The Hermit’s Peak Calf Canyon Fire was a devastating event for New Mexico. Many communities were affected, and while this fire was unique, it will not be for long. Climate change and the effects of a century of fire exclusion mean that fires like this one are increasingly likely. We must understand what happened in …
This report is the tenth in a series of annual Southwest wildfire season overviews available from the Southwest Fire Science Consortium and the Ecological Restoration Institute. The goal of this overview is to provide a concise summary of the fire season and to facilitate comparisons with past fires and fire seasons. It follows the format …
In a nutshell: Can prescribed fire reduce future smoke impacts? Research on how targeted prescribed burn treatments in heavily forested Western states may have an outsized impact on improving air quality for the entire western U.S. by reducing the likelihood of future wildfire smoke. Description: Catastrophic wildfires in the western United States pose significant risks …
Read more “Prescribed Burns as a Tool to Mitigate Future Wildfire Smoke Exposure”
IN A NUTSHELL: In the second webinar in a series on invasive grass-driven changes in dry desert systems, presenters will discuss their findings on the fire dynamics of the 2020 Bighorn Fire in the Sonoran Desert near Tucson, AZ to better understand the changing nature of fire in desert systems which are increasingly experiencing conversion …
Read more “Grassification and Fast-Evolving Fire Connectivity and Risk in the Sonoran Desert”
Download a PDF of the fact sheet here and read the entire science synthesis report here.
IN A NUTSHELLA panel of researchers and managers discusses the impact of non-native invasive grasses on dry desert systems and various methods to remove, monitor, or slow their spread. The fire regime of dry desert systems, such as the Sonoran, historically consisted of infrequent, low intensity, size-limited fires. Native grasses and other vegetation, which grow …
Read more “Monitoring and Removal of Invasive Grasses for Restoration of Dry Desert Systems”
View the Story Map of the project here or keep scrolling. View larger version here.
This is part of an ongoing effort to respect tribal sovereignty and treaty rights by supporting tribal use of fire as part of cultural and ecological resilience, and seeks to increase capacities, ameliorate challenges, and share examples that can guide tribes across the Southwest. In 2023, we gathered virtually to explore issues facing tribes relating …
Read more “Southwest Tribal Fire and Climate Resilience – 2023 Virtual Workshop”
In a nutshell: Tips for planting trees after severe fire in the Southwest, we learn how microclimates, nurse plants, and biochar impact survival of seedlings. We also learn how these techniques can be scaled-up to improve replanting efforts across an entire landscape. Description: Across the southwestern United States, high-severity wildfire is resulting in increasingly large …
Read more “Increasing Post-Wildfire Planted Seedling Survival”
Description: Join the SWFSC for a webinar reviewing last year’s fires and looking ahead toward fire conditions for this year. Dr. Zander Evans will present an overview of the 10 largest fires in the Southwest during 2022. He will share summaries of forest types and burn severities for each of the 10 fires. Rich Naden, …
Read more “Fire in the Southwest, Past and Present – Fire Season 2022 Overview and 2023 Outlook”