Though it is a difficult subject with much controversy attached to it, the topic of fire policy and tactics has been one debated for many years now with constant changes made year after year. Many individuals argue whether suppression or prevention tactics are the best route. Either way, the costs of fire fighting and suppression is exceeding $2 million every year causing much strain on fire fighting services (Ingalsbee, 2010).
In the subject of suppression and prevention, one example of how suppression tactics caused some problems for the fire service was the Yellowstone fire in 1988. Though fire fighting officials had data and models to follow the fire and make sure based off of past fires when the best time to jump in and suppress would be, this particular fire was different and burned out of control, causing about ⅓ of the park to burn. Much of the public and surrounding communities were upset by this as to them it looked like officials had simply just let the park burn with no intervention. Media blasted a false “let it burn ” policy that also caused much backlash to fire officials. This event, though difficult for all involved, brought about the importance for adaptation in fire policy (NPR, 2008).
Now, firefighters and fire officials are both prepped and taught different tactics and policies to fight fire which include minimum impact suppression tactics, prescribed burning policies, and safety policies to make sure that each unique fire is handled to the best ability possible (NWCG, 2003; BLM, 2013).
BLM Oregon. (2013). “Becoming a Wildland Firefighter”. Bureau of Land Management: Oregon. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JTCoM70Jk8.
Ingalsbee, T. (2010). “Getting Burned: A Taxpayer’s Guide To Wildland Fire Suppression Costs”. Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology. Retrieved from: http://www.riversimulator.org/Resources/farcountry/NGO/GettingBurnedCostWildfireSupressionFUSEE2010.pdf
NPR. (2008). “Remembering The 1988 Yellowstone Fires” National Public Radio. Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94126845.
NWCG. (2003). “Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics”. National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQpHSSAVDCU.
