Wildfire Wednesdays #36: Structure Loss Data - Pile Burns on SFNF

Hi Fireshed Members,   

As winter sets in, this is a great time to take a step back and make a plan to prepare your home and property for wildfire in 2021. Starting to make a plan now will allow you to work efficiently in the spring and will be a lot less stressful that trying to plan and complete projects in the spring and summer, which are always busy.  

This Wildfire Wednesdays features:  

• Data for structures burned by wildfire in each state 

• Prescribed fire and pile burning in Northern New Mexico 

Best,

Gabe 

Data for Structures Burned by Wildfire in Each State: A Tool to Communicate Wildfire Effects 

The traditional way — and the easiest way — to compare wildfire seasons is the number of acres burned. But blackened acres does not tell the whole story about the effects of fires on humans. A new, user-friendly database by Headwaters Economics identifies the number of structures, by state, destroyed by wildfires between 2005 and 2020. This is a powerful tool for communicating the importance of preparing our home ignition zones for wildfire.   

To learn more about the tool, click here.  

To use the tool for yourself, click here.  

Santa Fe National Forest May Implement Hyde Park, Thompson Ridge Pile Burns this Week 

Dec. 1, 2020 - Fire managers on the Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) are looking at a potential window this week to implement the previously announced Hyde Park and Thompson Ridge prescribed pile burns to reduce the risk of wildfire. 

The 132-acre Hyde Park pile burn near Black Canyon Campground on the Espanola Ranger District is designed to eliminate woody debris from a nearby thinning project within the Greater Santa Fe Fireshed.  

The 1-acre Thompson Ridge slash pit prescribed burn is a collaborative effort between the Jemez Ranger District and the surrounding area to promote Fire Adapted Communities.  

To learn more about these two pile burns, click here for the full news release.

Wildfire Wednesdays #35: Turkey and Leaves - Prescribed Burn Associations

Hi Fireshed Members,  

I hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. After the turkey and potatoes, if you want to work up a sweat without leaving your house, get your favorite family member to help you rake the yard and clean the gutters... I'm sure they’ll love it.  

This edition of Wildfire Wednesday is a brief one.  

Stay Safe,  

Gabe 

Prescribed Burn Associations: A Webinar by The Cohesive Strategy 

Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 10th from 9 - 10:30am pst.  

As part of their ongoing Living with Wildland Fire learning series, The Western Region of the Fire Leadership Council presents a webinar about Prescribed Burn Associations and the different approaches they take in different places. Prescribed Burn Associations are more common in the Southeast part of the country and have been widely recognized as a powerful way to build local capacity and acceptance for the use of prescribed fire as a tool for wildfire risk reduction.  

Don’t take my word for it, check the webinar out yourself by clicking here. 

Wildfire Wednesdays #34: Wildfire Wednesdays Live Tonight - Home Hazard Assessment

Hi Fireshed Members,

Wildfire Wednesdays Live is on tonight at 6pm. Information below.

Also, our partners at Fire Adapted Communities New Mexico (FAC NM) plan to host more virtual peer-learning opportunities this winter. The goal is to build the connections and common understanding needed to mobilize our communities for wildfire adaptation work leading into the 2021 fire season.

They want to hear from you. To capture the topics that you are most interested in, please take a couple minutes and fill out this brief survey.  To respond with your interests, click here.

This week’s Wildfire Wednesday newsletter features:

• Information about Wildfire Wednesday Live, tonight at 6pm!

• Re-introducing the Home Hazard Assessment

Best,

Gabe

Wildfire Wednesdays Live, Tonight at 6pm!

After a couple week hiatus we are back on for Wildfire Wednesdays Live tonight. Previous sessions introduced The Greater Santa Fe Fireshed Coalition and provided some background fire ecology information for the Fireshed landscape. This week’s session will build on these past two livestreams by focusing individual risk and actions of residents within the Santa Fe Fireshed landscape.

To join the Facebook livestream at 6pm on Wednesday, November 18th, click here.

Home Hazard Assessment

The prospect of preparing your home for fire season can seem overwhelming, since planning for any disaster means imaging the worst. So, to get started the best thing to do is to create a plan and then begin with the easiest tasks.

To assist in making a plan we’d like to re-introduce the Home Hazard Assessment Guide. With this guide and the accompanying worksheet you can assess the areas of your home that could use improvement and then keep track as you work to improve them. This short guide covers all the areas that you might be concerned about that might cause your home to ignite.

To access the Home Hazard Assessment, click here.

Wildfire Wednesdays #33: Wildfire Wednesdays Live - WUFS Recordings

Hello Fireshed Members,

It is Veteran’s Day and I want to say thank you to those that have served in the armed forces. A special thank you to all veterans that continue to serve our country as firefighters through New Mexico State Forestry’s Returning Heroes Wildland Fire Program and other programs nationwide.

This Wildfire Wednesdays features:

• Information about the next Wildfire Wednesdays Live on November 18th

• Recordings of sessions from the 2020 Wildland Urban Fire Summit

Best,

Gabe

Wildfire Wednesdays Live on November 18th

Wildfire Wednesdays Live is postponed tonight in honor of Veterans Day and all of those who have served in the military. We will begin again on November 18th. Stay tuned for details about the November 18th session.

2020 Wildland Urban Fire Summit Recordings

Check out the recordings from this year’s Wildland Urban Fire Summit (WUFS). The Wildland Urban Fire Summit (WUFS) is one of New Mexico’s leading events for wildfire preparedness and planning. Each year, community leaders, fire service professionals, and federal, state, tribal, and local governments collaborate to create this summit. Check out the informative sessions to learn from communities adapting to a wildfire environment about the latest techniques, strategies, and resources for wildfire adaptation and resilience.

To access links to the recording, click here.

Wildfire Wednesdays #32: WWL Postponed - Fire and Fauna Webinar Series - After the Flames Webinar

Hi Fireshed Members,

Wildfire Wednesdays Live is postponed for tonight.

A recent study from the Blue Mountain ecoregion in Northeastern Oregon found that beliefs about future wildfire risks were largely independent of political beliefs and people accurately agreed about the rising frequency of large wildfires and expect this trend to continue. Regardless of the outcome of the 2020 election, let’s continue to work together toward the shared goal of wildfire adapted communities.

This week’s Wildfire Wednesday’s features:

• The Fire and Fauna webinar series hosted by the Forest Service

• After the Flames Webinar hosted by The National Cohesive Strategy

Thanks,

Gabe

Fire and Fauna Webinar Series

Wildfire and prescribed fire effects on wildlife

November 16th-20, 2020 at 2-3pm EST

These land-manager focused webinars will highlight the latest science on fire and wildlife. Sessions are open to all – internal and external participants welcome. Three short thematic presentations each day followed by Q&A and discussion. Participation provides continuing education credits for Certified Wildlife Biologist Renewal/ Professional Development Certificate Program.

To learn more, click here.

After the Flames Webinar

Actionable Best Practices for Communities and Agencies Impacted by Wildfire

December 3rd, 2020 1:00pm – 3:00pm MST

What does current science and experience tell us about the near and long-term impacts of fire on water quality and how to recover?

The Western Region of the Wildland Fire Leadership Council and Cohesive Strategy is sponsoring this webinar as part of their focus on mitigating post fire impacts. Please take a look, consider registering and share through your networks. These topics are front and center in the west.

To learn more, and to register for this webinar, click here.