EXPLAINER: What are some key decisions in fighting fires?

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Thousands of wildfires burn in the U.S. each year, and each one requires firefighters to make many decisions. Russ Lane is fire operations chief for the Washington state Department of Natural Resources. He says dry lightning puts dozens of fires on the landscape, and wind causes them to spread. Aircraft are used if a wildfire is burning too intensely to send in ground forces, or if planes or helicopters are the best way to deliver water or retardant. And sometimes fires fit a beneficial land management goal, such as when they are burning in a wilderness area or a national park.