Wildfire Wednesdays #37: Chipping - Home Hardening - Eastern Jemez Landscape Futures

Hi FAC NM Members,

‘Tis the season for informational webinars about wildfire adaptation. Grab your favorite snack, send the link to a neighbor or colleague who might share your enthusiasm, and tune in to these great informational sessions to get ideas about how you can take action in your community this upcoming Spring.

This week’s edition of Wildfire Wednesday features:

• Chipping Best Practices Webinar tomorrow, December 10th

• A Wildfire Home Retrofit Workshop for fire professionals and educators (community leaders)

• East Jemez Landscape Futures: A collaborative approach to post-fire

Stay safe,

Gabe 

Chipping Best Practices Webinar Tomorrow!

1 PM MST on December 10

Join wildland mitigation subject matter expert Jeremy Taylor and RSG! Program staff for a Best Practices Webinar on Chipping Programs.

Click here for webinar registration.

 We’ll cover:

• Considerations when launching a chipper program

• Promoting the program/engaging the community to participate

• Operational considerations

• Funding opportunities/mechanisms

We also will be introducing a new opportunity available to program members to support chipping programs in their response area.

A Wildfire Home Retrofit Workshop for fire professionals and educators

December 15th, at 10am MST

For the full agenda, and to register, click here.

Fire professionals and educators are invited to join our FREE virtual Wildfire Home Retrofit Workshop. Please share this invitation with your peers or other fire professionals and educators you know.

During this interactive workshop, attendees will learn:

• How homes are threatened during a wildfire

• How to identify a home’s ember vulnerabilities and prioritize retrofits based on cost, effort and location scenarios

• How to effectively communicate home hardening techniques to homeowners throughout the U.S.

There will be opportunities to share ideas, experiences and best practices as well as opportunities to ask questions during multiple Q&A sessions.

East Jemez Landscape Futures: A collaborative approach to post-fire

 December 15th, 12pm MST

Click here to register!

The East Jemez Landscape Futures (EJLF) project is a collaborative, landscape-scale approach to help guide future planning and research efforts in the severely altered landscapes of the eastern Jemez Mountains. EJLF seeks to address uncertainty by building a network of land managers, scientists, artists, NGOs and interested community members to inform future management, identify research needs, and capture stories from individuals and communities who were affected by these changes.

This webinar will share the EJLF experience and lessons learned responding to the complex questions of post-fire landscapes. Hosted by the Burned Area Learning Network and the Southwest Fire Science Consortium

Presenters: Colin Haffey, Sasha Stortz, and Savannah Lehnert

Wildfire Wednesdays #36: Structure Loss Data - Community Brush Disposal Site Example

Hi FAC NM Members,   

As winter sets in, this is a great time to take a step back and make a plan to prepare your home and property for wildfire in 2021. Starting to make a plan now will allow you to work efficiently in the spring and will be a lot less stressful that trying to plan and complete projects in the spring and summer, which are always busy.  

This Wildfire Wednesdays features:  

• Data for structures burned by wildfire in each state 

• Community Brush Disposal Sites: Thompson Ridge Example

Best,

Gabe 

Data for Structures Burned by Wildfire in Each State: A Tool to Communicate Wildfire Effects 

The traditional way — and the easiest way — to compare wildfire seasons is the number of acres burned. But blackened acres does not tell the whole story about the effects of fires on humans. A new, user-friendly database by Headwaters Economics identifies the number of structures, by state, destroyed by wildfires between 2005 and 2020. This is a powerful tool for communicating the importance of preparing our home ignition zones for wildfire.   

To learn more about the tool, click here.  

To use the tool for yourself, click here.  

Community Brush Disposal Sites: Thompson Ridge Example

The 1-acre Thompson Ridge slash pit is a collaborative effort between the Jemez Ranger District and the surrounding area to promote Fire Adapted Communities. The slash pit is located at the end of Forest Road 106 just north of the community of Thompson Ridge and ten miles north of Jemez Springs helps community members reduce hazardous fuels on their private properties by providing them with a place to dispose of woody debris within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Fire managers on the Santa Fe National Forest may implement a pile burn at the slash pit sometime this week.

As more homes are built in the wildland urban interface (WUI) adjacent to public lands that are naturally prone to wildfire, the risk to property is high. Slash pits, like those on Thompson Ridge, give local residents a centralized location to discard fuels, such as leaves, pine needles, grass and other yard trimmings, removed from their properties. Slash up to 8 inches in diameter is accepted.

If you are interested in trying to accomplish a similar community brush disposal site in your area, there are members in the Fire Adapted Communities Network that have experience with this. Please reach out to myself (gabe@forestguild.org) or other members in the network.

Wildfire Wednesdays #35: Turkey and Leaves - Prescribed Burn Associations

Hi FAC NM Members,  

I hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. After the turkey and potatoes, if you want to work up a sweat without leaving your house, get your favorite family member to help you rake the yard and clean the gutters... I'm sure they’ll love it.  

This edition of Wildfire Wednesday is a brief one.  

Stay Safe,  

Gabe 

Prescribed Burn Associations: A Webinar by The Cohesive Strategy 

Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 10th from 9 - 10:30am pst.  

As part of their ongoing Living with Wildland Fire learning series, The Western Region of the Fire Leadership Council presents a webinar about Prescribed Burn Associations and the different approaches they take in different places. Prescribed Burn Associations are more common in the Southeast part of the country and have been widely recognized as a powerful way to build local capacity and acceptance for the use of prescribed fire as a tool for wildfire risk reduction.  

Don’t take my word for it, check the webinar out yourself by clicking here. 

Wildfire Wednesday #34: Member Survey - Wildfire Wednesday Live Tonight - Home Hazard Assessment

Hi FAC NM Members,

This winter we hope to host more virtual peer-learning opportunities. Our goal is to build the connections and common understanding needed to mobilize our communities for wildfire adaptation work leading into the 2021 fire season.

We want to hear from you. To capture the topics that you are most interested in, please take a couple minutes and fill out this brief survey.  To respond with your interests, click here.

This week’s Wildfire Wednesday newsletter features:

• Information about Wildfire Wednesday Live, tonight at 6pm!

• Home Hazard Assessment

Best,

Gabe

Wildfire Wednesdays Live, Tonight at 6pm!

After a couple week hiatus we are back on for Wildfire Wednesdays Live tonight. Previous sessions introduced The Greater Santa Fe Fireshed Coalition and provided some background fire ecology information for the Fireshed landscape. This week’s session will build on these past two livestreams by focusing individual risk and actions of residents within the Santa Fe Fireshed landscape.

To join the Facebook livestream at 6pm on Wednesday, November 18th, click here.

Home Hazard Assessment

The prospect of preparing your home for fire season can seem overwhelming, since planning for any disaster means imaging the worst. So, to get started the best thing to do is to create a plan and then begin with the easiest tasks.

To assist in making a plan we’d like to re-introduce the Home Hazard Assessment Guide. With this guide and the accompanying worksheet you can assess the areas of your home that could use improvement and then keep track as you work to improve them. This short guide covers all the areas that you might be concerned about that might cause your home to ignite.

To access the Home Hazard Assessment, click here.

Wildfire Wednesdays #33: Wildfire Wednesdays Live - WUFS Recordings

Hello FAC NM Members,

It is Veteran’s Day and I want to say thank you to those that have served in the armed forces. A special thank you to all veterans that continue to serve our country as firefighters through New Mexico State Forestry’s Returning Heroes Wildland Fire Program and other programs nationwide.

This Wildfire Wednesdays features:

• Information about the next Wildfire Wednesdays Live on November 18th

• Recordings of sessions from the 2020 Wildland Urban Fire Summit

Best,

Gabe

Wildfire Wednesdays Live on November 18th

Wildfire Wednesdays Live is postponed tonight in honor of Veterans Day and all of those who have served in the military. We will begin again on November 18th. Stay tuned for details about the November 18th session.

2020 Wildland Urban Fire Summit Recordings

Check out the recordings from this year’s Wildland Urban Fire Summit (WUFS). The Wildland Urban Fire Summit (WUFS) is one of New Mexico’s leading events for wildfire preparedness and planning. Each year, community leaders, fire service professionals, and federal, state, tribal, and local governments collaborate to create this summit. Check out the informative sessions to learn from communities adapting to a wildfire environment about the latest techniques, strategies, and resources for wildfire adaptation and resilience.

To access links to the recording, click here.

Wildfire Wednesdays #32: WWL Postponed - Fire and Fauna Webinar Series - After the Flames Webinar

Hi FAC NM Members,

Wildfire Wednesdays Live is postponed for tonight.

A recent study from the Blue Mountain ecoregion in Northeastern Oregon found that beliefs about future wildfire risks were largely independent of political beliefs and people accurately agreed about the rising frequency of large wildfires and expect this trend to continue. Regardless of the outcome of the 2020 election, let’s continue to work together toward the shared goal of wildfire adapted communities.

This week’s Wildfire Wednesday’s features:

• The Fire and Fauna webinar series hosted by the Forest Service

• After the Flames Webinar hosted by The National Cohesive Strategy

Thanks,

Gabe

Fire and Fauna Webinar Series

Wildfire and prescribed fire effects on wildlife

November 16th-20, 2020 at 2-3pm EST

These land-manager focused webinars will highlight the latest science on fire and wildlife. Sessions are open to all – internal and external participants welcome. Three short thematic presentations each day followed by Q&A and discussion. Participation provides continuing education credits for Certified Wildlife Biologist Renewal/ Professional Development Certificate Program.

To learn more, click here.

After the Flames Webinar

Actionable Best Practices for Communities and Agencies Impacted by Wildfire

December 3rd, 2020 1:00pm – 3:00pm MST

What does current science and experience tell us about the near and long-term impacts of fire on water quality and how to recover?

The Western Region of the Wildland Fire Leadership Council and Cohesive Strategy is sponsoring this webinar as part of their focus on mitigating post fire impacts. Please take a look, consider registering and share through your networks. These topics are front and center in the west.

To learn more, and to register for this webinar, click here.

Wildfire Wednesday #31: Real Estate and Wildfire Risk - Fire Has a Role - Firewood for Elders

Hi FAC NM Members,

Good news. If stored properly, some of the flammable vegetation that you may have cleared from the 30’ area around your house will make great firewood as we head into the colder months. I hope you all are healthy, safe, and warm.

This week’s Wildfire Wednesday features:

• An online discussion about the real estate industry’s response to increased wildfire risk

• Fire Has a Role: An Educational Campaign

• Success Story: EMNRD Forestry Division and Partners Provide Fuelwood to New Mexico Native American Tribes During COVID-19 Restrictions

 Best,

Gabe

Calling all Real Estate Agents

Bigger, hotter, and more frequent wildfires are causing increasing amounts of infrastructure destruction, economic hardship, and trauma across the United States. Join the Urban Land Institute (ULI) for a discussion on why wildfire risks and impacts are increasing around the U.S. and how the real estate industry is responding with building design, land use policy, and community resilience solutions. The webinar will feature private- and public-sector experts who are implementing wildfire resilience solutions in their markets and who will share best practices and lessons learned. The webinar will also feature key findings from a new ULI report on wildfire resilience and real estate, to be published Fall 2020.

Webinar Friday, October 30th, at 11:00am mountain time.

To Register for the Webinar, Click Here.

Fire Has a Role

For those of you that missed the presentation at WUFS last week, be sure to check out Fire has a Role. Fire Has a Role is a wildfire awareness campaign focused on sharing the benefits of fire. They have an interactive educational trailer that can be brought to events to help share information with the public about the ecological role of fire.

You can connect with Fire Has a Role by clicking here

EMNRD Forestry Division and Partners Provide Fuelwood to New Mexico Native American Tribes During COVID-19 Restrictions 

SANTA FE, NM – The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, Forestry Division, and its cooperators are working in partnership with New Mexico’s Native American Tribes, Pueblos, and Nations to help elderly and other residents unable to gather fuelwood due to a court-ordered injunction against forest management in Mexican spotted owl habitat and COVID-19 restrictions.

To read the full story, click here.

Wildfire Wednesdays #30: Wildfire Wednesdays Live - Summary of Funding Opportunities

Hi FAC NM Members,

Our thoughts are with Mora and Colfax County communities that are being effected by the Luna Fire burning on The Carson National Forest. We especially recognize the hard work of our first responders during the 2020 fire season.

We can all support our first responders by opening up discussion about wildfire preparedness in our communities and by taking action to get good fire back on the landscape. Talk to your neighbors about the difference between prescribed fire and wildfire. If you don’t know what to say, use the FAC NM network to find the best available information about your concerns.

This Wildfire Wednesday features:

• Wildfire Wednesday Live: Meet Research Ecologist Ellis Margolis

• A Summary of Funding Opportunities for Wildfire Mitigation

Thanks!

Gabe

Wildfire Wednesdays Live: Meet Research Ecologist Ellis Margolis

Join us tonight at 6 p.m. (MT) to learn more about how dendrochronology (the study of tree rings) informs our understanding of fire’s role in forest ecosystems! We will be monitoring and answering questions during the Wildfire Wednesday Live Event hosted by the Greater Santa Fireshed Coalition.

To access the livestream, click here. https://www.facebook.com/santafeNF

Featured Speaker: Ellis Margolis, Ph.D. - Research Ecologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, based in Santa Fe, NM. #WildfireWednesday

 

A Summary of Funding Opportunities for Wildfire Mitigation

This is an excellent resource. Have you wondered how to get funding to complete wildfire mitigation projects in your community?

Take a look at the attached document to see a list of funding opportunities that are available to you in New Mexico. Be aware that some of these opportunities are internal to agencies and would require collaboration with your local agency representatives. Reach out to others in the FAC NM network if you have questions about how to approach these various programs.

To view the full summary, click here.

Wildfire Wednesdays #29: Becoming a FAC NM Leader - Pyne Article - Virtual Fire Summit

Hi FAC NM Members,  

There are a lot of exciting things on the horizon for FAC NM in 2021. In the wake of the uncharacteristically destructive 2020 wildfire season, we all want to develop the community connections and wildfire mitigation projects that will keep us safe in 2021. To help us make strides towards a community wildfire resilience, help FAC NM identify and recruit community leaders this Fall and Winter! Full details are below.  

This Wildfire Wednesdays features:  

• Information on recruiting or becoming a FAC NM Leader for your community 

• Why We Must Learn to Live with Fire: An Article by Stephen Pyne 

• 2020 Virtual Wildland Urban Fire Summit Next Week: Join for Free! 

Thanks,  

Gabe 

Becoming a FAC NM Leader  

FAC NM Leaders take a greater role in helping their communities improve their fire adaptation. A FAC NM Leader is someone you or your neighbor can look to for advice on what to do to reduce wildfire risk. FAC NM Leaders are the engine of the FAC NM Network. Experience has shown that collaboration is one of the most effective ways to reduce wildfire risk. Sharing resources, whether they be financial, labor, or ideas, helps FAC NM Leaders have an outsized impact in their communities. Collaboration only works if there are active participants. Organizing community chipper days, responding to a question on the FAC NM forum, sharing a success story about a neighborhood firewood removal program are all examples of how FAC NM Leaders can help drive the FAC NM Network. 

To help guide FAC NM Leaders through the process of becoming and acting in this important role in their communities, FAC NM members collaborated to create the FAC NM Leader Guidebook. The Guidebook will empower FAC NM Leaders to find solutions and next steps, not necessarily provide them. It provides an overview of a few well-established methods for assessing wildfire risk, identifying community assets, proactively planning for widlfire preparedness, and other useful planning tools. The Guidebook, nor the FAC NM Leader program in general, is meant to replace any already established programs or tools.  

How to join the network as a Leader: 

In summary, the process to become a FAC NM Leader is: 

1.      Join the FAC NM Network as a member on https://facnm.org/directory and select that you would like to become a Leader. 

2.      Complete the short FAC NM Leader form, (click the button below) 

3.      Connect with a FAC mentor (facilitated by FAC NM staff) 

4.      Complete the FAC NM Leader Assessment and review with FAC mentor 

5.      Upload completed FAC NM Leader Assessment to the “FAC NM Leader Assessments” forum category on www.facnm.org. 

6.      Congratulations, you’re now a FAC NM Leader! Keep up the good work!  

Our Burning Planet: Why We Must Learn to Live with Fire 

KYLE GRILLOT/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

By suppressing all wildfires and incessantly burning fossil fuels, humans have upset the role that fire has historically played in providing ecological balance. We need to rethink our view of fire and accept its presence by changing how we manage lands and plan our communities. 

In his article “Our Burning Planet: Why We Must Learn to Live with Fire,” environmental and fire historian Stephen Pyne describes three important paradoxes:  

1. The more people attempt to take fire out of places that have co-evolved or co-existed with it, the more conditions change that worsen the fire scene. 

1. Despite the expansion of feral flames, so abundantly recorded in global media, the amount of land burned on Earth continues to shrink. 

1. As we ratchet down our binge-burning of lithic landscapes by cutting our use of fossil fuels, we will have to ratchet up our burning of living landscapes. 

To read the full article, click here. 

2020 Virtual Wildland Urban Fire Summit: Join for Free 

Join this informative event, next week. 

Fire season is a challenging time let alone during the COVID-19 pandemic. Local governments, state and federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations that have a passion for fire prevention will host a virtual NM Wildland Urban Fire Summit (WUFS) on Thursday, October 22 and Friday October 23, 2020. The event provides a continuous effort among community leaders, fire responders, and government personnel to share the latest techniques, cohesive strategies, and resources for wildfire adaption and economic resiliency, wildfire preparedness, and planning.   

Registration is open until the day of the summit at no charge. Registration is available at https://www.nmcounties.org/calendar/.   

Wildfire Wednesdays #28: Wildfire Wednesdays Live - Forest Birds and Megafires

Hi FAC NM Members,

Tonight we are debuting Wildfire Wednesdays Live! Pop some popcorn or grab your favorite snack and tune in to the first speaker of the series. But first, if you are only on our mailing list, please take 2 minutes to sign up to FAC NM as a member. This helps us build the community connections that are essential to wildfire resilience. Click here to join the network as a FAC NM member.

This week’s Wildfire Wednesdays features:

• Information about the first Wildfire Wednesdays Live with speaker Jame Melonas, Forest Supervisor and community leader for The Santa Fe National Forest.

• An article from The Audubon Society about how megafires effect forest birds, such as owls and woodpeckers

Best,

Gabe

Tonight at 6pm: Wildfire Wednesdays Live Speaker Series!

Please join us for the kickoff of Wildfire Wednesdays Live tonight, October 7th at 6:00pm. James Melonas, The Santa Fe National Forest Supervisor, will give a (re)-introduction to the concept of a ‘Fireshed.’

To access the livestream, click here. https://www.facebook.com/santafeNF

The event will be streamed over the Santa Fe National Forest’s Facebook page. Go to the page to watch!

FAC NM is excited to feature Wildfire Wednesdays Live. This speaker series shares weekly presentations with forestry and fire personalities around the Santa Fe area that can inform our local conversations about wildfire prevention and preparedness. Although many aspects of these presentations will only apply to The Santa Fe landscape, they may provide useful education elsewhere and potentially spur additional endeavors by others in the FAC NM network. Please join us for the kickoff of Wildfire Wednesdays Live tonight, October 7th at 6:00pm. Come for the speakers, stay for the interactive Q&A in the chat.

Recent ‘Megafires’ Imperil Even Fire-Loving Forest Birds

Many birds, such as owls and woodpeckers, thrive in forest habitats created after fire. But the hotter, bigger, more destructive megafires out West might be too much even for them. A recent article by Deborah Petersen with The Audubon Society tells the story of how over 20 years of Spotted Owl Research in California was used to better understand how Spotted Owls respond to fires. This research provides a window into what might occur in the future if more fires continue to grow in frequency and severity, which they are predicted to.

To read the full story, click here.

Wildfire Wednesdays #27: Wildfire Wednesdays Live! - FAC NM Leader Profile - Era of Megafires -

Hi FAC NM Members,

Fall provides an important time to reflect. After a busy spring and summer, let’s take some time to acknowledge what worked and what didn’t in our wildfire preparedness and community resilience activities. This is how the network can grow and adapt through time. Please share your stories with us at FAC NM!

This week’s Wildfire Wednesday features:

• Wildfire Wednesdays Live Speaker Series: Debut October 7th, 6:00pm

• FAC NM Leader Profile: Sean Ludden, Cuidad Soil and Water Conservation District

• A 20-minute version of Paul Hessburg’s Era of Megafires

Best,

Gabe

Wildfire Wednesdays Live Speaker Series Debut!

FAC NM is excited to feature Wildfire Wednesdays Live. This speaker series will share weekly presentations with forestry and fire personalities around the Santa Fe area that can inform our local conversations about wildfire prevention and preparedness. Although many aspects of these presentations will only apply to The Santa Fe landscape, they may provide useful education elsewhere and potentially spur additional endeavors by others in the FAC NM network. Presentations will be livestreamed through The Santa Fe National Forest Facebook and weekly links will be provided in our regular Wildfire Wednesdays newsletters. Please join us for the kickoff of Wildfire Wednesdays Live on October 7th at 6:00pm. Come for the speakers, stay for the interactive Q&A in the chat. Save-the-date and stay tuned for more information.

FAC NM Leader Profile: Sean Ludden, Cuidad Soil and Water Conservation District

All the uncertainty and unexpected changes of 2020 have forced us, and the ways we interact, to adapt. Sharing information about forest management and wildfire preparedness during covid-19 social distancing guidelines has been no exception.

In response to social distancing challenges, FAC NM Leader Sean Ludden with Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District, began thinking creatively about how he could reach members of his community in the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque, NM (East Mountains) about forest and fire management while meeting social distancing guidelines.

To read the full story about FAC NM Leader Sean Ludden, click here.

Era of Megafires: Now Available to the Public

Trailer for Era of Megafires, for full film, click the link below

Megafires, wildfires over 100,000 acres, are currently burning our western landscape. How did we get here and what can be done about it? Dr. Paul Hessburg, research landscape ecologist for the US Forest Service, has spent the last 40 years learning about how we got here and what can be done about it.

Watch the full film here: https://vimeo.com/313468778

Wildfire Wednesdays #26: Virtual WUI Summit (WUFS) - How do Homes Burn?

Hi FAC NM Members,  

With so many motivated individuals involved in the FAC NM network there is always something to share through Wildfire Wednesdays. This week I am excited to help promote The 2020 virtual Wildland Urban Fire Summit. If you or those in your community would like to share information or an event through Wildfire Wednesday, please reach out.  

This week’s Wildfire Wednesday features:  

• Information about the 2020 Virtual Wildland Urban Fire Summit 

• A Video by the National Fire Protection Assocition (NFPA) about how homes ignite from wildfire. 

Stay connected,  

Gabe 

The 2020 Virtual Wildland Urban Fire Summit: Register Today! 

Fire season is a challenging time let alone during the COVID-19 pandemic. Local governments, state and federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations that have a passion for fire prevention will host a virtual NM Wildland Urban Fire Summit (WUFS) on Thursday, October 22 and Friday October 23, 2020. The event provides a continuous effort among community leaders, fire responders, and government personnel to share the latest techniques, cohesive strategies, and resources for wildfire adaption and economic resiliency, wildfire preparedness, and planning.  

Registration is open until the day of the summit at no charge. Registration is available at https://www.nmcounties.org/calendar/.  

How do Homes Burn Down in Wildfires? 

Hint: They're not typically overcome by flames. As historic wildfires sweep the western United States, this episode of Learn Something New by NFPA Journal examines the facts of home wildfire ignition and some of the things homeowners can do right now to protect their properties. 

To check Check out this awesome video and find ways that you can protect your home, click here.  

Wildfire Wednesdays #25: Wildfire Podcasts - Virtual Wildland Fire Conference - COCO Grant Opportunity

Hi FAC NM Members,

Strengthening the wildfire resilience of our communities is an incremental process that requires having challenging conversations year round, even when there is not wildfire smoke in the air. As FAC NM members we are helping to start these conversations in our communities and amplifying the importance of community building and wildfire mitigation. As we move into the cooler months, we encourage you to open up a conversation about potential wildfire effects with those in your community. Help us grow the network and amplify the need for wildfire preparedness across the state!

This Wildfire Wednesdays newsletter includes:

• Two podcasts that provide interesting and useful information about wildfire

• Information about the 2020 Colorado Wildland Fire Conference

• The Action, Implementation, and Mitigation grant program

Thank you!

Gabe

Wildfire Podcasts

If you haven’t already explored the world of podcasts, a podcast is a series of spoken word audio files that a user can download or listen to online – basically a radio-show you can listen to whenever you want. Podcasts are a great way to learn about new ideas and serve as great conversation starters. Here are a couple podcasts that do a good job of talking about wildfire and wildfire preparedness.

Hot and Dry is an excellent podcast about how climate change is affecting the Southwest and what we can do about it. Episodes discuss how we can live with wildfire, prescribed and managed fire, the wildland urban interface (WUI), The Rio Grande Water Fund, and much more.

To begin listening to Hot and Dry, click here.

Life Kit: 6 Ways to Get Ready for a Wildfire is a 14 minute NPR podcast that features an interview with FAC NM member Porfirio Chavarria who is a Wildland Urban Specialist with The City of Santa Fe Fire Department. This short podcast provides clear, step-by-step guidance for wildfire preparedness.

To listen to Life Kit: 6 Ways to Get Ready for Wildfire, click here.

Colorado Virtual Wildland Fire Conference

Discover Your Role: Reducing Wildland Fire Risk

September 30th, 8:15am – 2:30pm; October 1st, 8:15am – 1:00pm

One of the only good things about social distancing is being able to attend amazing workshops and events virtually. In just a couple weeks, The Southern Rockies Fire Science Network is hosting the Colorado Wildland Fire Conference and you can join into the event from your couch.

To learn more about this event and to register online, click here

Action, Implementation, and Mitigation Grant Opportunity!

COCO has released the Concept Paper and Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Fall 2020 Action, Implementation and Mitigation (AIM) grant. COCO will be accepting Concept Papers though October 8, 2020 until 5:00 PM MT. Click here for the RFP and instructions. Download the Concept Paper here or from the AIM Grant Page.

To learn more about this grant opportunity, COCO is hosting the Fall 2020 Grant Announcement Webinar on September 17, 2020 at 11:00 AM MT. If you are not yet registered, please register here.

Please share this opportunity with colleagues and organizations working on reducing their community's wildfire risk. For more information, please visit co-co.org.

Wildfire Wednesdays #24: Wildfire Hazard Explorer - Living with Wildland Fire: Virtual Learning Opportunity

Hello FAC NM Members, 

The devastating wildfires burning in California, Oregon, and Washington serve as a grim reminder of the risk of wildfire across the west. Thank you all for continuing to stay engaged in making incremental progress toward wildfire adaptation and helping us bring new people and perspectives into this effort.  As we head into the fall, it is a great time to open up conversations about our community’s wildfire risk with those that live nearby.

This week’s Wildfire Wednesday features:  

• A New Interactive Wildfire Hazard Explorer by The National Association of State Foresters 

• A virtual shared learning series: Living with Wildland Fire 

Stay Safe,  

Gabe 

Online Wildfire Hazard Explorer 

The National Association of State Foresters (NASF) has gone live with their Wildfire Hazard Explorer portal at https://hazexplorer.com/home.  The NASF developed this portal so that a user could easily locate links to available risk assessments, hazard maps, burn probability maps and similar data.  This tool is a great way to gain a deeper understanding of your community’s wildfire risk and to communicate that risk to those that live nearby.

This hazard explorer tool was made possible through funding from the U.S. Forest Service provided.  NASF will continue to host the portal and keep it updated as new information becomes available.  This effort complements the recent work to develop the https://wildfirerisk.org/ tool.   

The western region of the Fire Leadership Council presents: A Living with Wildland Fire Shared Learning Experience

Assessing Firesheds for Prioritization, Planning and Investment 

Tuesday, September 29, 2020 - 3pm MT 

Dr. Alan Ager will be updating us on the advancements in the development of this national “fireshed” dataset and how it can be used to assist decision-makers in prioritizing, planning and investing in cross-boundary, large landscape-level treatments in alignment with the Cohesive Strategy concept of sharing risk and responsibility to achieve landscape resiliency, fire adapted communities and a safe, effective wildfire response. 

Click here to register 

Wildfire Wednesdays #23: After the Wildfire New Mexico - Stories from The Medio Wildfire

Hi FAC NM Members,

Although firefighters are continuing to wrap up wildfires from the 2020 season, the majority are contained. At this point, Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams are beginning to assess post-fire conditions with goal of analyzing how wildfires impacted the landscape, determining if there are values at immediate risk, and recommending emergency treatments. This is part of the recovery process from wildfire, and is an important part of being fire adapted.

This week’s Wildfire Wednesday features:

• The After the Wildfire New Mexico website for post-fire resources

• Some perspectives on The Medio wildfire that burned close to Santa Fe

Best,

Gabe

After the Wildfire

Experiencing a destructive wildfire can be devastating. This guide was written to help New Mexico communities recover after wildfire. It includes information on how to mobilize your community, a list of resources available to communities and individuals for assistance, and a technical guide with information about post-fire treatments to address the catastrophic effects of a wildfire on the land and to prepare for potential flooding. If you are reading this guide before a wildfire occurs, use it to help you plan ahead.

This guide is intended to provide useful information during this difficult time, and to start you on the road to recovery.

To visit After the Wildfire New Mexico, click here.

For more post-fire resources, check our New Mexico Fire Information, click here.  

Stories from The Medio Wildfire

The Medio Wildfire, which burned around 5 square miles just north of Santa Fe, has been a visible reminder of the risk that New Mexico communities face from wildfire. Many hope that this wildfire will raise consciousness around wildfire risk and encourage homeowners, agency representatives, firefighters, and others to work together for wildfire preparedness.

There have been many news articles about the Medio fire. We would like to share some articles that have done a good job telling the story of the Medio fire from different perspectives.

An article by Ceder Attanasio, with the Associated Press, puts the story of the Medio wildfire within the context of increasing wildfire nationwide and highlights the importance of community mitigation. To read the Attanasio’s article about the Medio fire, click here.

Another article, “A Closer Look at the Medio Fire,” by Leah Cantor, provides an in depth description of the fire management tactics that were used to fight the Medio fire and the role that fuel reduction treatments, prescribed fire, and community mitigation played in shaping the decision making space of the incident command team. To read “A Closer Look at the Medio Fire,” click here.

Finally, an article by the NM Political Report, describes how indigenous activists from The Three Sisters Collective created a citizen led solution to help people suffering from the effects of wildfire smoke. To read the article about The Three Sisters Collective’s response to the Medio wildfire, click here.

Wildfire Wednesdays #22: Wildfire Wednesdays #22: DIY Smoke Filter - Accurate Wildfire Information Websites

Hi FACNM Members,

Smoke is in the air and wildfire season is still underway. With drought across northern New Mexico, fuel moistures are abnormally low, and wildfires continue to burn within the dry fuels.

Although northern New Mexico received a close to normal amount of snow during the 2019-2020 water year, the timing of that snow was early in the season, creating the dry, late summer conditions that firefighters are working within.

To help you stay informed and provide some relief from smoke, this Wildfire Wednesday includes:

• Instructional video for creating a DIY HEPA air filter for around $25

• Webpages for finding accurate, up-to-date wildfire information

Best,

Gabe

Find Relief from Wildfire Smoke: Create a DIY Smoke Filter for around $25

With wildfire smoke from New Mexico and nearby Colorado wildfires, you may be looking for some relief. Although The Fireshed Coalition coordinates a HEPA filter loan program, we are currently out of filters for loaning out. Below are some alternative options for managing the health effects from wildfire smoke in your home.

• Make your own HEPA filter with parts from a local hardware store for about $25. To view a video produced by a University of Michigan Health experts, click here.  

• Follow precautions to stay safe from smoke without a HEPA filter. To read some ways that you can limit your exposure to smoke, click here.

• Purchase a HEPA air cleaner. To view some useful information about purchasing a HEPA filter for your home on our website, click here.

Wildfire Information across New Mexico

For the most accurate and up-to-date information on wildfires and fire restrictions across New Mexico subscribe to the New Mexico Fire Information mailing list by visiting nmfireinfo.com. New Mexico Fire information is an interagency effort by federal and state agencies in New Mexico to provide timely, accurate fire and restriction information for the entire state. The website is updated as new information is available.

To follow a wildfire incident longer-term,  after it has been described on New Mexico Fire Information, you can visit The Incident Information System at inciweb.nwcg.gov. The Incident Information System, commonly referred to as inciweb, is an interagency all-risk incident information management system that was designed to: 1. Provide the public a single source of incident related information, and 2. Provide a standardized reporting tool for the Public Affairs community. This tool has an interactive map viewer that allows you to see all the wildfires that are active across the state and across the entire country.

Wildfire Wednesdays #21: Aspen Regeneration - Fall Fire and Fuels Youth Corps

Hi FACNM Members,

Part of being a Fire Adapted Community is understanding the forests that surround our homes and communities, including the role of wildfire within these forests. This understanding can help us learn what to expect during fire season, and make us better prepared to respond and recover from wildfire in our area. Aside from protecting lives and property, we may also gain a more nuanced understanding of the effects of wildfire and other ecosystem disturbances within these forested systems.

This week’s Wildfire Wednesday features a new resource about Aspen regeneration in forests across the Rocky Mountains of Northern New Mexico.

Best,

Gabe

Aspen Next Generation

In the Rocky Mountains of Northern New Mexico, Aspen trees are especially important, and have an interesting relationship with wildfire. Aspen trees are a favorite to many New Mexicans because they add beauty to landscapes, foster high diversity and productivity of understory plants, provide habitat to many species, and burn with moderate fire behavior.

Some are concerned that Aspen trees and stands are not regenerating well in New Mexico; young cohorts are scarce in many areas. The Aspen Next Generation (ANG) Project aims to foster the future of aspen by pulling together insights from landowners, agency personnel and scientists across southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. The report features place-based conversation summaries that include Chama and the Jemez Mountains of northwestern New Mexico, Vermejo Park in north central New Mexico, and the Culebra Range of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in south central Colorado.

To read the insights gathered in their report: click here.

The Forest Stewards Fall Fire and Fuels Crew

As wildfire activity in the Southwest winds down with the arrival of the monsoon season, other parts of the country are just getting going. As a result, many firefighting resources in the Southwest are deployed to other parts of the country, limiting local capacity to implement prescribed burns during prime burn windows. Prescribed fire is a necessary tool used by land managers to reduce wildfire risk and restore resilience to forests. The fall FSYC fire and fuels program helps fill this gap in capacity. This Monday, August 17th, the Forest Stewards Youth Corps began their training for the Fall 2020 season.

The fall FSYC program prepares participants for careers in natural resource management by providing them with training and certifications in:

• National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Basic Wildland Fire Fighting (S-130/190)

• Wildland fire chainsaw use (S-212)

• CPR and first-aid

• Defensive driving

• Forestry

• Leadership development

• Job skills such as resume and cover letter writing, and

• New Mexico Forest Worker Safety.

The Forest Stewards Guild is currently hiring one more crew member to the Mountainair crew. If you know someone in this area between 18-25 that is a certified type II wildland firefighter, please contact Gabe at 509-844-3048.

Wildfire Wednesdays #20: Prescribed Fire on Private Land - Healthy Soils Webinar

Hi FACNM Members  

As we head into the late summer, many land management agencies and private forest owners are preparing to implement prescribed fire. Prescribed fire is a useful tool to help reduce surface fuel loads, decrease wildfire risk, improve understory vegetation growth, and improve forest health in many forest types across New Mexico. The process of planning and implementing prescribed fire is challenging, but not impossible, for private landowners.  

This week’s Wildfire Wednesday features: 

• A Forest Stewards Guild publication titled “Prescribed Fire on Private Land in New Mexico” 

• A webinar series about soil health in Piñion-Juniper woodlands 

Best,  

Gabe 

Prescribed Fire on Private Land in New Mexico 

If you have ever wondered about the legal framework for implementing prescribed fire on private lands in New Mexico, please check out the 2019 report by The Forest Stewards Guild titled, “Prescribed Fire on Private Land in New Mexico.” This report is an update to their 2017 report titled, “Controlled burning on private land in New Mexico,” and describes the many programs and authorities that can help a private landowner restore low-severity fire to their property. New Mexico’s state government is working hard to help private landowners gain the support and legal protection required to use prescribed fire as a land management tool.  

To read the full report, click here.  

Healthy Soils Webinar Series 

Soil health determines the trees that grow and the type of fire regime within New Mexico’s forests. To understand how soil health connects to forest systems like Piñion-Juniper woodlands, check out the Healthy Soils webinar series starting tomorrow Thursday, August 13th. 

Jan-Willem Jansens of Ecotone Landscape Planning is hosting a webinar series with The Forest Stewards Guild. This series will provide some soil science basics and help you feel more comfortable monitoring soil health. There are three webinars:

1) Defining Healthy Woodland Soil (Zoom link): 12:00pm -1:30pm, Thursday, August 13th

2) Measuring Woodland Soil Health: 12:00pm - 1:30pm, Thursday, August 27th

3) Managing Woodlands for Soil Health: 12:00pm - 1:30pm, Thursday, September 10th

Click the links above to register for the webinars.  

Wildfire Wednesdays #19: Wildfire and Pollinators - Support Navajo Nation Elders

Hi FACNM Members,

With the monsoon rains in New Mexico, we hope that many of the wildfires start cooling down, and our communities and ecosystems can begin to recover. Wildfire is a natural disturbance in many of New Mexico’s forests. Depending on the fire behavior and severity, we often see species and ecosystems respond well to wildfire. Fuel reduction thinning and prescribed fire are powerful tools that help keep fire behavior and severity within the range that ecosystems are adapted to recover from.  

This week’s Wildfire Wednesday includes: 

• A briefing paper about the relationship between native pollinators and wildfire 

• An opportunity to support The Navajo Nation in a time of need. 

Best,  

Gabe  

Briefing Paper: Pollinators and Wildfire 

Birds and bees and...wildfire? As an introduction to the studies being conducted on pollinating insects and birds and their relationship to wildfire, the Forest Stewards Guild is releasing another briefing paper covering why pollinators are important, and how they are affected by fires of differing severity. Be sure to check out this newest addition of to our series of Briefing Papers! 

To read the briefing paper, click here.  

Support the Navajo Nation in a Time of Need 

In addition to recovering from and actively fighting wildfire, The Navajo Nation is disproportionately struggling with the covid-19 pandemic. One way that you can help is by contributing to the “Chizh for Cheii,” or “wood for grandpa” fund that supports firewood delivery to Navajo Nation elders. Many people on the Navajo reservation, especially elders, live with no running water and electricity. These people rely on firewood to heat their homes, and with winter around the corner and firewood in short supply, they need your help.  

To view the “Chizh for Cheii” go fund me page, click here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/chizh-for-cheii 

Wildfire Wednesdays #18: Fire Restrictions Rescinded - Call for Presentations!

Hi FACNM Members,  

With monsoon rains starting across the state, we are beginning to see a much-needed decrease in fire risk. I hope you all are enjoying the cooling effect of these seasonal rains and the pulse of vegetation growth that comes with it. As we transition into the fall, many land management agencies hope to get some much needed prescribed fire into our fire-adapted forests to restore forest health and protect our communities from future wildfire.  

This Wildfire Wednesday includes 

• An update on fire restrictions on public lands in NM 

• A call for presenters for this year’s Virtual Wildland Urban Fire Summit 

Keep up the good work!  

Gabe 

Fire Restrictions Rescinded! 

Great news! Many land management agencies are beginning to lift some fire restrictions, allowing fire campfires on public lands in time for fall camping. Still, always know before you go and be sure to check ahead of time to make sure this is the case where you are planning to visit. Visit NMFireInfo.com for updates and to firerestrictions.us/nm to see what's still restricted and what has been lifted. 

Here are some updates on fire restrictions: 

• BLM NM statewide rescinded 7/28 

• NM State Forestry rescinded 7/24 

• Northern Forests (Cibola, Santa Fe and Carson) to rescind Stage 2 restrictions today, 7/29.  The Lincoln and Gila had already gone out last week. 

• Park Service units are rescinding, but be sure to check for details. 

• Tribal lands remain in restrictions and they may not be open to the general public due to the pandemic. 

Virtual Wildland-Urban Fire Summit (WUFS): Please Submit Presentation Ideas! 

The New Mexico Wildland Urban Fire Virtual Summit planning committee is soliciting presentations for the upcoming summit to be held October 22-23, 2020. 

This year’s theme is “All Lands, All Neighbors (for wildfire resilience.” If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please email awebb@nmcounties.org for more information on how to submit a proposal.  The proposal deadline is July 31. 

Stay tuned here for more on the summit and save the date: October 22-23, 2020!  The NM Wildland Urban Fire Summit is New Mexico’s premiere venue for wildfire preparedness and planning. Join your peers, community members and leaders, fire service, businesses and nonprofits, colleges and universities, and federal, state and local government to: Create a network of experts and peers that will assist you in your fire resiliency goals, learn new and innovative ways to adapt your community to a wildfire environment, and share successes and lessons learned from “living with fire” in New Mexico.