A team from the Longleaf Alliance and the University of Clemson Cooperative Extension recently created a three-part video series exploring the native ground cover of the xeric longleaf pine ecosystem. These great videos explain how fire is an important tool for managing the diverse and interesting. Check out the videos, share them with your local landowners, and learn about this fire-dependent Southeastern ecosystem.
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NWS Tampa Florida Weather Workouts
The National Weather Service office in Tampa, Florida has recently developed a series of short presentations that explore specific Florida weather topics. For fire and land managers in Florida, these “Weather Workouts” cover:
Sea Breeze Thunderstorms
Rip Currents
Hurricane Climatology and Flooding
Storm Surge and River Forecasting
NWS Online Tools and Services
Nws Damage Surveys and Forecast Models
El Nino, La Nina, Arctic Oscillation, and Super Fog
These short presentations may be useful additions to your next team meeting or RT-130 annual fireline refresher.
Prescribed Fire Smoke and Community Health: Successes from Smoke Ready Communities
The Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network (FACNet) recently shared a recording of a series of panel presentations discussing planning for community smoke impacts from prescribed fire programs. The recording is on YouTube and also embedded below.
Continue ReadingDownload USFS Wildfire Spatial Data 1992-2018
The US Forest Service Research Data Archive recently released a new edition of the Spatial wildfire occurrence dataset for the United States spanning the period 1992-2018. The spatial data can be downloaded directly from the Archive page.
Abstract:
Continue ReadingThis data publication contains a spatial database of wildfires that occurred in the United States from 1992 to 2018. It is the fourth update of a publication originally generated to support the national Fire Program Analysis (FPA) system. The wildfire records were acquired from the reporting systems of federal, state, and local fire organizations. The following core data elements were required for records to be included in this data publication: discovery date, final fire size, and a point location at least as precise as a Public Land Survey System (PLSS) section (1-square mile grid). The data were transformed to conform, when possible, to the data standards of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG), including an updated wildfire-cause standard (approved August 2020). Basic error-checking was performed and redundant records were identified and removed, to the degree possible. In addition to incorporating data for 2016-2018, some previously unavailable nonfederal wildfire records for the period 1999-2015 were acquired either directly from the state fire services (NH, NJ) or indirectly from an updated National Association of State Foresters database (AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, HI, ID, IL, OK, SD) and added. The resulting product, referred to as the Fire Program Analysis fire-occurrence database (FPA FOD), includes 2.17 million geo-referenced wildfire records, representing a total of 165 million acres burned during the 27-year period. Identifiers necessary to link the point-based, final-fire-reporting information to published large-fire-perimeter and operational-situation-reporting datasets are included.
American Association of University Women Funding Opportunities
The American Association of University Women has several fellowships and grants that are currently accepting applications.
Continue ReadingInfrastructure Bill & Wildland Fire
A Wildfire Today piece addresses the wildland fire funding included in the infrastructure bill currently being considered in Congress. The bill included $20 million for the Joint Fire Science Program as of last Thursday.
Continue ReadingWestern Wildfire News Coverage
As Western wildfires continue, various news outlets continue to cover the fires, their causes, and fire management more broadly. Below are some recently published stories.
Meet the people burning California to save it (New York Times)
Beetles, drought, and fires are a ticking time bomb in the West (Vox)
For FEMA head, trip to wildfire regions reaffirms drive to address climate change (Axios)
Continue ReadingMissoula Fire Lab Storymap
The Missoula Fire Laboratory has released a storymap covering wildland fuel science that integrates fire behavior and fire ecology.
Continue ReadingLANDFIRE Postcard
Reddit Ask Me Anything With Dr. Raelene Crandall
Join us on Reddit today at Noon for an Ask Me Anything with Southern Fire Exchange Co-PI Dr. Raelene Crandall. Ask her anything about prescribed fire research or any other fire topics.
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