Wildland Fire Management

Scouts BSA · Merit Badge · Nature

Wildland Fire Management is about understanding how wildfires behave and how people manage and prevent them. You will learn how fire shapes the land, how firefighters work, and what you can do to help prevent fires. It's important work that protects communities and forests.

Why it's worth it

Fire has shaped forests and grasslands for thousands of years, and today it's one of the biggest challenges for communities near wild land. Wildland Fire Management shows you how fire behaves, why land managers sometimes set planned fires on purpose, and how crews and communities prevent and fight wildfires. You'll come away able to make your campsite and home safer, and you'll understand a field with seasonal jobs open to young adults right out of high school.

Start this week

Walk around your home or campsite with a parent and point out anything that could help a fire spread, like dry leaves or stacked firewood near a wall.
Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Wildland Fire Management counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
Look up the current fire danger rating for an area where your troop camps.
Pick a historic U.S. wildfire you've heard about for requirement 10 and start reading about it.

Stay safe

Handle wildland firefighting tools only with a trained adult showing you, and never try to fight a real wildfire; leave the area and report it.
Follow your campsite's fire rules and any burn bans, and drown, stir, and feel campfire ashes until they're cold.

Requirements · 11

Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).

Requirement 1
Research the history of wildland fire in the United States, including how it has been suppressed, prevented, and managed, and discuss it with your counselor
Tip: Read about how people have thought about wildfire over time and how management has changed.
Requirement 2
Research the damage wildfire does in the United States, including acres burned each year for the past 3 years, and discuss with your counselor its harm to each of the following
Tip: Look up recent wildfires and the damage they caused to homes, land, and wildlife.
1. Requirement 2a
  Commercial forest products
2. Requirement 2b
  Fish and wildlife habitat
3. Requirement 2c
  Soil and water
4. Requirement 2d
  Recreation and public use
5. Requirement 2e
  Homes, communities, and human resources
6. Requirement 2f
  Air quality and public health
Requirement 3
Discuss with your counselor how land managers use prescribed fire for each of these goals
Tip: Talk about why land managers sometimes use planned, controlled fire on purpose.
For example: Explain why a land manager might burn a forest on purpose: to clear out dead brush that would fuel a bigger fire, help certain plants and animals that need fire, or restore a prairie. Describe how crews plan for safe weather and wind before lighting it.
1. Requirement 3a
  Reducing fuel
2. Requirement 3b
  Improving fish and wildlife habitat
3. Requirement 3c
  Restoring ecosystems
4. Requirement 3d
  Regenerating forests
5. Requirement 3e
  Controlling insects and disease
Requirement 4
Wildfire prevention and mitigation
Tips for this section: Look at your home or campsite and talk about ways to reduce fire risk.
Example for this section: Talk about what you'd do at home and at camp: clear dead leaves from gutters, keep a space around buildings free of brush, use established fire rings, and never leave a campfire unattended.
1. Requirement 4a
  Wildfire prevention
  1. Requirement 4a1
    Discuss with your counselor the leading causes of wildfires across the United States
  2. Requirement 4a2
    Discuss with your counselor ways to keep people from starting wildfires in your community and on unit outings
2. Requirement 4b
  Wildfire mitigation
  1. Requirement 4b1
    Discuss with your counselor what the wildland-urban interface is
  2. Requirement 4b2
    Discuss with your counselor defensible space and ways to protect wildland-urban interface homes and communities from wildfire
Requirement 5
Fire behavior
Tips for this section: Learn how fuel, weather, and land shape fire, and draw a simple diagram of a wildfire.
Example for this section: Explain the fire triangle (heat, fuel, oxygen) and how fuel, weather, and terrain change fire behavior. Draw a wildfire and label its head, flanks, heel, and spot fires, and show which way the wind is pushing it.
1. Requirement 5a
  Discuss with your counselor how the fire environment shapes wildland fire behavior, with examples of how weather, topography, and fuel each play a part
2. Requirement 5b
  Explain how removing heat, fuel, or oxygen can put out a wildfire
3. Requirement 5c
  Draw a diagram showing the parts of a wildfire
Requirement 6
Firefighter safety
Tips for this section: Ask a firefighter about their gear and how they stay safe on the fire line.
1. Requirement 6a
  Discuss with your counselor the personal protective equipment wildland firefighters wear and how it's used
2. Requirement 6b
  Discuss with your counselor each of these and why it matters for personal safety and situational awareness on a wildland fire
  1. Requirement 6b1
    The 10 Standard Firefighting Orders
  2. Requirement 6b2
    The 18 Watch Out Situations
  3. Requirement 6b3
    Lookouts, Communication, Escape Routes, and Safety Zones (LCES)
Requirement 7
Suppression tactics
Tips for this section: Learn how firefighters control fires and draw a chart of how their team is organized.
Example for this section: Draw an Incident Command System chart for a wildfire, with an incident commander at the top and sections for operations, planning, logistics, and finance. Then explain how crews build a fire line by removing fuel down to bare soil.
1. Requirement 7a
  On your diagram from requirement 5c or a wildfire map, use tokens for firefighting resources to demonstrate these tactics, alone or with a small team, and explain when each would be used
  1. Requirement 7a1
    Direct attack
  2. Requirement 7a2
    Indirect attack
  3. Requirement 7a3
    Minimum impact suppression tactics
  4. Requirement 7a4
    Using hand crews, machinery, and aircraft
  5. Requirement 7a5
    Mop-up
  6. Requirement 7a6
    Repair and restoration
2. Requirement 7b
  Diagram the Incident Command System, then explain, alone or with your team, what the Command and General Staff positions do on a wildfire
Requirement 8
Suppression tools
Tips for this section: Ask a firefighter or ranger to show you hand tools and how each is used.
1. Requirement 8a
  Demonstrate 3 hand tools made for wildland firefighting, and use one of them to show how a fireline is built
2. Requirement 8b
  Discuss 7 other tools, pieces of equipment, or apparatus made for wildland firefighting and explain how each is used
Requirement 9
Taking action. Choose 1 of 5
Tips for this section: Help with a Firewise or fire prevention project in your community.
Example for this section: Pick one option, like doing a Firewise assessment of a camp building with local fire staff, then with your counselor's OK clearing brush around it and writing a short report, or meeting a fire prevention specialist and creating a skit or billboard idea about campfire safety to share with your troop.
1. Requirement 9a
  Create a wildland fire readiness plan for an area you know: map its resources, water sources, natural and human-made barriers, and access, and cover fuel loads, fire apparatus, structure protection, medical and evacuation needs, values at risk, and likely tactics
2. Requirement 9b
  Meet with your local fire warden or a state or federal forestry official to discuss local wildfire causes and types, fire seasons, and which agency fights wildfires in your area; share what you learned with your counselor
3. Requirement 9c
  Do a Firewise assessment of a home or building (a Scout camp building counts) in the wildland-urban interface and find its fire risks; with counselor approval, do a project to lower the risk, then write a short report on it
4. Requirement 9d
  Meet a Fire Prevention Specialist or local fire official about community fire prevention, then make a prevention message (skit, video, or billboard idea) and share it with your counselor and troop or another approved group
5. Requirement 9e
  Meet a meteorologist or fire weather expert to discuss local fire weather concerns, fire seasons, and what triggers a Fire Weather Watch or Red Flag Warning, then share what you learned with your counselor
Requirement 10
Research a historic catastrophic U.S. wildland fire and discuss with your counselor and/or troop or approved group what caused it, how it was managed, how it could have been prevented, the lessons learned, and how it changed suppression policy or tactics
Tip: Choose a famous wildfire and learn what happened and what people learned from it.
Requirement 11
Explore careers related to this badge and research one (training and education, costs, job outlook, pay, duties, advancement) using sources your parent or guardian approves; discuss your findings and why it might interest you with your counselor
Tip: Ask a firefighter or forester how they got into the field.

Places to visit

Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.

A fire station or wildland fire crew base
Crews can show you engines, hand tools, and the protective gear they wear on the fire line.
How: Have a leader contact the local fire department, state forestry agency, or national forest office and ask about a visit outside fire season.
A Firewise community project or prevention event
You'll see how neighbors and fire staff work together to make homes safer.
How: Have a leader check with local fire or forestry staff about upcoming community workdays your troop can join.

Where it can lead

Wildland firefighterWorks on engine, hand, or hotshot crews; seasonal jobs often start at 18.
Smokejumper or helitack crew memberExperienced firefighters who reach remote fires by parachute or helicopter.
Fire ecologist or foresterStudies how fire affects land and plans prescribed burns.
Fire weather meteorologistForecasts wind and weather for crews on big fires.
DispatcherCoordinates crews, aircraft, and equipment during fires.

Ask yourself

What surprised you most about how fire is used as a tool, not just fought?
How has learning about fire behavior changed how you think about campfires?
What did you learn from the historic wildfire you researched?
What could your family or community do to be better prepared for fire season?
Which wildland fire job would you most want to try, and why?

Good questions to ask a wildland firefighter or forester

What does a day on a fire assignment look like, from start to finish?
How do you decide where to build a fire line?
What safety rules do crews never break?
How do you plan a prescribed burn so it stays under control?
How did you get your first job in wildland fire, and what training did it take?

Helpful reads

For leaders & parents

Invite a wildland firefighter or forester to speak and show their tools.
Connect scouts with a local Firewise community project.

People & places that can help

Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
U.S. Forest Service (opens in a new tab) — Information about wildfire and forest management.
National Fire Protection Association (opens in a new tab) — Firewise and fire prevention resources.
Local fire department or state forestry agency — Can share local fire safety and prevention.
National Interagency Fire Center (opens in a new tab) — Current wildfire information and how agencies work together.
Firewise USA (opens in a new tab) — How neighborhoods reduce wildfire risk to homes.
Smokey Bear (opens in a new tab) — Wildfire prevention and how fire danger ratings work.
National Park Service: Wildland Fire (opens in a new tab) — How parks use and fight fire, with stories from fire crews.

Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.