Wildfire

Along with partners, NASF submitted a letter of support to Congressional leaders today urging Congress to implement a solution to fire funding.

A solution should allow access to disaster funding, eliminate the negative impacts of transfers address the increasing costs of suppression over time. The Wildfire Disaster Funding Act (WDFA) (S. 235, H.R. 167) is a bipartisan proposal that achieves these three goals. We urge Congress to incorporate WDFA language in the FY 2016 appropriations or other legislative vehicle to ensure this critical budgetary issue is addressed this year.

The American Forest Foundation (AFF) released a new report that reveals private and family landowners offer a solution to helping ensure that clean water in the West is protected from future catastrophic wildfires.

The report Western Water Threatened by Wildfire: It’s Not Just a Public Lands Issue, shows that across 11 Western states, 40 percent, or 13.5 million acres, of the forests and other lands that help protect clean water and that are at a high risk of catastrophic wildfire are private and family-owned.

Nevada’s Cohesive Strategy Summit met September 29 to October 1, 2015.

The Cohesive Strategy planning committee (Federal, State and Local) developed a summit meeting of fire agencies, science community, policy makers, NGOs, members of Nevada’s Fire-adapted Community Network, mixed governmental agencies and public members with the intent to create specific action steps on what does the National Cohesive Strategy look like in Nevada. The goal was to take the national strategy and make it resonate with all Nevada stakeholders.

The Kentucky Division of Forestry is using noses and paws to catch arsonists during the fall wildfire season, which starts tomorrow, Oct. 1, and runs through Dec. 15. Bloodhounds trained to investigate arson cases will be available for a second year through a partnership with the Bell County Forestry Camp.

The Division of Forestry will also partner with the Kentucky State Police, using KSP arson investigators to assist in investigation, interviewing and arrest of arsonists.

Fire experts are discussing new ways to improve a statewide strategy to fighting wildfires. One idea is better utilizing firefighting resources, regardless of jurisdiction. Bob Roper is the Nevada State Forester. He says there are many ways to mitigate wildfires.

"What are the root causes? What are the things we can work on together, thinking it doesn't matter who gets the credit for it," Roper said. "Let's deal with the wildland fire problem."

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is sending a 20 person fire crew to help fight wildfires on Montana.

According to a DEEP news release, the firefighters are leaving Thursday from the DEEP Eastern District Headquarters in Malborough. In Montana the 7 certified and trained DEEP staff members and 13 local firefighters, will assist the U.S. Forest Service in fighting wildfires.

Can the cypress tree help Europeans built natural buffers from fire?

Spanish and Italian researchers believe that the cypress tree might be as close to fireproof as a tree can get. In a study published in the Journal of Environmental Management, they discuss the tree’s remarkable resilience and argue for its use as a natural buffer that could prevent the spread of wildfires.