Berkeley Fire Center Blog

Today, Gov. Schwarzenegger issued an Executive Order on wildfire. The order anticipates an “imminent threat of devastating wildfires and imminent peril to people and property” and calls on several state agencies, ranging from CalFire to the Office of Emergency Service to the Department of Insurance, to begin preparing for the 2008 fire season.

Compared to other recent Executive Orders on the issue of wildfire, this one is wide ranging. Just some of the issues mentioned include bark beetle infestations, climate change and greenhouse gases, biomass and biofuels, wildlife, and water and air quality. Specific actions ordered are mostly focused on increased firefighting capabilities — equipment, staff, etc. — and enforcement of defensible space regulations.

We just started a fire center YouTube Channel. I’ve added a few videos and hope to keep adding over the next few weeks. Using your YouTube login, you can subscribe to our video feed to be notified when new content is added.

Quest is a new-ish program on science and the environment from the Bay Area’s National Public Radio station KQED. A segment from last fall focused on wildfire and related issues using the 1995 Vision Fire in Marin County as an example. The visuals are compelling and lend a sense of place to several often-discussed topics, including fire suppression, fuel reduction, and prescribed burning. I’m biased, but was little disappointed that near the end, when CalFire Battalion Chief Thompson mentioned relying on homeowners to “take some precautions on their own,” the opportunity to discuss what those precautions might be was quickly passed over.

Slate, the web magazine that focuses mostly on culture and politics, has published a couple of recent pieces on wildfire that are interesting examples of wildfire coverage in non-academic publications. The first piece is part of the “The Green Latern”, a Q and A on environmental issues, and focuses on the question of how much carbon is released in wildfires.

The second is an article with the title “The Fire Next Time: How Wildfire Preparedness is Turning California Into Arizona.” The author references a recent UC ANR publication on landscaping and fire and the fire center website while discussing the broad range preparedness challenges and perceptions.

Lincoln Bramwell, an environmental historian, has written a piece on wildland-urban interface fires for the High Country News (an outstanding news magazine with in depth coverage of western environmental issues). Bramwell is a former hotshot and writes from the perspective of both a historian and someone who has experienced the challenge of moving from fighting wildland fires to interface fires.

His conclusion is a strong one: “Take it from one former-firefighter-turned-historian: Visit the woods often. Just don’t build your house there.” That’s not advice that will likely be followed, but it’s an interesting read.