Physical fitness has been a hot-button topic in wildland fire since there’s been wildland fire. As much as people might not like it, prescribed fire IS wildland fire, just with the deck stacked as much as possible in your favor. Questions have flown about the idea of “functional” fitness tests, the hazards associated with the “Pack Test”, and even if the “Pack Test” is a valid measure of baseline physical capability necessary to perform arduous wildland fire duties. Even at a

This week, I was going to do a piece on the Forest Service's "National Prescribed Fire Review" results and what it could possibly mean for State and Private Lands Prescribed Fire planning and implementation going forward. Then this happened... I got a call last week from a friend: "Hey, you were on the Malheur [National Forest] for a few years right? What do you know about what happened?" At that moment, I didn't know anything about what happened, including what this friend w