EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

Five firefighters battling a fast-moving wildfire in Colorado were forced to deploy their fire shelters when they couldn’t escape the flames. Three of them were overcome and died, while two were injured and hospitalized.

Fire shelters are mandatory equipment for crews who work across rugged terrain where things can change at a moment’s notice, especially when extremely dry and windy weather drives the flames, as happened Saturday, June 27.

Fire shelters have saved hundreds of lives over the years, but officials caution that the equipment doesn’t guarantee protection in every scenario. Instead, the focus is on having well-defined escape and safety zones.

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READ AP'S STORY:

Fire shelters are a key defense for firefighters. But they don’t guarantee survival

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VIEW FIRE SHELTER DATA

View fire shelter deployment statistics, compiled by the U.S. Forest Service and the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

States included in these statistics are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

AP put together an interactive based on this data. An embed code can be found at the end of the guide.

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CONSIDER THESE REPORTING THREADS AND RESOURCES

— Most fire departments these days require wildland firefighting certification, as communities creep further into wild areas. For example, Albuquerque Fire Rescue in New Mexico makes all of its cadets go through training during the academy and they re-up their certifications every so often. Does your community fire department have such requirements?

— The National Wildfire Coordinating Group has resources on fire shelters, and it's among the experts in the field. https://www.nwcg.gov/publications/pms411/nwcg-standards-for-m-2002-fire-shelters-know-your-fire-shelter

— The group also has details on standards for fire shelter training. https://www.nwcg.gov/publications/pms411/nwcg-standards-for-m-2002-fire-shelters-training Talk to your local fire departments about how frequently they are training and the latest gear they're using.

— Consider the history and circumstances of fire shelter use in your state. Why have there been so many in California, and why was 2020 such a big year? Why so few in other states? What conditions led firefighters to deploy them? How many wildland firefighters are in your state, county or surrounding areas?

— Public information contact: Stanton Florea, a U.S. Forest Service employee with the National Interagency Fire Center, stanton.florea@usda.gov.

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EMBED THIS CHART

This AP digital embed chart shows wildfires since 2005 in which wildland firefighters deployed emergency shelters to try to protect themselves from flames and heat. The foil-and-fabric personal shelters have been used in about four dozen fires in the past 20 years. They can buy firefighters time, prevent burns and save lives when escape options are limited. This chart is current through 2025, and will not update. Source: National Wildfire Coordinating Group; U.S. Forest Service.

Click for a preview.

To embed, insert this code into your CMS:

!-- start AP embed --

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!-- end AP embed --

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