Extension’s Living With Fire Program presents the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Network of Fire Adapted Communities Summit. This year’s theme is “Creating the Toolbox for a Fire Adapted ÁùºÏ±¦µä.” The summit, presented via Zoom in partnership with ÁùºÏ±¦µä Division of Forestry’s Fire Adapted Communities, will take place 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Dec. 3.
“During the virtual summit, we will be giving people tools to better adapt their communities to survive a wildfire,” Christina Restaino, Living With Fire Program director, said. “The workshops are designed to give community leaders, concerned public and agency professionals guidance on how to increase fire adaptation.”
Highlights of the summit include opening remarks by U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and keynote speaker Jack Cohen, a research physical scientist retired from the U.S. Forest Service Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory. Cohen, who has done extensive research on how structures ignite in extreme wildfire behavior, will present “Framing the Problem of Community Destruction During Extreme Wildfires.”
Session topics include:
- Welcome and Agenda Review, presented by Christina Restaino, assistant professor and director of the Living With Fire Program.
- Opening Remarks, presented by U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.
- Introducing Fire Adapted ÁùºÏ±¦µä, presented by Marc Titus, ÁùºÏ±¦µä Division of Forestry staff specialist with Fire Adapted Communities.
- Workshop: Navigating Your Fire Adaptation Journey: How to combine tools and resources from national partners to support your work, presented by Michelle Medley-Daniel, director of the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network; Jenn Dietz, program manager for Ready, Set, Go!; and Megan Fitzgerald-McGowan, program manager for Firewise USA.
- Multiplying Wildfire Adaptation Efforts Through Neighborhood Volunteers, presented by Rebecca Samulski, executive director of Fire Adapted Colorado.
- Closing Remarks, from Restaino.
