An article from the Pew Charitable Trusts addresses how COVID-19 has impacted wildland firefighters worse in 2021 as compared to 2020.
Continue ReadingCOVID-19
Partner Webinar: Addressing Disaster Workforce Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic
For the past 18 months, emergency response personnel have dealt with the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to the regular onslaught of tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, and other hazards. In this webinar, panelists from the public health and emergency services sectors will discuss approaches for addressing worker burnout, promoting individual-level resilience, and mitigating the impacts of worker shortages as the COVID-19 crisis continues to evolve.
Learn About:
- How decision makers can provide support to the disaster workforce
- Strategies that can promote resilience and reduce worker burnout
Speakers:
- Phil Ambrose, Glendale Fire Department
- Curry Mayer, Seattle Office of Emergency Management
- David Miller, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
- Sue Ann Sarpy, Principal, Sarpy and Associates, LLC
SFE Webinar: Moving to Hybrid Events – A Discussion with Natural Resource Professionals
SFE Webinar: Moving to Hybrid Events – A Discussion with Natural Resource Professionals
September 23, 2021 1:00 – 2:30 PM ET
Hosted by NC State University Forestry Extension and the Southern Fire Exchange
We’ll hear from presenters from around the country who will share their personal experiences and lessons learned in moving their natural resource programs to a hybrid platform. They will cover various types of hybrid events, including meetings, trainings, workshops and large-scale conferences, and how to ensure accessibility. This event is open to everyone, but is targeted for natural resources professionals who are considering organizing hybrid events in the future.
Presenters
New Guidance: Emergency Evacuation and Sheltering during the COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 has changed the way we respond to natural hazards, from how populations are evacuated to how shelters operate. Even with vaccination programs ramping up, disaster responses will need to continue to take the virus’s spread and impact into account throughout 2021’s emergencies, including wildfires.
New guidance from the Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN) identifies strategies for emergency planners and decision-makers to consider as they update their disaster plans for sheltering, mass care, and evacuation amidst COVID-19.
Continue ReadingSurvey: Wildfire Management Under COVID-19 – Looking Back and Looking Ahead
An international team of researchers is seeking feedback from wildland fire professionals that looks back at the past year (what are the lessons learned so far?) and ahead (what are positive changes that will be kept after the pandemic?). Particular attention is paid to mental health and work-life balance, to assist organizations in understanding what type of support their employees need. Results will again be shared open access to facilitate sharing of best practices, principles and options for adapting to the constraints and opportunities that COVID-19 is imposing.
Take the survey by March 5 here.
For more information, please contact Peter Moore ([email protected]) or Cathelijne Stoof ([email protected])
Continue ReadingSFE Webinar Recording Available: COVID-19 Impacts on Southeast Prescribed Fire and Strategies for Keeping Fire on the Ground
The recording of the Southern Fire Exchange webinar from Thursday, February 11th “COVID-19 Impacts on Southeast Prescribed Fire and Strategies for Keeping Fire on the Ground” is now live on the SFE YouTube webinar archive. This webinar featured a research presentation on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Southeastern prescribed fire as well as a fire manager panel discussion that covered strategies for managing prescribed fire programs in 2020 and 2021. Webinar presenters included: Benjamin Poulter, Ph.D., NASA Earth Sciences Division and Morgan Varner, Ph.D., Tall Timbers Research Station. The webinar fire manager panelists included: Greg Titus, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Brett Williams, US Air Force Wildland Fire Branch, and Sasha Ernst, Florida Park Service
Click here to view the archived webinar
Click here to download the webinar slides
NASA Documents Fewer Prescribed Burns During the Pandemic
A new research data dashboard from NASA shows the changes in prescribed fire use during the COVID-19 pandemic. The satellite derived images show the temporal and spatial changes in the amount of fire on the southeastern landscape from March through August of 2020. You can explore the data and then visit the Tall Timbers Research Station online FireTrendR application to for more information about the NASA MODIS and VIIRS Active Fire datasets.
For an in-depth discussion of this project, followed by a panel discussion with regional prescribed fire managers, register for the free Southern Fire Exchange, NASA, and Tall Timbers webinar on February 11th from 1:00 – 2:30 PM ET. The webinar panel discussion will include fire managers from Eglin Air Force Base, the Florida Park Service, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Continue ReadingSFE Webinar: COVID-19 Impacts on Southeast Prescribed Fire & Strategies for Keeping Fire on the Ground
Hosts: NASA, Tall Timbers Research Station, Southern Fire Exchange, Joint Fire Science Program, and the University of Florida
Presenters: Benjamin Poulter, Ph.D., NASA Earth Sciences Division
Morgan Varner, Ph.D., Tall Timbers Research Station
Greg Titus, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Brett Williams, US Air Force Wildland Fire Branch
Sasha Ernst, Florida Park Service
Webinar Description: The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has altered the use of prescribed fire on hundreds of thousands of acres of public and private lands across the Southeastern United States. In this special two-part webinar, scientists and fire management program leaders will discuss both the measurable impacts of the pandemic on prescribed fire use, as well as successful strategies for managing fire during the time of COVID-19. In the first presentation, NASA research scientist Ben Poulter, Ph.D., will discuss the results of a project with Tall Timbers Research Station that identified changes in the pattern and frequency of fire across the region in 2020. In the second half of the webinar, a panel of prescribed fire managers from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Eglin Air Force Base, and the Florida Park Service, will discuss their experiences, lessons, and strategies for managing prescribed fire programs in 2020 and 2021. Following the research presentation and panel discussion, there will be time for audience Q/A.
Registration is required. Register here.
Continue ReadingPartner Webinar: Preventing COVID-19 Exposures During Natural Disasters – 12/07
This webinar in partnership with AIHA and the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice, Subcommittee on Environmental Justice and Natural Disasters, will provide guidance on keeping those who deploy as volunteers to assist with natural disaster response and clean-up safe from COVID-19. It will address suggestions for how and why to deploy, expectations for volunteer supervisors/organizations, controls for indoor and outdoor safety measures, PPE supply, HAZMAT training, and more.
PLEASE NOTE: Live Section 508 Compliant Captioning will be provided during this meeting.
Continue ReadingRecording Available: 2020 Florida Statewide Prescribed Fire Council Meetings
Recorded presentations are now available from the 2020 All Florida Virtual Prescribed Fire Council Meeting hosted by the Southern Fire Exchange, University of Florida, North Florida Prescribed Fire Council, Central Florida Prescribed Fire Council, and the South Florida Interagency Fire Management Council. The three Florida prescribed fire councils normally meet separately in the fall of the year, but due to the COVID19 pandemic, a joint virtual meeting was held.
Presentations addressed topics including wildland fire smoke and COVID-19 and lessons learned from Hurricane Michael. Dr. Stephen Pyne also gave a presentation titled Fire – The Other Contagion. The One Without a Vaccine.
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