NEWTOWN, Conn. – The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®) has released a new video public service announcement urging shooters and hunters not be the cause of destructive wildfires.

Last year’s wildfire season was one of the most devastating on record, and there is concern that this year could be even worse. NSSF’s “Help Prevent Wildfires” 30-second video reminds shooters and all outdoor recreationists to be mindful of their surroundings and actions to avoid being the cause of a wildfire. Precautions include:

• Being aware of restrictions on shooting and other activities in fire-prone areas.
• Not using tracer rounds, exploding targets and ammunition that is steel-jacketed or contains steel-core components.
• Knowing that a vehicle’s hot exhaust systems can ignite dry vegetation.
• Making sure all campfires are properly extinguished.

“As our new video public service announcement says, ‘Wildfires have many causes, don’t be one of them.’ As firearms owners, we can do our part to help prevent starting wildfires accidentally by checking the fire-danger levels and taking precautions before heading outdoors to target shoot or hunt,” said NSSF President Joe Bartozzi.

“The nation’s 59 state and territorial foresters are collectively responsible for wildfire protection on nearly two-thirds of America’s forested acres. It’s a big job, and we can use all the help we can get preventing wildfires from starting in the first place,” said Jay Farrell, Executive Director of the National Association of State Foresters. “NSSF’s latest video is a tremendous example of getting the word out about the importance of wildfire prevention. We’re pleased to promote its safety tips and NSSF’s work to keep our forests green.”

In addition to its new video PSA, NSSF provides a 30-second audio PSA and a “Help Prevent Wildfires” poster containing sobering facts about the scale and costs of wildfires. The poster points out there were more than 58,000 wildfires last year, with about 90 percent of them caused by humans. Wildfires threaten animal and human life and, in 2018, burned 8.8 million of acres land. Fighting wildfires is dangerous work, and the costs of suppressing wildfires is staggering, with an all-time high of $3.1 billion spent by the federal government, and an additional $1.4 billion of non-reimbursable funds spent by states, last year.

NSSF encourages individuals and organizations to share the new “Help Prevent Wildfires” video on their social media networks.

About NSSF

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org.