Some have wondered whether the 2017 Montana fre season was a rare apocalypse or whether it was simply Nature being Nature. The short answer is, some of both. Today’s forests clearly are experiencing a highly active fre period, one of many during the...
The Northwest Fire Portal provides information about fire science and technology relevant to the northwestern contiguous United States. Our goal is to provide "one-stop shopping" for resource managers, decision makers, scientists, students, and communities who want access to the results of efforts to understand and manage fire and fuels on lands in the Northwest. Content within this portal may also be relevant to the temperate forests of southwestern Canada.
Much of the Northwest-related content was originally compiled through the FIREHouse project (the Northwest and Alaska Fire Research Clearinghouse), funded by the Joint Fire Science Program.
Check out the JFSP Fire Exchange(s) located in this region
Highlighted Content
Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory
Researchers at the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory study a wide variety of wildland fire topics: fire behavior, combustion science, biomass assessments, fire ecology, fire management, prescribed fires, fire-climate change interactions, landscape ecology, emissions of greenhouse gases, fire policy, and traditional fire use by indigenous communities.
Washington Prescribed Fire Council
The Washington Prescribed Fire Council is a collaborative group working to protect, conserve and expand the safe use of prescribed fire in the State of washington. The group includes state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, private industry, tribes, universities, and more.
Oregon Prescribed Fire Council
The mission of the Oregon Prescribed Fire Council is to serve as a venue for practioners, state and federal agencies, academic institutions, tribes, coalitions, and interested individuals to collaboratively promote and conserve the fire adapted natural ecosystems in Oregon, and expand the responsible use of prescribed fire.
WWETAC: Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center
The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center (WWETAC) predicts, detects, and assesses existing and potential environmental threats to western wildlands. Syntheses, models, and application tools are developed to provide information and assist management of natural resources and the landscapes that provide them. Interdisciplinary and cross-boundary analyses are conducted, such as understanding human perceptions of fire risk, or conducting and combining socioeconomic and biophysical vulnerability assessments to understand how concurrent threats are translated across the landscapes and affect human well-being.
Ecoshare: Interagency Clearinghouse of Ecological Information
Ecoshare provides information on the environment, ecology, and natural resources. We include publications, data sets, code sets, GIS data, and plant photography to a wide audience. Our spirit is interdisciplinary and interagency. All materials presented here are in the public domain.
Upcoming Events
Prairies and Grasslands of the Lower 48
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
March 23, 2019 8:30 am to 4:30 pm PDT
Exploring Adoption Success of a Fire Management Decision Support System: Manager Perspectives of the Wildland Fire Decision Support System
CNR Building, Room 203A
March 25, 2019 11:30 am PDT
Wildland Urban Interface Conference 2019
Peppermill Resort
March 26, 2019 (All day) to March 28, 2019 (All day)
- Catalog Records
- Current Announcements and Jobs
- Upcoming Events
- Past Events
Publications related to wildland fire behavior and fire danger rating authored or co-authored by Dr. Martin E. Alexander.
The ArcBurn project is designed to integrate cultural resources information into fire management decision processes.
Assessing Burn Severity project spectral library for eastern Washington.
The BehavePlus fire modeling system is a Windows based computer program that can be used for any fire management application that involves modeling fire behavior and fire effects.
Software downloads and publications related to the Crown Fire Initiation Spread (CFIS) System.
FFI (FEAT/FIREMON Integrated) is a monitoring software tool designed to assist managers with collection, storage and analysis of ecological information.
Information (including publications and images) for the Fire and Fire Surrogate Study Blue Mountains site (Hungry Bob, OR).
Information (including publications and images) for the Fire and Fire Surrogate Study Northeastern Cascades site (Mission Creek, WA).
The Fire Severity Mapping System Project (FIRESEV) provides fire managers with critical information about the potential ecological effects of wildland fire at multiple levels of thematic, spatial, and temporal detail.
FireWorks Educational Program curriculum page about fire in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Northern Cascades.
FireWorks Educational Program trunks of materials for the Northern Rocky Mountains and Northern Cascades.
FireWorks Educational Program curriculum page about fire in the sagebrush ecosystem.
The IFIRE - UI Combustion Lab was developed to advance research and educational opportunities within the field of fire sciences.
The International Multiproxy Paleofire Database (IMPD) is a unique source of fire history information from tree-ring and sediment-charcoal based paleofire records, managed by the NOAA Paleoclimatology Branch. The goal of the Decision Support Tool project has been to work in collaboration with partners in the USFS and NOAA to find the best way to deliver the IMPD information to the vegetation and fire management community in the State of Arizona and in other western states, tailored to their needs and capabilities.
The purpose of this web page is to provide downloadable maps for wildland firefighting resources in Nevada, to build situational awareness before and while responding to wildland fires.
The purpose of this web page is to provide downloadable maps for wildland firefighting resources in Oregon and Washington, to build situational awareness before and while responding to wildland fires.
This site was developed to showcase the results of the JFSP-funded project "A Review of Available Economic and Financial Biomass Information and Tools for Federal Land Managers in the West."
Researching long term (>10 yrs) response in fuel loads and vegetation composition after large and severe wildfires across five fire-adapted ecosystems in the western US, including Alaska.
Scientists from the USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station and the University of Montana conducted a study in which observed data were used to produce statistical models describing the probability of high severity fire as a function of fuel, topography, climate, and fire weather.
The vision of the World of Wildland Fire is to provide and connect fire science educators and trainers with scientifically solid and peer-reviewed teaching tools and techniques, using state-of-the-art materials, which will be free and accessible to all.
The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) has released its 2019 Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs):
The Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) announcement FA-FOA0019-001 has one task statement. Proposals must address one or more of the following topic areas:
- Fuels management and fire behavior
- Emissions and air quality
- Fire effects and post-fire recovery
- Relative impacts of prescribed fire versus wildfire
- Human dimensions of fire
The primary announcement FA-FOA0019-002 has two task statements:
- Effectiveness of fuel breaks and fuel break systems
- Reducing damages and losses to valued resources from wildfire
The Regional Fire Science Exchange announcement FA-FOA0019-003 has one task statement focused on leading and executing a regional fire science exchange in the following two regions:
- Great Plains
- Southern Rockies
Deadline: May 16, 2019 5:00 pm Mountain Daylight Time
For more information: Go to the JFSP Funding Announcements website
The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest will soon be advertising to fill a GS-401-11 Forest Prescribed Fire and Fuels Specialist position. The position is permanent, full time located at the Forest Supervisor’s Office in Wenatchee, WA.
About the Position
This position reports to the Deputy Fire Staff-Fuels and is responsible for coordination of the forest fuels program, working closely with the districts and other programs to accomplish restoration objectives.
The incumbent will work with local, regional, and interagency partners to assist in planning, coordination, and implementation of a variety of fuels projects to meet landscape restoration objectives.
The position also provides forest level coordination for the forest prevention program.
The work is diverse and involves office work combined with field assignments during the fire season and occasional travel throughout the year.
FS-FPM qualification requirements: Currency as RXB2 and (ICT3 or TFLD or HEBM)
Deadline: Apr 15, 2019 11:59 pm Pacific Daylight Time
Location: Wenatchee, WA
Contact Name: Matt Castle
Contact E-mail: matthew.castle@usda.gov
Contact Phone: 509-664-9333
Northwest Oregon Interagency Fire Management is advertising for two Assistant Fuels Specialists to serve the Northwest Oregon District BLM in Salem and Springfield. These are permanent full time GS-0401-07/09 positions. The District Fuels Management organization consists of a Lead and an Assistant located in Salem, primarily serving the Cascades, Marys Peak, and Tillamook Field Offices and another Lead/Assistant pair in Springfield, primarily serving the Siuslaw and Upper Willamette Field Offices. The duties for this position consists of planning timber sales and other land management activities as a member of interdisciplinary teams. Additional duties include creating and administering contracts and agreements, inspecting timber sales and fuels treatments, and planning and implementing prescribed burns.
Interested candidates should review advertisement OR Merit-2019-0083 at USAJOBS.GOV.
https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/527565000
This advertisement closes March 25th.
Refer to the advertisement for minimum requirements to qualify for these positions. In a nutshell, your application must clearly show that you:
- Have a minimum of 90 days experience performing fire suppression duties
- Possess NWCG qualifications as CRWB or ENGB or HMGB and ICT
- Meet the positive education requirement of the 0401-series.
Deadline: Mar 25, 2019 11:59 pm Eastern Daylight Time
For more information: Visit this site
GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES
The Forestry program is responsible for the ecological enhancement, economic development and sustainable use of forest resources of allotted, Tribal trust and Tribal fee patent lands for the CTUIR. The Supervisory Forester oversees the development and implementation of activities and functions to carry out provisions of 25 Code of Federal Regulations. The Supervisory Forester develops, implements, and continues programs designed to secure optimum conservation and utilization of soil, water, and forestry resources to provide a reasonable income to Indian landowners consistent with other resource values. The CTUIR employs the best available science to forward our mission through participation in policy, administrative processes, public outreach and education. The position will be under the supervision of the CTUIR Range, Agriculture and Forestry Program Manager. The Forestry Program is required to:
- Integrate the protection, conservation, utilization, and enhancement of Tribal fee, trust and/or restricted Indian forestry lands with the desires of the beneficial owners;
- Ensure that beneficial owners receive fair market value for forestry production; and
- Accomplish 1 and 2 in conjunction with natural resource management objectives and cultural values of the Tribes.
For more information: Visit this site
Job Responsibilities:
Support the Forest Management Sub-committee in developing a Forest Management Plan
- Evaluate data and documents
- Perform GIS analysis
- Develop and implement collection and analysis of environmental data
- Model and project forest vegetation development
- Manage consultant contracts to support options analysis
Support the fire risk assessment for the Cedar River Municipal Watershed
- Serve as technical liaison for research collaborators
- Process vegetation and environmental data
- Coordinate research efforts with other departments
- Evaluate results of fire effects modeling, translate model output into map products and develop options for fire risk mitigation
Develop and implement climate adaptation projects for the Upland Restoration Program
- Develop prescriptions and contract for implementation
- Interact with other governmental and tribal agencies
- Apply for relevant permits
- Mange contracts and conduct compliance monitoring
- Write summary reports
Deadline: Mar 26, 2019 11:59 pm
For more information: Visit this site
Park Rangers support the Bureau's recreation program. They work with the public to provide information, conduct permit compliance, and address visitor public health and safety issues. They respond to emergency situations. They participate in evaluating visitor use patterns, by collecting field data, administering surveys, and preparing necessary documentation. They also assist by preparing and maintaining developed and undeveloped recreation areas/sites which includes cleaning toilets, picking up trash, removing weeds, and monitoring the condition of sites and natural and cultural resources. In some locations some of the positions may be Park Ranger (Hike Leaders). Duties for these positions focus on guiding a variety of age groups on interactive, interpretive hikes that explore the natural and cultural history of a geological formation. Hike leaders develop educational displays, curriculum, and staff various educational events around the region. In some locations, some of the positions may be Park Ranger (Interpretive Center). Duties for these positions focus on interacting with a variety of age groups interpreting Center resources and presenting interpretive programs. Programs include orientation talks, interpretive programs, environmental education, conducted walks, demonstrations, and campfire programs. They develop and maintain interpretive materials and educational displays, and staff information desks.
Deadline: Mar 22, 2019 11:59 pm
For more information: Visit this site
The University of Washington’s Forest Resilience Lab seeks to hire 1 Crew Leader and 3 Field Technicians for the summer of 2019 to work in the Colville National Forest in northeastern Washington. Work will include:
- Measuring and mapping of restoration-oriented forest management practices.
- Spatial pattern mapping of recently thinned stands.
- Collect inventory data for restoration prescriptions and monitoring.
Contact Name: Paul Fischer
Contact E-mail: pfisch5@uw.edu
For more information: Visit this site
Individual will be a member of fire crew assigned to suppress the full range of wildland fires and follow safety rules and regulations. Government housing is available.
Deadline: Apr 8, 2019 11:59 pm
For more information: Visit this site
Position Overview: Serves as the agency’s lead expert on prescribed fire – use, application and implementation. The primary purpose of the position will be to provide leadership in the use and applicability of prescribed fire in Washington, develop a prescribed fire program within the agency and develop a prescribed burn certification program for those who practice prescribed burning in the State of Washington (see RCW 76.04.183). This position serves as a mid-level manager providing oversight and program advocacy for the appropriate use of prescribed fire as well as long-term growth and viability of the program.
The position will provide support for the successful operational use of prescribed fire in helping to achieve the goals of the agency’s 20-year Forest Health Strategic Plan for Eastern Washington (https://www.dnr.wa.gov/ForestHealthPlan). Additionally, the position will be expected to collaborate with other prescribed fire experts within the region and regularly report on the use, application, implementation and effects of prescribed fire in Washington with an emphasis in forested ecosystems.
Required Education & Experience:
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in fire science, fire ecology, forestry, other applicable field.
• Minimum 10 years of experience as a wildland firefighter with experience in PNW or similar fuel types and use of prescribed fire.
Required Qualifications:
• Knowledge of forest & fire ecology in the PNW or similar ecosystems and successful management strategies to address those issues.
• Demonstrated successful experience with fuels & vegetation management, fire management, and prescribed fire plans.
• Proven skills in the development and/or implementation of a similar program at the local, state or federal level.
• Prescribed fire and fuels management - experience in activities such as:
o Professional forest or range inventory methods and procedures (e.g., Brown's planar intercept for dead and down fuels; fuel loading assessments)
o Analysis of fuel loadings and determination of appropriate fuel treatment methods
o Evaluation of prescribed burn plans or fire management plans
o Conducting surveys before and after prescribed fires to determine attainment of resource objectives
• One year of experience in successfully administering contracts, interagency agreements, grants, or other partnership agreements.
Preferred Education/Certification:
• Currently qualified as NWCG RXB2 or higher OR RXM2 or higher.
Working Conditions & Special Position Requirements:
• Travel is required including overnight travel – lodging/meals covered.
• Must have valid Washington driver’s license; this position requires driving as an essential function. Employees who drive for state business, whether in a state or privately owned vehicle, are required to possess a valid driver’s license as defined in agency policy
• Use/application of prescribed fire which will require ability to navigate on foot varying & diverse terrain; ability to work in smoke filled environment.
Contact Name: Julie Sackett
Contact E-mail: julie.sackett@dnr.wa.gov
In an effort to continue to promote the scholarly pursuits and graduate level training within the global wildland fire community, in 2019 the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) will again be awarding two graduate-level scholarships, each valued at $3,000USD to IAWF members who are Master of Science/Arts (MSc/MA) or Doctoral (PhD) students studying wildland fire or wildland fire related topics.
We encourage applications from students studying any aspect of wildland fire be it from the perspective of physical, ecological or social science to less traditional subject areas as well: we are looking through this scholarship to recognize and support any type of research relevant to the global wildland fire community.
Deadline: Apr 19, 2019 11:59 pm
For more information: Visit this site
There are many exciting things coming to IFTDSS in 2019. The IFTDSS Development Team would like to get to know its User Community and would love to hear what you think so far. User Feedback is essential as they add new features and functionality.
For more information: Go to the IFTDSS user survey
Included in this free class:
- A trunk and curriculum containing 40 hands-on activities for teaching about wildland fire science
- Covers physical science of combustion, fire history, succession, and fire effects on plants andanimals
- New curriculum & streamlined materials - just released
- Includes materials on fire use by Native Americans
- Lessons for elementary, middle, and high school levels
When: June 20-21, 2019.
Where: Fire Sciences Lab, Missoula, MT
Contact Name: Ilana Abrahamson
Contact E-mail: ilanalabrahamson@fs.fed.us
For more information: Visit this site
Since the inception of National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, NFPA and State Farm have partnered together to give communities an opportunity to apply for $500 to fund their wildfire risk reduction activities. The deadline is March 1. Use the links below to get started:
Apply for an award.
Get some tips on filling out the application.
Read the contest rules.
Proposals for special sessions, workshops and trainings, oral and poster presentations, fire circles, and attached meetings are now being accepted.
Call for Special Sessions ~ Deadline April 1, 2019
Call for Workshops, Trainings, and Courses ~ Deadline April 1, 2019
Call for Oral and Poster Presentations ~ Deadline August 1, 2019 for Oral Presentations and August 30, 2019 for Poster Presentations
Call for Fire Circles ~ Deadline August 1, 2019
Call for Attached Meetings ~ Deadline August 30, 2019
For more information: Visit this site
Training: National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center FY2019 Sessions (posted Jul 19, 2018)
The Prescribed Fire Training Center (PFTC) is a unique program blending maximum field prescribed burning experience with a flexible curriculum of classroom instruction on foundational topics for prescribed fire practitioners.
The PFTC is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida. Training locations are dispersed throughout Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Attendees will travel to several remote sites during their stay to take advantage of prescribed burning and learning opportunities with a variety of agencies, fuel types, and challenges such as urban interface.
The Southeast is an ideal site for the PFTC due to the year round burning programs of several agencies, broad prescription windows, and the high level of interagency cooperation. During their 20 day tour, individuals should expect to participate in prescribed burns conducted for a variety of objectives. The wildland urban interface is a focus of PFTC, and most participants will have opportunities to conduct burns in interface situations. This variety of field experience with the different prescriptions, planning procedures, and techniques of the various agencies offers an accelerated learning opportunity for the participants.
FY2019 20-Day Sessions:
- January 6, 2019 to January 25, 2019
- February 3, 2019 to February 22, 2019
- March 10, 2019 to March 29, 2019
- April 7, 2019 to April 26, 2019
- June 2, 2019 to June 21, 2019
FY2019 Agency Admin Workshops:
- October 25, 2018 to October 30, 2018
- February 28, 2019 to March 5, 2019
Location: National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center
Address: get directions
Contact Name: Greg Seamon, Fire Training Specialist, Tall Timbers
Contact E-mail: gseamon@talltimbers.org
Contact Phone: (850) 523-8631
For more information: Visit this site