Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts depend on many factors such as the available fuel, the local atmospheric conditions, the features of the terrain, and the size of the wildfire. Because of this wildfire suppression in wild land areas usually requires different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure fire fighting found in populated areas. Working in conjunction with specially designed aerial firefighting aircraft, fire engines, tools, firefighting foams, fire retardants, and using various firefighting techniques, wildfire-trained crews work to suppress flames, construct fire lines, and extinguish flames and areas of heat in order to protect resources and natural wilderness. Wildfire suppression also addresses the issues of the wildland–urban interface, where populated areas border with wild land areas.

In the United States and other countries, aggressive wildfire suppression aimed at minimizing fires has often protected and saved significant wildlands, but has sometimes contributed to accumulation of fuel loads, increasing the risk of large, catastrophic fires.

Protection of human life is first priority for firefighters. Since 1995, when arriving on a scene, a fire crew will establish safety zones and escape routes, verify communication is in place, and designate lookouts (known in the U.S. by the acronym LCES, for lookouts, communications, escape routes, safety zones). This allows the firefighters to engage a fire with options for a retreat should their current situation become unsafe. Although other safety zones should be designated, areas already burned generally provide a safe refuge from fire provided they have cooled sufficiently, are accessible, and have burned enough fuels so as to not reignite. Briefings may be done to inform new fire resources of hazards and other pertinent information.

A great emphasis is placed on safety and preventing entrapment, a situation where escape from the fire is impossible. Prevention of this situation is reinforced with two training protocols, Ten Standard Firefighting Orders and Eighteen Situations That Shout Watch Out, which warn firefighters of potentially dangerous situations, developed in the aftermath of the Mann Gulch fire. As a last resort, many wildland firefighters carry a fire shelter. In this inescapable situation, the shelter will provide limited protection from radiant and convective heat, as well as superheated air. Entrapment within a fire shelter is called a burnover. In Australia, firefighters rarely carry fireshelters (commonly referred to as "Shake 'N' Bake" shelters); rather, training is given to locate natural shelters or use hand tools to create protection; or, in the instance of 'burnover' in a tanker or other fire appliance, 'fire overrun' training is used.

Hazards beyond the fire are posed as well. A very small sample of these include: unstable/hazardous trees, animals, electrical cables, unexploded ordnance, hazardous materials, rolling and falling debris, and lightning.

Personal safety is also vital to wildland firefighting. The proper use of PPE (personal protective equipment) and firefighting equipment will help minimise accidents. At the very minimum, wildland firefighters should have proper fire-retardant clothing (such as Nomex), protective headgear, wildland firefighting-specific boots, gloves, water for hydration, fire shelters, eye protection, and some form of communication (most commonly a radio).

Resources are ranked according to importance and value almost like a checklist that starts from the top and goes all the way down. The importance of these resources gets mentioned to the people involved in combating wildfires, including the volunteers who gather at fire safety Councils, where they get taught the importance of these resources and try to prioritize them when mitigating fires. These include human health and safety, construction cost, ecological impacts, social and legal consequences, and the costs of protection however, there are other resources that also count towards that list such as soil which is one of the most important resources for the environment that gets cared for by volunteers that are on the lookout, they also get trained on the right amount of heat that is required for soil to flourish hence why they go through prescribed fires to properly nurture it. Defendability is also considered, as more effort will need to be expended on saving a house with a wooden-shake roof than one with a tile roof, for example.

While wildfire suppression focuses more on benefiting human safety and resource protection, the lack of natural fires can lead to various negative ecosystem changes, such as ruining the overall quality of the soil, as can the size of fires when they do occur at a different level than what is recommended for the soil. Fire ecology is accordingly not as simple as many might assume due to the plethora of different effects that it can have on both people and the landscape. Across the global grassland and savanna ecosystems, fire suppression is frequently found to be a driver of woody encroachment and poor quality soil, which in return also affects wildlife due to the lack of nutrients.