In a thoughtful guest post on the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network (FACNet) Blog, SFE Outreach Specialist Elliot Nauert reflects on his time working wildland fire and his latest experience working fire through opportunities provided by The Nature Conservancy wildland fire program. Check it out to learn how TNC fire programs might enhance your wildland fire career – even if you drive a desk most days.
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North Florida Prescribed Fire Council Meeting Recordings
The Southern Fire Exchange has edited and posted the recordings from the 2023 Fall meeting of the North Florida Prescribed Fire Council. You can watch all of the individual presentations on the YouTube Playlist below. The 2023 Fall meeting included presentations on weather, fire ecology, prescribed fire communication, technology and tools, and a lessons learned story.
Continue ReadingUpcoming Manuscript Submission Deadlines for Special Issues of the Open Access Journal, “Fire”
Fire is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal about the science, policy, and technology of fires and how they interact with communities and the environment, published monthly online by MDPI. Fire runs special issues to create collections of papers on specific topics. The aim is to build a community of authors and readers to discuss the latest research and develop new ideas and research directions. Papers published in a Special Issue will be collected together on a dedicated page of the journal website.
Deadline for manuscript submissions: December 15, 2023
🔸Special Issue “Reimagining the Future of Living and Working with Fire“
🔸Special Issue “New Advances in Spatial Analysis of Wildfire Planning“
Deadline for manuscript submissions: December 20, 2023
🔸Special Issue “Understanding Heterogeneity in Wildland Fuels“
Deadline for manuscript submissions: December 31, 2023
🔸Special Issue “Building Fire Dynamics and Fire Evacuation“
🔸Special Issue “Advances in Fire Suppression“
🔸Special Issue “Spatial Statistics and Operational Research for Wildfires Management“
🔸Special Issue “Global Rural Fires: Future Approaches Based on Climate Change, Invasive Species and Agro–Silvo–Pastoral Interactions“
🔸Special Issue “Understanding and Managing Extreme Wildland Fires“
🔸Special Issue “Advances in Modeling and Simulation of Turbulent Combustion Processes“
Deadline for manuscript submissions: January 6, 2024
🔸Special Issue “The Use of Remote Sensing Technology for Forest Fire“
Deadline for manuscript submissions: January 31, 2024
🔸Special Issue “Integrated Vulnerability of Forest Systems to Wildfire: Implications on Forest Management Tools. VIS4FIRE Project“
🔸Special Issue “Remote Sensing of Wildfire: Regime Change and Disaster Response“
🔸Special Issue “Post-fire Effects on Environment“
Deadline for manuscript submissions: February 29, 2024
🔸Special Issue “Solid Fuels – Analysis, Burning and Emissions“
🔸Special Issue “State-of-the-Art on Combustion and Flames“
🔸Special Issue “Application of Satellites in Agricultural Fire Dynamics“
🔸Special Issue “Intelligent Forest Fire Prediction and Detection“
🔸Special Issue “Impacts of Wildfires on Threatened Wildlife Species“
New Fire Learning Network Website
The TNC-supported Fire Learning Network (FLN) has a new comprehensive website that houses resources and information about the FLN, TREX / WTREX, FAC Net, and IPBN programs. https://firenetworks.org. Check it out for information on all of these programs.
Continue ReadingSouthern Area Fire Behavior and Fuels Advisory for October
It’s been a long hot and dry summer for parts of the region and we’re dry going into the fall season. The above image is gridded KBDI for the region as of Thursday, October 5, 2023. You can find the data source and mapping information at the Fire Weather Intelligence Portal from the State Climate Office of North Carolina.
For more information about the impacts of this past summer, a two-page Fuels and Fire Behavior Advisory (below) was released on October 2, 2023 for Louisiana, and portions of Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle.
The advisory includes the following concerns for firefighters and the public:
- Extreme fire line intensity is to be expected during both initial attack and extended attack.
- Typical barriers to fire spread, like roads, rivers, and hardwood bottoms may not be relied upon to stop fire progression.
- Active fire behavior may extend into the overnight hours during periods of poor RH recovery.
- Spotting up to ¼ of a mile away has routinely been reported, including small initial attack fires.
- Reburn of scorched needle cast continues to occur during the
- days or weeks after suppression, while roots burning underground may result in green trees falling.
- Critical fire weather may be associated with but is not limited to: compressional warming in unstable pre-frontal environments, dry cold fronts followed by windy and dry conditions, strong high pressure over the northern U.S. combined with low pressure south of the advisory area, subsidence adjacent to tropical cyclones, sea breeze fronts and erratic winds associated with outflow from nearby thunderstorms.
New Fact Sheet: Prescribed Fire as a Tool for Controlling Tick Populations in the Southeastern US
A new fire science fact sheet (Prescribed Fire as a Tool for Controlling Tick Populations in the Southeastern US) co-produced by the Southern Fire Exchange and the University of Florida IFAS summarizes the latest research on the impact of prescribed fire on southeastern tick populations. Tick-associated diseases and illnesses have been on the rise in recent years and many people have started to ask pertinent questions about the utility of prescribed fire for reducing exposure to tick-related diseases. This new fact sheet dives into the topic and provides a convenient summary of the latest research.
Continue Reading“Although fire’s effects are complex, research suggests that burning southeastern landscapes regularly over the long term (1–4 year return intervals) can help control tick populations.”
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FR469
America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative 2022 Annual Report
Over the past 10+ years, the Southern Fire Exchange team has had the pleasure of partnering with many of the programs and projects involved with the America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative (ALRI). ALRI partners have widely applied fire science research and tools in their management decisions. The 2022 Annual Report produced by the ALRI provides updated details on regional progress towards restoring the legendary longleaf pine across the southeastern US. Through the Initiative, since 2010:
- 1.7 million acres of longleaf have been planted
- 17 million acres have been treated with prescribed fire
- 363,000 acres have been protected
If you’ve interested in longleaf pine ecosystem restoration and management, check out our Southern Fire Exchange Fact Sheets, explore our Regional Fire Science Publication Database, or visit the Longleaf Alliance produced Longleaf Library.
Continue ReadingSAWFIT: Your source for southern area fire training
The Southern Area Wildland Fire Interagency Training (SAWFIT) is a resource for finding wildland fire training opportunities and engine academies across the southeast. Run by the US Forest Service Region 8 Fire and Aviation program, SAWFIT is primarily focused on connecting wildland fire practitioners with NWCG training opportunities. The training calendar is updated regularly so check the site from time to time for updates. We hosted a video walkthrough of the SAWFIT site last year with Lindsey Curtin from the USFS R8. Check out the video here or watch the embed below.
The Southern Fire Exchange is not directly affiliated with SAWFIT. Please contact the SAWFIT coordinators directly if you have questions about the site.
Continue ReadingSFE Live from the Field: North Carolina WTREX
The recording of the newest SFE Live from the Field at the North Carolina Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (WTREX) is now available on our SFE YouTube channel!
🐾 In our “SFE Live from the Field” programs, we’re connecting with fire practitioners and scientists from across the South as they tackle management challenges, develop new knowledge, and more fire forward. Live From the Field programs are shorter and less formal than our SFE Fire Science Webinar Series. Click here to subscribe to our SFE mailing list to be notified about future SFE Live from the Field events.
🌻 In this SFE Live from the Field, Carrie McCullen, Jennifer Fawcett, and Jessica Ilse discuss their experience participating in the 2023 WTREX in eastern North Carolina. Over 14 days in early March, participants trained in wildland fire management while leading prescribed fires on over 1,000 acres. Read more about the event here.
🌾 Speakers:
Jennifer Fawcett – NC State University
Carrie McCullen – North Carolina Forest Service
Jessica Ilse, USDA Forest Service
USFS SCIENCEx Fire Webinar Series
February 27 – March 3, 2023 1:00pm – 2:00pm ET
Starting on February 27th and running through March 3rd, the USDA Forest Service Research and Development SCIENCEx webinar series will bring together scientists and land management experts to explore the latest in fire science. Registration is required. Individual program speakers and information provided below. For more information, visit the SCIENCEx webinar page
Monday, February 27
Fire history and fire ecology
Introduction to SCIENCEx Fire Week, brief overview | Jens Stevens
Indigenous fire stewardship and cultural burning | Frank Lake
Fire exclusion and western forest change | Eric Knapp
A history of fire in the eastern US: How humans modified fire regimes through the Holocene | Dan Dey
Tuesday, February 28
Fire weather and smoke
Fire weather forecasting | Brian Potter
New technologies for monitoring smoke impacts | Shawn Urbanski
Smoke plume dynamics | Scott Goodrick
Wednesday, March 1
Fire behavior
Wildland fire behavior and ignition | Sara McAllister
3D, time dependent, fire behavior models: What they do and the need for observational datasets | Ruddy Mell
Fire Behavior Assessment Team (FBAT) and wildfire monitoring | Matt Dickinson
Thursday, March 2
Modeling risks and trade-offs
Delivering wildfire risk information targeted to the community level | Greg Dillon
Juggling risks and trade offs toward a more resilient future: The known, unknown, unknowable, and the unpleasant | Pat Manley and Nick Povak
Southern Research Station firesheds (eastern US) | Lars Pomara
Friday, March 3
Looking toward the future
Historical and future fire in temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest | Matt Reilly
Southern forest outlook: Fire chapter highlights | Danny Lee
Geographically & topically integrated wrap-up | Jens Stevens
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
Join early to secure a spot. Each session will contain three short thematic presentations followed by Q&A and discussion.
ScienceX Webinars are eligible for the following continuing education credits:
Society of American Foresters – Certified Forester Education (SAF-CFE)
The Wildlife Society (TWS) Continuing Education Credits.
Recordings will be posted on the SCIENCEx webinar page.