Wildfire / Operations / Wildfire Response Checklist

Wildfire Response Checklist

Initial actions

  • Confirm location, access, smoke/flame report, and exposures.
  • Establish command and announce command location.
  • Confirm radio channel and accountability process.
  • Identify values at risk: life safety, structures, access routes, utilities, livestock, and hazards.

Safety

  • LCES: Lookouts, Communications, Escape Routes, Safety Zones.
  • Watch wind, slope, fuels, spotting, and changing fire behaviour.
  • Confirm water supply plan.
  • Confirm crew rehab and drinking water.
  • Re-establish LCES whenever the situation, terrain, or assignment changes.

Operations

  • Size-up fire location, fuel type, slope, wind, rate of spread, and access.
  • Decide offensive, defensive, structure protection, or exposure protection strategy.
  • Assign divisions/groups as needed.
  • Request BCWS, mutual aid, tenders, equipment, traffic control, or evacuation support early.

Documentation

  • Track units, assignments, times, hazards, and major decisions.
  • Save photos, maps, and notes after the incident.

LCES — Detail

  • Lookout(s) — Posted where they can see both the fire and the crew, with a clear escape route of their own. Know current and forecast weather/fire behaviour.
  • Communications — Reliable radio contact between lookout(s), crew, and command. Confirm channel before committing to an assignment.
  • Escape route(s) — Identified, walked/driven if possible, and timed. Have more than one if possible. Re-evaluate as fire moves or fuels/terrain change.
  • Safety zone(s) — Large enough that crews and equipment will not need to deploy fire shelters; generally an area already burned (the black), a large clearing, water body, or constructed/cleared area scaled to expected flame lengths.

NWCG 10 Standard Fire Orders

  1. Keep informed on fire weather conditions and forecasts.
  2. Know what your fire is doing at all times.
  3. Base all actions on current and expected behaviour of the fire.
  4. Identify escape routes and safety zones, and make them known.
  5. Post lookouts when there is possible danger.
  6. Be alert, keep calm, think clearly, act decisively.
  7. Maintain prompt communications with your crew, your supervisor, and adjoining forces.
  8. Give clear instructions and ensure they are understood.
  9. Maintain control of your crew at all times.
  10. Fight fire aggressively, having provided for safety first.

18 Watch Out Situations

  1. Fire not scouted and sized up.
  2. In country not seen in daylight.
  3. Safety zones and escape routes not identified.
  4. Unfamiliar with weather and local factors influencing fire behaviour.
  5. Uninformed on strategy, tactics, and hazards.
  6. Instructions and assignments not clear.
  7. No communication link with crewmembers/supervisor.
  8. Constructing line without safe anchor point.
  9. Building fireline downhill with fire below.
  10. Attempting frontal assault on fire.
  11. Unburned fuel between you and the fire.
  12. Cannot see main fire; not in contact with anyone who can.
  13. On a hillside where rolling material can ignite fuel below.
  14. Weather becoming hotter and drier.
  15. Wind increases and/or changes direction.
  16. Getting frequent spot fires across line.
  17. Terrain and fuels make escape to safety zones difficult.
  18. Taking a nap near the fireline.

If you find yourself in any of these situations, stop and reassess before continuing.

Structure Protection — Quick Triage

When time and resources are limited, prioritize structures using a quick triage approach:

  1. Survivability — Can the structure realistically be defended given fire behaviour, defensible space, construction materials, and access? If not survivable safely, do not risk crews to defend it.
  2. Access & egress — Confirm at least one safe way in and out for apparatus before committing. Avoid dead-end driveways with no turnaround if fire could cut off the route.
  3. Defensible space — Note FireSmart condition (vegetation near structure, roof/gutter debris, propane tank location, woodpiles against the house). See 01_Wildfire/FireSmart/FireSmart_Local_Assessment_Notes.md.
  4. Hazards — Propane tanks, fuel storage, outbuildings full of combustibles, livestock, power lines, septic fields (avoid driving over), wells/water sources for drafting.
  5. Triage marking — Use a consistent local system (e.g., chalk/flagging tape + radio report) to mark structures as Defend / Prep & Move On / Not Defendable, and communicate this to incoming resources.
  6. Sprinkler/SPU deployment — If deploying structure protection units, note pump location, water source, hose lays, and sprinkler placement so units can be found and recovered later.

Resource Request Quick List

When requesting additional support, have ready:

  • Incident location (address, lat/long, or BCWS fire number if assigned)
  • Current size, behaviour, and spread direction
  • Resources on scene and resources requested (type and number)
  • Access route and staging area location
  • Radio channel/talkgroup in use
  • Any evacuation alert/order status and who issued it