Skip to main content

Public Distribution

With the retirement of the GeoMAC website for data hosting and public data distribution in 2019, another method of delivering incident geospatial information to the public was needed. The Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Service (WFIGS) Group provides authoritative geospatial data products under the interagency Wildland Fire Data Program. Hosted in the NIFC Org, WFIGS provides both internal and public-facing data, accessible in a variety of formats. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) “Open Data” site creates a publicly accessible, searchable website. Open Data sites make authoritative data easy to find and access in multiple commonly used formats. Making perimeters that have been approved for sharing with the public accessible through the NIFC Open Data site has a number of key benefits:

  • Users can access the data in their preferred format – shapefile, geodatabase, spreadsheet, or several flavors of web service.
  • Perimeter data can be shared from the same site as other wildland fire reference data, including dispatch boundaries, Geographic Area boundaries, and predictive service areas.
  • Open Data sites are cloud-hosted and scale to the load put on them, depending on traffic, reducing the cost, and management workload of providing public-facing data.

The NIFC Open Data site URL is http://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/ and requires no login or password.

Image
Screenshot of the NIFC Open Data Site homepage.

Datasets

Several data sets are publicly available through the NIFC Open Data Site. Details can be found in the description of each service on the site.

Image
Screenshot of icons and links for the NIFC Open Data Site.

As a GISS you could be asked to use current and/or historic wildland fire data for analysis or maps.  To help understand and use WFIGS data, watch the WFIGS training video.

 

Print PDF

NWCG Latest Announcements

Incident Position Standards and Next Gen Position Task Books Now Available for Dispatch Incident Positions

Date: March 5, 2025
Contact: National Coordination System Committee

NWCG is excited to announce that Incident Position Standards and Next Generation Position Task Books are now available for all six Dispatch positions:

  • Aircraft Dispatcher
  • Expanded Dispatch Coordinator
  • Expanded Dispatch Recorder
  • Expanded Dispatch Supervisory Dispatcher
  • Expanded Dispatch Support Dispatcher
  • Initial Attack Dispatcher

The Performance Support Packages for these positions, including the Expanded Dispatch Job Aid, J-601 and the Initial Attack and Aircraft Dispatcher Job Aid, J-602, were developed as part of the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. These resources support trainees, qualified personnel, and evaluators in their roles.

Any changes to qualification pathways will take effect with the next update of the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1.

References:

NWCG Aircraft Dispatcher Position Page 

NWCG Expanded Dispatch Coordinator Position Page 

NWCG Expanded Dispatch Recorder Position Page 

NWCG Expanded Dispatch Supervisory Dispatcher Position Page 

NWCG Expanded Dispatch Support Dispatcher Position Page 

NWCG Initial Attack Dispatcher Position Page 

NWCG Job Aids 

Incident Position Standards and the Next Generation Position Task Books Now Available for DMOB, DOCL, and RESL

Date: February 28, 2025
Contact: Incident Operations Subcommittee

NWCG is excited to announce that Incident Position Standards and the Next Generation Position Task Books are now available for Demobilization Unit Leader (DMOB), Documentation Unit Leader (DOCL), and Resources Unit Leader (RESL).

The Performance Support Packages for these positions, including a job aid for RESL, were developed as part of the Incident Performance and Training Modernization (IPTM) effort. These resources support trainees, qualified personnel, and evaluators in their respective roles.

Any changes to qualification pathways will take effect with the next update of the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1.

References:

NWCG Demobilization Unit Leader Position Page 

NWCG Documentation Unit Leader Position Page 

NWCG Resources Unit Leader Position Page 

Next Generation Position Task Book and Updated Incident Position Description Now Available for Operations Section Chief Complex

Date: February 27, 2025
Contact: Incident Operations Subcommittee

NWCG is excited to announce that Operations Section Chief Complex (OSCC) has a Next Generation NWCG Position Task Book for Operations Section Chief Complex (OSCC), PMS 311-108 and an updated Incident Position Description.

These resources support trainees, qualified personnel, and evaluators in their respective roles.

References:

NWCG Operations Section Chief Complex Position Page 

NWCG Operations Section Chief Complex Incident Position Description 

NWCG Position Task Book for Operations Section Chief Complex (OSCC), PMS 311-108 

2025 NWCG Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG), PMS 461, Now Available

Date: February 27, 2025
Contact: Incident Operations Subcommittee

NWCG is excited to announce that the 2025 NWCG Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG), PMS 461, is now available. Visit NWCG's website to learn about the major updates and changes in the 2025 version of the IRPG. The NWCG Guia de Respuesta de Incidente de Bolsillo (GRI), PMS 461-ES is available electronically and will be available from Great Basin Cache by early summer 2025.

All hard copy materials, including the IRPG, are ordered through the Great Basin Cache (GBK). Information on the ordering process can be found in the National Fire Equipment System (NFES) Catalog.

References:

2025 IRPG Information 

NWCG Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG), PMS 461 

NWCG Guia de Respuesta de Incidente de Bolsillo (GRI), PMS 461-ES 

NWCG NFES Catalog - Part 2: Publications, PMS 449-2