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DRIPTORCH DIGEST
A Newsletter for the Southern Prescribed Fire Community
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Welcome to the Driptorch Digest,
an online newsletter for the Southern prescribed fire community.
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to others who might be interested, and encourage them to sign up for their own subscription by clicking on the "subscribe" link at the bottom of this newsletter, or by visiting the Southeast Prescribed Fire Update blog to receive this newsletter as well as other occasional fire-related blog posts.
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We Welcome your Contributions to the Southern Region Cohesive Strategy Models for Action
The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy is a national collaborative effort to bring a broad crosssection of stakeholders together to address wildland fire management challenges. We invite your stories to highlight both the successes and challenges related to the implementation of Cohesive Strategy. We hope your story will inspire others to better prepare the Southeast for future wildfires.
The Cohesive Fire Strategy is actively seeking to develop new success stories of activities recently completed in southeastern states. The following are key action items from the SE Strategy Action Plan that we would like to highlight examples of:
- Prescribed fire education/ training (to landowners/ natural resource professionals/ structural firefighters)
- Efforts to increase burning for ecosystem restoration (example, longleaf or shortleaf pine restoration)
- Landowners collectively managing land (longleaf or shortleaf pine) where fuels reduction is a by-product
- Using science data as a tool to address the needs involved in addressing fire at the community level
- DOI program that develops additional programs for fuels management on private lands in proximity to federal holdings
Please send any story ideas and contact information to Holly Campbell.
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 New Fire Science You Can Use
Depending on where you live in the South, you might be interested in following the work of either the Southern Fire Exchange (SFE), the Consortium of Fire Managers & Scientists (CAFMS), and/or the Oak Woodlands & Forests Fire Consortium.
Written by David Godwin, Southern Fire Exchange
New IFTDSS Version Coming Soon!
IFTDSS 3.0.1 is set to be released in mid-February. This new version includes a wide range of new features and updates including: download LCPs and model outputs, model outputs are now in English units, landscape fire behavior modeling now includes WindNinja, improved shapefile management and bug numerous fixes. Stay tuned for several Fire Science Exchange Network webinars this year demonstrating IFTDSS in action. CLICK HERE
New BEHAVE Plus 6 Beta Released
BEHAVE users have a new beta version out. BEHAVE Plus 6 beta was released this January with many new features added to the software. Look out for a series of webinars this year hosted by the Fire Science Exchange Network on the new version of this program. Check out the latest version here: CLICK HERE
Archive of Mobile Apps for Fire
Looking for some new mobile apps as you prepare for prescribed fire season? The Southern Fire Exchange has categorized lists of apps that may help you be more effective this year. CLICK HERE
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Prescribed Fire Council Updates
North Carolina Prescribed Fire Council
Save the date! The North Carolina PFC will hold their annual meeting on August 2-3, 2018 in Asheboro, NC.
North Florida Prescribed Fire Council
The North Florida PFC will hold their bi-annual meeting on March 27, 2018 in Chipley, FL. Registration will be open approximately one month prior to the meeting. More information can be found
here.
Annual Meetings
Did you miss your Prescribed Fire Council meeting this fall? Did you see a presentation and want a copy of the slides? The Southern Fire Exchange has archived presentations from some of the meetings from last year.
Check out the archive here.
Check
on your state's PFC website to find more information and/or an event near you.
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Prescribed Burn Association Updates
Sandhills PBA Shares Prescribed Fire Photos
We participated in another successful private landowner burn at the end of January, this time in Cumberland County on about 10 acres of 3-4 year old longleaf stands. About 10 folks came to help, including many who have been part of the Sandhills Prescribed Burn Association. This burn was a great example of how fire can be effectively used at this young stage to address pest and disease problems, as well as competition from other woody plants. Photos are posted
here
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New Oklahoma Prescribed Burn Association Coordinator
Oklahoma Prescribed Burn Association
(OKPBA) hired Seth Coffey as its newest coordinator to help out landowners and local PBAs with training, planning burns and assisting with forming new PBAs where needed. Seth will work across the state and can be contacted at 580-504- 9709 or [email protected]. OPBA also has two new county PBAs in Harper and Coal Counties.
More Information
Many other useful links and videos designed to support PBAs can be found at the
Southeast Prescribed Fire Update.
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FIRE ADAPTED COMMUNITIES
LEARNING NETWORK
Why is a learning network a good way to address wildfire issues?
From their FAQ page, the FAC Learning Network says, "Unlike coalitions or alliances, generative networks tackle problems that require a good deal of time and adaptive management to address. The members develop powerful, enduring relationships, and members (vs. staff) do most of the group's work. The long-term, cooperative, and nimble nature of this generative network makes it ideal for addressing the dynamic problem of community resiliency to wildfire."
If you would like to join the FAC Learning Network, please visit the
membership website.
Join FAC Net through your LinkedIn Account
FAC Net now has a LinkedIn page! If you have a LinkedIn profile, please consider listing your membership to FAC Net on it. You can do this by adding an "Experience" (along with your other "work experience") or an "Accomplishment." Below is text that you can paste directly into the description:
The Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network (FAC Net) is a national network of people working to build wildfire resilience capacity in wildfire-prone communities. FAC Net's purpose is to connect and support people and communities who are striving to live more safely with wildfire. A fire adapted community is a knowledgeable, engaged community that is taking actions that will enable them to safely accept fire as part of the surrounding landscape. For more information, visit www.fireadaptednetwork.org.
FAC Net is supported through a partnership among The Nature Conservancy, the Watershed Research and Training Center and the USDA Forest Service.
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2017 Summary of Prescribed Burns
By John Weir
Thanks for logging your burns in 2017
This report is a summary of the 2017 prescribed burns reported to the Burn Entry Form at the Oklahoma Prescribed Burn Association website at https://www.ok-pba.org. There was a total of 532 burn reported from 14 states on 108,712 acres. This information is used to gather data on prescribed burns from around the country to support the use of prescribed fire. In the past this data helped to support law and policy changes, assist some burn associations with receiving grants and to help show others how safe and effective prescribed burning is.
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Extension Connection
Resources and stories, from and/or for
the Cooperative Extension Service and other Educators
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Wildland Fire in the
Southeast Education and Outreach Links
Cooperative Extension personnel and Cohesive Strategy Coordinators nationwide are working to provide this public portal webpage with essential wildland fire education and outreach materials.
Over 200 links
to publications, flyers, videos, posters and more are available. Your suggestions for any additional educational resources to add to this website are welcome. Contact Holly Campbell at
[email protected]
Citizen Fire Academy: Curriculum Package for Facilitators and Educators
The Citizen Fire Academy (CFA) program developed by Oregon State University equips participants with the
k
n
owledge they need to improve fire preparedness and resiliency on their own properties and in their co
mmunities. This curriculum offers interested educators or agencies the teaching tools needed to conduct the
ir own CFA program, including lesson plans, detailed agendas, tour ideas, and suggestions for presenting it as a hybrid course.
Learn more & access all materials
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National Forest Fire Management Officer of the Year Award
GAINESVILLE (February 9, 2018) - Today the U.S. Forest Service announced Michael Davis, Forest Fire Management Officer for the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, is the winner of the 2016 National Forest Fire Management Officer of the Year Award for the Southern Region. "Mike's dedication and passion for the job is inspiring, and he is a great asset to our Forest and the communities we serve," said Forest Supervisor Betty Jewett. "In the fall of 2016, he stepped up when we needed him the most and did a great job leading
Burner Bob - Prescribed Fire Rock Star?
What is 7 feet tall, wears Nomex, carries a drip torch and chirps when he speaks? You got it, Burner Bob, the larger-than-life super hero of prescribed fire education in the southeastern US. Burner Bob made an appearance at the Tall Timbers Fire Festival, the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston and is heading for the Party for the Pine in Pinehurst, in March. His good buddy, private landowner Reese Thompson is Burner Bob's "agent" and can work with you on having Burner Bob at your event.
If Bob is not available to visit your event, his educational materials are. Coloring books, posters and more can be found at the educational store section of the Longleaf Alliance website.
Individuals, Organizations Honored for Exemplary Commitment to Community Wildland Fire Protection
The Wildfire Mitigation Awards committee has announced the 2018 Wildfire Mitigation Award winners. Established in 2014, the awards are the highest commendation for innovation and leadership displayed by individuals and organizations committed to wildfire mitigation. The awards are sponsored by the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the USDA Forest Service (USFS). Awards will be presented at the IAFC
Wildland-Urban Interface Conference (WUI)
in Reno, Nevada on February 28, 2018. For more information, visit:
www.stateforesters.org/mitigation
.
Prescribed Fire Training Center Surpasses 1 Million Acres. Authors Josepeh P. Ferguson and Greg Seamon, in Fire Management Today, (pg 30)
Interagency Partnership Mitigates Wildfire Risk in Georgia. Authors Holly Krake, Mike Ward, and Mike Davis, in Fire Management Today, (pg 42)
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Wow! Have you seen this?
Two Wildfire Prediction Mapping Sites
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has an impressive Fire Weather Outlooks website at
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/fire_wx/ It's part of the Storm Prediction Center and correlates fire-conducive extreme weather patterns for ignition and spread wildfire, as well as presence of volatile fuel conditions. Storm Prediction Center Mesoscale Assistant/Fire Weather Forecaster
Ariel Cohen describes the SPC fire weather forecast process for a meteorology class at the University of Oklahoma. Use this link to view the
YouTube video.
The National Interagency Coordination Center, an Interagency Incident Support Website, has a
Predictive Service Program developed to provide decision support information needed to be more proactive in anticipating significant fire activity and determining resource allocation needs. Predictive Services consists of three primary functions; fire weather, fire danger/fuels, and intelligence/resource status information. It functions under the guidance of the National Predictive Services Subcommittee (NPSS), which is chartered under
National Widlfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) to provide leadership and direction for the program. Predictive Service staff units are located at the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) and the Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACCs) across the country.
Click here to see the video!
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New LANDFIRE Tools and Applications
By: Jeannie Patton, Communications Lead, The Nature Conservancy -
The LANDFIRE website has undergone changes, not only to make it 508 compliant, but to update resources, add new content and links, and ease navigation. The basic structure and content remain, but -- WOW -- the "Extreme Makeover" will better support your many mobile devices and make the Big Screen experience more enjoyable.
Big Data, Big Applications. Dave Cleland, landscape ecologist with the USDA Forest Service, has held positions as a Forest Soil Scientist, Forest Ecologist, Research Liaison, Regional Ecologist, Research Ecologist, and Assistant National Vegetation Ecologist over the course of his career. Recently, we interviewed this LF "pioneer" about big data and how it supports USFS work. He says that "LANDFIRE has the most consistent and I think best data available nationally on fire regimes, biophysical settings, and vegetative departures and dynamics." Read the interview.
Are you receiving LANDFIRE Bulletins and Postcards directly? We post monthly: news, application stories, interviews. Click here to learn more and to subscribe.
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Funding News & Opportunities
www.wildfirePrepDay.org Application period January 8 - March 2, 2018
for one of 150 project funding awards at $500 each.
If you are thinking about what activities you and your family, friends, and neighbors would like to do to improve your wildfire preparedness capabilities, consider participating in next year's Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on May 5, 2018.
Nevada Division of Forestry is accepting State Fire Assistance grant pre-proposals for the Western States Fire Managers and Hazardous Fuels-Community Protection programs. The grants can be used to reduce hazardous wildfire fuel, create community wildfire protection plans, as well as perform community outreach and wildfire prevention in the wildland urban interface. For more information on Western States Fire Managers and Hazardous Fuels-Community Protection grants, contact Ryan Shane at (775) 684-2511 or [email protected].
The deadline for submission is March 2, 2018.
FY 2019 ESTCP Solicitation Topic D3 Resource Conservation and Resiliency. This solicitation was released January 9, 2018; pre-proposals are due March 8, 2018.
To see the PDF document describing the wildland fire management portion of the solicitation
CLICK HERE
International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) 2018 Student Scholarships.
In an effort to continue to promote the scholarly pursuits and graduate level training within the global wildland fire community, in 2018 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.
Application deadline April 2, 2018.
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Webinars and Videos
Videos
AFE Fire Ecology and Management Congress Presentation Videos Online
Recordings from many of the AFE Fire Ecology and Management conference special sessions, plenary sessions and AFEx Talks are now online thanks to the Southern Fire Exchange, University of Florida and the Association for Fire Ecology. CLICK HERE
Videos from the Upland Ecosystem Groundcover Restoration Symposium
All of the videos are now online from the presentations at the SFE / TNC symposium held in October. CLICK HERE
Duff Fire Science Workshop Presentations Online
Did you miss the SFE Duff Fire Science Workshop held in October? Check out the presentation recordings from the morning sessions: CLICK HERE
Check out this series of
prescribed burning equipment videos
produced by Oklahoma State University. These videos cover equipment from radios, leaf blowers, sprayers, clothing, hand tools, burn trailers and weather instruments, and are suitable for any part of the country or skill level of burner.
The Association of Fire Ecology offers World of Wildland Fire
videos. These excellent videos cover topics like wildfire ecology, latest research, fire behavior and fuels, moisture, and combustion.
Archived Webinars
Upcoming Webinars
March 15, 2018 - 8:00 AM to Noon ET. Collaboration and Cooperation in Protecting Resources and Ecosystems. This is the morning session webinar featuring the presentations from CESU leaders and Federal funding partners specific to the five southeastern region CESUs.
March 15, 2018 - 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM ET. Collaboration and Cooperation in Protecting Resources and Ecosystems. This is the afternoon session webinar featuring presentations by southeastern US researchers who submitted abstracts to compete for the limited number of spots on the afternoon agenda.
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Upcoming Events, Training, and Networking
Prescribed Burn Certification Courses
May 8-10, 2018 - Louisiana Prescribed Fire Training, Woodworth Outdoor Education Center.
Fire Fests
April 21, 2018 - Party for the Pine: Fire for the Forest , Southern Pines, NC.Get full details and learn how to get involved at: http://www.partyforthepine.org/
October/November 2018 - Dr. Joe Roise, NC State University Professor for Forestry is working with the NC Prescribed Fire Council in the planning of a fire festival in the North Carolina in the fall of 2018. Please stay tuned for more details.
May 1 - 12, 2018 -
East River Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (Session 1)
/ eastern SD. This training is hosted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, South Dakota Wildland Fire Division, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy.
Applications are due by March 30.
May 15-25, 2018 -
East River Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (Session 2) / eastern SD. This training is hosted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, South Dakota Wildland Fire Division, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy. Applications are due by March 30. Information: see the flyer attached to Networker #252
October 29 - November 9, 2018
- Southern Blue Ridge TREX, the first Prescribed Fire Training Exchange in the Appalachians including aerial ignition! Sponsored by USDA Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy and Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers & Scientists. #SBRTrex More information coming soon.
Firefighter II Certification.
This intermediate firefighter training program (equivalent to NWCG S-131, S-133, and S-231 courses, as well as the G-131 course) is designed to prepare the Firefighter 2 (FFT2) to move to the Firefighter 1 (FFT1) position. This course trains these firefighters to coordinate with other resources and be good leaders - make sound tactical decisions while keeping safety their first priority.
For more training opportunities, visit the Southern Fire Exchange
Education and Training
w
ebpage.
Conferences and Workshops
March 26-29, 2018 - National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy Workshop, Peppermill Resort, Reno, NV. "Making a Difference - Building Capacity, Improving Preparedness, and Learning form Experience." This conference is hosted by the International Association of Wildland Fire, in partnership with Wildland Fire Leadership Council and the Western, Southeastern and Northeastern Regional Strategic Committees.
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Click Me! |
April 10-12, 2018 - Wildland Urban Fire Summit, Santa Fe, NM. "Collaborative Community Action" is the theme of this collaborative event hosted by the BLM, USFS, BIA, NM State Forestry, NM State Land Office, NM Association of Counties, NM Municipal League, Forest Stewards Guild and Southwest Fire Science Consortium.
May 8-10, 2018 - Longleaf Academy: Longleaf 101, Texas Forest Service in Lufkin, TX. Training will combine class room and tours of east Texas longleaf stands providing an excellent foundation for understanding the unique attributes of the longleaf pine / fire ecosystem. $150 advanced registration required.
May 21-24, 2018 - The Fire Continuum Conference, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.
Visit the conference website at Keynote speaker, Tony Tooke, USDA Forest Service Chief.
Click the image to the right for full details.
Save the Date
Oct. 24-26, 2018 - The Longleaf Alliance, Alexandria, LA. The 22nd biennial Longleaf Alliance regional conference is
scheduled to take place at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Alexandria, LA., October 24 through 26, 2018. Visit go.ncsu.edu/longleafconference for more details.
Visit the Southern Fire Exchange for listings of conferences, webinars, workshops and field tours here.
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Web-based Resources and Tools
- Prescribed Burn Contractor Databases for many states in the South provide online vendor databases for prescribed burning either on the state forestry agency website, or through the Prescribed Fire Council. On these sites, prescribed burn contractors can add their business to a list where private landowners can then search the database to find a contractor who offers prescribed burning in their area.
- New paper by Wayne Casio of the UW EPA entitled, Wildland fire smoke and human health is being published in the Science of The Total Environment and is posted on the Northwest Fire Science Consortium website.
- Wildfire Research Home Safety Fact Sheet.
Fifth in the series from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). All five fact sheets-on roofing materials, attic and crawlspace vents, decks, fencing and coatings are all
available here
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Northwest Fire Science Consortium Fire Facts available online and for download.
These are brief, to the point fact sheets, covering a variety of fire-related topics.
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A website with fascinating and useful animated map of global weather conditions. Click anywhere on the planet to see real-time surface wind conditions, temperature and more.
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- The Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) is an online collection of >1,100 peer-reviewed syntheses on fire ecology and fire regimes in the United States.
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Job Postings
Fire Ecology Program Internships - The Fire Ecology Program at Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy in Tallahassee, FL seeks to provide field and laboratory experience for college students and recent graduates in the areas of plant ecology, ecosystem ecology, and fire ecology and science. Most internships last 12-16 weeks and are largely fieldwork based. Summer interns work from May-August and Fall interns work from October-December.
Get full details and application instructions here.
Research Associate: The Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University is seeking a research associate to assist the new director of forest operations and biomass utilization, Dr. Han-Sup Han. Details are on the NAU jobs page (
job ID 603563).
Wildland Restoration International (WRI) Job Announcements:
See the job descriptions for positions in Florida and Southeastern US. WRI also has a subscription option that will notify you by email of job announcements and training opportunities.
The Nature Conservancy
has numerous fire-related positions open. For details, visit the
careers page
and search "prescribed fire."
Online Job Boards:
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Driptorch Digest
This newsletter is hosted by the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning & Sustainability (SERPPAS) Prescribed Fire Work Group.
Share your prescribed fire
information, stories, and events!
Jennifer Fawcett
SERPPAS Prescribed Fire Work Group Coordinator
NC State University, Extension Forestry
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EXTENSION FORESTRY
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Campus Box 8008
Raleigh, NC 27695-8008
919-515-8288
Kelley Duffield McCarter - Production Assistant
NC State University, College of Natural Resources
Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
Campus Box 8008
Raleigh, NC 27695-8008
919-515-9563
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