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Week of Remembrance

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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.
 

References:

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Week of Remembrance

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NWCG Latest Announcements

Quarter Three Materials for the 2025-2026 Wildland Fire Leadership Campaign Now Available

Date:  April 1, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Leadership Committee

NWCG is excited to announce that Quarter Three materials for the 2025/2026 Wildland Fire Leadership Campaign are now available. This annual initiative offers all students of leadership and wildland fire management an opportunity to engage with essential leadership skills and knowledge needed to lead effectively in dynamic environments.

Quarter Three materials focus on Leadership Level 3: Leader of People (Develop Intent). Leadership Level 3 is where your values, your team, and your influence come together. Leaders of People put their teams first, build trust, and lead with authenticity. They mentor future leaders and shape decisions up and down the chain.

References:

2025/2026 NWCG Leadership Campaign - Leadership Levels

Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program

Leadership Committee

WFSTAR 2026 Core Components Module Package and 2025 Fire Year in Review Now Available

Date:  March 23, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Joe Schindel

The 2026 Core Components Module Package for RT-130, Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR) and the 2025 Fire Year in Review are now available on the NWCG website. The 2026 Core Components Module Package provides all content needed to deliver RT-130.

References:

2026 Core Components Module Package

2025 Fire Year in Review Module

NEW! S-490, Advanced Fire Behavior Calculations (Blended) Available Now

Date:  March 17, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Fire Behavior Subcommittee

NWCG is pleased to announce that the new S-490, Advanced Fire Behavior Calculations (Blended), 2026 course is now available.

This training includes performance-based activities that allow students to apply the knowledge and concepts required for the Fire Behavior Analyst (FBAN), Long Term Fire Analyst (LTAN), and Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 1 (RXB1) positions. It supports individuals working towards these incident qualifications.

This blended course begins with a self-paced online training (OLT) in the Wildland Fire Learning Portal (WFLP), followed by an in-person instructor-led training (ILT).

References:

S-490, Advanced Fire Calculations (Blended)

NWCG Fire Behavior Analyst (FBAN) Position Page

NWCG Long Term Fire Analyst (LTAN) Position Page

NWCG Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 1 (RXB1) Position Page

2024 Paul Gleason Award Winners Announced

Date:  March 13, 2026
Questions? 
Please contact: Leadership Committee

The NWCG Leadership Committee is proud to announce the recipients of the 2024 Paul Gleason "Lead By Example" awards. Award categories include Initiative and Innovation, Mentoring and Teamwork, Motivation and Vision, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Congratulations to the awardees:

  • Justin Baxter, National Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Operations Specialist, with the U.S. Forest Service — Initiative and Innovation
  • Kelly Woods, Director of the Wildland Firefighting Lessons Learned Center — Mentoring and Teamwork
  • Doug Booster, Instructor, ProHealth Net, Inc. — Motivation and Vision
  • Pam McDonald, Writer-Editor for the National Interagency Fire Center — Lifetime Achievement Award

References:

Paul Gleason Lead By Example Award

Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP)

Leadership Committee