Fire Behavior Portal

On April 6, 2020, the Fire Management Board (FMB) established the Wildland Fire Medical and Public Health Advisory Team (MPHAT) to address medical and health-related issues specific to the interagency administration of mission critical wildland fire management functions under a COVID-19 modified operating posture.  The COVID-19 MPHAT is tasked with providing medical and public health expertise, advice, coordination, and collaboration with external subject matter experts and developing protocols and practices for all aspects of COVID-19 planning, prevention, and mitigation for wildland fire operations.  Guidance found on this page has been issued via FMB Memorandum. They may be updated as appropriate and necessary to respond to the evolving situations and work conditions surrounding COVID-19.

The Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management (NREM) at Oklahoma State University invites applications for a full-time, eleven-month, tenure-track position (75% Research and 25% Teaching) in fire modeling. The department is seeking a candidate to contribute to research related to understanding wildland fire behavior and risk in Oklahoma and the United States. Application and/or development of models to understand fire behavior at multiple spatial scales is required. Possible outcomes of research include improved management of fuels and smoke with prescribed fire, reduction of wildfire risk and mitigation of its effects to infrastructure, reduced impacts of smoke on human health, and improved ecosystem function. The successful candidate is expected to work closely with multidisciplinary faculty in natural resources, climatology, social science, and engineering to meet the needs of diverse stakeholder groups.

Review of applications will begin December 15, 2020, and will continue until a suitable candidate is identified.  The position will be filled by June 1, 2021, or as soon thereafter as an outstanding candidate is available.

Dr. Kai Zhu is recruiting 1-2 PhD student(s) starting in Fall 2021 in the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The Zhu Lab works on research questions at the intersection of climate change, biodiversity, and ecosystem processes, using quantitative approaches such as remote sensing, species distribution models, and Bayesian statistical methods. Current research projects include (1) phenological responses to climate change and human activity in the Northern Hemisphere; (2) the biogeography of soil fungi in North America; and (3) wildfire propagation and forest regrowth in California. The Zhu Lab also collaborates with other research groups, such as the Peay Lab at Stanford University (https://mykophile.com) through a collaborative NSF grant (https://news.ucsc.edu/2019/09/zhu-nsf.html). More information is available at https://zhulab.ucsc.edu/.

Students are encouraged to develop their own projects, which is an essential part of their advancement as independent and creative researchers. Dr. Zhu expects students to have previous research experience and a strong background in ecology and environmental science, as well as math, statistics, and programming. However, in the Zhu Lab students will learn new methods and tools by attending classes, workshops, and working on projects, so the most important quality is the willingness to learn.

Interested students should contact Dr. Kai Zhu (kai dot zhu at ucsc dot edu) as early as possible and no later than the application deadline in December 2020 with the following information: (1) research experience, ideas, and questions; (2) motivations to pursue a PhD and long-term career goals; (3) why interested in the Environmental Studies Department at UCSC; and (4) current CV, academic transcript, and TOEFL score (if applicable).

With multiple agencies/entities, groups and task forces all working to find solutions for operational concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the need for a space to share information is apparent. This forum serves as a platform to ask questions, as well as to share ideas, information, and solutions.