FAC Net blogs include success stories, lessons learned, resources, tips and even failures related to community wildfire resilience. Please contact our blog manager if you have a story to share.
Editor's note: Kimberley O'Neil and John Mock have been fire adaptation leaders in their community for 15 years. This summer, their community's work was put to the test during the Ferguson Fire. Learn how their work held up. In this photo, John and Kimberley are being presented with a plaque of appreciation from Yosemite National Park's chief of fire and aviation, Kelly Martin. Credit: Yosemite National Park
Jan 17, 2019
Why the Ferguson Fire Didn’t Destroy Yosemite West: 15 Years of Wildfire Mitigation Generates a California Wildfire Success
By: John Mock, Ph.D., and Kimberley O’Neil“You have to get involved with fire,” urged a friend who survived the 1991 Tunnel (Oakland Hills) Fire. That sage advice came shortly after we bought our house in Yosemite… Read More
Topic: Defensible space / Firewise Fuels treatment / Prescribed fire Wildfire
Editor's Note: All blog entries are reviewed and edited for length and clarity by Network staff before approval for posting.
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Tucked away in northwestern California, the community of Orleans experienced significant loss due to a wildfire in 2013. Since then, we've been using spatial fire planning to chart a better path toward wildfire resilience, including leveraging the wildfire footprint to create additional fuel breaks around our community. Photo credit: Thomas Dunklin
Apr 18, 2019
Show Your Partners You’re Listening. Literally! How We’re Using Values-Based Spatial Planning to Visualize and Prioritize Collaborative Forest Restoration
By: Will Harling, Jill BeckmannThe first meetings of the Western Klamath Restoration Partnership (WKRP) felt like going on a blind date … with 60 people! As our facilitator, Mary Huffman, divided us at… Read More
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Whether you’re talking about wildfire or prescribed fire, your words matter. Check out these resources and tips before your next outreach effort. In this photo, Yosemite National Park's chief of fire and aviation, Kelly Martin, is explaining the ecological and community safety benefits of prescribed fire. Notice the homes along the right side of the photo. Credit: Yosemite National Park
Apr 11, 2019
1. Speak with more than words. The Washington State Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network has developed some amazing visual aids regarding fire adapted communities… Read More
Topic: Communications / Outreach Fuels treatment / Prescribed fire Wildfire
Type: Tools / Resources
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"As I reflect on this year’s WTREX, it’s not the hard numbers that jump out at me. Rather, it’s the ethereal components of the event that now linger: the energy, the comradery, the odd sense that we probably would have all stayed there a lot longer if that were a reasonable option." Credit: Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network
Apr 04, 2019
A few years ago, I asked my closest friends to describe my biggest character flaws. I had my own ideas about what they were, but I wanted to hear from the people who knew me… Read More
Topic: Fuels treatment / Prescribed fire Local workforce capacity
Type: Meeting / Event
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"Surprisingly, a goshawk nest was discovered behind the homes following a forest thinning treatment. Here, we could all agree on an important point: understory burning would be an ideal tool to improve the habitat while maintaining fuel loadings at a safe level for the adjacent neighborhood. This pushed us all outside of our comfort zones, but it also revealed that wildlife and community fire protection goals are more compatible than may appear at first, especially when viewed at a landscape scale." Credit: Bettina Arrigoni shared via Flickr Creative Commons
Mar 28, 2019
Why We’re Bringing Prescribed Fire and Forest Thinning Closer to Traditionally Preserved Wildlife Habitat: We all Need It. Including the Birds.
By: Forest SchaferHaving served as a community forester for years, I tend to view forest management through a “community wildfire protection and preparation” lens. I confess that sometimes… Read More
Topic: Collaboration Fuels treatment / Prescribed fire Wildfire
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Learn about Ashland Fire & Rescue's ten-year journey to redefine its wildfire hazard zone and pass a risk reduction ordinance applicable to new and existing structures. Credit: Graham Lewis, Ashland Chamber of Commerce
Mar 21, 2019
How Ashland Passed a Wildfire Ordinance (Hint: We Removed Our Ordinance Blinders)
By: Alison Lerch, Chris ChambersThe danger of designated wildfire hazard zones is that they inherently consider some areas as “out” of the zone of risk. The 2009 Siskiyou Fire and 2010 Oak Knoll Fire in… Read More
Topic: Collaboration Fuels treatment / Prescribed fire Ignition-resistant home construction Planning
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Mar 14, 2019
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Topic: Communications / Outreach Defensible space / Firewise Resilience Wildfire
Type: Quiz
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Imagine if for every dollar we spent on wildfire suppression, we spent one on prescribed fire. Credit: Lance Cheng, USDA Forest Service shared via Flickr Creative Commons
Mar 07, 2019
Stop Focusing on Ignitions and Start Investing in a Prescribed Fire Workforce
By: Jeremy Bailey, The Nature ConservancyThe way a fire burns isn’t always dictated by how it starts. Forests and grasslands don’t burn at extreme intensities, destroy homes, kill people, and denude entire… Read More
Topic: Fuels treatment / Prescribed fire
Type: Essay
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Credit: Pam Wilson
Feb 25, 2019
So, you keep hearing buzz about Prep Day, but aren’t sure what to do for it in your community. (Remind me, what does Prep Day stand for? Oh, that’s right, National Wildfire… Read More
Topic: Collaboration Communications / Outreach Defensible space / Firewise
Type: Tools / Resources
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Salient lessons learned regarding how to build the next generation of wildfire practitioners. Credit: Forest Stewards Guild
Feb 21, 2019
How the Forest Stewards Guild is Building the Next Generation of Fire Practitioners: The Forest Stewards Youth Corps Fire and Fuels Program
By: Matt PiccarelloAs the igniters lined out at the top of the ridge, I could see a mix of apprehension and excitement in their eyes. Forest Stewards Youth Corps (FSYC) Fire and Fuels crew… Read More
Topic: Fuels treatment / Prescribed fire Local workforce capacity
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A recent facilitative leadership training focused on how to be a better listener, leverage others' interests and strengths, and adapt based on what your partners and systems need.
Feb 14, 2019
Twenty members of the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network (FAC Net) and Fire Learning Network (FLN) — experts in prescribed burning, ecosystem management and community… Read More
Topic: Collaboration Communications / Outreach Resilience
Type: Tools / Resources