Treesearch

Research Highlights: Our results suggest that weather is a primary driver of resource orders over the course of extended attack efforts on large fires. Incident Management Teams (IMTs) synthesize information about weather, fuels, and order resources based on expected fire growth rather than simply reacting to observed fire growth. Background and Objectives: Weather conditions are a well-known determinant of fire behavior and are likely to become more erratic under climate change. Yet, there is little empirical evidence demonstrating how IMTs respond to observed or expected weather condition...

Wildland fire occurrence is highly variable in time and space, and in the United States where total area burned can vary substantially, acquiring resources (firefighters, engines, aircraft, etc.) to respond to fire demand is an important consideration. To determine the composition and scale of this set of suppression resources managers may utilize data produced by past supply and demand information. The key challenge with this approach is that there is currently no clear system of record to track suppression resource supply and demand, and there are potential pitfalls within existing...

The immediate effects of wildfire on a community can be disastrous, as was evident with the Camp Fire in 2018 that burned over 95% of the structures in Paradise and Concow, California, and resulted in 85 casualties [one person is still missing to date (15 March 2020)]. But, the secondary effects of wildfire can also have substantial consequences. This was the case in 2017 when the Thomas Fire raged in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties in Southern California, eventually burning 1,141 km2 of landscape. Before the wildfire was 100% contained, a storm system moved over the mountainous terrain...

There are several new and imminent space-based sensors intended to support mapping of forest structure and biomass. These instruments, along with advancing cloud-based mapping platforms, will soon contribute to a proliferation of biomass maps. One means of differentiating the quality of different maps and estimation strategies will be comparison of results against independent field-based estimates at various scales. The Forest Inventory and Analysis Program of the US Forest Service (FIA) maintains a designed sample of uniformly measured field plots across the conterminous United States....

A sequence of catastrophic wildfires that occurred during the past decades in Greece point to the need to re-examine the established wildfire risk governance policies. The most important regulations for fire suppression and fuel/forest management were established four decades ago (Law 998/1979). Wildfire suppression is now led by the Greek Fire Service, while pre-suppression vegetation management is supervised by the Greek Forest Service. The limited available budget is clearly distributed in favor of fire suppression (about $410 million annually), with minor funding remaining for fuel...

Fires in the peatlands of Kalimantan and Sumatra in Indonesia are significant sources of greenhouse gases (GHG). Ignitions for these fires are widely regarded as occurring because of land clearing associated with palm oil and timber production and smallholder agriculture. The scale of peat forest degradation has led to intra- and inter-governmental, academic, and NGO efforts to monitor, document and reduce GHG emissions. Laws and policies are emerging as a result of these efforts. However, naming broad economic reasons for fire use in peatlands is inadequate for formulating land management...

To perform optimally, a wildland firefighter needs a diverse skillset. In addition to mastering firefighting tactics, the job requires a high level of physical fitness, proper nutrition, mental acuity, and self-awareness. These human performance factors are vital because, unlike other professions, failure to perform optimally in wildland firefighting can result in serious injury or death. Yet despite the job requirements and potentially fatal consequences, human performance is overlooked in wildland firefighting training.

In the Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 1998, appropriation for Interior and related agencies, U.S. Congress established funding and direction to initiate the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP). Federal wildland fire management agencies developed the Joint Fire Science Plan to provide program direction. Under the guidance of an interagency governing board, the program matured into a full-featured science program utilizing a multi-faceted process to determine research priorities; efficient and open proposal solicitation, review, and funding procedures; and effective, collaborative science delivery...

Within the ancestral homelands of the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), the Fire Continuum Conference (May 2018) discussed the complexity of wildland fire and fuels research and management. The CSKT fieldtrip took place on the Flathead Reservation, about 20 miles north of Missoula, and the presenters addressed many facets of the fire continuum and the CSKT’s novel approach towards addressing the complexity challenge. Approximately 53 people, from a variety of different countries, states, and backgrounds, attended the field trip which made for a great opportunity for shared...

Forty-one participants joined field trip coordinator LaWen Hollingsworth, Fire Behavior Specialist at the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, as well as local Forest Service managers, the Type I Incident Commander, and the County Sheriff’s office, to learn about management of the 2017 Lolo Peak Fire. At four stops, participants had views of the burn area, heard about management decisions and actions and the Highly Valued Resources and Assets that informed decisions, talked with a local property owner, and saw previous fuel treatments and shaded fuel breaks that were useful...