First Fuels Conference Measures Successes
The First Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference, “Fuels Management: How to Measure Success,” was held in Portland, Ore., March 27-30. The International Association of Wildland Fire initiated a conference on this timely topic primarily in response to the needs of the U.S. National Interagency Fuels Coordinating Group.
Fuels management programs are designed to reduce risks to communities and to improve and maintain ecosystem health. The conference addressed development, implementation and evaluation of these programs, with a focus on how to measure success. The scope included not only the how to, but also the what and why of fuels management.
The 500 conference participants represented a wide range of organizations, disciplines and countries. The conference program included workshops, invited speakers, oral and poster presentations, panels, and vendor displays. Many of those who responded to the after-conference survey listed “networking” as one of the most valuable aspects of the conference. They noted the benefits of the mix of managers, researchers, academics, practitioners and policy-makers.
Rather than having a single keynote speaker who could set the tone for the entire conference, each day began with invited speakers who presented a range of viewpoints. Topics included a broad view of fire as it relates to other “disasters”; fire as an ecological force; and fuels management policy and direction of U.S. federal agencies, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and Europe.
Panels addressed two key topics: “Wildland Fire Use: It's Not Just For Wilderness Anymore” and “How Do We Define Success In Fuels Management?”
There were about 100 oral and 50 poster presentations covering a range of topics, including decision support systems, treatment optimization tools, fuel characterization, fuel mapping, wildland urban interface, ecological considerations, prescribed fire, fire use, fire policy, fire modeling, fire risk assessments, fuel metrics and evaluation, fire weather, economics, sociology, communication, collaboration and case studies. Papers submitted by presenters will be published in a proceedings, and about 12 of those papers will comprise a special issue of the International Journal of Wildland Fire.
About 250 people took advantage of the optional pre-conference workshops. They attended several of the 10 workshops that described and demonstrated computer systems, models and methods that can be used in support of fuels management. The short workshops were designed as an introduction and to give information on how to get additional information, publications and computer programs.
The IAWF presented the first-ever Ember Award to acknowledge sustained achievement in wildland fire science. The award was given posthumously to Dr. Frank Albini, who was a fire behavior scientist at the Missoula Fire Sciences Lab. The name “ember” was chosen to reflect the fact that research and science often move slowly, and their benefits or impact may not be apparent for years or more.
Raffle ticket sales for a painting and a matching amount by IAWF led to a $2,200 contribution to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, whose mission is to “honor past, present and future members of the wildland firefighting family.” More information on the foundation is available at www.wffoundation.org.
he conference was the first in a series planned by the IAWF. The Second Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference: Fire Behavior Fundamentals and Applications, will be in Florida, March 26-30, 2007. Visit www.iawfonline.org for details.
