The Alaska Reference Database originated as the standalone Alaska Fire Effects Reference Database, a ProCite reference database maintained by former BLM-Alaska Fire Service Fire Ecologist Randi Jandt. It was expanded under a Joint Fire Science Program grant for the FIREHouse project (The Northwest and Alaska Fire Research Clearinghouse). It is now maintained by the Alaska Fire Science Consortium and FRAMES, and is hosted through the FRAMES Resource Catalog. The database provides a listing of fire research publications relevant to Alaska and a venue for sharing unpublished agency reports and works in progress that are not normally found in the published literature.
Type
Topic
Year
Displaying 1 - 25 of 32
Eisenman, Galway
Background
Smoke from wildfires is a growing public health risk due to the enormous amount of smoke-related pollution that is produced and can travel thousands of kilometers from its source. While many studies have documented the physical health harms of wildfire smoke, less is…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Jones, McDermott
We undertake a nationwide US study to estimate how mega-fires (defined as wildfires >100,000 acres in size) affect short-term infant health outcomes in communities located within the flame zone. This is the first study to look exclusively at mega-fires, which have unique…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Basilio, Chen, Fernandez, Padula, Robinson, Gaw
Climate change is accelerating the intensity and frequency of wildfires globally. Understanding how wildfire smoke (WS) may lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes and alterations in placental function via biological mechanisms is critical to mitigate the harms of exposure. We aim to…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
To collect partner and employee input on the Wildfire Crisis Strategy 10-year Implementation Plan, the Forest Service and National Forest Foundation hosted a series of roundtable discussions in the winter and spring of 2022. Individual roundtables were focused on each of the…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Flores, Fox, Iverson, Venette, Conley, Jahn, Howes, Haire
The USDA Forest Service anticipated that COVID-19 outbreaks among fire management personnel would potentially impact the agency’s ability to maintain the readiness of the wildland fire system and to respond to large complex wildfires across the country. In response, the agency…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Flores, Haire
In 2016, the US Forest Service initiated small-group safety discussions among members of its wildland firefighting organisation. Known as the Life First National Engagement Sessions, the discussions presented an opportunity for wildland firefighters to address systemic and…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Mistick, Dennison, Campbell, Thompson
Wildland firefighters must be able to maintain situational awareness to ensure their safety. Crew members, including lookouts and crew building handlines, rely on visibility to assess risk and communicate changing conditions. Geographic information systems and remote sensing…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Wildfires in America are becoming larger, more frequent, and more destructive, driven by climate change and existing land management practices. Many of these fires occur at the wildland-urban interface (WUI), areas where development and wildland areas overlap and which are…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: In the spring of 2022, wildfires caused by escaped prescribed fires compelled Chief Randy Moore of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service to call for a 90-day pause in the agency’s prescribed fire program pending a program review.
A review team led…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Niu, Nair, Zhang, Dixit, Murray-Tuite
Wildfires are becoming more frequent and increasing in intensity, which results in significant threats to human life and property. Road networks play an important role in emergency activities. It is reasonable that robust road connectivity will give evacuees and emergency…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Thomas, Escobedo, Sloggy, Sanchez
Larger and more severe wildfires are becoming more frequent and impacting different communities and human settlements. Much of the scientific literature and media on wildfires has focused on area of ecosystems burned and numbers of structures destroyed. Equally unprecedented,…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Wildfires are among the worst natural and man-made disasters currently facing our nation. The damage a wildfire causes is multifaceted as it affects multiple areas of civilization and the safety and health of responding firefighters. Today, factors such as climate change and…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Elhami-Khorasani, Ebrahimian, Buja, Cutter, Kosović, Lareau, Meacham, Rowell, Taciroglu, Thompson, Watts
Wildfires are an essential part of a healthy ecosystem, yet the expansion of the wildland-urban interface, combined with climatic changes and other anthropogenic activities, have led to the rise of wildfire hazards in the past few decades. Managing future wildfires and their…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
McCaffrey, Rappold, Hano, Navarro, Phillips, Prestemon, Vaidyanathan, Abt, Reid, Sacks
At a fundamental level, smoke from wildland fire is of scientific concern because of its potential adverse effects on human health and social well-being. Although many impacts (e.g., evacuations, property loss) occur primarily in proximity to the actual fire, smoke can end up…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Ferner
Natural hazards, such as fires and floods, are a fact of life. Swift responses and proactive planning can mitigate the severity of a disaster and lessen the potential for cascading impacts. Fire planners need to be able to quickly identify areas of high risk and vulnerability…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Stonesifer, Calkin, O'Connor
Aircraft provide critically important capacity for a wide range of missions for wildland firefighters, but their use brings inherent risks. Aviation-related fatalities account for 30% of federal and contractor firefighter deaths in the United States over the last ten years.…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Thompson, MacGregor, Calkin, Iverson
The COVID-19 global pandemic created dramatic change in nearly every facet of life, including how the Forest Service worked to fulfill its mission despite facing multiple unknowns fraught with risks. Preparing for and responding to wildland fire while reducing the likelihood…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Since 1998, the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) has provided funding and science delivery for scientific studies associated with managing wildland fire, fuels, and fire-impacted ecosystems to respond to emerging needs of managers, practitioners, and policymakers from local to…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Hill, Jaeger, Smith
[From the Report Summary]
Background: The American Lung Association commissioned a report, written by PSE Healthy Energy, to answer the question: What does the current research say about the potential of prescribed fire to mitigate the increasing health and air quality risks…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Maximoff, Mittal, Kaushik, Dhau
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a significant class of indoor air pollutants and are known for their adverse effects on health. A common strategy to reduce indoor VOC levels is to use sorbents, including activated carbons (ACs). The amount of activated carbon is critical…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Roise, Williams, Barker, Morton-Aslanis
This paper describes a series of tests conducted to evaluate prototype fire shelters designed to provide enhanced thermal protective insulation in wildland fire burn-over events. Full-scale laboratory and field tests are used to compare the thermal performance of the prototypes…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Barbosa, Reis, Raposo, Viegas
Wildland fires are frequent events worldwide, particularly in the European-Mediterranean region, USA, and Australia. These fires have been more frequent and intense in recent years due to climate changes and may cause significant damage, especially when reaching the Wildland-…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Huang, Downey, Bakos
The occurrence of wildfires often results in significant fatalities. As wildfires are notorious for their high speed of spread, the ability to identify wildfire at its early stage is essential in quickly obtaining control of the fire and in reducing property loss and preventing…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Penney, Baker, Valencia, Gorham
The hazard posed by wildland-urban-interface (WUI) fires is recognized by the international fire research community and features as one of nine research need priority threads in the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Research Roadmap. We posit that the first step in the…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES
Campbell, Dennison, Thompson, Butler
Safety zones (SZs) are critical tools that can be used by wildland firefighters to avoid injury or fatality when engaging a fire. Effective SZs provide safe separation distance (SSD) from surrounding flames, ensuring that a fire’s heat cannot cause burn injury to firefighters…
Year: 2022
Type: Document
Source: FRAMES