U.S. Wildland Fire Service

Vicki Christiansen, who retired as Forest Service chief in 2021, pointed to aggressive agency mandates to quickly extinguish fires as a possible factor at play during this dangerous season.

A recently unveiled home for aerial firefighting resources in Casper is one of several moves to strengthen fire response, as nationwide changes to a more aggressive approach to fires may mean less land burned but bigger future fires.

Deaths and close calls while fighting wildfires have strained an already on-edge workforce. They've also raised questions about policies and priorities amid an intense wildfire season.

The National Interagency Fire Center predicts normal fire potential for September and above average precipitation in Wyoming.

Twelve fires are over 100,000 acres.

Firefighters will now be able to use N95 masks on the fireline – building on a more limited, voluntary rollout of masking that started last fall. There will also be expanded access to showers, time for routine gear cleaning and so-called “clean air recovery periods” that can limit other risks.

Officials are anticipating fewer July wildfires in the northeast corner of the state. Parts of the south still remain above normal fire potential.

Low morale, staffing woes and health worries are among the top issues shared by hundreds of federal wildland firefighters who responded.

Following the burnover deaths of three wildland firefighters near the Utah-Colorado border last weekend, a top federal fire official has strong words of warning ahead of Independence Day – the single biggest day for human-started fires.

“Suppression is always going to be there,” Chief Brian Fennessy told the Mountain West News Bureau. “But we're not going to suppress our way out of this situation.”