Fire, once a key phenomenon in the balance of forest ecosystems, has gone rogue, thanks to years of detrimental land-use policy. Now, Scott Stephens and his band of pyromaniacs are restoring forests and setting the record straight.
by Brad Balukjian
Scott Stephens didn’t listen when they told him not to play with fire. Now he does it for a living. With wildfires blazing a path of destruction through Southern California recently, Stephens’ work on fire management has never been so relevant. An associate professor in ESPM, Stephens studies how fires affect forest ecosystems and how forests can be managed to maximize the benefits that wildfires provide while minimizing habitat destruction.
Stephens grew up in Humboldt County and then Napa, and first got into forestry as a kid when his father, grandfather, and three uncles all worked for a lumber mill. One of the most frustrating public misconceptions in fire science is that fire is always bad.
Continue reading "Scott Stephens: The Bright Side of Fire" »
William Stewart, a forestry specialist at U.C. Berkeley states that the government is not taking enough preventative measures in removing brush that some say has been collecting for about forty to sixty years. He outlines the many improvements that have been undertaken by the state, unfortunately those reforms are limited to new homes that are being built. This means that many of the older homes cannot withstand a serious fire, such as those ongoing in Southern California. Also, there are technological issues of communication which have disabled many people from evacuating their homes on time. William offers an alternative to the classic firefighter and burning house image, he introduces an Australian model where the community members themselves fight fire and save their homes. For the most part, most suburban homes can probably do more help by removing small bits of debris and ash that can possibly burn their homes down.
Continue reading "Fight or flight, should SoCal Communities fight to save homes, or flee to escape fires?" »
Climate change will bring about major shifts in worldwide fire patterns, and those changes are coming fast, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis led by researchers at the College of Natural Resources, in collaboration with scientists at Texas Tech University.
The findings are reported in the April 8 issue of PLoS ONE, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal of the Public Library of Science.
Researchers used thermal-infrared sensor data obtained between 1996 and 2006 from European Space Agency satellites in their study of pyrogeography - the distribution and behavior of wildfire - on a global scale. They not only got a global view of where wildfires occur, but they determined the common environmental characteristics associated with the risk of those fires. They then incorporated those variables into projections for how future climate scenarios will impact wildfire occurrence worldwide.
Continue reading "Climate Change to Spur Rapid Shifts in Fire Hotspots" »
Even as debate rages over the safety of Australia's "Prepare, stay and defend, or leave early" policy of wildfire defense, fire researchers at the College of Natural Resources and in Australia say that the strategy is worth consideration in California and other regions in the United States.
Questions about the policy, which encourages able residents to stay home and actively defend their property from wildfires, are being renewed in the wake of Australia's devastating fires, which began on Feb. 7 and killed 210 people, burned down 1,800 homes and scorched 1,500 square miles of land.
"The key element of Australia's policy is to train willing homeowners to protect their homes in an active wildfire," said Scott Stephens, associate professor of fire science and co-director of UC Berkeley's Center for Fire Research and Outreach. "What the Australian strategy does is actively engage and help homeowners to become part of the solution rather than just to need evacuation. However, it should be noted that some California communities are so vulnerable that a 'prepare and leave early' strategy may be the only option."
Continue reading " Why California should consider Australia's "Prepare, stay and defend" wildfire policy" »
Hot, dry atmosphere has made this spring one of the worst fire seasons in California history. Due to limited number of firefighters and equipment, hundreds of remote blazes are remained to burn. Is this a sign of fire seasons to come, and are we prepared to handle it?
Continue reading "California Ablaze" »
Gary Nakamura, Cooperative Extension specialist and Co-Director for the Center of Forestry, was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. He has served on the board since 2007 and has been a forestry specialist for CNR since 1985. Nakamura previously worked for the U.S. Forest Service and Champion International Corp.
Fire, once a key phenomenon in the balance of forest ecosystems, has gone rogue, thanks to years of detrimental land-use policy. Now, Scott Stephens and his band of pyromaniacs are restoring forests and setting the record straight.
Continue reading "Spotlight On Scott Stephens" »
From fighting wildfires in the field to predicting the role of the Santa Ana winds, CNR students and faculty have proven to be an invaluable resource in combating the more than a dozen fires that raged in Southern California in the past weeks.
Max Moritz, a fire ecologist and assistant professor of environmental science, policy and management, has been featured in The New York Times for his research on mapping the land susceptible to wildfires and USA Today describing homeowners’ roles in fighting and preventing wildfires.
Continue reading "CNR Faculty and Students Combat Southern California Wildfires" »
Rachel Smith, a graduate student in Environmental Science, Policy and Management with the Moritz Lab, was recently interviewed by NPR about her experiences fighting fire in Southern California.
Excerpted from the interview:
"As we work, the forest shadows deepen. The temperature drops. The humidity soars. Gradually, the fire is cooling. By the time we reach the cedar, it's past midnight. Our incident commander decides to knock off for a few hours before we try to cut down the dangerous tree. We spend the night spiked out inside the fireline, nestled in a burned-over hollow. I sleep with my boots on, just in case."
Listen to the Interview on NPR's website.
