Vermont officials outline expanded wildland fire work after active season, cite need for more capacity

Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation officials on Thursday reviewed an above-average wildland fire season, described the chief causes — escaped debris burns and improperly disposed woodstove ashes — and said the department is working with federal and local partners to build capacity though it has no formal funding request to the Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry committee at this time.

For the record, Danielle Pitsko, Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation, opened the presentation and said, “we're here today to talk about wildland fires, an area that the department has been invested in for many, many decades. And, certainly, it is a hot topic.”

The presentation, delivered chiefly by Dan Schoeler, State Forest Fire Supervisor, summarized staffing, training, response and a notable October fire in Barnard. Schoeler said the department now maintains three full-time wildland fire specialists, about 15 state employees trained as basic wildland firefighters and additional personnel with national qualifications; it also runs training and prevention programs that reached more than 460 students last year.

Why it matters: Vermont’s wildland fires are driven mainly by human actions rather than lightning, and recent late-season dry conditions produced a spike in acreage and harder-to-control fires. Department leaders warned the state will face intermittent periods of elevated fire danger and said they are exploring federal and state funding to augment response capacity.

Officials described how Vermont’s response system works: local volunteer departments are first on scene and request mutual aid when needed; the department assists at the request of local incident commanders or through emergency management and can order national resources when incidents exceed local and state capacity. Schoeler highlighted the Northeast mutual-aid compact — codified in statute — and national coordination centers that move resources across regions.

Schoeler reviewed 2025 numbers and trends: the department recorded nine formal response requests (higher than in recent years), had 14 days at preparedness level 4, saw four National Weather Service red-flag days, and counted eight power-line–related fires. He said October–November produced both a sharp rise in number of fires and in acreage, driven in part by improper disposal of woodstove ashes during dry, windy conditions.

Schoeler described the Morgan Road fire in Barnard (Oct. 27), which burned about 57 acres, destroyed two structures and required roughly two weeks of suppression work; he said U.S. Forest Service partners and New Hampshire resources assisted. The department used infrared mapping from a University of Vermont drone program to locate hotspots and direct suppression work.

Prevention and training remain core activities: the department issues a daily fire-danger forecast on its website and through an email signup; it supervises the town fire warden program (a statutory role) and manages a Volunteer Fire Assistance grant program administered with the U.S. Forest Service that helps small towns buy wildland personal protective equipment (50% federal cost-share). Officials reported increasing numbers of nationally qualified personnel (red-carded), up from 12 to 23 in one year for certain qualifications.

Officials also discussed prescribed fire as a tool, primarily for wildlife habitat and restoration rather than large-scale fuels reduction in Vermont’s northern hardwood forests. Schoeler said the department is working with the U.S. Forest Service on planned burns and training to build local expertise.

Looking ahead, officials listed program goals: refine large-fire response plans; pursue funding for a nationally standardized wildland fire engine designed for long hose lays and high-pressure pumping; expand prescribed-burn capacity and training; and consider longer-term staffing or crewing options to sustain multi-day incidents. Commissioner Pitsko told the committee, “So we don't have an ask for this body right now, but I do anticipate probably next year...we probably will be coming and looking for some policy change and probably some resource capacity to bolster our responsibility.”

No formal votes or committee actions were taken during the presentation. Committee members asked clarifying questions about post-fire landowner assistance, jurisdiction on federal lands (the Green Mountain National Forest has primary jurisdiction on federal land), and how conservation initiatives such as “30 by 30” relate to fire ecology; officials said the conservation program focuses on long-term land protection and wildlife habitat and that wildfire suppression policy remains driven by public safety and prevention.

The discussion highlighted several operational constraints: a small corps of state wildland specialists, the multi-year horizon for developing supervisory and incident-management experience, and the limits on volunteer firefighters' availability during multi-day incidents. Officials said sending personnel on national deployments provides experience and is typically paid by federal partners when Vermont staff are assigned out of state.

The presentation concluded with an invitation for further questions and with officials reiterating that they are assessing options and partnerships to increase capacity before bringing any formal request to the committee.