For most people in the Finger Lakes Region, the threat of wildfires has typically been something far away in the western states. But the infamous red dawn of June 7, 2023, caused by forest fires up in Quebec, had people scrambling to protect themselves from smoke inhalation – suddenly, we had to consider our growing risk on this side of the continent. The very next year, wind-driven fires across NY and NJ after a very dry fall surpassed records for acreage burned. It is time to take wildfire risk seriously, understand the dynamics at play, and get to work on several fronts to reduce risk to homes, communities, and our forests. There are many tools available to help every local leader make a difference in how prepared and resilient their communities are.
The panelists included: Prof. Flavio Lehner, Cornell Atmospheric Science, about the intersecting trends that will affect frequency and intensity of wildfires in the Northeast; Prof. Alistair Hayden, Cornell Public and Ecosystem Health, on their Climate Disaster Health Policy Lab’s work on wildfire smoke inhalation; and Christina Rust, the Wildfire Policy Specialist at the National Fire Protection Association, who will share mitigation strategies and policies for homes, communities, and nearby forestlands.
The webinar can be viewed here.
Additional Resources shared by the panelists:
- An Uncommon Collaboration: UConn Researchers Help CT Prepare for Wildfires – UConn Today
- Red Flag Warning: Understanding Connecticut’s Wildfire Ecology, Forest Health, and Planning for a Changing Future
- Story Map: Wildfire in Connecticut – Changing Forest Health, Fire Ecology, and the Wildland – Urban Interface/Intermix
- Central Pine Barrens Commission
- NFPA Firewise USA
https://dec.ny.gov/nature/forests-trees/wildfires/firewise-new-york/homeowners
https://dec.ny.gov/nature/forests-trees/wildfires/firewise-new-york/communities - NFPA Wildfire Community Preparedness Day
- NFPA Outthink Wildfire Policy Initiative
- US Fire and Smoke Map
- NYS Fire Danger Risk Map (updated daily)
- How the rapid spread of misinformation pushed Oregon lawmakers to kill the state’s wildfire risk map
- Wildfire risk to communities website
- MitigateNY
- The Interagency Fuel Treatment Decision Support System
- LandFire.gov
