose to use 

alternate methods to restore ecosystems and reduce hazardous 

fuels in the WUI, including biological (e.g., grazing animals), 

mechanical (cutting or mowing), or chemical (herbicides) treatment 

of vegetation. 

While other techniques may be used, they cannot always replace 

the ecological role that fire plays. Fire not only reduces the buildup 

of dead and downed fuel; it performs many other critical ecosystem 

functions. Fire can recycle nutrients that might otherwise be trapped 

for long periods of time in the dead organic matter that exists in 

many environments with slow rates of decay. It can also stimulate 

the production of nutrients and improve the specific conditions, 

including seed release, soil, light, and nutrients, that are critical for 

the reproduction of fire-dependent species. 

Smoke is perceived as a factor that may affect land managers’ 

ability to use larger and more frequent wildland fire for restoration 

and maintenance of fire-dependent ecosystems. Several federal air 

quality programs under the Clean Air Act (CAA) regulate wildland 

fire emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 

required to set air quality standards for pollutants that affect public 

health. States are then required to submit plans to ensure 

measures will be taken to meet those air quality standards. Local 

areas may also develop plans that may be more (but not less) 

restrictive than state and national standards. 

In areas where air quality standards are violated, measures must be taken to reduce emissions. 

Emission control measures for fires that are used to meet management objectives include smoke 

management techniques that minimize and disperse smoke away from smoke-sensitive areas. Smoke 

from fires may also cause standards to be exceeded in communities miles away from the source. 

Currently, prescribed fires are not considered to be a significant cause of non-attainment. But with 

increased burning to reduce fuels and restore or maintain ecosystem health, this may change. In 

many areas, fire managers and local air quality authorities have successfully worked together to 

accomplish fire and land management objectives, resolve conflicts with smoke emissions, and avoid 

violation of air quality standards. With guidance from the national level to provide consistent 

interpretation, further cooperation at the local level will help to achieve a balance of air quality and 

other ecosystem goals. 

WUI Defined 

The wildland/urban interface 

refers to a set of conditions 

under which a wildland fire 

reaches beyond natural fuels 

(such as trees and brush) to 

homes and their immediate 

surroundings. Chapter 9 of 

this Guide addresses the 

WUI in detail. 
NWCG Communicator's Guide for 

Wildland Fire Management Fire Management 

3. 10

The USFS North Central 

Research Station has been 

conducting social science 

research in the area of fuels 

management. Visit the Web 

site below for information. 

Fact sheets also are provided 

in the appendix of this guide. 

www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/4803/foc

us/fire/fuels_mgt/

Citizens must be partners in 

wildland fire management. 

To do that, you need to 

understand their perceptions 

and attitudes in order to 

develop communication 

products that convey the 

information you want them 

to have by building on the 

values they hold dear and 

the perceptions they believe 

to be true. 

Public Perceptions and Attitudes toward Wildland Fire 

The history of humans and fire in North America illustrates the 

importance of public perceptions and attitudes in managing 

wildland fire. Because successful fire management programs 

depend on public support and collaboration, you need to develop 

communication products and education programs that reinforce 

people's values and perceptions. To do this, demonstrate that an 

issue impacts them before attempting to educate them or convince 

them of a different perspective. Once you've caught their attention 

and they are more receptive to your message, they will be 

more likely to respond to new ideas and be more willing to 

participate in supporting needed change. 

Public attitudes and perceptions tend to shift with events. To be an effective educator, you must be 

aware of your audience and their perceptions and attitudes before communicating your message. 

Otherwise, your message may be outdated or even unnecessary. 

Finally, your messages will change, as they have for fire suppression. It’s important to be upfront 

regarding the reasons for changes – and what it means for people in the community. 

Motivation and Education

You want to encourage the public to take action on the issue you are advocating – whether it's 

creating defensible space around their homes, knowing what to do if fire approaches, calling for more 

prescribed burning and other fuels reduction around their communities, or supporting research, 

management, education, and employment opportunities in the wildland fire management arena. 

People are generally not motivated by lectures on why they ought 

to do something. They are more apt to change behavior if they 

come to a conclusion themselves. Therefore, communicating 

relevancy should be your first course of action. Engage people with 

compelling stories, told by compelling storytellers. These may not 

be agency personnel. Research and experience tells us that people 

often are most influenced by their peers. Major events such as 

destructive fires in neighboring communities can also be motivating 

factors. Adapt and customize information to your specific audience 

and be inventive by using many different forms of communication. 

The following chapters provide you with the tools to do this.