Expertos de Extensión Cooperativa sobre incendios de maleza

California wildfire media contacts available at the University of California

Wildfires are blazing throughout much of the western United States this summer. And the fire season is just beginning. What have scientists learned about fire? How do we reduce the fire threat? What are the impacts to wildlife and the environment? How do we keep homes in wildland safer? What long-term strategies and public policies are evolving with each fire season? These are the types of questions and issues being addressed by the UC academic community in the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The list of sources below can provide insight into many facets of this wildfire season. Also listed are additional resources from the Richmond-based UC Forest Products Laboratory and from ANR Communication Services to help Californians cope with wildfire.

UC Fire Science Lab examines role of fire in ecosystems

Scott L. Stephens, UC Berkeley assistant professor of fire science in the College of Natural Resources. Areas of expertise -- Interactions of wildland fire and ecosystems, including prehistoric fires, current wildland fires and management implications for future fires. Stephens runs the Fire Science Laboratory at UC Berkeley. With nearly a dozen graduate students and staff, the lab conducts research on the history of fire in California forestlands and a wide variety of fire-related topics, such as the role of fire in forest and shrubland restoration, the effect of fire on forest wildlife and insects, how Sudden Oak Death is affecting fuel loads and wildfire hazard, and how climate and fire interact in a never-logged forest ecosystem with no fire suppression. "Many of California's ecosystems are fire adapted but our culture has tried to eliminate fire for the last 100 years," Stephens said. "Restoration is becoming a common land management objective, but we lack fundamental information of how fire and ecosystems interact." The goal of the Fire Science Lab is to assist in finding answers to these complex problems. Stephens is currently studying fire-climate interactions in the Southern California mountains.
 
For more information about the work of the Fire Science Lab, check the Web site at http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/stephens-lab/. Scott Stephens can be reached at (510) 642-7304. Email: stephens@nature.berkeley.edu
 
Identifying content of smoke from fires
 
Peng Gong, UC Berkeley professor of remote sensing in the College of Natural Resources. Areas of expertise -- Remote sensing, map analysis, fire emissions. He has developed a computer simulation model that estimates the amounts of gases and particulate matter emitted from wildfires. Particulate matter such as PM-2.5 and PM-10 can be harmful to the lungs. Using remote sensing, Gong and his group can identify hot spots where fires are burning. He can also measure the extent of burned areas by using weather satellites to examine the die-back of vegetation.
Currently his lab is creating a historical map of forest fires in North America using weather satellite images that are available on a daily basis. "There is no national fire archive that is compiled with data from the same sources using the same methods," Gong says, "Every county has a record of local fires, but they're not consistent. We are creating a standardized history of large fires that burned from 1989 through 2000 to establish a database that documents when and where fires happened and how many acres were burned." Gong is fluent in Mandarin as well as English.
 
Peng Gong can be reached at UC Berkeley, Ecosystem Sciences, 151 Hilgard Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-3114. Phone: (510) 642-5170. Email: gong@nature.berkeley.edu
 
Developing fire fighting strategies
 
Keith Gilless, UC Berkeley professor of forest economics in the College of Natural Resources. Area of expertise -- Wildland fire protection planning; forest economics and management; evaluation of prescribed burning.
 
Gilless studies large urban-wildland fires, including the Oakland-Berkeley and Santa Barbara fires. These studies were designed to evaluate the probability of a house within the fire perimeter surviving as a function of the house's structural characteristics, its surrounding vegetation, and the defensive actions taken to protect it. The results of these studies highlighted the importance of nonflammable roofs and vegetation management programs to reduce fire losses in interface areas.

He has also worked on computer simulation models that assist agencies in evaluation of dispatching policies and stationing strategies for firefighting resources. The simulation has been used by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and other agencies to analyze their wildland fire protection plans.
 
Keith Gilless can be reached at 149 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114. Phone: (510) 642-6388.  Email: gilless@nature.berkeley.edu

Thinning oaks to reduce fire threat
 
Richard Standiford, Cooperative Extension Forest Management Specialist and Associate Dean for Forestry, College of Natural Resources, UC Berkeley. Areas of expertise -- Resource economics, forestry, hardwood rangelands, silviculture, forest management. Standiford has done research on fire history in oak woodlands, effects of fire on oaks, and thinning oaks to reduce fire threat. He has also participated in extension educational programs for homeowners to describe casualty losses from fire.
 
Richard Standiford can be reached at 145 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114. Phone (510) 643-5428. Email: standifo@nature.berkeley.edu

For more ANR wildfire experts, go to  http://news.ucanr.org/newsstorymain.cfm?story=524

UC’s Fire Science Lab examines role of fire in ecosystems

Scott L. Stephens, UC Berkeley assistant professor of fire science in the College of Natural Resources.

Areas of expertise -- Interactions of wildland fire and ecosystems, including prehistoric fires, current wildland fires and management implications for future fires.

Stephens runs the Fire Science Laboratory at UC Berkeley. With nearly a dozen graduate students and staff, the lab conducts research into the history of fire in California forestlands and a wide variety of fire-related topics, such as the role of fire in forest and shrub land restoration, the effect of fire on forest wildlife and insects, how Sudden Oak Death is affecting fuel loads and wildfire hazard, and how climate and fire interact in a never-logged forest ecosystem with no fire suppression. “Many of California’s ecosystems are fire adapted but our culture has tried to eliminate fire for the last 100 years,” Stephens said. “Restoration is becoming a common land management objective, but we lack fundamental information of how fire and ecosystems interact. The goal of the Fire Science Lab is to assist in finding answers to these complex problems.” For more information about the work of the lab, check the Web site at http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/stephens-lab/. Stephens can be reached at (510) 642-7304. Email: stephens@nature.berkeley.edu

Wildfire mitigation targets “urban-wildland interface”

Ken Blonski, wildfire mitigation advisor.

Areas of expertise – wildfire mitigation.

Researchers estimate that approximately 45 percent of the houses in California are vulnerable to damage from external fire, primarily wildfire. “Many of these structures are unnecessarily vulnerable,” Blonski says. He manages a wildfire mitigation program at UC’s Forest Products Laboratory in Richmond. Its mission is to foster a better understanding of wildfire to help protect homes in the “urban-wildland interface.” Research and outreach efforts examine wildland and urban landscape vegetation, fire interaction with buildings, and promoting practices to decrease catastrophic losses and increase the survivability of structures. Blonski is away on assignment until August 1. He can be contacted at the UC Forest Products Laboratory, 1301 South 46th Street, 478 Richmond Field Station. Richmond CA, 94804. Phone (510) 215-4277. Email: ken.blonski@ucop.edu. Web site: http://www.ucfpl.ucop.edu/ERFire.htm

Finding new ways to utilize “biomass”

John Shelly, forest products and biomass utilization advisor.

Areas of expertise – forest products, wood manufacturing methods, biomass utilization, physical properties of wood.

 “‘Biomass’ is a broad term we wood scientists use to describe the trees, shrubs and other vegetation that accumulate to unacceptably high levels in coniferous forests, oak woodland, rangeland and even in urban forests,” Shelly says. “This material can create high fire risk, endanger ecosystem health and threaten forest productivity. Finding uses for this biomass can help offset the cost of managing wildfire fuels and lower the risk of catastrophic fires.” Shelly manages a program at UC’s Forest Products Laboratory that is helping individuals, businesses and communities find new ways to utilize woody biomass. Current projects are focused on small-diameter trees, forest thinnings, underutilized hardwoods and urban trees. Shelly can be contacted at the UC Forest Products Laboratory, 1301 South 46th Street, 478 Richmond Field Station. Richmond CA, 94804. Phone (510) 215-4210. Email: john.shelly@ucop.edu. Web site: http://www.ucfpl.ucop.edu/ERBiomass.htm

Invasive plants fuel fire threat

Karl McArthur, desert natural resources advisor for Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Areas of expertise – policy issues as they relate to woody biomass fuel loading in desert areas.

“We do have problems with fire and biomass loading in the desert,” he says. “Especially with invasive plants that can provide more flammable understory than native plants.” McArthur is located in the UC Cooperative Extension office for San Bernardino County, 777 East Rialto Avenue, San Bernardino CA, 92415-0730. Phone: (909) 387-2242. Email: kamcarthur@ucdavis.edu

Wildlife specialist examines role of policy

Tom Scott, area natural resources wildlife specialist for Southern California.

Areas of expertise – conservation of wildlife, wildlife management at the urban-wildland interface, and response of wildlife to human disturbances. After a catastrophic 1993 fire season, Scott was instrumental in developing subsequent meetings and a book on fire ecology, management and policy . He can be reached until August 15 at UC Riverside, Earth Sciences, 2217 Geology Building, Riverside CA, 92521-0424. Phone: (909) 787-5115. Email: tomscott@citrus.ucr.edu.

Prescribed fire can be beneficial to wildlife

Bill Tietje, area natural resources specialist for the Central Coast region.

Area of expertise -- oak woodland ecology and management, human impacts on wildlife, oak regeneration, land use planning. Tietje has studied wildlife response to fire and response of oak saplings to prescribed fire. "Research to date indicates that light to moderate-intensity fire in California oak woodlands probably has little adverse impact on wildlife,” Tietje said. “Overall, it can be beneficial by reducing resource competition from exotic annual grasses, stimulating shrub and tree vigor and, ultimately, habitat rejuvenation." Tietje can be reached at the UC Cooperative Extension office in San Luis Obispo County, 2156 Sierra Way,Suite C, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. Phone: (805) 781-5938. Email: wdtietje@ucdavis.edu

Firesafe landscaping and revegetating after a fire

Bill Frost, natural resources advisor for El Dorado County.

Areas of expertise – rangeland resources, noxious weeds and watershed management. Frost can comment on firesafe landscaping in oak woodlands typical of the Sierra Nevada foothill region, as well as revegetation after a fire. “Placement of landscape plants and their care may be as important as selecting less flammable plants in reducing the risk of damaging fire,” Frost says. “Homeowners should spend time carefully planning all aspects of their landscape, not just plant selection.” Frost is located in the UC Cooperative Extension office in El Dorado County, 311 Fair Lane, Placerville, CA 95667. Phone: (530) 621-5509. Email: wefrost@ucdavis.edu.

Communities are key to forest stewardship

Gary Nakamura, area forestry specialist for Northern California.

Areas of expertise – forest management, silviculture, biomass harvesting, community-based forestry. Nakamura is working with community-based groups to help them understand fire issues and the role and impacts of biomass harvesting on fuels and fire. “The larger issue is forest stewardship and health,” Nakamura says, “I believe the long-term, ecologically, economically and politically sustainable solutions will be those endorsed and applied by local local communities.” Nakamura is located in the UC Cooperative Extension office in Shasta County, 1851 Hartnell Avenue, Redding, CA 96002-2217. Phone: (530) 224-4902. Email: gmnakamura@ucdavis.edu.

Demonstration project thinning small trees

Mike De Lasaux, natural resources advisor for Plumas and Sierra counties.

Areas of expertise – forestry and watershed management. De Lasaux is overseeing a seven-county demonstration project in the northern Sierra Nevada that is showing non-industrial forest owners how to mechanically thin dense stands of small trees with small-scale logging equipment. “Wildland fires are becoming increasingly common as more people move to rural areas,” De Lasaux says. “We must alleviate the wildfire risk by reducing excessive fuel accumulations in the wildland areas.” De Lasaux is located in the UC Cooperative Extension office for Plumas and Sierra counties at 208 Fairgrounds Road, Quincy, CA 95971. Phone: (530) 283-6125. Email: mjdelasaux@ucdavis.edu.

Helping oak trees survive prescribed burns

Doug McCreary, area natural resources specialist for the northern Sierra Nevada.

Areas of expertise – oak regeneration, woodland management and agroforestry. McCreary has examined the effects of wildfires on oak trees. He is also working on a project that is examining the effects of prescribed fires on oaks and identifying steps that can be taken to protect trees from severe damage in areas where prescribed burning is used to reduce fuel loads and noxious weeds. “Oaks, in general, have evolved with fire in California and are well adapted to survive its effects,” McCreary said. “They can sprout back from their stumps, even when the above ground part of the tree is dead.” McCreary is located at the UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center, 8279 Scott Forbes Road, Browns Valley, CA 95918. Phone: (530) 639-2419. Email: ddmccreary@ucdavis.edu.

“Fire safe” councils helping avert tragedy

Glenn Nader, livestock and natural resources advisor, for Sutter, Yuba and Butte counties.

Areas of expertise -- livestock, forage crops, range and natural resources.

Nader has extensive experience working with citizens and agencies on post-fire rehabilitation, such as the devastating Williams Fire that destroyed more than 100 homes and 5,000 acres, and two fires in the Concow area of Butte County. He was instrumental in the formation of two “fire safe” councils that earned more than $1 million in grant funding to create evacuation plans, shaded fuel breaks and fuel treatments – hand clearing, goat grazing and biomass harvesting. “I’ve seen the devastating impact wildfire has on communities,” Nader says. “Given fuel dynamics and the continuing migration of people into forest communities, it’s not a question of if but when.” Nader is located in the Yuba County Cooperative Extension office at 142-A Garden Highway, Yuba City, CA 95991. Phone (530) 822-7515. Email: ganader@ucdavis.edu.

Web resources from the UC Forest Products Laboratory

The Homeowners Survival Guide -- http://www.ucfpl.ucop.edu/HOSrvGde.htm This site will help homeowners become aware of the fire hazards where they live. For instance, the vulnerability of roofing, vents, windows, nooks and crannies, and under floor areas. Some "quick fixes" that are relatively inexpensive and easily carried out by the homeowner are suggested.

Demonstration Building -- http://www.ucfpl.ucop.edu/HODemoBldg.htm A structure was built on the grounds of the UC Forest Products Laboratory in Richmond to exhibit common building materials and construction details. Some of these materials were selected because of their fire performance characteristics. For instance, double-pane glass is more resistant to breakage than non-tempered glass under wildfire conditions. Continuing research in this area is intended to find a balance between appropriate design features for protecting structures from both wildfire and moisture.

The Fire Safe Garden -- http://www.ucfpl.ucop.edu/HOGarden.htm A “fire safe” garden at the UC Forest Products Laboratory demonstrates how homeowners can arrange ornamental plants and reduce the risk of wildfire-caused property loss. The garden incorporates ideas from a “defensible space” publication, plant flammability testing and includes components typically found in California homes, such as raised beds, fencing, seating areas and walkways. How to protect your home from wildfire (diagram in Adobe Acrobat file) – http://www.ucfpl.ucop.edu/HOInfoSheets/House-fire.pdf How to protect your home from wildfire (checklist in Adobe Acrobat file) – http://www.ucfpl.ucop.edu/HOInfoSheets/FireCheckList.pdf

Landscaping for fire safety (plant list in Adobe Acrobat file) – http://www.ucfpl.ucop.edu/HOInfoSheets/FireSafeLand.pdf For additional information, contact UC Forest Products Laboratory Director Frank Beall at (510) 215-4233. Email: frank.beall@ucop.edu. Web: www.ucfpl.ucop.edu

Wildfire publications and videos from ANR Communication Services http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu

A Property Owner’s Guide to Reducing Wildfire Threat --This pamphlet describes ways homeowners can reduce the threat of fire to their property. Management of vegetation adjacent to homes is discussed, as well as recommendations on defensible space for different areas. (available in English and Spanish)

 How Can We live with Wildland Fire? – This publication discusses the role fire plays in the natural cycle and what choices those who live in the West can make to cope with wildland fire. Wildland Fire: How Can We Live With It? This video contains information about wildland fire in California and the choices communities can make to cope with wildland fire problems. It is designed to stimulate public discussion and community action planning.

Recovering from Wildfire: A Guide for California’s Forest Landowners – This publication discusses issues that family forest landowners should consider following a wildfire in their forest. It includes information on how to protect your property from erosion damage, where to go for help and financial assistance, tax implications of fire losses, how to manage salvage harvesting and how to help the forest recover.

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