Wildfire

Living with fire in Wyoming

Wildfire can have devastating effects for those who aren't prepared. Nationally an average of more that 140,000 wildfires occur each year, burning a total of almost 14.5 million acres. Since 1990, more than 900 homes have been destroyed each year by wildfires.

 

We know that nearly every summer in Wyoming brings wildfire to one part of the state or another. UW Extension works to bring you resources to prepare for fire in advance, stay safe during a fire, and recovery and rebuild successfully after a fire. Browse the resources below or reach out to your local Extension Office for more information.

Wildfire Resources

Whether you're looking for preparedness strategies or recovery resources UW Extension is here to help.

a person in wildland fire PPE uses a drip torch to light a sagebrush on fire while shrubs burn in the foreground

  • Check in with your neighbors if you can reach them and if you have time to do so.
  • WY Ag Stress webpage - Wyoming Department of Agriculture provides resources focused on supporting Wyoming producers with agriculture‑related stress and mental health help
  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline - offers 24/7 call, text and chat access to trained crisis counselors. If someone is in immediate danger call 911.

  • Recovery & Rebuilding - The healing process for a community requires extensive resources and support. This page provides links to resources that can help.
  • After the Fire USA - A 501(c)3 organization created by wildfire survivors and experts to support communities of all sizes as they prepare for wildfires and recover, rebuild, and reimagine a more resilient future after a wildfire.
  • Post Fire Recovery | National Interagency Fire Center  - NIFC provides information about post-fire recovery programs for the Forest Service and Department of the Interior, including for Burned Area Emergency Response on federal lands, which can impact adjacent non-federal lands, and Burned Area Recovery programs.
  • USDA Rural Development Toolkit - Disaster Resiliency and Recovery Resources for Rural Communities - Learn more about USDA Rural Development’s disaster assistance programs for rural communities.
  • USDA Disaster Assistance Programs Brochure - Learn more about USDA Farm Production & Conservation’s disaster assistance programs for farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. (Spanish Brochure)
  • Wyoming Game and Fish Department Wildfire Response Guide - This guide, developed in 2019 outlines best practices for post wildfire response.
  • WY State Forestry Division Programs - Wyoming State Forestry has a variety of assistance programs to further strengthen the protection and safety of communities by making grants available through the State of Wyoming and the U.S. Forest Service.
  • Federal Resources - Learn more about pre-disaster Federal grant and cost-share programs across USDA, FEMA and DOI that can support community-led efforts to prepare for wildfire.

  • Rural Development Disaster Assistance: USDA Rural Development Disaster Assistance is crucial for rural communities affected by crises and disasters. It offers essential support to homeowners, businesses, and communities to aid in their recovery and rebuilding process.
  • Natural Resources Conservation Service - Disaster Recovery Assistance: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service provides disaster recovery assistance to farmers, ranchers, landowners and communities through a variety of USDA programs.
  • Farm Service Agency - Disaster Assistance: USDA Farm Service Agency offers a variety of programs to help farmers, ranchers, communities, and businesses that have been hard hit by natural disaster events.
  • Food & Nutrition Service – Disaster Assistance: Coordinates with state, territory, tribal, and voluntary organizations to provide nutrition assistance to families and individuals affected by a disaster or emergency.
  • Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool (USDA): Learn about USDA disaster assistance programs that might be right for you by completing five simple steps.
  • Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) (USDA - NRCS): For lands that are part of a private agricultural operation. This program has funds available for specific practices to address post fire concerns.
  • Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program (USDA - NRCS): A federal emergency recovery program which helps local communities recover after a natural disaster strikes. The program offers technical and financial assistance to help local communities relieve imminent threats to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms and other natural disasters that impair a watershed.
  • Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) (USDA - Farm Service Agency): Provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who have suffered grazing losses due to drought or fire on land that is native or improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover or that is planted specifically for grazing.
  • Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) (USDA - Farm Service Agency): This program provides benefits to livestock producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather or by attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government.
  • Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP) (USDA - Farm Service Agency): This program provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish for losses due to disease (including cattle tick fever), adverse weather, or other conditions, such as blizzards and wildfires, not covered by LFP and LIP.
  • Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) (USDA - Farm Service Agency): This program helps the owners of non-industrial private forests restore forest health damaged by natural disasters. The EFRP does this by authorizing payments to owners of private forests to restore disaster damaged forests.

  • Living With Wildfire in Wyoming (guide)
  • Contour Wattles - also known as straw wattles, fiber roles, bio-logs, or straw tubes are used to form a continuous barrier to intercept water running down a slope. When installed properly, they can increase water infiltration and reduce soil erosion.
  • Sandbag Barriers - inexpensive temporary walls, one to two feet high that are constructed by stacking sand-filled or earth-filled sandbags and placing them to divert mud and other debris flows away from buildings.
  • Log Erosion Barriers - Log Erosion Barriers (LEBs) are logs placed in a shallow trench on the contour to intercept water running down a slope and trap sediment. This treatment may also be known as contour log felling, log terraces or terracettes.
  • Seeding - Re-establishment of permanent vegetation (such as grasses and forbs) provides long-term erosion control, may restore lost habitat values, and may help suppress noxious weed invasion after a wildfire. However it takes time and favorable climatic conditions to establish vegetation from seeding operations. There are other considerations as well. Read this document for more information.
  • Reseeding after fire: If, when, and how - Barnyards & Backyards article to help you think it through.
  • Hand Raking - is used on severely burned slopes with hydrophobic soil properties that will also be treated by mulching for erosion control, and may also include seeding to reestablish vegetation.
  • Wyoming Weed & Pest Council page - variety of resources (noxious weed ID, etc.)
  • Institute for Managing Annual Grasses Invading Natural Ecosystems (IMAGINE) This web site provides info on identification, management & control of invasive annual grasses (cheatgrass, medusahead, ventenata, etc)
  • Cheatgrass Management Handbook: Managing an invasive annual grass in the Rocky Mountain Region -  This handbook provides information which can help land managers develop a strategic approach to managing this invasive annual grass. It focuses on managing cheatgrass in rangelands and natural areas.

Extension Wildfire Videos