For most volunteer and suburban fire departments in the eastern United States, wildland fire has always felt like something that happens somewhere else. The big fires that make national news happen out West. California burns every summer. Arizona and Colorado have massive fires that last for weeks. But West Virginia? Ohio? Pennsylvania? Those places have house fires and vehicle accidents and medical calls. Wildland fire was not really on the radar.
The 2025 fire season in West Virginia changed that thinking.
When the woods dried out across Appalachia last year, small volunteer companies that had never fought anything bigger than a roadside grass fire found themselves facing hundreds of acres of active flame. The fires came fast, burned through multiple days, and did not quit when a little rain fell. They stretched volunteer rosters thin, tested command systems that were built for structure fires, and revealed some gaps in preparedness that many departments share.
This is not about pointing fingers or creating panic. This is about looking at what happened, learning from it, and taking some practical steps to be ready when wildland fire shows up in your district. Because the real question is not if it will happen. The question is when, and whether your department will be prepared.
What happened in West Virginia
The 2025 fire season in West Virginia brought several significant wildland fires. The biggest ones hit Pendleton County hard. One fire near the Big Mountain community grew to around 350 to 385 acres on steep forested terrain inside the Monongahela National Forest. That might not sound massive compared to the 10,000 acre fires out West, but when you are a small volunteer department with limited resources, 350 acres is a serious challenge.
Multiple volunteer fire departments responded. The West Virginia Division of Forestry showed up. The U.S. Forest Service brought resources. Hand crews hiked into rough terrain with chainsaws and hand tools. Engines pumped water from distant sources. Dozers cut firebreaks along ridgelines. A helicopter made water drops from above. Even with all that effort and all those resources, the fire did not go out quickly.
Hot spots kept flaring up even after some rain fell. Crews stayed on the line for several days, rotating through shifts, working to hold containment lines and keep the fire away from homes scattered through the hills. Smoke drifted into nearby communities like Circleville, Cherry Grove, and Big Mountain. Drivers on local routes got warnings about reduced visibility and heavy emergency traffic on narrow roads.
For the volunteers who responded, this was not a quick call. This was a multi-day operation that required stamina, coordination, and a completely different approach than what most of them were used to with structure fires.
The same conditions exist across the region
Here is what makes the West Virginia fires relevant to departments across the eastern United States. The weather and fuel conditions that fed those fires do not stop at state lines. The same hardwood forests, brushy hillsides, and leaf-filled hollows that burned in Pendleton County are found all across southeastern Ohio and much of western and central Pennsylvania. Small towns and suburbs that depend on volunteer companies are surrounded by similar terrain.
When a stretch of warm, windy, dry weather settles in, cured leaves and dead grass become fuel that can carry fire through ditches, fields, and woods faster than most people expect. Fire season patterns are shifting in the eastern United States. Climate and weather data show more frequent short periods of elevated fire danger tied to dry spells and gusty winds.
That means departments that rarely see wildland fire can suddenly face multiple starts in one day or one larger fire that grows beyond local capacity in just a few hours. When that happens, mutual aid might already be stretched because neighboring departments are dealing with their own fires. The next call might be for a grass fire near homes, or flames running uphill toward a power line, or smoke crossing a road where visibility drops to nearly zero.
If your department has no plan, no training, and no preparation for wildland operations, that call becomes much harder to handle safely and effectively.
Lessons from the Pendleton County fires
The 2025 West Virginia fires highlighted several challenges that are common to many departments when they face wildland incidents. These are not criticisms. These are lessons learned from real incidents that can help other departments prepare better.
Operations that last for days
Fires that spread across hundreds of acres in timber and rough terrain do not wrap up in one shift. They require days of continuous work with crews rotating through day and night. This happens even when air support is available and some rain falls during the event. For volunteer departments used to being back in the station within a few hours, that kind of sustained effort is exhausting. It tests whether the department has any plan for feeding people, providing rest areas, and rotating personnel over multiple days without burning everyone out.
Difficult terrain and access problems
Steep slopes and narrow one-lane roads made access slow and sometimes dangerous during the Pendleton County fires. Engines that work fine on suburban streets struggled on rutted forest roads. In some cases, firefighters had to park apparatus far from the fire and walk in with hand tools. Hose lays that would normally come right off the truck were not possible in many areas. Crews had to rely on cutting fuel with hand tools, using natural barriers like creeks and ridges, and building containment lines without the water supply they were used to having.
Limited water supply
Rural Appalachia does not have fire hydrants on every corner. Many areas have no hydrants at all. Draft sites on rivers, creeks, and ponds might be a mile or more from the fire. That forces departments to set up portable tank operations, run long pump relays, or accept that water will be scarce and line construction will depend more on removing fuel than on putting water on fire. For departments that have always had reliable hydrant systems, this is a significant change in how you approach the incident.
Smoke affecting communities
Smoke from the Pendleton County fires reduced visibility on roads and affected air quality in nearby communities. People called 911 worried about the smoke. Drivers could not see more than a few hundred feet in some areas. Fire departments and emergency management had to put out warnings about health risks for children, elderly residents, and people with breathing problems. Managing public concerns and keeping people informed became just as important as managing the fire itself.
Coordinating multiple agencies
Bringing together local volunteer companies, state forestry crews, and federal resources takes more work than it might seem. Different agencies use different radio systems. Command structures do not always line up. Public information can get confusing when multiple agencies are involved. During the Pendleton County fires, leaders had to figure out on the fly how to coordinate radio traffic, clarify who was in charge of what, and keep everyone working toward the same goals. Some of that coordination went smoothly. Some parts were rough, and those became learning opportunities for next time.
These lessons raise some good questions for any department. How would your department handle operations lasting three or four days? How would you move crews around, feed them, and make sure they get rest? How would your chief or senior officers work with a state or federal incident management team that shows up with different procedures and different expectations?
If you do not have clear answers yet, that is okay. Now is the time to start thinking through these scenarios and building some basic plans.
Building a wildland readiness mindset
The first step is accepting that wildland fire is now part of the job for many eastern departments, even if it only shows up in a big way once every few years. This does not mean every volunteer company needs to become a specialized wildland crew or buy expensive new apparatus. It means building some basic wildland capability that fits your local risk and can be maintained with the resources you have.
A realistic approach starts with a few practical assumptions. Expect at least one challenging wildland event during years with bad fire weather. Assume mutual aid may already be committed to other fires when you need help. Plan for operations that last longer than one shift. Focus on simple skills and clear plans instead of trying to master complicated tactics that require constant training.
That shift in thinking, from wildland fire never happens here to wildland fire could happen and we should be ready, makes a real difference in how a department responds when the call comes in.
A practical readiness checklist
Departments can start building wildland readiness with a straightforward four-part checklist. This does not take a huge budget or massive time commitment. It just requires some honest planning and follow-through.
Map high-risk areas in your district
Look at your response area with wildland fire in mind. Stop thinking only about structure fires for a minute and start identifying where wildland fire could threaten lives, homes, and important infrastructure.
Walk through your district and mark subdivisions where homes back up to woods, brush, or steep slopes. Those are the places where fire can run uphill fast and threaten structures before anyone realizes how serious things are getting. Identify utility corridors, pipeline rights-of-way, and railroad lines where sparks from equipment can start fires in dry vegetation. Note dead-end roads, narrow bridges, and spots with limited access that could trap your apparatus if fire behavior changes or the wind shifts direction. Flag critical infrastructure near heavy vegetation, like cell towers, water treatment plants, or electrical substations.
Use simple maps that any officer can read quickly. A basic printed map in the front of each engine is better than a detailed digital map that nobody can open when cell service drops and smoke fills the air. Keep it simple and keep it accessible.
Identify water sources before you need them
Do not wait until you see smoke to figure out where water will come from. Pre-plan your water options now while you have time to check them out and verify they will work.
Make a list of reliable draft points on rivers, creeks, ponds, and dry hydrants. Test them at least once a year to make sure access is still good and water levels are adequate. Note any seasonal issues like low water in late summer or ice in early spring. Decide where you would set up portable tanks or water shuttle operations for high-risk areas. Make sure everyone in the department knows the plan. Talk with your public works department and nearby fire companies about access to large tankers or other water sources that might be available during a big incident, like irrigation ponds or swimming pools at schools.
Set up radio procedures ahead of time
Communication gets complicated fast when local departments, state forestry, and federal agencies all respond to the same fire. The 2025 Pendleton County fires involved multiple agencies using different radio systems. Getting everyone on the same channel and working together required coordination in the middle of active operations, which is not the ideal time to be figuring that out.
Decide now which local channels will be used for tactical traffic during wildland incidents. Work with your county and neighboring departments to create a simple radio plan that can be handed out or read over the air during the first operational period. Confirm how state forestry and federal resources will communicate with local command. Train your officers and dispatchers to switch to the wildland radio plan when certain conditions are met, like when a fire reaches a certain size or when multiple agencies get involved.
Having this worked out in advance saves a lot of confusion and prevents dangerous communication gaps when things get busy.
Understand how command works with state and federal teams
When a large fire develops, a state incident management team or federal overhead team may take on some command roles or form a unified command structure with local leaders. This happened on the larger fires in the Monongahela National Forest. Local chiefs need to know in advance how they will fit into that structure and what responsibilities they will keep.
Work through some basic guidelines before an incident happens. Decide who will represent your department in unified command. Think about your local priorities, like protecting specific neighborhoods or keeping certain roads open, and be ready to communicate those clearly to incoming teams. Make sure your officers understand the basic Incident Command System forms and terminology that state and federal partners use. That way they can follow briefings and planning meetings without getting lost in unfamiliar language. Assign someone to be your liaison with the incident management team so you have a direct line for tracking resource needs and community concerns.
These conversations take some time up front but they make operations run much more smoothly when a big incident hits.
Company level wildland skills
Most suburban and volunteer companies will still focus primarily on structure fires. That is fine. But adding a small set of basic wildland skills can greatly improve safety and effectiveness when your crews support forestry resources or handle smaller wildland fires on their own.
Fireline safety basics
Every firefighter working near a wildland fire should understand some fundamental safety concepts. Fire in light fuels like grass can spread very quickly. Fire on slopes moves uphill fast because rising heat preheats the fuels above the flames. Maintaining awareness of the fire, the wind, the terrain, and your escape routes is critical at all times. Avoid working directly below active fire on a slope or in narrow valleys where fire can run uphill or funnel through at speeds that are hard to outrun. Watch for changes in weather because a shift in wind direction or speed can turn a quiet section of fire into something dangerous in just minutes.
These are not complicated ideas but they are different from structure fire thinking and they need to be taught and practiced.
The LCES model
LCES is a simple safety framework that works well for wildland operations. It stands for Lookouts, Communications, Escape routes, and Safety zones.
Lookouts means assigning at least one person to watch the fire and observe any changes in behavior or new hazards. Communications means making sure everyone on the crew knows which radio channel to use and checking that radios are working before you commit people on foot. Escape routes means identifying at least two different paths to safer areas and keeping those paths open and clear as the fire and operations change. Safety zones means picking areas that are free of fuels or already burned where crews can survive the radiant heat if fire behavior suddenly gets worse.
LCES is easy to remember and it gives crews a mental checklist to run through before they start working.
Understanding wind and topography
In the hills and valleys of places like West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, the shape of the land has a huge effect on fire behavior. Fire travels faster uphill because heat rises and preheats the vegetation above. Narrow valleys and hollows can act like chimneys, funneling fire and hot gases uphill much faster than a person can move on foot. Wind gets channeled and strengthened by ridges and valleys, which affects where embers land and how fast fire spreads.
Understanding these basic patterns helps crews position themselves more safely and predict where fire is likely to go next.
Basic hand tool work
Structural firefighters who step off the engine in brush gear need to know how to use hand tools safely and effectively. The goal is not to turn them into full-time wildland firefighters. The goal is to let them safely support line construction and mop-up operations.
Key skills include proper use of tools like pulaskis, council rakes, shovels, and flappers to clear vegetation down to bare soil. Safe spacing between people when swinging tools to prevent injuries. Basic line construction like building a simple control line around a small fire or connecting your line to a road, stream, or dozer line built by others. Cold trailing and mop-up techniques to check for heat along the fire edge and around stumps or logs before you release resources and leave the scene.
These are straightforward skills that can be practiced during short training sessions.
Training behind the station
You do not need access to a national forest to train on wildland basics. Small focused drills can be done behind the station, at a local park, or on a training ground with permission from the property owner.
Try an LCES walkthrough. Set up a mock fire edge using traffic cones or chalk lines. Have crews identify lookouts, work out a communication plan, point out escape routes, and pick safety zones before they start moving. Practice tool line construction. Lay out a short strip of grass or leaves and have crews build a control line with hand tools, focusing on proper spacing, safe tool handling, and clearing vegetation down to bare soil. Run backpack pump and hose drills. Use a hydrant or portable tank to fill backpack pumps, then practice knocking down spot fires and coordinating with a short hose lay. Do radio and mapping drills. Give each team a simple map and assign them a task like locating a draft point or a staging area. Require them to communicate their position and needs over the radio using your wildland channel plan.
These small drills build skills and confidence without taking a lot of time or resources.
Preparing for long shifts in tough conditions
One thing that surprises many structural firefighters is how physically draining a wildland shift can be even when the fire is not moving fast. The work is steady, involves a lot of hiking and tool use, and usually takes place in hot, dry, smoky conditions that wear people down over time.
Lighter personal protective equipment
Heavy structural turnout gear is not appropriate for extended wildland work unless you are doing direct structure protection. For work on the fireline, certified wildland shirts and pants made from lighter flame-resistant materials work much better. They breathe better and reduce heat stress during long shifts. Proper wildland boots with good ankle support and lugged soles give better traction on uneven terrain. Helmets designed for brush work with face shields and goggles protect against embers and branches. Lightweight leather gloves allow better control when using hand tools for hours at a time.
Having the right gear makes a real difference in how long people can work safely and effectively.
Setting up good rehab areas
Rehab during a wildland incident is different from rehab at a structure fire. Hydration and controlling core body temperature become the main concerns. Provide shade or shelter from sun and wind using pop-up tents, apparatus awnings, or natural shade if available. Have plenty of water and electrolyte drinks available. Schedule drink breaks instead of waiting for crews to say they are thirsty, because by that time they are already getting dehydrated. Offer light food that is easy to digest and provides steady energy, like fruit, granola bars, and simple sandwiches. Check vital signs and allow cooling measures like taking off helmets and excess layers when it is safe to do so. Cool damp towels help people cool down faster.
Good rehab keeps people working safely for longer periods.
Managing volunteer staffing over multiple days
Volunteer departments have limited rosters and long incidents can exhaust both firefighters and their families. Having a rotation plan is important. Build pre-planned duty groups for wildland season so not everyone is called to every fire. Crews can rotate in predictable blocks and people can plan around it. Use mutual aid early to spread the workload before your members are exhausted. Talk with employers and community partners ahead of time about the possibility of extended wildland responses during high-risk periods. That way members can get time off work when needed. Track crew work time and rest periods to avoid sending the same small group back out after only a short break.
Taking care of your people over multiple days is just as important as fighting the fire.
Positioning apparatus safely
While crews work on the fireline, engines and tankers need to be positioned with escape in mind. This prevents apparatus from getting trapped by shifting fire or blocked roads. Park facing toward your escape route with enough room to turn around without having to back up through smoke or heat. Avoid parking under power lines, trees with dead branches, or near propane tanks and other hazards that could fail under heat exposure. Keep hoses arranged so they do not block the route out. Do not run lines across narrow roads that need to stay open for other apparatus. Move staging areas when fire behavior, wind, or smoke patterns change to keep both crews and apparatus ahead of potential problems.
Thinking about apparatus safety up front prevents dangerous situations later.
Community education and prevention
Wildland fire risk is not just a fire department problem. It is also a community education issue. Many of the wildland fires in West Virginia and other eastern states have been linked to debris burning and other human activities during dry conditions. Better public messaging can reduce the number of ignition sources during dangerous periods.
Fire departments can share state burn restriction updates and high fire danger notices through social media, local news, and community groups. Explain in plain language why certain days are unsafe for outdoor burning. Talk about dry leaves, low humidity, and gusty winds in terms that regular people understand. Encourage residents to report smoke early and to maintain defensible space around homes that border woods. Simple steps like clearing leaves from gutters and moving firewood piles away from the house can make a real difference if fire does threaten the area.
Prevention and education reduce the number of fires you have to fight.
Creating a simple one-page plan
A practical way to pull all these ideas together is to create a short one-page plan that captures the essential information. This plan should be simple enough to post at the station, email to everyone, and keep in the front of your first-due engines where it is easy to find.
Contact information
List the key contacts you will need quickly during a wildland incident. Include local chiefs and duty officers for mutual aid departments. Add county emergency management and your dispatch center supervisors. Record state forestry dispatch or duty officer phone numbers including after-hours contacts. Note federal contacts for nearby national forests or parks if that applies to your area.
Having these numbers in one place saves time when things get busy.
Resource list
Write down what is available locally and through partners. List engines, tankers, brush units, and UTVs with water capability in your department and mutual aid network. Note available hand tools, backpack pumps, and portable tanks with where they are stored. Identify local staging sites for large incidents like fairgrounds or school parking lots that have room for command posts, supply areas, and rehab. Record special resources like dozers, contract water haulers, or helicopter dip sites that state or federal agencies might use.
Trigger points for escalation
Define clear trigger points so the first arriving officer knows when to call for more help without delaying the request. Example triggers might include fire visible in tree crowns or running uphill toward homes. Fire larger than one acre in timber or more than a few hundred feet of flame front in grass. Multiple fire starts in the county during a high-risk weather day. Any incident on state or federal land that could reach significant size or threaten important values.
For each trigger, list who to notify and what to request, like additional brush units, tankers, a state forestry response, or an incident management team.
First arriving officer checklist
A short checklist helps keep priorities straight when you are stretched thin and things are moving fast. Size up the fire, fuels, wind, and access. Identify immediate risks to life and structures. Establish command, pick a radio channel, and request additional resources based on your pre-set triggers. Identify and communicate escape routes and safety zones to all incoming crews. Decide on an initial strategy like anchor and flank, point protection, or structure defense. Avoid committing crews in places where escape is questionable. Assign someone as a liaison if state or federal resources are already on the way. Be ready to transition to or form a unified command structure.
Having this written down helps officers make good decisions under pressure.
Moving forward with confidence
The 2025 West Virginia fire season showed that wildland fire can challenge small and volunteer departments in places that do not usually think of themselves as wildland fire country. The fires in Pendleton County required multiple days of work on steep terrain with complex coordination between local, state, and federal resources.
These incidents also showed that departments can respond effectively when they prepare in advance. Simple steps in mapping, water planning, communication setup, training, and staffing make a real difference. A short written plan, some focused training drills, and clear conversations with partners about roles and expectations give you a solid foundation.
Wildland fire is becoming part of the response profile for more eastern departments. The question is not whether these incidents will happen. The question is how ready your department will be when they do. Taking practical steps now means you can respond safely and effectively when the next fire season arrives and the woods dry out in your area.
Nobody is saying you need to become a hotshot crew or completely change how your department operates. What makes sense is building some basic capability that fits your local risk, can be maintained with the resources you have, and gives your people the skills and plans they need to work safely when wildland fire shows up on your doorstep.