A 21st CENTURY STRATEGY FOR MANAGING FIRE AND WILDLANDS

CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

A NEW ERA OF MEGAFIRESWashington experienced its worst-ever fire season in 2015. More than 1 million acres were burned, including 260,000 acres in the Okanagan Complex Fire—the largest in state history. Firefighting costs reached an estimated $253 million. Worse, three firefighters were killed in the Twisp River Fire.

Wildfires that ravage the Pacific Northwest are getting bigger and more destructive, fueled by disease, damage, drought, and decades of fire suppression. Paul Hessburg, research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service, says we have entered an “era of megafires.”

At the same time, towns are expanding, fostering a larger and more complex wildland-urban interface. Protecting rural communities therefore requires faster response, better preparedness, and better forest management.

The wildfire problem is unprecedented, and so we must adjust the way we fight it. That means embracing today’s technology to get in front of blazes that threaten life, property, and habitat; and promoting healthy ecological conditions to reduce wildfire risk.

SOLUTIONS TO MEET THE CHALLENGECWU learned about the calamity of wildfire during the Taylor Bridge and Table Mountain fires in 2012. The university served as the center of wildfire response, housing families, firefighters and volunteers; supporting emergency communications and media relations; and hosting public meetings. Now, CWU

proposes to take the next step in leveraging its faculty expertise and technology to provide solutions to meet the megafire challenge.

Science shows that wildfire is an integral component of forest ecosystems, and in some cases supports forest health. The challenge is to better manage fire as a natural and necessary process. Students of CWU’s Wildfire Science and Wildland Management program will understand the latest scientific research, effective management, and the use of GIS and other technologies for maintaining healthy forests. They’ll graduate job ready for careers in wildland management, wildfire science, and other areas of resource management.

A NEW GENERATION OF SCIENTISTS The CWU Wildfire Science and Wildland Management Program will address the crisis by training a new generation of scientists and natural resource managers who understand and can anticipate wildfire behavior using the latest GIS technology. The program teaches management strategies to support healthy wildlands and reduce fire risk; and how to use the latest geospatial technologies to improve wildland management and more effectively fight fires.

The program will include:• professional certificate training in geospatial

technologies for current firefighters• a Bachelor of Science degree in wildfire science and

wildland management• graduate education focused on managing wildlands

and wildfire in the Pacific Northwest

Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

BY THE NUMBERSWASHINGTON’S CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRES—2015

$253 million estimated firefighting cost

1,137,664 acres of forest and rangeland burned

260,000 acres burned in the Okanagan Complex Fire

548 structures destroyed, including 343 homes

3 firefighters killed fighting the Twisp River Fire

GETTING IN FRONT OF THE BLAZEInstead of relying on maps that are hours old, new technologies can integrate real-time information about weather, fuels, and a fire’s position and behavior to anticipate where it is likely to spread. Imagine the effectiveness and safety of firefighters who can model where a fire is going before it gets there. The program could save lives, preserve property, and protect millions of acres of land in Washington, while saving millions in firefighting costs.

The program will leverage geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing, which uses air photos and satellite imagery, to gather faster, more precise, and more accurate information than what’s possible through ground surveys. These same tools will help resource managers keep ahead of fire longterm by reducing fire risks.

RESILIENT COMMUNITIESTogether, faculty and students will develop new ideas to support community resilience in the wake of wildfire and other natural hazards. They’ll analyze preventive community development approaches, which wildland management strategies work best in our region, and research the role of climate change in the frequency and severity of wildfire.

IT’S GOOD FOR WASHINGTONCWU’s program positions the state to make meaningful advances in firefighting, and develop healthy, more resilient forests and communities.

Graduates will be experts in:• Healthy forest management• Wildland management• Community hazard planning and preparation• Effective communication of fire risk and behavior• Risk modeling• Safety and risk reduction• Applied remote sensing• Wildfire economics• Emergency geotechnologies• Wildfire analysis and simulation

Stats from the National Interagency Fire Center, www.nifc.gov/

AA/EEO/TITLE IX INSTITUTION • FOR ACCOMMODATION E-MAIL: DS@CWU.EDU • FALL 2016

cwu.edu/public-affairs • Barge 402 • 509-963-1221

For more information contact Antonio Sanchez, Assistant Director of Government Relations, 206-383-6980, Antonio.Sanchez@cwu.edu.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Forest Service.

Members of the Jackson Hotshots run from the Okanogan Complex Fire as it advances unexpectedly in Twisp, Washington on August 20, 2015. Photo by David Ryder, Ryder Pictures.