The Department of Defense (DoD), through the Commander, U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), provides support to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in conducting Wildland Fire Fighting (WFF) operations within the continental United States, Alaska, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other locations as approved by the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF). Each year, an average of approximately 73,000 wildfires burn an average of about 7 million acres of land in the United States.