2020 Wildfire Season Plan – More Aircraft, Fewer Crews

State and Federal public lands fire authorities are reporting that this year they are returning to an “old school” approach to fighting wildfires. That means massive intervention and engagement, which will include the use of aircraft from on the onset, as a possible way to reduce manpower requirements and limit crews to the COVID-19 virus. In recent years, officials had been allowing some nonthreatening fires to burn away undergrowth, that will not happen this year. According to Jessica Gardetto, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management at the National Interagency Fire Center, “Aggressive initial attack is the single most important method to ensure the safety of firefighters and the public; it also limits suppression costs.”