2017 NW fire season summary interactive map online

The Pacific Northwest Region of the USDA Forest Service announced Wednesday it has released a new interactive map detailing the 2017 fire season in the Pacific Northwest. It’s designed to tell the complete story of the fire season through a visual and interactive narrative timeline of key events.

The 2017 fire season was long and arduous in the Pacific Northwest. We spent a record 40 days at the highest level of preparedness (Level 5) – almost three weeks more than during the severe 2015 fire season. In addition, we had multiple fires that crossed state, regional and national borders prompting multi-jurisdictional and even bi-national fire management with our Canadian neighbors.

“If the past several fire seasons have taught us anything, it is to be prepared for everything,” the announcement news release said. “Through these demanding seasons, we have learned that we cannot address the growing wildfire problems on our own. Rather, we must strive to collaborate in all facets of preparedness, prevention, response and recovery.”

The 2017 Fire Narrative and Timeline tells the story of successes and challenges, and also addresses emerging technology and science that we piloted, such as the Quantitative Risk Assessment, Risk Management Assistance Teams and using Unmanned Aircraft Systems for infrared and reconnaissance flights.

The USDA Forest Service commissioned this narrative summary to capture the full story, not only for historical purposes, but to help the agency continue to learn from past experiences and prepare for future fire seasons.

In the face of changing climate and longer, more expensive fire seasons, the Forest Service is committed to working collaboratively with our partners to ensure communities are prepared and resilient.

The full narrative summary and interactive story map is available online at https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r6/fire-aviation