Aircraft are important fire management tools, but their use can bring substantial costs and associated risks. We developed the Aviation Use Summary (AUS), which is a decision support framework to help track the location, timing, and amount of aircraft use in fire suppression; this information is presented in a way that helps guide decision makers through a structured risk assessment and a repeatable check-in process. Extensive use in large fire support has demonstrated the effectiveness of the framework, related limitations, and potential for future improvements and broad adoption in fire management.

Crystal Stonesifer is an Ecologist with the Human Dimensions Program and Wildfire Risk Management Science Team at the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, Montana. During her 10 years with the Agency her research has primarily focused on understanding and quantifying suppression resource application and effectiveness, particularly related to aircraft. For the past 5 years, she has led the development and delivery of aviation related analytics for the Washington Office’s Risk Management Assistance work