Wildfire suppression efforts depend on many factors such as the available fuels, atmospheric conditions, topography, and the size of the wildfire. Due to these complicating factors and additional remoteness, wildland firefighters use different tactics, techniques, and procedures, while using specially designed vehicles and tools. Wildland firefighters work to suppress flames, construct firelines, and extinguish flames in order to protect life, property, and natural wilderness. Firefighters often encounter fires that spill into smaller human settlements, leading to the development of the wildland–urban interface. In the United States and other countries, aggressive wildfire suppression aimed at minimizing fires has often protected significant chunks of wilderness, but has sometimes contributed to accumulation of fuel loads, increasing the risk of large, catastrophic fires.
History
Australia
Wildfire, known in Australia as bushfire, has long played a major role in Australian ecology and society. Early European navigators of the 17th century, who approached the west coast of Australia, reported seeing fires on the land. Records of the 1830s and 1840s indicated that aboriginals used fires for driving game from thickets of scrub and to induce young growth which would attract the game. It is also recorded that they lit such fires against the wind and were careful to try and control the fires—a matter in which they were reputed to be astonishingly dexterous. When the early European settlers attempted to emulate the Aboriginal methods in order to clear land or improve pasture, indiscriminate burning and a lack of knowledge of fire behaviour soon led to an intolerable situation, and a need for a controlled approach became apparent. Early bush fire legislation across the colonies in the second half of the 19th century restricted when, where, and by whom prescribed burns may be lit. Many of these acts also provided for the creation of volunteer bush fire brigades, their registration and legal protection. The early 20th century saw the evolution of local bushfire brigades into statewide agencies spurred by many large and devastating fires that highlighted the need for further organization, modernization, and centralized command structures. In NSW the need was recognized for improved access to remote and mountainous terrain for the purpose of fire mitigation and defence. In 1958, Fire Prevention Associations were established to develop fire trails on Crown Land. These trails evolved into a strategic network providing engine access and control lines, largely shaping the engine based tactics used in the region.
Canada
Canada contains approximately 3,964,000 km2 (1,531,000 sq mi) of forest land. Seventy-five percent of this is boreal forest, made up primarily of coniferous trees. More than 90 percent of Canadian forest land is publicly owned, and the provincial and territorial governments are responsible for fire-suppression activities. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) coordinates assistance between all provincial and territorial wildfire management agencies. During a typical year there are over 9,000 forest fires in Canada, burning an average of 2.5 million hectares (ha) or 9,700 square miles (25,000 km2). The number of fires and area burned can vary dramatically from year to year. Average suppression costs are $500 million to $1 billion annually. In Canada, two-thirds of all forest fires are caused by people, while lightning causes the remaining third. Despite this, lightning fires account for over 85 percent of the area burned in Canada, largely because many of the lightning-caused fires occur in remote, inaccessible areas. Currently about ninety percent of forest fires are fought. Generally fires near communities, industrial infrastructure, and forests with high commercial and recreation value are given high priority for suppression efforts. In remote areas and wilderness parks, fires may be left to burn as part of the natural ecological cycle.
United States
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