Description: The greater Flagstaff area in northern Arizona has experienced multiple wildfires in recent years that have resulted in post-wildfire flooding. These events galvanized collaborative efforts to reduce hazardous fuels on steep slopes and implement flood mitigation improvements around the city and in the municipal watershed. In this presentation, the 2019 Museum Fire provides a …
All wildfires in the United States are managed, but the strategies used to manage them vary by region and season. “Managed wildfire” is a response strategy to naturally ignited wildfires; it does not prioritize full suppression and allows the fire to fulfill its natural role on the landscape, meeting objectives such as firefighter safety, resource …
Read more “Managed Wildfire: A Research Synthesis & Overview”
Description: The topic of “managed wildfire” is mired in complexity, starting with what to call it. This fire management approach has been known as “prescribed natural fire,” “wildland fire use,” “resource objective fire,” and more. All names refer to the same essential idea: leveraging natural ignitions to safely reintroduce wildfire to landscapes that evolved with it …
Date: Thursday, March 30 at 10am Mountain Time/ 9am Arizona Time Description: Uncharacteristically severe and frequent wildfires represent a significant threat to populations of two amphibian species of conservation concern in New Mexico: the Jemez Mountains salamander (Plethodon neomexicanus; Federal Endangered) and the Sacramento Mountain salamander (Aneides hardii; State Threatened). Both species are endemic relicts of past glacial events whose populations remain perched …
Read more “Fires, forest management, and the future of New Mexico’s endemic salamanders”
Description: Smoke from wildfires is a well-recognized public health and safety issue. While there have been extensive efforts to help communities be “smoke ready”, most people would still prefer not to live with weeks of unhealthy air quality during the summer and fall. This webinar will address what could be done to reduce the amount …
By Noah Haarmann and Catrin Edgeley Overview Fire science has advanced significantly in the past decade, yet prioritization of, access to, and use of best available scientific information (BASI) among different users remains unclear. This whitepaper presents the outcomes of a survey (informed by key informant interviews) to determine research needs in fire science across …
IN A NUTSHELL Experts tell the story of forest change since colonization, and share insights and answer questions about how we might steward a legacy of forest change and mitigate climate change impacts. Description: Climate change and wildfires pose an existential threat to western North American forests, a reality which necessitates place-based strategies to increase …
Research on post-fire debris flows and geomorphology of Museum Fire, Flagstaff, AZ with implications across the Southwest.
This report is the 9th in a series of annual 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 comparison with past fires and fire seasons.
Presenter: Patrick H Freeborn, PhD, Research Physical Scientist with the USDA Rocky Mountain Research Station Date: December 6, 2022 at 12 MDT Wildfire activity typically subsides sufficiently enough at night to provide firefighters with opportunities to rest and recover. However, nighttime fire operations are not uncommon. Whilst favorable conditions may enable better fire management progress, …