Sunday, April 08, 2012

Better preparation comes out of Wildfire Hydrology and Hazards Workshop


The Southwest Wildfire Hydrology and Hazards Workshop was held at the University of Arizona’s Biosphere2 from April 3rd-5th. This workshop was convened to address hazards stemming from the large wildfires occurring across public and private lands that have become increasingly common and more destructive. Approximately 70 forest practitioners, researchers, emergency responders and other stakeholders gathered to disseminate recent research regarding post-fire assessments, monitoring and research, advances in warning systems, and to coordinate response to future wildfires in the Southwest. Several key areas of concern were identified by the workshop participants including pre-season coordination and warning system preparation, dissemination of information regarding rapid assessment tools and appropriate model parameters, and coordination of post-fire monitoring, research and warning system installation. Three working groups have been formed to address these issues; their findings will be released as white papers in a compilation to be published by AZGS.

More info can be found at - http://register.b2science.org/

Photos can be found here - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.328323763888795.86429.126242600763580&type=1

[Right, AZGS geologist Ann Youberg and Chris Smith from USFS, led a workshop field trip to the 2011 Monument fire to examine the hydrologic and hazards impacts from the wildfire. Photo credit, Steven DeLong, Biosphere2]

[thanks to Ann Youberg for providing the summary]

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