• WILDFIRESReducing Wildfire Danger

    With the climate crisis increasing the risk of wildfires in the UK and many other parts of northern Europe, scientists from across the world are sharing their expertise to help tackle the dangers.

  • FIRE DETECTIONWi-Fi System Improves Fire Detection

    Engineers have developed a new fire detection system that could help save lives by monitoring the changes in Wi-Fi signals. A Sydney Harbour Tunnel explosion showcases the work of the researchers, which use wireless signals and artificial intelligence to more accurately identify dangerous fire situations.

  • WILDFIRESTaming Tomorrow’s Wildfires

    Wildfire has ravaged the Western United States throughout the last decade. Over three million acres have already burned across the country this year. While firefighters battled blazes on the frontlines in 2021, a team of scientists helped from a unique vantage point: outer space.

  • WILDFIRESSensors Help Fight Wildfires

    As climate change leads to larger and more frequent wildfires, researchers are using sensors, drones and machine learning to both prevent fires and reduce their damage to the electric grid. Engineers are honing technology to remotely sense electrical arcing and faulty equipment, as well as the direction of spreading fires.

  • WILDFIRESUnprecedented Change in Europe’s Fire Regime Driven by Climate Change

    A new study reveals an unprecedented change in the fire regime in Europe which is related to climate change. The study detected summer and spring seasons with unprecedented values of fire risks over the last years, so many areas of southern Europe and the Mediterranean are reaching extreme conditions conducive to fires.

  • WILDFIRESWildfires Are Still Catching Us Off-Guard. Congress’ Plan to Fix That Isn’t Going Anywhere.

    By Chad Small

    Last year, during a Congressional hearing on the state of wildfire research, researchers and fire managers said that coordination among federal agencies to improve wildfire research would be tremendously helpful to prepare for future fires. But the proposal to connect federal research agencies and improve wildfire research crashed and burned.

  • WILDFIRESCalifornia's 2020 Wildfire Season

    2020 was a record-breaking fire year for California. Nearly 9,900 wildfires burned 4.3 million acres in California 2020, twice the previous record. 2020 was the first year acres burned came close to burn rates before Euro-American settlement. A new study calls for management shift to reduce fire severity, not acres burned.

  • WILDFIRESGuidance for Holistic Home and Community Wildfire Protection

    Once they have a foothold, severe wildfires can quickly overwhelm a community, particularly one that is densely packed. To shield houses against such a fierce threat, a thorough defense is key.

  • WILDFIRESHow Our Bushfire-Proof House Design Could Help People Flee Rather Than Risk Fighting the Flames

    By Deborah Ascher Barnstone

    Building houses better at withstanding the impacts of climate change is one way we can protect ourselves in the face of future catastrophic conditions. I’m part of a research team that developed a novel, bushfire-resistant house design, which won an international award last month.

  • WILDFIRESPredictive Models of Wildfire Behavior

    New partnership will work to Advance fire research capabilities to help support the work of fire-, land-, and emergency managers.

  • WILDFIRESMany Factors Influenced the Severity of Burns from Oregon's 2020 Megafires

    In early September 2020, severe winds, high heat, and prolonged drought conditions led to the explosive growth of wildfires along the western slopes of the Cascades Mountains in the Pacific Northwest. New research confirms that extreme winds over the Labor Day holiday were the primary driver of the destructive force of the fires yet demonstrates how forest vegetation structure (e.g., canopy height, the age of trees, etc.) and topography played a significant role in burn severity patterns.

  • RAIN DAMAGEDrenching Rains Pose Greater Threat to Fire-Damaged Areas in West

    Areas in the western U.S. scarred by wildfires now face even more dangers: drenching rains. These rains inundate the burnt areas, causing significant destruction, including debris flows, mudslides, and flash floods, because the denuded landscape cannot easily contain the drenching moisture.

  • WILDFIRESNew Wildfire Detection System Receives Funding Boost

    The high intensity of the recent fire seasons in Oregon, coupled with the increasing wildfire risk this year as approximately three-quarters of the state is now in severe drought conditions, has highlighted how critical a new project, aiming to help with the early detection and monitoring of wildfires, is — both for firefighters and the general public.

  • WILDFIRESHow a Hurricane Fueled Wildfires in the Florida Panhandle

    By David Godwin

    The wildfires that broke out in the Florida Panhandle in early March 2022 were the nightmare fire managers had feared since the day Hurricane Michael flattened millions of trees there in 2018. It might sound odd – hurricanes helping to fuel wildfires. But Michael’s 160 mph winds left tangles of dead trees that were ready to burn.

  • WILDEFIRESNumber of Wildfires to Rise by 50% by 2100 and Governments Are Not Prepared

    Even the Arctic, previously all but immune, faces rising wildfire risk, experts say. Wildfires and climate change are “mutually exacerbating.” Governments are called to radically shift their investments in wildfires to focus on prevention and preparedness.