Initial attack vs extended attack, explained
The first response to a new fire, aiming to contain it small and fast. Extended attack is everything after that fails.
Most fires die in initial attack: local engines, crews, and aircraft hit a new start and close it out within a burning period or two. Fire maps light up with these all season, and almost none of them become anything.
Extended attack begins when the fire is still moving after initial attack. Command gets organized, resource orders grow, and the fire enters the world of teams, camps, and multi-week timelines.
For contractors
Initial attacks are noise for most contractors: hundreds of dots that never order more than an engine. The transition to extended attack is where your season lives, and command tier is how you spot it without watching every dot.
In the briefing
This is the filter the briefing applies for you: it skips the initial-attack noise and reports the fires acquiring organized command.
Related terms
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