Every. Single. Climate. Indicator.

Normalize fire mitigation, the ground is toast ??, night may not save us ??, driving in the dark, fire weather ?? isn’t measured in seasons anymore and ?? spring is (measurably) early.

If you read just one thing:

I took a bit of a dive into learning more about the carbon emissions from wildfire and I found two pieces—one a video, one an article—insightful when it came to wildfire and what we’re working on in the #firetech community. The source of both, Resources for the Future, is a non-profit independent research institution in Washington, DC.

Matt Wibbenmeyer, a fellow at the institute, believes that, “The scale of the damages here are substantial, and it could very well justify the kind of spending that would be needed to really get a handle on this problem."

In a related story from last week, authors Ann Bartuska (senior advisor, Resources) and Alex Beehler (former Asst. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health) cover recent funding and reports on wildland fire mitigation given the increase in fire activity in the US. “…Wildfire mitigation and management must become normalized at every level of government, especially in the current context of a changing climate and changing ecosystems.” —Living with Wildfires: Adapting to the New Normal.

Speaking of which, the USDA announced that it's divvying up $500 million for wildfire mitigation, for 21 identified landscapes, with money also reserved for sticky Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) zones.

This week:

Fire, Generally ?? | Texas, where the ground is toast, insurance catastrophe model updates, and wildfire smoke wild cards

Climate ?? | Fire in the desert, spring is here?, La Ni?a, emissions and wildfire mitigation

Firefighting ?? | Night may not save us, firefighter family, timber tax, PFAs

Firetech ?? | A little Rain, a little Black Hawk

What’s burning? | Tibet

Notes from the Fire Tower

Aerial Fire Fighting North America

Several of us from Rain attended the Aerial Fire Fighting North America conference last week in Sacramento, which was an opportunity to hear from experts specifically on the topic of aerial firefighting. I’m looking forward to sharing a few of those talks later (we were able to record three with the permission of the speakers), and will be sure to link back to them here when they’re ready. We also got to poke around CAL FIRE’s aviation headquarters which resulted in my favorite photos of the week (flight > indoor conference setting).?

Fire, Generally

Texas, where the ground is toast, insurance catastrophe model updates, and wildfire smoke wild cards

• Insurance companies are trying to peer into this year’s fire future in Canada, “Alberta has moved its wildfire season start date from April 1 to February 1.” They also point out that one source of labor for wildland firefighting—college students—won’t be an option if fire season starts before they’re out for the summer and ends long after they’ve returned in the fall.?
• In California, insurance agencies may soon be able to consider wildfire risk (not just earthquake risk) when raising rates, in an attempt by state lawmakers to bring home insurance back into the state after an exodus last year. ?
• The news from Texas hits with significance for those geographically proximate in the Great Plains of the US, where they are witnessing changing fire regimes. “We're not really having fire seasons anymore. We're just having fire years,” Ben Bohall, Nebraska Forest Service.
• Texas’ Panhandle fires are finally 100% contained, at 1,058,482 acres, 3 human fatalities, and up to 10,000 cattle will have perished—even if they survived some are injured beyond healing. The fires are suspected to have been caused by utilities, in historic high-wind and long drought conditions that left the ground ‘like toast’.? Yet, there is hope for wildlife beyond cattle out in Texas.

It is important to recognize that native wildlife and vegetation have evolved alongside fire for millennia, said [Dr. Jacob] Dykes. “Fire rapidly breaks down the nutrients in vegetation and delivers them to the soil.”

Climate

Emissions, fire in the desert, spring is here?, La Ni?a, and wildfire mitigation

• Spring is officially early. “‘Omaha, Nebraska is 20 days early, Indianapolis, Indiana is 14 days early, and New York City, New York is 10 days early compared to a long-term average of 1991-2020,’ the National Phenology Network notes on its website.” (wondering what phenology is? so was I. “Phenology is nature’s calendar”)
• NASA covers a La Ni?a-megafire connection suggested by climate modeling. “Fires have a global influence and, in some instances, can act as a feedback on the climate system – being influenced by climate, but also exerting an influence of their own,” says John Fasullo, lead author of the study.
• Experts say wildfire risk may drastically transform California’s iconic Mojave Desert, questioning previous assumptions around the role of fire on the landscape and how to proceed. “We’re basically driving in the dark to a destination that we don’t know anything about because of climate change and the changing fire regime,” [Debra Hughson, acting superintendent of the Mojave National Preserve] said.
• In Canada they’re reckoning with their air quality that is worse than ours in the US for the first time, after last year’s fires.
• In a report delivered by the World Meteorological Organization, which is the UN’s weather agency, officials said that 2023 set new records for Every. Single. Climate. Indicator. “Sirens are blaring across all major indicators. … Some records aren’t just chart-topping, they’re chart-busting. And changes are speeding up,” said Secretary-General António Guterres.

“The climate crisis is the defining challenge that humanity faces. It is an existential threat to vulnerable populations everywhere, and undermines all the sustainable development goals. The cost of climate action may seem high, but the cost of climate inaction is much higher.” —Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization.?

Firefighting

The night may not save us, firefighter family, timber tax, PFAs

• Night, long a friend to those fighting fires, may not save us anymore, because of more frequent drought conditions. This new study, published in Nature, underscores the importance of rapid initial attack of fires when they are still small.?
• As firefighters advocate for fair (and consistent) pay, let’s not forget the delicate balance they have to strike between meaningful work and wanting to be present in their families. “Our families are the forgotten few.”
• In Oregon, Pro Publica investigated a bill (now dead) that would have cut taxes for the timber industry just when others are arguing they should raise taxes to fund wildfire response, readiness and drinking water protection.?
• More PFAS (aka forever chemicals) controversy as the Pentagon seeks immunity over lawsuits related to their development and use.?

...Communities around the U.S. are desperate to find the money to pay for PFAS cleanup — the full cost of which is not yet clear, but could be as much as $400 billion.

Firetech

A little Dryad, a little Rain, a little Black Hawk

• Dryad, an early detection ‘fire-sniffing’ mesh-network wildfire alert system, has raised €5.6M for early wildfire detection. “State of play: Companies are beginning to use various IT tools, like satellites, drones, cameras, and AI to try to tackle the surge in wildfires.”
• Cleantech has a Wildfire-AI roundup. “By combining sensor networks, drone surveillance, and aerial firefighting capabilities, land managers can create a robust toolkit for both wildfire prevention and ecosystem management.”?
• Coulson Aviation is working with Kawak Aviation to improve the firefighting capabilities of the Black Hawk.
• The Robot Report picked up our news about the Sikorsky collaboration, and we also got attention in this opinion piece.

"While there is a lot of handwringing about AI and its dangers, we’ll likely see some amazing results if the focus stays on the mission first." —Nick Wakeman, Editor in Chief, Washington Technology

Thank you for reading, and for being on the fire journey with me. As always feel free to share, comment, like—all the things.

Andrea

PS Helping hand alert: This branch of the FFA (a program that teaches young people about agriculture with hands-on projects, similar to 4-H) lost their entire demonstration farm and is selling shirts to raise funds.?