US Fish & Wildlife, Fire Management Banner

Washington

firefighters contain refuge fire

September 2009

Firefighters at the Little Pend Orielle National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Washington have contained a fire started by lightning from a thunderstorm on September 1. The storm dropped several strikes on the refuge keeping firefighters from the refuge and neighboring cooperators busy for several days as the fire burned in a mixed-conifer forest with scattered woody debris. Crews worked on the ground to construct a fireline around the fire while using a helicopter to help cool hotspots.

Although the fire is contained, firefighters continue to work on any remaining heat. Managers anticipate declaring the fire out in the next couple of days.

The refuge is unique to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because it is the only mountainous, mixed-conifer forest refuge outside of Alaska. With elevations ranging 1,800 to 5,610 feet, Little Pend Orielle hosts a diversity of plant and wildlife species. The refuge also offers multitudes of recreation opportunities to its visitors.


A helicopter drops buckets of water on a fire started by lightning on the Little Pend Orielle National Wildlife Refuge. Dan Brauner, USFWS	Firefighters dig fireline around a fire started by lightning on Little Pend Orielle National Wildlife Refuge in Washington. Dan Brauner, USFWS

back to headlines

Back to News Archives

Interior Fire Program Assessment

Did You Know...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages public land in every U.S. state and territory, including 550 national wildlife refuges and 70 national fish hatcheries.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages more than 75 million burnable acres, including 24 million acres of forest/brushland and 4 million acres of grassland.

More than 80% of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands in the continental U.S. (and more than 90% in Alaska) include fire-adapted ecosystems with vegetation dependent on periodic fire.

An average of 500 wildfires burn 300,000 acres each year on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands. The Service also burns more than 350,000 acres a year using prescribed fire.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service annual fire program budget is approximately $80 million.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employs more than 500 permanent fire professionals, along with 200 seasonal and temporary fire employees during fire season.

More than 2,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees are qualified to assist with wildland fire management on an interagency basis.

The U.S. Fish and Wildland Service Fire Management Program protects more than 700 communities and wildland-urban interface areas.

Historically, an acre was the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in one day. This measures 90% of a football field. There are 640 acres in a square mile.

More than 90% of the hazardous fuels reduction by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is completed using prescribed fire.