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Week of Remembrance

2025 WOR: Letter to Leadership

Letter to Leadership |  Day 1  |  Day 2  |  Day 3  |  Day 4  |  Day 5  |  Day 6  |  Day 7  

 

The Week of Remembrance (WOR) was established in 2014 based on the 7-day span between June 30th and July 6th—the respective dates of the Yarnell Hill and South Canyon Fire tragedies. For 2025, WOR renews the wildland fire community’s commitment to this effort by adopting a new format that will be repeated annually. In a formal partnership between the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center and the 6 Minutes for Safety subcommittee, WOR will recognize fireline fatalities that occurred in the fire season 10 years prior. 2025 pays tribute to incidents from 2015 as follows:

  • Day 1 will always pay homage to the Granite Mountain Hotshots who perished on the Yarnell Hill Fire and, this year, also will list the names of all wildland firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2015.
  • Days 2–6 each take a closer look into the details and lessons of a specific event from 2015.
  • Day 7 will always pay homage to those who perished on the South Canyon Fire and then will offer final thoughts to close the week.

Throughout, the authors of this content aim to transmit value for our ground level firefighters by maintaining the WOR tradition of “honoring through learning.”

Learning and honoring can be a challenge to accomplish together. The act of recognizing the fallen feels personal, solemn, and solitary—like it should stand alone in quiet and remain untainted by the intellectual search for some learning opportunity. And it does, naturally. We welcome a moment of silence for each day of this WOR and all those to come. Making time and space to honor collectively is part of our healing and is a sobering nod to the fact that our workplace is inherently dangerous.

There also exists, naturally, an instinct to find meaning and make sense of tragedy. For the writer, gleaning lessons from these incidents can feel like a heavy, uncertain task. So, during WOR, we continually retrain our focus onto a search within these incidents for the relevant messages that will serve firefighters today and try to present them clearly. If successful in that mission, learning and honoring become one act. The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center does this work full time and the 6 Minutes for Safety subcommittee is indebted to their talents and insights, and grateful for their collaborative partnership to improve WOR. May it make our firefighters a little wiser, and our firelines a little safer.
 

Category
Week of Remembrance
References
Six Minutes for Safety Subcommittee
Mental Health Subcommittee

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NWCG Latest Announcements

Incident Position Standards and the Next Generation Position Task Books Now Available for UASD, UASM, UASL and UASP

Date: July 31, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Interagency Fire Unmanned Aircraft Systems Subcommittee
 

NWCG is excited to announce that Incident Position Standards and the Next Generation Position Task Books are now available for all four Unmanned Aircraft Systems positions:

  • Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Data Specialist (UASD)
  • Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Manager (UASM)
  • Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Module Leader (UASL)
  • Unmanned Aircraft Systems Pilot (UASP)

The Performance Support Packages for these positions were developed as part of the Incident Performance and Training Modernization effort. These resources support trainees, qualified personnel, and evaluators in their respective roles.

Any changes to qualification pathways will take effect with the next update of the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1, scheduled for January 2026.

References:

NWCG Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Data Specialist Position Page

NWCG Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Manager Position Page

NWCG Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Module Leader Position Page

NWCG Unmanned Aircraft Systems Pilot Position Page

Incident Position Standards and the Next Generation Position Task Books Now Available for RADO and INCM

Date: July 30, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Incident Logistics Subcommittee
 

NWCG is excited to announce that Incident Position Standards and the Next Generation Position Task Books are now available for Radio Operator (RADO) and Incident Communications Center Manager (INCM).

The Performance Support Packages for these positions were developed as part of the Incident Performance and Training Modernization effort. These resources support trainees, qualified personnel, and evaluators in their respective roles.

Any changes to qualification pathways will take effect with the next update of the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1, scheduled for January 2026.

References:

NWCG Radio Operator Position Page

NWCG Incident Communications Center Manager Position Page

ETC Equipment Bulletin: 25-004 NEW Aquatic Invasive Species – Golden Mussels

Date: July 29, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Equipment Technology Committee
 

The Equipment Technology Committee (ETC) issued Equipment Bulletin: 25-004, notifying the wildland fire community about a newly discovered invasive species and actions to take if found. Golden mussels, a highly invasive species recently identified in California, pose a significant risk to native ecosystems, infrastructure, and fire equipment. These mussels rapidly colonize hard and soft surfaces, including aquatic plants and fire equipment, clogging pipes, fouling motors, disrupting water systems, and impacting native species.

To help prevent their spread, fire personnel must follow the decontamination procedures outlined in the NWCG Guide to Preventing Aquatic Invasive Species Transport by Wildland Fire Operations, PMS 444. Additionally, report any sightings immediately to your Lead Resource Advisor and include clear, close-up photos and location details.

Read the complete ETC Equipment Bulletin: 25-004 to learn more. 

References:

NWCG Alerts

ETC Equipment Bulletin: 25-004

NWCG Guide to Preventing Aquatic Invasive Species Transport by Wildland Fire Operations, PMS 444

Incident Position Standards and the Next Generation Position Task Books Now Available for ICT5 and FFT1

Date: July 29, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Incident Command Subcommittee
Incident Operations Subcommittee

NWCG is excited to announce that Incident Position Standards and the Next Generation Position Task Books are now available for Incident Commander Type 5 (ICT5) and Firefighter Type 1 Squad Boss (FFT1).

The Performance Support Packages for these positions were developed as part of the Incident Performance and Training Modernization effort. These resources support trainees, qualified personnel, and evaluators in their respective roles.

Any changes to qualification pathways will take effect with the next update of the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1, scheduled for January 2026.

References:

NWCG Incident Commander Type 5 Position Page

NWCG Firefighter Type 1 Squad Boss Position Page