#148 - Wildfire Basics and Forest Management with Evan Guzik of the USFS

Evan Guzik is a Public Affairs Officer for the US Forest Service out of the Bridger Teton Forest and joins the podcast to walk me through the basics of wildfires. Not only am I honored to have the US Forest Service represented on my show, but it’s made even more special because Evan and I served together in the Marine Corps nearly 20 years ago.

My knowledge of wildfires is very basic. Aside from the obvious, I don’t really know a whole lot so Evan and I thought it would be good to just cover the basics of how all this stuff works so that we can all learn together and gain a better understanding of wildfires.

We cover what prescribed burns are and why they’re useful, how fires are managed from beginning to end, what to do if you see a fire or you’re around one when you’re hiking or backpacking, and how to handle yourself in an area after a burn.

There’s a lot of great stuff in this episode that to me is really helpful and I think you’re going to really enjoy it. Just the fact that I now know more about what goes on in our forests is huge because I figure the more I know, the better a steward I can be out there.

If you want to learn more about wildfires, Evan provided some links that I’ve listed in the show notes so be sure to check those out when you have a chance. Again, this episode is really special to me so thanks to Evan for doing the legwork to make this happen, and thanks to the US Forest Service for being willing to put this out there!

Show Notes

Introductions

Catching up with Evan

Evan’s backstory

Wildfire burns, prescribed burns, and a brief history of forest management

How a fire turns from good to bad

How a wildfire is fought and managed

How to handle a wildfire if you see one

How the Forest Service gauges fire danger

To build or not to build a fire?

What the public can do to help prevent wildfires

Advice for hiking through a burn area

Links

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/ (fire information)

https://www.nifc.gov/ (Wildland Fire resources)

https://www.nwcg.gov/ (Wildfire Training)

https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Wildfire/Firewise-USA (Home Defensible Space)

https://smokeybear.com/

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