Special Sessions

Red Flag Warnings are issued to signal imminent extreme fire danger across a domain but often misrepresent localized risk. This session explores alternative fire risk metrics using high-resolution data and advanced modeling techniques to improve predictability. Insights aim to support more effective fire management, response strategies, and community resilience.

Organizers: Arielle J. Catalano, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Abstract: Red Flag Warnings (RFWs) are critical alerts issued by the National Weather Service to signal imminent conditions conducive to extreme fire over a large domain. However, the criteria and thresholds underlying RFWs vary regionally, and RFWs do not adequately capture localized risk, leading to numerous false positives and, more concerning, false negatives relative to actual fire occurrence. This inconsistency undermines the reliability of RFWs and poses a challenge for stakeholders, emergency responders, and decision-makers who rely on timely and accurate fire risk information. This session will explore emerging approaches that integrate the latest meteorological and fuel moisture data with advanced modeling techniques to develop alternative metrics that better reflect fire risk. Insights from this session aim to strengthen early warning systems to support fire management and strategic operations such as power shutoff decision-making, and ultimately improve preparedness and resilience. 

This session will focus on automated mapping of active fire events – specifically mapping standards and definitions for streamlining algorithm development. Interested parties would be wildfire incident response experts, imagery analysts, data scientists, and geospatial practitioners. 

Organizers: Jerry Tagestad, DOE Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Abstract: Aerial and satellite imagery of active wildfires is a crucial source of intelligence for incident command teams. Significant imagery analyst time is spent hand-delineating spatial data from these sources. The multitude of imagery sources and increased cadence of collection (both planned and realized) make automation necessary. Automated methods are being developed to replicate human analyst delineation quality, but the mapping standards and rulesets created for human mapping often do not translate to algorithmic definition. Additionally, automated techniques provide an opportunity to develop new data products, not feasible using traditional techniques. This session will invite wildfire incident response experts, imagery analysts, data scientists, cartographers, and geospatial practitioners to discuss the development of standards and definitions to guide and document automated approaches. 

In the western U.S., the growing extent and severity of wildfires, and consequent impacts to human and natural systems, necessitate increased attention to minimizing undesirable post-fire effects. This special session brings together researchers from multiple universities, agencies, and projects to discuss research on planning efforts that intentionally prepare post-fire consequences.  

Organizers: W. Cole Buettner, Colorado State University; Courtney Schultz, Colorado State University

Abstract: Fires are increasing in frequency, size, and severity, making pre-fire risk assessment, prioritization, mitigation, and community planning important in order to reduce post-wildfire impacts. While we have knowledge on pre-fire management tools and governance conditions that support fire hazard reduction generally, less is known about the approaches that address specific post-wildfire effects. In this session, we will explore pre-fire risk assessments, how they are used to prioritize and treat forests and communities vulnerable to catastrophic post-wildfire outcomes, and the policy and governance factors that support their use. We will also explore across disciplines, strategies, and institutional actions that actors identify to reduce the likelihood or severity of those consequences and promote resilience. Speakers will share research on how communities, governments, and individuals in the western U.S. are advancing pre-wildfire efforts and identifying gaps that require further improvement and multidisciplinary insight. 

Leading fire practitioners from across the country will discuss the successes and challenges they have faced working to build sustainable fire cultures in their place, and how advancing people-centered collaboration has helped to fuel those successes.

Organizers: Laurel Kays, The Fire Learning Network

Abstract: Fire management often focuses on outcomes based in the hard sciences that are rightfully foundational to the training of many practitioners. Acres treated and models developed are critical to our work, but they are also the top of an iceberg, the base of which is relationships between people, organizations, and systems. This session will feature leaders of fire collaboratives from across the country discussing what it looks like in their place to manage fire on the landscape in a way that focuses first on building the relationships that enable metrics like acres. They will discuss the ways this approach is helping them build sustainable cultures of fire based in the communities they live in and work with, and how it can also provide a fertile ground for the development and application of scientific research. 

This session will offer perspectives on the positive ecological and social outcomes of wildfires in western North America. Presentations will cover efforts to characterize, measure, and track wildfire impacts. Facilitated discussion will highlight exciting science challenges and next steps for measurement and communication to achieve desired wildfire outcomes. 

Organizers: Crystal Raymond, Western Fire and Forest Resilience Collaborative; Kerry Metlen, The Nature Conservancy

Abstract: The scope and scale of wildfires in the western North America necessitates a strategy to maximize the positive ecological and social outcomes of fires when they occur. Characterizing, measuring, and communicating the impacts of wildfire beyond what is described in the headlines remains a scientific and social challenge. Forest treatments (thinning and prescribed fire) can set the stage for better wildfire outcomes, but the limited pace and scale of treatments is insufficient to mitigate large and uncharacteristically severe wildfires. Quantifying how wildfires and treatments affect ecosystem functions and the values people derive from ecosystems is challenging but necessary. Initial post-fire effects change with subsequent mortality, and compounding disturbances, like landslides, can amplify wildfire impacts long-term. Furthermore, variation in population density, land management, disturbance history, ecological roles of fire, and climate vulnerability across western landscapes suggests that some areas are unlikely to benefit from wildfire, whereas other areas may be in a state of “readiness” to burn with mostly beneficial outcomes. This session will explore multiple lines of evidence for understanding the impacts of wildfire across western North America. We then facilitate a discussion to highlight existing science challenges and next steps to setting the stage for better wildfire outcomes.

This special session showcases innovative, student-led research focused around fire and fuels management across California’s landscapes. This two-part session highlights research on prescribed fire and strategies for ecological resilience and restoration. Each presentation will include practical insights on how the students’ research can be applied to inform land management decisions.

Organizers: Autym Shafer, California Fire Science Consortium and University of California, Berkeley; Katanja Waldner, California Fire Science Consortium

Abstract: The California Fire Science Consortium (CFSC) strives to accelerate the awareness, understanding, and adoption of fire science information by decision-makers across the region. Applying research to land management decisions can be challenging due to limited actionable findings, information overload, researcher-practitioner disconnects, and findings that don’t always align with local conditions. Meanwhile, students are addressing these barriers by producing innovative research, yet face limited platforms to share their work with land managers, decision-makers, and the broader research community.

This special session highlights student-led research in fire and fuels management across California’s landscapes, with a focus on actionable solutions for decision-makers. The session is divided into two themes: Session 1, Prescribed Fire Across California, and Session 2, Fire and Fuels Management for Restoration and Resilience. Presentations will cover topics such as forest resilience, post-fire reforestation, prescribed burning windows, and more.

This special session provides a platform to engage with the next generation of fire scientists who are helping to shape the future of land and fire stewardship in California. By highlighting student-led projects with clear management implications, we aim to emphasize the value of applied, collaborative science, while encouraging more researchers to engage with land managers in the research process.

Burning the burn offers a new approach to managing post-fire environments that looks beyond traditional activities focused on silvicultural approaches. The session explores this concept through the lens of actively applying fire to recently burned landscapes as a means to build and maintain ecosystem resilience.

Organizers: Christopher Dunn, Oregon State University

Abstract: The wildfire environment has become increasingly complex, expensive and hazardous in recent decades because of historical fire and forest management, a changing climate, and an expanding wildland urban interface. Emerging from these trends is the greater understanding that business as usual may not be sustainable, such that significant change in how we view, respond, and manage fire is needed. The changing fire environment has led to extensive areas burned with varying pre-fire conditions, fire severity and ecosystem response. These burned landscapes significantly reduce fire hazard and risks while creating as many opportunities as challenges. In this session we will explore the foundations of the concept of burning the burn, whereby recent fire events are leveraged as the first treatment towards reducing risk and restoring fire to landscapes to protect values placed across landscapes. At its core, burning the burn reimagines our relationship with fire to reduce and maintain lower risk, and creates landscapes where fire responders are safer and more effective at reducing near and long-term risk, and offers a strategy to minimize repeat of our paradoxical management actions as we learn to live with wildland fire.

The extent of impacts of wildland-urban fires are accelerating faster than management systems can adapt, presenting disruptive and systemic risks. It is essential that we mobilize resources and build an integrated strategy to credibly address these risks head on in service of protecting communities and providing socioeconomic stability.

Organizers: Matthew Thompson, Pyrologix; David Calkin, USDA Forest Service (Retired); Kimiko Barrett, Headwaters Economics; Erica Fischer, Oregon State University

Abstract: The 2025 Eaton and Palisades wildfires in Los Angeles, California, may signal a major transition in wildfire risk transfer markets and land management. Risk transfer has been a critical mechanism for wildfire risk management, which ideally allows for collectivization of risk in the hands of well-informed and capitalized experts. Historically, fire suppression and the dynamics of risk transfer provided stability and steady appreciation of value for landowners.

As climate change and urban expansion push systems beyond historical norms, traditional methods of pricing and transferring risk are breaking down. This is leading to rising insurance costs, strain on housing markets, and the potential withdrawal of insurers from major regions. An unstable insurance market has cascading implications at all levels of society, disrupting the financial resiliency of homeowners, municipal governments, and state budgets. The crisis reveals a need for a new, forward-looking integrated strategy that effectively measures, models, and mitigates risk.

This special session will bring and invite multiple perspectives on how to confront this challenge.

This session highlights approaches, tools, and archives for characterizing fire regimes (frequency, intensity, severity) and quantifying fire regime change from past to present. Studies of long-term ecological and biogeochemical impacts of changing fire regimes are also of interest.

Organizers: William Hockaday, Baylor University; Vinothan Sivapalan, Baylor University

Abstract: Satellite-based observations have documented 2.2 fold increase in fire intensity during the 20 year period 2003 – 2023 (Cunningham et al., 2024), and the use of climate model predictions to constrain fire behavior models Krawchuk et al. (2009) showed the probability of extreme wildfire will increase 100% by 2039. Characterizing present fire regimes and forecasting change are critically important. Yet contemporary changes are challenging to contextualize because past fire regimes are not well understood, at least in part, because tools for quantifying fire intensity and severity in sedimentary records are few. This session will review tools and approaches to characterizing fire regime of the past and quantifying ecological and biogeochemical impacts of contemporary fire regime change. The magnitude of natural variability of past fire regimes is an important consideration in forecasting future ecological outcomes of wildfire.

This special session introduces a new Oregon State university Extension primer to help wildfire practitioners build skills for effective community engagement. Presenters will share concepts and tools for understanding communities, delivering impactful education, and using trauma-informed approaches to support long-term community wildfire preparedness through presentations, examples, and audience discussion.  

Organizers: Kayla Bordelon, Oregon State University Extension Fire Program; Carrie Berger, Oregon State University Extension Fire Program; Manuel Machado, Oregon State University Extension Fire Program

Abstract: As wildfire activity increases, more organizations are working to create fire-adapted communities. Practitioners support fire-adapted communities by connecting people to information, resources, skills and networks in efforts often termed community engagement, outreach or education. Many wildfire practitioners are knowledgeable and skilled at wildfire mitigation but may be new to the community engagement skillset. Some challenges practitioners face include how to cultivate interest in wildfire preparedness amongst residents, how to reach new or underserved audiences, how to engage communities who may have had traumatic experiences with wildfire in the past, and how to “sustain the flame” of wildfire preparedness over the long run. The Oregon State University Extension Fire Program has developed a primer (https://beav.es/Nug) that responds to these challenges for community wildfire practitioners who want to develop their skills for engaging people in wildfire preparedness. In this special session, presenters will expand on three components of community engagement, including practices aimed to help practitioners 1) understand and work with communities, 2) deliver wildfire education programs with impact, and 3) utilize trauma-informed approaches in community engagement work. Presentations will be supported by examples from community engagement work conducted in Oregon and facilitated discussion about applying these concepts in practice. 

Shifting forest structure and composition across the eastern U.S. increasingly complicate wildland fire management. Densification and mesophication can reduce flammability under weather conditions targeted for prescribed fires, but more tree biomass can also fuel wildfires in certain scenarios. This session will explore these trade-offs and implications for management.

Organizers: Heather D. Alexander, Auburn University; Tori Donovan, University of Florida

Abstract: Pyrophytic, historically open-canopied oak and pine savannas and woodlands across the central and eastern U.S. continue to shift structure and composition to dense, multi-layered, closed-canopy forests of shade-tolerant and often fire-sensitive tree species. This stand densification often creates shadier, cooler, and wetter understory conditions and a leaf litter fuel bed that can dampen flammability through a process known as mesophication, which can limit fire restoration in weather conditions common during prescribed fire application. However, densification also increases aboveground biomass, thereby increasing fuel availability for wildfires. This session will explore how shifting forest composition and structure impact wildland fire behavior under different scenarios, with the goal of informing both forest restoration through prescribed fire management and wildfire prediction and mitigation.

Indigenous cultural fire practitioners from across the US will discuss ecology, stewardship, revitalization, and sovereignty. As Indigenous burning becomes increasingly accepted within fire management, what are some key emergent challenges and opportunities? Panelists will share insights about effective collaboration, community empowerment, and inter-generational learning.

Organizers: Vikki Preston, Karuk Tribe; Bruno Seraphin, University of Connecticut

Abstract: Across Turtle Island (North America), Indigenous communities are revitalizing cultural burning and asserting their sovereign right/responsibility to steward their homelands with fire. Since time immemorial, Indigenous nations have managed landscapes extensively with intentional burning, but these practices have been mostly criminalized and marginalized for over a century in the US. Today, due to persistent grassroots efforts and productive collaborations, Tribes’ right to burn is increasingly gaining mainstream acceptance and protection, even being enshrined into law, for example in California’s SB 310. At the same time, Indigenous fire practitioners are using cultural burning to empower their local communities and bring people back to each other. This double-session convenes Indigenous cultural practitioners, fire managers, community organizers, and researchers from around the continent. Presenters will explore what cultural fire revitalization looks like on the ground in northern and southern California, the southeast US, Oregon, the Great Lakes, and beyond. We will discuss: how does the return of intentional fire impact landscapes and wildlife? What is the role of inter-generational learning in the resurgence of Indigenous burning? What role can cultural burning play in meeting contemporary crises (wildfire, climate, political)? What are the key challenges and opportunities for Indigenous fire practitioners going forward?

This session explores how empirical data, and modeling can work together to improve fire behavior predictions. Speakers will highlight advances in fire models, examples of data-driven applications, and practical needs from a management perspective. We’ll discuss how better integration between field data and modeling can support effective fire planning and decisions.

Organizers: Eugenia Batista, University of Idaho; Joseph Birch, University of Idaho; Jessica Miesel, University of Idaho; Matthew Dickinson, USDA Forest Service; Chad Hoffman, Colorado State University

Abstract: Accurately predicting fire behavior and its ecological effects is essential for effective fire and vegetation management. However, significant challenges remain in connecting theoretical models to the complexity of real-world fire dynamics. This session explores the feedback between empirical observations and fire modeling. How field-based data can inform model development and validation, and how models, in turn, can guide data collection and support decision-making?

We will bring together leading experts from the United States who work with diverse fire spread models, ranging from physics-based to operational tools, to present recent advances, identify limitations, and discuss how empirical data can be used to improve model performance. Each speaker will address how their modeling approach has evolved, what gaps still exist, and what kind of data is most needed to calibrate, validate, or improve predictions. We will also incorporate the practical perspective of managers who routinely apply these tools in the field.

To close the session, a moderated discussion will bring together modelers and practitioners to reflect on shared challenges and explore opportunities for collaboration and cross-model benchmarking. Our goal is to strengthen the link between modeling and observation, supporting better fire science and more effective fire management.

This session explores prescribed fire practices worldwide, highlighting fire’s uninterrupted cultural use in many regions. We will examine how reconnecting with traditional knowledge and accelerating global learning can enhance modern fire management approaches while honoring indigenous wisdom.

Organizers: Rut Domènech, University of California, Davis; Nuria Prat, Pau Costa Foundation; Anna Maria Naimeh, University of California, Davis

Abstract: Climate change and extreme wildfires pose rapidly evolving challenges to our ecosystems and communities. While prescribed fire has gained recognition as an effective tool for reducing fuel loads and mitigating risk in various ecosystems, it’s important to acknowledge that numerous regions worldwide maintain an uninterrupted legacy of cultural fire practices. These traditional approaches represent centuries of ecological knowledge that continues to shape landscapes and communities today. We must recognize the vast knowledge of traditional practices and indigenous people that has been disregarded over the years. This knowledge is still present in Europe, and South America and has never stopped. This special session will discuss fire’s role in ecosystems, connections to culture and community, best practices and insights for the future. We invite you to participate in this vital conversation about bridging traditional wisdom with modern fire management approaches to create more resilient landscapes. The results of the special session will contribute to the book on integrated fire management practices for Ecosystem Service Enhancement, as part of the FIRE ADAPT project.

Yellow pine (ponderosa and Jeffrey) in the Sierra Nevada, CA is the focus of study for a cross-discipline project at scales from the molecule to landscape. We gathered project collaborators and researchers to share findings involving the past, present, and future of yellow pine in this Critical Wildfire Landscape.

Organizers: Laura A.E. Marshall, Center for Tree-Ring Science, University of Missouri; Michael C. Stambaugh, Center for Tree-Ring Science, University of Missouri

Abstract: In the Critical Wildfire Landscape of the Sierra Nevada, CA, mixed conifer forests are emerging from a century dominated by fire suppression into one featuring large, severe, and frequent fire events that burn through wild lands and human communities. Yellow pine (ponderosa and Jeffrey) in these forests have experienced changing fire conditions on a multidecadal scale from historically low to high levels of exposure, triggering changes on spatial scales ranging from the molecular to landscape. The effects of fire frequency and severity on different processes that contribute to wood properties and tree growth are a central focus at the tree and stand scale. Understanding the effects of fire in the Sierra Nevada on wood quality, as relevant to industry and supporting management, is another primary objective of this research. The past, present, and future of Sierra Nevada yellow pines will be discussed with attention to fire effects on wood properties relating to quality and production, tree growth and stand structure, landscape properties such as ecosystem functioning and biodiversity, and industry stakeholder perceptions of fire and fire-impacted wood.

When ecosystems become trapped in undesirable feedback cycles driven by altered disturbance regimes, managers are compelled to focus on near-term hazard reduction and emergency response. This session explores the use of impact quantification to support management orientation toward proactive, whole-ecosystem stewardship, promoting long-term durability of ecosystem benefits alongside risk mitigation.

Organizers: Katharyn Duffy, Northern Arizona University and Vibrant Planet; Sophie Gilbert, Vibrant Planet; Joe Shannon, Vibrant Planet

Abstract: When ecosystems and their managers are caught in reinforcing feedback loops—such as fuel accumulation, extreme fire behavior, and reactive suppression—short-term hazard reduction often overshadows long-term ecosystem stewardship. Yet the enduring costs of wildfire— declines in water quality, forest retention, biodiversity, and community resilience— are deeply tied to the structure of these feedbacks and the decisions made to manage them.

This session builds on the concept of ecosystem stewardship to explore how proactive, resilience-based management can shift systems away from degradation and toward more stable and desirable trajectories. Presenters will highlight how tools for quantifying chronic wildfire costs and assessing avoided losses can inform adaptive strategies that align risk mitigation with ecological function and social values.

We will explore how proactive interventions, including intentional fire use and mechanical fuel treatment, can restore disturbance regimes, enhance ecosystem services that are not directly tied to fire, and reduce long-term natural resource management and hazard mitigation costs. Panelists will share methods for cross-scale analysis, highlight challenges of comparing short-term vs. long-term tradeoffs, and discuss how to integrate climate forecasts and socio-ecological goals into management planning.

Cooperative Extension fire programs are emerging nationwide, providing communities with science-informed strategies to enhance wildfire resilience and promote prescribed fire. This session will showcase innovative outreach initiatives to educate landowners, managers, and residents on collaborative approaches to mitigating wildfire risk.

Organizers: Alison Deak, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources; David Benterou, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources

Abstract: Extension fire programs are continuing to emerge across the United States to address the increasing impact of wildfire on communities. While each program is unique, all build on the trusted foundation of Cooperative Extension to deliver science-based education and outreach to landowners and communities. This special session will feature brief, engaging presentations highlighting some of the innovative ways Cooperative Extension is empowering communities to improve their wildfire resiliency and manage landscapes using prescribed fire. Scientists, landowners, Prescribed Burn Association members, land managers, and Extension professionals are encouraged to attend and explore new strategies for engaging communities in fire-related education and outreach.

Explore launching or strengthening a university prescribed fire club with leaders from successful Southeastern programs. Learn about navigating regulations, securing funds, engaging students in burning programs, and building partnerships. Gain practical advice on creating a charter, gaining approval, recruiting members, and identifying burn opportunities to foster ecological stewardship.

Organizers: Tiffany Woods, National Wildlife Federation; Shelby Diehl, National Wildlife Federation

Abstract: Want to spark a prescribed fire initiative at your university? Join leaders from thriving Southeastern collegiate burn clubs for an engaging panel discussion. Learn the essential steps to establish and maintain a successful organization, including navigating university rules, securing funding, and developing effective burning programs that actively involve students.

Discover how to create a charter, gain university approval, recruit passionate members, identify valuable burn opportunities, and build strong, lasting partnerships. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to boost an existing club, this session offers practical insights and valuable connections to help you cultivate a powerful force for ecological stewardship on your campus. Ignite your passion and build a legacy of fire!

Discover innovative approaches to forest landscape adaptation that balance wildfire risk reduction with benefits to water resources, ecosystems, carbon, landscape integrity, sustainable biomass, and economics. This session highlights cutting-edge methods to assess trade-offs and synergies, helping managers make smarter decisions toward resilient landscapes and human communities. 

Organizers: Zhuoran Duan, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Paul Hessburg, University of Washington; Andre Coleman, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Mark Wigmosta, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Abstract: Forest landscapes supply food and material resources and ecosystem services essential to the social, economic, and cultural health of human communities. However, managing these landscapes often necessitates balancing complex and competing objectives, especially in face of a growing wildfire crisis fueled by climatic changes. While there is broad consensus on the need for increased active management through forest thinning and burning treatments, the challenge lies in identifying where, how much, and how best to apply treatments that yield the greatest overall benefits in both space and time.  Meanwhile the interaction among compounding environmental challenges adds shifting dynamics themselves and nonstationarity of ongoing conditions to the goal of developing and applying management strategies to address multiple criteria. 

This session will explore emerging science and tools aimed at identifying synergies among wildfire risk reduction, forest ecological restoration, economic recovery, and other co-benefits such as carbon, sustainable biomass, water resources and landscape integrity. As forest managers seek to prioritize treatments across vast and diverse landscapes, the integration of multiple ecosystem services into planning frameworks becomes increasingly essential.

We aim to bring together studies that apply innovative, multi-objective approaches to assess the outcomes and trade-offs of adaptation measures. This session is designed to inform strategies that enhance the resilience of forest ecosystems and improve efficiency of management investments by advancing techniques that support more comprehensive evaluations of treatment benefits.

Plant physiological traits that influence fire behavior also determine plant responses to fire (recovery, mortality), yet research on these subjects is unintegrated. This session presents research on plant traits controlling flammability and fire behavior and also on traits that influence tree mortality and recovery from fire, with ideas for integration.

Organizers: Sharon Hood, USDA Forest Service, Missoula Fire Lab; Charlotte Reed, USDA Forest Service, Missoula Fire Lab

Abstract: Fire behavior is affected by plant physiological traits, and at the same time, fire effects on plant physiology can influence whether plants are killed or recover from fire. While fire behavior influences the degree of fire-caused injury, plant traits also independently regulate hydraulic status and carbon balance that can determine mortality or survival. The study of interactions between fire and plant physiological traits (i.e., pyroecophysiology) is an active area of research, yet much of the research is bifurcated to focus only on either fire behavior or effects. This session seeks to break down this division to spark discussion about how multi-disciplinary research on plant physiological traits could advance both fire behavior and effects perspectives. We begin the session with a talk about current research and the overlap/separation in the sub-disciplines, then present research on plant traits controlling flammability and fire behavior. The second block focuses on traits that influence tree mortality and recovery from fire. Our aim with this 2-block special session is to bring researchers together that study similar topics from disparate viewpoints to see how research can be integrated to improve efficiency and to advance knowledge of how plant physiological traits influence both fire behavior and effects.

This session presents research that tackles the challenges of outdated input data and rapidly changing fire regimes to create more accurate landscape wildfire hazard assessments, both now and for the future.

Organizers: Troy Saltiel, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Abstract: Landscape wildfire hazard models assess fire probability and intensity using inputs like weather observations, topography, fuels, and fire occurrence records. Typically, these models incorporate 15-30 years of weather data, and this same time frame often applies to the fire occurrence history. Fuels data are frequently sourced from LANDFIRE, which is based on a 2016 base map updated annually with a one-year delay to reflect vegetation disturbances and recovery. Historical fire data is available from multiple sources of varying quality.

The rapid pace of environmental change means that hazard assessments, often used for several years, can quickly become obsolete. This session compiles research that addresses these evolving fire regimes by enhancing the accuracy of current and future wildfire hazard models with more up to date and reliable inputs, observed trends, or projected future changes.

This special session will highlight how the spatial and temporal configurations of fuel treatments influence fire effects at the cumulative scale of entire wildfires and outside of treatment boundaries. Topics will include fire effects on vegetation severity, containment, infrastructure, and other resources, spanning a range of management contexts. 

Organizers: Caden Chamberlain, Colorado Forest Restoration Institute; Andrew Johnson, USDA Forest Service; Don Radcliffe, Paul Smith’s College

Abstract: Substantial resources have been dedicated to implementing fuel reduction treatments across North America. The goals of these treatments can be multi-faceted, but a guiding principle is to reduce the negative impacts of subsequent fires on vegetation and human assets. Regardless of objectives, treating all areas across a landscape is often infeasible and impractical. Therefore, managers look for strategies to prioritize the location, timing, and configuration of treatments to optimize beneficial outcomes both inside and outside of treatment boundaries. Past research evaluating outside-boundary effects of treatments has generally relied on simulation-based analyses, yet with improved data collection and increasing treatment application and wildfire activity, opportunities for empirical analyses are growing. In this special session, presenters will cover topics related to landscape-level treatment effectiveness from both empirical and simulation-based studies. 

Fire shapes tropical ecosystems through complex mechanisms across space and time. This session brings together scientists with a wide range of research approaches to offer insights into fire as an ecological process that creates, maintains, and transforms tropical ecosystems.

Organizers: Javier Ruiz-Pérez, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University; Joseph W. Veldman, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University

Abstract: Our understanding of fire in the tropics is steadily improving, as scientists from a variety of disciplines reveal how complex mechanisms—including fire-vegetation feedbacks, fire-climate dynamics, evolutionary relationships between plants and fire, and human-environment interactions—shape savanna and forest ecosystems through space and time. This session seeks to showcase distinct, yet complementary approaches to tropical fire ecology, highlighting how fire operates at multiple spatial, temporal, and biological scales. Speakers will represent different tropical regions and multiple fields, including evolutionary ecology, conservation biology, biogeochemistry, archaeology, and paleoecology. It is our hope that through this session we will encourage speakers and the audience to think about ways to integrate new approaches and collaborators into their fire ecology research. For example, how can evolutionary, archeological, and paleoecological knowledge provide historical context for improving contemporary studies in fire ecology? Conversely, how can contemporary studies, including manipulative experiments, enhance the interpretation of historical data? We view such questions as critical for developing solutions to challenges in tropical ecosystem conservation and management caused by rapidly changing human-climate-vegetation-fire interactions.

Our understanding of the ecological complexities of post-fire mortality has advanced greatly in recent years, yet it is not clear how to incorporate these complexities into the generalizable statistical models that underly management-oriented models and software tools. This session will explore studies of post-fire mortality designed to bridge that gap. 

Organizers: Tucker Furniss, University of Wyoming; C. Alina Cansler, University of Montana

Abstract: Post-fire tree mortality models are an essential tool for research and management in fire-prone forests. These models are used to predict tree mortality following fire, and they form the basis of the first order fire effects models used in management-grade software programs. Existing mortality models have relatively high accuracy for predicting mortality for fires that burn under historical conditions, but recent research has revealed that climate and stand density can also mediate post-fire mortality risk. This session will focus on research aimed at advancing our understanding of the ecological factors (e.g., competition for resources, microclimate variability) that regulate both immediate and delayed post-fire tree mortality. We will use approaches ranging in scale from tree- to landscape-levels, and we will explore how to apply this research to make management-grade models more generalizability to predict post-fire mortality after fires that burn under novel future conditions.

This session explores challenges and opportunities for prescribed burning on private lands across the US, highlighting studies from the Mid-Atlantic, Great Plains, and California. It examines landowner intentions, perceptions, and preferences for burning, emphasizing regional variations and offering insights into promoting prescribed fire across diverse landowners.

Organizers: Arun Regmi, Penn State University; Jesse Kreye, Penn State University

Abstract: Prescribed fire on private lands varies across the US, with burning being common across the Southeast and Great Plains, but less so in the West and limited in the Northeast. Given most lands are privately owned, understanding factors influencing landowners’ decisions to burn is critical for advancing prescribed fire practices. This special session highlights studies that examine landowner behavior, perceptions, preferences, and challenges they face in adopting prescribed fire. Presentations include findings from three studies in California, where wildfire risk is high and recent policies encourage private lands burning. Results highlight factors influencing landowner intentions and their willingness to pay for prescribed burning, suggesting how demand for prescribed burning could be met for diverse types of landowner. Another study from the Mid-Atlantic region explain growing landowner interest in burning, but constrained by limited resources and support. A third study from the Great Plains explores long-standing cultural, logistical, and policy barriers to prescribed fire adoption. This session will provide region-specific insights and emphasize the opportunities and challenges for increasing prescribed fire capacity on private lands. This session is intended for researchers, fire practitioners, landowners, and policymakers seeking to understand and support the social dimensions of fire management.

This session will present a state-of-knowledge update on fire in the Upper Great Lakes, including emerging concepts surrounding cultural fire use, the connections between fire and climate, ecological relationships, and rethinking fire management approaches in sensitive landscapes.

Organizers: Kurt Kipfmueller, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; Evan Larson, University of Wisconsin-Platteville; Bazile Panek, University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Abstract: Interactions among forests, fire, people, and climate in the Upper Great Lakes since time immemorial have fundamentally shaped Great Lakes ecosystems. The dispossession of Indigenous lands and cultural oppression, coincident (and not unrelated) with the cutover of Great Lakes forests and a century of fire suppression, has altered eco-cultural communities across the region.The development of new tree-ring based fire histories and the revitalization of cultural uses of fire have helped develop a better understanding of past fire activity in the Great Lakes. These sessions will focus on the role of fire in Upper Great Lakes landscapes with an emphasis  on translating research into active fire restoration to fire-dependent cultures and landscapes. We aim to connect various disciplines, and fire managers/practitioners to help improve our understanding of past fire while thinking critically about pathways forward to more active fire management in the Upper Great Lakes.

Exploring how PODs and QWRA are evolving to account for seasonal fire dynamics, supporting managers in prioritizing treatments, prescribed fire, and wildfire response across landscapes identified as high risk for wildfire.

Organizers: Gabrielle Ayres, Northern Arizona University

Abstract: This special session explores how seasonal variability is reshaping strategic pre-fire planning across wildfire crisis priority landscapes. With a central focus on extending the Potential Operational Delineations (PODs) framework and innovating Quantitative Wildfire Risk Assessment (QWRA) approaches, this session brings together researchers and practitioners working on front-line applications designed to meet the urgent needs of land managers under increasingly extreme fire conditions.

Building on the foundation laid by the 2024 4th SW AFE session, “New Horizons in Strategic Pre-Fire Planning,” this session spotlights recent advances to operationalize risk-informed fire planning and treatment prioritization. Key themes include:

• Incorporating seasonal fire behavior and risk dynamics into POD-based fire modeling
• Designing QWRA inputs to reflect temporal variation in wildfire hazard, fire response capacity, and Highly Valued Resources and Assets (HVRA) exposure
• Identifying the cost, feasibility, and benefits of treatments, including those aimed at achieving desired future outcomes
• Using scenario-based mapping and improved weather-informed risk estimates to support decision-making before, during, and after fire events

The session features case studies from the western United States and emphasizes science-practitioner co-production of tools that enhance prescribed fire use, cross-boundary coordination, and landscape-scale adaptation.

A discussion of both the short- and long-term interactions of hurricanes and fire regimes of the eastern United States, with a particular emphasis on lessons learned from previous incidents that may apply to areas impacted by Hurricane Helene in 2024 and from similar high-energy storm events.

Organizers: Brett Williams, USDA Forest Service; Adam Coates, Virginia Tech; Lindsey Hosier, Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists

Abstract: Post-hurricane landscapes are often marked by definitive changes in wildland fuel loading and forest structure. In many locations of the southeastern United States, these dynamics have been addressed through both scientific inquiry and practical management for many years. In 2024, the Appalachian Mountains were introduced to unprecedented impacts from Hurricane Helene. Scientists and managers would like to establish a course of action to reduce wildfire risk and restore natural communities in the wake of this storm. In this session, we hope to discuss lessons learned from previous storms that may inform assessments and planning in a post-Helene landscape for the Appalachian Mountains and other landscapes impacted by similar future storms. Terrestrial laser scanning, remote sensing, forest/fuels inventory, prescribed fire planning, wind impacts to forest structure, improving resilience through management, and other topics will be discussed as part of this special session. 

This session presents research in developing up-to-current fuel datasets using available multi-modal earth observation datasets to improve the reliability and timeliness of wildland fire risk assessments and fire behavior forecasting.

Organizers: Andre Coleman, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Abstract: A common and increasing issue for conducting reliable and timely wildland fire risk assessments and active event fire behavior forecasting are tied to delays in getting up-to-date fuel characterization products. With advances and availability of earth observation data, including multi-spectral electro-optical passive sensing, LiDAR, laser altimetry, and synthetic aperture radar combined with available ground surveys, new opportunities are presented to dynamically update fuels data to ensure data reflect current conditions. This session will explore the latest research in using multi-modal data sources to define and characterize fuels for use in various fire behavior modeling applications.

This session will highlight ongoing restoration and research efforts in montane longleaf pine ecosystems in Alabama and Georgia, U.S.A. Presentations will cover large-scale restoration projects, fire ecology, fire management strategies, and research on historical fire regimes and ecology, bringing together land managers and scientists across multiple states and organizations.

Organizers: Joseph Marschall, Center for Tree-Ring Science, University of Missouri; Davis Goode, Alabama Chapter of The Nature Conservancy; Jonathan Stober, USDA Forest Service Region 8; Katie Owens, Georgia Chapter of The Nature Conservancy; Kevin Robertson, Tall Timbers Research Station; Michael Stambaugh, University of Missouri

Abstract: Montane longleaf pine ecosystems, fire-dependent communities found in the uplands of Alabama and Georgia, are threatened and increasingly the focus of restoration and research efforts. This session brings together land managers and scientists to highlight ongoing work across multiple states, organizations, and land ownerships. Presentations will cover large-scale restoration initiatives, fire ecology of key plant and animal species, fire management strategies, and current research on historical fire regimes and ecology.

The Fire Science Exchange Network shares cutting-edge wildland fire science to support regional fire management. This session highlights eight compelling examples of engagement addressing complex challenges in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), fuels reduction, Tribal partnerships, and post-fire response—offering insights for practitioners navigating today’s fire-adapted and fire-prone  landscapes.

Organizers: Fire Science Exchange Networks, Joint Fire Science Program

Abstract: The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) established the Fire Science Exchange Network to bridge the gap between research and practice, ensuring wildland fire science meets the evolving needs of landscapes and communities. Now more than ever, the urgency of wildfire challenges—across ecological, cultural, and social dimensions—demands innovation and collaboration. This session will showcase eight examples from across the U.S. that reflect how the Network addresses these needs through targeted engagement and science delivery. Presentations include tools and partnerships for implementing fuel breaks in northern communities, supporting aspen management through cross-boundary science, and assessing post-fire recovery strategies through projects like partnerships for post-fire recovery and the After the Wildfire Guide for Arizona. Other talks highlight approaches to communication, such as improving wildfire preparedness resources for non-English-speaking communities in California and creating smoke outreach tools for prescribed fire programs. A video storytelling project demonstrates how community values and fire history can shape future fire decisions, while another presentation shares a collaborative effort to build Tribal capacity for fire and fuels monitoring. Together, these efforts illustrate the power of meaningful partnerships and tailored science communication to support fire-adapted landscapes and resilient communities. Ample time will be provided for audience discussion and knowledge exchange.

Addressing the cumulative effects of wildfires, including those on social and economic systems, crosses disciplines and jurisdictional boundaries and requires collaboration among social, economic, and technical sectors. The session explores primary themes and knowledge gaps identified through scenario planning under and NSF global center planning grant.

Organizers: Christopher Dunn, Oregon State University; Erica Fischer, Oregon State University

Abstract: Understanding and mitigating impacts of natural hazards on human communities is complex due to the increasing interconnectedness of the global economy, increasing incidence and severity of climate-related natural hazards, and dependencies among infrastructure systems. Traditionally, wildfire research has been conducted by experts in ecology and combustion. Yet addressing the cumulative effects of wildfires, including those on social and economic systems, crosses disciplines and jurisdictional boundaries and requires collaboration among social, economic, and technical sectors. For these reasons a group of universities and practitioners, led by researchers at Oregon State University, embarked upon an NSF funded project to explore gaps in knowledge of methods for reducing the risk of infrastructure losses and the multiple barriers to mitigation actions by land management agencies, local government and residents. Using a natural hazards scenario framework with a high-functioning community in Oregon, we explored the direct and indirect consequences of urban conflagration to highlight knowledge gaps. In this session we will explore, through conversation and presentations, what we have learned thus far and interact with the audience on additional knowledge gaps to lay a foundation for developing a global center on WUI fire research.

There are many decision-support tools available to help managers select tree seeds to use in reforestation that will have the highest chance of success. In this session, professionals from across different forest ecosystems highlight these tools and additional factors considered in selecting tree seed sources resilient to future stressors. 

Organizers: Katie Nigro, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station; Taylor Akers, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station; Mike Battaglia, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station

Abstract: As severe wildfires, drought and disease outbreaks cause more and more widespread tree mortality, the need for reforestation continues to grow. However, reforestation efforts are failing where the climate has changed too much to support the same trees that occupied the land prior to disturbance. Therefore, many tools have been created to help managers decide where to source seeds for reforestation to increase success. These tools consider the future climate projections at the planting site as well as the historic climate of seed sources to best match seed sources for reforestation with future planting site conditions. Some tools also consider adaptations to soil, results from past common garden studies, and the risk of local extinction due to wildfire.  Due to the long-lived nature of trees , reforestation trials are still in their infancy, making it uncertain which seed sourcing strategy will ensure the highest success. In this session, speakers from across different forest ecosystems discuss the tools and strategies they have used in selecting tree seeds for reforestation and discuss results to date. The goal is to facilitate learning between tool developers and the managers who use them to advance our knowledge of resilient reforestation methods.

Karuk Tribal members and allies will screen two recent films: “The Women They Are Carrying Fire – Pa’asik`tavaansas Kuniktáamvunatih” and “Shifting The Fire Paradigm in Karuk Aboriginal Territory – 2023 SRF Lightning Complex.” Panelists will discuss how Indigenous burners are using media to revitalize cultural fire in California and beyond.

Organizers: Bruno Seraphin, University of Connecticut; Vikki Preston, Karuk Tribe

Abstract: What role can grassroots media play in shifting the fire paradigm in California and across the US west? This session will feature screenings of two recent short films produced by the Karuk Tribe of northwestern California. The films illustrate the ways that Indigenous fire practitioners are telling their own stories to assert their sovereign right/responsibility to manage fire on their homelands. The first film, “The Women They Are Carrying Fire – Pa’asik`tavaansas Kuniktáamvunatih” (released 2023), tells the story of the Karuk Indigenous Women’s Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (KWTREX), the first ever of such events specifically by and for Indigenous women, gender diverse people, and families. The second film is, “Shifting The Fire Paradigm in Karuk Aboriginal Territory – 2023 SRF Lightning Complex” (released 2024). This film tells the story of how Karuk cultural specialists collaborated with the USFS and incident command teams to implement landscape-scale good fire effects informed by Karuk cultural values during the 2023 Six Rivers National Forest Lightning Complex. On hand to discuss the films and their significance will be members of the films’ production teams, community members who appear in the films, and other Karuk cultural fire practitioners involved in these events.

Shrub vegetation is widespread and highly flammable, often contributing to intense fires in both shrublands and in forest understories. Despite their importance in global fire-regimes, shrub fires are poorly understood due to their complex flammability, driven by volatile live fuels. This session aims to improve fire modeling in these ecosystems.

Organizers: Kerryn Little, University of Birmingham; Claire Belcher, University of Exeter; Sarah Baker, University of Exeter; Stefan Doerr, Swansea University

Abstract: Shrub vegetation is one of the most flammable fuel types across the world’s climate zones. The distribution of heath and shrubland species is extensive and in many of these cases shrubs are highly successful invasive species beyond their native distributions. Shrub fuelled fires burn not only in shrub dominated ecosystems such as northern temperate heathlands, moorlands, USA-chaparral, and South African fynbos, but also often provide the surface fuels in forests and can carry rapidly spreading intense fires. Despite their global importance in fire regimes and increasing role especially in northern temperate regions, shrub fires remain the least well understood because their flammability is complex, often driven by live (instead of dead) fuels with high volatile contents. Therefore, ecophysiological drivers also interact to alter fire intensity and spread.

This means that standard approaches to modelling, that do not include the high spatial or temporal heterogeneity in shrub fuel biomass and moisture, fail to capture the resultant fire behaviour or fire effects in shrublands. This session aims to bring together those working on shrubland fuels across the globe, to address these shared challenges and improve our ability to model fire behaviour and fire effects in these complex and understudied environments. We hope that presenters will join forces to contribute to a special volume or J. Fire Ecology collection.

Silvicultural tools differ in nature and intent from standard fuel reduction treatments, and are widely used to restore fire-adapted conditions or post-fire restoration. Scientists and practitioners will share their research and experiences with using silviculture to accomplish pre- and post-fire objectives.

Organizers: Bryant Nagelson, University of Nevada, Reno; Sarah Bisbing, University of Nevada, Reno; Conor Phelan, University of Nevada, Reno; Derek Churchill, Washington State Department of Natural Resources

Abstract: Silviculture encompasses a wide range of tools, strategies, and objectives that differ in nature and intent from standard fuel reduction treatments. Fuel treatments often focus on maximizing tree spacing, eliminating ladder fuels, and maintaining low surface fuels, and rarely involve the harvesting of merchantable timber. Silvicultural approaches often incorporate more heterogeneity in their target conditions, consider establishment of future cohorts, and generally attempt to harvest commercial timber. Silvicultural tools are used to restore fire-excluded forests, maintain fire-adapted conditions (often in conjunction with prescribed fire, i.e. pyrosilviculture), or are leveraged after wildfire as salvage. This session offers scientists the opportunity to share their research and experiences with conventional or novel silvicultural approaches to fire-adapted restoration and post-fire recovery. Presentations that consider the role of silviculture in mature and old-growth (MOG) forests to restore fire-adapted structures and processes are encouraged. A paired Fire Circle after the Special Session will provide time for targeted discussion around managing fire-dependent MOG forests. 

The Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERI) have a long history of lending social science expertise to co-develop actionable knowledge and best available science to inform forest and fire management decisions. This special session will provide examples of SWERI’s applied social science research in three arenas: before-wildfire, during-wildfire, and after-wildfire.

Organizers: Melanie Colavito, Ecological Restoration Institute; Sarah Devenport, Ecological Restoration Institute; Claire Rapp, Colorado Forest Restoration Institute; Jarod Dunn, Colorado Forest Restoration Institute

Abstract: The Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERI) have a long-standing history of lending social science expertise and capacity to support the SWERI mission of co-developing actionable knowledge and best available science to inform forest and fire management decisions. SWERI social science spans a wide range of topical areas, but for the purposes of the Fire Congress, this special session will focus specifically on SWERI’s applied social science research in three arenas: before-wildfire, during-wildfire, and after-wildfire. While each of these arenas can be distinct, there are numerous areas of integration across them, as well. The first presentation will provide an overview of SWERI’s social science community of research and practice, specifically focused on applied wildfire social science. The next set of presentations will cover a range of different topics organized into three categories: before, during, and after wildfire. The final presentation will summarize how this work fits together into a broader cohesive direction for applied wildfire social science. Together, this group of presentations will serve as a flight of different examples of research from SWERI that strives to work directly with practitioners and decision-makers to turn the best available science into action to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire. 

We recall the initial vision of the Fire & Fire Surrogate Study contrasting fuel treatment types, share research results from five remaining research sites, conduct a cross-site synthesis of forest dynamics, and engage in open discussion about the continued relevance of these studies, treatment approaches, objectives, and successes.

Organizers: Justin Crotteau, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station; Sharon Hood, USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station; Scott Stephens, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley

Abstract: It takes long-term experiments to understand lasting effects of forest management, including fuels reduction and restoration in frequent-fire forests. The Fire & Fire Surrogate network is a long-standing, national project initially funded by the Joint Fire Sciences Program in 2000 and involving many researchers over 20+ years. This project aims to improve understanding of the effect that mechanical- versus process-oriented treatments have in producing forest resilience to multiple stressors, and over the course of the last two decades has promoted discussion on balancing diverse objectives and management constraints. Recent work in five eastern and western US study sites (located in Ohio, North Carolina, Montana, California, and Washington) affords inspection of long-term vegetation, carbon, fuel, and fire hazard dynamics. Researchers from individual sites share 20-year updates on forest change, discuss implemented treatment regimes, and provide narratives for reevaluation of original objectives and treatments. This session will be of additional interest because we have just recently completed a cross-site synthesis of the long-term data that draws out larger scale trends across and distinctions between these fire-dependent ecotypes. We assess whether the overarching initial experiment objectives continue to be relevant today and consider how management objectives refine over time with treatment regimes.