It’s official!✅
The 1st Ashes to Honor Gala is set for October 11, 2025, at our headquarters in Boise, ID.
Join us for an unforgettable evening dedicated to honoring the fallen and supporting the living. Together, we’ll celebrate resilience, community, and the legacies of the brave men and women who gave everything.
Later this week I will include the link to the Gala's webpage where you can find more information. In the meantime, if you have questions or anything else, contact us at the info below.
👉 RSVP today: [email protected] | (208) 336-2996
Honor the Fallen. Support the Living.
#AshesToHonor #WildlandFirefighterFoundation #HonorTheFallenSupportTheLiving
They fight battles most of us never see, venturing into infernos where the heat is relentless, and the danger is everywhere. They stand next to other heroes in the dictionaries definition of hard work and selflessness. Their courage often goes unnoticed, hidden behind smoke and ash.
They are wildland firefighters.
As we go about our busy lives, it's essential to remember and honor those who run toward the flames. Help us stand by our wildland firefighters and their families when they need it most.
#WildlandFirefighter #FirstResponders #Fire #SupportOurWildlandFirefighters #Wff #WildlandFirefighterFoundation #Firefighter #Nonprofit #ServeOurCommunity
This is an open week with no anniversary dates from the 100 Fires Project. In place of our normal weekly history roundup here is another Digging Deeper session tracing the evolution of the Smokejumper program, which reaches back to some U.S. Forest Service aerial fire control experiments in the late 1930s.
Another Digging Deeper session in June will have a history of air tankers.
This week in history - May 11 to May 17
5/14 - On this day in 1934, a State Emergency Relief Administration crew was working on a brush fire east of Julian, California. A sudden wind shift forced the crew into an urgent escape on foot down a narrow gulch. Three firefighters were unaccounted for when the crew reached their camp, however no search was initiated until the next morning. The burnt bodies of the three were found near the area where the crew had been working. This fire is not recognized in the official NWCG Historical Wildland Firefighter Fatality publication PMS 822/NFES 1849.
Link to the interactive timeline website in our Bio.
WINNER, WINNER, Chicken Dinner! Well, we're not raffling any chicken, but we are raffling over $4000 worth of Overland and Off-road gear to one (1) lucky winner. Great bundle of equipment and gear, winner takes all. A donation as little as $20 gets you entered. Link in my bio. One week left to enter. Winner will be announced LIVE right here on my Instagram at 2:00 MST (AZ doesn't do DST), May 16th, from Overland Expo-West in Flagstaff AZ, Booth J-5. You can also find this fundraiser on the Wildland Firefighter Foundation homepage, scroll to the bottom:
Any and all support is appreciated, even sharing and reposting this real. Help me, help the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, help our Wildland Firefighters and their families by Spreading Compassion like Wildfire.
🙏💜🔥
#wildlandfirefighterfoundation #retiredfirefighter
Another record breaking year for the Flathead Chapter! Because of our AMAZING community, we’re donating $215,000 to the @wffoundation !!! The impact this community has made in nothing short of incredible! Thank you to our title sponsor Flathead Ridge Ranch and all of our premier and table sponsors!
10 days left! Need your help! $20 donation for a chance to win over $4000 worth of off-road and overland gear/equipment. 🎊 Link is in my bio. Please consider supporting the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. Thank you. 🙏💜🔥
#wildlandfirefighterfoundation #retiredfirefighter #overlandexpo
This week in history - May 4 to May 10
5/4 - On this day in 2000, an escaped prescribed burn spread out of Bandelier National Monument and eventually burned into Los Alamos, New Mexico destroying over 200 homes and more than 40 buildings within the top-secret National Laboratory campus located there. The Cerro Grande Fire resulted in a major overhaul for the Department of Interior’s prescribed burning program.
5/5 - On this day in 1980, a prescribed burn near Mio, Michigan escaped less than two hours after being ignited. It burned with rapid intense flanking fire behavior and quickly overwhelmed the resources on scene. Within six hours it scorched 24,000 acres; destroyed 44 structures; and killed a U.S. Forest Service tractor-plow operator. A subsequent study of the event produced some of the first scientific findings regarding the fire behavior effects of horizontal roll vortices.
5/9 - On this day in 1950, a bear cub was picked up and carried from the burned area of the Capitan Gap Fire on the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. During a grueling week on the fire, crews were forced to seek refuge in rock slides on several occasions. In the course of events these crews observed a badly burned bear cub in the area. Finally they enticed the cub to come to them and carried it out for treatment. This bear cub became the living symbol for Smokey Bear and lived until 1976 at the National Zoo in Washington D.C.
Link to the interactive timeline website in our Bio.
On Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, we honor those who gave everything to protect others. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.
We’re proud to recognize the Wildland Firefighter Foundation for standing beside the families of fallen wildland firefighters with care, compassion and support.
🙏💜🔥 Great opportunity to WIN a bundle of OVERLAND EQUIPMENT while supporting a great cause. Please help the Wildland Firefighter Foundation (WFF). 🙏💜🔥
Link in my bio. /giveaways/overland-gear-bundle
A donation as little as $20 gets you entered, with options for multiple discounted entries. ALL PROCEEDS go directly to the WFF. Over $4000 of graciously donated prizes is up for grabs. Winner takes ALL!
This organization and its mission to support families of wildland firefighters killed in the line of duty, is very near and dear to me and my wife. For 30 yrs, this non-profit had my back, my family's back, my son's back, and the backs of 1000s of other firefighters with little to no survivor benefits. I've witnessed first hand the work they do. 🙏😢
We volunteer our time in educating and raising awareness for this little-known group of First Responders and the mission of the WFF. I've even built an off-road truck as a tribute to our Fallen Wildland Firefighters. Among many events and gatherings, we have been attending Overland Expo West for the past 4 years as an exhibitor...we'll be there again in just a couple weeks. Come see us at Booth J-5. Huge thank you to Rossmonster for sponsoring our WFF booth this year. 🙏♥️👍🏻
This RAFFLE will run through noon Saturday 5/16/26 and the winner will be drawn live on Instagram (follow @azn8tive_zr2 ).
PLEASE share this post and consider making a donation. At the WFF, the motto is "Compassion Spreads Like Wildfire". Thank you.
This week in history - April 27 to May 3
4/27 - On this day in 1938, a Bourne City engine company responded to a large fire near Shawme State Forest in Massachusetts. Upon arrival they were directed to initiate a backfire. Shifting winds quickly pushed the fire back over the road and cut them off from their engine. All five firefighters were severely burned as they tried to escape on foot; three of them died later in the hospital. This fire is not recognized in the official NWCG Historical Wildland Firefighter Fatality publication PMS 822/NFES 1849.
4/30 - On this day in 1903, a major wind event swept through drought stricken New England fanning widespread field burning and neglected railroad right-of-way fires into menacing wildfires. Over the next month several more wind events would intensify the situation with more than 600 fires burning over 640,000 acres in and around the Adirondack Mountains of New York.
Link to the interactive timeline website in our Bio.
Have you ever flown into the Boise Airport?
If you have, there’s a good chance you walked right past a bronze wildland firefighter statue without realizing it. He’s standing just outside. Gear on, ready to move. No spotlight, no announcement. Just there.
That placement isn’t random. Boise is home to the national hub for wildland fire operations, and this statue reflects that connection. It represents a job that happens far from terminals and roadways, and the legacy that each wildland firefighter carves behind them.
The coalition between the National Wildfire Suppression Association and us at the WFF helped bring it there for that reason. To keep that connection visible in a place where people come and go, and to honor all past, present, and future wildland firefighters.
For those who’ve done the work, it’s instantly recognizable. For everyone else, it’s a quiet introduction to a profession that doesn’t often get seen up close.
Next time you’re there, take a second look.
#WildlandFirefighter #BoiseIdaho #FireCommunity
